Humanizing CRM: Appealing to Intuition, the Senses and Emotions to Optimize Customer Relationships

Abstract

Customers’ bonds with their preferred brands have been found to be highly emotional and intuitive, the product of learning and experience, subject to symbolism, trust and acquired meanings, and not necessarily reason-responsive, yet most marketing practices, including Customer Relationship Management or CRM, are heavily influenced by twentieth century’s models of consumer behavior which considered a rational decision-making process and even spoke about “the logic of consumption,” however, this logical approach may not be the most effective when we consider less objective criteria like trust and affection. Research has explored the combined roles of time and money, and rationality, intuition, the senses, peers and emotions on the consumer decision process and found that even in high-involvement purchase scenarios, where others may suggest that a central, argumentative line of persuasion would be called for, customer decisions are highly intuitive. This chapter will identify the gaps in current one-on-one marketing practices and explore the most proper application of rational, intuitive, sensory, social, and emotional cues in the CRM process, extending from B2C to B2B because, in the end, we are all human. A suggested Strategy Map and Balanced Score Card, and a Core Process Map are included in our recommendations for humanizing CRM.