MBS Systems | In-Store Solutions

MBS Systems . In-Store Solutions . CRM

Customer Relations Management
Pressure is mounting on the bookstore's traditional revenue foundation, that of textbook sales. This increasing pressure forces stores to increase not only their general merchandise offerings, but more importantly, to increase their customer base so that it encompasses a population exceeding that of just the current campus community. If today's college stores are to remain profitable, they must create and nurture longstanding relationships with alumni and other non-student customers.

The MBS Customer Relations Management application allows you to do precisely that by keeping track of shoppers' buying habits and tapping into this information so as to strategically market the right products to the right customers at the right time—all the way from freshman year through graduation and into the alumni years. The module acts as an organized database of customer information where sales history is collected and stored. Stores simply extract the precise data that meets their criteria, and use it to execute marketing campaigns that are targeted toward the appropriate audience. CRM empowers stores with the highly specific information that allows them to reduce marketing costs and speak directly to select customers without annoying others with wide-net marketing or "spam" campaigns.

MBS CRM Positively Impacts Your Marketing Efforts by Providing:
.	One Repository for All Customer Data
.	Dynamic Contact Information
.	On-Demand Reporting
.	Easy Data Extracts
.	Detailed Customer Purchase Tracking
.	Data-Sorting Capabilities
.	Trend Analysis of Buying Patterns and Frequency
.	Export to Mailing Labels or a Third-Party Email Program

A Consolidated Customer Database
Today, customers purchase from bookstores via multiple methods: shopping in the store, buying online, placing catalog orders by phone or mail or email, and approving customized quotes. Correlating all of the sales history from each of these various sources is a complicated and time-consuming task, one that our CRM application automates and handles with ease. MBS CRM captures sales data from your MBS POS system, your inSite-managed website, and your MBS Catalog/Mail Order and Quote programs, and then stores it in one centralized database. Provided that the purchase includes the customer's ID or account number, transaction information will be posted to the customer's order history in CRM, regardless of how the purchase was made.

Flexibility for Capturing Ever-Changing Information
As you know, the time immediately following graduation is one of transition for new alumni. Most recent graduates will change jobs, physical and email addresses, and phone numbers several times during these years. In order to keep contact information current so that you can reach your customers, it is essential that you not only have an automated CRM application, but that the software be able to accommodate frequent and substantial changes and updates. The MBS CRM application provides flexible data fields within the customer profile feature. In addition to allowing for multiple entries to each section of standard data, such as physical address, email address, phone number, etc., MBS CRM also allows you to categorize your customers by type (Alumni, Student, Faculty, Employee, etc.) to sort by demographic.

Targeted Data Extracts
Now that you've used CRM to understand your customers and their buying patterns, it's time to leverage that knowledge to garner sales. The MBS CRM application provides all the tools you need for data extraction, based on user-generated parameters, so that you can generate mailing labels or populate a third-party email program to get your message across. With CRM data extracts, you can isolate target groups for sales, promotions, and events based on their likelihood to respond. For example, let's say that your store is going to run a sale on logo/team handbags and wallets. Does it make sense to create, print, and mail a postcard announcing the sale, or would it be better to broadcast an email? Either way, do you really want to send your announcement to your entire customer base?

Now you don't have to wonder or worry. With CRM, you'll be able to hone in on the exact demographic that would be interested in buying what you're advertising and then direct your efforts toward that group. By looking at buying patterns to determine which customers (and how many) might be interested in certain merchandise, and then sending your message only to them, you'll save time and money on marketing, you'll increase your response rate, and you won't "junk mail" or "spam" customers who aren't interested. CRM gives you all of that power, control, and flexibility, while simultaneously helping you grow and manage your customer base.


	If you're ready to get started, or you'd like more information about CRM, contact your MBS Systems Territory Manager or call 800-325-4138.

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MBS Textbook Exchange, Inc.
2711 West Ash Street
Columbia, MO 65203
800-325-0530
http://www.mbsbooks.com/systems.php?PAGE=CRM.html