In every business, there are two parties: The customer/client and the businessmen. In every deal with both parties, the customer/client needs something that the businessmen provides. This was how simple deals are done.

Through the years, we see three things that are related to doing business: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience (CX). Yes, these are related to each other, but what's the difference between them?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The resource website SearchCRM of TechTarget defines CRM as "a term that refers to practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving business relationships with customers, assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth." (Emphasis ours)

A great example of implementing a CRM is Amazon.com, in which they have your details and the list of purchases that you bought from them. They, in turn, can recommend you the things you might want to add to that shopping card of yours.

Customer Loyalty (and Rewards)

According to UK-based Customer Experience consultancy and training company Beyond Philosophy, "Customer loyalty is the result of consistently positive emotional experience, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, which includes the product or services." (Emphases ours)

Think of it this way: You're using your preferred brand of detergent because it cleans better than the other brands as if it's brand new. You kept using it for that reason, and it consistently gives you the same great effects that made you love the said product.

If your company makes that detergent brand, then you have a loyal customer. Now what if your business is a grocery store? How can we apply customer loyalty in that case?

Imagine this: Your customer has been buying fresh vegetables from your store for so long, and you want to reward him for coming back to your store - then you decided to give him a little extra - a bottle of Hundred Island dressing to complement the packs of Lolla Rosa lettuce that he bought.

The next day, another customer bought three tubs of ice cream for a party, and as a reward, you gave him a pack of wafer cones. The next customer who followed him bought packs of sausages and you gave a bonus pack of barbecue sticks.

Rewarding your customers consistently gives them the feeling being welcomed always, and that is where we go into the last part,

Customer Experience

According to a market insight published by US-based SAS Institute, "Customer experience is defined as your customers’ perceptions – both conscious and subconscious – of their relationship with your brand resulting from all their interactions with your brand during the customer life cycle." (Emphasis ours)

From the earlier part, we can see that the customer enjoys his/her experience at the grocery, and they will recommend their friends to come to your store. Customers who refer their friends to come to your store have become advocates for your store, serving as a guide of sorts for those who have no idea what your store looks like, what you offer and how do you fare well with them.

Now that you have a grasp of what CRM, Customer Loyalty and CX means, let's simplify it further by going back to the grocery store that we've talked about earlier:

By rewarding your customers (Customer Loyalty), you are creating your own ecosystem to track the customers who deserved to be rewarded (Customer Relationship Management) and by doing so, you think of a special way to reward them (Customer Experience).

If you want to know the latest in CRM, Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience, attend the Customer Love Fest, which caters to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Loyalty & Rewards, and Customer Experience Management industries.

The Customer Love Fest will happen at the New World Hotel, Makati on October 20 to 21, 2016 from 9am to 5pm. This event will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in customer rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.

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This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. For more information, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. 

Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.