Our Town Photography Studio/Gallery e-CRM Project -

Scenario Summary

We made the right choice in choosing you to develop Our Town Photography Studio/Gallery branding project. As you know, our company is a photography company with high profile customers. Catherin Irvin, the owner of the company, is a nationally recognized photography/portrait artist, who is excited to use the new branding campaign you developed.

The branding campaign you recently developed is so successful that we are hearing from more customers than we could ever imagine. The growth is going so fast we are losing our personal touch that our clients have always been used to receiving.

Mark Bucas, is the marketing manager for the Our Town Photography studio/gallery is thrilled with the response but is concerned about the growth getting out of hand. Catherin and Mark want to track each customer personally and utilizing the new technologies available, create a system that will allow them to continue to grow and not lose the personal attention that all the customers have enjoyed in the past.

Your Role/Assignment

Once again as the product manager, you have been asked to work with Mark as he determines what systems he needs to deploy to manage and track customers.

You are ready to start, but you need to review some of the key conversations between you and Mark as well as supplemental materials you will need for your proposal. Review them carefully before completing your report.

Key Players

Max Baucus: Good morning. I just want to tell you how impressed Catherin and I were with your branding proposal. Due to your hard work and research, we are realizing a strategic goal much faster than anticipated.

Catherin Irvin: Yes, your branding project has been successful; we have already met our revenue goals for next year. However, I have some concerns about how we will be able to manage the growth our new e-commerce branding program has caused.

Max Baucus: Indeed, Catherin is pleased, but she and I have been trying to figure out how we can manage all of these new clients without losing the personal touch we had in the past. Catherin Irvin: We must find a system that can help manage this influx of new clients; continue to improve the growth without resulting to hiring more staff.

Max Baucus: Our goal is two-fold; we need to track our clients purchases, while be able to automatically offer similar products and services that compliment their purchase. Additionally, we want a personalized approach, we don't want to lose track of these high profile customers. They need a high-touch approach and if we don't track who they are and what they like, we will not be successful in the long term.

Catherin Irvin: Yes, the personalized approach is how I built this business in the first place. I want to grow, but what system can we use to ensure that works with the Our Town philosophy. I look forward to a proposal that will identify a solution to manager our customers. I think an eCRM program will help Mark and I manage the growth without the costs of hiring a new group of staff.

I wish you luck and look forward to your proposal.

Based on all the information above, write a proposal for an e-CRM system. The proposal should be between 3-5 pages and include the following:

1. Create a basic overview of the advantages of an e-CRM system and why Our Town photography would benefit from such a system.

2. List the specific data would you to store in your system (Be creative and include specific items such as: Name, Address, Birth dates, Purchase History, etc. and other pertinent data that will help identify customers for upcoming events).

3. Research at least two e-CRM systems that are available and do a compare contrast between the two systems. List the advantages and disadvantages of each the system and create a side by side comparison matrix.

4. Write a brief recommendation of which system you will choose, be sure to support your answer with specific data. In other words, this system will cost money, be able to explain why Catherin should invest in the system.