The Research Of Customer Classification Method In Customer Relationship Management

With the development of global economy and the promotion of technology, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been playing the key role in modern corporations which come to the top. Actually, every functional gradation CRM carries its idea and goal out by customer classification. In this paper, new development and the existing difficulties of customer classification are discussed in order to help corporations classify customers by a comprehensive classification method. We integrate theories and models, methods and examples, models and application researches into a new classified model which named multiple-factor fuzzy assessment model(MFFAM) based on CRM for managing customer relationship. Considered customer value and customer behavior together, this model works over those theories related customer classification, such as customer asset theory, customer lifetime theory and customer loyalty theory. We select customer lifetime value, customer proportion and customer loyalty as assessment factors to classify customers, and put forward the improved means to define the factors. Especially, we construct a customer loyalty model (CLM) which can calculate customer loyalty by structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM helps us solve the problems of those variables related to customer loyalty which are numerous, strong subjective and hard to define and compute. In addition, the model introduces fuzzy mathematics to calculate and conduct relevant data,which blurs the borderlines of customer classification and helps corporations classify customers more naturally and realistically. By experimental research, both the rationality of CLM and the validity and superiority of MFFAM are validated. MFFAM not only can classify customers effectively, but also can imply different relationships between customers and customer classifications. According to those relationships, corporations can make different decisions on individuation marketing strategies to improve relationships between customers and the corporation. The strategies will convert the most potential customers to the most valuable customers, and convert the remained customers to the most potential customers, give up the deserted customers, so that the corporations can increase customer value and gain more sales and profits, implement CRM in the organization thoroughly, realize the win-win goal finally.