Atithi devo bhava (A study on crm practices in hotel industry)

Consumer today is no longer the King, he has emerged as an Emperor

Alyque Padamse

The management mantra of the millennium has gained predominant importance in today's market. The millennium is in the midst of explosive change witnessing rapidly changing market conditions, volatile equity markets, reconstructed value chains and new global competitor. Customers themselves are changing and natural customer loyalty is a thing of the past. As a result, the concept of CRM has taken the center stage in the business world for sustainable competitive advantage. This paper attempts to study the CRM practices and philosophies adopted by certain Hotels in Chennai. Offering world services to the customers/guests is a pre-requisite for the development of the hotel industry. The main task before the hoteliers is to make a combination of quality services at different stages so that the potential customers/guests are transformed into heavy/habitual guests. Customers expect refined services and decent behaviour. The success rate of a hotel is coiled in the essence of transforming casual visitors into regular visitors. The task before the hotel marketers is to make the industry profitable and at the same time satisfy the customers, in the face of their expectations. The Hotel Industry in India is growing gradually, which necessitates handling of the problems in the right perspective. The application of marketing principles in the right fashion is the need of the hour. To implement CRM successfully, the top management will have to change the entire organizational mindset. CRM requires commitment and understanding throughout the company, not just in marketing. A strong core service performance supplemented by effective Customer Relationship Management by the company will yield fruitful results to both the organization and the customers. Its success greatly depends on implementing at the right stage, targeting the right customers, in the right perspective.