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The “Enterprise” is an entity that is formed to serve a purpose of value to society via visions, goals, and strategies. Let us review a few forms of an Enterprise. 

•  Federal, state and local government agencies
•  Non-profit organizations
•  Business companies 

All of the above-mentioned enterprises share something in common; they all have internal components that govern and guide operations. These components [must] be constantly improved to maintain and enhance the life of an “Enterprise.” 

The three “primary” components that govern and guide operations of the Enterprise are: 

• Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP)
• Enterprise\Business Process Management (EPM or BPM)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 

Enterprise Architecture Plan 

The Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP) is derived from the vision, goals, and strategies of its creators. The EAP will present the five W’s and the How of Enterprise Architecture. The following are the five W’s and the How. 

• The What of the Enterprise (Data)
• The Where of the Enterprise (Network)
• The Who of the Enterprise (Organization)
• The When of the Enterprise (Schedule)
• The Why  of the Enterprise (Strategy)
• The How  of the Enterprise (Function) 

Enterprise Architectural Principles 

The specifics of enterprise architectural principles will depend on the vertical market the Enterprise is in, the long-term strategy of the Enterprise (to-be), and the short-term imperative goals of the Enterprise (as-is). The following is by no means an exhaustive list of specifics to the architectural principles. This short list is the core elements of the architectural principles. 

The EAP should encompass some, of if not all, of these enterprise architectural principles: 

1. 1. Organization-enabling
2. 2. Value-enabling
3. 3. Brand-name advancing
4. 4. Market-share expanding
5. 5. Processes-simplifying
6. 6. Processes-minimizing
7. 7. Optimized-continually
8. 8. Customer-centric
9. 8. Scalable
10. 10. Reconfigurable 

These principles along with the five W’s and the How will lay the foundation to the construction of the Enterprise. 

Enterprise\Business Process Management

The flow of tasks, objectives, events, and transactions through the Enterprise is governed, managed, and implemented by processes. Theses processes have to be governed and management in a way that all tasks, objectives, events, and transactions flow efficiently within and outside of the Enterprise to accomplish the set goals and strategies. 

Process management in its simplest form is defined as tasks and or events that receive stimulus inputs that in turn produces a predetermined outputs (even in the case of exceptions). 

This is accomplished by and through human and technology process interactions. 

Let us use the case of an admittance or discharge to the hospital from the emergency room. 

One may feel ill enough to go to the emergency care at the local hospital. Once the person enters the doors of the ER and the receptionist greets the person, two essential processes are initiated into action. 

They are: 

• Collect information about the illness (human-centric)
• Collect information about the patient (human-centric) 

The collected information is then pushed to a database (technology-centric) for use by other processes associated to the emergency protocol. Based upon the illness or symptoms of the patient, the next [technology-centric] process will determine which doctor to summon to the assigned examination room (human-centric and or technology-centric). The doctor will then interact with the patient to determine, which course of action to take which will lead to an admittance process or discharge process. Now this is a very short and simple snapshot of actions taken for someone who may visit the emergency room but I trust you have the gist of have these processes interact for this given case. 

Therefore, you can see how Enterprise\Business Process Management is the heart of the Enterprise functionality. Processes MUST be well defined and optimized to provide best performance for an organization. This in turn will grant the enterprise agility and increase successfulness of the desired goals and strategies. 

Customer Relationship Management 

As the BPM provides functionality to the Enterprise, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) methodology provides life to the Enterprise. Most enterprises operate in a product service-centric manner, which means they created product(s) and or service(s) without the thought of the customer in conducting business. 

A product service-centric enterprise is destined to demise for lack of customer integration. Here is a great quote that all members of Top management should hang on the wall:         

“Businesses are not paid to reform customers. They are paid to satisfy customers.” 

-Peter Drucker 

A CRM solution allows the enterprise to transform into a “customer-centric” entity. CRM in its general definition is; processes and methodologies which an enterprise uses to communicate, track, and organize its interactions with its current and prospective customers. 

A well-implemented CRM solution will provide a ROI of increased customer loyalty and continuous growth of new customers. 

In Summary 

We have learned that the Enterprise is an entity that is formed to serve a purpose via visions, goals, and strategies. An Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP) is then created from theses visions, goals, and strategies. The EAP will capture and present the What, Where, Who, When, Why, and How of the Enterprise. 

Processes within an Enterprise are controlled through Enterprise\Business Process Management methodologies.  Processes are all tasks, objectives, events, and transactions that flow within and outside of the Enterprise. Process management in its simplest form is defined as tasks and events that receive stimulus inputs that in turn produces a predetermined outputs (even in the case of exceptions). 

The Customer Relationship Management methodology is the bridge that connects the Enterprise to the customer and the customer to the Enterprise. A CRM solution allows the Enterprise to transform into a “customer-centric” entity. CRM in its general definition is; processes and methodologies an Enterprise uses to communicate, track, and organize its interactions with its current and prospective customers.  

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for an evaluation of your enterprise! 

Developing a Customer Relationship

CRM boils down to developing relationships with your customers. This means that when your customers interface with your company they hear the following message,

“We know you. We remember you. From our understanding of who you are, we are working to exceed your individual expectations.” Types of Customer Relations Management Strategies

As you develop these relationships with your customers there are two different approaches to learning who they are:

1. Customer Value-Based
Identify your customers based on their value to your company and customize their treatment based on that knowledge.

Usually this approach involves identifying the customers that either (a) have the most actual value to your company over their lifetime or (b) have the most potential value to your company over their lifetime (i.e. they are currently highly valued customers of one of your competitors).

For example, you could identify the top 5% of your customers and work to develop relationships with them to treat them better and encourage their loyalty to your company. You could offer them membership into a club of your most valued customers which both has benefits for them, and also requires them to give you some additional information about them that you can use to develop an individual relationship with them.

2. Customer Needs-Based
Identify your customers based on their needs and work to meet those needs.

This may involve allowing a customer to customize or tailor a product to meet their needs and then remembering that customization in the future to make their interactions with you easier and more enjoyable.

It means that when your customers interact with your company, they will hear the message, “Do you want the usual?” Each time you do business with them you will do better at quickly delivering them a product that meets their needs and that they will not need to re-specify what they want each time.

In an ideal world your company will be the most successful if you employ both of these strategies. However, your first step will be to identify which of these two strategies best fits your current customers and your company’s current abilities.

Does the majority of your business revenue come from a minority of your customers? You may want to start with a values-based strategy. Do the majority of your customers have different needs and desires? You may want to start with a needs-based strategy.

Visit dotNet Framework Solutions for more information.

We are entering a new era of just the opposite in your question concerning IT groups losing their importance. IT and Top Management are now aligning themselves to provide a greater ROI on the IT investments.

IT has driven companies for over 20 years and provided business with valuable tools that top management is now using to realign the business vision with “Information Technology” contributions.

Let’s look at what’s driving this change.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) – The driving force

Enterprise Architecture has allowed us to model the vision of the business through well define prototypical structures as the Zachman EA Cube and TOGAF 8. Top management now can segment the business and provide governance of processes to ensure that the vision is agile and easily adjusted to external and internal influences. The benefit is top management and IT are know speaking the same language and heading in the same direction.

Business Process Management (BPM) – The supporting force

Business Process Management provides top management and IT “rules” that govern the “processes” that enable quicker decision-making which enforces the agility of the EA plan delivered through IT. So we see in this driving element that IT is a strategic partner with the Process professionals which is top management.

Customer Relations Management (CRM) – The ROI force

Customer Relations Management if properly implemented provides a greater ROI on the alignment of top management and IT. Here again IT is a strategic partner in implementing systems that will provide top management the “Process professionals” capabilities to measure and monitor the heartbeat of the vision which is the ‘customer’ themselves.

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) – The encompassing force

Service Oriented Architecture is a philosophy that is incorporated into the business vision. It provides the means to encompass all internal and external elements of the vision. SOA assists and enhances the strength of IT in delivering the EA, BPM and CRM forces.

So in summary, IT over the years has produced valuable tools and resources for top management – The Process Professionals - to now fully understand and drive the business vision. Implementing the paradigms of EA, BPM and CRM will align top management and IT to pursue greater results as strategic partners.

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for your EA consultation.

Customer loyalty can be defined as a customer’s sustained commitment to a company as demonstrated by repeat purchases, increased wallet share, and positive word-of-mouth referrals. Research indicates that when a company can command such loyalty, the benefits include, but go considerably beyond, incremental revenue.

Customer loyalty might be the only sustainable competitive advantage, especially in challenging economic times, yet, so few businesses understand how to create customer loyalty. The average U.S. company loses half of its customer base every five years. Hence the need for a systematic approach to this competitive differentiator and for a methodology that can help companies identify and improve their key drivers.

Customer loyalty depends on providing satisfaction not simply to customers themselves—although this is critical—but also to those employees and partners who can positively (or negatively) influence the customer relationship. Effectively managing relationships with all three of these constituents is the key to customer loyalty, competitive advantage, and financial stability.

For a company to sustain customer loyalty it must identify “loyalty drivers”—the key business attributes that have the greatest impact on the satisfaction of customers, employees, and partners. While certain factors can be considered valuable to customers everywhere, a company gains competitive advantage only when it can identify, measure, and track the loyalty drivers for the three constituents in its specific industry and field of operations. To achieve a competitive advantage, companies must adopt a satisfaction measurement system that is empirical, integrated, and customizable. This system must also provide real-time feedback to enable corrective action.

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for your CRM consultation.

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