Today, most organizations use marketing campaigns to inform, conduct surveys, invite to events, offer products, increase customer loyalty, and more. In most cases, simple programs (a set of campaigns) are used, within which one interaction with the target audience is performed through the selected channel. But is this approach always justified? Let's take a closer look at the benefits of using multi-stage marketing programs in practice.
For clarity, let's consider the planning and implementation of a multi-stage marketing program in Oracle Siebel CRM on the example of telecoms.
The telecommunications operator is going to offer customers whose traffic volume exceeds 20 GB per month to switch to another tariff plan with an unlimited consumption profile. For a more rational use of resources, it is advisable to divide the campaign into several stages. At the same time, additional benefits can be derived from the use of several communication channels at once. Each channel individually has certain features that it is desirable to take into account when planning a marketing campaign. Consider some of the most popular channels.
| Channel | Relative cost per impact | Channel Features |
| web | $ | Depends on the popularity of the resource and the preferences of the client when using Internet services in comparison with other channels |
| $ | Doubts are caused by the relevance of email addresses and the desire of customers to read such letters | |
| SMS | $$ | The length of the message is not enough to convey the offer, SMS clients do not write back |
| IVR | $$ | It greatly depends on the correct organization of the IVR menu and the client's willingness to spend time searching for the necessary information in a distributed structure. |
| Outgoing calls | $$$$ | Quite a resource-intensive channel, the results are highly dependent on the qualifications of operators |
Experience shows that it is advisable to use SMS to briefly inform customers and transfer them to another communication channel. Email is best suited for detailed information to a large target audience with the ability to collect responses (questionnaires, clicks). Outbound calling is most effective for interacting with clearly interested customers.
Thus, it is logical to build the marketing program from my example as follows:
Stage 1. Communicating the offer of a new tariff plan to the selected target audience
Target: Identify interested customers
Interactions:
- Clients whose email address is known receive an email with an extended description of the offer. The letter contains a link to a section of the site with information about the new tariff plan.
- Clients who do not have an email address or who did not receive the letter receive an SMS with a summary of the offer and an invitation to contact the contact center for more information.
Stage 2. Providing the necessary information, completing the sale
Target: Transfer interested customers to a new tariff plan
Interactions:
- Contact center operators receive incoming calls from customers who are interested in an offer received via SMS.
- Contact center operators call customers who have followed the link to a detailed description of the tariff plan.
Stage 3. Completion of the campaign
Target: Express gratitude for switching to a new tariff plan
Interactions:
- All customers who have switched to a new tariff plan receive an SMS with words of gratitude.
From the block diagram of the marketing program, it can be seen that the results of the previous campaign are the criteria for forming the target audience of the next campaign. Therefore, the main task in the implementation of such a multi-stage program is the correct transfer of the results of the previous campaign to the next one. At the same time, the results of the campaign are customer responses (for example, clicks on links) and facts of interaction (delivery of SMS, letters, dial-ups). The solution of such a problem will directly depend on the correct integration of the CRM system with the involved communication channels.
Integration with the Email channel on the example of Oracle Siebel CRM
To integrate Oracle Siebel CRM with the Email channel, Siebel Email Marketing Server is used, which allows you to send bulk emails with automatic receipt of delivery statuses and responses. Siebel Email Marketing Server includes three components:
- Email Sending Daemon (ESD) - responsible for the composition of letters. When a campaign is launched, it combines the offer template, the campaign participant's personal data, and the list of participants into a special file format, and then transfers it to the corporate outgoing mail server for sending emails.
- Bounce Handler Daemon (BHD) - handles returned emails. When returning a letter, the reason for non-delivery is analyzed and its category is determined (Soft, Hard). For example, emails that weren't delivered due to "bad address" fall into the Hard category and won't be resent. Letters of the Soft category can be resent several times.
- Click-Through Daemon (CTD) - handles the facts "opening a letter", "forwarding a letter", "following a link", etc. As soon as the recipient of the letter performs one of the specified actions, the Click-Through Daemon receives an http request and creates in Siebel CRM response of the appropriate type. The response is tied to the campaign and the client, which allows you to analyze campaign statistics and see the client's reaction to the marketing offer in his profile.
To implement outbound email campaigns, an important requirement is the ability to create personalized email templates not only in text format, but also in HTML. The standard functionality of Siebel CRM allows you to do this in two personalization modes. In the basic mode, the main fields of the campaign participant are involved. In additional mode, any information about the participant is used. Even those that are not in Siebel CRM. To do this, a data model is formed in Oracle BI, which is further referenced by substitution fields from offer templates. This approach, for example, allows you to insert information on the client's personal account and connected services, obtained from billing, into letters.
Integration with SMS channel
The implementation of the Siebel CRM integration with the SMS channel largely depends on the ability of the SMS platform to control its own workload. Each SMS platform has a limited bandwidth. If you do not control the number of messages that are sent to the channel, you can exceed the bandwidth, which will lead to failures in the sending and delivery of messages. If the SMS platform is able to control the load on the channel, then the integration comes down to transferring the phone list and message content from Siebel CRM. After sending messages, the SMS platform will return a list with delivery results.
In the event that the SMS platform cannot control the bandwidth, these functions may well be taken over by the CRM system.
This is how the Oracle Siebel CRM integration with the SMS platform looks like when load management is performed on the Siebel CRM side.
The multi-stage marketing program described above requires two SMS campaigns. In parallel, it may be necessary to produce SMS-campaigns for other purposes. Therefore, when planning an SMS campaign, the user fixes in Oracle Siebel CRM the approximate number of participants, the date and time of start, end, and the schedule template for sending messages (days of the week and hours). The channel administrator sees all declared campaigns and requirements for them, which allows him to start planning the load on the channel. To do this, it introduces additional restrictions for sending SMS:
- Exception days are dates on which messages cannot be sent under any circumstances.
- Anti-spam settings - the number of SMS that can be sent to a client in a certain period. Moreover, for different customer segments, this number may differ.
- Additional load - the number of SMS to send, which cannot be exceeded on certain days and hours.
- Blacklist - customers who have previously asked not to send them SMS.
When additional limits are defined, the administrator starts the load planning procedure. At the same time, Siebel CRM compares the requirements of the declared campaigns, additional administrator restrictions and channel bandwidth. After this process is completed, each campaign will have its own schedule for sending messages, and the administrator will see the overall load schedule for the channel.
When the campaign manager launches the campaign, Siebel CRM will start uploading the participant lists and message content to the transit base according to the schedule. Every hour, the load management component will pick up a "portion" of messages from the transit base and pass it every second to the SMS platform, which will send messages and return the sending statuses. Through the transit base, the delivery statuses will be returned to Siebel CRM and "attached" to the campaign.
Contact Center Integration
The role of the CRM system in outgoing calls was described in detail by Alexander Shevtsov. I will focus on the technical features of integrating Oracle Siebel CRM with a contact center. For this, the Siebel Communication Server component is used. After installing it, a communication panel (CTI-panel) appears in the Siebel CRM interface, which contains controls for receiving calls, performing transfers (consultative and blind), holding a call, and registering an agent in the contact center. For the operation of the CTI panel and client authentication scenarios, the administrator configures the Siebel Communication Server to interact with the driver of the contact center used. Once configured, the commands and events that are defined in the driver will be mapped to the standard Siebel Communication Server interfaces. Therefore, when the contact center detects an incoming call, the driver will send it to the Siebel Communication Server as an event. Upon receiving this event, Siebel Communication Server will run the appropriate authentication script and open the appropriate form. Conversely, when a user manually initiates an outgoing call from the CTI panel, Siebel Communication Server will issue the appropriate contact center driver command. In addition, the Siebel Communication Server settings indicate all operators and the numbers and workplaces assigned to them.
A well-planned, multi-stage marketing program will not only allow you to use resources more efficiently, but will also provide an opportunity to significantly increase the effectiveness of each interaction with customers.
The introduction of CRM-systems allows you to improve the quality of interaction with customers and improve the functioning of your own business. The Oracle Siebel CRM system is in great demand on the Russian market.
Description
The system is designed for data collection, marketing, and other business processes. A number of advantages allow it to remain one of the most popular in world practice:
- Wide functionality has become possible thanks to experience since 1993.
- Flexibility and adaptability due to the features of the architecture allow you to adapt to the needs of any enterprise.
- The presence of modules and standard objects enable rapid phased implementation.
- Ready-made industry solutions will reduce the cost, using previous work experience.
The combination of a wide range of solutions and fast implementation capabilities make Siebel CRM a convenient and reliable control element.
Functional
The CRM system allows you to solve functional tasks for automating individual sections, as well as to implement vertical solutions due to the characteristics of a particular industry:
- basic CRM applications ( Call Center , Sales , Service ) are designed for sales, service, marketing. They automate the collection and processing of customer data;
- applications for buyers (e-customer) support the functioning of a business on the Internet, in particular, an electronic store;
- partner applications (e-Channel) allow you to adjust collaboration;
- e-Campaigns , Siebel e-Mail Response applications are designed to manage marketing promotions.
Represents several screens with information in the form of lists, graphs, diagrams. Data is displayed visually even without redesign.
Developed applications for mobile devices under iOS , Android , Windows Mobile .
New business opportunities
Software products in 2017 are being improved in all areas:
- accelerated adaptation to business;
- ease of implementation;
- testing;
- use of technological innovations.
Oracle guarantees the regularity of releases, the simplicity and security of updates through the browser from almost any device. Use is possible both locally and in the developer's cloud services.
There are flexible configuration tools for different users and devices. Siebel Composer has been created for quick configuration. New testing capabilities become available with the release of Innovation Pack 2017. On the technical side, an important innovation is an improved architecture.
Implementation of Oracle Siebel CRM system
The most complete set of tools was introduced for Gazpromneft-Corporate Sales clients. All stages of working with clients are fully automated, including storing information about them, working with contracts, personal accounts, fuel cards, tariffs, access to personal accounts.
Work in the system is carried out by about 200 managers in real time. The scale of use is approximately 1.5 thousand gas stations throughout Russia.
The solution is unique because it contains a complete set of business processes. This is an example of how the speed and quality of information processing form a significant competitive advantage.
This article is written in order to give an idea about a rather specific software package that is used in many large enterprises around the world, but at the same time remains little known to a wide range of IT specialists, even in comparison with similar products, such as SAP.
There is little available literature on it, or it is so vague and confusing that it can be difficult for a person "on the street" to understand what it is all about. Here we will try to clarify this issue.
I will simply call this whole complex Siebel, officially it is called Oracle Siebel CRM. The name Siebel is the name of the founder of the company (Thomas Siebel). In 2006, the company was sold to Oracle Corporation.
Siebel is primarily a customer relationship management system (Customer Relationship Management - CRM). This system can be installed in a variety of out-of-the-box configurations, such as Siebel Call Center, Siebel Finance, Siebel Loyalty (with an engine for customer loyalty programs), Siebel Hospitality (for hospitality) and many others. However, consumers of Siebel products (usually quite large companies that work with at least tens of thousands of customers) usually require the system to be "sharpened" not only for the needs of the industry, but also for a particular enterprise. Therefore, the creators of the system tried to provide maximum flexibility in customization and development.
From the point of view of the user (an employee of the customer company), Siebel, as declared, is practically a zero-footprint application, that is, it does not require the installation of any special client to work. Working with Siebel is simple in the Internet Explorer window. In fact, the first access to the server installs the appropriate ActiveX components that provide actions with controls.
Unfortunately, other browsers (except IE) are not supported at the moment. As you can easily understand, this binds users to Windows (as for Siebel servers, they can run both under Windows and under Linux, as well as Solaris, HP-UX, etc.).
The graphical user interface looks something like this:
Of course, support modules for many languages are available, including Russian.
The main GUI object of Siebel is the so-called applet. This is the part of the screen that displays a table (list-applet) or data from a single record as a form (form-applet). An applet usually contains menus and controls in the form of buttons on the screen. With their help, the user adds or deletes records, performs requests (query) and other actions, for example, starting a business process. As already mentioned, Siebel provides huge opportunities for customization, limited only by the imagination of the customer / developer. In the picture we can see one sheet applet and one form applet.
Here we cannot go into the intricacies of working with the GUI, we would rather describe how all this is implemented technically.
As it has already become clear, Siebel, in the first approximation, is a kind of graphical database add-on that works like a web application. The base can be not only Oracle, but also, for example, MS SQL Server or something else. When installing the system, a huge number of tables are automatically created - the creators tried to include everything that someone might need in the kit. However, you can always add custom tables and columns. The vast majority of information about the configuration of Siebel itself (lists of GUI elements, custom scripts, relationships between objects) is also stored in the same database, and there can be many repositories (versions of the Siebel configuration) at once. However, the configuration that is actually used by the server at the moment must be compiled into a special file with the SRF extension. The server cannot work without this file.
Siebel servers are combined into logical groupings (Enterprises). The enterprise is managed by a service called the Siebel Gateway Name Server. This server is accessed by a web server (Oracle, IIS ..) equipped with special "extensions" (SWSE - Siebel Web Server Extensions). These are the basic elements of the Siebel environment.
Siebel's main developer tool is a program called Siebel Tools that does the compilation.
In simple cases, development is done declaratively, by dragging the GUI UI onto a form and filling in the appropriate fields with data, similar to how a Windows Forms application is created in Visual Studio. To program more complex system behavior, either an embedded language (actually JScript or VBScript, the choice of the developer) or a graphical Workflow Designer is usually used.
The main debugging tool is the Siebel Dedicated Web Client (called a "thick client" in jargon, as opposed to the "thin client" used by users of a live system). Despite the name, a "thick client" is a kind of Siebel mini-server that runs, like Siebel Tools, on the developer's machine. Typically, the work of a developer is a sequence of the following actions:
- Siebel Tools is launched, which connects to the development environment database, it selects the desired Siebel repository
- A mutable object or a set of objects (project) is copied to the developer's local database, and protected from changes by other developers on the server database (check-out)
- On the developer's machine, work is done with these objects, after which they are compiled into a local SRF file
- Launches Dedicated Web Client connected to this SRF file
- If testing in the "thick client" is successful, the changed objects are written to the server database, after which the protection against changes is removed (check-in)
- At some point, the repository is compiled into the SRF of the server, after which the changes become available to users
Oracle Siebel CRM- a customer relationship management system that allows you to build a comprehensive corporate information system that automates both front office operations: sales, service, marketing and relationship management with partners; and back office: analytics, order and personnel management, employee compensation calculation, etc., as well as integration with any client's IT systems.
In marketing, Oracle Siebel CRM evaluates cost effectiveness. Allowing you to analyze not only the initial response from various stocks, but also the final profitability, even if the actual conclusion of the contract takes several months. In addition, Oracle Siebel CRM provides tools for building a target audience, managing customer acquisition from telemarketing to running a full-scale advertising campaign and transferring identified leads to the sales department.
Oracle Siebel CRM allows you to organize a systematic sales management - the distribution of potential customers, the development and preparation of contracts, the management of employee motivation.
Oracle Siebel CRM service modules will provide awareness and increase the professionalism of employees, control the timing and responsibility for each client request.
Transparency and controllability of the processes implemented in Oracle Siebel CRM allows you to quickly and accurately adapt the company to new conditions, competition and development.
Siebel CRM Administration and Support Responsibilities
There are such categories of specialists who will be involved in supporting Oracle Siebel CRM:
- DataBaseAdministrator - database administrator
This category of specialists is needed to support any industrial system. Due to its three-tier structure and a large number of standard auxiliary tools, the scope of tasks for maintaining the Oracle Siebel CRM database for DBA is insignificant. Therefore, the DataBase Administrator can maintain the database of several systems in parallel. As a rule, his area of responsibility will include ensuring high performance of servers, administering users, creating backups, as well as restoring the system. Specific tasks include assistance with data-level integration, but there is an excellent tool to facilitate these tasks - Siebel EIM.
- Systems administrator (IT administrator)
As before, the scope of tasks for an IT administrator is no different from other industrial systems. This is the maintenance of the CRM system in normal mode and user administration. To administer Oracle Siebel CRM, a qualified administrator does not need specialized skills, and in some cases, technical documentation may be sufficient. For new specialists of our clients, we have a developed Oracle Siebel CRM training program that allows you to minimize risks.
If the CRM system covers a large number of business processes and a large number of users work in it, then we recommend introducing a separate Siebel administration, but it is not uncommon for IT administrators to combine work with several systems.
To determine the amount of labor costs and qualifications of these specialists, it is necessary to understand at what level Oracle Siebel CRM will be used in the company. If the functionality of the CRM system was initially implemented, which fully satisfies the management and it is only necessary to maintain the system without development, then two specialists (DBA and IT administrator) can successfully cope with this. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, they can simultaneously perform administrative tasks for other systems. But the reality is often somewhat different. You get used to good things quickly, but you always want to improve something, so quite often companies have a Siebel developer who, in addition to fields and attributes, can also perform the functions of a Siebel administrator.
Links
- Siebel On Line Display Stand
- Russian-language resource Oracle Siebel CRM 8th version
DESCRIPTION Oracle Siebel CRM is a customer relationship management system that allows you to build a comprehensive corporate information system that automates both front office operations: sales, service, marketing and relationship management with partners; and back office: analytics, order and personnel management, employee compensation calculation, etc., as well as integration with any client's IT systems.
FUNCTIONALITY Oracle Siebel CRM includes the following solutions: Business Intelligence; Sales management; Marketing management; Contact centers and call centers; Order processing management; Relationship management with partners; Management of relations with employees; Oracle Siebel On Demand;
OVERVIEW OF FUNCTIONAL MODULES Siebel Enterprise Marketing Marketing campaign management allows you to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns in real time according to various criteria. Siebel Sales Designed to better define the scope of the seller's efforts, improve sales efficiency and bottom line results. Siebel Service Helps companies organize faster, more efficient and better interaction with their customers. Siebel Contact Center Turns your company's contact center into an integral part of your overall sales, marketing, and customer service strategy. Siebel Partner Relationship Management A comprehensive partner relationship management solution.
DEGREE OF INTEGRATION SIEBEL AND MICROSOFT OFFICE COLLABORATION FUNCTIONS Increase work efficiency two-way seamless integration with Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel Server synchronization subsystem with Microsoft Exchange synchronizes scheduled business meetings and cases, information on contacts, employees and assigned tasks Centralization of information about clients within Microsoft Outlook and Siebel applications Exporting data to Microsoft Power documents. Point File Sharing allows employees and customers to share files and manage tasks using Microsoft Share. point
Import/Export data to MS Office Import Export Import/Export data to Open Office Import Export Using your own document templates Possibility to parameterize templates Integration with MS Office accounting systems Integration with Avaya Cisco contact center Others Integration with mail clients Embedded client MS Outlook Lotus Notes Integration with SMS gateways Own Integration with social networks Facebook networks Integration with analytical systems (BI) Other Yes SAP Other
Src="https://present5.com/presentation/-102299712_437254619/image-8.jpg" alt="(!LANG:COST Price of licenses and maintenance License price (server) >1000$ License price (workplace) > 1000$"> СТОИМОСТЬ Цена лицензий и обслуживания Цена лицензии (сервер) >1000$ Цена лицензии (раб. место) >1000$ Тип клиентской лицензии Именная Стоимость аренды (1 лиц. за 12 мес.) 500 1000$ Стоимость поддержки (% в год от перв. стоимости) 10 25%!}
MAINTENANCE As part of Oracle support, access to a resource that includes complete product documentation and technical articles 24/7 technical support user community (more than 400 user groups, across all types of products)
RELIABILITY The program on the forums has good reviews. Sometimes they complain about crashes, but only on test and development environments.
SECURITY: The Siebel security system is built around the following areas of data handling: System access control (authentication) Data encryption Encryption of network traffic Encryption of static data in the database Control of a specific user Control of functionality Control of row-by-row access to data
SECURITY OF SIEBEL APPS. AUDITTRAIL To ensure data integrity and monitor activity, Siebel business applications can provide an audit trail that includes the following information: the date and time the business component field was changed; who made changes to the business components field; what changes have been made to the business components field; when a business component field has been viewed or exported; who viewed or exported a business component field Audit Trail is a configurable feature for creating a history of changes that have occurred to objects in different Siebel business applications. The Audit Trail shows who viewed or accessed the object, what operation was performed, when it was performed, and what value was changed. Thus, it is useful for controlling access, examining/viewing the history of specific records, and documenting changes for later analysis and accounting. Audit Trail logs data without any user interaction.
SIEBEL CRM INTERFACE The Siebel user interface can be displayed in the following modes: High Interactivity Mode Use richer interface: Drag-and-drop, Menu bar and tool bars, advanced editing options. Hard connection to Internet Explorer Standard Interactivity Mode (in standard interactivity mode) Concise user interface, built on plain HTML No connection to the Web browser
Login to the Siebel application occurs through a URL in a Web browser by entering the username and password of the user
BENEFITS: Wide functionality - developing and implementing CRM solutions for a huge number of clients, Siebel has accumulated invaluable experience, which is reflected in its products. Flexibility and extensibility - Siebel's architecture and customization tools allow you to configure the product to suit your business needs. Modular structure - allows companies to choose and use only the modules they need. This makes it possible to implement the system in stages, starting with basic modules, and gradually increase the capabilities of your CRM solution. Fast implementation - achieved through a ready-made configuration and a large number of typical objects. Availability of more than 20 full-featured industry solutions - industry-specific CRM solutions, adapted to the specifics of specific industries, reduce the cost of a share of services in a CRM project (as well as the time to implement the system). In addition, industry-specific CRM solutions contain the experience and technology of various industry enterprises, which further increases their value.
MINUSES: The main disadvantages are rather high price, closed architecture (impossibility to add third-party CRM modules). Another problem is that the Russian market is experiencing an acute shortage of qualified consultants for the implementation of this product.
