Role of knowledge management and analytical CRM in business: data mining based framework

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to provide a thorough analysis of the concepts of business intelligence (BI), knowledge management (KM) and analytical CRM (aCRM) and to establish a framework for integrating all the three to each other. The paper also seeks to establish a KM and aCRM based framework using data mining (DM) techniques, which helps in the enterprise decision‐making. The objective is to share how KM and aCRM can be integrated into this seamless analytics framework to sustain excellence in decision making using effective data mining techniques and to explore how working on such aCRM system can be effective for enabling organizations delivering complete solutions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on focused and dedicated study of the literature present on the aCRM, KM and data mining techniques. The paper considered how to develop a strategy and operational framework that would build aCRM on the foundation of existing DM techniques and KM approach to meet the business challenges. Based on this research, a customized, integrated framework, to match the needs of business was designed.

Findings

KM focuses on managing knowledge within the organization and aCRM focuses on gaining analytical information from the customer data. Both KM and aCRM help in the decision making process and understanding. This knowledge is difficult to uncover. Hence, this paper explains the importance of data mining tools and techniques to uncover knowledge by the integration between KM and aCRM. This paper presents an integrated KM and aCRM based framework using DM techniques.

Research limitations/implications

All the firms may not be in favor of adopting KM while implementing aCRM. The KM requires a convalesce of organizational culture, technology innovations, effective work force in culminating knowledge dissemination in all business domains.

Practical implications

The organizations implementing this knowledge enabled aCRM framework would be easily able to convert their business knowledge via the analytical CRM to solve many business issues, such as increase response rates from direct mail, telephone, e‐mail, and internet delivered marketing campaigns, increased sales and increased services. With aCRM, firms can identify their most profitable customers and use this knowledge for promotional schemes for those customers as well as identify future customers with prediction on ROI.

Originality/value

The need for the integration of KM and aCRM is clear. It is written for practitioners who are looking for approaches to improve business performance and maintain high profits for their business by incorporating knowledge‐enabled aCRM in their setup.

Citation

Ranjan, J. and Bhatnagar, V. (2011), "Role of knowledge management and analytical CRM in business: data mining based framework", The Learning Organization, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696471111103731