The world over, due to the recession, people are switching to direct marketing techniques to save costs. CRM is an upcoming concept in direct marketing strategies. CRM has special software packages that enable the customer to build a rapport with the company and the company to build a favourable image with the customer.

CRM employs call centres, data analysis and web-site management to effectively get across to the customer. CRM is a way by which companies can maintain the data of customers, their personal details and past purchase patterns. CRM integrates a lot of information from various sources in the company to enable the staff to access homogenous inputs about the customer on one common database.  

Direct Marketing is often seen in contrast to Mass Marketing where advertising, PR, corporate communications etc play an important role. Direct Marketing using e-mails and print snail mails is a cost effective method to let target audiences on new products and innovations in old products. CRM the world over relies on the QCi customer management model involving analysis and planning, proposition, information and technology, people and organization, process management, customer management activity, measuring the effect, customer experience and a SWOT analysis of competitors.

CRM makes the company customer oriented and outward looking instead of only focusing on the products.   

The various customer-company contact points are salesforces, telephones, distributors, fax machines, web-sites and e-mails. CRM integrates data from all these sources to arrive at one common database of each client or customer. CRM is also useful to study customer buying patterns and techniques and marketing research. CRM is relatively a new concept in India, but is catching up with more and more companies investing in Relationship managers and focusing on the needs and desires of customers.

 Neha Singh

Shopping in London is an experience of a lifetime. You have some of the best choices in clothes, electronics, furniture, gift items. In fact, you name it they have it. As it turns out there are so many supermarkets in the UK that you are badly spoilt for choice. There are also designer labels, wines from all over the world, DVDs, CDs, attires, even florists. Some supermarkets also have opticians and pharmacies attached to them. Shopping at a supermarket is an experience to cherish. Have you heard of digital set-top boxes that show you any film or show you want, from the best picks? Keep abreast of the news and events of the world, watch sport as it unfolds and be a citizen of the world. Hard to believe, isn’t it? But it’s all true.  

Actually, people don’t even go to superstores anymore. Everything is available online, at the click of your mouse. If these supermarkets were in India, how good would that be? Recently, however, back home, we just heard of the Subhiksha chain going bust. What went wrong, who knows? But the Reliance chain is doing pretty well. Not that our super markets come even close to the British counterparts, but maybe we could learn a lesson or two in retailing from these giants. These superstores are not only huge in their size, they also take great pains to offer great prices so that customers don’t feel cheated. Tata’s Westside comes close pretty close to the best Indian version of a superstore. I hope to hell that they continue to innovate and provide exemplary service.  

Did you know that even the gas and electricity in London are more environment conscious than any Indian supplier? Everyone knows there’s global warming but a developing country like India, with so much industrialization must be the worst contributor of carbon gas emissions in the atmosphere leading to climatic change. What are our suppliers doing? There was news that Bombay gas was on its way back, but there hasn’t been much progress in this area. Also British companies are using solar energy and wind farming to produce their electricity and fuel. What is keeping us behind? The first world is already fighting hard to keep the planet as healthy as possible, but why are we not picking up the cue? In our rapid rush towards progress, we have conveniently forgotten the damage we are perpetrating on the environment. It’s time we woke up from our slumber.

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Linking road in Bandra West is a shopper’s paradise. There are some of the best brands available alongside with street vendors, departmental stores selling clothes and accessories. Just opposite National collage you get some of the best shoes and what’s more, you could also visit Metro and Adidas. For clothes you have the Raymond showroom, Dockers, Benetton, Zenzi and Gas. You also have a plethora of stalls on the street that sell all kinds of clothes that you can wear at home. If you’re done doing your shopping, you can gorge on some value meals at Seijo, Mc Donalds, KFC and Cream Centre. Cream Centre is widely known for its Chhola Bhatura with large, ball-shaped bhaturas and delicious, spicy chholas accompanied with vinegary pink onions and spicy hot carrot pickles. You can wash all of it down with a smoothie or some delectable fruit juice. If you long for more you have scrumptious ice-creams from Gelato, which promise to be easy on your stomach and pocket. Time and again Gelato comes up with some unique flavours that you just can’t miss.  

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At the end of Linking road is the famous Vie Lounge and Sun-N-Sand. You can visit these places on a weekend of fun and sun. They have a great menu and some lovely weekend bargains. You can visit with your entire family and the kids will really have a ball there. Vie Lounge is famous for its celebrities. So if you want to catch a glimpse of some actor or the other, be there after 10pm, you are sure to find someone. You can actually chat them up and offer them a yummy mocktail or two, if you have the guts. 

All my cousins and aunts from Delhi make it a point to shop at Linking road. Ten years ago there were no brand outlets, just the tiny shops, but mainly it was a huge ritual to haggle with vendors and buy stuff at ridiculously low prices. The brand outlets such as Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Benetton are a welcome relief. You can get some of the trendiest apparel here. Years ago there used to be Pink City and International News at the corner of Waterfield road, from where my mum would buy all my clothes. I remember owning a pair of torn, worn out jeans, some bright blue capris and a neon pink t-shirt that blew my friends off! Those shops are not there anymore, but in their place have come up a coffee shop and some eateries. Ready to have the time of your life, then head to Linking road.

Neha Singh

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Find and place free ads for Bandra Restaurants, Indian Restaurants in Bandra, Chinese Restaurants in Bandra, Italian Restaurants In Bandra, Goan and Coastal food in Bandra, Coffee Shops in Bandra, Japanese Restaurants in Bandra, Vegetarian Restaurants in Bandra, Thai Restaurants in Bandra, South Indian Restaurants in Bandra. Also find restaurants in Khar and Santacruz on mybandra.com.