Canyon Ranch
Case 1-3 Canyon Ranch
Should Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires develop a clear customer relationship management strategy and make it a cornerstone of its positioning as a preeminent destination spa.
Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires has been a profitable business for the affluent customer since 1989. Following in the footsteps of the original location that opened in 1979 in Tucson Arizona by priding themselves on their exceptional customer service and ability to reach each customers individual needs (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p. 157). Their strong customer based philosophy has been a key component in their ability to maintain their loyal customers and grow business by positive word of mouth. While they initially did not believe that Information Technology (IT) would play a large role in the future of their business, they realized very quickly its role is essential in improving their business strategies.
Canyon Ranch’s focus of providing the ultimate spa experience had not seen much competition early on. They were among the elite in the spa industry by providing not only a health and fitness environment but included medical services and lectures to provide a comprehensive educational routine that could be incorporated in their daily lives (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p.157). As more and more medical practices began to include spa services as well as other spas beginning to see the need to provide health and healing and medical services to their clientele, Canyon Ranch began to feel pressure from competitors. Their past strategies of building feeder spas that would create relationships with prospective clients as well as their, bring a friend campaigns, were costly marketing initiatives that took unlimited amounts of time to complete the sale (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p.165). These pressures along with costly employees increased their need for a customer relationship management strategy.
While other
Should Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires develop a clear customer relationship management strategy and make it a cornerstone of its positioning as a preeminent destination spa.
Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires has been a profitable business for the affluent customer since 1989. Following in the footsteps of the original location that opened in 1979 in Tucson Arizona by priding themselves on their exceptional customer service and ability to reach each customers individual needs (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p. 157). Their strong customer based philosophy has been a key component in their ability to maintain their loyal customers and grow business by positive word of mouth. While they initially did not believe that Information Technology (IT) would play a large role in the future of their business, they realized very quickly its role is essential in improving their business strategies.
Canyon Ranch’s focus of providing the ultimate spa experience had not seen much competition early on. They were among the elite in the spa industry by providing not only a health and fitness environment but included medical services and lectures to provide a comprehensive educational routine that could be incorporated in their daily lives (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p.157). As more and more medical practices began to include spa services as well as other spas beginning to see the need to provide health and healing and medical services to their clientele, Canyon Ranch began to feel pressure from competitors. Their past strategies of building feeder spas that would create relationships with prospective clients as well as their, bring a friend campaigns, were costly marketing initiatives that took unlimited amounts of time to complete the sale (As cited in Applegate, Austin and Soule, 2009, p.165). These pressures along with costly employees increased their need for a customer relationship management strategy.
While other
References: Anderson, R., & Stang, D. B. (2000, January 4). Customer relationship management (CRM) perspective. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from Gartner Research website: Applegate, L. M., Austin, R. D., & Soule, D. L. (2009). Corporate information strategy and Grimley, J. (2012, January 12). Effective use of a customer relationship management (CRM) system to win new clients. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from International Business Thompson, E. (2013, February 13). The eight building blocks of CRM: overview. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from Gartner Research website: http://www.gartner.com/