Customer Relationship Management

About the event

 Introduction

MMBGIMS Marketing Committee organised a guest session on Customer Relationship Management on 6^th March 2026 . Mr. Vishal Kapoor VP  of Marketing at HDFC Mutual Fund, a seasoned professional from HDFC Bank, conducted an engaging session on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with a focus on profitability, customer segmentation, and the evolving role of AI in managing customer relationships. The session challenged conventional thinking around customer loyalty and profitability.

2. Core Theme: The Equation of CRM

The central argument of the session was built around a fundamental yet often misunderstood equation in business:

“Loyalty does NOT always equal Profit”

Companies often make the mistake of rewarding loyal customers without evaluating whether those customers are profitable. Mr. Kapoor used several real-world examples to illustrate this point:

 Case Studies & Examples

Company	CRM Insight
Amazon Prime	A customer buying a ₹500 phone case and returning it post-use causes a net loss to Amazon. Such customers appear loyal but erode profitability.
Zomato	Frequent users of Zomato dine-in promotions may seem loyal but may not generate sufficient margin to justify retention costs.
Air India (Maharaja Club)	Points and rewards are selectively awarded to the most profitable members, not merely the most frequent flyers.
Uber vs Ola	Uber detects when a user has also opened the Ola app and proactively offers better deals to retain that customer in real time.
Shoppers Stop	The First Citizen loyalty programme offers exclusive early access to sales and personalised shopping assistants, converting high-loyalty, high-profit customers into brand ambassadors.

 

The CRM Profitability-Loyalty Matrix

Mr. Kapoor presented a strategic 2×2 matrix plotting customers on two axes: Profitability (Y-axis: Low to High) and Loyalty (X-axis: Low to High). Each quadrant defines a distinct customer segment requiring a unique management strategy.

Quadrant	Customer Type	Characteristics & Strategy	Example
Q1 (High Profit / Low Loyalty)	Butterflies	Profitable but not loyal. Exploit them in the short term; do not over-invest in retention.	Occasional high-value shoppers
Q2 (High Profit / High Loyalty)	True Friends	Most valuable segment. Invest in deepening the relationship; these are the ideal customers.	Shoppers Stop First Citizen members
Q3 (Low Profit / Low Loyalty)	Strangers	Neither loyal nor profitable. Minimise costs; do not invest in retention.	Retired individuals using bank branches for minor transactions. Starbucks, for instance, does not necessarily try to retain every customer.
Q4 (Low Profit / High Loyalty)	Barnacles (Leeches)	Loyal but drain resources. Manage carefully; reduce service costs or gently disengage.	Airtel/Tanishq customers are using excessive support time

Strategic Implication: The goal is to identify which quadrant a customer occupies and act accordingly.

4. The Marketing Funnel & CRM

The speaker also connected CRM to the marketing funnel, explaining how customer data at each stage helps optimise engagement:

• TOFU (Top of Funnel): Awareness — attracting new prospects
• MOFU (Middle of Funnel): Interest & Desire — nurturing leads through personalised communication
• BOFU (Bottom of Funnel): Action — converting leads into customers
• Post-Purchase: Resale & Retention — using existing customer data to drive repeat purchases

Key insight: CRM data makes it far easier and cheaper to convert existing customers at the resale stage compared to acquiring new ones through TOFU or MOFU efforts.

AI’s Role in CRM

During the Q&A session, students enquired about how AI is transforming CRM. Mr. Kapoor highlighted the following:

• AI enables real-time analysis of customer behaviour — e.g., HDFC Bank uses AI to analyse repayment patterns, loan history, and CIBIL scores to customise product offerings for each customer.
• AI can identify True Friends and Butterflies with high accuracy using transaction data, app usage, and behavioural signals.
• AI supports dynamic pricing and personalised offers — as demonstrated by Uber’s real-time competitive response to Ola app usage.
• Without data, AI is meaningless. Data integrity and quality are prerequisites for any AI-driven CRM strategy.

 Key Takeaways

Mr. Kapoor summarised the session with four foundational principles for effective CRM:

1. Loyalty and profitability are not the same — a loyal customer can still be a loss-making one.
2. Companies must know their customers well enough to make strategic retention decisions.
3. Every customer segment requires a differentiated strategy — there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
4. Poor tracking leads to rewarding the wrong customers, resulting in financial losses.

“The goal of CRM is not to keep every customer — it is to keep the right customer.”

Skills Required for CRM in the AI World

Mr. Kapoor outlined the key competencies students should develop to build careers in CRM:

Analytical & Technical Skills	Soft Skills
•         Analytical thinking •         Problem solving •         Data interpretation •         CRM tools (e.g., HubSpot)	•         Communication •         Decision making •         Patience •         Practical exposure & application

Conclusion

“The goal of CRM is not to keep every customer — it is to keep the right customer.” — Mr. Vishal Kapoor, HDFC Bank

Feedback

The feedback from participants was highly positive. Students appreciated the seminar’s depth, clarity, and practical orientation. Many expressed that the session enhanced their knowledge about CRM.

 

The guest session was organised by the Marketing Committee and effectively contributed to achieving PSO 1, which focuses on developing students’ entrepreneurial skills and employability to meet the future requirements of industry and society.