Effective Usage of E-Crm and Social Media Tools by Akshay Kumar: Most Prolific Bollywood Actor of Last Decade
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International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2020, pp. 141–146, Article ID: IJM_11_02_015 Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=2 Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed EFFECTIVE USAGE OF E-CRM AND SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS BY AKSHAY KUMAR: MOST PROLIFIC BOLLYWOOD ACTOR OF LAST DECADE Anuj Kumar Assistant Professor, Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Management and Research, New Delhi, PhD Research Scholar, Aligarh Muslim University, India M.Sc., International Business, University College Dublin, Ireland, M.B.A, Advance Diploma in Management (AIMA), B. Tech (G.G.S.I.P.U), India Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Customer relationship management has been evolved over a period of time and it is necessary for marketers to update themselves on usage of technology while maintaining relationship with the customers. We have studied about customer relationship management of companies with customers for selling their products and services. In this paper, the researcher is trying to understand the customer relationship management of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar with the usage of latest social media tools. Akshay is most prolific and leading celebrity of India. He has excellent brand value. In researcher opinion, he is excellent marketer as well who knows how to sell himself with effective usage of technology and other social media tools. In this paper the researcher will also discuss various aspects of marketing strategy adopted by actor Akshay Kumar to connect with his viewers. Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Social CRM, Akshay Kumar, Bollywood, Social Media. Cite this Article: Anuj Kumar, Effective usage of e-CRM and Social Media Tools by Akshay Kumar: Most Prolific Bollywood Actor of Last Decade, International Journal of Management (IJM), 11 (2), 2020, pp. 141–146. http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=2 1. INTRODUCTION Customer relationship management is not new; it has been evolved with different era. Initially when there was no technology, marketers used to adopt door-to-door sales approach. Later on mass marketing has transformed the door-to-door sales approach. Mass marketing has been replaced by relationship marketing. Relationship marketing focused on developing longer term relationship with the customers rather than short term. The emphasis of relationship http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJM 141 [email protected] Effective usage of e-CRM and Social Media Tools by Akshay Kumar: Most Prolific Bollywood Actor of Last Decade managers was on retaining customers over a longer period of time. Relationship management has focused on developing cooperation and trust between customers and organization. Over a period of time relationship marketing has been evolved into customer relationship management. The market across the world in changing and in this dynamic market, survival is tough. The companies need to maintain long term relationship with the customers in dynamic and ever changing market. Customer relationship management can help the companies in forming enhancing relationship with the customers (Chen & Popovich, 2003). CRM ensure longer term relationship with the customers by aligning them with company’s goals and missions. In this decade the researchers and managers are also trying to find the answer of question- “How to grow sustainably in limited finance?” Social media tools which can be part of e-CRM strategy or different types of online resources can provide sustainable growth to the companies as well as big service sector industries (Syed, Pandey, & Kumar, 2019). Previously four Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion was in much demand. The concept of customer relationship management has replaced those four Ps of marketing and ensures the usage of technology and internet in maintaining relationships. Now-a-days CRM becomes the part of main strategy of the companies. In traditional CRM, the marketers were managing the customers with the help of data warehouse. Those marketers were collecting all the information of customers’ past behaviour in data warehouses and accordingly they were predicting the future behaviour of customers. The companies were getting all the information from the customers and integrating that information to deliver final product. In this era, when customer is the main focus of companies, the organizations are switching from traditional CRM towards social CRM. Social CRM allows the customers to use social media platforms to analyze the customers’ needs and demand. Social media tools provide a platform where organizations and customers were able to formulate a two-way communication between them (Kumar & Pandey, 2018). The main tools of traditional CRM were emails, television commercials and other print media but as per information shared by content marketing institute, 86% of people often don’t see television commercials and approximately 44% of people never open direct email too (Elena, 2016). The new generation is much more inclined towards Facebook and other social media platforms. A big number of multinationals have adopted social media tools as primary part of their marketing strategy. Social media tools are also helping medium and small scale industries in flourishing their business (Kumar & Ayedee, Social Media tools for business growth of SMEs, 2018). Indian film industry named “Bollywood” is the most versatile film industry of the world. Many actors are providing great business to the industry with their films and fan following. In last 5-6 years, there is a buzz of 100-crore club movies in Bollywood. Akshay Kumar, one of the most versatile actors of Bollywood whose 14 movies are in 100-crore club. 2. WHY THE RESEARCHER HAS PICKED AKSHAY KUMAR FOR HIS STUDY? Though there are other actors too i.e. Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan but the researcher has choose to study Akshay Kumar for his customer relationship management because of following reasons. According to Duff and Phelps rating agency Akshay Kumar is second most valuable celebrity of India. Only Virat Kohli, cricketer by profession is ahead of Akshay Kumar as most valuable celebrity. In Bollywood, Akshay is the top rated celebrity of India. He has a brand value of $ 104.5 million (Ambwani, 2020). The brand value has been increased 55.3% in last year. Akshay Kumar is the only Indian actor in Forbes highest paid actors list of 2019. Dwayne Johnson is leading the list with $ 89.4 million (ETOnline, 2019). Dwayne is http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJM 142 [email protected] Anuj Kumar being followed by Chris Hemsworth ($ 76.4 million), Robert Downey Jr. ($66 million). Akshay Kumar with $ 65 million ranked at fourth spot. Akshay Kumar is followed by Jackie Chan. No other Indian actor has able to make it to the top ten positions of Forbes list (ETOnline, 2019). Akshay Kumar is earning approximately 444 crore in a year. Akshay Kumar is also one of highest tax-payer Bollywood actor too. He is the highest grossing actor of Bollywood in 2019. On the basis of last decade performance of all the Bollywood actors, it can be said that Akshay Kumar is leading that race among all three Khans and several other actors. On an average Akshay is doing 3-4 films every year and many of those films have entered into 100-crore club. Total business provided by Akshay Kumar to Bollywood is ranging between 3118. 39 crore to 3123. 39 crore, with an average business of 97.45 crore (Batra, 2020). Akshay Kumar is also the first Bollywood actor to enter in Rs. 3000 crore club in 2016 by completing approximately 108 movies. He has completed 108 movies in a journey of 25 years in Bollywood. His success rate is going higher and higher (Vats, 2017). It is hard for any Bollywood actor to follow discipline lifestyle but instead being a celebrity, Akshay followed a disciplined lifestyle. He refrain himself from smoking and drinking. He has crossed 50 years of his age still extremely fit because he prefers natural exercise and martial arts instead of weight lifting. Eating habits is also play big role in maintaining his fitness. He strongly believe that body stops burning calories in evening so he avoids after 7 pm. He still believes the theory of early to sleep and early to rise. At the age of 52 years, he is reaching at the peak of his career so he has proved that age is just a number. You can gain good fitness level by following the rules of nature and that fitness will help in getting ahead in your career. Akshay Kumar is also a face of globalization in Bollywood. His movie “Mission Mangal” has been realized in Hong Kong in the regional language of that country (ANI, 2020). It can be seen as an example a cultural adaption because culture often impacts the pace of globalization. When any company promotes its product or service in foreign country, that company needs to customize its products and service as per local needs of people. 3. USAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS, INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY Kumar & Ayedee (2019) (Kumar & Ayedee, Sustainable Development in SMEs through social media channels, 2019) have argued about sustainable development in big multinationals like Coca-Cola and small SMEs. The usage of technology was prominent in those developments. Akshay starrer Kesari movie used funny digital memes for its promotion (Mahayan, 2019). The viewers and audience on Twitter and Facebook were watching those memes and getting an internal connect with that movie. It was the usage of technology which promoted innovation at the end of Bollywood actor. Similarly Akshay promoted another movie Padman by taking a leaf from ALS ice bucket challenge format. He nominated different celebrities of Bollywood to have posed with sanitary napkins (Subramanian, 2018).