The adoption rate of CRM (customer relationship management) in the bank and related factors

Dissertation for Master's Degree in Public Administration "M.A"

Trend: Finance

Abstract

It is believed that customer relationship management (CRM) can be very useful in empowering organizations to realize customer focus, and therefore it is on the agenda of many organizations. Although many studies have been conducted on the category of customer relationship management, there are limited studies on the factors affecting the acceptance of customer relationship management. In this study, the conceptual model proposed by Rogers (1995) has been used in order to achieve the following two goals:

Investigating the factors that lead the bank to accept customer relationship management.

The effects of customer relationship management on the bank's performance

A conceptual model with related hypotheses and using the information obtained from questionnaires by the employees of Hekmat Iranian Bank branches in The entire country was tested.  The most important research findings were discussed with regard to their implications for researchers and researchers. The results of the analysis showed that based on the model proposed by Rogers, the variables of compatibility, testability, attitude towards changes, market orientation and tendency to innovation are the influencing factors on interaction with CRM. It was also found that the use of information is a mediating variable between interaction with CRM and performance. Finally, it was found that the interaction with CRM has an effect on customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and the bank's business performance. Finally, the limitations of the study are reported along with recommendations for future research.     

Key words: customer relationship management, CRM, bank, acceptance

Introduction

In recent years, due to the various economic, social and governmental problems of the banking system and most importantly, the increase in the amount of demand over supply, the country's banks have always neglected customer orientation and its pillars and have not been able to use modern marketing effectively. Considering the environmental changes that we are facing, banks should pay attention to equipping themselves, identifying the needs and expectations of customers, as well as paying attention to the market situation, because any bank that can identify and meet these needs earlier than its competitors will be victorious and proud in the field of competition. Therefore, the concept of customer relationship management, which means the organization's effort to create and provide value to the customer, has received a lot of attention (Salarzehi et al., 2013).

The transition from industrial economy and the passing of geographical boundaries for business and the consequent intensification of competition have made the customer to be the main pillar of the bank's activities. Organizations have realized that keeping current customers is cheaper than attracting new customers and the best way to keep customers is to get their satisfaction. Also, research shows that customer satisfaction can lead to a reliable brand and, as a result, the profitability of the institution. In the 1990s, along with the development of information and communication technology, customer relationship management was defined and evolved as an important approach in business with the aim of returning to individual marketing (Ejaz, 2005).

In the past few years, due to the various economic, social and governmental problems of the banking system and, most importantly, the increase in the amount of demand over supply, the country's banks have always neglected customer orientation and its pillars and have not been able to use modern marketing effectively. Due to the lack of attention and appreciation of their needs and demands and the provision of the same and similar services by all the country's bank branches, people have not had any motivation to go to the bank branches (Shahraki, 2018).

Given that nowadays the power of the seller has been transferred to the buyer, organizations have realized that competing with distinctive and cheaper products is not enough, and competitive advantage is not obtained only through distinctive products, but through the promotion of customer relations. At the same time, customers incur low variable costs and can easily shift their loyalty from one company to another.. Currently, customer's loyalty to a company and his satisfaction with the company's product and services as two basic factors have occupied the minds of managers (Sofi et al., 2013).

Nowadays, all banks and institutions are trying to gain more market share and take market leadership under their control. One of the factors that helps banks and institutions in the development and success of banking affairs is customer attraction and retention. Creating loyalty in customers, especially bank customers, is a concept that has received more attention in today's businesses, considering that loyal customers have become the main component of banks' success. In addition, in terms of the fact that the expectations of customers are constantly increasing, banks are required to go beyond the basic need to satisfy customers and satisfy their expectations, and turn their focus from merely satisfying customers to building loyalty and trust through creating long-term, two-way and profitable relationships for both parties (Basu et al., 1994). In this regard, we have chosen this title for our research so that we can help managers in today's competitive world and take a small step towards retaining former customers and attracting new customers. In this chapter, we will first state the problem and the necessity of the research, and then with the help of the literature and the background of the research, we will give general definitions of the concepts in the research, and then we will state the stages of the research in the form of a diagram. 1-2) Problem statement:

One of the factors that Banks and institutions help in the development and success of banking affairs by attracting new customers and keeping current customers. Creating customer loyalty in today's businesses has been given more attention in terms of the fact that loyal customers play a significant role in the success of organizations. No business, except government monopoly organizations, can survive without having loyal customers. One of the prerequisites for customer loyalty, especially in the field of services, is customer satisfaction. Therefore, banks should increase the satisfaction of their customers in order to achieve their vision and goals, which is to gain the highest market share in the industry. Therefore, customer relationship management is the best solution to achieve this goal. In this research, the acceptance rate of customer relationship management is a dependent variable and the factors related to it are independent variables.

With the paradigm shift from product-oriented to customer-oriented and considering that in today's competitive environment, the use of traditional marketing methods has created many limitations for organizations, customer relationship management (CRM) has been proposed to create a special relationship with customers and create more value for organizations (introduction and colleagues, 1389).

Today, organizations operate in the era of customer-oriented economy, in which the customer is the real ruler of the market. Therefore, organizations must learn how to move from focusing on products or services to focusing on customers. They should consider customers as an asset that needs to be managed and achieve the highest level of efficiency (Rangebrian, 1999).

Given that organizations have recognized that customers are considered their most important assets, therefore they consider relationships with customers as beneficial interactions that require proper management (Plakoyanaki et al., 2006). So that today's competitive world has led organizations to give more importance to customers and pay attention to the customer and his satisfaction instead of mass production (Sohrabi et al., 2015).

The tendency of the business world to differentiate products and services has been replaced by a new desire, namely the customer, which leads to the re-emergence of the one-to-one philosophy so that the organization communicates with the customer and maintains and expands its relationship in a profitable and effective way (Pine et al., 2004).  In the customer relationship management process, the most beneficial customers are identified, attracted and kept in the best way. Customer relationship management is a continuous process that involves the creation and application of market knowledge and intelligence to create and maintain a portfolio of customer relationships that are the most productive (Zabla et al., 2004). Research shows that the establishment of the customer relationship management process in many organizations has increased competitiveness, increased revenue, and reduced operational costs. Nowadays, strategic importance has been given to customer relationship management in organizations. In difficult conditions of competition, timely and organized communication with customers is the most appropriate way to increase customer satisfaction, increase sales and at the same time reduce costs.