Customer Relationship Management
Literature Review:
Introduction:
I have chosen this topic because I believe that it is important for the service marketers to understand the power of customer relationship management (CRM), especially for delivering customized services and building loyalty. Being a marketing student encouraged me even more to study this topic while identifying the failures of CRM implementation in the services industry.
Definition:
First and foremost, what is service marketing? By understanding the word service and marketing respectively, a service marketer should be able to deliver efficiently and know what they are supposed to do. “Services”, as proposed by Gronroos (2001), is intangible and easily duplicated. They can be divided into high-touch or high-tech services. High-touch services are mostly dependent on people in the service process producing the service, whereas high-tech services are predominantly based on the use of automated systems, information technology and other types of physical resources. “Services” are the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself as defined by Vargo and Lusch (2004). The word “exchange” is the foundational construct in marketing for several decades and has been used in defining “marketing” by Alderson (1957), Bagozzi (1975), Houston and Gassenheimer (1987), Hunt (1976) and Kotler and Levy (1969); “marketing” is to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Kotler (1984) defined “exchange” as the art of obtaining a desired product from someone by offering something in return. Now, what is the meaning of CRM? CRM can be understood as a revolving process during which companies interact with their customers, thereby generating, aggregating, and analyzing customer data, and employing the results for service and marketing activities [Seybold, 2001; Strauß & Schoder, 2002, p. 81 f.]. Dong and Zhu (2008)
Introduction:
I have chosen this topic because I believe that it is important for the service marketers to understand the power of customer relationship management (CRM), especially for delivering customized services and building loyalty. Being a marketing student encouraged me even more to study this topic while identifying the failures of CRM implementation in the services industry.
Definition:
First and foremost, what is service marketing? By understanding the word service and marketing respectively, a service marketer should be able to deliver efficiently and know what they are supposed to do. “Services”, as proposed by Gronroos (2001), is intangible and easily duplicated. They can be divided into high-touch or high-tech services. High-touch services are mostly dependent on people in the service process producing the service, whereas high-tech services are predominantly based on the use of automated systems, information technology and other types of physical resources. “Services” are the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself as defined by Vargo and Lusch (2004). The word “exchange” is the foundational construct in marketing for several decades and has been used in defining “marketing” by Alderson (1957), Bagozzi (1975), Houston and Gassenheimer (1987), Hunt (1976) and Kotler and Levy (1969); “marketing” is to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Kotler (1984) defined “exchange” as the art of obtaining a desired product from someone by offering something in return. Now, what is the meaning of CRM? CRM can be understood as a revolving process during which companies interact with their customers, thereby generating, aggregating, and analyzing customer data, and employing the results for service and marketing activities [Seybold, 2001; Strauß & Schoder, 2002, p. 81 f.]. Dong and Zhu (2008)
References: Almotairi, M. (2009). A Framework for Successful CRM Implementation. European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems, 3. Berndt, A., Herbst, F. & Roux, L. (2005). Implementing A Customer Relationship Management Programme In An Emerging Market. Journal of Global Business and Technology, 1(2), 1. Dong, S. & Zhu, K. (2008). The Business Value of CRM Systems: A Resource-Based Perspective. Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 1. Foss, B., Stone, M. & Ekinci, Y. (2008). What makes for CRM system success — or failure? Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 15(2), 3. doi: 10.1057/dbm.2008.5 Graham, P Iriana, R. & Buttle, F. (2006). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System Implementations. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, 6(2), 5. King, S.F. & Burgess, T. F. (2007). Understanding Success and Failure in Customer Relationship Management, Industrial Marketing Management, 37, 2 – 5. Mishra, A. & Mishra, D. (2009). Customer Relationship Management: Implementation Process Perspective. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 6(4), 3. Schoder, D. & Madeja, N. (2004). Is Customer Relationship Management a Success Factor in Electronic Commerce?. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 5(1), 1. Sheth, J. N. & Uslay, C. (2007). Implications of the Revised Definition of Marketing: From Exchange to Value Creation. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 26(2), 1. Vargo, S. L. & Lusch, R. F. (2004). Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68, 2. Vella, J. & Caruana, A. (2012). Encouraging CRM systems usage: A Study Among Bank Managers. Management Research Review, 35(2), 2. Wahlberg, O., Strandberg, C., Sundberg, H., & Sandberg, K. W. (2009). Trends, Topics and Under Researched Areas in CRM Research. International Journal of Public Information Systems, 3, 3.