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services handed out to him by a business a factor>.35; Eigen value=1). Items loading on
corporation using CRM as a strategy is any more than one factor were rearranged on the
better than others in the industry? In order to basis of the theoretical constructs- See tables (1-
seek an answer to this question a survey on 6).
customer perceptions of service quality was Findings
carried out. The paper reports findings of the said
survey. Overall, customer perceptions are far more
positive in the context of the bank employing
Methodology CRM as compared to that not employing CRM.
No noteworthy differences were found between
Considering that CRM is vastly employed in the perceptions of individual and organizational
service sector the banking sector was chosen for customers. The detailed report is as under.
the purpose of the study. Two banks, one
employing CRM and one not employing CRM Customer Perceptions of Service Quality
were taken up in the present survey. Following
interviews with the management, it was learnt Factor 1 (Reliability): In all the items under
that since CRM is taken as a catchword by reliability, two thirds of the respondents strongly
business today, many organizations are vying to believe that CRM bank is better than excellent
introduce it to differing extents. banks while the corresponding figure for the
other bank is only about one-fifth (Table 1).
Subsequently, a preliminary survey was
conducted with about 30 customers in two banks. The items falling in under the factor are-
On the basis of the available information, an
exhaustive questionnaire was developed. The 1. CRM bank users (5.58) believe more
instrument developed to measure customer strongly as compared to non-crm bank
perceptions related to bank’s services included users (4.95) that the bank always abides
23 items on reliability, responsiveness, empathy, by its promises of service quality and
tangibles, assurance in the lines of the delivery; the difference is statistically
SERVQUAL except that- 1) some items were significant (prob < .000).
dropped and replaced with new ones , which
were more relevant to the study, 2) instead of 2. CRM bank users (5.72) believe more
using two questionnaires (as traditionally done; strongly as compared to non-crm bank
one for expectations and one for performance, users (4.82) that the bank performs the
the difference between first and second is said to services right at first time; the
be the service gaps) only one set was used and difference is statistically significant
designed in such a way that it brought out the (prob < .000).
gaps between expectations and performance
directly, as perceived by the customers. (This
approach is not only simpler and more efficient, 3. CRM bank users (5.5) believe more
but also, has been held to be more authentic as strongly as compared to non-crm bank
direct gap measures have been found to be more users (4.88) that the bank provides the
significant predictors of satisfaction in numerous services at the time it promises to do so;
studies). Thus the items prepared on a 7 point the difference is statistically significant
scale read as, ‘better than excellent banks’ and (prob < .003).
‘worse than excellent banks’. Additionally, some
items (again on a 7 point scale) were developed 4. CRM bank users (5.7) believe more
with a view to assess customer satisfaction, strongly as compared to non-crm bank
loyalty and commitment. users (4.93) that the bank has an easy to
access communication network and
After initial testing, the instruments were means for all its customers irrespective
finalized and administered on 120 customers of their location; the difference is
(both individual and organizational customers) statistically significant (prob < .000).
of the banks (equal number from each bank). The
data relating to perceptions were subjected to Factor 2 (Responsiveness): In all the items
factor analysis. All items except one, (i.e. 22) under responsiveness, atleast half of the
were found to be loaded in 5 factors (loading on respondents strongly believe that CRM bank is
better than excellent banks while only about one- difference is statistically significant
fifth feel thus about non CRM bank (Table 2). (prob < .000).
The responses on items falling under the factor 3. CRM bank users (5.6) believe more
are as follows- strongly as compared to non-crm bank
users (4.58) that employees of the bank
1. CRM bank users (5.75) believe more are never too buys to respond to
strongly that the employees of the bank requests; the difference is statistically
give prompt service. While non-crm significant (prob < .000).
bank users (4.58) tended to disagree; the
difference is statistically significant 4. CRM bank users (5.65) believe more
(prob < .000). strongly as compared to non-crm bank
users (5) that the bank has your best
2. CRM bank users believe more strongly interests at heart; the difference is
as compared to non-crm bank users that statistically significant (prob < .000).
behavior of the employees of the bank
instills confidence in customers (5.73, 5. CRM bank users (5.75) believe more
4.92); the difference is statistically strongly as compared to non-crm bank
significant (prob < .000). users (4.83) that the bank has guidance
signs indicating as to which counters
3. CRM bank users believe more strongly are offering which services; the
as compared to non-crm bank users that difference is statistically significant
the employees of the bank are (prob < .000).
consistently courteous (5.63, 4.8); the
difference is statistically significant 6. The responses of crm bank users and
(prob < .000). non-crm bank users are somewhat
similar (5.53 and 5.13) on the item that
4. CRM bank users believe more strongly the bank understand your specific needs
as compared to non-crm bank users that but the difference is not significant
the bank has employees who give (prob < .075).
personal attention (5.43, 4.85); the
difference is statistically significant Factor 4 (Tangibles): In the items under
(prob < .004). tangibles, about half of the respondents strongly
believe that CRM bank is better than excellent
Factor 3 (Empathy): In all the items under banks while the corresponding figure for non
empathy, about two thirds of the customers CRM bank was one-third (Table 4).
interviewed believe that CRM bank is better than
excellent banks while only one-third believe so The responses on items falling under the factor
in the case of non CRM bank (Table 3). are as follows-
The responses on items falling under the factor 1. The responses of crm bank users and
are as follows- non-crm bank users are somewhat
similar (4.95 and 4.9) on the item that
the bank has places to sit and wait but
1. CRM bank users believe more strongly the difference is not significant (prob <
as compared to non-crm bank users that .83).
when you have a problem the bank
shows a sincere interest in solving it 2. CRM bank users (6) believe more
(5.63, 4.92); the difference is strongly as compared to non-crm bank
statistically significant (prob < .001). users (4.62) that the bank is neat and
clean; the difference is statistically
2. CRM bank users believe more strongly significant (prob < .000).
as compared to non-crm bank users that
employees of the bank are always 3. CRM bank users (5.75) believe more
willing to help (5.75, 4.7); the strongly as compared to non-crm bank
users (5.12) that employees of the bank
are neat in appearance; the difference is on error free records. While non-
statistically significant (prob < .001). crm bank users (4.72) tended to
disagree; the difference is
Factor 5 (Assurance): In all the items under statistically significant (prob <
assurance, more than two thirds of the customers .000).
strongly believe that CRM bank is better than
excellent banks while only about a quarter of Individual customer and Organizational
those in non CRM bank are of this opinion customers
(Table 5).
When the data was split into individual and
The responses on items falling under the factor organizational customers (IC & OC
are as follows- respectively), it was noticed that the two did not
differ in their perceptions on most of the
1. CRM bank users (5.75) believe items/factors. However, the mean score of
more strongly as compared to non- individual customers were generally higher than
crm bank users (5.02) that the bank those of the organizational customers (overall
has cordial front ranking staff means IC ==118.62, OC=113.88), and this
(security personnel etc); the differences was a little more pronounced in the
difference is statistically significant CRM bank customers (IC==128.07, OC=122.27)
(prob < .000). as compared to non-CRM banks ( IC==109.17,
OC=105.5).
2. CRM bank users (6) believe more
strongly as compared to non-crm Satisfaction
bank users (5.1) that you feel safe
while doing transactions with the CRM bank users (mean 5.62) are more satisfied
bank; the difference is statistically with the banks, services as compared to non-crm
significant (prob < .000). bank users (mean 4.73);the differences is
statistically significant (prob<.000).
3. CRM bank users (5.93) believe
more strongly as compared to non- Loyalty
crm bank users (5.12) that
employees of the bank have the 1. CRM bank users (mean 5.75) agree
knowledge to answer questions; the more strongly as compared non-crm
difference is statistically significant bank users (mean 4.65) that in
(prob < .000). comparison to other banks where they
also hold some accounts they would
Miscellaneous: In all the items under like to deal more with this bank; the
miscellaneous, about two-third of the difference is statistically significant
respondents strongly believe that the bank (prob <.000).
practicing CRM is better than excellent banks
while about one fifth of non practicing CRM 2. CRM bank users (mean 5.9) agree more
customers believe so (Table 6). strongly as compared non-crm bank
users (mean 5.02) that in comparison to
The responses on items falling under the factor other banks where they also hold some
are as follows- accounts they would like to continue
their transaction with this bank in times
1. CRM bank users (mean 5.9) to come ; the difference is statistically
believe more strongly as compared significant (prob <.000).
to non-crm bank users (mean 4.85)
that physical facilities at the bank 3. CRM bank users (mean 5.77) agree
are visually appealing; the more strongly as compared non-crm
difference is statistically significant bank users (mean 5.1) that they would
(prob < .000). like to transact more with this bank in
comparison to other banks because of
2. CRM bank users (5.92) believe the good service quality delivered ; the
more strongly that the bank insists
Cross Analysis Between Perceptions & Other Satisfaction was found to be significantly
Variables correlated with commitment
(r=.242, p<.05).That is, commitment is
1. Perceptions & Other Variables higher when the customer is more satisfied .
supervisor who possesses the authority to suggests that they come forth with higher
decide such issues (Table 7). expectations. However, since the difference is
not significant, it may not be noteworthy in
Discussion and Conclusion terms of organizational strategy, on the part of
the (bank) management.
In a nutshell, it is observed that customers in the
CRM bank rate its services far more favorably Also, there is a direct relationship between
than those in the non-CRM which is an indicator perception and satisfaction, commitment and
of the superior level of services in the former. loyalty which underlines the significance of
This could be further attributed to CRM- a closer CRM in service industry. For those planning to
understanding (of) and individualized service to up-sell and cross-sell, raising customer
the customer. And highlights the impact of CRM perceptions is all the more important. And
on (perceived) service quality. Furthermore, employing CRM may only strengthen the
there does not appear any major difference in relationship between perceptions and up-buying
perception among the individual and and cross-buying which is all in support of
organizational customers, except for a relatively introducing CRM in service sector.
lower rating by the latter which perhaps,
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Customer Perception of Service Quality (Empathy)
Table 4
Customer Perception of Service Quality (Tangibles)
NC 34 43 20 3 100 4.62
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
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Gummesson, Evert (1981), “The New Marketing- A Copyright © 2008 by the International Business
Developing Long – Term Interactive Relationships,” Information Management Association (IBIMA).
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