Maintenance of Customer Satisfaction (Thesis Sample)

An Investigating Into How CRM Is Employed In the Maintenance of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
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Abstract:
Any business established seeks to achieve its goals, and more so in the area of profitability and revenue generation. To achieve these two attributes, the mot critical area of consideration is in the area of customer satisfaction and loyalty with loyal clientele, a company can work its way up the ladder, knowing that there are people to support their decisions. As they work on mitigating these attributes, it is easy for them to meet their goals and work on answering any questions that may arise. Customer retention is best done using a customer relationship management system (CRM). This is where cross-referencing of departmental information and data is automated to help achieve results within a record time, allowing for better service delivery within the required timeframe. Customers love efficacy in dealing with arising issues. Convenient services are also a welcome venture.
As such, this report will deal mostly with the aspect of CRM and how it allows companies in the banking sector to maximize their resources, potential and skills in meeting the demands of their clients.
Table of Contents
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Abstract:  PAGEREF _Toc363503663 \h
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Chapter one:  PAGEREF _Toc363503664 \h
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Introduction:  PAGEREF _Toc363503665 \h
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Research aim  PAGEREF _Toc363503666 \h
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Research objectives:  PAGEREF _Toc363503667 \h
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Rationale of the study:  PAGEREF _Toc363503668 \h
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Significance of the study:  PAGEREF _Toc363503669 \h
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Chapter two: Literature review:  PAGEREF _Toc363503670 \h
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CRM:  PAGEREF _Toc363503671 \h
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CRM models:  PAGEREF _Toc363503672 \h
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CRM in the banking sector:  PAGEREF _Toc363503673 \h
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CRM Deployment options:  PAGEREF _Toc363503674 \h
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Overview of the chapter:  PAGEREF _Toc363503675 \h
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Chapter three: methodology:  PAGEREF _Toc363503676 \h
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Data Collection  PAGEREF _Toc363503677 \h
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Research Design  PAGEREF _Toc363503678 \h
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Analysis  PAGEREF _Toc363503679 \h
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Chapter four: Findings/ Discussion:  PAGEREF _Toc363503680 \h
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Discussion:  PAGEREF _Toc363503681 \h
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Chapter five: recommendations/conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc363503682 \h
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Recommendations:  PAGEREF _Toc363503683 \h
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Conclusion:  PAGEREF _Toc363503684 \h
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References:  PAGEREF _Toc363503685 \h
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Chapter one:
Introduction:
Essentially, CRM, short for Customer relationship management, aims to place the clients at the centre of information flow within the organization. In any setting, the following scenario is not uncommon. There is the sale department that has lots of computers, customer information and is only accessible to specific individuals within the sales department. There is the marketing department that has a database with lots of information about clients. These details mainly touch on the items bought by the clients, their interests, sectors within which they operate and the information sent to them. This is unlike the sale department that has contacts, addresses, quotations, emails and letters sent to the clients. There is also the finance department that has information regarding the clients’ names, addresses, amounts purchased and the credit they owe the company (Davies, 2007, p.69). There is the services department that deals with clients’ names and addresses, complaints, feedback, issues arising in their service and the progress made by projects the organization is taking with the clients. There is also a place where the employees meet often like the water cooler or local eatery where they have snacks or some drinks. While here, they chitchat, talk about clients, exchange information, discussing products and people moving from one destination to the other and any new opportunities in the market.
This shows that there is a lot of information within any given organization that relates to the clients. The problem is how this same information can be shared within the organization to help in creating a better rapport with the clients. Instead of having the information within specific job functions, it is imperative that the organization understands ways of meeting information sharing opportunities that will help in placing client needs at the middle of all operations in the organization. There is a need to ensure that information that is found in an organization is not compartmentalized. If the corporate knowledge on their customers is low, they will have a slower pace of accessing information and delivering it rapidly to their customers. This will in turn compromise customer service, and degrade their efficacy in dealing with arising issues (Farris, Bendle and Reibstein, 2010, p.20).
This is where the CRM application comes in it enables the organizations to make the moves towards customer-cantered organization. This allows the organization to automate information regarding the clients and allowing authorized personnel to view it. This makes it easy when a client asks an employee on information regarding their position in the organization, and the employee can easily retrieve it without wasting time for the clients. Clients who are a customer centred organization feel valued because any issues raised, complaints or feedback regarding the particular customer can be easily retrieved and their issues sorted speedily at any time and by any authorized employee. Thee same organizations have higher customer retention rates compared to others since clients prefer an environment where efficacy is evident (Davies, 2007, p.72). With CRM, companies benefit from the services offered to the clients at any time. Loyalty helps in ensuring that the organization retains the very best clients while at the same time using them as advertisers through word-of-mouth. Employees are happy because their services are appreciated by both the clients and management. This means that their compensation will be better and their job satisfaction rates will be higher compared to those who are in organizations that are not customer centred.
As such, the use of CRM is critical for any company that wishes to maintain customer loyalty and satisfaction. As clients move from one organization to the next, they will always compare the services and the way they are catered for while in that organization. As they work on meeting their goals, they will always have an opinion based on how fast they were served and how well their issues were taken when considerations regarding automation. Technology is critical in this venture, and organizations have to consider every step to be a challenge towards proving their worth to the clients who entrust them with their savings.
Research aim
The main aim of this research is getting a clear description of the impact that CRM plays in enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction. It will also be an essential means of understanding how an organization can enhance these two attributes by use of CRM. Maintenance of these attributes will be researched as well.
Research objectives:
To assess the important factors that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty in the banking sector
To investigate how CRM can be employed effectively in maintenance of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the banking sector
To examine how the banking sector can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty in their organizations
Rationale of the study:
Organizations are at all times looking for ways of meeting their goals, while improving on their profitability. However, profitability comes with the earning of customer loyalty and enhancing their satisfaction within the organization. By conducting this research, the main attributes of CRM will be understood and aspects that help ascertain customer loyalty discussed. By studying this strategy, one is able to understand the customer, retain them through better consumer experience, win new clients through word-of-mouth and referrals, increase on their profitability, attract new clients, and decrease customer management costs. The literature review will examine these aspects in details, opening a closer scrutiny on the way CRM is used in organizations in modern-day organizations. There are different strategies that can be used to woo clients based on their needs, wants, desires and areas of specialization. It goes without saying that an organization is only effective if they can attain their goals within a prescribed timeframe. Research will be done to ascertain if this is actually the case, and how long the banking sector takes to achieve its goals. As the organization works on retaining the customers, they must work on compensating the employees as they are the ones that interact directly with the clients. Questionnaires will be used to gauge the impact of this interaction and the benefits that will be achieved by having this system in place.
Significance of the study:
Globalization has made the competition to rise a...