The Relationship between CRM Strategy and Customer Satisfaction in Rice Business in North-Eastern Thailand

Abstract

A combination of strategies, practices, and technologies to analyze and manage customer data and interaction throughout the customer lifecycle by the organizations is known as customer relationship management (CRM). The primary objective of CRM is to enhance customer retention, increase customer service relationships, and boost sales growth. According to the current study, CRM strategy, or the organizations involved in the rice business, directly impact customer satisfaction and business performance, particularly in North Eastern Thailand. CRM strategies, such as sales, feedback, marketing, and support, positively impact customer satisfaction and business performance. Hence, this research was carried out to investigate a fundamental factor influencing the business performance of rice production in the northeast of Thailand. The conceptual framework was developed from the competitive advantage theory of business organizations and other contemporaneous research in rice business performance. Accordingly, the study considered the importance of sales, marketing, support, feedback, and customer satisfaction employing a quantitative research approach. A questionnaire was used for data collection from 420 managers of the rice business of community enterprises in Northeastern Thailand. Finally, data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the actual rice business performance of the organizations studied through all operational links in the CRM. It is concluded that increased sales, feedback, marketing, and sales increase customer satisfaction and the concerned organizations’ business performance. The current study is an excellent contribution for the practitioners to improve their business performance.