Building Customer Relationships Research Articles

Structural Equation Modeling for the Business Performance of Private Hospitals in Thailand: Management Perspective

This research aimed to study the causal factors affecting the business performance of private hospitals in Thailand from a management perspective. The sample consisted of 411 executives from private hospitals in Thailand, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via questionnaire, with SEM being used for analysis. The results indicated that the development of an enterprise resource system, including the competency and capability of entrepreneurs, positively influenced the focus on competitive differentiation. In turn, this focus had a positive effect on customer relationship management. Customer relationship manage­ment positively impacted brand loyalty, which subsequently enhanced business performance. In contrast, the competency and capability of entrepreneurs did not have an effect on business performance. The findings suggest that the growth and sustainability of business performance in private hospitals depends on various supportive factors. These range from policy formulation and the development of technological systems in services to strategies for building customer relationships, all contributing to competitive advantages, service loyalty, and success in achieving set goals.

Marketing And Promotional Effectiveness in Social E-Commerce: How Key Opinion Leaders Can Stimulate Consumers' Desire to Buy

Social e-commerce (SEC) promotes and sells products or services on social media platforms, building customer relationships through social interaction. It achieves "People Bring Goods" marketing through the influence of individuals or communities. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) play an important role in social e-commerce, and their influence can stimulate consumers' purchasing behavior. Use the Social Network Analysis (SNA) perspective to design a questionnaire, which focuses on the connection between brokerage and subgroups or communities. Based on a questionnaire survey, this paper examines how KOLs stimulate consumers' desire to buy and prompt their purchasing behavior. The study used ELM model to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire and proposed three hypotheses, by analyzing the results of the questionnaire, hypothesis one and two were confirmed, but hypothesis three was unconfirmed. Therefore, the results of the study suggest that KOLs stimulate consumers' purchase desire and purchase behavior by providing detailed information and showing their expertise.

Exploring the Humorous Dynamics of Brand Communication: A Verbal -Visual Analysis of Memes in Facebook Marketing Strategies

Internet memes function as a humorous commentary on social, political, or emotional aspects of life, accompanied by static or animated graphics. Online marketing recognizes the potential of Internet memes, utilizing them to achieve business goals, reach a large user base, and build positive associations with a brand. This article analyzes the phenomenon of Internet memes in the context of brand promotion and creation. It delves into the humorous dimension of Internet memes and the role humor plays in the extracted research material. The article discusses events from 2021 that brands leveraged to build customer relationships and solidify their position in the broader social context. The research material consists of Internet memes published on the Facebook accounts of well-known brands in 2021. To capture the multi-layered, ambiguous content encapsulated in a concise visual message and to conduct a thorough exploration of Internet memes, both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the research material were employed. The results indicate that brands use memes to build a positive image, increase customer loyalty, and gain a competitive edge. Memes in marketing employ irony, sarcasm, or linguistic play to generate customer interest and enhance brand awareness.

Analysis and Classification of Customer Churn Using Machine Learning Models

Analysis studies of customer loss (customer churn) have been used for years to increase profitability and build customer relationships with companies. Customer analysis using exploratory data analysis (EDA) to visualize data and the use of machine learning to classify customer churn are often used by past analysts. This study uses several machine learning models that can be used for customer churn classification, namely Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Gradient Boosting, AdaBoost, and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). However, there is a class imbalance factor in the dataset, which is the biggest challenge that analysts usually face in achieving good results in the classification of machine learning models. The Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) method is a popular method applied to deal with class imbalances in datasets. The results of the analysis show that the classification of churn customers using the XGBoost algorithm has the best level of accuracy compared to other algorithms, with an accuracy value of 0.829424, and the oversampling method with SMOTE tends to reduce the accuracy value of each classification algorithm. The Permutation Feature Importance (PFI) technique of the XGBoost model gets the result that tenure, monthly contracts, and TV streaming are the features that affect customer churn the most.

More than Machines: The Role of the Future Retail Salesperson in Enhancing the Customer Experience

Retail sales has consistently faced threats by technology throughout history, with the recent advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) posing the most recent challenge. It is often said that because of new technologies, retail salespeople will disappear. In this article, we challenge this assertion by arguing that humans and technology each possess unique strengths and weaknesses, and that each works to affect the customer experience in distinct ways. Specifically, AI elevates the baseline customer experience by improving service consistency, operational efficiency, and multitasking capabilities, thereby “raising the floor” of the customer experience while human salespeople, possessing unique strengths in building customer relationships, showcasing adaptive creativity, and adhering to ethical considerations, expand the upper limits of potential customer experiences thereby “raising the ceiling” of the customer experience. We propose a synergistic future where AI and human salespeople complement each other, with human potential ultimately prevailing in delivering a superior customer experience that can be approximated, but not fully replicated by AI. Building upon this premise, we present real-world examples of retailers that embody these synergies, and we advocate and assess these instances through the lens of the “seven Cs” representing core customer experience needs: (1) curation, (2) customization, (3) community, (4) cost, (5) customer retailtainment, (6) convenience, and (7) category expertise. Finally, we discuss managerial considerations and propose directions for future research.

THE ROLE OF PERSUASIVE DIALOGUE IN THE NEGOTIATION OF THE SALE OF GOODS AT SIMPUR CENTER, BANDAR LAMPUNG CITY

This study discusses the role of persuasive dialogue in negotiating the sale of goods at the Simpur Center in Bandar Lampung City. This shopping center has a significant role in meeting consumer needs and in the context of intense competition, the ability to conduct effective sales negotiations becomes important. This study uses a qualitative approach with the case study method to explore a deep understanding of how persuasive dialogue contributes to the outcome of sales negotiations. The main findings of this study include persuasive dialogue strategies used by sellers, customizing messages according to buyer profiles, managing rejection, and building customer relationships. This study shows that the seller's ability to use persuasive dialogue influences the success of sales negotiations. Tailoring messages based on local preferences and culture, as well as being able to overcome resistance with relevant solutions, also contribute to successful negotiations. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of understanding local culture in persuasive dialogue, because adaptation to cultural values can strengthen communication. Persuasive dialogue plays a central role in negotiating the sale of goods at the Simpur Center in Bandar Lampung City. In a competitive environment, product knowledge, tailored persuasive dialogue strategies and the ability to manage rejection wisely are all important factors in achieving success in sales. In closing, suggestions are given to improve the seller's ability to apply effective persuasive dialogue in order to achieve success in the sales negotiation process.

Utilization Social Media for MSME Development

This research aims to explain the importance of socialization and social media utilization in the development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMS) in Sukabumi district. Social media has become a very effective tool in building customer relationships, marketing products, and increasing business visibility. However, there are still many MSMSs in Sukabumi district that have not exploited the potential of social media optimally. Through socialization, MSMS owners will be given a better understanding of social media and how to use it as an effective marketing tool. This socialization will involve training and enhancement of knowledge about relevant social media platforms, online marketing strategies, creating interesting content, as well as measurement and analysis of social media performance. It is expected that with the socialization of this social media utilization, the MSMS in Sukabumi district will be able to use social media better to promote their products and services, reach a wider audience, and increase their online presence. With increasing online presence, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in MSMS's turnover and overall growth in the Sukabomi district.

Membangun CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Pada Usaha UMKM Bola Ubi di Kota Batam

Sustem of the developing technological advances for various business sectors, namely Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) its call CRM. MSMEs keep up with technological developments by innovating in order to survive and reinforce the long-term relationships that are fostered between businesses and customers. The aim is to help MSMEs automate sales, marketing, and increase customer attention by providing services through social media to support MSME services better in business development, with the topic of how to build customer relationship management (CRM) in the UMKM Bola Ubi Batam City business. The results that Bolaubi Batam UMKM in building Batam City Customer Relationship Management (CRM) uses 3 stages, namely acquire, enhance, and retain. The CRM system that has been implemented is good and is very suitable for Bolaubi's MSME business in utilizing technology through social media, namely whats app business, Instagram, web, Facebook, web, and grabfood, gofood and shoopee food applications used as a form of business interaction tool and operational system support currently running between UMKM Bolaubi and customers and reaching more new customers. This application is made according to customer needs, so that customers increase with better service, long-term relationships are maintained with customers, it is also a solution in the ease of transactions, information and communication with UKMK Bola Ubi.

The Effect of Pleasantness of Store Music on Customers' Engagement and Trust

Retailers are increasingly looking to foster customers' engagement and trust to build strong customer relationships. One way to achieve this goal is by using music to create an attractive store atmosphere. This study tested the role of retail store music in facilitating customers' engagement and trust. We also examined the mediating effect of customer engagement in this relationship. Responses obtained from surveying 464 shoppers in three supermarkets of the same chain in China were analyzed with Amos 22.0. The findings suggested that perceived pleasantness of store music had a positive impact on customer engagement, which, in turn, positively affected customer trust. This study enhances understanding of the impact of store music on customers' engagement and trust, and provides retailers with practical insights into building customer relationships by using music cues in their stores.

Engaging Customers and Managing Customer Relationships

Marketing is about engaging customers and managing profitable customer relationships. Marketers aim to create value for customers in order to capture value from customers in return. The objective of the study is to discuss customer value, customer engagement, building customer relationships, and the various strategies and initiatives adopted by companies. Customer relationship levels and roles of digital and social media in customer engagement are discussed. Customers themselves generate substantial content nowadays. Again, companies should develop relationships not only with customers but also with partners like suppliers, distributors, and retailers to succeed in the long run. The roles and importance of consumer-generated marketing and partner relationship management are discussed. The discussions will help practitioners to understand the strategies and initiatives to be adopted to engage customers, manage customer relationships, to succeed in the competitive business environment, and to achieve business excellence in the long run.

Sentiment analysis on images using convolutional neural networks based Inception-V3 transfer learning approach

Sentiment analysis has become a precious tool for businesses because it can be used in so many ways: to find out what customers think about products and services, to build customer relationships and loyalty, to improve customer service, and to use emotional marketing. Over the last several years, developing an end-to-end image sentiment analysis approach has significantly emphasized transfer learning methods. Deep learning algorithms have been proven to achieve remarkable outcomes across a broad spectrum of applications. Examining feelings conveyed by images is complex, but there is much space for development. A technique known as Inception-v3 that can readily focus on large portions of the body, such as a person's face, offers a significant advantage compared to the work that was done in the past. This study makes use of Inception-v3, which is a well-known deep convolutional neural network, in addition to extra deep characteristics, to increase the performance of image categorization. A CNN-based Inception-v3 architecture is employed for emotion detection and classification. The datasets CK+, FER2013, and JAFFE are used in this process. The findings are also compared with various well-known machine learning approaches, and the results obtained by the suggested model are superior. The research indicates that the proposed method can reach an accuracy level of 99.5%. The proposed approach can be used in many business applications such as Information Management, Sales, Marketing, User Interaction, Healthcare, Education, Finance, Public Monitoring, Digital PR, etc.

Diffusion of Renewable Microgeneration on the Side of End-User: Multiple Case Study

The development of microgeneration plays an important part in the strategy of the decarbonization of the world economy. However, its diffusion faces different barriers, including the information and technical barriers on the side of the end-user. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a comparative cross-country analysis of the role of the corporate sector in providing the installation and technical servicing of PV solar panels and small wind turbines in the Republic of Armenia, India, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. Business proposals from the microgeneration equipment market were analyzed by studying the official websites of companies offering autonomous and backup power supply solutions, followed by interviews with company representatives using the “mystery shopper” method. The study reveals that, of the four surveyed countries, the Republic of Armenia has the highest level of representation of service companies on the Internet (4.71 companies per million population). It is followed by the United Arab Emirates (1.9 companies per million population) and the Russian Federation (0.29 companies per million population). India ranks last in this indicator (0.02 companies per million population). The Republic of Armenia has the highest level of corporate sector development, with such essential features as cooperation with commercial banks for providing potential consumers with financial support and involvement in educational activities for the population. The main feature of the Indian corporate sector is orientation on the B2B format in building customer relationships. In Russia and the United Arab Emirates, the effect of implementing large projects with state support is still limited and does not extend to the general population.

English

This paper used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze agency banking and customer satisfaction in Rwanda and it considered the Bank of Kigali as a case study. The research adopted a descriptive research design in nature. Data were collected from a sample size of 208 respondents who were selected from the customers that consume the Bank agency services of Bank of Kigali agents. Research data from questionnaires were assessed descriptively, and on the other hand, data from interviews were studied qualitatively. The study discovered that customers queue in the ATMs and banking halls due to; a lack of liquidity, and e-money float balances to meet customer transaction demands; lack of tangibles, leanness, and location of the agents’ outlets; and lack of in-depth knowledge and modern skills in banking among bank agents. These were supported by regression equation results that found that all the p-values were less than 0.05; this is a confirmation that all the variables were statistically significant in influencing customer satisfaction in Bank of Kigali agency services. Therefore, the study recommended that there should be constant training for Bank agents regarding Bank services and products. This will reinforce bank agents on the bank’s products and update them on some customers’ needs and will continuously build customer relationships as they will be performing as the real Bank ambassadors and satisfy them with the required information. Finally, the regulator should continuously review the regulation governing the bank agent operations since the economy is dynamic.   Keywords: Agency banking, customer satisfaction, service quality dimensions.

AN EXAMINATION OF DIGITAL MARKETING AT A SELECTED HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

This study uses digital marketing parameters to examine digital marketing at a selected university in South Africa. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires that were distributed to employees and students. Fifty (50) employees and 100 students participated and non-probability sampling, including convenience sampling and maximum variation, was used. The research findings show that most of the respondents understand that digital marketing positively impacts organisational performance as it improves students’ access to information on course offerings. Over half of the respondents held a moderately positive perception of digital marketing and the members’ ages were likely to impact their perceptions of digital marketing. The research revealed that most respondents recognised that digital marketing can potentially increase business performance. It was further revealed that two-thirds of the selected university respondents acknowledged the importance of digital marketing to connect and build customer relationships. These findings confirm that the university needs to capitalise on the fact that students spend large amounts of time on social media to effectively communicate and market their services on social media. Finally, the research brings to light the need for universities to ensure that their Facebook page and website have the necessary information available and that it links to information that potential students may require.

Identify Variables to Measure Intellectual Capital in organizations: A Literature Review.

Currently the importance and the validity of Intellectual Capital (IC) for creating and maintaining sustaining competitive advantage for organizations has been well recognised. Swiss think-tank (Gottlieb Duttweiler Foundation) research revealed that only 20 percent of knowledge available to an organization is actually used. Therefore, IC management and measuring appeals much attention from academics and practitioners. It is revealed that existing measures of human and IC are inadequate and are not developed in par with strategy processes. This desk study aims at identifying constructs and dimensions to measure IC of an organization. A systematic literature survey was conducted to identify constructs of IC. Literature was searched in Google Scholar. Articles were searched using the string “Measuring Intellectual Capital”. Time was set as “Any Time”. There were 256 articles shown. Suitable and allowable articles were referred in this study. Additionally, articles referred by the authors of above articles were also taken into consideration As accepted by many authors who interested in this subject are, the IC consist of Human Capital (HC), Structural Capital (SC) and Relational Capital (RC). As per the literature review, to measure Human Capital Employee absenteeism, Employee attitude, Capabilities, Commitment, Competencies, Creativity, Efficiency, Employee Pay, Turnover, Experience, Expertism, Intelligence, Knowledge related indices, Disputes, Leadership qualities, Learning Training and education indices, Motivation, Performance, Satisfaction, Skills Abilities and Talents and measurements of Team work can be used. In order to measure Structural Capital Working atmosphere, Controlling systems, Corporate practices and procedures, Databases, Efficiency and Effectiveness of practices, ICT usage, Information availability, Innovation rate, Intellectual Property and trade secrets, interdisciplinary projects, Internal relationships, knowledge sharing, Management philosophy, Mutual Support, Organizational Knowledge, Processes and Systems, R&D practices, Renewal and Development, Roles responsibilities and routines, Structure and Technology can be used. And to measure Relational Ccapital, indicators related to Building customer relationships, identify customer needs, Market share, Market Potential, Brand image and trademarks, Value of Supplier, Sales and Distribution channels, Stakeholder relationships, Marketing indicators, Value of Joint ventures and SCR activities has been used.

The Effect of Product Quality and Price Fairness on Customer Loyalty with Customer Engagement as Intervening Variable on Local Skincare in Indonesia

Nowadays, the cosmetics industry is developing rapidly. According to Statista, skincare products are ranked number one by holding a 37% majority of the cosmetics industry. Further market research reveals that the global skincare market is expected to reach USD 179 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR Rate of 4.7% from 2016 to 2022 (Lee et al., 2019). By 2020, Indonesia's National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has introduced a new Gradual Fulfilment Certificate for cosmetic companies to enhance local cosmetics product quality and today's skincare users are highly knowledgeable and actively question whether they get a fair price, commensurate on the quality of the product that they obtained. Faced with such a high level of competitive pressure, companies are also increasingly aware of the importance of various customer retention activities. During the 1990s and early 2000s, companies achieved customer loyalty to a large extent by building customer relationships (Bei & Chiao, 2001). However, following current trends, companies are now shifting from traditional customer relationship approaches to evolving customer engagement philosophy (Bei & Chiao, 2001). Research supporting this claim shows that customer engagement can improve user retention, and user retention is, to a certain extent, a reflection of customer loyalty (Hu, Chen & Zhang, 2021). According to Sood, A. (2022, December 4), these days the way to increase customer loyalty can be done with a coordinated, multi-channel approach, underpinned by data-driven strategies, AI analytics and automation which has been proven to increase conversions by up to 25%. Meanwhile, similar research (Noerindah & Bernarto, 2022) only discussed direct effects or didn't have intervening variables to compare the indirect effects on specific local skincare brand. This research will investigate the problems companies experience in maintaining Customer Loyalty from several variables such as Product Quality, Price Fairness, and Customer Engagement that are believed to influence Customer Loyalty and to analyze the indirect effect of Product Quality and Price Fairness to Customer Loyalty through Customer Engagement. Besides, the purpose is to give insights to local skincare companies. Keywords: Customer Engagement; Customer Loyalty; Price Fairness; Product Quality; Skincare

Customer perspectives on demand response in Europe: a systematic review and thematic synthesis

Residential demand response is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool to increase power-system flexibility and to improve integration of renewable energy sources in the sustainable energy transition. However, low customer participation and engagement is one of the barriers hindering widespread implementation of residential demand response. To improve understanding of the factors influencing customer engagement in residential demand-response programs, this article investigates associated customer experiences and attitudes. This study is based on a systematic review and thematic synthesis of findings from past demand response-pilot projects. By synthesizing findings from multiple sources, the article provides insights into the customer perspective to inform the development of customer-oriented demand-response services and products. The results indicate that customer engagement in demand-response programs is influenced by multiple factors, including motivation, interaction and communication, and feedback. Particularly highlighted is the value of social interaction and support as well as the importance of customer education and easily interpretable information. To promote customer engagement, the electric utility industry should place more focus on building customer relationships and integrating customer perspectives into the design of demand-response programs.

Loyalty programs, loyalty engagement and customer engagement with the company brand: Consumer-centric behavioral psychology insights from three industries

Firms make large investments in loyalty programs (LPs) to build customer relationships with customer loyalty as one of their primary goals. Despite the popularity of LPs, their effectiveness is questioned and the subject of academic debates in relation to outcomes such as profitability. Moreover, extant research has not investigated if customers engage with LPs through LP perceived value and how LP engagement improves LP loyalty, brand loyalty, and customer engagement (CE) with the company brand. This study examines, from a consumer-centric behavioral perspective, LP engagement (LPE) behavior, and how LPE behavior impacts brand and LP loyalty, as well as CE. We introduce LPE behavior, a relatively new concept, in the form of a multi-dimensional set of hierarchically-ordered dimensions. We show a differentiated view of the relationship between the antecedents of brand loyalty as well as LP loyalty and CE. External, convergent and discriminant validity are confirmed by testing our model with a representative sample (n = 593) of the U.S. LP population with participants being members of either a grocery retail chain, department store chain, or airline frequent flyer LP. We show that perceived LP value engages customers with LPs. Subsequently, LPE behavior improves LP loyalty and brand loyalty as well as CE with the company brand.

The Roles of Customer Databases and Database Marketing in Marketing Intelligence

Customer databases and database marketing play important roles in marketing intelligence and in building and developing customer relationships for organizations. Development of customer databases and performing database marketing are made possible mainly by the advancements in information technology. The study discusses various aspects of customer databases and database marketing and their roles in marketing intelligence and in building customer relationships. It discusses the ways in which companies can use customer databases effectively to achieve the best results. The study discusses the issues of database marketing, ways of overcoming them, internal changes in an organization required for the implementation of database marketing, and emphasizes that maintenance of customer databases and performing database marketing are not the solutions to every problem in building customer relationships. It will help practitioners and researchers in finding a direction for generating customer insights, achieving the goals in relationship management, and in achieving business excellence.

Improving Business-to-Business Relationship Quality Through Salespeople’s Grit and Political Skill

ABSTRACT Purpose Two characteristics – Grit and Political Skill – appear to offer meaningful value to industrial marketers through improving customer relationship quality. The premise of this study is to investigate the role of these characteristics of business-to-business salespeople as they influence selling approaches and ultimately long-term customer relationships. Previous research in both academic and practitioner literature has noted political skill and grit are individually linked to salespeople but remain chiefly unexplored simultaneously and in terms of their impact on customer relationships. Methodology/Approach The data used in this research are from a sample of 240 business-to-business salespeople collected electronically by using the online platform of a national data broker. Self-reports were made about their grit, political skill, and customer relationship quality. These constructs were combined in a structural equation model. SPSS/Amos software was used to conduct multivariate analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement properties of each construct, while structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate the hypothesized relationships. Findings Results suggest grit is directly related to political skill and both are positively related to relationship quality. The results from this study lend credence to existing customer relationship literature and serve to extend our understanding, specifically as applied to business-to-business salespeople. In particular, we learn more about the role of grit and political skill in affecting the ability of salespeople to establish and maintain customer relationships. Research Implications In terms of the theoretical contribution, this study explores a seller’s perspective of two potentially important sales characteristics and relationship quality to extend findings on customer relationships. While grit has been considered an antecedent of outcome performance, the interaction between grit and political skill, and their impact on business-to-business salespeople’s customer relationship quality had heretofore not been examined. This study extends previous research on grit and political skill by examining the association between the two as well as the impact on relationship quality. Our research strengthens the importance of grit and political skill by finding the synergy between the two indicates that when these characteristics of salespeople are possessed or developed they can enhance the relationship building conducted by business-to-business salespeople. Practical Implications Sales leaders may benefit from administering the salesperson grit and political skill scales as part of the screening process and developing these values among salespeople through training and coaching. Sales leaders should emphasize the positive impact of adopting these in focusing on customers. The study makes a practical contribution through an improved understanding of how a seller’s communication and influence characteristics impact customer relationships. The findings underscore the importance of engaging in activities shown to improve connections with buyers and striving for levels of grit that assist the salesperson in overcoming any challenges faced in the normal set of activities required to build customer relationships. Encountering daily or short-term impediments that if not managed through perseverance may result in a salesperson being frustrated and abandoning more challenging accounts, despite the future potential payoffs by continuing to work with the account to obtain long-term outcomes. Additionally, political skill by itself and in conjunction with grit enables the business-to-business salesperson to utilize communication to persuade others, especially customers to act in ways that benefit both business-to-business buyers and sellers. Grit and political skill may combine to establish relationships and maintain them despite any short-term obstacles that require grit. An improved understanding of business-to-business salespeople’s perspectives of the variables under study can potentially improve the hiring and training of salespeople to adopt beneficial characteristics that will enable them to build customer relationships and ultimately improve sales performance. Originality/Value/Contribution of the Paper The originality and value of this study rest with proposed connections between three prevalent issues in business-to-business sales organizations. Grit, political skill, and relationship quality provide valuable and unique insights into business-to-business selling behaviors and seller consequences.