Successful Customer Relationship Management Research Articles

Integrating customer relationship management in hotel operations: managerial and operational implications

As travelers are becoming more price sensitive, less brand loyal and more sophisticated, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) becomes a strategic necessity for attracting and increasing guests’ patronage. Although CRM in hospitality has overstated the importance of ICT, it is now widely recognised that successful CRM implementation should effectively combine and align ICT functionality with business operations. Given the lack of a widely accepted framework for CRM implementation, this paper proposed a model for managing and integrating ICT capabilities into CRM strategies and business processes. The model argues that successful CRM implementation requires the management and alignment of three managerial processes: ICT, relationship (internal and external) and knowledge management. The model is tested by gathering data from Greek hotels, while findings provide useful practical implications and suggestions for future research.

Toward a successful CRM: variable selection, sampling, and ensemble

This paper studies the effects of variable selection and class distribution on the performance of specific logit regression (i.e., a primitive classier system) and artificial neural network (ANN; a relatively more sophisticated classifier system) implementations in a customer relationship management (CRM) setting. Finally, ensemble models are constructed by combining the predictions of multiple classiers. This paper shows that ANN ensembles with variable selection show the most stable performance over various class distributions.

Web enabled expert systems using hyperlink-based inference

With the proliferation of the WWW, providing more intelligent Websites has become a major concern in the e-business industry. Recently, this trend has been even more accelerated by the success of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in terms of product recommendation, and self after service, etc. As a result, many e-companies are eager to embed Web-enabled, rule-based systems, i.e. that is, expert systems, into their Websites, and several well-known commercial tools to facilitate this are already available in the market. So far, most of those tools are based on CGI, but CGI-based systems inherently suffer from problems related to overburdening, when there are too many service demands at the same time. To overcome the limitations of the existing CGI-based expert systems, we propose a new form of Web-enabled expert system that uses a hyperlink-based inference mechanism. In terms of burden to the Web server, our approach has proven to outperform the CGI-based approach theoretically as well as empirically. For practical purposes, our approach is implemented in a software system, WeBIS, and uses a graphic rule editing methodology, Expert’s Diagram, that is incorporated into the system to facilitate rule generation and maintenance. WeBIS is now successfully operating for financial consultation on the Website of a leading financial consulting company in Korea. q 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Customer Relationship Management: Its Dimensions and Effect on Customer Outcomes

Despite the rapidly growing customer relationship management (CRM) literature, the dimensions of CRM and their effects on customer outcomes remain equivocal. In this research, we first identify the requisite activities for effective CRM implementation. We then investigate their effect on customer satisfaction, customer retention, and sales growth. Results indicate that managers need to think beyond the technological components of CRM and focus on four key CRM dimensions to significantly enhance customer loyalty and sales growth. In our analysis and discussion, we examine the expanding role of salespeople in successful CRM implementation and outcomes.

Does the level of experience have an effect on CRM programs? Exploratory research findings

A growing body of academic and practitioner literature has highlighted the differences in definitions and approaches to customer relationship management (CRM), suggested frameworks for successful CRM implementation, and provided evidences of CRM success and failure. Such accumulating wisdom might be expected to imbue practice with knowledge of what works better in CRM and to entail, therefore, an improving experience of CRM over time. To date, however, the effect of experience on CRM implementation has not been discussed in literature. This paper studies CRM from the organisational learning perspective. It provides evidence from empirical research conducted among users (firms), consultants, and suppliers (software vendors) about the effect of experience on CRM. The exploratory research findings of this study draw attention to the extent to which firms deploying CRM are sensitive and responsive to what they might learn from their implementation efforts and establish a platform for future research. The paper suggests the need for the two processes of CRM and organisational learning to move in tandem to be mutually beneficial.

An evaluation of divergent perspectives on customer relationship management: Towards a common understanding of an emerging phenomenon

Prompted, in part, by the highly publicized failure of customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives, academic research on CRM has begun to flourish. While numerous studies have yielded important insights, the extant CRM literature appears to be inconsistent and is highly fragmented due, primarily, to the lack of a common conceptualization. Thus, to help advance a cohesive body of knowledge on this topic of growing interest and importance, this paper attempts to provide a clear and accurate delineation of CRM's domain. Following the review and analysis of process, strategy, philosophy, capability, and technology-based CRM perspectives, the authors propose that the phenomenon is best conceptualized as an ongoing process that involves the development and leveraging of market intelligence for the purpose of building and maintaining a profit-maximizing portfolio of customer relationships. Based on the proposed conceptualization, a detailed description of the CRM process is provided, along with a comprehensive framework intended to aid marketers in their quest to achieve CRM success.

A process model for successful CRM system development

According to industry analysts, almost two-thirds of customer relationship management system development projects fail. Information systems developers and researchers ultimately want to lower these failure rates and support successful development. Most IS research has focused on identifying the factors, or ingredients, correlated with IS development success. We propose a process model as a recipe for successful IS development. Adopting a process theory approach permits examining the sequence of and interplay between specific factors involved in the process. Two case studies - one success, one failure - illustrate how these factors influence customer relationship management (CRM) system development and, ultimately, determine whether a project succeeds or fails.

The Impact of CRM on Firm- and Relationship-Level Performance in Distributed Networks

This paper develops and empirically tests a model to evaluate a manufacturer’s strategy which provides customer relationship management (CRM) technology to its exclusive retailers. The impact of the strategy on manufacturer-retailer relationship quality is also examined. The research objectives are (1) to identify and test factors that promote active implementation of CRM technology among small retail organizations; (2) to determine whether our expanded concept of CRM implementation that integrates customer information management activities and relationship marketing activities explains CRM performance better; and (3) to investigate whether a manufacturer’s support contributes to manufacturer-retailer relationship quality. Statistical analysis shows that the model provides an adequate fit to the data. The retailer’s perception of the importance of customer information, manufacturer support, and trade area competitiveness significantly impacts the intensity of CRM implementation by small retailers. CRM implementation intensity positively influences the performance outcomes of CRM, which in turn greatly improves the quality of the manufacturer-retailer relationship. Different from our expectation, supporting retailers with CRM technology did not directly impact the manufacturerretailer relationship quality. The ease of use of the CRM system also did not influence CRM implementation intensity significantly. The implications of these results and their importance for successful CRM implementation are discussed.

Understanding customer relationship management (CRM)

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of people, processes and technology that seeks to understand a company's customers. It is an integrated approach to managing relationships by focusing on customer retention and relationship development. CRM has evolved from advances in information technology and organizational changes in customer‐centric processes. Companies that successfully implement CRM will reap the rewards in customer loyalty and long run profitability. However, successful implementation is elusive to many companies, mostly because they do not understand that CRM requires company‐wide, cross‐functional, customer‐focused business process re‐engineering. Although a large portion of CRM is technology, viewing CRM as a technology‐only solution is likely to fail. Managing a successful CRM implementation requires an integrated and balanced approach to technology, process, and people.

What gets measured gets better

Some marketers define customer relationship management (CRM) as a company-wide philosophy involving organisational realignment and culture change, as well as technology implementation. In practice, CRM has become inextricably associated with the installation of software packages. CRM, a business strategy intended to gain market share and competitive advantage through improving customer loyalty, has been discredited because of over-reliance on technology. Given the results of IT industry analysts' findings on the way CRM success or failure is measured, if it is measured at all, perhaps CRM systems as well as CRM strategy have had an unfair press. Re-launching CRM step-by-step with a balanced metrics framework, including the customer experience, may be the way forward.

Customer relationship management in practice – A qualitative study

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study into the implementation of data-driven customer relationship management (CRM) strategies. Seventeen companies are investigated and three short case studies are presented. It is found that clean customer data are essential to successful CRM performance and that technological support for data acquisition, analysis and deployment are not widespread. Clean customer data enable CRM strategies to be both more effective and more efficient, yet not all companies are investing in improving data quality.

How to measure customer relationship management success

The term customer relationship management (CRM) can be best understood in contrast to database marketing (DBM). DBM began in the mid-1980s and was developed by marketers. CRM started in the 1990s and was developed by IT and sales staff. CRM uses massive and expensive data warehouses that keep all data available in a corporation. DBM uses inexpensive databases that just keep those data needed for effective marketing. DBM aims at improving customer loyalty. CRM aims at improving company targeting of communications. CRM aims at identifying actionable customer segments and reducing marketing expenses by focusing on those segments. DBM aims at increasing customer loyalty, retention, referrals, sales and profits.