客户关系管理研究进展及其未来发展方向

客户关系管理在过去十多年得到了快速发展。然而目前由于不同学者研究视角和研究出发点等方面差异,他们研究的结论并不相同,甚至是相互矛盾,因此有必要从客户关系管理的理论基础、客户关系管理的内涵及其演进、客户关系管理对组织绩效的影响效应等几个方面对该领域现状进行了系统研究,并在此基础上探明现有研究存在的局限及其未来发展趋势。     

关系营销是客户关系管理的核心理念和指导思想

关系营销是客户关系管理的核心理念和指导思想,客户关系管理的核心是客户关系。通过客户关系管理这一过程,企业最大程度地掌握和利用顾客信息,以培养和增强顾客的忠诚度,实现顾客的终身挽留。关系营销与客户关系管理进行有效整合,可以使关系营销理论得到全新发展,也让客户关系管理理论在中国的环境中得到更好的发挥和实现。     

论关系营销原理在旅行社顾客管理中的应用

在激烈的旅游市场竞争中与顾客保持长期的良好关系,是旅行社企业获得经营优势的关键。所以必须将关系营销理论与传统的市场营销相结合,在遵循顾客让渡价值、提升顾客满意度与盈利能力的原则指导下,使关系营销原理在旅行社顾客管理中具体运用,才能有效地提升旅行社的经营效益。     

客户作业成本法在客户关系管理中的运用

不同客户给企业带来的利润不同 ,客户间存在的明显差异 ,传统的成本核算方法以产品为导向设计 ,不能识别这种差异 ,不适用于客户关系管理。客户作业成本法以客户为导向 ,采用作业成本法核算客户成本 ,有助于更好的进行客户关系管理 ,帮助企业牢牢抓住最主要的客户。     

客户关系管理中数据挖掘的应用

客户关系管理在企业管理决策中起到了关键作用,而数据挖掘技术为客户关系管理的实施提供了良好的技术支持。在对数据挖掘技术于客户关系管理中的价值和应用范畴进行分析,将数据挖掘应用于客户流失分析,进而从这些信息中挖掘出客户偏好的商品组合、消费习性或流失客户特征。     

我国商业银行客户关系管理的现状与对策

商业银行的客户关系管理既要重视以客户为中心,又要利用客户关系管理系统来达到降低银行经营成本,实现客户收益最大化的目标。我国商业银行实施客户关系管理,必须正视所存在的认识不足、机构设置不配套、软件开发能力差、缺少复合型人才等诸多问题。应制定相关措施,加快改革经营管理体制,构建合理业务流程,实施差异化营销策略,培养适合客户关系管理需要的复合型人才,以促进银行提升竞争能力和盈利能力。     

客户关系管理在同程网的实施应用及优化研究

客户关系管理具有理念性强、注重实际操作和运营、方法性和技术性强等特点。同程网是目前国内一流的旅游电子商务平台之一,也是我国唯一拥有B2B旅游企业间平台和B2C大众旅游平台的电子商务网站。针对同程网在客户关系管理中出现的网络营销互动平台需要进一步发展、操作流程过于繁杂、一线员工流动性较高,以及品牌效应不强等问题,同程网应采取开发联接景点与游客的互动平台,优化企业内部的操作流程,灵活设计一线员工管理制度和方法,提高品牌效应等优化措施,以促进企业更好地发展。     

Examining the Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Deconstructed Measures of Firm Performance

The aggregate measures frequently used to evaluate customer relationship management (CRM) performance may mask the true impact of CRM activities and make it difficult to tease out which activities might be helping (or hurting) the relationship capabilities of the firm. We posit that examining the impact of CRM on individual firm performance indicators provides better diagnostic value for managers. To test our hypothesis, we examine the impact of 6 CRM activities on 4 dimensions of firm performance and compare the results with the impact of the same activities on a composite score of the 4 dimensions. As expected, the pattern of regression coefficients is different between the equation with composite performance as the dependent variable and each of the remaining 4 equations. Managerially speaking, our results provide direction for marketing and customer managers in decision making related to prioritizing CRM activities. Theoretically speaking, they imply that researchers should consider examining the impact of CRM on individual performance dimensions as well.     

Trust,Satisfaction and Loyalty in Customer Relationship Management

SUMMARY

In an attempt to increase customer loyalty amid increasingly competitive business environments, organizations are looking to customer relationship management (CRM) to help provide a solution. In spite of CRM failure rates cited as being as high as 70%, organizations continue to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on CRM implementations. Attempts of past research to resolve why failure rates are so high have tended to focus on technological factors such as database integration or factors internal to the organization such as system adoption or organizational culture. While these areas are important, reactions of customers may also play a role. This paper uses justice theory to investigate the potential impact that customer involvement in a CRM implementation may have on customer loyalty. Propositions are provided to guide future research.     

Designing a Predictive Performance Measurement and Control System to Maximize Customer Relationship Management Success

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) performance measurement is reviewed with two main intentions: (a) to encourage theoretical and empirical research and (b) to provide a useful predictive measurement system that is easy to implement. Special emphasis is placed on Balanced Scorecard methodologies as measurement systems to both evaluate and predict CRM performance. The use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology to design CRM predictive performance measurement and control systems (PMCS) may provide several benefits to firms since (a) it reduces the risk and the uncertainty associated with the decision-making processes related to a CRM strategy and (b) it provides a strategic resource to the development of competitive advantages. The article concludes by proposing an holistic measuring system in the CRM field, including accountable, leading, repeatable, and linked metrics over the following areas and dimensions: strategy (business orientation, business atmosphere, and competitive strategy); resources (financial, human, and technological), business processes (integration and innovation); products and services (superiority and product/company synergy), customers (prospective and current); and external factors (competition and market).     

关系维持对顾客与自助服务技术关系构建倾向的影响

近年来,大数据、互联网、人工智能的应用推动了自助服务技术的快速发展,传统的顾客与服务人员的互动越来越多地转变为顾客与自助服务技术的互动。能否依靠顾客与自助服务技术的关系促进顾客持续使用,已经成为自助服务营销成败的关键。为阐明自助服务关系维持策略对顾客构建关系倾向影响的作用机制,基于社会交换理论和关系营销理论,以旅游网站为研究对象,选取536名在线自助游顾客作为被试进行实证研究。研究发现,旅游网站资源互补性、服务质量、新颖性的相互作用构成关系维持策略,关系投资和关系质量是关系维持策略对顾客构建关系倾向影响的完全中介变量。因此,旅游网站为更好地与顾客构建关系,一要注重关系维持策略在顾客关系管理中的应用,注重资源互补性、服务质量、新颖性等使用价值的增强与完善,这是促使顾客持续使用网站旅游服务资源的核心与关键;二要注重关系维持策略的整体性和系统性,从提供完整服务包的角度出发,对资源互补性、服务质量和新颖性进行运营管理,传统网站新服务项目的开发以及新兴网站旅游资源的建设已经成为目前旅游网站吸引顾客的关键;三要注重关系维持策略的营销,将营销宣传的关注点从形象宣传转向功能宣传,通过加强顾客对关系维持策略中资源互补性、服务质量和新颖性的功能认知,增强顾客对旅游网站关系投资和关系质量的感知,进而提高顾客与旅游网站构建关系的倾向。     

Customer Retention Strategies of Fast-Food Outlets in South Africa: A Focus on Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Nando's,and Steers

The primary aim of the research was to critically analyze and evaluate the different customer retention strategies being implemented by fast-food outlets such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Nando's, and Steers in South Africa. The fast-food industry in South Africa is experiencing numerous market-related changes, which range from intense globalization forces to heightening competition levels. The pressure on businesses today is further increased by a market where the customer acquisition rate is slowing, customer loyalty is decreasing, and sales cycles are lengthening. In such an environment, losing a valuable customer to a competitor can have a significant impact on profitability and growth. As a result, many companies have shifted their focus from customer acquisition to customer retention. The research was primarily concerned with assessing customer relationship management, relationship marketing, and communication through technology as strategies to maintain intimate relationships with customers. Personal interviews and in-depth interviews with the help of questionnaires were used to collect primary data in the research. The results indicated that KFC, Nando's, and Steers adopt similar marketing strategies or use the same concepts to manage their relationships with both internal and external customers and other stakeholders. These strategies and concepts include customer relationship management, relationship marketing, and technological means of communication.     

Impact of Consistency in Customer Relationship Management on E-Commerce Shopper Preferences

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in e-commerce is concerned with retaining the existing customers on a long-term basis, motivating them to come back to shop for more and to talk positively to their peers about the products and services provided. Fourteen items have been identified in a developed questionnaire to measure CRM factors in consistency of customer treatment. They are consistencies of: price-quoting, steps to execute a transaction, design of the shopping Web page, site navigation, promotions offered, indication of in-stock products, product variety, alternative product suggestions, fraud protection, presented guarantees involving the product, fairness of the site, help offered, return policies, and personal information. To determine the validity of the items, 100 e-commerce experts from academia were presented the questionnaire and asked to rate the importance of the individual items. The developed tool had a Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency value of 0.81. A multivariate analysis was conducted to cluster the aspects of consistency in CRM. For this purpose, two factors were identified: Technical and Customer Treatment Factors. The individual Cronbach's Alpha values were 0.84 for Treatment Factor and 0.74 for Technical Factor. The analysis indicated that the Technical Factor included the consistencies of shopping steps, site design, and navigation, while the Customer Treatment Factor included the consistencies of promotions, in-stock indication, product variety, fraud protection, presented guarantees, customer fairness, and return policies. Based on the analysis, 10 guidelines for Consistency in CRM were produced. The guidelines can be applied to Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce sites as part of their CRM policy.     

组织管理中员工与组织关系的新扩展：前员工-组织社会关联

数字化技术加剧了组织环境的复杂性和不确定性,使组织人力资本表现出非稳态和高流动的特征,同时数字化技术催生的新型社交媒体使个体间的社会互动处于高度连通性。在此背景下,员工离职后与原组织之间仍然保持联系这一现象不断凸显。针对这一现象,本文将其概括为“前员工-组织社会关联”,并对其进行分析。第一,本文对前员工-组织社会关联的涵义、关联形式及性质进行了阐述;第二,从组织系统观分析了前员工-组织社会关联的必要性;第三,根据能力-动机-机会理论,从前员工意愿视角分析了前员工-组织社会关联发生的潜在因素;第四,根据能力-动机-机会理论,从能力和机会视角分析了前员工-组织社会关联发生的边界条件;第五,从前员工和组织的视角,阐述了前员工-组织社会关联产生的积极效应。本文关注前员工-组织社会关联现象,扩展了员工-组织关系的理论研究,延伸了人力资源管理的边界。     

The Transition from Product to Solution Selling: The Role and Organization of Employees Engaged in Current Business

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This research investigates how to manage and organize existing employees when launching a solution sales strategy, specifically addressing whether it is possible to migrate existing sales representatives active in product sales to solution sales, and whether it is possible to combine the roles.

Methodology/approach: A case-based approach was applied to a multinational firm, engaged in business-to-business sales that simultaneously launched a solution sales strategy in 17 countries. In-depth interviews with 29 managers and sales representatives were performed to inductively identify why some countries succeeded in the launch, while others did not.

Findings: Because of fundamental differences in approach between solution and product sales, those countries where the solutions and product businesses were separated performed better. The difference in required capabilities and mindset meant that migrating sales representatives from product to solution sales is problematic.

Research implications: This research offers evidence of differences in mindset and approach between different marketing and sales strategies, extending the conclusions to how these differences affect the possibility of migrating existing sales representatives when launching a new selling strategy. Whether to separate service and product sales has been debated. The present results indicate that separating the current product business from the new solution business facilitates the successful implementation of the new strategy. In the case company, the solutions represent a mixture of product and services, suggesting that the problem is not the difference between products and services, but rather different selling strategies and approaches that require different capabilities.

Practical implications: When launching a solution sales strategy, the solution business should be separated from the current product business at both the organizational and personnel levels. Solution sales necessitates a particular approach and capabilities, making it unadvisable to transfer sales representatives and managers to the new solution business based solely on previous product sales success. Instead, a new skill profile must be developed taking account of the requirements of a demand-driven solution strategy.

Originality/value/contribution: Consensus is lacking as to whether to separate product and service businesses. This article extends the debate to the field of solution

sales, demonstrating that separation is needed to succeed in launching a solution sales strategy. Furthermore, this research extends our knowledge of the difference in approaches between different selling strategies, covering the possibility of successfully migrating existing sales representatives to a different selling strategy.     

Social media in marketing research: Theoretical bases,methodological aspects,and thematic focus

The widespread use of social media as a marketing tool during the last decade has been responsible for attracting a significant volume of academic research, which, however, can be described as highly fragmented to yield clear directions and insights. We systematically synthesize and critically evaluate extant knowledge of social media marketing extracted from 418 articles published during the period 2009–2021. In doing so, we use an organizing framework focusing on five key areas of social media marketing research, namely, social media as a promotion and selling outlet, social media as a communication and branding channel, social media as a monitoring and intelligence source, social media as a customer relationship management and value cocreation platform, and social media as a general marketing and strategic tool. Within each of these areas, we provide important theoretical, methodological, and thematic insights, as well as future research directions. We also offer useful managerial implications derived from the articles reviewed.     

The Influence of Customer Relationship Marketing Strategies on Supply Chain Relationships: The Moderating Effects of Environmental Uncertainty and Competitive Rivalry

Purpose: A firm's customer relationship marketing strategy also may affect its attitudinal loyalty toward its main supplier. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty and competitive rivalry could moderate this relationship. This research investigates both questions.

Methodology/Approach: The empirical study involves a structured survey of 141 industrial firms. A structural equation technique with EQS 6.1 estimated the causal model. Multi-sample analysis revealed whether environmental uncertainty and/or competitive rivalry act as moderators.

Findings: The influence of customer relationship marketing on attitudinal loyalty toward the main supplier is positive but indirect, working through effective communication, satisfaction, and trust. However, when environmental uncertainty is high, the negative direct effect becomes significantly more intense, and when competitive rivalry is high, the positive indirect effect through satisfaction and trust is less intense.

Originality/Value: This study explores potential new paths in the relationship marketing field. Most scholars focus on the influence of a firm's relationship marketing strategy on customers' loyalty, but no previous works consider its potential influence on the firm's relationship with other partners in the supply chain, notably its strategic suppliers.

Research Implications: Structured academic research on this topic is lacking, even though many firms have implemented customer relationship programs. Supply-side researchers must evaluate the effects of such programs. Furthermore, this study combines different theoretical approaches.

Practical Implications: Practitioners can use the findings to segment their customer base and develop specific programs adapted to each target.     

Partnerships Between Businesses and NGOs in the Field of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Model of Success From the Perspective of Relationship Marketing

Social alliances have become a mechanism that businesses and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have adopted in order to work together to address complex social problems that neither sector alone has the knowledge and resources needed to deal with appropriately. In combining the 2 different perspectives, these partnerships can create mutual value. Many such alliances have, however, been unsuccessful. The present work focuses on designing a theoretical model of successful partnerships between businesses and NGOs constructed within the perspective of relationship marketing—a theory that is found to be well suited to setting up and maintaining successful, long-term, relational exchanges.     

The Role of Buyer Trust in Outsourced CRM: Its Influence on Organizational Learning and Performance

Purpose: Company outsourcing of customer relationship management (CRM) functions is increasing (Kalaignanam and Varadarajan 2012). Although outsourcing CRM may provide financial benefits, the tasks of developing and utilizing the complex, cross-functional processes needed to gain enhanced customer knowledge from CRM may be more difficult when some or all CRM activities are outsourced. Trust in the information provided by the outsourced CRM supplier is vital. In this study, the authors examine the influence of buyer trust in its outsourced CRM supplier on cross-functional learning processes and firm performance within the buyer firm.

Methodology: Data were collected from a survey of marketing managers in 221 firms. LISREL 9.2 was used to assess convergent, discriminant, and nomologic validity using the two-step approach (Anderson and Gerbing 1988). Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated in the measurement model phase, whereas the structural model provided an appraisal of nomologic validity.

Findings: The results provide evidence of buyer firm trust in the outsourced CRM supplier playing a critical role in the buyer firm’s success with information sharing, and both trust and information sharing strongly influencing information interpretation and information access in the buyer firm. All three organizational learning processes positively influence buyer firm customer satisfaction/retention and market performance.

Research implications: An important area for future research is the possibility of varying levels of trust needed for success with outsourced CRM depending on the buyer firm’s goals for its CRM system. It is possible that the simpler CRM functions could be outsourced effectively through efficiency strategies that do not require significant levels of trust, whereas the more complex CRM activities that affect organizational learning require more stringent coordination and inter-organizational development. Varadarajan’s (2009) cost versus quality classifications of outsourcing could be a useful starting point for this type of analysis. Considering the finding in this study that information sharing is critical for information interpretation and information access in the buyer firm, another area for future research is possible differences in the extent of information sharing required by firms that are outsourcing CRM versus those that conduct the CRM function in-house. One starting point could be possible differences in relevance among Maltz and Kohli’s (1996) factors affecting information dissemination.

Practical implications: For effective use of CRM data, it is important for buyer firms to develop trust in their outsourced CRM supplier. Managers can assist in this by communicating qualifications of the outsourced CRM supplier, such as any trade-specific certifications, awards, information about the supplier’s number of years in business, and examples of other companies the supplier has assisted. Managers can also help employees develop confidence in the supplier’s integrity by sharing the supplier’s code of ethics and serving as a champion for the supplier. In addition, firms engaged in outsourced CRM are encouraged to develop reward systems that motivate employees to build relationships with their counterparts in the supplier firm, and it would be useful for the buyer firm to help its employees understand the importance of the CRM outsourcing relationship to the buyer firm’s success. Finally, it is important for management to provide opportunities for interaction between the outsourcing partner and key buyer firm employees who will use the CRM data, to encourage effective processes in information sharing, information interpretation, and information access.

Contribution of the article: This article addresses the significance of outsourcing the CRM function and provides evidence that buyer trust in its CRM supplier is a critical factor in its utilization of CRM data for organizational learning and firm performance. It also demonstrates that effective sharing of information, cross-functional integration of customer data, and CRM information accessibility are critical for firm success.