论文部分内容阅读
【Abstract】The banking industry is now highly competitive,with banks not only competing among one another;but also with non-banks and other financial institutions.Banks become more aware of the importance of customer relationship management (CRM) and its potential to help them acquire new customers, retain existing ones and maximize their lifetime value.The primary objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the variables trust, commitment, two-way communication and conflict handling on customer loyalty through the intervening role of Customer Relationship Management at a retail bank in Togo.Personal interviews were conducted with respondents and a structured questionnaire was used for gathering of data. The statistical analysis that was used in the study included a multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses formulated for the study and an analysis of variance test (ANOVA).The study indicated that a significant positive relationship exists between conflict handling, commitment,trust and two-way communication and CRM.The study also revealed that a strong relationship existed between CRM and customer loyalty at the agencies of one of first banks in Togo．
【Key words】Ｃustomer retention；Ｃustomer loyalty；Ｃustomer relationship management；Ｂanking industry
0.INTRODUCTION
In Togo, the government has initiated several restructuring plan and support the banking sector.In order to benefit from it,the banking industry is now highly competitive,with 11 banks not only competing among one another;but also with non-banks and other financial institutions.A business that wants to succeed in such competitive market,where customers are empowered and the need to secure the future survival and profitability of the organisation are increasing,will have to move to customer relationship management (CRM).CRM can assist banks in building long term beneficial relationships with customers which has a direct influence on the value proposition to customers, and the competitive position of the organisation in the market.Improving the retention rates of the organisation provides assistance in building this customer base and therefore improving the level of profitable customers. This will lead to customer loyalty and increased profits for the organisation due to customer retention. Customer relationship building creates rewards that benefit both the organisation and the customer.
This article includes a literature review of the CRM and customer loyalty, and an explanation of the problem that was investigated.The research objectives and methodology are then discussed.Thereafter the analysis results are discussed followed by management implications and recommendations. 1.LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Customer relationship management (CRM)
Today, many organisations such as banks realize the importance of CRM and its potential to help them acquire new customers, to retain existing ones and maximize their lifetime value. Berndt et al.(2009) defined CRM as“an enterprise-wide commitment to identify the individual customers of an organisation,and to create a relationship between the organisation and these customers as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial.”Ndubisi (2004)reported that more and more firms are capitalizing on strong firm-customer relationship to gain invaluable information on how best to serve customers and keep them from defecting to competing brands.CRM provides a transition from a transaction-based to a relationship-based model that concentrates on the acquisition, development and retention of profitable customer relationships (Baran et al., 2008).
Four important components of CRM:
Scholars have listed the virtues that have been theorized in the CRM literature as trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling (Ndubisi and Wah,2005;Buttle,2004).
Trust:Ndubisi (2007) defines trust as the willingness to rely on a partner in whom confidence is entrusted.The trusting relationships between customers and organisations are associated with overall positive outcomes and trust in the organisation should increase the benefit derived from transacting with the organisation (Botha and Van Rensburg, 2010).
Commitment:Commitment refers to the belief by both parties that the relationship is worth working on to ensure it endures indefinitely.It is then useful in measuring the likelihood of customer loyalty (Ndubisi and Wah, 2005). During the commitment stage of relationship marketing the parties reach a mature,stable period where the parties share the benefits of the relationship (Sauers,2008).
Two-way Communication:Communication in relationship marketing means providing information that can be trusted and providing information when problems occur.For a customer to perceive a relationship as valuable,the customer’s needs must be fulfilled.The needs of the customers can be established through gathering information from them.
Conflict handling:Conflict handling includes the supplier’s ability to avoid potential conflict,solve manifested conflicts before they create problems and the ability to openly discuss solutions when problems arise. How conflict is handled will either ensure loyalty,or the customers will leave the company and go to a competitor. 1.2 Customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is the heart of retention.Oliver(1999) refers to customer loyalty as a deeply held commitment to repurchase a preferred product or service in the future,thereby causing repetitive same brand purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviour. Customer satisfaction relates to the results of a process,however,customer loyalty relates to a relationship.Organisations understand that it is considerably more profitable to keep and satisfy existing customers,than to renew a strongly-churning customer base constantly.The rationale behind CRM is that it improves business performance by enhancing customer satisfaction and driving up customer loyalty.
1.3 Problem statement
In the new market place,customers are seen as the reason for the existence of businesses,therefore several strategies have been attempted to retain customers (Meiden, 1996).It has been argued that a more viable approach for banks is to focus on less tangible and less easy-to-imitate determinants of customer retention such as relationship marketing;and the purpose of CRM is to increase customer satisfaction,improve customer perception of service quality and increase customer loyalty (Baran,Galka and Strunk,2008).So the study will focus on the importance for the Togolese banks,to better understand the need for CRM and how that will lead to customer loyalty.The problem statement can thus be defined as to investigate the influence of the variables trust, commitment, two-way communication and conflict handling on customer loyalty through the intervening role of Customer Relationship Management in the Togolese banks.
2.RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the independent variables,trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling on intentional customer loyalty via CRM as the intervening variable at the selected bank.
3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research study was conducted in two phases.The first phase focused on qualitative research,and the second phase focused on quantitative research.A questionnaire was used during the quantitative phase of the research and this process was administered by conducting personal interviews.The questionnaire,used to gather information, included self developed items,as well as items from questionnaires in the format of a seven-point Likert scale used in previous research.The target population was the customers from four(4)agencies of a selected bank in Lomé(Togo).It is important to note that, although the research was conducted in four major centers in Togo at one bank, the findings and recommendations may be applicable to other retail banks in Togo due to the uniformity of services on offer.The convenience sampling technique was applied to select the sample size of 200 respondents. A total of 167 respondents completed questionnaires. Reliability and validity are the hallmarks of good measurement and the keys to assessing the trustworthiness of any research conducted.In this study,Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the reliability of the measurement sets in the study.The Cronbach’s alpha values for all seven measurement sets are above the lower limit of acceptability,0.60.This confirms that the measurement sets used in the study were reliable. The measurement instrument developed and validated by Du Plessis (2010) was used in this study.The instrument was considered valid for the purposes of the present study.The statistical analysis that was used in the study included a multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses formulated for the study and an analysis of variance test (ANOVA).
4.DISCUSSION OF THE MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS
4.1 Influence of the independent variables on the intervening variable
The analysis indicates that three of the independent variables,Trust, Commitment and Conflict handling,exerted a statistically significant positive influence on the intervening variable(CRM),while Two-way Communication exerted a statistically significant negative influence on the intervening variable (CRM).The researcher relied on a 95% level of confidence, therefore a p-value of less than or equal to 0.05 implies that it is highly unlikely that the results are due to chance alone according to the Independent Sample T-test. This implied that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.The relationship between Trust and CRM is significant at p=0.034,the relationship between Commitment and CRM is significant at p=0.000,the relationship between Two-way Communication and CRM is significant at p=0.014,and the relationship between Conflict handling and CRM is significant at p=0.000.
The following alternative hypotheses;HA1,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived trustworthiness of the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo;HA2,which states that there is a relationship between perceived commitment of the bank to customers and CRM at the bank in Togo;HA3,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived two-way communication of the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo;and HA4,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived conflict handling by the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo are therefore accepted.
4.2 Influence of the intervening variable on the dependent variable
The regression analysis indicates that the intervening variable (CRM) positively influenced the dependent variable (Customer Loyalty). The relationship between CRM and Customer Loyalty is significant at p= 0.000.This relationship implies that if the bank successfully maintains relationships with its customers,intentional Customer Loyalty at the bank will increase.It further indicates that one unit increase in CRM will increase Customer Loyalty with 89.5% when considering Beta. The hypothesis H05,which states that there is no relationship between CRM and intentional customer loyalty at the bank in Togo,is rejected.The hypothesis HA5,which states that there is a relationship between CRM and intentional customer loyalty at the bank in Togo, is accepted.
5.MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMEN
DATIONS
5.1 Trust
In developing relationships with customers trust, between the parties, is of the utmost importance and ultimately in the development of customer loyalty.Therefore,the Togolese banks should remember that trust develops over time and as a result of experiences and actions in the past. The banks can become more trustworthy by giving and keeping promises to customers,showing concern for the security of their transactions, providing quality services, showing respect for customers through front-line staff and fulfilling obligations.All these will contribute to building confidence in the Togolese banks and the services it offers.
5.2 Commitment
It is evident from the results that commitment is important in building relationships between the banking industry and their customers. Commitment is also a critical factor in building customer loyalty; therefore the Togolese banks should tailor financial products to meet their requirements, and should generally be flexible in their relationships with customers.The Togolese banks can identify the needs of different customers and satisfy them through customer segmentation.
5.3 Two-way communication
The focus of a retail bank should be on attracting and retaining customers through co-operation,trust,commitment and the sharing of information between the parties in the relationship.In the ongoing relationship with the customer,the Togolese banks are required to communicate with the customer,and the customer is expected to listen. They can nurture the loyalty of customers by providing accurate information that is easy to understand and that is tailored to address the customers’ needs,and finally by making and fulfilling promises.The Togolese banks should ensure that its sales force discloses all necessary information to the customer in a clear,understandable and accurate way at the point of sale.The Togolese banks can design specific training sessions for employees emphasising the two-way communication aspect.
5.4 Conflict handling
If an organisation does not handle complaints with urgency and respect, customers will see no reason to trust,commit to or communicate with the organisation.This emphasizes the need for adequate and effective problem recovery.It is therefore important that effective conflict resolution mechanisms are not only in place,but are proactive,so as to pre-empt potential sources of conflict and address them before problems manifest, to be able to protect customers from avoidable losses. 5.5 Relationship between CRM and customer loyalty
The empirical results state that there is a significant relationship between CRM and customer loyalty.The intervening variable CRM is needed in order to achieve customer loyalty due to the fact that there is no relationship between trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling and customer loyalty,without the intervening variable CRM. This therefore necessitates the need for CRM. The success of CRM can only be achieved if the entire organisation is behind its implementation.The Togolese banks should develop training session to inform employees that the core CRM processes are customer acquisition, customer retention and customer development.They can also retain and develop loyal customers by being trustworthy,committed to service,should communicate timorously and accurately and must resolve conflicts in a manner that will eliminate unnecessary loss and inconvenience to customers.
【References】
［１］Baran RJ,Galka RJ,Strunk DP(2008).Principles of customer relationship management.Mason:Thomson South-Western.
［２］Buttle F(2004).Customer Relationship Management:Concepts and Tools.Jordan Hill, Oxford:Elsevier Butterworth- Heinemann.
［３］Du Plessis PJ,Jooste CJ,Strydom JW(2005).Applied strategic marketing.2nd edition. Sandton:Heinemann.
［４］Ndubisi NO(2007).Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty.Marketing Intelligence and Planning.
［５］Ndubisi NO,Wah CK(2005).Factorial and discriminant analyses of the underpinnings of relationship marketing and customer satisfaction.
［６］Oliver RL(1999).Whence consumer loyalty?J.Mark.
［７］Sauers AC(2008).Effective customer relationship management.New York:Cambria Press.
［８］Zikmund WG,Babin BJ(2007).Essentials of marketing research.3rd edition. Mason:Thomson South-Western.
【Key words】Ｃustomer retention；Ｃustomer loyalty；Ｃustomer relationship management；Ｂanking industry
0.INTRODUCTION
In Togo, the government has initiated several restructuring plan and support the banking sector.In order to benefit from it,the banking industry is now highly competitive,with 11 banks not only competing among one another;but also with non-banks and other financial institutions.A business that wants to succeed in such competitive market,where customers are empowered and the need to secure the future survival and profitability of the organisation are increasing,will have to move to customer relationship management (CRM).CRM can assist banks in building long term beneficial relationships with customers which has a direct influence on the value proposition to customers, and the competitive position of the organisation in the market.Improving the retention rates of the organisation provides assistance in building this customer base and therefore improving the level of profitable customers. This will lead to customer loyalty and increased profits for the organisation due to customer retention. Customer relationship building creates rewards that benefit both the organisation and the customer.
This article includes a literature review of the CRM and customer loyalty, and an explanation of the problem that was investigated.The research objectives and methodology are then discussed.Thereafter the analysis results are discussed followed by management implications and recommendations. 1.LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Customer relationship management (CRM)
Today, many organisations such as banks realize the importance of CRM and its potential to help them acquire new customers, to retain existing ones and maximize their lifetime value. Berndt et al.(2009) defined CRM as“an enterprise-wide commitment to identify the individual customers of an organisation,and to create a relationship between the organisation and these customers as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial.”Ndubisi (2004)reported that more and more firms are capitalizing on strong firm-customer relationship to gain invaluable information on how best to serve customers and keep them from defecting to competing brands.CRM provides a transition from a transaction-based to a relationship-based model that concentrates on the acquisition, development and retention of profitable customer relationships (Baran et al., 2008).
Four important components of CRM:
Scholars have listed the virtues that have been theorized in the CRM literature as trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling (Ndubisi and Wah,2005;Buttle,2004).
Trust:Ndubisi (2007) defines trust as the willingness to rely on a partner in whom confidence is entrusted.The trusting relationships between customers and organisations are associated with overall positive outcomes and trust in the organisation should increase the benefit derived from transacting with the organisation (Botha and Van Rensburg, 2010).
Commitment:Commitment refers to the belief by both parties that the relationship is worth working on to ensure it endures indefinitely.It is then useful in measuring the likelihood of customer loyalty (Ndubisi and Wah, 2005). During the commitment stage of relationship marketing the parties reach a mature,stable period where the parties share the benefits of the relationship (Sauers,2008).
Two-way Communication:Communication in relationship marketing means providing information that can be trusted and providing information when problems occur.For a customer to perceive a relationship as valuable,the customer’s needs must be fulfilled.The needs of the customers can be established through gathering information from them.
Conflict handling:Conflict handling includes the supplier’s ability to avoid potential conflict,solve manifested conflicts before they create problems and the ability to openly discuss solutions when problems arise. How conflict is handled will either ensure loyalty,or the customers will leave the company and go to a competitor. 1.2 Customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is the heart of retention.Oliver(1999) refers to customer loyalty as a deeply held commitment to repurchase a preferred product or service in the future,thereby causing repetitive same brand purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviour. Customer satisfaction relates to the results of a process,however,customer loyalty relates to a relationship.Organisations understand that it is considerably more profitable to keep and satisfy existing customers,than to renew a strongly-churning customer base constantly.The rationale behind CRM is that it improves business performance by enhancing customer satisfaction and driving up customer loyalty.
1.3 Problem statement
In the new market place,customers are seen as the reason for the existence of businesses,therefore several strategies have been attempted to retain customers (Meiden, 1996).It has been argued that a more viable approach for banks is to focus on less tangible and less easy-to-imitate determinants of customer retention such as relationship marketing;and the purpose of CRM is to increase customer satisfaction,improve customer perception of service quality and increase customer loyalty (Baran,Galka and Strunk,2008).So the study will focus on the importance for the Togolese banks,to better understand the need for CRM and how that will lead to customer loyalty.The problem statement can thus be defined as to investigate the influence of the variables trust, commitment, two-way communication and conflict handling on customer loyalty through the intervening role of Customer Relationship Management in the Togolese banks.
2.RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the independent variables,trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling on intentional customer loyalty via CRM as the intervening variable at the selected bank.
3.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research study was conducted in two phases.The first phase focused on qualitative research,and the second phase focused on quantitative research.A questionnaire was used during the quantitative phase of the research and this process was administered by conducting personal interviews.The questionnaire,used to gather information, included self developed items,as well as items from questionnaires in the format of a seven-point Likert scale used in previous research.The target population was the customers from four(4)agencies of a selected bank in Lomé(Togo).It is important to note that, although the research was conducted in four major centers in Togo at one bank, the findings and recommendations may be applicable to other retail banks in Togo due to the uniformity of services on offer.The convenience sampling technique was applied to select the sample size of 200 respondents. A total of 167 respondents completed questionnaires. Reliability and validity are the hallmarks of good measurement and the keys to assessing the trustworthiness of any research conducted.In this study,Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the reliability of the measurement sets in the study.The Cronbach’s alpha values for all seven measurement sets are above the lower limit of acceptability,0.60.This confirms that the measurement sets used in the study were reliable. The measurement instrument developed and validated by Du Plessis (2010) was used in this study.The instrument was considered valid for the purposes of the present study.The statistical analysis that was used in the study included a multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses formulated for the study and an analysis of variance test (ANOVA).
4.DISCUSSION OF THE MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS
4.1 Influence of the independent variables on the intervening variable
The analysis indicates that three of the independent variables,Trust, Commitment and Conflict handling,exerted a statistically significant positive influence on the intervening variable(CRM),while Two-way Communication exerted a statistically significant negative influence on the intervening variable (CRM).The researcher relied on a 95% level of confidence, therefore a p-value of less than or equal to 0.05 implies that it is highly unlikely that the results are due to chance alone according to the Independent Sample T-test. This implied that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted.The relationship between Trust and CRM is significant at p=0.034,the relationship between Commitment and CRM is significant at p=0.000,the relationship between Two-way Communication and CRM is significant at p=0.014,and the relationship between Conflict handling and CRM is significant at p=0.000.
The following alternative hypotheses;HA1,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived trustworthiness of the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo;HA2,which states that there is a relationship between perceived commitment of the bank to customers and CRM at the bank in Togo;HA3,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived two-way communication of the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo;and HA4,which states that there is a relationship between the perceived conflict handling by the bank and CRM at the bank in Togo are therefore accepted.
4.2 Influence of the intervening variable on the dependent variable
The regression analysis indicates that the intervening variable (CRM) positively influenced the dependent variable (Customer Loyalty). The relationship between CRM and Customer Loyalty is significant at p= 0.000.This relationship implies that if the bank successfully maintains relationships with its customers,intentional Customer Loyalty at the bank will increase.It further indicates that one unit increase in CRM will increase Customer Loyalty with 89.5% when considering Beta. The hypothesis H05,which states that there is no relationship between CRM and intentional customer loyalty at the bank in Togo,is rejected.The hypothesis HA5,which states that there is a relationship between CRM and intentional customer loyalty at the bank in Togo, is accepted.
5.MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMEN
DATIONS
5.1 Trust
In developing relationships with customers trust, between the parties, is of the utmost importance and ultimately in the development of customer loyalty.Therefore,the Togolese banks should remember that trust develops over time and as a result of experiences and actions in the past. The banks can become more trustworthy by giving and keeping promises to customers,showing concern for the security of their transactions, providing quality services, showing respect for customers through front-line staff and fulfilling obligations.All these will contribute to building confidence in the Togolese banks and the services it offers.
5.2 Commitment
It is evident from the results that commitment is important in building relationships between the banking industry and their customers. Commitment is also a critical factor in building customer loyalty; therefore the Togolese banks should tailor financial products to meet their requirements, and should generally be flexible in their relationships with customers.The Togolese banks can identify the needs of different customers and satisfy them through customer segmentation.
5.3 Two-way communication
The focus of a retail bank should be on attracting and retaining customers through co-operation,trust,commitment and the sharing of information between the parties in the relationship.In the ongoing relationship with the customer,the Togolese banks are required to communicate with the customer,and the customer is expected to listen. They can nurture the loyalty of customers by providing accurate information that is easy to understand and that is tailored to address the customers’ needs,and finally by making and fulfilling promises.The Togolese banks should ensure that its sales force discloses all necessary information to the customer in a clear,understandable and accurate way at the point of sale.The Togolese banks can design specific training sessions for employees emphasising the two-way communication aspect.
5.4 Conflict handling
If an organisation does not handle complaints with urgency and respect, customers will see no reason to trust,commit to or communicate with the organisation.This emphasizes the need for adequate and effective problem recovery.It is therefore important that effective conflict resolution mechanisms are not only in place,but are proactive,so as to pre-empt potential sources of conflict and address them before problems manifest, to be able to protect customers from avoidable losses. 5.5 Relationship between CRM and customer loyalty
The empirical results state that there is a significant relationship between CRM and customer loyalty.The intervening variable CRM is needed in order to achieve customer loyalty due to the fact that there is no relationship between trust,commitment,two-way communication and conflict handling and customer loyalty,without the intervening variable CRM. This therefore necessitates the need for CRM. The success of CRM can only be achieved if the entire organisation is behind its implementation.The Togolese banks should develop training session to inform employees that the core CRM processes are customer acquisition, customer retention and customer development.They can also retain and develop loyal customers by being trustworthy,committed to service,should communicate timorously and accurately and must resolve conflicts in a manner that will eliminate unnecessary loss and inconvenience to customers.
【References】
［１］Baran RJ,Galka RJ,Strunk DP(2008).Principles of customer relationship management.Mason:Thomson South-Western.
［２］Buttle F(2004).Customer Relationship Management:Concepts and Tools.Jordan Hill, Oxford:Elsevier Butterworth- Heinemann.
［３］Du Plessis PJ,Jooste CJ,Strydom JW(2005).Applied strategic marketing.2nd edition. Sandton:Heinemann.
［４］Ndubisi NO(2007).Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty.Marketing Intelligence and Planning.
［５］Ndubisi NO,Wah CK(2005).Factorial and discriminant analyses of the underpinnings of relationship marketing and customer satisfaction.
［６］Oliver RL(1999).Whence consumer loyalty?J.Mark.
［７］Sauers AC(2008).Effective customer relationship management.New York:Cambria Press.
［８］Zikmund WG,Babin BJ(2007).Essentials of marketing research.3rd edition. Mason:Thomson South-Western.