CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Customer relationship management has attracted the expanded attention of practitioners and scholars. More and more companies are adopting customer-centric strategies, programs, tools, and technology for efficient and effective customer relationship management. They are realizing the need for in-depth and integrated customer knowledge in order to build close cooperative and partnering relationships with their customers. The emergence of new channels and technologies is significantly altering how companies interface with their customers, a development bringing about a greater degree of integration between marketing, sales, and customer service functions in organizations. For practitioners, customer relationship management represents an enterprise approach to developing full-knowledge about customer behavior and relationship marketing, these are not distinguished from each other in themarketing literature (Parvatiyar&Sheth, 2000).

The ability to identify profitable customers and then customize marketing on the basis of customer value has enabled many banks to punch above their weight in today's competitive environment. Banks have chosen to compete through superior customer relating capabilities based largely on the customer relationship management programs deployed. It will come as no surprise that vendors are quick to point out that by allocating resources to customer relationshipmanagement technologies, all firms in the financial services sector cangenerate new forms of competitive advantage. Customer relationshipmanagement has attracted the expanded attention of practitionersand scholars. More and more companies are adoptingcustomer-centric strategies, programs, tools, and technology forefficient and effective customer relationship management. They arerealizing the need for in-depth and integrated customer knowledge inorder to build close cooperative and partneringrelationships with theircustomers. Nevin (2005) points out that these terms have been used to reflect a variety of themes and perspectives. Some of these themes offer a narrow functional marketing' perspective 'while others offer a perspective that is broad and somewhat pragmatic in approach and orientation.

A narrow perspective of customer relationship management isdatabase marketing; this emphasizes the promotional aspects of marketing linked to database efforts.

Another narrow, yet relevant, viewpoint is to consider customer relationship management only as seeking customer retention by using a variety of after marketing tactics that lead to customer bonding or staying in touch with the customer after a sale is made (Vavra, 1932). A more popular approachwith the recent application of information technology is to focus on individual or one-to-one relationships with customers that integrate database knowledgewith a long-term customer retention growth strategy (Peppers &Rogers, 1933).

Thus, Chatters &Buttle (2003) have defined relationship marketing as "an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build up a network with individual consumers and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of both sides, through interactive, individualized and value added contacts over a long period of time" . Jackson (1985) applies the individual account concept in industrial markets to suggest customer relationship management to mean, "Marketing oriented toward strong, lasting relationships with individual accounts".

1. 1. This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research work
2. 2. As a source for additional understanding of the subject.
3. 3. As a source for ideas for your own research work (if properly referenced).
4. 4. For PROPER paraphrasing (see your university definition of plagiarism and acceptable paraphrase)
5. 5. Direct citing (if referenced properly)
Thank you so much for your respect to the authors copyright.