Are Retained Customers Automatically Loyal: A CRM Study
by
ABSTRACT
In this thesis, the focus is on customer retention and loyalty under the realm of customer relationship management. The satisfaction level of the customers distinguishes a successful enterprise from and unsuccessful enterprise. Customer satisfaction eventually leads to customer retention and customer loyalty. The two terms are different in terms of customer satisfaction. This involves that the all the customers should be managed as an asset of the enterprise to ensure potential lifetime customer loyalty and revenue generation. In the era of advancing technology and competitive scenario, the role of CRM in this context cannot be denied. Lately, the rapid changes in the global economic and technological environment, the behaviours of consumers are also changing. Therefore, those retailers who could not cope with these sudden changes are not able to compete. Hence, they end up closing the business. Numerous studies about the loyalty of customers have been published; however, there is still a gap, which occurs due to the changing behaviour of consumers. This is why I have more interest in this subject. However, the purpose of this study is to analyse the existence of a relationship between retaining customers and their loyalty level with the organisation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACTii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1
Background of the Study1
Problem Statement2
Objectives2
Significance of the Study3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4
Misconception of Retained Customers Are Automatically Loyal4
Customer Retention6
Strategies of Increasing Customer Retention7
Satisfaction7
Switching Costs9
Customer Loyalty9
Behavioural Loyalty11
Attitudinal Loyalty11
Composite Loyalty12
Loyalty Dimensions12
Commitment13
Trust13
Involvement14
Word of Mouth14
Customer Retention versus Customer Loyalty15
Customer Relationship Management16
CRM Strategies16
Focus on Customer Satisfaction16
Reducing Switch cost17
Tesco's Customer Loyalty in UK18
Summary19
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY21
Research Design21
Survey22
Research Focus: Problem, Purpose, and Frameworks23
Sample24
Position of the Researcher25
Reliability and Dependability25
Validity25
REFERENCES27
APPENDIX33
Appendix A: Consent form33
Appendix B: Questionnaire Survey34
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The organisations have gone about a complete transformation in the past few decades. The practices and procedure followed are no more the same. In the present scenario it is exceeding tough for any organisation to survive on just the conventional practices. The concept of competition has changed. Compete to win is the slogan of the organisations in the market today. There has been many changes in the business sector and it is imperative that organisations 'change with time' to stay ahead of the competition. The change needs to accurate and swift.
The discussion about change will not be complete without its reference to the technological advancements; the most critical change is the drastic innovations in the field of technology. These developments have had a considerable impact on the operational aspects of the organisations. Due to these technological brilliances the organisations are able to adjust and refine their marketing strategies to increase profitability.
One such technological innovation has been Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM in simple terms is an instrument made to improve the interaction between the organisation and the customer throughout the customer life cycle. CRM makes organisations competent on customer relationship front, rather than just struggling to gain competitive advantage through products or prices.
Loyalty of customers is thought to be an essential condition for the success of a ...