ABSTRACT
CRM recognizes the importance of initiating, maintaining, and enhancing relationships with one’s customers. The customer service delivery function revolves around CRM and is focused on satisfying customers, creating customer loyalty, and, whenever possible, creating commitment between company and customers. The hope is that satisfied customers will provide positive word of mouth, buy a greater variety of products and services, and trade up, which will in turn increase profits and improve company value (Figure 9.1). The marketing literature is rich in measures of satisfaction generated primarily by the services marketing field. All companies that have adopted the CRM orientation recognize the importance of providing quality service to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction. But will providing high levels of measurable satisfaction ensure that companies create a coterie of loyal customers, and will this in turn increase company profitability? Understanding the relationship between satisfaction, loyalty, and profits is critical to our development of CRM-generated marketing strategies.
