Customers’ significance and strategies within a CRM context

Abstract

CRM systems have been increasingly adopted by progressive companies over the past decade. Moreover, a lot of research has been conducted worldwide in this area. Nevertheless, a number of issues related to CRM have not been adequately researched. Such an issue refers to the strategic dimensions of CRM and more particularly to aspects of CRM related to customers’ significance, customers’ value and marketing strategies which could be directed towards customers. Hence, the objective of this paper is to classify customers on the basis of their significance as well as to investigate whether some proposed customer strategies are implemented by co mpanies using CRM systems. In order to accomplish the objective of the paper, first, studies referring to aspects of CRM strategy, customer lifetime value (CLV) and customer portfolios have been discussed and analyzed; and secondly, a survey was conducted in Gree ce directed to companies employing CRM systems. The findings of the survey indica ted that the high volume customers are not assessed as the most strategically significant category of customers. Further, there was shown a strong positive relationship between the significance of high volume customers and the cost of applying CRM and a moderate positive relationship between the significance of high future CLV customers and the amount of application time of CRM. Finally, the hypotheses of the study related to the im plementation rates of the proposed customer strategies were confirmed.