Relationship marketing : a focus on online strategies and electronic customer relationship management systems within the local banking industry

Abstract

This research focused on the concept of relationship marketing and provided an analysis of the shift towards an online framework for relationship marketing practices. It delved into the deployment of electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) systems which facilitate relationship marketing tactics. The banking sector was selected as the point of focus for this research. Characteristics of the financial services industry such as homogeneity of services and an increasingly cut-throat competitive environment lend themselves to the need for organisations operating within this sector to distinguish themselves from their competitors by means of meaningful, long-term relationships with their clients. The main objectives of this study are to present a rationale for the relevance of online relationship marketing tactics within the banking industry, highlight challenges implicated in their implementation, and delve into such strategies being practiced by local banking providers. The qualitative approach was deployed in order to achieve these objectives and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that whilst local banks acknowledge the importance of e-CRM systems and online relationship marketing tactics, they are still finding it somewhat challenging to implement such systems due to the tremendous cost, efforts, and time required. The researcher presents a number of practical and cost-effective recommendations which address such challenges and which therefore might facilitate such strategies within the local banking context. Finally, the researcher discusses this study’s limitations and provides a set of recommendations paving the way forward for future research.