This study sets out to validate that a Customer Relationship Management system is an enhancing factor in the sustainability of the short-term insurance broker’s business. This objective frolm the fact that very few brokers utilize a complete and integrated Customer Relationship System that could enable them to use the data and information they hold in an effective and sustainable manner. For this reason a primary objective was developed and from this secondary objectives supporting the key issues in Customer Relationship Management systems, sustainability, use ability, interphase, security and integration ability. An empirical study was conducted and a detailed representation of the facts and key issues to the problem statement was analysed. Various detailed analogies were created from which accurate and reliable deductions were derived. A sample population of bona-fide independent short-term brokers in the North-West province of South Africa were compiled by employing strict discriminatory criteria. A questionnaire was developed that tests the key aspects. The questionnaire used key demographic questions, while the component specific questions employed a Likert scale. A total of 75 questionnaires were distributed and 61 were received back that could be used for statistical analysis. Results from the research indicated that the factors contributing to Customer Relationship Management are cost and value enhancing. These factors signify sustainability and that a CRM system can deliver, user interphase, cloud computing, data security and system integration ability. The findings developed in a key conclusion shows that not only is Customer Relationship Management a key factor to sustainability, but it is an emerging factor of Customer Resource Management as well. A secondary finding is that most brokers have some sort of Customer Relationship Management system, but they do not know what they have and how to utilize it to the full. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study sets out to validate that a Customer Relationship Management system is an enhancing factor in the sustainability of the short-term insurance broker’s business. This objective frolm the fact that very few brokers utilize a complete and integrated Customer Relationship System that could enable them to use the data and information they hold in an effective and sustainable manner. For this reason a primary objective was developed and from this secondary objectives supporting the key issues in Customer Relationship Management systems, sustainability, use ability, interphase, security and integration ability. An empirical study was conducted and a detailed representation of the facts and key issues to the problem statement was analysed. Various detailed analogies were created from which accurate and reliable deductions were derived. A sample population of bona-fide independent short-term brokers in the North-West province of South Africa were compiled by employing strict discriminatory criteria. A questionnaire was developed that tests the key aspects. The questionnaire used key demographic questions, while the component specific questions employed a Likert scale. A total of 75 questionnaires were distributed and 61 were received back that could be used for statistical analysis. Results from the research indicated that the factors contributing to Customer Relationship Management are cost and value enhancing. These factors signify sustainability and that a CRM system can deliver, user interphase, cloud computing, data security and system integration ability. The findings developed in a key conclusion shows that not only is Customer Relationship Management a key factor to sustainability, but it is an emerging factor of Customer Resource Management as well. A secondary finding is that most brokers have some sort of Customer Relationship Management system, but they do not know what they have and how to utilize it to the full. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The rapid growth of e-commerce contributes to not only an increase in the number of online shoppers but also new changes in customer behaviour. Surveys have revealed that online shopper's brand loyalty and store loyalty are declining. Also the transparency of feedback affects customers' purchase intention. In the context of these changes, online sellers are faced with challenges in regard to their customer relationship managements (CRM). They are interested in identifying high-value customers from a mass of online shoppers, and knowing the factors that might have impacts on those high-value customers. This thesis aims to address these questions. Our research is conducted based on an eBay dataset that includes transaction and associated feedback information during the second quarter of 2013. Focusing on the sellers and buyers in that dataset, we propose an approach for measuring the value for each seller-buyer pair so as to help sellers capture high-value customers. For a seller, the value of each of its customers has been obtained, and we create a customer value distribution for the seller so that the seller knows the majority of its customers' consumption abilities. Next, we categorize sellers based on their customer value distributions into four different groups, representing the majority of customers as being of high, medium, low, and balanced values, respectively. After this classification, we compare the performance of each group in terms of the sales, percentage of successful transactions, and the seller level labelled by the eBay system. Furthermore, we perform logistic regression and clustering to the sellers' feedback data in order to investigate whether a seller's reputation has an impact on the seller's customer value distribution. From the experiment results, we conclude that the effect of negative ratings is more significant than that of positive ratings on a seller's customer value distribution. Also higher ratings about "Item as Described" and "Shipping and Handling Charges" are more likely to help the seller attract more high-value buyers. / Graduate

Since 2004, several small hotel chains have introduced guest loyalty programs in order to give their guests "big chain perks" while keeping a boutique identity. Recent studies have raised concerns that loyalty programs do not create brand loyalty. By looking at Kimpton Hotel's recently introduced program, Kimpton InTouch, this study examines the potential for operationalizing guest loyalty programs in a small boutique hotel chain setting. The study utilizes guest information gathered through customer surveys and reviews guest visits and spending patterns to see if there is any indication that loyal behavior exists amongst members of the Kimpton InTouch. This study demonstrates that frequent stay programs serve as a valuable asset in a hotel's ability to nurture a relationship with its membership and increase the overall awareness of its brand in the marketplace.

“Just as the consumer is becoming more intelligent, the company in parallel should become more intelligent about the customer” (Raisch, 2000, p.4). Internet has become a huge marketplace and to stay competitive in this growing marketplace, companies must improve the way they interact with their customers (Rayport & Jaworski, 2005). As the amount of information online is rapidly growing, customers are becoming more intelligent. Intelligence that in turn makes them more powerful as they with high knowledge becomes high involvement purchasers, which is the opposite to what companies desire. Moreover customers are no longer satisfied with rewards like “bonus-points” or “take three pay for two” campaigns (Kalkota & Robinson 1999). Today’s customers want to be treated individual, they want to feel special, want to feel that the company really take care for them (Newell 2000). The aim with this thesis is to explain how Interactive Agents (IA) as a concept can help companies to attract and retain customers. To do so, we first need to describe what that concept consists of. IA:s can be described as “robots” chatting with the user/customer. They often take graphical form and works with a large knowledgebase that help them deliver the answer a user asks for. The agent is designed to serve customers 24/7 and can, to the opposite of a human, handle more than one case at time. The significant difference between a search-engine and an IA is the technology that allows users to use natural sentences to communicate with the agent instead of only using keywords.  Our findings, that take ground in a literature study followed by an interview with one of the big developers of AI in Sweden, indicates that IA:s could provide companies with an additional value over money savings, which is the main reason according to developers to invest in IA:s. As we can see, two different types of benefits, technical and commercial, can be generated by implementing an IA in an organization. Technical benefits are generated directly from the technology, i.e. make the access to information less complicated and increased knowledge about customers. Commercial benefits are generated as a result of applying this technology and if experienced to a satisfactory level by its target-group, it can generate some commercial benefits, such as goodwill and brand mediation. We would like to conclude our findings to say that IA will be able to generate some value for the system-user and the end-user. However, we believe that to create a value of significance, there are still requirements (see conclusions) that need to be carried out, where the most important part would be interaction with other systems.

Title:                                  CRM – A case study of Nordea Private Banking Autors:                               David Johansson & Mikael Westin         Advisor:                             Ulf Aagerup Level:                                 Bachelor thesis in International marketing, (15 ECTS), Spring 2013. Keywords:                         CRM, Relationship marketing, Private Banking Question:                           How does Nordea Private Banking work with CRM to get high customer loyalty? Purpose:                            Study and to learn how Nordea Private Banking is working to bring in new customers and keep existing customers loyal. We also want to see if Nordea uses additional strategies that goes beyond the theory and what their customer relationship strategy is. Method:                             The study has a qualitative research method with an inductive approach. Interviews with leading and skilled profiles at Nordea Private Banking has been interviewed to provide answers to our research question. Theoretical framework: The chapter starts with theory about what relationship marketing is and what is driving customer loyalty. Thereafter theory that define CRM and its pros and cons are addressed, and finally the chapter describe the implementation phase. Empirical framework:     In the empirical framework we present the qualitative interviews that were done with employees at Nordea Private Banking. Conclusion:                       The result from this study shows that Nordea Private Banking uses strategies that are common in theory of CRM to gain high customer loyalty and the use of recommendations from satisfied customers is of a much higher significance in Nordea Private Banking’s case than of what the theory is implying. Nordea Private Banking uses a strategy with high focus on the customers and the importance is within relationship marketing and long lasting relations between the adviser and the customer.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Lyxvarumärkesföretag har börjat undersöka implementering av en strategi som erbjuder livslångt kundvärde. De har även visat intresse som tyder på att de vill tillämpa CRM-policys men är osäkra till hur stor del den går att tillämpa inom lyxindustrin. Vi har med inspiration från artikeln ”Is CRM for Luxury brands?” Cailleux, Mignot & Kapferer (2009) konstaterat att det existerar ett problem med den traditionella CRM som inte förstår ”luxury management” och de exakta implikationerna. Då begreppet CRM anses vara otillräcklig samt bristande vid tillämpning på lyxvarumärken anser vi att CRM inte är en optimal affärsstrategi för den sortens företag. Syfte: Vårt syfte med studien är att förstärka och komplettera CRM ur ett lyxperspektiv. Ambitionen är att utveckla existerande teori samt skapa en modell som är anpassad för lyxvarumärkesföretag. Vidare vill vi även tydliggöra de skillnader som existerar mellan klassisk CRM och LCRM. Metod: Uppsatsen har en teoretisk utgångspunkt och behandlas ur en kvalitativ metod tillsammans med respondenter från fallföretaget som besitter gedigen erfarenhet och ansvarspositioner inom lyxindustrin. Slutsats: CRM är inte en tillräcklig strategi att applicera mot lyxvarumärkesföretag då den inte är justerad för att tillgodose lyxvarumärkesföretagens plattform. Den utvecklade teorin LCRM har testats genom en empirisk studie och verifierats till att vara en lämplig strategi för lyxvarumärkesföretag. Genom en tillämpning av LCRM kan lyxvarumärkesföretag nå en ökad kundlojalitet ur ett långsiktigt  perspektiv. / Background and problem discussion: Luxury brands have begun to explore the benefits of an approach to create lifelong customer value. They have also shown interest in implementing CRM policies but are unsure how suitable it is for their market. The article “Is CRM for luxury brands?” Cailleux, Mignot & Kapferer (2009) has been used as an inspiration in this study as the article has found that the existing traditional CRM does not understand "luxury management" and the precise implications, i.e., how luxury brands want to expand while maintaining their prestige. Since the concept of CRM is considered to be insufficient and inadequate for the purposes of luxury brands, we believe that CRM is not an optimal business strategy for the type of business. Purpose: The purpose with this study is to enhance and supplement the strategy CRM to meet the luxury industry needs. The ambition is to develop existing theory and create a model that is suitable for luxury brands. Further, the purpose is to clarify the differences between CRM and LCRM. Method: The paper is theoretically based with a qualitative approach with respondents in leader positions and extensive experience within the luxury industry. Conclusion: CRM is an insufficient strategy to apply for businesses within the luxury industry because it does not understand the platform of a luxury brand. The developed theory LCRM has been tested through an empiric study and has been verified as a suitable strategy to apply for luxury brands. Through an implementation of LCRM luxury brands can achieve a higher customer loyalty in the long run.

In order to enhance the enterprise¡¦s competiveness as well as to improve the business opportunities and enterprise¡¦s profit in the increasing competitive market, the effective control and utilization of the customers¡¦ relationship has become one of the most important core competences. Therefore, to successfully implement the customer relationship management (CRM) system has played an increasing important role for the enterprises. However, the foreign enterprises will need to deal with additional issues and challenges caused by different business process and culture difference since the customer relationship management (CRM) system is mainly designed and developed from the headquarter. As various factors such as human resources¡A financial capital and time will need to be considered while implementing the customer relationship management (CRM) system, the main purpose of the study is to identify the key success factors so that the limited resources can be allocated and utilized in the most effective manner. After the review of the related literature of CRM system, the study used X company as the example to assess the key factors of implementing CRM system at X company, competent imported to the X company involved in customer relationship management, and work in their fields of work for seven years or more, and his position as manager above the level, pick out a total of five experts interviewed in this study. And then used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to analyze those factors and determine the priority. The result will be helpful to improve the quality of the decision making and the performance of the implementing the CRM system at X company and will also be used as the reference for future development. Bases on the result of this study, it can be concluded that ¡§organization¡¨ is the most important aspect for X company to implement the CRM system. For the overall factors, the support from the top management, the level of the participation and acceptance of the organization and the provision of the correct, secure and stable information are the top three important factors. In addition, the analysis of organization; information; environment dimension weights, the most important of each dimension is the support from the top management, the level of the participation and acceptance of the organization and the provision of the correct, corporate professional competence. Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Foreign Enterprise, AHP

Nowadays customers have more varieties of similar products from different companies around the world through the Internet. Internet brings customers power but loyalty than before. In order to maintain customers¡¦ loyalty, companies have learned to keep good relationship with customers, and IT is the best media for the task. Therefore, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System is expected to help companies to manage their customer relationship. The research used multiple case studies method and chose United World Chinese Commercial Bank (UWCCB), Data Systems Company (DSC), and Adavantec Company to study how enterprise implements CRM system. The research results would illustrate why the enterprise needs CRM, what CRM is, how enterprise implements CRM, and what kinds of benefit they can get from CRM.

In contrast to the declining numbers of new-cars sold in Taiwan, the revenue of car repairing has grown year by year. However, many third-party (non- manufacturer -owned) garages still went bankrupt every month. Therefore, for keeping their profitability and sustainability, those third-party garages need to boost their competitiveness. The main purpose of this research is to find the methods of increasing third-party garage¡¦s competitiveness. This research uses simulative skills to study the selected object. The scope of this study contains the third-party garages¡¦ maintenance management system, cooperative models with suppliers, and customer relationship.