Customers' Attitude Towards Mobile Messaging Technology in Promoting CRM: A Study

8/10/2019 Customers' Attitude Towards Mobile Messaging Technology in Promoting CRM: A Study

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Customers' Attitude Towards Mobile Messaging Technology in Promoting CRM: A Study

INTRODUCTION:

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a system for managing a companys

interactions with current and futurecustomers.It involves using technology to organize,automate, and synchronizesales,marketing,customer service,and technical support.

TYPES

Marketing and Customer Service

CRM systems track and measure marketing campaigns over multiple networks. These systemscan track customer analysis by customer clicks and sales. Places where CRM is used include call

centers, heavily utilized in social media, direct mail, data storage files, banks, and customer data

queries.

CRM in customer contact centers

CRM systems are Customer Relationship Management platforms. It is a platform for progressing

the payments and other related query management. Their goal is to track, record, store in

databases, and then data mine the information in a way that increases customer relations(predominantly increasedARPU,and decreasedchurn). The CRM codifies the interactions

between you and your customers, so you can maximize sales and profits using analytics,KPIs,to

give the users as much information on where to focus your marketing, customer service to

maximize revenue, and decrease idle and unproductive contact with your customers. The contactchannels (now aiming to be Omni-Channel from Multi-Channel) use such operational methods

ascontact centers.The CRM software is installed in the contact centers, and help directcustomers to the right agent or self-empowered knowledge.

[2]CRM software can also be used to

identify and reward loyal customers over a period of time.

Appointments

CRM software programs can automatically synchronize suitable appointment dates, times, andmethods for customer contact. Once appointments are saved in a systems calendar the systems

calendar will remember. Then, later retrieve the appointment and send a represented message for

action.[citation needed]

CRM in B2B market

The modern environment requires one business to interact with another via the web. According

to a Sweeney Group definition, CRM is all the tools, technologies andprocedures to manage,

improve, or facilitate sales, support and related interactions with customers, prospects, andbusiness partners throughout the enterprise.

[3]It assumes that CRM is involved in everyB2B

transaction.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_revenue_per_userhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churn_ratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_centershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-sap1-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-sap1-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-sap1-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-davenport-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-davenport-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-davenport-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-zeng-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-zeng-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-zeng-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-zeng-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business-to-businesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-davenport-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management#cite_note-sap1-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_centershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churn_ratehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_revenue_per_userhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customers


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Despite the general notion that CRM systems were created for the customer-centric businesses,

they can also be applied to B2B environments to streamline and improve customer management

conditions.B2C and B2B CRM systems are not created equally and different CRM softwareapplies to B2B and B2C conditions. B2B relationships usually have longer maturity times than

B2C relationships. For the best level of CRM operation in a B2B environment, the software must

bepersonalized and delivered at individual levels.

Characteristics of CRM

Well-designed CRM includes the following characteristics:

1. Relationship management is acustomer-oriented feature with service response based on

customer input, one-to-one solutions to customers requirements, direct online

communications with customer and customer service centers that help customers solve

their questions.2. Salesforce automation. This function can implementsales promotion analysis, automate

tracking of a clients account history for repeated sales or future sales, and alsooordinate sales, marketing, call centers, and retail outlets in order to realize the

salesforce automation.3. Use of technology. This feature is about following the technology trend and skills of

value delivering using technology to make up-to-the-second customer data available. It

appliesdata warehouse technology in order toaggregate transaction information, tomerge the information with CRM solutions, and to provide KPI (key performance

indicators).

4. Opportunity management. This feature helps the company to manage unpredictable

growth and demand and implement a goodforecasting model to integrate sales historywithsales projections.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B2Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_orientationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_promotionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_warehousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregate_datahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_forecastinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_forecastinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregate_datahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_warehousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_promotionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_orientationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B2C


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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Mobile messaging is an integral part of value added services offered by the mobile industry.

Mobile messaging does not simply mean sending text messages, its scope extends to Instant

Messaging (IM), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Mobile Messaging (MM), Short

Messaging Service (SMS), Unified Messaging (UM), Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), E-

mail, etc. Short Messaging Service (SMS) is a very popular wireless communication protocol. As

a CRM medium, mobile provides an extraordinary force of intimacy that no other medium is

competent to do. Brand owners are quickly realizing the dominance of this screen as a valuable

CRM medium. It can be used as an integrated marketing effort to strengthen the brand and

promote customer acquisition and loyalty.

In the background of these developments, the present research has been conducted. The output of

this study is likely to provide a valuable input to corporate sector. It might also help marketing

persons to sponsor and create better customer relations by accurately distinguishing thepreferences of customers.


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Objectives and Hypothesis of the Study:

The study has been conducted to achieve the following objectives:

To study the socioeconomic, demographic status and usage pattern of mobile messaging

of the selected respondents.

To analyze the attitude of respondents towards promotional mobile messages.

To analyze and identify the preferable sectors in which the respondents would like to

avail interactive mobile messaging.

To analyze the respondents' opinion on mobile messaging as a tool for promoting CRM.

The study has formulated and tested the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1

H0: The respondents' opinion regarding preferred services for receiving mobile messages are

uniformly distributed.

H1: The respondents' opinion regarding preferred services for receiving mobile messages are not


Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no association between mobile messaging and customer relationship management.

H1: There is association between mobile messaging and customer relationship management.

Research Methodology

The present investigation has been designed to study the customer's perception on mobile

messages received by them and its relevance to CRM. In order to fulfill the research objectives,

research methodology consists of the following sections:

Sample Size

In the present study a sample of 180 respondents has been taken. The respondents have been

selected from Coimbatore district. The samples have been selected using non-probability

method, i.e., convenience sampling method. The sample consists of both sexes, i.e., male and


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female, respondents of different age groups, having different educational qualifications and

belonging to different areas.

Sample Profile:

Table 1 shows the profile of the respondents with respect to gender, residential status, age,

education level, occupation and their income.

Analysis of sample profile in Table 1 reveals that the study is based on the responses from male

as well as female respondents. Out of a total of 180 respondents, the percentage of male and

female respondents is 75% and 25% respectively. The respondents are almost in unequal

proportion from rural and urban area, i.e., 80% and 20%. On the basis of responses, the

respondents have been classified into four age-categories. The highest percentage of respondents(80%) belong to the age group of >30 and the lowest percentage of responses (10%) to the age

group of 31-40,41-50. It is clear from the table that more than three-fourth percentages, i.e., 10%

are post graduates. On the basis of occupation, the maximum responses, i.e., 70% from Business

sector, followed by PG and Professional (10%).It has been observed that more than 20% of the

respondents have annual income of above Rs. 2 lakh, and the highest percentage of respondents

(60%) belong to the income category between Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 4 lakh.

Table 1:Sample profile

S.N

o

Profile Percentage

1 Gender Male 75%

Female 25%

2 Residential Status Urban 80%

Rural 20%3 Age >30 80%

31-40 10%

41-50 10%

2 lakh 20%

2-4 lakh 60%

4-6 lakh 15%

6 lakh< 5%


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Collection of Data :

Collection of data means assembling the data for the point of a particular investigation. One may

use one or more of the tools for gathering facts according to the nature and purpose of the study,

but questionnaire method is the most suitable and appropriate one for the current study.

Therefore, the questionnaire method has been used to collect the required information.

Results and Discussion :

As per the objectives of the study, the responses obtained through questionnaires have been

analyzed by using appropriate techniques such as percentage method and chi-square method

using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 AMOS evaluation version. The

findings of the study are represented in Table 2.

Table 2:Usage Pattern of Mobile Messaging

Type of Messaging Percentage

Sending text messages 75

Sending picture messages/MMS 0

Browsing news 5

Browsing companys information 0

SMS & win 0

Mobile e-mail 10

Voting (on/off line) 0Downloading mobile contents 10

The study depicted that majority of respondents (75%) use mobile for sending text

messages only. It is followed by mobile e-mail & downloading mobile contents (10%).

The discussion with the respondents revealed that downloading mobile contents is costly.

Hence, mobile messaging feature is most frequently used to send text-messages.

It is observed that majority of respondents, i.e., 96% have received some kind of

promotional messages from service/product providing companies (Table 3).

Table 3:Promotional messages/SMS received by respondents

Messages Received Percentage

Yes 95

No 5

Total 100


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The study found that majority of the respondents ignore and delete the messages after

reading. It is observed that 90% of the respondents ignore unsolicited promotional

messages, i.e., they don't bother to complain to customer care to block such messages

(Table 4).

Table 4:Respondents Attitude Towards Unsolicited Messages

Attitude Percentage

Ignore 90

Complain to customer care to block such messages 10

Total 100

The study shows that majority of the respondents, i.e., 85% state that they would like to

receive such messages, but with their prior consent (Table 5).

The study evaluated the preferences of customers to diverse sectors for receiving mobile

messages. The top five sectors emerged from the study for receiving mobile messagingare banking, insurance, brokerage/financial, retail store and telecom (Table 6). To test the

significance of difference between respondents' views with regard to preferred services

for receiving mobile messages, the following null and alternative hypothesis have been

tested:

Table 5: Respondents opinion on Sending messages with prior permission

Response Percentage

Yes 85

No 15

Total 100


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H0: The respondents' opinions regarding preferred services for receiving mobile messages are


H1: The respondents' opinions regarding preferred services for receiving mobile messages are not


Chi-square test statistics have been used to test the hypothesis. Table 6 shows the observed

values, values of chi-square and corresponding p-values.

Analysis of chi-square statistics shows that the p-value is more than 0.05 for messages in relation

to travel and lodging, healthcare, and media and entertainment. Hence, it has been decided to

accept null hypothesis in this regard. The acceptance of null hypothesis means that the

respondents' views on mobile messaging are equally distributed with respect to travel andlodging, healthcare and messages relating to media and entertainment. Further, it has been

observed that p-values for banking, insurance, telecom, brokerage/financial services and retail

store are less than 0.01. Therefore, null hypothesis is rejected with respect to these selected

services, and alternative hypothesis is being accepted. So, it can be stated that the respondents'

views with regard to these services are not evenly distributed. Hence, respondents would like to

receive messages in these services.

The respondents' views on various statements on mobile messaging help in effective

customer relationship and building customer loyalty and have been presented in Table 7.

Table 6:Respondents opinion regarding preference of selected services/sectors for receiving mobile

messaging sevices

Services Percentages Chi-square statistics p-value

Banking 96 81.00 0.000*

Insurance 92 73.96 0.000*

Telecom 61 6.76 0.009*

Travel & loading 52 0.16 0.689

Healthcare 32 0.64 0.424

Media & entertainment 26 5.76 0.076

Brokerage/financial 72 27.04 0.000*

Retail store 70 26.98 0.000*


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Table 7:Respondents opinions on statements on mobile messaging helps in effective CRM

Statements Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Total

Customers are valuable

0 10 30 46 94 180

Enhances customer experience 0 9 19 43 109 180

Brand Promotion 0 10 24 47 99 180

Retain existing customer 0 15 20 65 85 180

Attract new customers 10 18 32 60 60 180

Develops customers intimacy 8 18 44 30 80 180

Fosters product adoption 12 20 40 58 50 180

Promotes customers satisfaction 6 19 25 52 78 180

Promotes customers loyalty 8 16 30 49 77 180

The study reveals that 94 strongly agree and 46 respondents agree with the statement that

customers are valuable for the business enterprise.

The study shows that almost 109 of customers strongly agree that mobile messaging

enhances customer's experience.

The respondents' opinion on mobile messaging helping brand promotion shows that 47

respondents agree and 99 respondents strongly agree with the statement.

The study shows that 60 agreed and 60 strongly agreed with the statement that messaging

helps attract new customers. Hence, majority of respondents are of the view that

messaging helps in attracting new customers.

The study reveals that 30 respondents agree and 80 respondents strongly agree to the

statement that messaging helps developing customer intimacy.

The study reveals that more than 58 of the respondents agree that mobile messaging

fosters product adoption as well as customers satisfaction.

The analysis revealed that almost 77 customers have favorable views on messaging

which promotes customers loyalty.

The investigation of responses to whether mobile messaging helps developing better

customer relations management depicted that almost 78 of respondents state that

messaging helps developing better CRM.


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To test whether significance of difference in respondents views on the statements on

mobile messaging helps build effective CRM and promotes customer loyalty, the

following hypothesis has been tested:

H0: There is no association between mobile messaging and customer relationship

management.

H1: There is association between mobile messaging and customer relationship

management.

The hypothesis has been tested by using chi-square test. Table 8 depicts the values of chi-

square statistics and p-values.

Table 7:Results of Chi-square test on association Between statements on mobile messaging

and CRM

Statements Chi-square value p-value

Customers are valuable21.980 0.000*

Enhances customer experience 71.120 0.000*

Brand Promotion 44.240 0.000*

Retain existing customer 52..400 0.000*

Attract new customers 86.300 0.000*

Develops customers intimacy 157.300 0.000*

Fosters product adoption 53.840 0.000*

Promotes customers satisfaction 54.560 0.000*

Promotes customers loyalty

52.400 0.000*


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Conclusion:

On the basis of findings of the study it is safe to conclude that respondents are of the view that

mobile messaging technology enhances customer experience, helps brand promotion, attracts

new customers, promotes customer satisfaction as well as customer loyalty and builds betterCRM. The top five sectors which emerged from the study for receiving mobile messaging are

banking, insurance, brokerage/financial, retail store and telecom. The discussion with the

customers depicts that there are security concerns, technological and registration issues revealed

by the customers creating obstacle to the popularity of the concept. Hence it is suggested that

customer awareness campaigns should be launched by the companies to resolve the problem.

The study revealed that greater numbers of customers intend to receive messages with their

consent only. Hence, it is recommended that customers consent prior to sending message may

help not only in building effective CRM but also in promoting customer loyalty.


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Documents

Customers' Attitude Towards Mobile Messaging Technology in Promoting CRM: A Study