Customer relationship management and service quality, a survey within the banking sector

Purpose – In the centre of marketing activities today is the service quality. For the banks to be successful in the intensively competitive environment, they are bound to attach importance to service quality. The purpose of the present study is to reveal the relationship between the customer relationship management (CRM) and the service quality of bank Sepah of Maku in Iran. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect data for this research, and this process was administered by conducting personal interviews. The questionnaire included self-developed items, as well as items from questionnaires used in previous researches. Findings – The findings of this study suggest that managers, who aim to build and sustain a service quality base, should concentrate on the issue of communication. And also, this bank should implement strategies aimed at improving the communication with customers and obtaining information concerning the customers' needs, and resolving conflicts between the customer and the bank during a service failure. Research limitations/implications – The sample is restricted to only one bank, so it is strongly recommended that data be gathered from various parts of Iran including both manufacturing and service industries. As in this study the data gathered were cross-sectional, it is recommended in order to gain deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship among the variables data to be gathered longitudinally. Originality/value – To the best knowledge of the authors this study is the first attempt to survey the relationship and the effects of CRM processes on the service quality of banking industry in the context of Iran.