The connection between the use of customer information and a seller company’s customer performance and the role of customer relationship management systems in the application of customer information is studied in the doctoral thesis by Minna Rollins, M.Sc., Business Administration and Economics. This thesis in the field of business economics and marketing, Customer Information Usage and Its Effect on Seller Company's Customer Performance in Business-to-business Markets: An Empirical Study shall be examined at Turku School of Economics, 26 September 2008.
Many business enterprises have long had customer relationship management systems and customer databases in use. Customer information they have generated frequently remains, however, unexploited in sales and marketing. Particularly in the business-to-business market, companies also collect a considerable amount of customer information that is never stored in the systems.
Previous research in the use of customer information has concentrated on what is referred to as its beneficial or useful use. This refers for instance using customer information in making offers or in training corporate staff. In actual practice, customer information is also used in companies symbolically. In this connection, such information is not utilized for its information value but rather only for the reason that it happens to be available.
Customer relationship management systems can deliver empty promises
According to Rollins’ research results, the promise of Customer Relationship Management systems with regard to the more effective use of customer information is not always fulfilled. With time, these systems may even exert a negative impact on in-direct use of customer information.
“The research indicated that a customer-oriented corporate culture intensifies the collection and usage of information. The role of information systems in the use of customer information by companies operating in the business-to-business markets may be smaller than what has been proposed,” Ms Rollins considers.
As time goes on, more research will be required about which sorts of measures would help companies to reinforce the beneficial usage of customer information and reduce symbolic customer information usage.
Size and structure of customer base are not decisive
“According to the research, the use of customer information in sales and marketing decision-making improves customer performance. An interesting finding is that the size or heterogeneity of the company’s customer base would not seem to have any effect on this relationship. On the other hand, large companies use customer information more systematically than small ones,” Ms Rollins relates.
The research project was conducted in two phases. The first phase was a pilot study, for which 12 persons in various companies in Finland and the United States were interviewed. The second phase of the study was survey. The sample was made up of firms operating in the Finnish corporate market. Eighty per cent of the businesses were small and medium-sized companies.
This doctoral thesis can be read at:
http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae6_2008.pdf
More information:
Minna Rollins
Email: mrollins(a)westga.edu
Tel: +1 404 886 2032