Publisher's Synopsis
The purpose of this study was to discover if Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs could serve as a function of Public Relations in the development of stakeholder relationships. Traditionally associated with marketing and sales, CRM has reinvented the ways an organization is able to satisfy issues concerning customers by strengthening a customer's association with an organization (Reimann, Schilke, & Thomas, 2010). As CRM continues to grow among organizational professionals, the links between marketing, retention, loyalty, and customer satisfaction have become the driving forces behind implementation. In contrast, there are many who question the purpose of CRM programming, due to a range of vague definitions and consistently redefined expectations. In an attempt to break away from the traditional assumptions of public relations professionals, new strategic business plans emphasize improving customer rapport by supporting the needs of the customer, as well as analyzing how a company responses to a given situation. A study was conducted to analyze CRM communication by exploring the organization-public (OP) relationships between customers and their banking providers. Surveys were distributed using a snowball-convenience sample throughout the northeast region of the United States, with the majority of surveys administered to students, staff, faculty, and associates of The University of Hartford. The goal of the survey was to generate customer perspectives regarding an organization's reputation, communication, and overall banking experience. The responses were also analyzed to see if organizations could improve customer loyalty, identification, retention, and overall satisfaction via CRM communication. The results from this study provided strong correlations between satisfaction, reputation, goodwill, and identification, offering new insight on the connection between CRM, Public Relations, and customer association.
