Difference in Customers Purchasing Behavior - Research Paper Example

?Research proposal part Introduction Need for certainty, accuracy, and validity in processes requires investigations for understanding the processes’ underlying concepts. Social research defines a systematic approach to knowledge development for such undrstanding. This paper proposes a research to investigate significance of customer relationship management to profit making organizations. Research topic and research question The research seeks to explore the topic of customer relationship management in profit-oriented organizations. The proposed research question is, ‘Is there a significant relationship between application of customer relations management and organizations’ marketing success among medium sized organizations?’ The research intends to investigate behavior of consumers and personnel of medium sized organizations in Ontario, Canada, with respect to application of customer relationship management. Consumer behavior patterns may relate to volume of purchase from a single supplier or a shift from one supplier to another. The research will collect and analyze data over a span of one and a half years. Sales, profitability, and developed opinion towards the application will be applicable indicators. The research question explores data to determine whether, or not, application of customer relations management helps managements to influence customers’ behaviors with respect to decisions to purchase, and the volume to purchase and to empower personnel. In order to answer the research question, the study will test the following set of hypothesis. Null hypotheses H01 : There is no significant difference in customers purchasing behavior between organizations that use customer relationship management and organizations that do not. H02: Managements do not appreciate implementation of customer relationship management. H03: Application of customer relationship management does not improve sales. Alternative hypotheses These correspond to the following alternative hypotheses respectively. HA1 : There is a significant difference in customers purchasing behavior between organizations that use customer relationship management and organizations that do not. HA2: Managements appreciate implementation of customer relationship management. HA3: Application of customer relationship management improves sales. Justification of the research question The study of consumers’ behavior through customer relationship management, a process of collecting, analyzing, and monitoring information on customers’ behavior, is important to different stakeholders. It for example allows managements to understand what their customers may need and forms a basis for meeting the needs. Consequently, it influences the organizations’ behavior on how to handle customers through service delivery and determination of the type of products to stock at any given time. An understanding of the management’s approach is also important to consumers who stand to benefit from improved utility through provisions of goods and services that meet consumer’s preference. Answering the research questions positively will therefore promote application of customer relationship managements among the enterprises to improve their competitiveness and at the same time improve customers’ utility (Michael, Douglas and Niels, p. 1). Literature review Customer relationship management is an emerging approach that deals with the relationship between organizations and their customers. It applies customers’ information to study behavior for decision-making that aims at improving the relationship between an organization and its customers. Even though it largely relies on information technology, the application has a number of advantages that identifies its significance to all forms of business organizations. It is further feasible to different capacities of organizations. The application is for example economical and can be easily and readily adapted to different technologies besides its availability. Its major significance is however because of its ability to develop data on consumers’ information that is applicable in studying the group’s behavior. The management approach is also fast because of the possible instant data collation (Rai, p. 60). In a research to investigate the significance of customer relationship management among banking institutions, it was established that elements of customer relationship management such as a management’s devotion, developing the relations management as a process and its reliable implementation, have positive effects of meeting customers’ expectations. The research further established that a reliable ‘customer relationship management’ approach induces customer’s commitment to an organization’s products and in effect influence their purchasing patterns (Padmavathy, Balaji and Sivakumar, p. 1). A research on the significance of application of information technology by sales persons also indicated benefits of customer relationship management’s analytical approach in improving the personnel’s effectiveness towards higher sales volumes. The research findings established the significance of the management approach in empowering individuals to understand customers’ behavior and needs, and in turn develop and apply appropriate methodologies to satisfy the consumers (Michael, Douglas and Niels, p. 1). A study on the effect of applying the management approach on organizations’ costs and revenue economics also identified increased cost but higher levels of revenues and profitability (Krasnikov, Jayachndra and Kumar, p. 68- 70). The literature therefore identifies benefits of the management approach among organization but the approach is still not popular among middle scale business in Ontario. The research therefore seeks to establish the approach’s significance among the medium sized businesses within the geographical boundary. Conceptualization The research is based on the concept that organizations’ application of customer relationship management offers diversified social based benefits to the organizations’ personnel and the organizations’ target customers as well as economic advantages to the organizations. The concept is measurable through the different groups’ rational ratings as well as physical measures on sales and profit levels. Operationalization In order to explore the hypotheses, the research proposes to sample medium sized organizations in Ontario and to seek permission from each management for data collection on their monthly sales and revenues results, and personnel rationale on efficiency and effectiveness of success in sale initiatives. Data will then be collected and analysis done by organization’s application of customer relationship management. Analysis will explore difference in results between organizations that have already implemented customer relationship management and those that have not. The research will therefore consider two tests. One will investigate application of the management approach as the independent variable and sales and revenues as dependent variables. The second test will analyze application of the approach as the independent variable and personnel’s perception of involved processes as dependent variable. Data collection plan The research proposes a simple random sampling, a probability sampling in which each element has an equal probability of being selected. The sampling strategy is preferable because it eliminates bias and is representative of the population. Its results can therefore be generalized with validity. The random sampling approach will be applied in selecting organizations and members of each organization to participate in the research (Babbie, p. 9). Conclusion I am therefore prepared for the actual research process and guarantee a successful implementation. Works cited Babbie, Earl. The practice of social research. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Krasnikov, Alexander, Jayachndra, Satish, and Kumar, V. “The impact of customer relationship management implementation on cost and profit efficiencies; Evidence from the U.S. commercial banking industry.” Journal of Marketing 73 (2009): 61- 76. Michael, Ahearne, Douglas, Hunges, and Niels, Schillewaert. “Why sales reps welcome information technology: Measuring the impact of CRM-baset IT on sales effectiveness.” International Journal of Bank Marketing Research in Marketing 24.4 (2007): 336- 349. Padmavathy, C., Balaji, M., and Sivakumar, V. “Measuring effectiveness of customer relationship management in Indian retail banks.” International Journal of Bank Marketing 30.4 (2012): 246-266. Rai, Alok. Customer relationship management: Concepts and cases. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, 2008. Print. Read More