The Importance of a Continuous Customer Relationship Management on the Profitability of Financial Institutions: A Study of Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer retention and the profitability of financial institutions particularly banks in the service sector in Ghana.

Design/Methodology: the study adopted a quantitative research method approach to describe the impact of the CRM on the profitability of service brand offering in the banking sector in Ghana, worthy for generalization. The study sampled four (4) branches of the Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd in a convenient manner in the Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana. The two branches of the bank namely; the Bolgatanga main branch and the Navrongo main branch were selected in the upper East Region while the Walewale and Savelugu branches were picked in the Northern Region making the total of four branches of the Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd. In all, three hundred questionnaires were administered on customers comprising two hundred and eighty external customers and twenty internal customers. That is, seventy external customers and five employees from each branch selected.

Findings: the study found that, the bank is doing well in terms of profitability because of its strong or vibrant CRM policies. The study revealed that a concrete CRM which is grounded on a strong relationship with a customer, conducive working environment, providing a quality and reliable service and being customer friendly lead to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention and therefore increases the bank's profit. The customers are satisfied with the services provided by the bank and have decided to remained with the bank without switching off to a different bank. These satisfied customers do recommend the bank and its services to other people who are not customers of the bank and this had resulted in customers trafficking and hence an increased in the profit level of the bank. The study found that CRM; Customer Satisfaction Survey; Customer loyalty; Customer retention and Profitability are effectively correlated.

Research Limitation: the study was limited to Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd in the service sector in Ghana. However, the findings can be applied to all banks in the service sector in Ghana because the needs of the banks customers and those in different banks are the same.

Practical Limitation: the employees and other important stakeholders in the banking industry think that the responsibility of CRM rests solely on the staff at the marketing department rather than all the staff members of the entire bank. The present study urges all the employees working in the banks to be wary in their word-of-mouth communication with the customer and be ever prepared to offer reliable, satisfactory and quality services to the customers who called in.

Originality/value: the current empirical study makes an original contribution to the existing literature by adding knowledge of the impact CRM in the context of banking institution in Ghana, where the moment of truth is highly evident.