ABSTRACT

Over the last decade, too many organizations have assumed that their products or services were so superior that customers would automatically keep coming back for more. But in order to compete effectively in today's marketplace, organizations must change their strategy to become more customer focused, not product focused. Customer Relationship is the best way to integrate this customer-facing approach throughout an organization. Aimed at understanding and anticipating the needs of an organization's current and potential customers, this innovative book shows how Customer Relationship links people, process, and technology to optimize an enterprise's revenue and profits by first providing maximum customer satisfaction. Covers developing a secretarial-oriented strategy, innovation in products and services, sales and channels transformation, customer relationship secretarial, and customer care

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0      INTRODUCTION

This chapter gives an introduction to Customer Relationship Management practices and how it is practiced amongst Office technology and management in Nigeria. It highlights the research objectives, relevance of the research, and scope of the study and the rationale for the study.

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The contemporary business environment is confronted with many challenging issues. Providing clients with the best and thus maintaining the relationships rank among top issues in most organization especially service providing companies. Contemporary clients are enlightened and therefore face a growing range of choices in the products and value addition. Companies need to understand the determinants of client value and satisfaction. Clients delivered values are the difference in the total clients cost.

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Office Technology and management(OTM) in Nigeria has seen a steep increase in entrants over the past decade. This rapid increase in the number of players has boosted competition and increased the focus on competitiveness and core service values. Each of these companies is battling for a common market share using the latest technology, secretarial and experience to retain their customers' loyalty. It is in the light of this that, the research seeks to address the following questions.

1.3      OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The rationale of the study is to provide information on how customer relationship management practices affect the Office Technology and management(OTM) in Nigeria as well as clients who patronize these companies. The main objective of the research includes the following.

1.3.1  To find out and discuss the interpretation attitudes towards the Customer Relationship concepts.

1.3.2  To ascertain and evaluate the extent of Customer Relationship adoption and interpretation into the overall organizational planning of Ofiice technology and management.

1.3.3  To examine the various Customer Relationship strategies, programmes and methods that underpins Customer Relationship implementation amongst Ofiice technology and management.

1.3.4  To understand and discuss the facilitating and /or inhibiting the factors that influence Customer Relationship practices.

1.4      RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following are research questions formulated for the study.

1.4.1  What are the structures put in place to enhance Customer Relationship?

1.4.2  What types of strategies are employed to help in Customer Relationship?

1.4.3  Do the Ofiice technology and management use Customer Relationship strategies and methods to enhance profitability?

1.4.4  To what extent do employees seek to build a strong relationship with customers?

1.5      RESEARCH METHODS

The three main sections that helped in the implementation of the research were the research strategy and approach, data collection procedure and data analysis techniques. The methods used to achieve the objectives of the study include data collection and an in-depth interview. The methodology used, answers questions on the population size, and data collection process. Qualitative research was mainly used, since it is an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The idea was to build a complex, holistic picture, analyzed words, report detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting.

1.6      THE SCOPE AND LIMITAIONS OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study covers an efficient and effective customer-seller relationship from the service provider. It's also an assessment of the extent to which Ofiice technology and management have developed their relationship with customers and how best to coordinate a customer relationship management programme. Customer Relationship is a strategic business and process issue, not merely a technology solution as most often conceived in practice. The Customer Relationship process is a continuous learning process where information about individual customer is transformed into a customer relationship. A theoretical model on which future empirical analysis should be based when conceptualizing Customer Relationship. Financial constraints made the work very challenging and successful. Gathering information from respondents was difficult, as some of the respondent were not willing to divulge information to the researcher. The research was not conducted in all branches of Nigeria Commercial Bank, but in fifteen Branches of the Bank in the Ashanti Region.

1.7      THEORITICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

The study shows a schematic representation of a process-oriented framework that may help to facilitate successful implementation of a sustainable Customer Relationship strategy. The framework links components of Customer Relationship strategy with the key dimension of its implementation. The rationale behind this step in the research process is to examine the various Customer Relationship strategies, programmes and methods that underpin Customer Relationship implementation amongst Ofiice technology and management, and new theories in secretarial in general, we need to look back and try to understand the evolution, roots and foundations of knowledge. The researchers then used the analysis of the historical background of relationship secretarial and the extant definitions and conceptualization extracted from the literature as a foothold from which to identify the components of Customer Relationship that we regard as important when implementing a customer relationship management programme. The concepts are derived from scholars such as: Dwyer et al 1987, Gronroos (1990) and Morgan &Hunts. Donaldson and O'Toole, (2002), Grossman, (1998); Chan and Ndubisi, (2004).

1.9 ORGANISATION OF STUDY

Chapter one is an introduction to the research report. It contains background information to the subject at hand and how information in the research report will be organized. It highlights the research objectives, objectives of the study, the relevance of the study and the scope of the study.

Chapter two contains a review of the literature published in the area of the study and provides an insight into relevant views and trends that emerged in the area under consideration.

Chapter three details the methods used in the collection of data for the research work and analyzing data.

Chapter four involves the presentation of information from the data collected from survey respondent.

Chapter five looks at the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation based on the findings.