Beyond Transaction: What Influences Customer Relationship Management at Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited

Abstract

The Ghanaian banking industry has experienced growth largely driven by the influx of foreign banks, especially of Nigerian origin. Notable among these banks are UBA, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and GT Bank. The boom in the Ghanaian banking industry has brought about significant changes in product design, marketing and customer relationship management (CRM). Of particular interest to this research is the emergence of the latter, which was almost non-existent in the transaction oriented banks prior to the entry of the ―new generation banks‖. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the underpinnings of Zenith Bank‘s perceived success in customer relationship management and to examine the extent to which the bank‘s people, systems and processes enhance customer loyalty, and to develop a reference framework that could guide Zenith Bank‘s CRM programme going forward. The qualitative data collection technique was used for this study. Transaction marketing, relationship marketing and CRM literatures were reviewed and a case study was conducted to illustrate how customer data can be used for the benefit of the bank and the customer. Eight staff members of Zenith Bank were interviewed. The findings suggest that strategic CRM success is hinged on the special attention given to customers one-on-one, which is made possible by the CRM platforms deployed by the bank. Again the study revealed that the successful combination of people, process and technology will lead to customer loyalty for the bank. In terms of challenges, it was noted that a bank‘s inability to translate customer data into meaningful information and poor firm-staff motivation could pose a serious challenge to the benefits of CRM.