Measuring customer relationship management in 
South Africa Banking with specific reference to 
selected Port Elizabeth customers 
 
MG Simanga 
orcid.org 0000-0001-8762-0023 
 
 
Mini-dissertation accepted in partial fulfilment of the 
requirements for the degree Master of Business Administration 
at the North-West University 
 
 
 
Supervisor: Dr R Meissner 
 
 
Graduation: June 2021 
Student number: 29900859 
1 
 
 
DECLARATION 
I, MG Simanga , declare that this study titled, “measuring customer relationship 
management in South African Banking with specific reference to selected Port 
Elizabeth customers” is my own work carried out under the supervision of Dr Richard 
Meissner. This mini dissertation has not been submitted for any study or qualification 
in any institution of higher learning. All sources used in the study have been strictly 
indicated and acknowledged through references. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MG Simanga 13/02/2021 
Signature       Date 
 
 
 
 
  
i 
 
 
RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
It is a privilege to acknowledge the following people without whose assistance this 
study would not have been accomplished. 
In no specific order, I wish to thank the following individuals: 
• Dr Richard Meissner, my supervisor. It has been an honour to learn from such 
an enthusiastic, considerate, and understanding person. Thank you for your 
input and unleashing the true potential in me. Your unwavering support and 
encouragement are worth acknowledging; 
• A special thanks to my parents, Zamiqhinga William Simanga and Lhesi 
Magwebu, for the motivation, and faith they had in me, and their unwavering 
support throughout my academic journey. Your appreciation for the value of 
education in general even though you never had such opportunities yourselves 
was what kept me going throughout my academic journey; 
• My immediate family thank you for your continuous support through thick and 
thin of my academic journey and in particular my wife Bulelwa Cynthia Simanga 
and my children Hlomla, Anathi, Zukhanye and Ziyanda– for their love, 
encouragement and moral support through good and bad times. May this 
achievement be an inspiration to my children so that they can continue believing 
in themselves that challenging work and determination does eventually yield 
dividends? Bulelwa this is indeed a special gift to you for the pain you have 
endured of spending lonely nights without your better half; 
• My friends and colleagues who had an amazing belief in my capabilities were 
equally my pillars of strength; 
• The bank customers who sacrifices their precious time to provide the data for 
this study; and  
• Finally, my sincere appreciation goes to the Almighty God. Thank you for the 
knowledge, wisdom and endurance. 
  
ii 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
The objective of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to retain and reward 
existing customers as well as well as attracting new customers. Factors such as risk 
of failure and marketing inertia have cause majority of retail banks in South Africa to 
continue with the traditional ways of marketing and only few retail banks have adapted 
CRM. The purpose of the study was to determine SA Banking customers’ perceptions of the 
CRM initiatives offered by their banks and what banks could do to improve the relationships 
with customers. Grounded on CRM theory, the study was underpinned by an 
interpretivist paradigm framed within an exploratory qualitative research approach. 
Data was collected through semi-structured open-ended interviews with 20 purposive 
selected retail banks customers. Data was analysed using the grounded theory 
method following the situational analysis of Strauss and Corbin (1990). 
The results reveal that an effective CRM practices will increase customer satisfaction 
and improve effective relationship with existing and prospective customers. This will 
be achieved by managing information and monitoring performance trends in delivering 
products and services that facilitates attraction and retention of customers. The results 
further reveal that participants feel they were not even made aware of various loyalty 
programmes like reward schemes and other modern banking initiatives their banks 
were offering a situation that prompted them at times to switch to other banks. The 
study recommends that retail banks should place emphasis on the concept CRM by 
positioning their customer at the centre of their product and service development 
strategy. The study further recommends that retail banks needs to improve the 
customer satisfaction levels through the utilisation of various modern banking 
technologies so as to positively influence customer experiences of their offerings. 
The study seeks to recommend that the five purposive selected retail banks from Port 
Elizabeth be used to better demonstrate their differentiated reward schemes they each 
have for their customers in their quest to create general awareness and also managing 
relationships with their customers. 
Keywords: customer relationship management, retail banks, customer, customer 
satisfaction, customer retention.  
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
DECLARATION ...............................................................................................................i 
RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................... ii 
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... iii 
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ iv 
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... ix 
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................x 
CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................... 1 
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ............................................................................... 1 
1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ....................................................................... 3 
1.2 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY.......................................................................... 9 
1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT .................................................................................... 9 
1.4.1 Research aim and objectives ..................................................................... 11 
1.4.2 Research questions .................................................................................... 11 
1.5 BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 12 
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY......................................................................... 13 
1.6.1 Research paradigm .................................................................................... 14 
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1.6.2 Research approach .................................................................................... 14 
1.6.3 Population for the study .............................................................................. 14 
1.6.4 Selection of participants ............................................................................. 15 
1.6.5 Data collection ............................................................................................ 15 
1.6.7 Data analysis .............................................................................................. 15 
1.7 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS .................................................................. 16 
1.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION ............................................................................ 17 
1.9 CHAPTERS OUTLINE ...................................................................................... 17 
1.10  CHAPTER CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 18 
CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................. 19 
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATION .................................. 19 
2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 19 
2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................ 19 
2.3 THE CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ............. 20 
2.4 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PRACTISES......................... 21 
2.4.1 Attitude towards clients .............................................................................. 22 
2.4.2 Efficiency of banking services .................................................................... 22 
2.4.3 Knowledgeability ......................................................................................... 23 
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2.5 IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ............... 24 
2.6 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PROCESSES ...................... 25 
2.7 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING  ............... 26 
2.7.1 Trust and commitment ................................................................................ 27 
2.8 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION .......................................................................... 27 
2.8.1 Types of customers satisfaction ................................................................. 29 
2.8.2 Determinants of customer satisfaction ....................................................... 29 
2.9 CUSTOMER RETENTION ................................................................................ 30 
2.10 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................... 32 
2.11 CUSTOMER LOYALTY .................................................................................... 33 
2.12 BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP 
MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY ........................................................ 33 
2.12.1 Benefits to highly respected bank customers ............................................ 34 
2.12.2 Incentives for employees of banks ............................................................. 34 
2.12.3 Strong overall benefits for banks................................................................ 34 
2.13 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIP 
MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY ........................................................ 35 
2.14 CHAPTER CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 36 
CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................. 37 
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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS ..................................................................... 37 
3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 37 
3.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM .................................................................................. 37 
3.2.1 Interpretivist paradigm ................................................................................ 38 
3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................................ 39 
3.4 RESEARCH APPROACHES ............................................................................ 39 
3.4.1 Qualitative research methods .................................................................... 40 
3.4.2 Population of the study ............................................................................... 40 
3.4.3 Selection of participants ............................................................................. 40 
3.5 DATA COLLECTION ......................................................................................... 41 
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 43 
3.7 TRUSTWORTHINESS ...................................................................................... 44 
3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION ............................................................................ 45 
3.9 CHAPTER SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 46 
CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................. 47 
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS ...................................... 47 
4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 47 
4.2 DATA FROM INTERVIEWS ............................................................................. 47 
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4.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 52 
CHAPTER 5 ................................................................................................................. 53 
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................... 53 
5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 53 
5.2 SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS ............................................................. 53 
5.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ..................................................................... 54 
5.4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY .......................................................................... 55 
5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 55 
5.6 SUGGESTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .................................................... 55 
5.7 RESEARCH CONCLUSION ............................................................................. 55 
REFERENCE LIST ...................................................................................................... 57 
APPENDIX A: INFORMED CONSENT LETTER ....................................................... 69 
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS .................................................................. 72 
APPENDIX C: LANGUAGE DECLARATION ............................................................. 74 
 
 
  
viii 
 
 
LIST OF TABLES 
Table 1.1: List of local and international banks operating in the retail, commercial and 
investment banking sectors in South Africa .................................................................. 4 
Table 1.2: Market share performance of the top five retail banks in South Africa ...... 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 
ATM   Automated Teller Machines 
Covid-19  Corona virus 
CRM   Customer Relationship Management 
FNB   First National Bank 
PWC   PricewaterhouseCoopers 
SARB   South Africa Reserve Bank 
 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER 1 
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 
1.1 INTRODUCTION 
In the rapidly changing business environment coupled with the Corona virus pandemic 
in December 2019 (Covid-19), the banking industry globally is facing unprecedented 
turbulence to deliver quality and satisfactory services to customers (Demirguc-Kunt, 
Pedraza & Ruiz-Orteg, 2020:1). Managing customer relationship is a predisposition of 
the banking industry to create and continue with a lasting relationship with its 
customers in order to provide quality services, create wealth and maximise profit 
(Laketa, Sanader, Laketa & Misic, 2015:241). Rao and Patel (2018:17) concur that 
few financial institutions, especially those in the banking sector have realised the major 
role that CRM play in enabling them to retain existing customers and attract new 
customers as well as increase the customer lifetime value. Studies (see Blery & 
Michalakopoulos, 2006; Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:2) have shown that banks that do 
implement CRM can create and maintain a long-term relationship with their customers, 
improve customers’ loyalty, increase revenue and reduce costs. 
The CRM concept was introduced into the field of service marketing in the early 1990s 
(Balakrishnan & Krishnaveni, 2014:15). Since then, the majority of retail banks both in 
developed and developing countries have been using CRM as a strategy to retain and 
reward existing customers as well as attract new customers (Balakrishnan & 
Krishnaveni, 2014:15). Examples of some of these strategies used by retail banks in 
South Africa include the eBucks by First National Bank (FNB), FNB Fusion for Premier, 
and the Nedbank Arts and children’s green affinity account (PricewaterhouseCoopers 
[PWC], 2018). The eBucks Rewards is all about rewarding FNB customers on the 
bases on how their banking transactions, while the FNB Fusion Premier account 
combines the customer credit card and cheque account into one facility with one card 
(FNB, 2017). On the other hand, the Nedbank Arts and children’s affinity The eBucks 
Rewards is all about rewarding FNB customers for how they bank while the FNB 
Fusion Premier account combines the customer credit card and cheque account into 
one facility with one card (FNB, 2017). On the other hand, the Nedbank Arts and 
1 
 
 
children’s green affinity support the development of South African arts, culture and 
heritage; and helping underprivileged, vulnerable and heritage respectively at no cost 
(Nedbank, 2018). ABSA Rewards programme is mainly used to reward customers for 
their behaviour whilst transacting using their products, the number of times you swipe 
their plastic cards and is tiered in terms of number of products you hold with them. 
According to Rao and Patel (2018:17), CRM will give the banks an opportunity to 
identify important customer needs (Laketa et al., 2015:241). More specifically, CRM is 
considered to be one of the most important marketing strategies and practices used 
by banks to enhance their performance standards as well as to ensure the survival of 
the organisation (Kasim & Minai, 2009; Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:2; Sigala, 2005). 
Given the important role the banking sector plays within the South African economy, 
the purpose of the study was to determine SA Banking customers’ perceptions of the 
CRM initiatives offered by their banks and what banks could do to improve the 
relationships with customers. This study will focus on customers of South Africa’s big 
five retail banks’ comprising of Absa Group Limited, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank of 
South Africa (World Bank Group, 2018), and Capitec Bank in Port Elizabeth. 
This chapter outlines the road map from within which the study has been grounded. 
The chapter further provides in detail, the background, rationale, and the problem 
statement for the study. The research objectives that guided the research study were 
provided. A brief overview of the literature review and the research methodology for 
this study were also provided in this chapter. The chapter also provided a detail 
explanation of the key concepts and the significance of the study. The chapter 
concluded with an outline of the study as well as the ethical considerations applicable 
to the current study. 
 
 
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1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 
The banking industry has always been regarded as the focal point of the economy 
because of its significant role such as job creation in the financial world and the 
wellbeing of the country’s economy (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 2013:1). In this regard, 
the World Bank Group (2018) recommends that products and services marketed and 
sold in the banking retail market must be designed to meet the needs of identified 
customer groups and must be targeted accordingly. For these banks to compete in the 
local and global markets, and be profitable and sustainable in the long run, they should 
not only concentrate on attracting new customers but should also take into 
consideration ways to maintain a fruitful relationship with existing customers 
(Ghalenooie & Sarvestani, 2015:363). 
The South African banking sector consists of 25 local banks, 16 registered local 
branches of foreign banks and seven foreign controlled banks operating in the retail, 
commercial and investment banking (South Africa Reserve Bank [SARB], 2012) as 
shown in Table 1.1 below. Approximately 90% of the retail banking market in South 
Africa is dominated by the so-called Big 4 Banks which comprises of: Absa Group 
Limited, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank of South Africa (World Bank Group, 2018). 
There are 19 registered local branches of foreign investment banks and seven foreign 
controlled investment banks operating in South Africa. The focus of this study is on 
local South African big five retail banks’ comprising of Absa Group Limited, FNB, 
Nedbank, Standard Bank of South Africa (World Bank Group, 2018) and Capitec Bank. 
 
 
 
 
 
3 
 
 
Table 1.1: List of local and international banks operating in the retail, 
commercial and investment banking sectors in South Africa 
Local banks Registered Local Branches Foreign Controlled 
of Foreign Banks Banks 
Investment banks Investment banks Investment banks 
African Bank Limited Bank of Baroda ABSA Bank Limited 
Al Baraka Bank Limited Bank of China Al Baraka Bank Limited 
Barclays Africa Group Bank of Taiwan Commonwealth Bank of 
South Africa Ltd 
Discovery Limited BNP Paribas 
Habib Overseas Bank 
FirstRand Bank Calyon Corporate and Limited 
Investment Bank 
Grindrod Bank Limited HBZ Bank Limited 
Canara Bank 
HBZ Bank Mercantile Bank 
China Construction Bank 
IMB Bank Corporation The South African Bank 
of Athens Limited 
Imperial Bank South Citibank N.A. 
Africa 
Deutsche Bank AG 
Investec Bank Limited 
Hongkong and Shanghai 
Mercantile Bank Banking Corporation (HSBC) 
Sasfin Bank Limited 
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Africa ICICI Bank Limited 
TymeBank JPMorgan Chase Bank NA 
Ubank Limited Société Générale 
Rand Merchant Bank Standard Chartered Bank 
(RMB) 
State Bank of India 
United Bank 
Wittelsbach Princely Trust 
WesBank Bank 
Retail banks 
Absa Group Limited 
Bidvest Bank Limited 
Capitec Bank Limited 
First National Bank 
Nedbank Limited 
Standard Bank of South 
Source: Authors own compilation 
 
 
5 
 
 
Majority of South African banks lack adequate flexibility and are finding it difficult to 
adapt to the changing needs of customers as mandated by the SARB as a result of 
the global financial crisis (Ateba, Maredza, Ohei, Deka & Schutte, 2015:83). The 
effective relationships between banks and customers depend on the understanding of 
the unique needs of different customers such as investment customer, current account 
customers or savings account customers (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 2013:1). 
According to Šebjan, Bobek and Tominc (2014:460) an effective CRM strategy could 
enable a bank to achieve positive organisational outcomes, such as increased sales 
and profits, greater competitive advantage in the market creating more profit and 
sustainability. Šebjan et al. (2014) further affirm that CRM assist banks in increasing 
customer loyalty and satisfaction, generate new knowledge about customers, as well 
as improving the performance and the quality of customer relationships. 
CRM is a process used by banks to obtain in-depth knowledge of habits behaviour 
and needs of customers (Rao & Patel, 2018:17). Šebjan et al. (2014:460) assert that 
retail banks can adopt a CRM strategy to acquire new customers, encourage existing 
customers to purchase, maintain good relationship with customers as well as increase 
value for customers, and thus the image of an organisation can also be improved.  Rao 
and Patel (2018) echo that the concept of CRM has become a key strategy in 
managing customers in the contemporary business world, especially in financial 
institutions such as banks (Rao & Patel, 2018:17). Das (2012:68) argues that lack of 
understanding on CRM is concern among service providers especially banks. Kebede 
and Tegegne, (2018:2) argue that the modern-day organisation is based on a 
differentiated service rather than a differentiated product and, therefore, the adoption 
of customer relationship management by banks is a vital strategy to achieve a 
competitive advantage. 
The concept of CRM originated in developed economies, primarily in organisations 
whose priority was to retain existing customer base as an important business segment 
especially in a competitive environment (Laketa et al., 2015:242). Customer 
relationship management is a major strategy that the banks are using to manage 
customers as a focal point on understanding customers as individuals instead of a 
group (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 2013:1). Majority of large European and United 
States of America (USA) banks have restructured their operations and contractual 
6 
 
 
relationship with customers and other stakeholders (Gautam, 2016:36; Goyel & Joshi, 
2012). However, retail banks in South Africa are still lacking behind to create a 
satisfactory relationship with their customers. 
The banking industry in South Africa has grown rapidly over the past two decades. As 
the economy of the country is growing, there seems to be a need for the banking sector 
to facilitate customer satisfaction (Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:3). Customer retention is 
the focal point of the success of every bank and the success of the customer 
relationship management process depends on the active involvement of the bank with 
its customers (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 2013:1). Majority of banks are facing a lot of 
challenges such as competition, technological change, global economic challenges, 
recession, increasing interest rates, as well as capital flight (Gautam, 2016:36). These 
challenges have affected the relationship between most banks and their customers, 
especially in South Africa. In this regard, Munyoro and Nyereyemhuka (2019:216) 
suggested that banks need to train their employees such that they can fully embrace 
customer relationship management applications and software effectively, and the 
banking sector leadership should effectively communicate customer relationship 
management policies, practices and its importance to all its employees. 
The ever increasing competition and changing aspects in the marketplace and the 
need for banks to survive, grow and meet the stakeholder’s objectives have created a 
need for an effective long lasting relationship between retail banks and their customers 
(Opara & Opara, 2016:13). Table 1.2 presents the market share performance of the 
Big 4 retail Banks in South African, which comprises of Absa Group Limited, FNB, 
Nedbank and Standard Bank of South Africa (World Bank Group, 2018). For the 
purpose of this study, Capitec was included in the sample as it is the biggest bank in 
South Africa by customer numbers (11.4 million), with the happiest customers in terms 
of products and services according to the latest South African customer’s satisfactory 
index for retail banks as shown in Table 1.2 below. Standard bank South Africa is rank 
first in terms of core capital and has the biggest income base, with the highest number 
of employees (53 178), branches (1 200) and ATMs (9 321). FNB has some of the 
happiest customers due to its advance technologies, and ABSA has a wide reach 
(Business Tech, 2019). 
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Table 1.2: Market share performance of the top five retail banks in South Africa 
Bank Market Share P/E Employees Branches ATMs Active Customer 
Cap price Ratio retail Satisfaction 
customers 
 (FNB) R347.1 R62.10 12.27 48 780 619 5 780 ±8.2 million 81.5 
billion 
Standard R299.5 R184.79 10.47 53 178 1 200 9 321 8.1 million 77.0 
Bank billion 
Capitec R137.9 R1 25.55 13 774 840 5 011 11.4 million 84.9 
billion 197.22 
Absa R134.6 R159.00 9.11 40 856 640 8 802 – 76.3 
Bank billion 
Nedbank R114.8 R233.25 8.13 31 277 702 5 780 7.9 million 79.3 
billion 
Source: Business Tech (2019) 
 
 
8 
 
 
1.2 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 
Banks are regarded as financial institutions that offer various financial services ranging 
from accepting of deposits, cheque deposits, cash withdrawals, fund transfer, online 
payments, balance enquiry, provision of account statements (Okoye, Omankhanlen, 
Okoh, Ezeji & Achugamonu, 2019:2157). The banking industry in South Africa is at 
the edge of entering, what could be argued a new era of exciting technological 
developments with the potential of changing the ways in which banks will operate. 
Furthermore, globalisation of financial transactions along with high levels of 
international competition, coupled with tough and strict banking regulations by the 
government due to the 2008 financial crisis; and technological advancements have 
significantly changed the scope and process of banking (Balakrishnan & Krishnaveni, 
2014:15). The lack of understanding on customer relationship management is always 
a concern among banks (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 2013:1; Rao & Patel, 2018:17). It 
is therefore vital for South African banks to maintain an effective CRM so as to better 
understand their customers and be in a position to meet their expectations with the 
aim of retaining their existing customer base (Coetzee, 2016:95). In this regard, the 
perception of customers on customer relationship management practices among 
banks should also be taken into consideration. 
1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT 
The banking industry’s make-up is with a lot of competition to winning a larger market 
share and attracting a larger number of customers (Cvijović, Kostić-Stanković & Reljić, 
2017:151). In South Africa, most retail banks are suffering from poor customer 
services because they are implementing strategies that do not consider customer 
needs (Ateba et al., 2015:83). A unique relationship between the banks and its 
customers exists. However, Anbuoli and Thiruvenkatraj (2013:1) state that “due to 
challenges such as financial burden, risk of failure, market inertia, many banks are still 
following the traditional ways of marketing such as direct mail, newspaper advertising; 
and only a few banks are making attempts to adapt customer management 
relationship”. Šebjan et al. (2014:460) attribute the poor customer management 
relationship in the South African banking industry to factors such as technology 
advances, greater alignment with the customers and information about them and 
9 
 
 
consequently their stance on knowledge about customers, greater market 
competitiveness and reduced customer loyalty. 
Retail banks are also facing challenges in providing elevated levels of service to 
customers while attempting to improve profitability and market share at the same time 
(Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:2). Research has shown that the most common causes of 
the poor customer management relationship in the banking sector are inadequate 
measurement systems, low support and involvement of management of the 
organization, lack of understanding of the business benefits of solutions, low quality 
and range of data, exceeding the planned cost and inadequate skills in setting up and 
using customer management relationship procedures (Anbuoli & Thiruvenkatraj, 
2013). To alleviate these problems, Munyoro and Nyereyemhuka (2019:216) reason 
that the banking sector should seek to delight its customers by way of having an 
effective complaint management system, reducing customer waiting time, reducing 
queuing in the banking halls, enhancing communication frequency with customers and 
offering rewards. 
Moreover, the high unemployment rate of 29.1% in the third quarter of 2019 in South 
Africa (Statistic South Africa [Stats SA], 2019) have reduced the customer base for 
which banks in South Africa are competing (Ateba et al., 2015:83). Most banks are 
losing customers through the closure of their personal accounts because economic 
hardship is affecting their personal savings (Munyoro & Nyereyemhuka, 2019:216). 
However, it is maintained that majority of banks in South Africa give more emphasis 
only on attracting new customers, rather than using customer relationship 
management tools to maintain the existing ones believing that the bank is the 
dominant bank and not the others; so, no customer shifts to other banks (Coetzee, 
2016:95). In this regard, Kebede and Tegegne (2018:3) caution that there is a high 
and clear probability that banks that do not implement customer relationship 
management strategies, risk losing existing customers, which in turn may negatively 
impact the performance of the bank. 
10 
 
 
1.4.1 Research aim and objectives 
The main aim of this study was to determine SA Banking customers’ perceptions of 
the CRM initiatives offered by their banks and what banks could do to improve the 
relationships with customers. 
The study will be guided by the following objectives relevant to achieving the main aim 
of the study. 
• To obtain an insight into the role of CRM in increasing customer satisfactions, 
retention of existing customers and attraction of prospective customers through 
a literature review. 
• To examine the impact of CRM on customer satisfaction in the South African 
retail banking industry. 
• To explore the perception of banking customers on CRM as a tool for the South 
African retail banking industry in the retention of existing customers and 
attraction of prospective customers. 
1.4.2 Research questions 
From the above discussion and given the evolutionary trends of the South African retail 
banking industry, this study aims to answer the following research questions. 
• What are the challenges faced by customers in the five big retail banks in Port 
Elizabeth as a result of CRM practices implemented by these banks to increase 
customer satisfaction and builds effective relationship with existing and 
prospective customers? 
• What roles does CRM play in increasing customer satisfactions, retention of 
existing customers and attraction of prospective customers? 
• To what extent does CRM influence customer’s satisfaction in the South African 
retail banking industry? 
• What are the perceptions of banking customers on CRM as a tool for the South 
African retail banking industry in the retention of existing customers and 
attraction of prospective customers? 
11 
 
 
1.5 BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW 
CRM is regarded as a major source of competitive advantage for the banking industry 
and is an accepted instrument that supports customer-oriented organisations’ 
decisions (Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:2; Mohammed, Rahid & Tahir, 2014). CRM 
provide banks with the need for the continuous collection of information on customers’ 
behaviours as the goal of the banks if to provide benefits to customers based on their 
needs (Rao & Patel, 2018:17). The banking industry in South Africa is extremely 
competitive and to gain competitive advantage, banks must aim at providing quality 
services to satisfy their customers (Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:3). Balakrishnan and 
Krishnaveni (2014:15) also concur that commercial banks must come out with 
innovative measures to satisfy both the needs of the existing and prospective 
customers. Banks need to increase customer satisfaction by using various modern 
banking services as well as provide more customer-friendly services to make modern 
banking activities a joy for the customer to use (Balakrishnan & Krishnaveni, 2014:15). 
In this regard, CRM has been identified as a vital tool to be adopted by the South 
African banking industry to improve customer satisfaction (Coetzee, 2016:95). 
Managing customer relationship will assist banks to effectively coordinate efforts to 
present a unified message to individual customer (Laketa et al., 2015:242). 
Balakrishnan and Krishnaveni (2014:15) in a study conducted in India reveals that a 
suitable and correct customer management practice will assist the banks to increase 
customer satisfaction and develop a concrete relationship with existing and 
prospective customers by managing information and improve performance of 
delivering products and services at a great speed that facilitates customer creation 
and retention. According to Balakrishnan and Krishnaveni (2014:15), customer 
relationship management is a comprehensive approach for creating, maintaining and 
expanding customer relationship. Laketa et al. (2015:21) concur that using modern 
technologies, managing customer relationship is a process for banks to maintain 
existing structure and development of high-quality customer base. Rapid changes in 
technology coupled with changes in customer’s everyday life have enabled the 
successful implementation of customer relationship management (Laketa et al., 
2015:242). Laketa et al. (2015:242) suggest that it is necessary to submit a unique 
12 
 
 
proposal to a customer by phone, mail, and personal contact or by email; in 
accordance with the method of communication that customer has chosen. 
Fierce competition amongst Banks over customers has intensified lately with lots of 
lucrative incentives being on offer for switching. Non-traditional Banks, Retailers and 
Insurance companies are joining the fray of banking making the competition worse 
(Coetzee, 2016:95). Kumbhar (2011:21) contends that the conventional banking 
system is being replaced with electronic-based business models, hence the need to 
redesign their business processes and customer management relationship. Masuabi 
and Erasmus (2016:1862) advocate that modern- day banking is reliant on digital and 
electronic channels, which has increased consumer satisfaction. Balakrishnan and 
Krishnaveni (2014:15) found that retail banks that are using CRM will place emphasis 
on total customer satisfaction which will indicate that the customer is satisfied and 
happy with the services rendered by the bank. Opara and Opara (2016:13) argued 
that the retention of existing customers, attraction of new customers and enhancement 
of customer satisfaction are the important dimensions of CRM. 
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
According to Vosloo (2014:299), a research design is an outline that enables the 
researcher to plan a suitable research strategy to ensure that validity of the result. In 
the context of this study, an exploratory research design was adopted as the 
researcher aimed at obtaining new insights into the behaviour and attitude of bank 
customers stemming from CRM practises implemented by the banks. Exploratory 
research design is the primary stage of research with the aim of obtaining new insights 
into the phenomenon under investigation (Akhtar, 2016:68). Exploratory research 
design was considered appropriate for this study as it provided the researcher with a 
broader understanding into concerns customers in the five big retail banks in Port 
Elizabeth are facing as a result of CRM practices implemented by these banks to 
improve customer satisfaction and retention with existing and prospective customers. 
13 
 
 
1.6.1 Research paradigm 
Creswell (2009:6) define a research paradigm as “the basic set of beliefs that guided 
the way of conducting a study”. The philosophical assumption that will underpin this 
research study falls primarily within the interpretivist paradigm (Creswell, 2011:257). 
Interpretivist paradigm involves taking participants’ understanding as the centre of 
what is real to them (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011:53). Interpretivist paradigm was 
considered vital for this study because it recognises the existence of multiple social 
realities and the need for a researcher to explore how individuals interpret and make 
sense of their social experiences. 
1.6.2 Research approach 
The qualitative research approach will be adopted for this study. Qualitative research 
is the collection, analysis of data that cannot be meaningfully quantified or summarised 
in the form of numbers (Wiid & Diggines, 2015:95). A qualitative research approach 
was considered appropriate for this study as the researcher aim to examine attitudes, 
perceptions, motivation and understanding of bank customers (Wiid & Diggines, 
2015:95). Semi-structured open-ended interviews were used to solicit the opinions and 
experiences of customer relationship management. Furthermore, a qualitative 
research approach assisted the researcher to comprehend with how bank customers’ 
best describe their own personal experiences, and what meaning they attribute and 
attach to their experiences. 
1.6.3 Population for the study 
A population is a group of potential participants to whom the researcher wants to 
generalise the result of the study (Salkind, 2014:185). The target population for this 
study comprised of customers between the ages of 18 and 65 and from the identified 
five retail banks (refer Table 2.1). Hennink, Hatter and Bailey (2011:84) argued that a 
study population should focus on individuals with knowledge and experience that can 
contribute to a greater understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. The 
target population for this study have a reasonable knowledge to provide empirical data 
with regards to CRM. 
14 
 
 
1.6.4 Selection of participants 
A nonprobability, purposive sampling technique was used to select the unit of analysis 
to elicit views with respect to the perceptions of CRM in the South African retail banking 
sector. Purposeful sampling does not only consider the selection of participants but 
also involves the settings, incidents, events and activities for data collection and the 
researcher hand-picking participants (Maree, 2010:178). The researcher repeated the 
process of data collection and analysis until new data stop emerging and the data 
saturation occurred. Hence, 20 participants were purposively selected from the five 
identified retail banks. Four participants were purposively selected from each of the 
five top retail banks in Port Elizabeth. 
1.6.5 Data collection 
The primary data was collected through semi-structured open-ended individual 
interviews with 20 purposively selected bank customers in Port Elizabeth. 4 customers 
from each of the 5 retail banks in Port Elizabeth were interviewed. The interview is 
regarded as a social relationship designed to exchange information between the 
participant and the researcher (Vosloo, 2014:330). The main feature of an interview is 
to facilitate the interviewees to share their perspectives, stories and experience 
regarding a particular social phenomenon being observed by the researcher 
(Wahyuni, 2012:73). To answer the research questions, the researcher repeated the 
process of data collection and analysis until new data stopped emerging and the data 
saturation occurred. The researcher briefly explained the aim of the interview to the 
participants and emphasised on the confidentiality, anonymity, and the voluntary 
nature of the study. Only participants who signed the consent form were interviewed 
and each interview lasted for 15 to 20 minutes and was audio recorded. 
1.6.7 Data analysis 
Data analysis involves the drawing of inferences from raw data (Wahyuni, 2012:75). 
This study utilised grounded theory thematic analysis whereby specific themes and 
sub-themes are presented under the guideline auspices of Strauss and Corbin (1990) 
grounded theory interview. 
15 
 
 
1.7 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS 
The following definitions were used to clarify an understanding of certain key concepts 
used in the current study. 
Customer relationship management 
Customer relationship management is referred to as a process of identifying, 
attracting, differentiating and retaining customers as well as an outcome for continuing 
evolution and integration of marketing ideas and newly available data (Balakrishnan & 
Krishnaveni, 2014:15). In the context of this study, customer relationship will be 
considered as an intelligent combination of marketing and information technology for 
serving the customer with greater care and value as opine Balakrishnan and 
Krishnaveni (2014). 
Banking 
Banking is defined as accepting of deposit in form of money from the members of the 
public for the purpose of lending or investing and that money is repayable on demand 
or otherwise and withdrawn by cheque, draft or order (Amadeo, 2018). For this study, 
the researcher will concur to the above definition. The banking referred to in this study 
are the five financial institutions normally referred to as the Big 4 Retail Banks in South 
Africa viz. (ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank) including Capitec all operating 
from Port Elizabeth. 
Bank Customer 
A bank customer is any individual or an entity that makes use of the services of a bank. 
Bank customers refer to in this study are those individuals that are using the banking 
services of the selected banks for this study. 
Primary Relationship 
It is a bank relationship wherein the salary of the customer gets credited into the 
transactional account they hold with that bank. 
16 
 
 
Secondary Relationship 
It is a bank relationship wherein the customer has multiple relationships with various 
financial institutions. 
1.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION 
According to Salkind (2014:149), the researcher must keep the participants at the 
forefront of all consideration and their dignity maintained. Most ethical issues fall into 
one of the four categories namely; protection from harm, informed consent, the right 
to privacy and confidentiality and honesty with professional colleagues (Leedy & 
Ormrod, 2005:101; Punch, 2014:43). The researcher has an obligation to protect the 
rights and interests of the participants and institutions. The researcher will take all 
steps to ensure that participants are not exposed to any form of distress or harm and 
their rights to privacy will be respected. The researcher obtained an ethical clearance 
from North West University business school ethics committee. 
1.9 CHAPTERS OUTLINE 
This study will consist of five chapters: 
Chapter 1: Introduction to the study 
Chapter 1, in detail, introduced the study by providing the background and 
contextualisation of the study. The statement of the problem, research objectives and 
questions were also provided. The chapter further provided a brief overview of the 
literature review, research design and methodology as well as ethical considerations. 
Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical foundation 
Chapter 2 reviewed the literature relating to customer relationship management and 
provide a theoretical framework through which the study will be grounded. 
 
17 
 
 
Chapter 3: Research design and methodology 
The third chapter will discuss the research design and methodology adopted to gain 
empirical answers to the research question and locate the study within an interpretivist 
research paradigm. The chapter will also discuss issues of validity and reliability as 
well as ethical issues for this study in detail. 
Chapter 4: Interpretation and presentation  
This chapter will deal with the research findings which will be analysed, interpreted, 
and presented in a clear, coherent, and comprehensive manner. This will comprise 
the views of individual customers from the selected branches. 
Chapter 5: Findings, conclusions, and recommendations 
This chapter will be characterised by a detailed summary and conclusion based on the 
main findings in the literature and in the empirical research. Considering this, 
constructive recommendation and areas for future research will be provided. 
Limitations of the study will also be highlighted. 
1.10  CHAPTER CONCLUSION 
This chapter will set the scene for the study to determine the challenges retail banks 
in South Africa are facing with respect to the implementation of customer relationship 
management. A quantitative research method was to be used to find answers to the 
research questions. 
The next chapter reviewed the literature relating to the challenges that banks are 
facing with respect to the implementation of customer relationship management. 
  
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CHAPTER 2 
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 
2.1 INTRODUCTION 
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the challenges bank customers in 
South Africa are facing because of customer relationship management practises 
implemented within the South African banking industry. First chapter provided a road 
map through which the study was conducted. Chapter two reviewed the different 
themes under investigation for the study. This chapter begins with a detailed summary 
of the theoretical framework which is the bed rock of this study. This will then be 
followed by a review of literature relating to the South African banking sector and its 
associated challenges coupled, by a review of relevant literature associated with 
customer relationship management processes, practices, and challenges. The 
chapter will conclude with a review of the literature linked customer satisfaction, 
perception of banking customers as well as retention of customers. 
2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 
There is little consensus on a single accepted definition of theory (Abend, 2008). 
According to Miles (2012), theories are essential tools used by academics to help us 
organise our thoughts and ideas about the world, and generate and explain 
relationships and interrelationships among individuals, groups, and organisations. 
Corley and Gioia (2011) define theory as a statement of constructs and their 
interrelationships that shows how and why a phenomenon occurs. In other words, a 
theory can be any coherent description or explanation of observed, experienced, or 
documented phenomena (Gioia & Pitre, 1990). Notwithstanding the fact that transition 
procedure from CRM strategies and practices is still in its early stages, the 
investigation of the possible importance of customer relationship management in 
banking within the South African context is of a great significance (Coetzee, 2016:96). 
 
19 
 
 
Many theories have been advanced to explain and clarify the concept of CRM, among 
these, are relationship marketing theory (Möller & Halinen, 2000), and CRM theory 
(Labus & Stone, 2010). To gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of CRM on 
customer satisfaction, retention of existing customers and attraction of potential 
customers, the current study adopted the CRM theory. According to Labus and Stone 
(2010:155), CRM theory represents inter-related perspectives of CRM practices to 
managing corporate customer relationships in service industries such as banks. The 
study of Al-Khouri (2012:30-32) suggested key common components of CRM theory. 
The dimensions of which are: key customer focus, knowledge management, customer 
relationship management organisations, and technology-based customer relationship 
management. Applying the CRM theory to the current study implies that the inter-
related perspectives of CRM practices must be effectively implemented by retail banks 
in South Africa so as to successfully increase customer satisfaction and build effective 
relationships with existing and prospective customers. 
2.3 THE CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT 
The concept of customer relationship management came into existence in the 
organisational domain in the 1990s. From 1990, the concept of customer relationship 
became more vulgarised as a legitimate area of scholarly inquiry and stimulated the 
interest of global business and research community (Giannakis-Bompolis & Boutsouk, 
2014:69). For Galbreath and Rogers (1999), customer relationship management is 
nothing more than an approach that stems from the need to create a new business 
environment, which allows more effective management of relationships with 
customers. Simultaneously, the concept customer relationship management for many 
academics is theoretically grounded on relationship marketing, whose philosophy lies 
on improving long-term profitability established as strategic goal retention of the 
customer through more effective management of customer relationships. 
Customer relationship management is defined as the managerial process and practice 
that an organisation can apply to gain competitive advantage (Mekkamol, Piewdang 
& Untachai, 2013:108). Parvatiyar and Sheth (2001:5) on the other hand define 
customer relationship management as a comprehensive strategy and process of 
acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective customers to create superior value 
20 
 
 
for the company and the customer. It involves the integration of marketing, sales, 
customer service, and the supply-chain functions of the organisation to achieve 
greater efficiencies and effectiveness in delivering customer value. Abbas and Hafeez 
(2017:133) refer to customer relationship management as a policy used by an 
organisation to attract and retain its potential customers. Abbas and Hafeez (2017) 
further explained the concept of customer relationship management in the banking 
sector as a practice which requires understanding the customer’s changing needs and 
developing services to satisfy these needs by building long term relationships with the 
customers. 
2.4 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PRACTISES 
Customer relationship management is regarded as one of the best basic strategies for 
retaining existing customers, especially the most profitable and sustainable ones 
(Ghalenooie & Sarvestani, 2015:364). Anbuoli and Thiruvenkatraj (2013:2) argue that 
customer relationship management is a sound business strategy banks can use to 
identify its most profitable customers and prospects and can devote time and attention 
to increase account relationships with those customers through individualised 
marketing, reprising, discretionary decision-making, and customised service-all 
delivered through the various sales channels that the bank uses. Ateba et al. (2015:83) 
argue that this strategy is not received well by customers who feel they have no control 
or choice with regards to their banking needs coupled with inflated costs of banking. 
Payne (2012) is of the opinion that the concept of customer relationship management 
is a very comprehensive and on-going process that suggests that responses from the 
banks as an external environment are forever changing. 
Taking cognisance of poorly differentiated offerings by banks adequate customer 
relationship management practises will assist banks in establishing long-term and 
mutually beneficial connections between banks and their customers (Cvijović et al., 
2017:151). Customer relationship management practices are a classification of 
organisational information systems that enable organizations to provide services for 
customers gather and analyse customer information and manage their relationships 
with customers more effectively (Khodakarami & Chan, 2011). Abbas and Hafeez 
21 
 
 
(2017:130) identified three customer relationship practices namely: clients ‘attitudes, 
the efficiency of banking services and knowledge abilities. 
2.4.1 Attitude towards clients 
Employees are an integral part of any organization. The modern-day employee-
customer relationship is more complex and sometimes employees face hurdles in 
dealing with customers (Johlke & Lyer, 2013). This is mainly because of attitudes 
displayed or demonstrated by the employees. In the current business environment, 
the biggest challenge faced by organizations is to have satisfied customers. Therefore, 
organizations should have employees exhibiting interpersonal and communication 
skills rather than more technical skills. Customer satisfaction levels and loyalty have a 
reverse and negative impact on the firm due to the lack of right attitude and behaviour 
(Abbas & Hafeez, 2017:134). Chapter two provides evidence that employees’ attitude, 
behaviour and dealing with customers contribute towards service quality along with 
the knowledge and experience that helps employees to understand the needs of and 
dealing with customers (Flinchbaugh, Schwoerer & May, 2017). 
2.4.2 Efficiency of banking services 
For any institution to satisfy the needs of its customers as well as achieving their target 
markets, such an organization should provide its services in an efficient and effective 
way. All financial institutions in South Africa have already embraced digital banking 
with various ranges of offerings not limited to online banking, reverse billing 
applications, Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and scan and pay devices to better 
improve their efficiencies and banking services. Fourth Industrial Revolution promises 
to change the world of banking significantly with Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), and 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) being the leading interventions to revolutionaries the banking 
space. Use of plastic cards has been for all these years at the forefront of banking 
services that were deemed to be convenient and efficient for use by customers (Abbas 
& Hafeez, 2017:135). 
 
22 
 
 
Banks have made use of various product offerings to improve their customer 
relationships with services like internets e-channels ATM’s, credit cards, debit cards, 
internet banking, mobile banking, electronic funds transfer (EFT) as well as electronic 
clearing services (Kumbhar, 2011:21). It is therefore expected of banks to ensure that 
their employees are competent in performing their tasks and responsibilities within 
stipulated time frames to far surpass the expectations of their customers. These are 
multiple factors that should influence the environment and efficiency of the banking 
sector. These factors are confidentiality, safety or security, technology, honesty, 
attitude, and behaviour of employees including management and so on.  All these 
factors are very important to gain the trust of customers and for developing 
relationships with them (Abbas & Hafeez, 2017:135). 
Customers are more aware of banking services whilst they also expect high service 
quality. According to Izogo and Ogba (2015), service quality is an important factor in 
marketing. It enables firms to maximise additional benefits. Service quality is 
considered as a customer assessment and satisfaction mechanism in relation to their 
experience of the services they have received from their organizations (Abbas & 
Hafeez, 2017:132). The breakthrough of any service orientated organization is based 
on the service quality and the satisfaction levels of their customers with the services 
provided to them (Makanyeza, Makanyeza, Chikazhe & Chikazhe, 2017). Abbas and 
Hafeez (2017:130) noted that employees’ knowledge and capabilities have a 
significant impact on service quality. Service quality, ability to manage complaints, 
effective and timeous responses to customer complaints and good behaviour of 
employees towards their customers determine the customer satisfaction levels, which 
is related to increased satisfaction levels of customers. 
2.4.3 Knowledgeability 
Employee’s knowledge and capabilities help customers to gain experience that leads 
towards service quality and efficiency in the services provided by the banks which also 
help in service quality (Abbas & Hafeez, 2017:130). Abbas & Hafeez (2017:136) 
indicated that bank employees could assist in ensuring that clients become more 
effective and efficient in conducting their financial dealings and decision-making 
regarding financial matters utilizing the available information, knowledge and skills. 
23 
 
 
A study conducted by Ghalenooie and Sarvestani (2015:363) reveals that human 
resource factors such as perceptions, understanding and self-acknowledgement have 
positive effects and can guarantee success in customer relationship management. 
The development of human resources and the strategies of organisational culture are 
all processes that subsidised the growth and sustainability of the banking industry and 
that of the banking employees (Dimitrios, 2014:15). This shows that employees, who 
interface directly with clients, should have the necessary skills to satisfy the customer 
needs. Customers will always have different problems and issues regarding their 
banking experiences, and if they do, then companies should acknowledge and attempt 
to resolve such issues by responding promptly and efficiently. The above discussion 
indicates that knowledgeable employees are an asset for the organizations as they 
are able to develop relationships with their customers that will, in turn, increase the 
service quality (Abbas & Hafeez, 2017:137). 
2.5 IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT 
Managing customer relationship helps banks to effectively coordinate efforts to 
present a unified message to an individual customer (Laketa et al., 2015:242). It 
results in higher profits through increased business from a firm’s customer base. 
Customer relationship management is the seamless coordination between sales, 
customer service, marketing, field’s support, and other customer touching functions. 
Previous studies (Abdul & Basri, 2012; Nwankwo & Ajemunigbohun, 2013:2) have also 
shown that customer relationship management improves bottom-line effect or profits, 
while marketing efforts and pricing improves product differentiation whilst customer 
commitment, satisfaction and loyalty, enhances long-term profitability or sustainability. 
The constant interaction between clients and the management team will enable the 
organisation to identify their customers, understand their unique needs and tailor their 
service or product offerings to their needs in a sustainable and competitive manner 
that can yield significant incremental shareable value. Customer relationship 
management also enables knowledge management, enhances customer acquisition, 
development, retention, and decision making that brings about increased firm 
performance (Abdul & Basri, 2012). Customer relationship management has always 
24 
 
 
been a well-liked and widely accepted practice to maximise customer equity according 
to Abaser, Thakar and Ambedkar (2015:43). 
Research has shown that customer relationship management will increase the 
satisfaction levels of the customers. This in turn will improve customer loyalty and the 
implication of this means that customers will get an in-depth knowledge of the 
organisation leading to a higher customer satisfaction. The relationship between the 
management and the clients plays a significant role in increasing market share and 
can enhance productivity. Nwankwo and Ajemunigbohun (2013:1) suggested that 
retaining profitable customers and understanding customer profitability models are the 
recognisable core values of customer relationship management. Customer 
relationship management integrates the organisational supply chain to create 
customer value at every step, either through increased benefits or reduced costs as 
well as an improved corporate competitive advantage (Karahan & Kuzu, 2014:6). 
2.6 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PROCESSES 
The rapport between clients and the management entails all the activities that are 
taking place inside the organisation, which influence the customer relationship quality 
and duration (Rababah, Mohd & Ibrahim, 2011:22). Santouridis and Tsachtani 
(2015:304) found that customer relationship management is the most essential 
organisational resource since it has positive impact on all the stages of the customer 
life-cycle process. Parvatiyar and Sheth (2001) informed that the efficacy of marketing 
could be increased through cooperative and collaborative processes that helps to 
reduce the transaction costs and the total operational cost of the company. 
Customer relationship management can be explained as a process often used by 
banks in identifying, attracting, differentiating, retaining and creation of wealth whilst 
maintaining long term relationships with bank customer according to (Hassan, Nawaz, 
Lashari & Zafar, 2015:563). The two main factors that contribute to the success of 
customer relationship management are the effective commitment of banks and 
performance-based customer behaviour (Giannakis-Bompolis & Boutsouk, 2014:69). 
Geib et al. (2005) classified customer management processes into three groups viz. 
delivery processes, support processes and analysis processes. 
25 
 
 
Delivery processes: these are the different undertakings in connection with sales, 
service support, marketing promotions and customer complaints. 
Support processes: these are activities oriented towards what the market needs with 
the intention to develop loyal customers. 
Analysis processes: these are activities entailing analysis of data acquired by 
processes from the other two groups and the creation of value leading to service 
innovation. 
2.7 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY 
Nowadays, many banks intend to develop and manage stronger interaction with their 
customers with the aim to maximise customer equity. This does involve building and 
managing successful customer relationships to raise customer satisfaction (Yao & 
Khong, 2011). According to Baser et al. (2015:43), an effective customer relationship 
management in a bank will bring about vital segments such as incorporating the 
communication tools to meet the needs of customers, referring to each customer as 
an individual, and making the customer relationship an impressive and long-lasting 
experience. 
Every bank customer is considered as one of the most important assets that a banking 
institution should preserve and continuously expand. As customers are significant, it 
is essential for banks to gratify their needs and wants. Target-group marketing and 
segmentation techniques assist in establishing and maintaining long-term 
relationships of trust between banks and their customers (Karahan & Kuzu, 2014:7). 
Tamilarasan (2011) attests that customer relationship management has become a 
pivot in the programmes and practices of banking services particularly in the context 
of retail banking services. 
Modern economy is characterised by globalisation, increasing competition and 
advances in communication and information technology. This has forced companies 
to depart from traditional marketing doctrines and adopt a customer-centric approach 
by focusing on managing customer relationships (Santouridis & Tsachtani, 2015:304). 
26 
 
 
Giannakis-Bompolis and Boutsouk (2014:68) opine that the success in 
communications and information technology have provided bank consumers with a 
wide range of new online opportunities and possibilities to gather, exchange and share 
information around services and products along with personal experiences with 
brands. However, most banks in South Africa are not up to date with the latest banking 
technology; hence this is a major challenge to implement an effective customer 
relationship management. 
2.7.1 Trust and commitment 
Confidence and commitment between banks and their customers can be regarded as 
the powerful competitive advantage for banks. This statement justifies to a certain 
degree why financial institutions have since shifted from transaction-based banking to 
a relational approach (Santouridis & Tsachtani, 2015:306). Karahan and Kuzu 
(2014:6) reveals that maximising competitiveness in the global markets has led to 
organisations looking for better strategies to manage their relationships with 
customers more effectively over time. Consequently, CRM has become a central part 
of most businesses and many organisations are implementing customer relationship 
management systems. Anbuoli and Thiruvenkatraj (2013:1) suggested that a unique 
relationship exists between banks and their customers but financial burdens, risk of 
failure, marketing inertia have led to some banks continuing to pursue traditional ways 
of marketing resulting in only a handful of banks making attempts to adapt to customer 
management relationship practises. Retail banks must strive to establish long-term 
relationships with their customer base on the premise that positive long-term trust and 
commitment with customers will improve positive customer satisfaction (Mkawuganga, 
2018:36). 
2.8 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 
Highly competitive market environments require organisations to maintain positive 
relationships with their customers which can only be achieved through developing an 
effective customer relationship management programme that will boost customer 
satisfaction levels (Hassan et al. 2015:563). Karahan and Kuzu (2014:6) 
recommended that improved customer satisfaction levels can be achieved by 
27 
 
 
analysing customer’s detailed information. Research conducted by Baser et al. 
(2015:44) informed that a gratified customer is more loyal and can facilitate a constant 
economic performance for the bank through referrals. That practise will trigger the 
customer to bring in more clients inducing a multiplier effect to the organisation. Baser 
et al. (2015) further explained that a stable customer base demonstrates an 
organisation’s ability to effectively implement a customer relationship management 
strategy on customer satisfaction and business conductance. 
Research has shown that customers are the lifeblood of any business hence the 
success of any organisation depends largely on how effective the management of their 
relationship is with their customers as per (Santouridis & Tsachtani, 2015:305). Paul, 
Mittal and Srivastav (2016:616) suggested that client satisfaction is based on the 
customer requirements and expectations, which means if they do get the required 
quality and service levels they would essentially be satisfied. Abbas and Hafeez (2017) 
investigated the impact of customer relationship management practices on the service 
quality in the banking sector and concluded that these practises largely affect not only 
loyalty and customer satisfaction but also the quality of services provided by the banks. 
Santouridis and Tsachtani (2015:306) have reported that bank clients often express 
their dissatisfaction from product-focused strategies, as they expect an effective 
relationship management from the banks. In a competitive banking sector where 
products and services tend to be homogeneous, this then give rise to a differentiating 
factor. Giannakis-Bompolis and Boutsouki (2014:67) have pointed-out that there are 
some indicators that discloses the fact that a client would be willing to get involved in 
a new type of relationship with their bank. These determinants include the level of a 
customer’s overall satisfaction, their effective commitment to the bank and the active 
social media presence of the bank. 
Hassan et al. (2015:563) resolved that customer relationship management has a 
significant effect on customer satisfaction levels, and such an increase in the 
satisfaction levels will lead to repeat business from that same customer. Giannakis-
Bompolis and Boutsouk (2014:68) see this phenomenon as another innovative 
modern way organisations can harness market ecosystems where customers should 
be regarded as the number one priority and not the business itself. 
28 
 
 
2.8.1 Types of customer satisfaction 
CRM is a vital tool that propels banking institutions to tap into a range of business 
benefits such as customer satisfaction (Safa & von Solms, 2016:1). There are various 
types of customer satisfaction, which include transaction-based satisfaction and 
experience-based satisfaction. Transaction-based satisfaction relates to the 
satisfaction or dissatisfaction a customer derives from a discrete service encounter 
(Jones & Suh 2000:148). Transaction-based satisfaction is not necessarily related to 
overall customer satisfaction as different customers may experience a different level 
of service quality from each discrete transaction (Liang, Choi & Joppe, 2018:42). On 
the other hand, experience based refers to the specific experience a customer was 
subjected to, which can be measured based on specific norms (Liang et al., 2018:42). 
In other words, customers compare their previous experience with the current 
experience to determine the level of their satisfaction. In this regard, banks can 
increase the experience-based satisfaction of customers by providing modern quality 
products and services as well as providing information to customers on new products 
and services (Oumar, Mang’unyi, Govender & Rajkaran, 2017:694). 
2.8.2 Determinants of customer satisfaction 
Client satisfaction is a mental state, which compares the results of customer 
expectations prior to purchase with performance perceptions, post-purchase or sale, 
and customers are satisfied when they are happy with their purchase outcomes, 
achieve their goals, and experience no hassle (Paul et al., 2016:606). Research has 
also shown that happy customers maintain contact with the company and tend to 
purchase more products or services more frequently than unsatisfied customers. 
Giannakis-Bompolis and Boutsouk (2014:72) suggested that there is a constructive 
correlation between client’s overall satisfaction, his existing relationship with the bank 
and his readiness and willingness to get involved to a new engagement-type 
relationship with the bank. 
 
29 
 
 
Quality of service provided by the firm is considered as one of the key areas that 
increases the organisational performance (Alabboodi, 2019: 146; Mostafa & Eneizan, 
2018). Paul et al. (2016:606) attested that in private banking, product knowledge, 
speed in responding to the need, ability to resolve complaints, efficient service and 
efforts to reduce queuing time were found to be the factors that are positively 
associated with overall customer satisfaction. Paul et al. (2016) further revealed that 
assistance to the customer, appearance, and follow up are negatively associated with 
customer satisfaction in private banking, whilst in the case of mainstream retail 
banking, product knowledge and efficient assistance are the factors which are 
associated positively, and appearance is the only factor that is negatively associated. 
Findings from Alabboodi (2019) indicated that service quality components namely, 
assurance, reliability, tangibility, and empathy have a significant positive impact on 
customer satisfaction. Paul et al. (2016) on the other hand have found out that both 
service problems and the service recovery ability of a bank have major impacts on 
customer satisfaction and their intention to switch. Ndubisi and Wah (2005) also found 
that five key dimensions viz. competence, communication, conflict handling, trust, and 
relationship quality are discriminating factors between customers, both in terms of 
perceived relationship quality and customer satisfaction. 
2.9 CUSTOMER RETENTION 
Customer Relationship Management is one of the leading modern business 
imperatives and market strategies employed in highly competitive business 
environments whilst understanding the changing needs and expectations of 
customers through ensuring retention of such customers should primarily be the 
concern of business managers (Nwankwo & Ajemunigbohun, 2013:1). Scholars have 
proven that the main objective of CRM is to retain current customers by increasing 
their loyalty and to select new customers that provide higher profitability (Hansotia, 
2002). Client retention refers to the activities and actions of companies and 
organisations to reduce the number of client defections and making them loyal 
(Kebede & Tegegne, 2018). With that having been said the global economic crisis and 
its associated consequences did send a clear message to the banking industry in that 
the only way to survive was to, first of all, keep existing customers whilst inspiring them 
30 
 
 
to continue to buy from them or remain subscribers to their services (Giannakis-
Bompolis & Boutsouk, 2014:68). Hassan et al. (2015:563) proposed that the 
organisation should make their customer relationship management philosophies 
strong and dependable, to keep their existing customers. 
In an earlier study conducted by Nwankwo and Ajemunigbohun (2013:1) they revealed 
how customer relationship management processes positively influenced customer 
retention in Nigeria’s Insurance Industry, and how it helped to create increased values 
for ensuring populace in Nigeria. A study conducted in Zimbabwe by Munyoro and 
Nyereyemhuka (2019:216) revealed that customer relationship management exists in 
the Zimbabwean banking sector and that customer relationship management 
practises are positively related to customer retention. Kebede and Tegegne (2018:2) 
believe that customer relationship management practises assist customer retention 
initiatives of the organization which seek to improve profitability, by reducing costs 
incurred in acquiring new customers with the prime objective being zero defections of 
profitable customers. Laketa et al. (2015:242) argued that most banks aim to identify 
their customers and segment them into groups with unique needs so as to better serve 
their needs as well as maximise profit and shareholder wealth. 
Customer relationship management is an organisational wide approach aiming to 
understand and influence customer behaviours through meaningful communication to 
attract and retain customers (Santouridis & Tsachtani, 2015:304). Hassan et al. 
(2015:563) claimed that it is less costly to retain a customer than to find a new one. 
Using Pareto’s Principle, it is assumed that 20% of a company's customers generate 
80% of its profits. In industrial sales, it takes an average of 8 to 10 physical calls in 
person to sell to a new customer, 2 to 3 calls to sell to an existing customer. It is 5 to 
10 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to obtain repeat business 
from an existing customer. A 5% increase in retaining existing customers translates 
into 25% or more increase in profitability. Patwa and Patwa (2014) examines the 
relative CRM performance and evaluates its collision on customer retention between 
the private and public banks, and found that the implementation of an effective 
customer relationship management assisted both private and public banks in Utah to 
retain existing customers 
31 
 
 
2.10 CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT 
The term customer engagement was first mentioned in 2006, when the Advertising 
Research Foundation along with the American Association of Advertising Agencies 
and Association of National Advertisers, made an attempt to define this concept and 
prescribed it in a broader context as turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced 
by the surrounding context. The traditional term Engagement was redefined by 
consumers themselves when they began to act in an open, participatory, on-line Social 
environment. According to Higgins (2006), Engagement is a second source of 
experience for the consumer, beyond the sensual experience that stems from the 
driving force to proceed (or not) with an action and Calder and Malthouse (2008) 
discuss the concept of Media Engagement focusing on the psychological experience 
of Media consumption by the consumer. 
Van Doorn, Lemon, Mittal, Nass, Pick, Pirner and Verhoef (2010:256) examine 
Customer Engagement as a behaviour which is not limited to simple transactions and 
can be defined as the customers’ behavioural manifestation towards a brand or firm, 
beyond purchase, resulting from motivational drivers. Moreover, Van Doorn et al 
(2010) considered that, in the essence, customer engagement is manifested through 
an eagerness for participation in business processes and highlight the fact that 
engagement behaviours may be manifested by a wide range of different agents, such 
as current and/or prospective customers, suppliers, the public, legislators, even by 
employees of the company and can have either positive or negative outcome for the 
enterprise. 
Van Doorn et al (2010) posted that engagement is reflected through a customer 
behaviour towards a company or a Brand, which surpasses a common purchase 
process and gets affected by motivational drivers. However, in order to make clear to 
the participants what this collaborative relationship could include, the present study 
accepts as the four main dimensions of such a relationship the ones defined by 
Giannakis-Bompolis and Boutsouk (2014:69). 
32 
 
 
2.11 CUSTOMER LOYALTY 
Customer loyalty is referred to as the faithfulness that a customer has on a particular 
product or services or brand (Xiao, Guo, D’Ambra & Fu, 2016:431). Customers 
maintain a series of loyalties to organisations whose service they usually consume 
(Oumar et al., 2017:694). Genuine loyalty can only be achieved when strong and 
positive attitudes are associated with high levels of repeated patronage. While aiming 
to fulfil their strategic objectives, banks can gain significantly from customer loyalty 
since loyalty is an effective tool for generating repeat sales from the customers (Azila 
& Noor, 2011:1)  
Bricci, Fragata and Antunes (2016:173) investigated the effects of trust, commitment 
and customer satisfaction on loyalty and found that trust has a positive and direct effect 
on commitment, also trust has a positive and direct effect on satisfaction, commitment 
has a positive and direct effect on loyalty and satisfaction has a positive and direct 
effect on loyalty. Mpinganjira, Roberts-Lombard and Svensson (2017:421) concur that 
economic satisfaction has a positive direct influence on trust which in turn influences 
commitment. Oumar et al (2017:694) found that there is a positive relationship 
between CRM and customers’ loyalty. 
2.12 BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP 
MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY 
The banking industry is affected by numerous factors such as technological 
infrastructure and regulations all over the world (Eneizan & Wahab, 2016). Matar and 
Eneizan (2018) argue that the banking industry has been through global harmonisation 
due to development and progress in regulatory improvements. It has been proven 
statistically that there is a correlation between quality commitment, trust, satisfaction, 
customer retention and future use of the product. In an earlier study, it has been found 
that trust and commitment lead directly to cooperative behaviour that is conducive to 
relationship marketing success; and is important in the establishment and 
maintenance of long-term relationships with customers. Rao and Patel (2018) 
enumerated the three major benefits of customer relationship management that any 
bank can generate which include benefits to bank esteemed customers, benefits for 
33 
 
 
bank employees and the overall benefits to banks as opine Eneizan and Wahab 
(2016). 
2.12.1 Benefits to highly respected bank customers 
• The Approach is very professional towards customers with Integrated Data. 
• Having integrated and updated customer information, better and enhanced 
level of personalized services are offered by the Bank. 
• Customers relate to the Bank 24*7 with the Banks constant Support on call. 
• Many Modules and Enhancement have come up serving Customers in every 
better way possible making the Customers Life easy. 
2.12.2 Incentives for employees of banks 
• Employees of the bank are motivated and inspired when their net promoter 
scores (NPS) is favourable indicating high customer satisfaction levels. 
• Effective technology helps employees to move queues faster. 
• Reliable and efficient systems afford employees more valuable time to engage 
with clients. 
• Better performance ratings are awarded to employees by the banks resulting in 
improved reward and remuneration. 
2.12.3 Strong overall benefits for banks 
• Management gets overall benefits as it increases its Customer retention 
percentages. 
• Optimum utilisation of resources by the institution. 
• Increased customer satisfaction levels lead to customer growth and ultimate 
profits. 
• Increased customer loyalty has a positive influence on brand value. 
34 
 
 
• Engaged workforce leads to satisfied customers. 
• Chances of retaining customers are great resulting in increased loyalty. 
2.13 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIP 
MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING SECTOR 
Customer relationship management is viewed as an ideal strategy for managing 
relationships between the organisation and its customers. Ghalenooie and Sarvestani 
(2015:363) on the other hand argues that customer relationship management will 
sometimes realise the expected outcomes of the organisation after having failed 
because most organisations tend to rely heavily on technological insights ignoring 
observed behaviour. Above and beyond technology, the challenges and role played 
by other organisational factors such as human resource factor should be 
acknowledged as one of the vital sources for a successful customer relationship 
management (Ghalenooie & Sarvestani, 2015:363). Santouridis and Tsachtani 
(2015:305) further suggest that successful implementation of an effective customer 
relationship management practises can also pose significant challenges to the banks, 
as most initiatives do fail to meet expectations. 
In this respect, banks need to track the success of applied customer experience 
management activities and pay attention to human and organizational capital 
(Keramati, Mehrabi & Mojir, 2010:1170). Niketan, 2011 recommended that challenges 
faced by many of the banks whilst implementing customer relationship management 
strategies can be summarised as follows 
• Getting management sponsorship; 
• Quality of customer data Alignment issue (Alignment of people and processes); 
• shortage of skilled personnel; 
• Determining the right time for customer needs; 
35 
 
 
• Using customer data more intelligently; 
•  Incorporating customer data and customer preferences to the customer 
database; 
• Using the right technologies; and 
•  Real-time data across all customer channels 
2.14 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 
A review of the literature shows that the implementation of an effective customer 
relationship management in the banking industry can assist to attract new customers, 
keep existing customers, increase customer satisfaction, enhance and sustain market 
share, enhance service quality and boost bottom-line growth. Literature has also 
indicated that there is the existence of effective customer relationship management 
practices in most banks. Also, banks attitude towards clients was found to have a huge 
impact on the quality of services furnished to their customers. 
For this review, the next chapter addressed the research design and Methodology 
adopted to find empirical answers to the research questions. 
  
36 
 
 
CHAPTER 3 
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS 
3.1 INTRODUCTION 
The previous chapter provided the theoretical foundation and reviewed the literature 
relating the subject under investigation for the study. this chapter focused on the 
research design and methods adopted in the study. The chapter begins with a detailed 
discussion of the research paradigm that underpins the current study. This is then 
followed by the explanation of the research design and approach adopted for the 
study. A comprehensive description and the procedures of data collection and analysis 
will then be covered at length. The chapter concluded with an explanation of the ethical 
considerations for the study. 
3.2 RESEARCH PARADIGM 
Research is referred to as the procedures of intellectual discovery, which provide the 
abilities to transform our knowledge and understanding of the globe around us (Ryan, 
Scapens & Theobold, 2009:7). The researcher must be able to comprehend and 
articulate beliefs about the nature of reality, what can be known about the reality and 
how the researcher can go about attaining this knowledge (Rehman & Alharthi, 
2016:51). All facets of a research model are these values, fact and knowledge. 
A research paradigm is a system of thinking or philosophical framework that helps 
researchers develop a research tradition in a specific discipline (Neuman, 2011:94; 
Vosloo, 2014:301). The philosophical assumption that underpins this research study 
falls primarily within the interpretivist paradigm (Creswell, 2011:257). Creswell 
(2014:6) defined a philosophical paradigm as a universal logical view about nature 
and the landscape of the research techniques that scholars utilize in the module of a 
research project. The philosophical assumption that supports this research project falls 
primarily within the interpretivist paradigm (Creswell, 2011:257). 
37 
 
 
3.2.1 Interpretivist paradigm 
Interpretivist paradigm initially rooted from the idea that approaches used to 
understand knowledge with regards to human and social sciences are not same as 
methods used in physical sciences because human interprets their world and then a 
behaved based on that interpretation (Hammersley, 2013:26). The interpretative 
model requires taking perception and perceptions from people as the core of what is 
true or important to them (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011:53).  The interpretative model 
in a nutshell is aimed at exploring the complexity of social phenomenon with a view to 
gaining an understanding of lived experiences (Vosloo, 2014:307). Vosloo (2014) 
further offers that Interpretivists believe that social reality is subjective and nuanced 
because it is shaped by the perceptions of the research participants, as well as the 
values and aims of the researcher. Making sense of customer views and experiences 
with regards to the importance of customer relationship management in banking will 
be important to this study as it will assist the researcher to explore an in-depth 
understanding of the customer perceptions. 
Interpretivism discards the belief that, irrespective of our knowledge, a single, 
verifiable truth exists (Rehman & Alharthi, 2016:51). Interpretivists claim that social 
agents and the expectations of people create reality. Interpretivist recognises that 
individuals with their own varied backgrounds, assumptions and experiences 
contribute to the on-going construction of reality existing in their broader social context 
through social interaction (Wahyuni, 2012:71). Truth can be understood by means of 
the meanings people offer their universe. As the interpretivist paradigm assumes that 
each individual construct reality, thus multiple realities exist in any given situation 
(Creswell, 2011:257; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011:53). The interpretative model was 
considered crucial to this study because it recognizes the presence of various social 
realities and the need for a researcher to investigate how individuals interpret their 
social interactions and make sense.  
 
38 
 
 
3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 
A research design is a general plan for linking the theoretical research problem under 
investigation with the relevant empirical research. According to Vosloo (2014:299), a 
research design is an outline that enables the researcher to plan a suitable research 
strategy to ensure that validity of the result. McMillan and Schumacher (2001:66) 
summarise that a research design addresses essential aspects of the research 
projects. The location of the study is presented as a good example to type of 
investigation and unit of analysis. More specifically, a research design directs the 
researcher what data is needed, what methods are the best fit for data collection and 
analysis. William (2005:395) put this in yet another way in that a research design must 
address aspects of data collection and outline the purpose of the data collection as 
well as techniques to interpret the data. For the purpose of the current study, an 
exploratory case research design was employed to investigating the behaviour and 
attitude of bank customers with regards to customer relationship management 
practices implemented by the banks in South Africa. 
An exploratory research design is conducted to investigate a research problem when 
there are few or no reliable earlier studies to refer to or to depend upon to make predict 
an outcome (Kabir, 2016:161). Baxter and Jack (2008:554) concur that an exploratory 
research design is used to investigate the research phenomenon in which the research 
problem being evaluated has no clear, single set of outcomes. In the current study, an 
exploratory research design was deemed suitable in order to provide a detailed 
understanding of the problem of research through semi-structured open-ended 
individual interviews (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009:138-140). 
3.4 RESEARCH APPROACHES 
Methods of analysis cover all the tools and methods used to perform a research study 
(Mishra & Alok, 2017:1).  A research approach is a plan of action that directs the 
researcher to conduct a research study in a systematic and successful manner 
according to Creswell (2009). There are three main research approaches, namely: 
quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research approaches. The current 
research project adopted a qualitative research approach. 
39 
 
 
3.4.1 Qualitative research methods 
Qualitative study is a way of understanding and investigating human activities and 
behavior in natural settings according to Mishra and Alok (2017:3). Creswell (2009:4) 
defines qualitative research as a way of interpreting the significance given by 
individuals or groups to a social issue. Qualitative research was adopted in the current 
study to gain an in-depth understanding of customer relationship management in 
South African banking with specific reference to selected Port Elizabeth customers. 
Baxter and Jack (2008:554) further suggest that qualitative research methods as a 
research approach that offers the researcher with tools to ease exploration of multi-
facet phenomena within their contexts using various data sources. The qualitative 
research approach was considered appropriate because the subject under this study 
is of a social nature and there is a need to acquire in-depth opinions from the 
participants through research methods such as interviews. 
3.4.2 Population of the study 
A research population is described as the complete set of subjects or events with 
similar characteristics in which the researcher is interested (Sileyew, 2019:3). The 
population for this study is heterogeneous in nature as the banking customers hold 
different bank accounts and have different years of relationship with their banks. 
Hennink, Hutter and Bailey (2011:84) argued that the research unit for a study should 
concentrate on respondents with unique expertise and experience that could lead to 
a greater understanding of the phenomenon being examined. The population for this 
study comprises of the banking customers in the top five retail banks in Port Elizabeth 
area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. These customers were between 
the ages of 18 and 65 and were fully conversant in English. 
3.4.3 Selection of participants 
Selection of participants requires the assortment of some part of the entire population 
on the grounds of which judgement is made about the universal population (Nakkiran 
& Ramesh, 2009:183). According to De Vos (2005:146), a sample is an element of the 
entire population which the researcher considered for actual inclusion in a study. To 
40 
 
 
gain an understanding about the entire population reactions towards the challenges 
South African banking customers are facing with respect to the implementation of 
customer relationship management, a nonprobability purposive sample approach was 
employed to select participate in the study. According to Guest, Bunce and Johnson 
(2006:59), purposive samples are the best used type of non-probability sampling and 
their sample size depends on the concept of saturation or the point at which no themes 
are observe in the data. Khan (2014:226) recommends that grounded qualitative 
research should collect primary data through the use of interviews with 20 – 60 
individuals. The researcher repeated the process of data collection and analysis until 
new data stop emerging and the data saturation occurred. Hence, 20 participants were 
purposive selected from the five identified retail banks. Four participants were 
purposive selected from each of the five top retail banks in the Port Elizabeth. 
3.5 DATA COLLECTION 
The primary data for this study was collected semi-structured open-ended individual 
interviews with purposive selected bank customers in the Port Elizabeth area of the 
Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The researcher repeated the data collection 
and analysis method to address the research questions until no new data appeared 
leading to data saturation. The interview is viewed as a structured qualitative way of 
learning about the views and opinions of people, particularly with people who have 
clear understanding of the phenomena under investigation (Sileyew, 2019:5). Maree 
(2010:92) concurs that semi-structured open-ended individual interviews will enable 
cooperation of participants and in turn gives high response rates. The semi-structured 
open-ended individual interviews were considered vital for this study as it gives the 
researcher an opportunity to seek new insights, ask questions and assess phenomena 
in various perspectives.  
The interview questions for this study were designed using Rubin and Rubin (2005:20) 
responsive interviewing model of an in-depth qualitative interviewing, which is 
profoundly underpinned by the interpretive research philosophy. On adopting this 
approach, the researcher was able to give specific focus to the importance of keeping 
the research design and questioning flexible and adaptive in order to facilitate new 
information to emerge or to adapt to an unexpected direction. In this regard, the 
41 
 
 
researcher had the opportunity to obtain an in-depth understanding of the current 
challenges South African Banking Customers are facing with respect to the 
implementation of customer relationship management by banks. 
The interview consisted of seven semi-structure open ended main questions and nine 
semi-structure open ended sub-questions. Sub questions were asked only if a 
participant’s response to the initial question did not cover certain topics of interest 
(Guest et al, 2006:65). All respondents were asked identical questions in the same 
sequence, but interviewers probed inductively on key responses. The guide was 
divided into the following six domains of inquiry 
• Relationship with your bank 
• Understanding of the concept of CRM 
• Perception of the bank? 
• Level of satisfaction with the service the bank provides 
• Customer retention 
• Commitment, trust and loyalty 
Prior to conducting the formal interview, the researcher conducted a pre-interview with 
colleagues to fine-tune the research instrument. The feedback from the pre-interview 
was used to check some expressions and words that could be changed to make the 
questions clearer. The pre-test of the interview questions also aided the researcher to 
validate the participants understanding of the phenomenon under investigation for the 
study (Sileyew, 2019:7). After the pilot test, few minor changes were made on the 
interview questions. This was then followed by the researcher informing the 
participants of the aim of the interview placing emphasis on confidentiality, anonymity, 
and the voluntary nature of the study. Only participants who signed the consent forms 
were interviewed and each interview was recorded. 
 
 
42 
 
 
Data was collected from November 4th to November 28th, 2019. The interviews were 
carried outside the banking premises. They were conducted in English and only took 
approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Audiotapes were used during all interviews to assist 
the researcher in transcribing and coding of data in the section of data analysis. Other 
participants were given the option to write their opinions on a semi-structured open-
ended questionnaire. The researcher also made use of field notes and diaries where 
necessary and applicable to record observations, moments of confusion and 
innovative ideas. 
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS 
Data analysis is the process of managing, evaluating, summarizing, organising and 
interpreting the data collected in order to extract valuable information to provide 
answers to the research questions under investigation (Ibrahim, 2015:99). Data 
analysis is regarded as a process of organising the data collected in a proper manner 
to determine inherent facts with regards to the research problem. Data analysis 
involves the drawing of inferences from raw data (Wahyuni, 2012:75). Analysis of data 
requires the drawing of raw data inferences (Wahyuni, 2012:75). This study utilised 
grounded theory interview strategies coupled with situational analysis under the 
guideline auspices of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Grounded theory involves the “use 
of an intensive, open-ended, and iterative process that simultaneously involves data 
collection, coding (data analysis), and memo-writing (theory building)” (Groat & Wang, 
2002:181). Grounded theory is a data collection method in qualitative research 
method, which is based on data rather than try to emerge theory from data (Khan, 
2014:224). This study utilised grounded theory thematic analysis whereby specific 
themes and sub-themes are presented under the guideline auspices of Strauss and 
Corbin (1990) grounded theory interview. In this regard, a grounded theory approach 
was employed to highlight and explore retail banks customer perceptions regarding 
the implementation of CRM by the top five retail banks in South Africa. 
 
 
43 
 
 
3.7 TRUSTWORTHINESS 
Trustworthiness is a set of standards formulated to determine research efficiency 
(Bryman, 2012:717). Accordingly, trustworthiness can be seen as the way qualitative 
researchers ensure that transferability, integrity, reliability, and confirmability are 
evident in their study (Susanne, 2012:1). For this qualitative study, trustworthiness 
was established by member checking. Also, the identified themes and categories from 
data will be discussed with the participants to ensure accuracy and dependability. The 
data quality for this study was dependable due to the pilot testing of the interview 
questions with 3 colleagues and the data was improved (Sileyew, 2019:10). Results 
from field notes, interviews and the study diary will also be triangulated to provide 
accurate findings on common themes. Data trustworthiness in qualitative content 
analysis research has four key components, namely credibility, transferability, 
dependability and confirmability (Shenton, 2004:63). 
Credibility 
Credibility deals with how consistent the findings are with reality (Merriam, 1998). In 
addressing credibility, the researcher attempts to demonstrate that a true picture of 
the concerns customers within the five big retail banks in Port Elizabeth are facing as 
a result of CRM practices is being presented. Triangulation and member checking 
attempts to establish credibility and contribute to trustworthiness. Triangulation asks 
the same research questions of different study participants and collects data from 
different sources through different methods to answer the same questions. According 
to Gunawan (2015:11), to ensure the trustworthiness, the role of triangulation must be 
emphasis to reduce the effect of the researcher bias.  
Member tests, on the other hand, take place when researchers ask participants to 
review the data obtained by interviewers and the interpretations of that data by the 
researchers.  Guba and Lincoln (1989) referred to member checking as the most vital 
technique for establishing credibility. To ensure member checking, participants were 
given the chance to verify their statements and fill in any gaps from earlier interviews. 
 
44 
 
 
Transferability 
Transferability generalises study findings and attempts to apply them to other 
situations and contexts. According to Shenton (2004:63), transferability provides 
sufficient detail of the data collection process for a reader to be able to decide whether 
the prevailing environment is similar to another situation with which he or she is familiar 
and whether the findings can justifiably be applied to the other setting. 
Dependability 
The meeting of the dependability criterion is difficult in qualitative work, although 
researchers should at least strive to enable a future investigator to repeat the study 
(Shenton, 2004:63). 
Confirmability 
To achieve confirmability, the researcher must take steps to demonstrate that findings 
emerge from the data and not their own predispositions Shenton (2004:63). The 
investigator was able to replicate the results to show that the results from this study 
are a product of independent research methods and not of conscious or unconscious 
bias. 
3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION 
The investigator must keep the participants at the forefront of all considerations and 
preserve their integrity, according to Salkind (2014:149). Most ethical issues fall into 
one of the four categories namely; protection from harm, informed consent, the right 
to privacy and confidentiality and honesty with professional colleagues (Leedy & 
Ormrod, 2005:101; Punch, 2014:43). Thus, the scientist has an obligation to protect 
the rights and interests of the participants and institutions. The analyst will take all 
steps to ensure that participants are not exposed to any form of distress or harm and 
their right to privacy is being  respected. The investigator explained the purpose of the 
study to the participants and they were informed that any information they provided 
kept confidential and no identity would be revealed in relation to the information they 
45 
 
 
have provided (Sileyew, 2019:11). All the participants signed the informed consent 
before participating in the study. The researcher obtained clearance from NWU 
business school ethics committee. 
3.9 CHAPTER SUMMARY 
The research design and techniques adopted to obtain empirical answers to the 
research questions for the study were described in detail in this section. The study 
was underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm and guided by a qualitative research 
approach. Semi-structured open-ended individual interviews method were employed 
to collect primary data as this method provided the participants to raise additional 
issues that we not identified by the researcher. All interviews were audio-recorded and 
transcribed. 
  
46 
 
 
CHAPTER 4 
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 
4.1 INTRODUCTION 
The previous chapter discussed and explained in detail the research design and 
methodology adopted to answer the research questions posed in this study. This 
chapter presents analyses and interprets the results from the data collected through 
semi-structured open-ended individual interviews with participants. The aim was to 
attain the research objectives for the study, which are: 
• To explore concerns customers in the five big retail banks in Port Elizabeth are 
facing as a result of CRM practices implemented by these banks to increase 
customer satisfaction and builds effective relationship with existing and 
prospective customers. 
• To obtain an insight into the role of CRM in increasing customer satisfactions, 
retention of existing customers and attraction of prospective customers through 
a literature review. 
• To examine the impact of CRM on customer satisfaction in the South African 
retail banking industry. 
• To explore the perception of banking customers on CRM as a tool for the South 
African retail banking industry in the retention of existing customers and 
attraction of prospective customers. 
4.2 DATA FROM INTERVIEWS 
A total of 20 participants were purposive selected from the five identified retail banks. 
Four participants were purposive selected form each of the five top retail banks in the 
Port Elizabeth. Participants were given the chances to write their opinions on a semi-
structured open-ended questionnaire. The data was presented, analysed and 
interpreted to attain the objectives of the study. The findings presented in this study 
were produced under the guiding auspices of Strauss and Corbin (1990) grounded 
47 
 
 
theory method analysis. This study utilised grounded theory interview strategies 
coupled with situational analysis. 
The first question participants were asked to provide was around the duration they 
have had their relationships with their banks. 
The observation that emerged from this question was that majority of the participants 
have been having an effective relationship with their banks for more than a decade. 
The second question was for participants to explain their understanding of the concept 
of CRM. The theme that emerged from the above research question was a 
combination of a good understanding and a poor understanding of the CRM concept. 
The main themes of understanding that emerged from the participants regarding the 
CRM concept were as follows. 
• A process of monitoring accounts, building relationships and keeping 
customers happy, a strategy to know the customer better by staying connected 
with them.  
• A process of how the organisation would manage the current clients and the 
prospective clients. Considering their history and ways of improvement going 
forward. 
• A process of how to attract, retain and satisfy customers. 
• A process of sales, support, feedback and marketing. 
• A process about having a relationship with your bank involved in customer 
interaction as well as building a long loyal relationship with your customers 
through service delivery. 
• A process of a series of activities businesses uses to organise, nurture current 
and new prospects whilst pursuing opportunities. 
• A process of keeping a close relationship and follow- up processes with 
customers. 
• A process that refers to strategies that companies use to manage customers 
interactions. 
48 
 
 
• Banks need to have a relationship with their customers and keep checking if 
they are still happy as customers. 
• It is an approach to manage a company interaction with current and potential 
customers. 
• A process of having a relationship with your banker who understands your 
needs and provides lasting solutions that will suite my financial standing. 
• It means understanding the value that each customer adds. 
• It is how the business relates with clients, manage the clients’ expectations, 
keeping them satisfied, delivering world-class service so they can retain the 
business 
•  banks mostly try to create effective relationship when only when they want to 
sell their products or services 
From the above findings, it could be deduced that most of the participants have been 
having existing relationship with their banks for more than a decade. From the above 
findings it can also be concluded that one important observation about CRM is the 
dual nature of the relationship where the customer must also get involved in the 
relationship setup to be effective. It was however evident that not all of the participants 
could comprehend with the concept of CRM.  
The third research question was for participants to share their perceptions and insights 
about their banks. The probing questions in support of the latter question were about 
what do participants think of the reward schemes their banks do offer and what do the 
participants needed to do to participate in these reward schemes? 
Participants disclosed a range of past and present relationship experiences with their 
banks. The themes that emerged from the study are that most of the customers had 
negative perceptions about their banks in that their banks treated them as a number 
with their queries never being attended to. Furthermore, majority of the participants 
are of the opinion that they are not being offered the opportunities to participate in any 
bank’s reward schemes, and this was one of the reasons that led to them switching to 
other banks. However, few of the participants agreed that they were currently 
participating in their bank's reward schemes. Some of these reward schemes included 
49 
 
 
Absa bank rewards cashback programme, eBucks by FNB and the Nedbank 
Greenbacks. 
These results are in line with a study conducted by Balakrishnan and Krishnaveni 
(2014) whose findings revealed that majority of private and retail banks both in 
developed and developing countries have been using customer relationship 
management as a strategy to retain and reward existing customers as well as attract 
new customers (Balakrishnan & Krishnaveni, 2014:15). Examples of these strategies 
in South Africa as identified by PWC (2018) include the eBucks by FNB, FNB Fusion 
for Premier, Private & Private Wealth Clients, and green affinity account by Nedbank 
(PricewaterhouseCoopers [PWC], 2018). 
The fourth research question required participants to describe their level of satisfaction 
with the quality of service they received from their banks. 
The themes that emanated from the participants are that most of the participants were 
happy and satisfied with the service their respective banks provided. Some of the 
reasons provided by the participants for their satisfaction were as follows: 
• I do not have time to always do my own banking. Therefore, I love the fact that 
I can do things at ATM or update records via Internet banking etc. Like order 
cards, stop orders etc. Convenience. 
• I am satisfied because they do send me regular updates and monitoring my 
monthly fees and send me communication of higher spending when my monthly 
service fees are higher than the norm. 
These results are in line with a study conducted by Raza, Jawaid and Hassan (2015), 
whose findings revealed that service quality had a positive impact on customer 
satisfaction in the banking industry. However, some of the participants were not 
satisfied with the quality of services they received from their banks. One of the 
participants replied as follows ‘I feel that they do not care about me as they do not 
respond to any queries I have logged in their ‘so-called’ efficient app’. 
50 
 
 
The fifth question asked participants to provide possible known strategies 
implemented by their banks to retain them as customers. The probe question was for 
participants to provide any reasons that could have influenced them to switch to other 
banks. 
With regards to customer retention, most interviewees noted that that their banks were 
using various strategies to retain them as customers. Some of these strategies 
according to the participants were as follows: 
• Frequently reviewed portfolios and constant communication with customers. 
• Tailor made product solutions, multiple channels of service and quick 
turnaround times. 
• Value added offerings and loyalty programmes. 
• Online banking capability and technological innovation (e.g. Bank Apps). 
Participants were further probed to provide any reasons that could have influenced 
them to switch to other banks. The themes that emerged from the responses were that 
majority of the participants were banking with other banks because they were not 
receiving value from their primary banks and were merely a number. 
These results are not in line with existing literature. For example, Das (2012) found 
that customer retention is not a big challenge to Banks as per the opinions of 
customers of selected Banks. 
Finally, participants were asked to describe their level of commitment, trust and loyalty 
with their banks.  
Several participants shared their concerns that they were not being treated as valuable 
assets by their banks. For example, one of the participants provided the following 
response; “I feel that the bank does not care about me as they do not respond to any 
queries, I have logged in their ‘so-called’ efficient app”. There were however 
participants that felt very attached to their banks for having been with them for a long 
haul and being also happy with their offerings and reward schemes resulting in them 
being loyal and committed. Signs of trust on their respective banks were also very 
51 
 
 
evident on some of the responses gathered from the interviews. 
4.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY 
The rapid changes in financial markets, customer behaviour and preferences, and the 
application of modern technologies in the banking sector have called for the 
application of customer relationship management in the banking industry (Cvijović et 
al., 2017:161). The results revealed that majority of the participants have been having 
an existing relationship with their banks for more than a decade and it was evident that 
most of them understood the concept of customer relationship management. 
Furthermore, majority of the participants believed that they were not being offered the 
opportunity to participate in the bank’s reward schemes, and this was one of the 
reasons why they switched to other banks. Finally, the results also indicated that 
majority of the participants were aligned with the fact that their banks were using 
various strategies to retain them as customers. 
The next chapter summarises the findings from the empirical results and provide 
conclusions and recommendations based on the findings. 
 
  
52 
 
 
CHAPTER 5 
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
5.1 INTRODUCTION 
The main aim of the study was to unpack concerns bank customers of the selected 5 
banks in Port Elizabeth are facing because of customer relationship management 
practises implemented by their specific banks. Additionally, the study also aimed to 
examine the impact of customer relationship management on customer satisfaction 
trends in the South African banking industry as well as to analyse the perception of 
banking customers on customer relationship management as a tool of the banking 
industry in the retention of customers. To attain the aim and objectives of the study, 
chapter one provided the background and the road map through which the study was 
conducted. Chapter two reviewed literature relating to customer management 
relationship to identify the various gaps in the existing literature, while chapter three 
provided a detailed explanation of the research design and methodology. Chapter four 
analysed and interpreted the responses from the participants. This chapter will then 
summarise the findings from the empirical results and provide conclusions and 
recommendations based on the findings. 
5.2 SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS 
Findings reveal that customer relationship management should be regarded as a way 
of knowing the customer better, by placing the customer at the centre of everything 
we do, when providing the customers with products, when engaging with customers 
on a regular basis, when maintaining an effective relationships with existing and 
potential clients, and when providing services that satisfy the needs of the customer. 
This suggests that banks should not only contact their customers to only promote their 
offerings when selling their products and services but should also consider checking 
in with their customers on a regular basis to determine if they are still satisfied with 
their services in general. These findings oppose the findings by Das (2012), who 
argued that inadequate understanding of customer relationship management is 
always a concern among service providers, especially banks. 
53 
 
 
The findings further reveal that most bank customers are happy and satisfied with the 
services they receive from their various banks whilst their banks on the other are using 
various strategies to retain them as customers. Finally, not all the banks are offering 
opportunities for customers to participate in their reward schemes, and that was cited 
as a reason behind many defections to other banks. Similarly, a survey conducted in 
the USA by Accenture (2015)  
5.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 
Given the significant growth of financial literacy and human population, there has been 
a speedy growth in the number of bank customers thereby requiring banks to 
satisfactorily deliver financial services to customers grossly inadequate (Okoye et al., 
2019:2157). Banks must continuously seek out ways of serving this growing number 
of customers in a cost-effective way to remain in business in the ever-changing 
business environment.  
Below are the significant benefits the study has revealed for the industry: 
• Provide strategies that could assist banks in South Africa in improving the level 
of customer satisfaction, which could be achieved through the implementation 
of modern best practices of customer relationship management. 
• Provide banks in South Africa with an opportunity to radically transform the 
industry so as to become attractive to an un-bankable population that remains 
outside the mainstream of the banking realm in the country due to perceived 
inaccessibility. 
• Provide banks in the country with an opportunity to further analyse and interpret 
customer analytics to be in a better position to devise customer value 
propositions that do appeal to their customer base. 
• Provide banks with creative ways to improve their communication strategies 
with their customers to achieve inclusivity and shared understanding of their 
offerings. 
• Provide banks in South Africa with an opportunity to deliberate meaningfully 
around the perceptions that the cost of banking in our country is extremely high 
compared to international counterparts. 
54 
 
 
• Provide the industry or individual banks with an opportunity to conduct 
introspection on their customer relationship management strategies of whether 
they are customer-centric or what they think of customer centricity as 
businesses (Inward or outward focus). 
5.4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 
This study, as is always the case of qualitative research in social science, might 
experience the following limitations: 
• Cost and time limitations have constrained the researcher to focus in Port 
Elizabeth rather than the Eastern Cape Province. 
• Port Elizabeth is an unofficial capital city of the Eastern Cape Province which 
has a fair representation of the banking footprint which therefore places the 
study in an advantageous position for generalization. 
5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS 
• Retail banks in South Africa need to be transparent about banking fees and the 
funding model for the reward schemes and their freebies. 
• Retail banks in South Africa need to improve on their customer insights and use 
of their customer analytics in order to be able to gather reach data from insights 
and able to effectively analyse customer perceptions. 
5.6 SUGGESTION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 
Future research should be considered using both qualitative and quantitative research 
method on a longitudinal basis to obtain an in depth perception of the SA Banking 
customers’ with regards to the CRM initiatives offered by their banks and what banks 
could do to improve their relationships with customers. 
5.7 RESEARCH CONCLUSION 
Banks need to increase customer satisfaction by using various modern banking 
practises as well as providing more customer-friendly services to make modern 
55 
 
 
banking activities more convenient for customers to use (Balakrishnan & Krishnaveni, 
2014:15). In this regard, customer relationship management has been identified as a 
vital tool to be adopted by the South African banking sector to improve customer 
satisfaction. Customer relationship management is regarded as a major sauce of 
competitive advantage for the banking industry and is an acceptable instrument that 
supports customer-oriented organisations’ decisions (Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:2; 
Mohammed, Rahid, & Tahir, 2014). The banking industry in South Africa is extremely 
competitive and to gain competitive advantage, banks must aim at providing quality 
services to satisfy their customers (Kebede & Tegegne, 2018:3). Balakrishnan and 
Krishnaveni (2014:15) also concur that private banks must come out with innovative 
measures to satisfy both the needs of the existing and prospective customers. 
Data was collected through semi-structured open-ended individual interviews with 20 
purposive selected banks customers from the Port Elizabeth area in South Africa. The 
study utilised grounded theory interview strategies coupled with situational analysis 
under the guideline auspices of Strauss and Corbin (1990). The results revealed that 
majority of the respondent have been having an existing relationship with their banks 
for more than a decade and it was evident that most of them understood the concept 
of customer relationship management. Furthermore, the results showed that although 
majority of the participants were happy and satisfied with the services they received 
from their banks, who are using various strategies to retain them as customers, even 
though, they were of the opinion that they were not being offered the opportunity to 
participate in some of the bank’s reward schemes, hence they wanted to switch to 
other banks. They did acknowledge that their banks were using various strategies to 
retain them as customers. The study recommended that banks in South Africa needed 
to offer reward scheme opportunities to their customers on a large scale as a strategy 
for managing the relationship with them. 
  
56 
 
 
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 Web: http://www.nwu.ac.za 
 
 
08 April 2020 
To whom it may be concerned 
INFORMED CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERVIEW 
Date: ________________________ 
Participant code: _______________________ 
My name is Gordon Simanga and I am a Master of Business Administration (MBA) 
student at the North-West University Business School. I am currently doing research 
as part of my Masters’ dissertation s under the supervision of Dr Richard Meissner. 
We are inviting you to participate in a study entitled: Measuring Customer Relationship 
Management in South African Banking 
The purpose of this study is to explore concerns customers in the five big retail banks 
in Port Elizabeth are facing as a result of CRM practices implemented by these banks 
to increase customer satisfaction and builds effective relationship with existing and 
prospective customers. 
You have been chosen to take part in this study because you are a customer in one 
of the top five retail banks in South Africa. There are no foreseeable risks involved in 
taking part in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. I would 
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therefore greatly appreciate your contribution. The entire interview will take 
approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The interview will be voice-recorded, and the 
interviewer will take notes during the interview process. 
Your response is used only for the purpose of this study. However, data may be used 
for other purposes, such as a research report, journal articles and/or conference 
proceedings. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you choose not 
to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. Also, 
if you do not wish to answer any of the questions, you may skip them and move on to 
the next question. The information recorded is confidential; your name is not being 
included in the study. No identifying information of the participants will be shared with 
anyone who is not directly connected with the project. 
Audio records and hard copies (notes) of your answers will be stored by the researcher 
for a period of five years in a locked cupboard/filing cabinet in the researcher private 
home or the research supervisors’ office for future research or academic purposes. 
Electronic information will be stored on a password protected computer. Future use of 
the stored data will be subject to further Research Ethics Review and approval if 
applicable. Hard copies of your answers will be shredded, and/or electronic copies will 
be permanently deleted from the hard drive of the computer through the use of a 
relevant software programme after a period of five year. 
The study was approved by the Scientific Committee of the NWU Business School. 
The Chair of the Scientific Committee is Prof Christoff Botha. He can be reached at 
018 299 1672 and his email address is christoff.botha@nwu.ac.za. 
Ethical clearance will be obtained by the Faculty of Economic and Management 
Sciences Ethics Committee (EMS-REC) and the ethical clearance number will be 
allocated. The Chair of the Ethical Committee is Mark Rathbone. He can be reached 
at 018 299 1356 and his e-mail address is mark.rathbone@nwu.ac.za. 
Should you have concerns about the way in which the research has been conducted, 
you may contact the research supervisor Dr Richard Meissner. He can be reached at 
018 299 1414  
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Your input is of great value to this research and I appreciate your help in providing 
this information. 
Sincerely, 
Gordon Simanga 
Cell. 082 8537619 
Email: Bragee364@gmail.com 
NWU Business School 
North-West University, Potchefstroom  
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APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 
Q1. For how long have you been having a relationship with your bank? 
………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 
Q2. In your opinion, what do you understand by the concept CRM? 
……………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Q3. What is your perception of your bank? 
………………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Probe: What do you think of their reward system? (Probing question) 
………………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Probe: What did you actually do to participate in their reward scheme?  
……………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Q4. In your opinion, how will you describe your level of satisfaction with the quality 
of service your bank is providing to you? 
………………………………………………………………………………………….. 
Probe: What else could the bank do to increase your satisfaction levels? 
………………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Q5. In your opinion, what are the possible strategies implemented by your bank to 
retain you as a customer? 
……………………………………………………………………………………………… 
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Probe: provide any reason that might influence you to switch to another bank? 
……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 
Q6. Describe your level of commitment, trust and loyalty with your bank? 
……………………………………………………………………………………………… 
Q7. Is there anything else that you might want to discuss regarding customer 
relationship management? 
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………  
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APPENDIX C: LANGUAGE DECLARATION 
 
 
 
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