Investigation of Customer Knowledge Management

International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology Volume 8 • Issue 2 • April-June 2017

Investigation of Customer Knowledge Management: A Case Study Research

Menatalla Kaoud, Laboratoire d’Economie et de Management de Nantes Atlantique (LEMNA), Université de Nantes, Nantes, France

ABSTRACT This article examines the Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) as an integration between the approaches of Knowledge Management (KM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In the context of CRM, three types of knowledge flows play a critical role in the interaction between the organization and its customers: “Knowledge for Customers”, “Knowledge from Customers”, and “Knowledge about Customers”. A central question address here from a resource-based perspective is: How these customer knowledge flows are used through CRM business processes to improve effectiveness? Adopting a case study methodology in a sales outsourcing enterprise, this paper presents an in-depth investigation of Customer Knowledge Management through the CRM business processes. This research will help companies in the implementation of Customer Knowledge Management enabling them to improve their CRM effectiveness. Keywords Business Processes, CRM Effectiveness, Customer Knowledge, Customer Relationship Management, Knowledge Management

INTRODUCTION In a knowledge-based economy, companies should pay attention to knowledge when managing their business as a key factor to obtain a competitive advantage (Beijerse, 1999; Salmador & Bueno, 2007). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Knowledge Management (KM) are two management approaches with different disciplinary roots and perspectives, but integrating them to manage Customer Knowledge has the potential to produce great synergies (Massey, Montoya-Weiss, & Holcom, 2001; Tzokas & Saren, 2004; Stefanou, Sarmaniotis, & Stafyla, 2003). CRM is an approach with increased strategic significance which aims to manage customer related knowledge (Karakostas, Kardaras, & Papathanassiou, 2005). Although the management of Customer Knowledge is one of the key success factors of CRM projects, less than 20% of companies practice it (Salomann, Dous, Kolbe, & Brenner, 2006). In practice, many studies showed high failure rates during the implementation of a CRM strategy (Bose & Sugumaran, 2003; Xu & Walton, 2005; Coltman, 2006). A gap between the importance given to DOI: 10.4018/IJSSMET.2017040102 Copyright © 2017, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.

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the Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) in theory and the low level of its application was also noted (Salomann et al., 2005). The analysis of potential optimization of CRM processes by KM is still insufficient (Gebert, Geib, Kolbe, & Brenner, 2003). Research should establish further evidence of how the joint management of the three Knowledge flows (for customers, from customers and about customers) will create a superior capacity for CRM in order to discover the full potential of Customer Knowledge (Salomann et al., 2005; khodakarami & Chan, 2014; Ahmad & Akbar, 2012). This paper aims to answer the following question: From a resource-based perspective, how these Customer Knowledge flows are used through CRM business processes to improve effectiveness? Adopting a case study methodology, this paper presents an in-depth investigation of Customer Knowledge Management through CRM business processes in order to improve its effectiveness. This paper is structured into four main parts. At first, a review of the literature presents relevant elements concerning Customer Knowledge Management. Subsequent sections, present the theoretical framework and the research methodology used in the study. Afterwards, we introduce and analyze the case study and summarize the research findings. The paper concludes with a summary, the research contributions, a critical reflection and an outlook on further research possibilities. THE CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) is defined as a process of capture and/or creation, sharing and dissemination, acquisition and application of Customer Knowledge (Dalkir & Liebowitz, 2011) to create value for the organization and its customers (Parirokh, Daneshgar, & Fattahi, 2009). Customer Knowledge is defined as a dynamic and necessary combination of experiences, values, information scenarios, ideas and expertise, which is created and observed in the transaction and exchange processes between the organization and its customers (Blosch, 2000). Marketing, Sales and Customer Service are the company’s primary functions with a high degree of direct customer interaction and knowledge-intensive (Porter, 1985), making them the main targets for the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The relevant business processes are the campaign management, lead management, offer management, contract management, complaints and service management, and opportunity management (Schmid, 2001). In the context of CRM, three types of knowledge flows play a critical role in the interaction between the organization and its customers: Knowledge for Customers, Knowledge about Customers and Knowledge from Customers (Gebert, Geib, Kolbe, & Riempp, 2002; Akhavan & Heidari, 2012). Knowledge for Customers This knowledge is obtained by the targeted customers to learn more about the company (Zanjani, Rouzbehani, & Dabbagh, 2008). It includes information about products, markets and suppliers (GarciaMurillo & Annabi, 2002). It is a direct knowledge flow from the company to its customers to support them in their buying cycle (Salomann et al., 2005). This knowledge has been also demonstrated as essential factor to retain existing customers (Desouza & Awazu, 2005). Knowledge from Customers These knowledge flows could be defined as ideas, thoughts and information that the organization receives from its customers. This feedback loop helps companies to continuously improve their products and services, develop successful business strategies, segment their markets more effectively, and create innovative new products and services (Desouza & Awazu, 2005).

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Knowledge about Customers This type of knowledge contains not only the basic data about the customer (e.g. name, contact details), but also includes his/her transaction history with the organization, and certain personal preferences (Reinartz & Kumar, 2002). The application of this knowledge aims to understand the customer’s needs in order to deliver them good services and take appropriate strategic decisions (Parirokh et al., 2009). CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE AND CRM EFFECTIVENESS Previous studies attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of CRM (Chen, Yen, Li, & Ching, 2009; Kim, Suh, & Hwang, 2003). The metrics commonly used by companies to measure and monitor CRM performance include customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, acquisition costs, defection rate, retention rate and other indicators (Mithas, Krishnan, & Fornell, 2005; Winer, 2001). In this paper, the author focused on the impact of the application of Customer Knowledge through the CRM business processes on its effectiveness. A number of studies have proven that CKM application enhance the company performance (Salomann et al., 2005; Gibbert, Leibold, & Probst, 2002) and competitiveness (Akhavan & Heidari, 2012; Zhao, Huo, Flynn, & Yeung, 2008). Customer Knowledge Management could help organizations better understand its customers (Parirokh et al., 2009; Gibbert et al., 2002) and better respond to their customers’ needs (Shi & Yip, 2007), allowing them to enhance their marketing strategies and to increase their sales (Lei & Tang, 2005). Moreover, CKM could support organizations in delivering customized products and services (Garrido-Moreno & Padilla-Meléndez, 2011) and to improve their customer service (Mjahed, 2008) with the aim of achieving customer satisfaction and retention (Lei & Tang, 2005; Garrido-Moreno & Padilla-Meléndez, 2011; Mjahed, 2008). THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW Customer knowledge is a vital organizational resource that organizations could manage in order to improve innovation, and support research and development (Sofianti, Suryadi, Govindaraju, & Budhi, 2009). It could also help organizations sustain long-term customer relationships and improve their service processes and customer retention (Mjahed, 2008). From a Resource Based View (Penrose, 1959; Wernerfelt, 1984), Customer Knowledge could be a valuable and rare asset for companies allowing them to respond quickly to customer needs and to adapt to the changing markets (Shi & Yip, 2007). This knowledge represents an organizational asset that should be managed in order to achieve competitive advantage (Zhao et al., 2008; Akhavan & Heidari, 2012). Sustainable competitive advantage comes from resources and capabilities, controlled by the company, that are valuable, rare, and not substitutable. These resources and capabilities could be considered as sets of tangible and intangible assets; including business management skills, organizational processes and routines, and the information and knowledge that it controls (Barney, Wright, & Ketchen, 2001). In this perspective, this study intends to investigate the management of Customer Knowledge flows within the CRM business processes in order to enhance effectiveness. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research methodology is based on a qualitative approach. We adopted the case study research method (Yin, 2003). The choice of the case method was motivated by the fact that the study of The Customer Knowledge Management within the context of CRM represents a contemporary phenomenon (khodakarami & Chan, 2014; Garrido-Moreno, Lockett, & Garcia-Morales, 2015) in a context of real life (Yin, 2003). In addition, this method allows to study the phenomenon more in depth than a large-scale survey or an experimental research (Dufour, Fortin, & Hamel, 1991). 14


Presentation of the Case Study Deraya Insurance Brokerage is an insurance brokerage firm, established in Egypt, specializing in medical insurance. The company works with both international medical insurance providers such as Bupa Global and Allianz, and top local providers such as MetLife and Arope Insurance. Their customers can be corporations, private individuals, or families. Deraya Insurance Brokerage was awarded the Top Worldwide Distributor of Bupa Global medical insurance. The company name Deraya is an Arabic word meaning “knowledge and awareness”; the key to the company’s success is the knowledge about the services that it sells and the optimum ways of reaching prospective customers. That makes this case highly interesting for the research objective. Data Collection Two different techniques of data collection have been used: semi-structured interviews as well as direct observation: •

Semi-structured interviews

Twenty-seven interviews were carried out on the whole with the different departments of the organization and with all hierarchical levels. The interviews were mainly conducted with the core functions involved in the processes of the Customer Relationship Management (Marketing, Sales, Customer Service). Some interviews were also conducted with the Back Office for its role in the contract management, and the Business Solutions Unit for its role in the development and the implementation of the technology tools. A part of the interview guide was dedicated for the usage patterns of the Customer Knowledge through the CRM business processes. •

Direct observation

A one-month observational study (from 15 January to 16 February 2016) was also conducted to observe the interdepartmental relations, the knowledge sharing and transmission. Secondary data (e.g. archival documents and performance reports) were also consulted to extend our empirical analysis. Data Analysis Most interviews were recorded (a total of 18 hours). They were translated in order to carry out the coding and the analysis of the data. The author investigated the Customer Knowledge Management through the CRM business processes, as well as the cross-functional transmission of this knowledge. RESEARCH FINDINGS The core functions of CRM are Marketing, Sales and Customer Service. The author investigated the management of Customer Knowledge flows (for/from/about Customers) through the business processes of each function. As well, the author studied the knowledge transmission between the CRM business processes in a chronological way. Based on this investigation, the Back-Office function was added for its role in the contract management process (verification and registration of customer information, and contract creation). It plays also an intermediary role of Customer Knowledge transmission between the sales teams, and the customer service teams.

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The Marketing Department (Campaign Management) The marketing and the communication teams send email campaigns including certain information about the company and its providers. They also post information about the company environment culture, as well general information about health and life styles, and insurance via the social media channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn (Knowledge for Customers). They brand their culture image of knowledge sharing and diffusion using hashtags like #Awareness, #AskDeraya and #HealthFirst. In addition, the marketing executives interact directly with prospects via instant online messenger on the company’s website. They answer directly their questions and their queries (Knowledge for Customers). They also organize and participate in events in collaboration with the Sales teams trying to provide certain information about the company and its services (Knowledge for Customers). As well, these events permit to them to capture information about the interested leads, such as, the contact details, customer’s interests and preferences (Knowledge from Customers). They register this information and transmit them to the sales teams to contact them and start their lead and offer management processes. The Sales Unit (Lead and Offer Management) The sales teams then proceed in a prospecting process by phone calls to arrange face-to-face meetings with interested prospects. During their face-to-face meeting, the sales advisors ask the prospects about their family situation, their lifestyle, their budget level, their medical history and their experiences (Knowledge from Customers). They listen attentively to them and try to understand theirs fears, their conditions, their needs in terms of insurance and their limitations in terms of budget (Knowledge about Customers). Using their expertise, the Sales Advisors offered to the prospects the insurance covers that match their needs presenting to them their advantages according to their situations (Knowledge for Customers). Therefore, the sales advisors transmit the applications of the new customers containing their personal information, such as the family situation, the contact details and the medical history, as well the information related about their insurance packages (Knowledge about Customers). Hence, The Back Office initiates the contract management process. The Back Office (Contract Management) The back-office team members make calls to these new customers to check and verify with them the information of their applications. They register the verified information (Knowledge about Customers) in the database integrated in the CRM software, and create the contracts. They then send the applications to the insurance providers to make the final registration procedures (creation and activation of the customer accounts). Therefore, they send the new accounts to the customer service. Thus, the back office plays a key role of customer information verification and registration when creating the contracts, and an important intermediary role of Customer Knowledge transmission between the sales teams and the customer service. The Customer Service (Service Management, Complaint Management, and Opportunity Management) Service Management As a service company, the company pays particular attention to after-sales service. Once the customers’ applications are sent to the insurance providers, account executives are designed to take over the responsibility of the customer support and assistance throughout the duration of the subscription. At first, the accounts executives make welcoming calls and emails to the customers in order to inform them about their account executives and their contact details as the persons for whom they could refer in case of problems and/or difficulties or if they have any questions about their insurance policies (Knowledge for Customers). Then, the account executives follow the customers by phone 16


calls to inform them about the activation of their accounts and their activation numbers, and to ensure that they have received their cards (Knowledge for Customers). They also send them emails included their certificates of subscription and the booklets of their insurance policies (Knowledge for Customers). Therefore, the accounts executives proceed to loyalty calls and emails with the customers on a regular basis. Complaint Management In this loyalty phase, the account executives receive from their customers their claims and their difficulties and/or problems. They capture this knowledge (Knowledge from Customers) and deal with their cases immediately. They then provide them with information regarding the processing of their claims and the resolution of their cases (Knowledge for Customers). Customers’ cases and their resolutions (Knowledge about Customers) are registered in the CRM tool. This information helps them as a knowledge reference for their service operations. Opportunity Management Before the renewal of the contracts, the account executives contact the customers to inform them of the status of their insurance policies. They ask them if they are considering making changes to their policies (up selling by upgrading their policies/ cross selling by adding extra treatment options) and updating payment methods (Knowledge for Customers). They transmit then the information regarding the renewal of the contracts or the reasons of the termination (Knowledge about Customers) to the back office. Treating the reasons of the termination, the customer service and back office teams could jointly conclude how they can get back to these customers and/or improve the company’s services. Moreover, direct interaction and continued engagement with the customers have enabled the account executives to have opportunities for new potential policyholders through the networking of their customers (Knowledge from Customers). The customer service transmits then the information concerning these potential policyholders (contact details, networking, and their intuitions about the offers interested by them) to the sales teams to contact them. The case study has deepened our understanding on how the three Customer Knowledge flows could be applied through the CRM business processes enabling to enhance the CRM effectiveness. Table 1 summarizes the findings by presenting the application of Customer Knowledge within the CRM business processes and its impact on the effectiveness of customer relationship. The investigation shows that the continuous process of capturing, sharing and using the Customer Knowledge occurs in an “invisible” way within the daily business processes of the Customer Relationship Management. In other words, the CKM process is not a distinct task, it could be considered as an integrated part in the CRM business processes that are knowledge intensive processes. Therefore, there is an alignment between the CKM process and the CRM operations. In addition, the study sheds light on the importance of the organizational levers such as the company culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing, the perception of customer knowledge as source of competitiveness, the inter-functional collaboration and communication and the technology support in terms of available communication channels and the deployed tools (CRM) for the application of the CKM. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Customer Knowledge is a vital organizational resource that organizations should manage in order to enhance the effectiveness of their customer relationship. In a perspective of Resource Based View, the case study in Deraya Insurance Brokerage company has presented in depth investigation of how the Customer Knowledge flows (for, from and about customers) could be applied through the CRM business processes enabling the organization to sustain its competitive advantage based on knowledge. The Customer Knowledge Management allowed the company to better understand its customers and 17


Table 1. Findings summary CRM Business Processes

Customer Knowledge Types From

Marketing Campaign management

Events

Sales Lead /Offer management

Face to Face meeting

About


For

CRM Effectiveness

Emailing Social media Events On-line chat on the website

Increased brand awareness. Building a positive brand image. Increased prospection quality.


Personalized products. Customer satisfaction. Increased sales.

Back Office Contract management

Direct calls to the customer

Accurate and verified contract information to insure the service quality.

Customer Service Service/ Complaint management Opportunity management

Case and resolution reference Reasons for ending the contract

Improved service processes. Customer satisfaction and retention. New sales opportunities from the customer’ social network. Cross/Up selling opportunities

Queries and claims Complaints

Loyalty calls Renewal calls

better respond to their needs. The management of this valuable asset has enabled them to improve their marketing and sales strategies and their customer service in order to maintain long-term customer relationship, which translated to customer satisfaction and retention. Despite the importance given to the CKM in the literature considering it as a key success factor for CRM projects, a low level of Customer Knowledge application and high failure rates of a CRM strategy were noted. This research has contributed to the need of a thorough analysis of potential optimization of CRM processes by KM, and to further evidence of how the joint management of the three customer knowledge flows could create a superior capacity of CRM. In addition, the paper has answered the call for in depth analysis of the connection between resources and competitive advantage by examining the potential contribution of Marketing for the Resource Based View approach (Srivastava, Fahey, & Christensen, 2001). Moreover, in line with previous studies, this investigation supports the point of view that the best way to manage knowledge effectively is to integrate it “invisibly” in the daily business processes (Salomann et al., 2005; Davenport & Glaser, 2002). This case study has also revealed the importance of the organizational factors for managing effectively the Customer Knowledge. In other words, the Knowledge Management capabilities are insufficient to attain the CRM objectives, the organizational factors must be taken in consideration (Garrido-Moreno & Padilla-Meléndez, 2011; Gauzente & Volle, 2012; Kaoud, 2016). In terms of methodology, this case study can be considered a novel approach because it is the first to include in its analysis the three Customer Knowledge flows in all the relevant business processes of the core functions of CRM. As well, the analysis has presented the knowledge transmission between the CRM business processes in a chronological way. From a managerial perspective, this study will help companies to practice the CKM approach enabling them to enhance the CRM effectiveness and reduce the risk of failure of CRM projects and KM initiatives. The case study in a multi-award winning company allowed to disseminate certain best practices in the areas of CRM and KM. It recommends companies that they should pay attention to Customer Knowledge as a valuable organizational resource in order to achieve customer satisfaction and retention. 18


The study does have some limitations, many of which highlight potential opportunities for future research. The study is based on a single case according to the research objective to give in depth analysis of CKM through all the relevant CRM business processes. But somehow, it could involve a degree of subjectivity, future studies can give more examples of CKM practices. The research is focused specifically on an Egyptian brokerage company specialized in medical insurance, so the findings obtained here may not be entirely generalizable to other sectors of activity or other countries. Thus, studies at the international level would be useful to test the generalization of the findings from other countries and sectors. Quantitative studies at large scale would be also interesting. Last but not least, in the light of this in-depth investigation, advanced research on the organizational levers that must be considered to apply effectively the CKM will be held in next publications.

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