Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) in the Nigerian Banking Sector

Abstract

To attract more customers, the level of competition in all industries, both locally and internationally, has intensified enormously, and so firms are forced to develop unique products and especially services through customer engagement to keep up with their clients and their endless demands. As the world has become a global village with the Internet and social media, businesses have adopted the use of social media as a strategy of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to develop a new idea or product through their customers’ input as well as prospecting and engaging both new and old customers.

This study explores how successfully the Nigerian banking sector has used Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) to engage its clients and to determine the willingness of the customers to follow along in this engagement. It is also aimed to help banks in Nigeria to enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction, which can contribute to improving the foundation for growth, which, in turn, may widen the banks’ customer base.

The research method adopted for this case study represents a quantitative re-search approach through the use of two surveys among the customers and the bank staff of the three Nigerian banks selected for this study. The findings indicate customers see SCRM as a useful two-way tool for engaging with the banks and also consider it of high importance for banks to be actively presence on social media. However, many are still skeptical about its openness and have con-cerns about its security.