Importance of Customer Relationship Management in Amazon.com

This research paper discusses the importance of customer relationship management in Amazon.com. It covers the strategies and approaches used by Amazon to satisfy its customers and increase growth. The research methodology includes research questions, objectives, literature review, research methods, ethical considerations, timeframe, and Gantt chart.

Running Head: CRM 1
Business Research Methodology
The importance of customer relationship management to satisfy the customers-
the case study of Amazon.com

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Research questions and objectives...................................................................................................4
Literature review..............................................................................................................................5
Research methods............................................................................................................................7
Research designs..............................................................................................................................7
Data collection.................................................................................................................................7
Data analysis....................................................................................................................................8
Ethical consideration.......................................................................................................................8
Timeframe........................................................................................................................................8
Gantt chart.....................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Customer satisfaction is must for every organization which can be developed with the help of
effective implementation of Customer relationship management. There are various strategy and
approaches to customer relationship management that facilitates business to increase the growth
of the company in a significant manner (Chen and Chiu, 2009). For the last two decade,
Amazon.com has been helping customer worldwide. It was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1995. The
vision of the founder was to develop the virtual shopping place for book lovers and it has been
done with lots of efforts of his founder. In 2000, Amazon.com has become the leader of e-
commerce industry by becoming a platform for a retailer. Amazon provides its services to the
customer by the well-known website www.amazon.com.The research will elaborate on the
importance of CRM in Amazon.com. The research methodology will demonstrate to gather the
information regarding the research topic.

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Research questions and objectives
The research questions are underlined below to demonstrate the significance of the research:
 How can customer relationship management satisfy the customer’s needs?
 What sort of customer relationship management strategy has applied by Amazon in
increasing the customer satisfaction?
 What is the process of Amazon to implement CRM within the organization?
Research objectives
 To analyze the strategy of customer relationship management in satisfying the customers
of Amazon.
 To evaluate the process of Amazon to implement CRM within the organization.

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Literature review
Customer relationship management system in Amazon
According to Bitner, Ostrom and Morgan, (2008), Customer relationship management is
comprehensive strategy to develop, create and sustain the bonding with customers. E-commerce
industry can be successful in more efficient manner if they keep trust of their customers which
would be helpful to retaining them (Heller Baird and Parasnis, 2011). Amazon uses the strategy
of customer relationship management for gaining the trust of customer and making them
satisfied through products and services (Baran, Galka, and Strunk, 2008). CRM strategy of
Amazon fetches out the personal information of the customers through their credit card record,
order record, transaction record, their past purchase records and order records which are gathered
in the database. The customer of the company is satisfied due to the effective implementation of
the customer relationship management (Han and Ryu, 2009). It has been found that the order
processing system of Amazon take care of the transaction record of the company with secured
transaction method and it provides order to the delivery system for the implementation of
shipment. Amazon is able to get information about customer desires through their wish list,
customer interest, their feedback and product reviews. According to Battor and Battor, (2010),
automated communication is the procedure that makes sure with customers by e-mail and
message systems along with order information systems. Amazon can effectually integrate the
sales, communication, and services of the customer with CRM system. The market share of the
Amazon is improved with the help of CRM as it is cleared that no firm has the efficiency to cater
all the customers satisfactorily so recognition of target market is must (Frow and Payne, 2009).

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Customer relationship management strategy
it has been found that when a customer visits the sites of Amazon for getting information or
purchasing products, the site of Amazon provides the feature products to them but when the
customer visit the second time, the recommender system of company automatically give
products by evaluating the best interest and personality (Casaló, Flavián, and Guinalíu, 2008). It
has been analyzed that customer acquisition and retention strategy are major CRM strategy of
Amazon in which Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) brings 3 main ideas such as limitless
inventory, customer care and high margin with the lowest price. In the context of limitless
inventory, it can be described that initially, Amazon offered only books to the customers but as
per the demand and over the period the feasibility of the product is increased and the company
has started to provide products from books to cloud storage, movie, gaming and many more. The
founder of the company has strong believed in the word of mouth that is why the company gives
higher preference to the customer care. The price of the product on Amazon is quite cheaper in
comparison to its competitors (Teece, 2010).
Implement a process of CRM in Amazon
The implementation process of Amazon CRM has a wide approach as it covers customer
selection, customer acquisition, and customer retention and customer extension. There are
various methods that have been implemented by the company in knowing their customer
behavior (Kassim and Abdullah, 2010). In the context of customer acquisition, it has been
evaluated that every customer of the company has an account in Amazon websites that help the
company to build a database to store the account. Along with that, it has been found that Amazon
motivates the customer to add favorite or desired items to the wish list. This kind of activity

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enables the company to know more about the customers. It has been found that 40% of
Amazon’s customers are a regular user. There is a number of competitors of Amazon such as e-
bay, best buy breathing that make the competitive marketplace for the company (Donner, 2008).
Recommendations for Amazon.com
Amazon is the well know online retailer all over the world that is nearest to its competitors such
as e-bay and best buy. The competition is growing day by day and the competitors of the
Amazon have started to invest more to take Amazon down. It is necessary for the company to
understand that there is no room for relaxation. Along with that, it is essential for the company to
bring new products to make satisfy and retain the customers (Chua and Banerjee, 2013).
Integration of new technology in e-commerce industry is increased day by day company should
be technology friendly to adapt the change in the competitive world. Customer loyalty is must in
expanding the business around the world. The competition has increased in e-commerce industry
that may influence the loyal customers of the company who are regular customers (Choudhury
and Harrigan, 2014).

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Research methods
The research’s information will be fetched out with the help of qualitative data and quantity data
as these methods facilitates in developing more information in reliable and quality manner
(Grove, 2011). The research designs and data collection analysis parts are described below:
Research designs
Research philosophy
The research issues can be understood in a more significant manner with the help of research
philosophy as the selection of appropriate philosophy facilitates researcher to recognize the
process of information gathering, analyzing and use of research process. There is three research
philosophy positivism philosophy, realism philosophy and interpretivism philosophy (Mkansi
and Acheampong, 2012). For this research, positivism philosophy will be considered by the
researcher as it represents the factual information regarding the research topic.
Research approaches
Inductive and deductive are two kinds of research approaches that facilitate researcher to reduce
the use of specific data collection method for a research project. Inductive approach is being used
to attain subjective knowledge on the concern of the research. The reliability and validity of the
research can be increased with the help of these research methods as it helps in drawing the
specific conclusion for the research. Deductive approach is not appropriate for this research as it
develops to elaborate the hypothesis to response the research question.
Research strategy

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There are various research strategies to get data regarding the research issues and for this
research, interview and survey research strategies are used by the researcher. The questionnaire
will be prepared regarding the importance of CRM in satisfying the customer’s need for which
the researcher will use software to get an answer for the questions. The interview will be
conducted for the same questionnaire in which 20 participants will be involved (Stamatakis,
Weiler and Ioannidis, 2013). These strategies are enabled the researcher to get actual information
regarding the importance of CRM in the e-commerce industry.
Choices
The alternatives strategies are available for this research which can be used by the researcher to
accomplish the research program. The selection of alternative will be taken on a prior basis
which will be done after examining the needs of the research program.
Data collection
The data collection method should be appropriate for the research as it is the major activity that
enables the researcher to gather the data in an appropriate manner. Primary and secondary are
two data collection methods that will be considered by the researcher in the execution of the
research program. The researcher will use survey, questionnaire and interview to get the primary
data regarding the research topic which would be helpful in giving accurate information
regarding the research concerns (Gill, Stewart, Treasure and Chadwick, 2008). On the other
hand, the secondary data is helpful to develop depth and theoretical information about the
research issue. The combination of primary and secondary approach will be taken to gather the
information regarding the research concerns.

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Data analysis
The role of data analysis is important in the research as it is facilitated to evaluate the gathered
data in a significant manner. There are various methods to evaluate the gathered data in a more
significant manner such as thematic analysis, content analysis, and statistical method. For this
research, the statistical method will be considered by the researcher to evaluate the data. With the
help of this approach, the researcher can represent the descriptive statistics of the data involving
cross tabulation and regress. The data will be presented in the graph and tables with the help of
SPSS software and MS Excel.
Ethical consideration
The research regarding the research concern will be elaborated in a more significant manner by
taking consideration of ethics which show that the research is reliable. The researcher will take
permission to the participant for being involved in the research and after that, they would be
invited for an interview. The researcher will be given prior information that their personal
information will be spoiled after completing the research.
Timeframe
S.
No.
Activities Timeframe
(week)
Descriptions

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A Selection of the
research topic
1 week It is the first step of the research in which the topic
will be selected for carrying out the time plan.
B Development of the
research
1 week After selecting the topic of the research, the planning
for the research will be discussed in this step in
which it finds as for the roadmap that guides the
researcher to gain a step in each movement.
C Carrying out of the
selected plan
2 weeks The forecast which has been done in the second step
will be executed in this step. The plans will be made
for further needs.
D Collection of the
data
1 week It is necessary for the research to accumulate the data
in relation to the topic. This step will be supportive
for the researcher to go for the suitable strategy and
techniques to collect the data.
E Data analysis 1 Week After accumulating data with proper method, the data
will be analyzed in a valuable manner.
F Discussion 2 week The analyzed data will be distinct in an efficient

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process to perform the reaction to the selected
questions of the study of the research.
F Conclusion and
Recommendation
1 weeks The conclusion will be drawn and the
recommendations will be made after discussion over
the gathered data and outcomes.
Gantt chart
S.No. Activities Duration 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A Selection of the research topic 1 Week
B Development of the research 1 Week
C Carrying out the research 2 Week
D Collection of the data 1 Week
E Data analysis 1 Week
F Discussion 2 Week
G Conclusion and Recommendation 1 Week
Weeks

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Conclusion
It has been concluded that the role of customer relationship management in Amazon Company
for making the customer satisfied is huge as it facilitates the company to fetch out the
information of customer in a significant manner. It is an effective approach that helps in making
a connection with customers for a long time. It has been found that there are various methods
that have been implemented by the company in knowing their customer behaviour such as
customer selection, customer acquisition, and customer retention and customer extension. The
discussion has been made on the implementation process of CRM in Amazon Company to make
the customer satisfied from the products and service which they offered to them. The research
methodologies section has entailed various approaches, strategies, and tactics that helped in
gather the information regarding the topic in more significant manner.

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References
Baran, R.J., Galka, R.J. and Strunk, D.P., 2008. Principles of customer relationship
management. Cengage Learning.
Battor, M. and Battor, M., 2010. The impact of customer relationship management capability on
innovation and performance advantages: testing a mediated model. Journal of Marketing
Management, 26(9-10), pp.842-857.
Bitner, M.J., Ostrom, A.L. and Morgan, F.N., 2008. Service blueprinting: a practical technique
for service innovation. California management review, 50(3), pp.66-94.
Casaló, L.V., Flavián, C. and Guinalíu, M., 2008. The role of satisfaction and website usability
in developing customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth in the e-banking
services. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 26(6), pp.399-417.
Chen, Y.L. and Chiu, H.C., 2009. The effects of relational bonds on online customer
satisfaction. The Service Industries Journal, 29(11), pp.1581-1595.
Choudhury, M.M. and Harrigan, P., 2014. CRM to social CRM: the integration of new
technologies into customer relationship management. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 22(2),
pp.149-176.
Chua, A.Y. and Banerjee, S., 2013. Customer knowledge management via social media: the case
of Starbucks. Journal of Knowledge Management, 17(2), pp.237-249.
Donner, J., 2008. Research approaches to mobile use in the developing world: A review of the
literature. The information society, 24(3), pp.140-159.

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Frow, P.E. and Payne, A.F., 2009. Customer relationship management: a strategic
perspective. Journal of Business Market Management, 3(1), pp.7-27.
Gill, P., Stewart, K., Treasure, E. and Chadwick, B., 2008. Methods of data collection in
qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. British dental journal, 204(6), p.291.
Grove, C.E., 2011. Qualitative Research in Education: A User's Guide by LICHTMAN,
MARILYN. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), pp.470-471.
Han, H. and Ryu, K., 2009. The roles of the physical environment, price perception, and
customer satisfaction in determining customer loyalty in the restaurant industry. Journal of
Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33(4), pp.487-510.
Heller Baird, C. and Parasnis, G., 2011. From social media to social customer relationship
management. Strategy & leadership, 39(5), pp.30-37.
Kassim, N. and Asiah Abdullah, N., 2010. The effect of perceived service quality dimensions on
customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty in e-commerce settings: A cross cultural analysis. Asia
Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 22(3), pp.351-371.
Mkansi, M. and Acheampong, E.A., 2012. Research philosophy debates and classifications:
students’ dilemma. Electronic journal of business research methods, 10(2), pp.132-140.
Stamatakis, E., Weiler, R. and Ioannidis, J., 2013. Undue industry influences that distort
healthcare research, strategy, expenditure and practice: a review. European journal of clinical
investigation, 43(5), pp.469-475.
Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range
planning, 43(2-3), pp.172-194.

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