Title: An exploratory study of the implementation of customer relationship management by Malaysian automobile distributors

Authors: Nor Khomar Ishak, Dilip Mutum, Ezlika Ghazali, Cheong Khai Fan

Addresses: Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR), 46760 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. ' Department of International Business, Faculty of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia. ' Department of Marketing and Information Systems, Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ' Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: The deregulation of the Malaysian automobile industry has resulted in intensified competition with the presence of more players in the market place. Customer relationships become important when there are many companies trying to satisfy their customer needs and create customer loyalty. The practice of customer relationship management (CRM) is relatively new in Malaysia and this exploratory study is one of the first to look into this area with regards to the automobile industry. The review of literature also presents a general overview of the development of CRM. This study compares the perspectives of two national and ten non-national car companies in Malaysia, with special reference to the various CRM programmes implemented by them. Despite the fact that CRM usage is still relatively new in Malaysia, the study concluded that it has indeed proven to be useful to Malaysian automobile marketers, especially in identifying the target customers and reaching specific customer segments, besides identifying various customer needs. The authors suggest some areas for future research.

Keywords: customer information; customer relationship management; CRM; Malaysia; automobile industry; marketing; automotive distributors; international business.

DOI: 10.1504/JIBED.2006.011950

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2006 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.41 - 56

Published online: 04 Jan 2007 *

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