Exploring customer perception and behavior towards CRM practices in banking sector: An empirical analysis

Globalization and competition on the one hand has created unlimited opportunities in each sector including the banking sector; but on the other hand has added many new challenges and threats too. Survival of the fittest is the truth of today\u27s global market. To be more competitive, productive and profitable, today banks are changing their way of doing business; they are shifting from a transactional based marketing approach to a relationship based approach. Customer relationship management (CRM) has emerged as a new paradigm of marketing. The recent rush of publications in the area may give rise to the impression that CRM can be applied in any context, yet there is little empirical evidence to support it. CRM is, probably, one of the least clearly defined business acronyms, as there is no single definition for it. It is probably easier to say what CRM is not. Unfortunately, in many cases CRM has become a misnomer. Many a times, the companies who practice it never look at whether it is really pleasing their customers or irritating them. Do their customers have some serious issues and concern for it, which needs to be addressed? In most of the cases, companies feel that all their CRM approaches are working fine and are making their customers happy, but in reality it might not be true. The present study attempts to understand the customer perception and behavior towards CRM practices in banking sector in India-an emerging economy. It offers some insights and assistance to banking industry in planning their CRM strategies

Consumer attitude towards green marketing: an exploratory study

Green Marketing can be viewed both as a type of marketing and a marketing philosophy. As a type of marketing it is like industrial or service marketing, and is concerned with marketing of a specialized kind of product, i.e. green product (including green goods such as fuel efficient cars or recycled products as well as green ideas such as “save oil” or “conserve natural habitat”). As a philosophy, green marketing runs parallel to the societal marketing concept and espouses the view that satisfying customers is not enough and marketers should take into account ecological interests of the society as a whole. It is a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Green marketing concept emerges from societal marketing (Kotler, 1999). Green marketing is an attempt to characterize a product as being environmental friendly (ecofriendly). It holds the view that marketing which is a part of business not only has to satisfy customers in particular, but also has to take into account the interests of society in general. That is, all those who are affected by the activities of a business should be kept in mind when setting the objectives and the policies of an organization. This has already helped to increase the recent trend towards the “greening” of the companies. It is only since 1990’s that the researchers have started academically analyzing consumers and industry attitude towards green marketing. Most of the studies are done in developed countries but such studies however, remain conspicuously missing in the context of developing nations like India. The present exploratory research discusses the concept of green marketing and its interface with consumers. It is based on the data collected through a field survey of consumers to assess their attitude towards green marketing

Green marketing: a challenge or an opportunity in the global environment

The earlier perception of industry towards green marketing was that the pressure for making business environment green and behaving in a more responsible manner especially comes from Government and its legislations. Now that old perception is changing throughout the globe as studies performed on consumers reflect that in most countries consumers are becoming more aware and willing to act on environmental concerns. There is a radical change in consumer preferences and life styles. They prefer environment friendly products over the others and many times are ready to pay a little extra price for such green products. Due to this shift from traditional marketing to green marketing, companies these days are facing many new challenges. This can also be viewed as a source of new opportunities to grow in today’s highly competitive global environment. A 2008 survey by the National Geographic Society and GlobScan on consumer choice and the environment reported on current behavior in fourteen countries (including Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, the UK and the US). The study found signs that consumer in all countries “feel empowered when it comes to the environment and are taking some action in their daily lives to reduce consumption and waste.” A global Synovate survey conducted in 2007 in association with Aegis, and repeated in 2008 in association with BBC World, also found that consumers in most countries are becoming more aware and willing to act on environmental concerns. Most of such studies on green philosophy and green marketing are done in developed countries but such studies however, remain conspicuously missing in the context of developing economies like India. The present study discusses the concept of green marketing and its interface with consumers in India. A field survey of consumers was conducted to understand their perception towards green marketing and preference for green products. The data collected was analyzed by using the T-test and One Way ANOVA. The results of the study are highly relevant in this challenging era of liberalization and globalization and can be used by industries for exploring and exploiting new opportunities. This study also provides future direction to researchers in the field of green marketing

Greening of industries for sustainable growth: an exploratory study on durable, non-durable and services Industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to aim in general to understand the perception of industries in India – a fast growing economy, towards green philosophy and to investigate further what initiatives those industries have taken for becoming green. Design/methodology/approach – The study is exploratory in nature and attempts to understand the behaviour of three types of industries, namely, durable, non-durable and services towards green philosophy. Findings – Results of the study reflect that industries in India, in general have a positive view for practicing green philosophy. They feel becoming green will help them in gaining the competitive advantage and will support them in sustainable growth. Also the industries that have a positive attitude towards greening have taken some measures and initiatives in this direction to establish a sustainable competitive advantage for succeeding in today’s highly challenging and dynamic global markets. Research limitations/implications – The present exploratory study provides a starting-point for further research. Researchers can further explore whether industries using green philosophy were able to register a competitive advantage and could gain added market share and profits by becoming green. They can investigate the reason behind this green attitude, whether industries are using green practices for cutting costs in turn to increase their profits or whether they have a genuine concern for environmental protection and society’s welfare and therefore adopting green practices in their industry. Originality/value – Most of such studies in thefield of green marketing and social economics are done in developed countries and remain conspicuously missing in the context of fast developing Asian countries. This research is a step to filling this gap and providing a platform for further research in this area

Cone-beam computed tomography: Third eye for dental surgeons

Cone-beam computed tomography is a relatively new three-dimensional imaging technology, which has been specifically developed for imaging of the teeth and jaws. This article gives an overview of the subject and discusses some of the implications for dental practitioners. An understanding of the underlying principles will allow the users of this technology to tailor the imaging protocol to the patient′s individual needs to achieve appropriate imaging at the lowest radiation dose