Understanding Customer Relationship Management Process in the Nigerian Retail banking context

The basis for relationship marketing is to maximize benefit and long-term bonding between the firm and a customer. Based on these premises, scholars explore how relationship is implemented across business and national context. In one of such studies, Reinarzt and Kumar (2004) explore relationship management implementation based on the premises that relationship follows three stages: relationship initiation, relationship management, and termination. However, at every stage certain processes do occur. These processes that occur at every stage remain unexplored at country level. Countries possess heterogeneous social as well economic conditions that define business operation in a specific country. Thus this paper investigates relationship implementation in Nigeria based on two premises: 1) what are the factors that affect relationship initiation, management, and termination in Nigerian retail banking context? How external factors affect relationship effectiveness and performance? Based on 27 semi-structured interviews, this study therefore provides empirical investigation that addresses two main issues. One, the paper shows interpersonal relationship, a technique employed for both relationship initiation and management, remains one of the important factor even at retail banking context. Due to environmental challenge, the positive implication on technology deployment on relationship management in retail context of Nigerian banks is small, social connections have significant influence on retail banking relationship.