Customer relationship management and customer deposit mobilization at Lower Pra Rural Bank in Ghana

Abstract

Effective and well implemented customer relationship management practices have assumed significant attention among scholars and practitionersin recent times. However, despite extensive literature on CRM, studies onhow CRM practices influence customer deposit culture is very limited in the banking industry, particularly in Ghana. Lower Pra Rural bank, over the years has introduced various deposit products such as Ebusua MfreYie, Kese Wokan and Gyedzi to improve deposit mobilisation which may have translated into increase in total deposit from GH¢56 million in 2015 to GH¢64 million in 2016 representing an increase of 14.3 percent. While management has also invested in CRM strategies, there is the need to empirically establish the degree of influence of CRM initiatives on deposit performance of the bank. This study formulates research objectives to examine the extent of influence of CRM practices on deposit mobilization of the Bank. This quantitative survey research sampled 273 customers of the bank using simple random sampling technique. Descriptive and regression analysis was done to arrive at the findings. First, the study found that customers of the bank perceive CRM practices as effective. The study further found that CRM practices improve deposit mobilization level of the banks. Effective employee-customer communication and proper complaint handling are the CRM practices that significantly improve deposit levels of the bank. The study therefore, concludes and recommends that management of the banks review their CRM practices to ensure that employee are able to deliver best quality banking at first instance.