Customer relationship management: digital transformation and sustainable business model innovation – Paper critique

The use of digital tools for business sustainability can not be over emphasise in the current digital age as prospective customers are more tech cautious in the phase of rapid innovations in the technology world. Hence, the need to x-ray the topic – Customer relationship management: digital transformation and sustainable business model innovation written by Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 and published in ECONOMIC RESEARCH-EKONOMSKA ISTRAZIVANJA VOL. 33, NO. 1, 2733–2750. The authors discussed the importance of the CRM tool for efficient business management as an important tool for entrepreneurial success using evidence-based research techniques by formulating a hypothesis on CRM components in sales, marketing, and services versus sustainability components in economic, environmental, and social.

Businesses can store and manage all of their customer’s data with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. This data can be utilized to estimate future sales, and automate marketing and sales procedures. There are numerous organizations that provide CRM software, all of which are tailored to assist businesses in achieving various goals and objectives (Davis, 2022). The importance of the usage of CRM tools is arguably not debatable in this contemporary society as new technology business solutions are popping up on a daily basis and no serious business wishes to be left behind. The article under review re-echoed that CRM is a critical tool for sustainable business models for SMEs towards innovation and CRM impact for SMEs, stating categorically that customer knowledge management (CKM) and innovation are key drivers for a successful business while supporting such a fact with conceptual clarification, a theoretical framework, and the historical background of customer relationship management, referred to as Green IT, towards digital transformation and sustainability.

The researchers, formulated nine hypotheses to analyze the effective use of each CRM component module and how it affects a company’s level of sustainability using the environmental, economic, and social components of sustainability. Their objective is to establish a framework and a number of tenable hypotheses that may be used in a future empirical investigation to confirm the influence of CRM components on the three sustainability aspects. The research objective is really a lofty idea, and it is very important for academic discussion and thereby setting the pace for further academic discussion on the subject matter.

However, as an Information System and Digital Transformation student, I would prefer to toe another line to discuss this topic because of my target audience, which is the SMEs owners and top-level managers in startup companies, to be more direct and straightforward by enumerating the importance of using a CRM tool in a clear and concise format with survey evidence on the impact of CRM tools for business success because this set of audience do not have much time to read through an academic discussion of this nature as they are usually impatient based on my own personal experience with several startups owners.

Moreover, Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 did gather that there is a positive relationship between the use of CRM tools and business sustainability components leading to innovation with the following end results:

1. Increased customer loyalty because CRM tools make it easy for businesses to be customer centered with the approach of a relational marketing principle.
2. Enhancement of marketing strategy because it provides relevant and key information to internal stakeholders as the CRM tool is data-driven.
3. Efficiency boosting and cost reduction because of the assess to reliable data for a better decision-making process through the CRM tool.

Hence, the topic of discussion, which is the use of customer relationship management tools to enhance business sustainability in the face of digital transformation and innovation, can’t be overemphasized because of its importance in this current age and time of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and a couple of IT-related innovations, which is the basis of my submission that the topic should be discussed in a less technical mode devoid of intense academic rigor for ease of understanding by SMEs owners. 

References

Davis, L. (2022, August 6). 6 key benefits of CRM for your business. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/six-key-benefits-a-crm-brings-your-business/

Gil-Gomez, H., Guerola-Navarro, V., Oltra-Badenes, R., & Lozano-Quilis, J. A. (2020).   Customer relationship management: Digital transformation and sustainable business model innovation. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 33(1),     2733-2750. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2019.1676283