Customer Relationship Management within the automotive industry: A case study of Müllers Bil AB

Abstract: Companies constantly strive to increase their profits, but the competition is tough in the market. Businesses try to either keep their existing customers through increased satisfaction, or to win new customers and new market shares in order to reach their objective. The term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) was developed in the late 1990s, in order to facilitate relationships at the “business to consumer market”. CRM is used as a tool in order to build long-term relationships between sellers and buyers. Through this relationship both the company and its customers should receive mutual benefits, such as retention and good service.

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of how CRM can be used in an automotive retail company. To reach this understanding the thesis starts with three research questions, about challenges of CRM, the core components and core dimensions of CRM and factors affecting the CRM strategy. In order to be able to find answers to the research purpose and questions, a literature review was performed, this review resulted in a frame of reference which was used as a basis to the case study. A descriptive case study was chosen, as we aimed to create deeper understanding. The research strategy was qualitative and empirical data was collected through a deep interview at a middle sized company within the automotive industry.

The findings of this thesis indicate that much of the explored theories regarding CRM and its structure are true. Furthermore, the findings indicate that CRM in the automotive industry is an important tool in order to create customer loyalty in a highly competitive market.