B2C Market: Development of a CRM Scale

Theoretical Background

According to Rohner (1998), the shift from a costumer society toward a networked one and the evolution of marketing in the cyber era are driven by electronic media. Kotler and Keller (2012) cite many electronic medias that lead today the communication of value to costumers, such as well-designed websites, advertisements in search engines, banners, emails and mobile marketing. As new trends, the authors point the buzz marketing and viral marketing, driven by social media in the form of communities and online forums, blogs and social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Companies must go where the customers are, and increasingly they are on the Internet. Consumers define what information is needed, which offers interest them and how much they are willing to pay for them (Ansari &Mela, 2003; Bonfrer & Drèze, 2009). Besides, Ranchhod, Gurau and Rackney (2004) studied the challenge of cyber-marketing planning and implementation regarding strategies driven by electronic networks generated through the internet, concluding that the firm implementing a cyber marketing strategy will have to consider the fit between organizational systems, procedures and objectives and the new challenges raised by the online transaction channel.

On such context, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) offers businesses and consumers the opportunity for greater interaction and customization to enhance the benefits offered by the cyber era.