Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN

COOPERATIVE SILK SOCIETIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
KANCHIPURAM (SILK CITY) IN TAMILNADU

Mr. M. Murugan, Dr. S.A. Senthil Kumar,

Assistant Professor, SCSVMV University, Associate Professor and Research Guide, Central
Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. & Research Scholar, University of Pondicherry, Karaikal Campus,
M.S. University, Tirunelveli, India. Pondicherry (UT), India.

ABSTRACT

A study was conducted among 50 respondants to find out their opinion about cooperative silk societies in
Kanchipuram (silk city) with special emphasis on Customer Relationship Management. It was ascertained
that there is a relationship between purchasing silk sarees and quality check-up and that customers are
loyal to the brands they purchase.

Keywords: CRM; Co-operative silk society; Service quality; Service gap.

Introduction: Review of Literature:
CRM is an interesting phenomenon that drives people to Zablah et al. (2004) have classified the CRM definitions in
change their lifestyle as well as standard of living. It is a the context of process,strategy, philosophy, capability or as
process or methodology that is used to learn more about a technological tool. These elements have toreceive equal
customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop focus to gain success with CRM implementation. On the
stronger relationships with the customers. CRM helps other hand, Glazer (1997) defines CRM as a strategic
businesses use technology and human resources to gain bridge between information technology and marketing
insight into the behavior of customers and the value of strategies aimed at building long-term relationships and
those customers. It is a widely implemented strategy for profitability.This requires “information-intensive
managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients strategies” (Glazer, 1997). CRM has often been seen,
and prospective customers. CRM can help a business though incorrectly, as being synonymous with technology
acquire new customers through contact management, (Reinartz etal., 2004). This paper, as suggested earlier
selling, and fulfillment. This research work had been opines that CRM is more similar to
carried out in Kanchipuram silk societies to understand the service marketing, the difference perhaps being in the
service quality. nature use of technology. But efforts to incorporate CRM
There are many technological components to CRM, but technology have not always resulted in success. A key
thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a reason for this failure is viewing CRM as a technology
mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is, as a initiative (Kale, 2004).Apart from technology, employees
process that will help bringing together lots of pieces of of an organization form an important part of CRM, where
information about customers, sales, marketing employees’ interaction with the data and technology
effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends. It is a processes and systems is critical in determining the return
widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s on investment on these processes and Rahman &
interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It Azhar252 systems (Boulding et al., 2005). Payne and Frow
involves using technology to organize, automate, and (2005) identified a shift in CRMperspectives from a
synchronize business processes principally sales activities, technology-only focus to a holistic customer-oriented
and also those for marketing, customer service, and approach that incorporates other strategic aspects of CRM
technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and as well. The above brief suggeststhat CRM activities cover
win new clients, nurture and retain those the company all aspects that fall within four major areas:
already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and strategy,people, processes and technology, which is similar
reduce the cost of marketing and client service. to the observation made inservice marketing literature.
Jagdish N. Sheth and Atul Parvatiyar (1995) in their article
,The Evolution of relationship marketing. They trace the

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Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674
history of marketing practices and illustrate how the information, what they have purchased, and other
advent of mass production, the emergence of middlemen, issues. In addition, some CRM software programs also
and the separation of the producer from the consumer in suggest what to offer to a customer, and the business
the Industrial era led to a transactional focus of marketing. can send out emails that let customers know about
Now, due to technological advances, direct marketing is upcoming offers and important sales. Some customers
staging a comeback, leading to a relationship orientation. might find this to be an intrusion, but many
The authors contend that with the evolution of individuals like it because they feel as though the
Relationship Marketing, the hitherto prominent exchange business remembers them.
paradigm of marketing will be insufficient to explain the
growing marketing phenomena of collaborative Phases of CRM:
involvement of customers in the production process. An
The three phases in which CRM support the relationship
alternate paradigm of marketing needs to be developed that
between a business and its customers are
is more process rather than outcome oriented, and
emphasizes value creation.
To Acquire: CRM can help a business acquire new
• Lawler, P. Vandepeutte & D. Anderson (2006) in customers through contact management, selling, and
their article A study of customer relationship fulfillment
management (CRM) on apparel European Web sites.
Customer relationship management and data mining To Enhance: web-enabled CRM combined with customer
are critical differentials that enable competitive edge service tools offers customers service from a team of sales
for firms focused on increasing customer market and service specialists, which offers customers the
share. Though investment in marketing, sales and convenience of one-stop shopping.
service innovation can be constrained due to economic
and cultural considerations, the initial analysis of the To Retain: CRM software and databases enable a business
study indicates common European consumer apparel to identify and reward its loyal customers and further
sites enable higher content depth, navigational context develop its targeted marketing and relationship marketing
and help, consumer communication, and commerce initiatives.
efficiency. However, the study concurrently indicates CRM Business Cycle As shown in the diagram below, any
lower customer customization and mining, lifestyle organization starts with the acquisition of customers.
connection and marketing, and consumer community
interaction, on the sites. The analysis, conducted as an
3.1 Acquisition and Retaining:
assignment by adult students at a leading European
university, contributes insight into the limitation of Acquisition is a vital stage in building customer
customer relationship management and data mining relationship. For purpose of customer acquisition an
investment on the Web. organization is likely to focus its attention the suspects,
• Wit elibrary publications (2006) in their publications. enquiries, lapsed customers, former customers,
The value of knowledge management and customer competitor’s customers referrals, and the existing buyers.
relationship management is well recognized by many From these the organizations need to acquire customers
leading companies. Employees in the textile industry and prospective customers and retain valuable customers.
report that to provide customer complaint information
and to share internally the best practice information 3.2 Understand and Differentiate:
,can have benefits for hard measures such as customer Organizations cannot have a relationship with customers
retention, cost savings, and market share and for soft unless they understand them...what they value, what types
measures such as customer satisfaction, market of service are important to them, how and when they like
leadership, customer loyalty, and customer and to interact and what they want to buy. True understanding
employee productivity. is based on a combination of detailed analysis and
• Wit elibrary publications (2006) in their publications interaction. Several activities are important:
CRM and ERP in the Textile Industry. CRM software Profiling to understand demographics, purchase patterns
and ERP software are both important for the textile and channel preference Segmentation to identify logical
industry. CRM stands for customer relationship unique groups of customers that tend to look alike and
management, and ERP is short for enterprise resource behave in a similar fashion. While the promise of one-one
planning. Both of these are vital when a company marketing sounds good, we have not seen many
hopes to succeed in a business such as the textile organizations that have mastered the art of treating each
industry. CRM can ensure that the customers of a customer uniquely. Identification of actionable segments is
business are treated in such a way that they want to a practical place to start.
return. It's important to always have a good CRM tool Primary research to capture needs and attitudes. Customer
in your arsenal, whether you are need a small business valuation to understand profitability, as well as lifetime
CRM solution or a more robust web based CRM value or long term potential. Value may also be based on
solution. It keeps track of their names, their the customer’s ability or inclination to

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Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674
refer other profitable customers. Customers need to see unstructured, conversational, and/or transactional in
that the company is tailoring service and communications nature.
based on what they have learned independently and on Collaborative CRM provides the following benefits:
what the customers have told them.
Enables efficient productive customer interactions
across all communications channels.
3.3 Develop and Customize:
Enables web collaboration to reduce customer service
costs.
In the product world of yesterday, companies developed

Integrates call centers enabling multi-channel personal
products and services and expected customers to buy them.
customer interaction.
In a customer – focused world, product and channel
Integrates view of the customer while interaction at the
development has to follow the customer’s lead.
transaction level. CRM has to two typical implementation
Organizations are increasingly developing products and
methods: on-premise and on-demand/hosted. Each method
services, and even new channels based on customer needs
has its advantages and disadvantages as described below.
and service expectations.
On-premise CRM is appropriate for:
3.4 Interact and Deliver:
Companies seeking to implement highly customized
Interaction is also a critical component of a successful
customer-management practices
CRM initiative. It is important to remember that
Companies that need specialized data structures
interaction doesn’t just occur through marketing and sales

Companies with complex or real-time integration
channels and media; customers interact in many different
requirements
ways with many different areas of the organization,

Companies with available in-house IT resources and
including distribution and shipping, customer service and
support systems
online. With access to information and appropriate

Companies who can afford the up-front capital
training, organizations will be prepared to
investment and fixed costs
steadily increase the value they deliver to customers.

Companies who deal with sensitive data that don't want
"Quality is when your customers come back, not your
other parties to see
products" - Mrs.Thatcher.
On-demand/hosted CRM is appropriate for:
There are three parts of application architecture of
CRM.
Customers seeking to implement standard processes
1. Operational CRM: from a variety of industries and companies .

Companies that are able to use standard data structures
Operational CRM means supporting the so-called "front

Companies with more basic integration requirements
office" business processes, which include customer contact

Companies with limited technical resources and
(sales, marketing and service). Tasks resulting from these
support personnel
processes are forwarded to employees responsible for

Companies seeking variable pricing and lower up-front
them, as well as the information necessary for carrying out
costs
the tasks and interfaces to back-end applications are being

Companies dealing with non-proprietary data
provided and activities with customers are being

Providing employees with the information and
documented for further reference.
processes necessary to know their customers,
understand and identify customer needs and
2. Analytical CRM:
effectively build relationships between the company,
In analytical CRM, data gathered within operational CRM its customer base, and distribution partners.
are analyzed to segment customers or to identify cross- and Many organizations turn to CRM software to help them
up-selling potential. Data collection and analysis is viewed manage their customer relationships. CRM technology is
as a continuing and iterative process. Ideally, business offered on-premise, on-demand or through Software as a
decisions are refined over time, based on feedback from Service (SaaS) CRM, depending on the vendor. Recently,
earlier analysis and decisions. Business Intelligence offers mobile CRM and the open source CRM software model
some more functionality as separate application software. have also become more popular.
What is CRM or Customer Relationship Management?
3. Collaborative CRM: CRM is the acronym for the term "customer relationship
management". CRM is the common terminology used to
Collaborative CRM facilitates interactions with customers
describe the managing of prospects all the way through the
through all channels (personal, letter, fax, phone, web, e-
entire sales process. CRM is often an entire data system
mail) and supports co-ordination of employee teams and
that can either be manipulated manually, such as an index
channels. It is a solution that brings people, processes and
card system or a computer automated system. There is
data together so companies can better serve and retain their
specially designed software for customer relationship
customers. The data/activities can be structured,
management (CRM) that can be either installed directly

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Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674
into a computer or through a web based system that is thread instead of three. There is nothing wrong in this
accessible only online. CRM systems are useful in that practice. The saree is just not as strong or heavy as it is
they enable the management of the entire expected to be. Private merchants follow this practice to
prospect/customer details such as the names, addresses, cater to customers who want wonderful sarees at lower
phone numbers, call records and purchase history and prices.
more. Other uses include planning of appointments, However, one could find that the variety of designs and
schedule of call back times and other sales related colors available in cooperative societies is very limited.
activities. Automated CRM, depending on the system, can Normally, the cooperative societies do not undertake risky
be for only one user, or for several users to have access to experiments with new colors or grand designs. Private
customer accounts merchants, on the other hand, offer a much wider choice -
the distinguishing characteristic of private enterprise. So, if
Service Quality: you are looking for a grand saree and are willing to pay the
price for it, you can find it with a private merchant. Such
Customers judge the value of the service in terms of
sarees usually start at Rs.15, 000 and go as high as a
Service Quality. (i.e,) Balancing Customer Perceptions and
couple of hundred thousands. An interesting fact is that
Expectations
some Kanchipuram-based Silk merchants even hold
 Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service
several Guinness records for some fantastic, unique sarees.
dependably and accurately.
Sometimes, both Private and Cooperative merchants take
 Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and
up custom orders. Many of them have albums of designs
provide prompt service.
and colors to choose from. There is, however, one
 Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees
condition they place on such orders - the customer has to
and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
order multiple (usually multiples of 3) sarees. There is a
 Empathy: Caring and individualized attention.
reason for this. Handlooms do not usually weave one saree
 Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment and
at a time. A single setup of yarn is normally 3 times as
appearance of personnel
long as a regular saree. Hence, the output is typically 3
sarees in a single run. If the saree is less expensive and the
particular design is in good demand, they will be able to
accept custom orders for 1 saree and sell the other 2
through their showrooms. But, if the customer orders a
very expensive saree or a design that is in poor demand,
the merchants insist that the customer buy all 3 sarees.
Almost all Silk Cooperative Society Showrooms and most
Private Showrooms are located in and around the entire
stretch of Gandhi Road. Many Private Showrooms are also
located in Mettu Street.
The occasion of marriage for a South Indian bride is
incomplete without a Kanchipuram saree in her trosseau.
Among the wide range of silk sarees available in India,
from the Benares silk saree to the Patola from Patan, the
Kanchipuram saree holds a special position. The strength
and magnificence of the Kanchipuram saree makes it one
of the favourites among ladies all over the world.
Cooperative Silk Society In Kanchipuram: Here is the list of few large silk societies in Kanchipuram:
 Kamatchi Amman Silk Society
In Kanchipuram, Silk Sarees are sold either through Co-
 Arignar Anna Silk Society
operative societies or by private merchants. From the
 Kanchipuram Silk Society
viewpoint of the consumer, these two sources are almost
 Murugan Silk Society
the same, with a few small differences. As most of the
 Varadharaja Swamy Silk Society
large cooperative societies are government-run and They
 Pallavar Silk Society
have a very small profit margin. Also, the profits reach the
 Tiruvalluvar Society
weaver directly. Hence, cooperative societies are usually
less expensive. Private merchants commonly have a larger
Objectives of The Study:
profit margin. They also have other costs like advertising,
middle agents, etc. Hence, customers expect their prices to Primary objectives:
be higher.  To study the customer perception about cooperative
Here's an insider tip. Sometimes, you might find that society.
sarees `are cheaper with a private merchant than with a co-
operative society. Such a thing happens because the saree Secondary objectives:
is weaved "cheaper" by using one or two strands of silk

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Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674
Analysis of Data
Table Percentage of Respondents
Descriptive Study
No. SA A N DS SDA
I am aware about the Silk Sarees Co-operative
1. 45 5 - - -
society at Kanchipuram
I think that the quality of silk sarees is good in
2. co-operative society 23 12 5 6 4
We visit Kanchipuram for taking silk sarees as
3. 14 12 6 8 10
it’s cheap
The service in the co-operative silk society is
4. good 5 31 6 6 2
I recommend co-operative silk society to my
5. friends and relatives 21 21 3 3 2
I think no quality checkup is required for co-
6. 23 12 5 6 4
operative silk society
I always take sarees from co-operative silk
7. society 31 6 6 2 5
I think the designer sarees are good in co-
8. operative silk society 7 15 03 15 10
I think the cost is comparatively less in co-
9. 14 15 11 8 2
operative silk society
I think the fringe benefits like discounts&
10. rebate are less in co-operative silk society 41 4 3 - 2
The Co-operative silk society service is not up
11. 23 12 5 6 4
to the level
The co-operative silk society are not showing
12. interest in creating brand loyalty among 5 31 2 6 2
customers
The advertisement of co-operative silk society
13. 3 7 20 17 3
is not up to the level and the reach is also low
The brokers problem is less in co-operative
14. silk society 43 4 1 2 -
I’m not a repeated customer to co-operative
15. silk society even though I purchase silk sarees 3 1 - 15 31
often
 To identify the loyalty of the customer towards Sampling size : 50 respondents
cooperative society. Statistical tools used : percentage analysis & chi-square
 To study the fringe benefits that the customer expect Limitations:
from the silk saree manufacturers.
 The study is restricted Kanchipuram town so it cannot
be generalized.
Research Methodology:
 Due to time constraints the limited no. of respondents
Both primary & secondary sources of data were utilized has been contacted for the study.
for the present study. The study is based on the field
survey conducted with the help of a well-structured Chi-square:
questionnaire. The secondary data were also collected
Ho: There is no association between purchasing silk sarees
from Book, Magazines & Internet.
and quality checkup.
Sampling Technique:
H1: There is an association between purchasing silk sarees
Sampling Unit : The sampling unit was limited to
and quality checkup.
Kanchipuram town.
As the calculated value of Chi Square is less than Table • 45% of the respondents are strongly agree that they are
value Ho is rejected hence there is association between the aware of cooperative silk society.
purchasing silk sarees and the quality checkup. • 23% of the respondents strongly agree that the quality of
silk is good in cooperative silk society
Findings:

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Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies ISSN : 2249-0310 EISSN: 2229-5674

Particulars SA A N DA SD TOTAL
Purchasing silk sarees in cooperative
31 6 6 2 5 50
silk society
No requirement for quality checkup 23 12 5 6 4 50
Total 54 18 11 8 9 100

Calculated value of χ2 = 5.387

Table value = 9.48
Degree of freedom = 4, α = 0.05
• 14% of the respondents strongly agree that they visit Kanchipuram, the silk society plays a vital role in
Kanchipuram for buying silk sarees, as it is cheap. enhancing the economy and it gives life to many
• 31% of the respondents agree that the service quality is cooperative silk societies, as their contribution was heavy
good in cooperative silk society for stabilizing the economy.
• 21% of the respondents strongly agree that they will
recommend cooperative silk society for their friends and References:
relatives.
• 23% of the respondents strongly agree that no quality [1] Wit elibrary publications (2006): CRM and ERP in
the Textile Industry.
checkup is required in cooperative silk society
[2] Lawler,P.Vandepeutte&D.Anderson(2006): A study
• 31% of the respondents prefer cooperative silk society
of customer relationship management (CRM) on
• 33% of the respondents agree that the designer sarees are apparel European Web sites.
good in cooperative silk society [3] Sugnadhi.R.K. (2003), CRM, (New Age
• 15% of the respondents agree that the cost is International Publishers), New Delhi
comparatively less in cooperative silk society. [4] Berry, Leonard, A: Improving Service Quality:
• 41% of the respondents strongly agree that the fringe Lessons Learned, Journal of Academy of
benefit is less in cooperative silk society Management Executives, Vol. 8 No. 2. 1994.
• 23% of the respondents strongly agree that the service is [5] Gureja, Gopal, K, Creating Customer Value, Tata Mc
not up to the level Graw Hill, New Delhi, 1997.
• 33% of the respondents agree that the cooperative silk [6] Akan,p 1995 . Dimensions of service quality:
societies are not showing interest in creating brand Expectations of Turkish Consumers from services.
loyalty. Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
• 20% of the respondents feels that the reach is very low [7] Brady, M.K Robertson, c.j., 2001. Searching for
for silk society consensus on the antecedent role of service quality
• 43% of the respondents strongly agree that brokers and satisfaction. Journal of Business Research 51(1)
charge is less 53-60.
• 31% of the respondents disagree that they are not the [8] Jha, S.M, Services Marketing, Himalaya Publishing
repeated customers. House, Mumbai.
[9] Gureja, Gopal, K, Creating Customer Value, Tata Mc
Conclusion: Graw Hill, New Delhi.
[10] Andicine .P (1995), The Essence of services
“Change alone is the only word that will never change ”
Marketing, New Delhi
due to the time constraint in this fast moving world. But
[11] Kotler, P. (1999), Marketing Management: The
CRM has brought changes in the current scenario. In
millennium edition.

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