Loyola Marymount University
Customer Relationship Management: A Strategic View
Fall 2010 Course Syllabus
GENERAL INFORMATION
Faculty: Dr. Sijun Wang
Office: Hilton 365
Telephone: 310-338-1787 office; 909-595-6900 cell
Email: swang15@LMU.EDU
Office Hours: 1pm-3pm Monday
3pm-6pm Wednesday
12-1 Thursday and by appointment
REQUIRED MATERIALS
1. The CRM Handbook: A Business Guide to Customer Relationship Management, Jill
Dyche (2002), Addison-Wesley.
2. Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Tools, Francis Buttle (2004),
Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.
3. Reading Packet
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
1. Harvard Business Review on Customer Relationship Management, Harvard Business
School Press (2001).
2. Customers for Life, Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown (1998), Pocket Books.
3. SPSS software package.
OVERVIEW AND COURSE OBJECTIVES
Customer relationship management (CRM) is an emerging business strategy paradigm that
focused on the systematic development of ongoing, collaborative customer relationships as a
key source of sustainable competitive advantage. CRM represents a fundamental change in
approach from traditional marketing; the goals shift from market share to share of customer.
Operating under the assumption that competitive advantage is often gained through building
customer equity, this course introduces the theory and practical implementation of customer
relationship management strategies using marketing databases. Topics include: fundamentals
of CRM strategy, customer profiling, measuring customer life-time value, customer profitability
analysis, customer loyalty programs, and CRM technology overview.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES
This course utilizes a broad variety of pedagogical techniques including discussion of readings,
textbooks, case discussions, guest speakers, student projects, and instructor presentation.
Each session will require thorough preparation of assigned readings and active participation by
students.
COURSE EVALUATION AND GRADES
Evaluation and grading will be based upon the following activities:
Class participation
20%
Case write-up X 8
40%
1
Group case presentation X2
Group Project X2
20%
20%
Class participation: Class participation, especially focusing on cases, counts 20 points (& you
can’t participate if you aren’t there; but just being there isn’t participation either!)-you may turn in
short handwritten summary of weekly readings to count towards your participation grade, if you
wish or if you have to miss some classes.
Case write-up: We will discuss 8 HBR, INSEAD and IVEY cases; you need to read the case
and check on relevant references before class. At the beginning of each class, you will turn in a
short case write-up summarizing 8 cases, your ideas to solve the strategic problems presented
in the case, and MORE importantly your rationales beyond your ideas. Each write-up is not to
exceed 5 keyboarded pages and appropriate written communication techniques are expected.
You should also refer to at least 4 relevant sources including our weekly reading, textbooks,
magazines, databases, to name a few. The detailed evaluation form is attached in Appendix A.
Group case presentation: TWO cases to be analyzed and completed in presentation form by
each team. Each presentation should be 30 minutes long (20 minutes of presentation and 10
minutes for questions/discussion). The detailed evaluation form is attached in Appendix B.
Group project: You will turn in group report on customer profitability exercise and a final group
project (details see Appendix C). The customer profitability exercise consists of two mini reports:
the answers to the respective case questions on Pilgrim Bank (A) and Pilgrim Bank (B). The
reports are due at the beginning of the respective class.
ATTENDANCE
All classes should be attended. If you plan to miss a class or do miss a class and have a
legitimate excuse, please provide me with that excuse in writing. For every unexcused absence
after 2, you will lose 1 point on your final grade. For perfect attendance you will receive 2 points
on your final grade and for missing only one class you receive 1 point.
If you come 10 minutes later than the beginning time of one class or leave 10 minutes earlier
than the ending time of a class, your attendance for that class period will not be counted.
Additional Resources for the Course
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
www.ibm.com
www.callcenternews.com
www.crmguru.com
www.crm2day.com
www.crmcommunity.com
www.crmdaily.com
www.crm-forum.com
www.crm.ittoolbox.com
www.destinationcrm.com
www.cio.com/research.crm
2
Topics/ Date
Week 1
Course introduction
Learning Objectives




Week 2
Customer Loyalty and
Loyalty Programs




Week 3
Building Lasting
Relationship Through
Service Offerings

Week 4
Strategic CRM in B2C
(part I)



Week 5
Strategic CRM in B2C
(part II)


Readings/ Cases
Introduction to the course
To understand the importance and
value of building customer relationships
To understand the environmental
changes that lead to CRM adoption
To understand the common causes to
CRM failures
What is customer loyalty?
When is relationship marketing
applicable?
How is relationship marketing
implemented in B2C organizations?
When and how do loyalty programs
work?
Explore how product-based companies
can engage in long-term relationships
with customer through the offerings of
new services
Develop an understanding of the
conditions under which a servicefocused strategy works
Conceptualizing CRM implementation
CRM-tactics vs. strategies
How can CRM create strategic
competitive advantage?


Dyche Ch 1/2
Fournier, Dobscha
and Mick (1998)
HBR




Buttle Ch 1/ 7
(HBS case)
Oliver (1999) JM
Hilton Hotels (HBS
case)

Chase and Dasu
(2001) HBR
Zappos’ CEO
(2010)
The NECTAR (HBS
case)




Dyche ch 3
Dych ch 7
Buttle ch 4
Buttle ch 5
Principles for CRM Success


Jackson (1985)
CRM: the essential
guide (provided by
instructor)
Harrah’s
Enterntainment
(HBS case)
Dyche ch 5
Dyche ch 8
Loveman (2003)



Week 6
Guest Speaker From
Express Oil

Week 7
CRM implementation
in B2B



Analyze and propose an effective CRM
program
Explore how CRM can add
differentiation to existing management
practices
Implementation of CRM in a B2B
context
Managing the implications with respect
to cross-functional coordination







Week 8
Introduction to
Customer Profitability
Analaysis


Introduction to some basic analytic
concepts in the context of CRM and
customer base analysis
Using SPSS for customer profitability
analysis
3



Buttle ch 10
Dyche ch 9
Morgan & Hunt
(1994)
Cisco systems
(HBS case)
Buttle ch 8
Mulhern (1999) JIM
Go through SPSS
Topic/ Date
Week 9
Customer Profitability
Analysis II
Learning Objectives



Week 10
Customer Profitability
Analysis III
Week 11
The Satisfaction-Profit
Chain


Readings/ Cases
Learn how simple analytic techniques
can be used to address various CRM
challenges
Demonstrate extent and causes of
variation in customer profitability
Using SPSS for customer profitability
analysis
Demonstrate how to make predictions
of future customer profitability


Buttle ch 9
Pilgrim Bank (A)


Dyche ch 6
Pilgrim Bank (B)
How do customer satisfaction and
customer loyalty lead to better firm
performance?

Reinartz and Kumar
(2000 JM)
Frederick and
Sasser (1990 HBR)
Learning from
simulations (HBS
Case)
Stefen (2003 HBR)
Reinartz and Kumar
(2004HBR)
Company data
exercises
Freeport Studio
(HBS case)


Week 12
Analyzing NetPro
information
& CLV dataset

Week 13
Allocating resources
to customers

Week 14
Guest Speaker
Jill Dyche (!!!)


To demonstrate individual level
customer resource allocation
To illustrate the benefits of resource
allocation based on expected customer
value
CRM overview
How to apply to your own organization
Week 15
Group project
Presentation



Group presentations
Course wrap-up
Course evaluation
To use real company data understand
whether and how the input measure
can and should be constructed




4


Dyche ch 10
Appendix A
CRM FALL 2010
Written Case Evaluation
Author________________
Total Points____________
Content
30
32
34
Awful
36
Poor
38
40
Average
42
Good
46
48
50
Outstanding
Organization
7
9
11
Awful
13
Poor
15
17
Average
19
Good
21
23
25
Outstanding
Format/Appearance
7
9
11
Awful
13
Poor
15
17
Average
19
Good
21
23
Outstanding
General Comments
Content
Yes No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Was the relevant background data presented?
Were the strategic issues described effectively?
Was each point clearly explained?
Was the appropriate “number crunching” performed?
Were judgments made about conflicting issues?
Was an action plan developed?
Were recommendations outlined?
Were all decisions supported with reasons and evidence?
Organization
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Does the introduction give enough background information?
Was the purpose of the report clearly stated?
Was the organization of the material logical?
Did the report move smoothly from point to point?
Were the conclusions clearly stated?
Yes No
Format/Appearance
Yes No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Was the report professional?
Was the grammar and punctuation correct?
Were the graphics appropriate?
Were the references relevant and up-to-date?
Was the format professional?
5
25
Appendix B
CRM FALL 2010
Case Presentation Evaluation
Author________________
Total Points____________
Content
30 32
Awful
34 36 38 40 42
Poor
Average
Good
46 48 50
Outstanding
Organization
7 9 11 13
Awful
Poor
15 17
Average
19
21
23
25
Good
Outstanding
Format/Appearance
7 9 11 13
Awful
Poor
15 17
Average
19
21
23
25
Good
Outstanding
Content
Yes
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Was the relevant background data presented?
Were the strategic issues described effectively?
Was the appropriate “number crunching” performed?
Was an action plan developed?
Were recommendations outlined?
Were all decisions supported with reasons and evidence?
Was interaction with the learners used?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Does the introduction give enough background information?
Was the purpose of the presentation clearly stated?
Was the organization of the material logical?
Did the presentation move smoothly from point to point?
Were the conclusions clearly stated?
Were presentation handouts provided?
Organization
Yes
No
Format/Appearance
Yes
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Was the presentation professional?
Were the slides well organized?
Were the slides more than just bullet lists?
Was the information presented on the slides appropriate?
Was the proper amount of information presented on each slide?
Were the speakers professional?
6
Appendix C: Group Project
The group project examines how CRM creates competitive advantage for a firm, or a
government agency, or a non-profit organization. Specifically, your report will investigate
how a firm (government agency / non-profit organization, etc) approached CRM, why
they turned to a CRM strategy and what the desired and actual outcomes were. The
level of analysis can be at the firm level, the function level (marketing, sales, service) or
at the customer level. The challenge for you will be to stay away from descriptive
reporting and to derive real insights as to what caused success (or failure) of a CRM
strategy.
Project Components:




The first part develops the context of the CRM strategy. What are the specific
environmental, competitive, and technological changes that lead to an adoption
of CRM practices?
The second part describes what the specific CRM strategy is and what the links
to the business model are.
The third part analyzes the appropriateness and effectiveness of the CRM
strategy for the given situation. Does it generate competitive advantage? You
may also compare the focal firm’s approach to that of a competitor and highlight
the differences in strategy, implementation and results.
Finally, you will make a set of recommendations of how to further leverage the
chosen CRM approach.
Project Evaluation: The project will be evaluated on



The degree of insight offered as compared to description
The link to concepts presented in the course (the quality of the link is critical, not
the number of concepts used)
Whether the recommendations are valuable, realistic, and well supported
Group Project Presentation
The PPT slides of the presentation need to be turned in electronically one day before
the last day of class. The case presentation evaluation form will be used to evaluate the
group project presentation.
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LMU Policies
Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty will be treated as an extremely serious
matter, with serious consequences that can range from receiving no credit for
assignments/tests to expulsion. It is never permissible to turn in any work that has
been copied from another student or copied from a source (including Internet)
without properly acknowledging the source. It is your responsibility to make sure
that your work meets the standard of academic honesty set forth in the “LMU
Honor Code and Process” which appears in the LMU Bulletin 2010-2011.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Students with special needs as addressed by the
Americans with Disabilities Act who need reasonable modifications, special
assistance, or accommodations in this course should promptly direct their request
to the Disability Support Services Office. Any student who currently has a
documented disability (physical, learning, or psychological) needing academic
accommodations should contact the Disability Services Office (Daum Hall Room
224, 310-338-4535) as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will
remain confidential. Please visit http://www.lmu.edu/dss for additional
information.
To Promote Classroom Respect: As an LMU Lion, by the Lion’s code, you are
pledged to join the discourse of the academy with honesty of voice and integrity of
scholarship and to show respect for staff, professors, and other students.
Expectations for Classroom Behavior: Disruptive behavior which is persistent or
significantly interferes with classroom activities may be subject to disciplinary
action. A student may be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs if their
behavior constitutes a violation of the conduct code.
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