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INTRODUCTION
The escalation of relationship marketing has been with the underlying objective of developing long-term relationships with customers. In trying to retain customers, banks are attempting to expand their service offerings. Most banks are striving to devise strategies which take into account the changing needs of their customers. 1 It has implications for exploring and understanding customer needs and accordingly designing marketing strategies that would build loyalty. Implementing appropriate customer retention imperatives lowers the necessity to look for new and potential customer databases and permits the organization to focus efficiently on building fruitful relationships with their existing customers. 2 Athanassopoulos3 posits that losing customers not only leads to lost sales and opportunities but also creates a pressure on the organization to splurge resources to acquire new customers. This is expensive for the organization in terms of resources expended.
The expansion of relationship marketing was primarily focused towards understanding the needs of the existing customers of the organization and trying to retain them. The growth in online banking has amplified the range of interface options presented to customers. This has resulted in a steady increase in the number of customers interacting through remote channels with the banks. 4 Online banking or Internet banking concepts are new in developing countries and are poised to change the face of banking services. The diffusion of new technologies with user-friendly service dissemination models is supposed to improve the banking services. 5 The general tendency towards adoption of Internet-based models for transactions is leading to 'virtualization' and would enormously affect the bank and customer relationships.6
Most banks are investing in customer relationship management (CRM) technologies for improving the customer interface and adding more value to the transaction. The aim herein lies in enhancing customer satisfaction and value to customers. In India, the past decade has witnessed incremental growth of financial services and the banking sector. Liberalization has accelerated the entry of multinational banks into the Indian banking industry. The foray of international banks with improved services and customer-centric strategies has augmented the competition in the stagnant Indian banking industry. It has increased the pressure on domestic banks to broaden their service portfolios and increase the thrust towards developing and nurturing relationships with customers. This was the area which...