Correspondence: Evangelia Blery, Technology Park, NCSR 'Demokritos', Patriarxou Grigoriou and Neapoleos str., 15310, Athens, Greece. Tel/Fax: +30 2106503604; e-mail: evib@pathfinder.gr.evib; evib@techp.demokritos.gr

¹is currently occupied in marketing of innovative technologies at NCSR Demokritos and as a professor of marketing at the Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Athens. Dr Blery has an MBA and a PhD in marketing from the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK and has 10 years of experience in consulting services. Her areas of specialization include consumer behaviour, survey research methodologies, case studies and data collection and elaboration.

²has a degree in engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and an MBA from the Athens University of Economic and Business, direction General Management. His areas of specialization include Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, Electronic Commerce and Quality Assurance. Michalokopoulos is occupied in the Technical Studies Department of the National Printing House of Greece, conducting technical and economical studies.

Received 21 February 2006.

Abstract

Today, banks are facing an aggressive competition and they have to make efforts to survive in a competitive and uncertain market place. Banks have realised that managing customer relationships is a very important factor for their success.Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategy that can help them to build long-lasting relationships with their customers and increase their profits through the right management system and the application of customer-focused strategies. CRM in the banking sector is of strategic importance. In this study, a single descriptive case study of one major Greek bank that has implemented CRM is presented. The aim of this study is to analyse the design and implementation of CRM in the bank, identify the benefits, the problems, as well as the success and failure factors of the implementation and develop a better understanding of CRM impact on banking competitiveness as well as provide a greater understanding of what constitutes good CRM practices.