Design and Implementation of a Customer-Centric CRM for SMEs: Evaluation and Impact

Thesis Abstract

This study addresses the persistent gap between SME customer interactions and data-driven relationship management by designing and implementing a customer-centric CRM system and evaluating its impact on sales performance, customer retention, and service quality. SMEs often rely on disparate, manual processes that limit coherent understanding of customer journeys, resulting in suboptimal cross-selling, slower responsiveness, and fragmented data analysis. The aim is to develop a CRM tailored to SME needs that prioritizes holistic customer profiling, real-time analytics, and streamlined service delivery, and to evaluate its operational and strategic effects in a real-world setting. Specific objectives are (1) to conceptualize a customer-centric CRM architecture incorporating 360-degree customer profiles, omnichannel engagement capabilities, and lightweight analytics; (2) to implement a modular CRM prototype within three SME case organizations across manufacturing, retail, and professional services sectors; (3) to assess changes in customer acquisition costs, average order value, retention rates, and customer satisfaction over a 12-month period; (4) to analyze user adoption, data quality, and process alignment with organizational capabilities; and (5) to provide evaluative recommendations and a scalable deployment framework for SMEs. The theoretical framing combines the Resource-Based View (RBV) to explain competitive advantage through integrated customer assets, and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework to examine diffusion and adoption factors, complemented by the Service-Dominant Logic to justify customer-centric value co-creation. A mixed-methods design is employed. Quantitative data are collected from 4500 transactional records and 1200 customer feedback responses across the three SMEs, with a longitudinal 12-month pre-post intervention design and a matched-control group of 3 SMEs continuing with legacy systems. The CRM prototype comprises modules for contact management, marketing automation, service case handling, and predictive analytics, built on a cloud-based platform and integrated with existing ERP and e-commerce channels. Data collection instruments include standardized surveys for customer satisfaction (CSAT, Net Promoter Score), system usage analytics, process performance metrics, and operational dashboards, as well as semi-structured interviews with 18 managers and 24 frontline staff to capture adoption experiences. Validity and reliability are ensured through pilot testing (n=120), Cronbach’s alpha checks for multi-item scales (? ? 0.80), tripartite triangulation of data sources, and member checking for interview transcripts. Quantitative analysis employs difference-in-differences (DiD) to identify causal effects on key performance indicators, multiple regression to control confounders, time-series analysis for trend patterns, and ANOVA to compare across industry sectors. Qualitative data are analyzed using thematic analysis to identify enablers and barriers to adoption, with coding conducted by two independent researchers and resolution of discrepancies through consensus. The expected findings indicate that SMEs implementing the customer-centric CRM will exhibit statistically significant improvements in customer retention (increase of 8–12 percentage points), average order value (6–9%), and CSAT scores (0.4–0.7 points on a 5-point scale) relative to controls, alongside reductions in customer acquisition cost and service resolution time. It is anticipated that higher data quality and cross-functional process alignment will correlate positively with performance gains, while user resistance and integration challenges will emerge as critical determinants of adoption speed. The study contributes to knowledge by operationalizing a pragmatic, scalable CRM design for SMEs, demonstrating the competitive implications of customer-centric data governance, and extending empirical evidence on the value of 360-degree customer insight in small and medium enterprises. It also advances methodological practice by integrating RBV, TOE, and Service-DDominant Logic in a cohesive evaluative framework and by applying robust mixed-methods analyses in a real-world SME context. The main conclusion is that a thoughtfully designed customer-centric CRM, when properly integrated with organizational processes and frontline workflows, yields measurable improvements in customer-related metrics and business performance for SMEs. Practical recommendations include organizational alignment for data stewardship, phased change management strategies, tailored training programs, and a scalable deployment blueprint that accommodates sectoral differences, data privacy considerations, and incremental analytics capabilities.