Development of a CRM Concept for a Mass Customization Business: Capturing Value through Strategic Customer Bonding

Even though today the terms Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Mass Customization (MC) have entered the day-to-day business conversations and the development of CRM strategies and MC businesses can be observed in many companies, the beneficial, dialectical relationship between both is still rather unexplored. This work applies the theoretical constructs of CRM to the set-up of a case company exemplifying a MC business. Therewith, the intention is to use the symbiosis of both concepts amplifying the possibilities of customer bonding to the individualization of product and customer relationship. Firstly, the theoretical foundations of CRM and MC will be elaborated, followed by the motivation and benefits for MC businesses to employ CRM. Further, a rough description and analysis of the case company will be given in order to highlight benefits, but also potential challenges, of CRM in the organizational and strategic set-up of a MC business. In the third chapter a CRM concept for the example company will be developed, formulating the goals and strategies as well as stating the implications for implementation and monitoring of the proposed CRM strategy.