| dc.description.abstract | In the present day business environment, customers expect firms to increasingly
customize their products and services to meet their demands that keep on changing on the
day-to-day basis. At the same time, firms need to produce superior products and
understand the markets as a whole, but the ability of firms to orient themselves to interact
successfully with their individual customers will differentiate them in the future.
Advances in technology have resulted in increasing opportunities for interactions
between firms and customers, between customers, and between firms. The research
objective was to establish the customer interaction practices employed by Banks in
Kenya and also determine relationship between innovation and a firms' financial
performance. The research design adopted was descriptive research design. Data was
collected using a questionnaire which consisted of both open and closed ended questions.
The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and also an inferential
analysis involving a regression was performed. The study found out that customer
involvement in the product development is important in the service industry in
establishing a relationship that will be beneficial to the customer and the bank. A bankcustomer
interaction can be accomplished by adopting different modes of interaction and
the method chosen by a bank should be one that will lead to more customers being
incorporated in the process and at the same time result in greater benefit in a firm's
product development. In addition, a bank interaction facilitates customer connection and
collaboration with each other through sharing of information which help create
businesses among themselves. The findings from the research conclude that firms must
adopt customer-based performance metrics and institute employee rewards and incentives
based on these metrics, instead of using aggregate-level measures, such as sales and
market share growth, to evaluate marketing performance. | en_US |
