Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.

Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.Quản trị quan hệ khách hàng của các doanh nghiệp xuất khẩu chè Việt Nam.

1 INTRODUCTION Necessity of the thesis subject The the thesis subject was chosen on the basis of the followed necessities: Firstly, export is very important to international commerce of a country Export supplies capitals for import, industrialization and modernization of a country Secondly, enterprises which produce and export tea are presently facing many difficulties from different reasons Thirdly, customer relationship management plays an important role in the success of business activities of enterprises in general and export enterprises in particular Customer relationship management has long been specially concerned by export enterprises; customer relationship is one of strategic mission to establish and maintain potential customer for the enterprise Fourthly, competition between tea export enterprises not only domestically but also internationally Knowledge of customers is a basic background for stable competition advantages among tea export enterprises Fifthly, in the area of tea export, the customer relationship management solution helps tea export enterprises supply suitable products, save the expenses for customers, increase loyalty and long-term value of customers Sixthly, researches, especially domestic one on the customer relationship management management system for tea export enterprises are still limited Thus, the thesis subject was determined as “Customer relationship management of tea export enterprises in Vietnam” Research questions The general research question is: “How to improve of customer relationship management efficiency of Vietnam tea exporter enterprise?” And some detailed research questions include: • Theoretical basis and characteristic of customer relationship management in agricultural export enterprises • What is the actual status of customer relationship management in Vietnam tea export enterprises? How does it effect, succeed and survive? What is the development orientation of tea export? • Which factors impact to effectiveness of customer relationship management of Vietnam tea export enterprises? • What are the solutions promoting and developing customer relationship management of Vietnam tea export enterprises? Objectives of the research The thesis aims to propose recommendations to improve customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises Specifically: - Systemizing the literature on CRM system of enterprises and determine research impact model of CRM system to tea business results of Vietnam tea export enterprises; + Assessing the actual situation of CRM system and quantitatively analyze the impact of customer relationship management system to business results of Vietnam tea export enterprises; + Proposing some recommendations to improve customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises Research object and scope - The research object is the activities of customer relationship management of tea export enterprises in relation to export efficiency of Vietnam tea export enterprises - Research scope includes: + Content: Customer relationship management in Vietnam tea export enterprises, elements constituting customer relationship management system in Vietnam tea export enterprises, methods, contents of operation and developments of customer relationship management in these enterprises + Customers: Direct buyers of tea export enterprises (wholesalers, retailers, agent…) 2 + Space: Vietnam tea export enterprises + Time: Data from 2015 to 2020 Research methodology 5.1 Research process The thesis combines qualitative and quantitative methods, specifically: F Step 1: General research related to the topic Step 4: Analyzing actual state of CRM system of Vietnam tea export enterprises Step 2: Building theoretical research framework of CRM system of tea export enterprises Step 5: Forecasting the context, determining viewpoints and orientation to improve CRM system of Vietnam tea export enterprises Step 3: Collecting and assessing the data Step 6: Proposing solutions and requests to improve CRM system of Vietnam tea export enterprises igure 1: Research process 5.2 Data collection methods  Secondary data: In this thesis, secondary data is collected and chosen to find the most reliable and useful information Information from the above secondary data has been carefully chosen by the author, selecting information, data and opinion which are useful and necessary for the thesis Then, the author classifies them into different contents Official information, clearly cited sources and updated data will be chosen and information lack of accuracy, outdated data will be removed  Primary data from interviews typical enterprises For collecting primary data for the thesis, the author uses personal quick interview method Some interviews were implemented directly at the interviewee’s offices during work hours, others were implemented by phone because the interviewee was busy or could not arrange meeting time, or because the company was too far to meet In general, the interviews were quick and efficient; the average time for each interview was about 25-30 minutes In summary, the authors implemented 12 quick interviews with 12 leaders from typical tea export enterprises in Vietnam The results of the interviews have clarified contents of the research and appendixes of the thesis  Primary data from survey and questionnaires In addition to the interview method, the research collects primary data through a survey of Vietnam tea export enterprises Survey subjects are leaders of agricultural export enterprises, including tea products, of different types and sizes These leaders often have distant sight of the business in general and the customer relation management strategies applied by the enterprises At the same time, they also clearly understand and play important role in the implementation of the business strategies in general and the customer relationship management strategies in particular The questionnaire was sent by email, post or directly to leaders of Vietnam tea export enterprises 250 samples were sent and 230 samples were collected, of which there were 04 invalid ones The survey result is described in detail in the chart below: Figure 2: Research sample 3 5.3 Data processing method To ensure the accuracy and efficiency of the collected qualitative data, the author careful searches, exploits and clarifies the data into different groups for different contents of customer relationship management in tea export enterprises In this research, the author also uses statistical methods and models to ensure that the information is scientific and systematic In this thesis, the author implements a survey and questionnaire for Vietnam tea export enterprises to study and evaluate the efficiency of customer relationship management strategies of Vietnam tea export enterprises in present context of economy Next, the author implements Cronbach’Alpha coefficient test, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and multiple regression Contributions and novelty of the thesis - Academic and theoretical contributions: The thesis contributes to the theoretical framework of customer relationship management (CRM), specifically applied to tea exporting enterprises, by identifying and clarifying the CRM process and the success factors in CRM implementation in Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises - Professional contributions: The thesis studies the current situation of CRM implementation in Vietnamese tea export enterprises on the basis of analyzing the Vietnam tea exports in the period 20152020 and by an empirical research at Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises The research results allow making some general assessments of the success and the shortcomings and its causes in CRM implementation in the Vietnamese tea export enterprises - Political recommendations: The thesis proposes some relevant recommendations, that focuses on developing a CRM strategy, market and customer study, applying information technology, human resources, process of CRM system, in order to improve the CRM performance of Vietnamese tea export enterprises Thesis structure In addition to the introduction, list of tables, diagrams, drawings, conclusions, references, the topic consists of three chapters Chapter 1: Research overview Chapter 2: Theoretical and practical issues about customer relationship management of export enterprises Chapter 3: Customer relationship management status and the impact of customer relationship management system to business result of Vietnam tea export enterprises Chapter 4: Viewpoints and solutions for improving customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH OVERVIEW 1.1 Analysis and assessment of relevant researches There are some remarkable researches on tea exporters and tea producers as follows: Talukdar and Hazakira (2017), Chaudhry and Negi (2017), Chang Kaison (2015), Muthamia and Muturi (2015), Wei et al (2012), Nguyen Viet Khoi and To Huong Linh (2016), Nguyen Quoc Thinh (2016), Nguyen Viet Khoi et al (2015), Nguyen Thi Sinh Chi (2013), Nguyen Thi Nhieu (2007) There are some typical researches on customer relationship management by enterprises, namely: Sukaatmadja et al (2017), Nguyen Van Thuy (2017); Alteren and Tudoran (2016), Sarmaniotis et al (2010), Do Giang Nam (2015), Nguyen Hoai Long (2014), Nguyen Tien Dong (2014), Tran Quoc Nghi (2014), Vu Ngoc Xuan (2013), Truong Dinh Chien (2012) Typical researches on customer relationship management by agricultural enterprises consist of: Nunes et al (2017), Milovic (2012), To Linh Huong (2017), Dinh Van Son et al (2016), Phung Thi Trung (2016) Typical researches on customer relationship management by tea export enterprises conclude Herath and Silva (2011) 1.2 Research gaps and thesis approaches From the research overview which is presented above, the author realizes that most of Vietnam and foreign researches have analyzed all aspects of customer relationship management, from the impact of customer relationship management to components of customer relationship management 4 system However, there are still gaps in Vietnam and foreign researches which are related to this issue It is obvious that researches on customer relationship management of agriculture products, especially tea, export is limited in both quantity and depth Besides, previous researches on this topic pointed out the importance of customer relationship management of enterprises in general and export enterprises in particular, including tea export enterprises; but they only have general solutions and orientations, so customer relationship management of Vietnam tea exporters and producers are not improved efficiently In addition, there are few researches on customer relationship management on tea export enterprises in Vietnam though the issue has been interested and researched in recent years According to the research gap mentioned above, this research focuses on analyzing and evaluating customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises and then proposes solutions to improve efficiency of customer relationship management of tea export enterprises in order to increase export efficiency and competitiveness internationally On the basis of awareness of important role of export in general and agriculture products such as tea in particular, as well as important role of customer relationship management to the success of export enterprise; the author approaches tea export enterprises and develops customer relationship management for enterprises in this field CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL FRAMEWORK OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT OF EXPORT ENTERPRISES 2.1 Overview of customer relationship management of export enterprise 2.1.1 Customers of export enterprise Customers of export enterprises can be an individual, a group of people or an organization in a foreign country having need and ability to pay for the enterprise’s products or services Basically, customers of export enterprise have similar characteristics to its customers in general, but there are still many notable outstanding points Specifically, customers of export enterprises have differences in culture, society and nations They consume products or services with great impact of cultural and social elements of different countries Besides, it is more difficult to approach customers for export enterprise than to approach domestic customers On the other hand, needs of export enterprises’ customer is plentiful and impacted by many factors, especially customers from developing countries 2.1.2 Customer relations of export enterprise Customer relations are the ways an enterprise interact with its customer to improve customers’ experience Customer relations include overcoming short-term barriers and proactively creating longterm solutions towards customer success Customer relations aim to create a mutually beneficial relationship with the customers, extending beyond the initial purchase (Hoekstra et al., 1999) 2.1.3 Customer relationship management system in export enterprises In this thesis, the author approaches customer relationship management from the viewpoints of Truong Dinh Chien (2012) Accordingly, customer relationship management aims to create benefits for both customers and the enterprise, thereby maintaining and developing long-term relationship between customers and the enterprises Customer relationship management includes strategic activities from selecting to maintaining and developing relationship between customers and the enterprise The process of customer relationship management develops differently at different steps Therefore, customer relations are not independent transactions; yet they operate interdependently, making the dynamism of the relations In other words, customer relationship management process, development process of the relations can be terminated at any time by customers (consumption termination), other competitive causes (Reinartz et al., 2004) Customer relationship management system in export enterprises usually includes a data warehouse of information, a customer care system, a phone center, e-commerce, web marketing, operating system (processing purchase orders, etc.), invoice, payment, selling place, inventory system…) and sales system (including phone sales and direct sales…) Practically, customer relationship management of export enterprises includes automatic customer contact system to an automatic customer information aggregation system of an export enterprise (Kotler et al., 2001) According to Gavrila et al., (2009), the basic structure of customer relationship management system in general and customer relationship management system in export enterprises in particular consists of three main components, specifically: 5 Collaborative CRM Phone, internet interactionDirect Post mail, email Interaction Identifying Transaction (Sales, information, Marketing customer communication care) tools, trademarks Classification Business CRM Adaptation Analyzing tools Analytical CRM Customer Content, data requirement, analysis criteria Figure 3: Operational structure of CRM of export enterprises • • • Source: Gavrila et al (2019) and Sidddi et al (2011) Business CRM: is used to integrate automated business processes, including: marketing automation, sales automation and services automation Collaborative CRM: is used to improve the interaction between export enterprise and customers through different channels such as email, internet, phone… Analytical CRM: is used to analyze customer data collected from the two above CRM structures, thereby identify customers need and buying orientation to make strategic decisions for export enterprises (Gavrilla et al., 2009) 2.1.4 Impact of customer relationship management on export enterprise’s business results Customer relationship management brings many benefits to export enterprises in general and tea export enterprises in particular (Gavrilla et al., 2009) Firstly, customer relationship management reduce cost of finding customer such as costs of mailing, marketing, contact, follow-up, implementation, care services for old customers (Siddiqi et al, 2011) Secondly, export enterprises can reduce selling costs because current number of customers has met the needs of the business Third, customer relationship management helps export enterprises to retain and gain customer loyalty For tea export enterprises in particular, including above-mentioned benefits and: Firstly, customer relationship management helps tea export enterprises accurately select the target market (Milovic, 2012) Second, customer relationship management improve the efficiency of interaction between customer and tea export enterprises, increasing marketing efficiency, reduce costs for marketing activities, mailing, communication with customers, customer care… Thirdly, customer 6 relationship management helps tea export enterprises reduce selling costs Fourthly, customer relationship management allows the enterprises to assess profitability from customers (Siddiqi et al., 2011) Fifthly, customer relationship management not only benefits tea exporters but only benefits tea importers Sixthly, customer relationship management helps tea export enterprises maintain and improve customers trust and loyalty 2.2 Contents of customer relationship management in export enterprises Generally, customer relationship management implementation system integrates three main elements: human – process – technology in the context of an organization/enterprise with customercentric business operation, cross-functional, actively applies advanced technology in the operation and popularizes customer relationship management to all employees in the enterprise (Chen and Popovich, 2003) These three elements play equal important role, interact with each other and are inseparable in customer relationship management Customer-centric business operation Cross-functional integration Human Technology Processes Technology-based processes Overall strategy Figure 4: CRM system Source: Chen and Popovic (2003, p.676) 2.2.1 Customer relationship management strategy Customer relationship management strategy aims to build a strong and long-term relationship with customer Three important criteria for building an efficient customer relationship management strategy are as follows (Chen and Popovich, 2003): - Clearly define expected results, steps to take, vision and progress control process during implementation of customer relationship management strategy - Create a homogeneous whole system of customer relationship management strategy, business model and other strategies such as sales, marketing… - Customer relationship management strategy must include aspects: vision, strategy, customer experience, collaborative organization, operation progress, customer information, technology and metrics 2.2.2 Market research and export customers Market research includes four main activities: - Information collection: Information collection aims to serve market segmentation activities and helps export enterprises to better understand their customers in approaching and persuading customers Information needs to be collected includes customer description, transaction information and product characteristics information According to Herath and Silva (2011), for export enterprise in general and tea export enterprises in particular, information collection process need to be applied as international market research standard, including information source, content and time of collection - Customer segmentation and selection: Anderson and Kerr (2002) have shown that if customer maintaining effectiveness increases by 5%, long-term value of customers will increase from 35% to 95%, which greatly improve profit of the enterprise Tea export enterprises can classify customers into 7 different groups to have efficient customer care strategy, specifically: high-class customers, loyal customers, potential customers, difficult customers, and low-value customers - Information sharing: Timely sharing customer feedbacks should be attached importance by employees and leaders of tea export enterprises (Milovic, 2012) - Building policies for each group of customers: after classifying customers into groups, the enterprise needs to build different policies for different groups of customers, based on their demands, requirements, expectations and psychology Suitable customer care policy not only creates good impression and trust to customers, but also can turn difficult customers and low-value customers into potential customers, loyal customers and high-class customers in the future 2.2.3 Information technology application in customer relationship management The strong development of technology has brought effective tool for customer relationship management Many enterprises apply technology to their customer management activities This technology application can connect departments that work directly with customers (sales, marketing, and customer care), support departments (finance department, administrative department and human resource department) through the “connect points” to the enterprise’s customers (Chen and Popovich, 2003) This “connect points” include communication channels such as internet, email, telephone transactions, faxes, customer care centers, advertisement boards, posters, sales kiosks,… as the below diagram: Figure 5: CRM system with information technology application Source: Chen and Popovich (2003, p.674) 2.2.4 Organizational structure and human resource operating customer relationship management system The organizational structure of customer relationship management system in export enterprises is a system of tasks, power and report relationship in order to maintain the operation of customer relationship management in these enterprises Organizational structure determines how to clarify, 8 gather and coordinate working missions in the process of customer relationship management system operation, helping export enterprises achieve their goals (Chen and Popovich, 2003) The organizational structure of customer relationship management system in export enterprise needs to effectively arrange and coordinate the customer relationship management operation of human resource in export enterprise in order to achieve common goals At the same time, the organizational structure also needs to contribute to improving the efficiency of resources, enhancing overall operation of the enterprise as well as its customer relationship management systems Besides, organizational structure of CRM system in export enterprises should contribute to managing and controlling the export enterprises operation 2.2.5 Internal process of customer relationship management The internal process of CRM is established in accordance with the enterprise’s CRM system On the basis of analyzing customer characteristics, enterprise characteristics, and CRM system, the enterprise establishes an internal process of CRM system For tea export enterprises, according to Shaw (2000), the establishment of internal process of CRM is based on the objectives and strategies of CRM system At the same time, the process is established on the basis of customer characteristics analysis in import market to ensure the effectiveness of the process Relationship establishment Relationship mantaining Relationship ending Figure 6: General process of customer relationship management in the export enterprises 2.3 Research model, hypotheses and impact scale of customer relationship management system on performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises 2.3.1 Research model and hypotheses On the basis of the theory presented in the previous sections, the theoretical research model on the impact of the elements of CRM system on the performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises is specifically established as follows: Elements of CRM system • • • • • Establish CRM strategy Study market and customers Apply information tecnology Develop operation human resource Internal process Business results of tea export enterprises Actual operation of CRM system • • • Establish relationship Maintain relationship Finish relationship Figure 7: Research model on the impact of CRM system on performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises Source: Author According to the above research model, the research hypotheses are proposes as follows: - H1: The establishment of CRM strategy has positive effect on the performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises 9 - H2: Research on export market and customers has positive effect on the performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises - H3: The application of information technology in CRM has positive effect on the performance of Vietnam tea export enterprises - H4: The development of operational human resource to CRM system has positive effect on the performance of tea export enterprises - H5: The internal process operating CRM system has positive effect on the performance of tea export enterprises - H6: The establishment of customer relations has positive effect on the performance of tea export enterprises - H7: The maintenance of customer relations has positive effect on the performance of tea export enterprises - H8: The close of customer relations has positive effect on the performance of tea export enterprises 2.3.2 Measurement of the effect on CRM system on the performance of Vietnam Tea export enterprise The author has generalized from published researches and has built a set of research scales for the variables in the research model above 2.4 Factors influencing the customer relationship management of export enterprises The external environment factors of enterprise that impact to customer relationship management system includes: economic environment, political environment, legal environment, technological environment, information infrastructure system, socio-cultural environment, customers’ psychological reactions, customer relationship management strategies of competitors The internal factors of export enterprises that impact to customer relationship management system include: product characteristics of the enterprises, financial capacity, management capacity of the enterprise, employees’ behavior and attitudes, understanding of customers, technical facilities, marketing tools, interactions with customers, customer service culture 2.5 Customer relationship management system of some enterprises in the world and lessons for Vietnam tea export enterprises 2.5.1 Customer relationship management systems of some enterprises in the world The thesis has studied the CRM systems in three international enterprises, including: Anis Tea Trading and Export-Oriented Company – Srilanka, Madhu Jayanti International Co., Ltd – India, and Aykur Tea Company – Turkey 2.5.2 Lessons for Vietnam tea export enterprises Firstly, establishment of CRM strategy from the very beginning is the most important requirements Secondly, building CRM department to perform function of communication, contacting with customers is the center for coordinating customer relation operation in the whole enterprise Thirdly, effectively collecting and using customers data becomes a central mission in CRM Fourthly, applying technology and building software for CRM is suitable for CRM operation of the enterprise Fifthly, customers are an important component of CRM; customers need to be actively involved in CRM activities of the enterprise Sixthly, build a team of human resource to operate CRM professionally with knowledge and enthusiasm for the enterprise Seventhly, CRM strategy needs to be flexible, suitable to the size, production and development stage of each enterprise CHAPTER 3: CURRENT SITUATION OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS RESULTS OF VIETNAM TEA EXPORT ENTERPRISES 3.1 Overview of Vietnam tea export enterprise 3.1.1 Vietnam tea industry Tea cultivars of Vietnam are quite diversified Indigenous tea varieties of Vietnam include Trung Du and San varieties, which can make green tea and black tea According to the data of the statistical yearbook for the period of 2015-2020, the whole area growing tea in Vietnam decreased slightly, 10 10 reaching 121.3 thousand hectares in 2020, a decrease of 12.3 thousand hectares It is because Lam dong and some provinces in northern mountainous area converted the old tea area to other crops However, tea production in the last two years has grown well, reaching 1,017.5 thousand tons in 2019 and 1,045.6 thousand tons in 2020 This number helped Vietnam become the fifth country in the world in terms of export and ranks 7th in tea production, according to data from Vietnam Import and Export Report 2020 of Ministry of Industry and Trade Vietnamese tea has been exported to many countries and has brand name on the world market Since 2000, Vietnam officially joined in international tea market According to data from General Department of Customs, in 2020, the export volume of tea reached 115.9 thousand tons with a turnover of 185.1 million USD, 7% decrease in volume and 14.43% in value compared to 2019 That is due to strong outbreak of COVID-19 in Vietnam in 2020, causing many tea export contracts of Vietnam signed with partners to be extended, postponed, forced to reduce prices without new contracts In addition, transportation cost during the epidemic also tripled, putting pressure on costs, while tea prices fell, causing many difficulties for the tea export enterprises Figure 12: Vietnam tea export in period from 2015 to 2020 Source: General Department of Customs In terms of export categories, Vietnam’s main export tea products are black tea, green tea, flower marinated tea and Wu Long tea Data from the General Department of Customs shows that black tea is still the most exported product, accounting for 51%, followed by green tea, including flower-flavored tea, Wu Long tea, accounting for 48%, and all kinds of other tea accounts for a negligible proportion In terms of price, exported black tea has an average price of 1,350 USD/ton, while green tea is slightly higher, reaching 1,880 USD/ton According to the General Department of Customs, in 2020, in the 10 largest tea export markets of Vietnam, the top is Pakistan, the second is Taiwan and the third is Russia Table 5: Top 10 largest tea export market of Vietnam in 2020 Market Total Pakistan Taiwan Russia China Indonesia United States Iraq India Saudi Arabia Malaysia Year 2020 Weight Value 115.912 43.357 17.290 14.071 8.221 8.540 5.472 3.943 4.471 1.676 115.912 185.075 82.591 26.677 21.515 12.057 8.150 7.024 5.638 5.326 4.116 185.075 Unit: tons (weight); 1,000 USD (value) Compare with year 2019 Proportion (%) by value (%) Weight Value -7,00% -11,21% -9,52% -7,07% -12,55% -18,11% -3,75% 11,13% 337,05% -23,22% -7,00% -14,43% -14,35% -10,49% -3,93% -51,98% -20,81% -0,15% 8,19% 272,14% -25,04% -14,43% 100% 44,63% 14,41% 11,63% 6,51% 4,40% 3,80% 3,05% 2,88% 2,22% 100% Source: General Department of Customs 3.1.2 Characteristics of business activities of Vietnam tea export enterprises Tea export is taking tea products out of a country’s territory or into a special area within that country’s territory, which is considered a separate customs area as the provisions of law Tea is a commodity; tea is classified as agricultural products; so that tea export business has many characteristics of agricultural products Specifically, firstly, the export price of tea fluctuates strongly during the year according to different periods because tea production is seasonal and depends on 11 11 weather and seasons; the tea quality also changes due to the weather Secondly, tea is not an essential or luxury commodity, so its demand depends on price Thirdly, tea production and procurement are scattered in many region, so the quality is often unstable (Nguyen Quoc Thing, 2016) Fourthly, the transit time of tea export is always longer than it of domestic business activities due to the need to produce and purchase tea in the domestic market and sell to foreign markets (Chang Kaison, 2015) Fifthly, tea export requires many steps and procedure to follow, much time to recover capital because the transportation time is long; so that, when there are fluctuations in the demand for tea in the market, it can affect to the market and the tea export activities of the enterprise (Nguyen Huu Khai, 2005) Sixthly, payment for export is usually in foreign currency because the recording, accounting and business results are still affected by exchange rates Seventhly, tea export forms include: direct export, indirect export, export protocol, on-spot export, and re-export (Shrabanti and Maumita, 2015) 3.2 Assessing the current situation of customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises 3.2.1 Current situation of customer relationship management strategy In recent years, CRM strategies has been interested by Vietnam tea export enterprises, focusing on building and developing with target of sustainable relationship with business customers The research has assessed the current status of CRM strategies of tea export enterprises based on criteria such as frequency and effectiveness, specificity and clarity of strategy, the link between CMP strategy and other strategies in the enterprise and finally the systematization and effectiveness of developing CRM strategy of tea export enterprises Table 9: Survey result on actual status of developing CRM strategy in export enterprises Criteria Question 7: Establishment of CRM strategy is implemented often and effectively Question 8: The enterprise has built CRM strategy specifically and clearly (overview, strategic, customer experience, cooperative organization, implementation process, customer information, technology and measurement) Question 9: CRM strategy of the enterprise coordinate with other strategies homogenously in overall strategy of the enterprise Questio 10: CRM strategy focuses on interaction between enterprise and customers systematically and effectively, managing customer information and other issue to better serve customer Average (/ point) Standard deviation 3,407 0,876 3,673 1,115 2,956 0,927 3,389 0,961 Source: Results of survey data analysis The survey results also show that the opinion about systematic and construction of the enterprise’s CRM strategy is quite good, with an average score of 3.389/5 points However, the survey results show that there are some negative opinions about the systematic and infrastructure of CRM strategy of tea export enterprise The result states that in some enterprises, the relationship between customers and the enterprises still is underestimated, so that the information collection of customer is simple and sketchy 3.2.2 Current situation of market research and export customers In order to analyze and assess the content of CRM for Vietnam tea export enterprises most comprehensively, the research continues to analyze tea export markets and its customers In the contents of CRM for export enterprises, studying market and customers is quite important and plays an important role in opening market such as improve the connect with old market of the enterprise The research focuses on analyzing some major activities in customers and market studying of tea export 12 12 enterprises in Vietnam, include customers selection, information collection and information processing Table 10: Survey result on status of tea export market research of export enterprises Criteria Average (/ Points) Standard deviation Question 11: The enterprise accurately determines customers 3,735 0,869 and time of the implementation of tea export operation Question 12: The enterprise approaches and collects reliable 3,504 0,944 and accurate information about market and tea importers Question 13: Market research allows the enterprises select tarket customers (to approach new customers and maintain old 3,810 0,808 ones) Question 14: Information about market and tea importers of 3,982 0,783 the enterprises is timely and effectively controlled Question 15: The information of market and tea importers can 3,412 0,856 be suitably processed and shared to related departments Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.3 Current situation of information technology application in CRM activities For most activities of Vietnam tea export enterprises, the element of information technology always plays an important role and determines the business performance of the enterprise Therefore, it’s necessary to accurately select information technology application in CRM system in export enterprises In order to access the actual content of the CRM in Vietnam tea export enterprise, the research analyzes and assesses the information technology application in CRM system based on real conditions of facilities, personnel and infrastructure and application efficiency The result of the survey on assessment of information technology application selection in CRM system in Vietnam tea export enterprises in the table below: Table 11: Result of survey on current status of information technology application selection in CRM system of export enterprises Criteria Average (/5 points) Standard deviation Question 16: Information technology applied in CRM is suitable with employees’ level and requirements of the 2,982 1,162 enterprises Question 17: Information technology applied in CRM can 2,916 0,974 meet the present requirements of the enterprises Question 18: Information technology applied in CRM is not worse than that applied in competitors of the enterprise in 3,044 1,243 Vietnam (in quality and function) Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.4 Current situation of organizational structure and human resources operating CRM system One of important contents and directly affects to the CRM activities of Vietnam tea export enterprises is to establish organizational structure and personnel operating CRM systems The research result show that, currently, organizational structure of CRM system in Vietnam tea export enterprise has actively took contribution to maintaining the operation of CRMT system in these enterprises through determination of how to divide, gather and coordinate the missions during the operation of CRM system 13 13 Table 12: Survey result on actual status of establishment of personnel operating CRM system in Vietnam tea export enterprises Criteria Average (/5 points) Standard Deviation Question 19: Personnel operating CRM system of the enterprise is sufficient in quantity and quality (qualification, foreign languages, 2,965 0,837 knowledge about tea products and related services…) Question 20: Personnel operating CRM system of the enterprise have 3,235 1,021 great knowledge about CRM Question 21: Personnel operating CRM system of the enterprise 2,912 0,870 always regards customers as the most important element Question 22: Personnel operating CRM system of the enterprise is 3,155 0,961 professional and friendly attitudes with customers Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.5 Actual situation of internal process of CRM The result of survey on internal process of CRM in Vietnam tea export enterprises shows that, at present, almost enterprises determine important role of establishing this process clearly and transparently to ensure the efficiency of business operation Besides, leaders of the enterprises also said that it is necessary to have suitable metrics to measure and evaluate result of CRM activities in Vietnam tea export enterprises At the majority of Vietnam tea export enterprise, the leaders face lots of difficulties in establishing internal process of CRM, as well as measure and evaluate the result of CRM, in which the Balanced Scorecard model is the most used by the export enterprises Table 13: Survey result on internal process of CRM in export enterprises Criteria Average (/5 points) Standard Deviation Question 23: Internal process of the enterprise is established clearly, 3,633 1,080 transparently and possibly Question 24: Internal process of the enterprise is established suitably 3,363 1,204 with CRM activities Question 25: Internal process of the enterprise is focusing on 3,637 0,998 measuring result of CRM Question 26: Internal process of the enterprise is focusing on assessing 3,664 1,128 the result of CRM Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.6 Current situation of operating CRM system 3.2.6.1 Current situation of operating customer relations establishment Through different information channels, tea export enterprises establish customer relations with transactions and interactions with the enterprises Mr Le Van Manh, Director of Minh Anh Tea Co., Ltd said that the enterprise in general and tea export enterprises in particular currently all start from traditional marketing channels This channel considers target customer selection as the central task and classifies the entire existing customer group based on different factors, and then chooses the target customer for the business At the same time, the enterprise can easily determine target customers from which establish initial customer relations Table 14: Survey results on status of establishing customer relations of export enterprise Criteria Average (/5 Points) Standard Deviation 14 14 Question 27: The enterprise can easily build relations with old2,872 1,180 customer Question 28: The enterprise have sufficient requirement resources (human resource, equipment, technology…) to establish customer 3,226 1,122 relation Question 29: The enterprise use the communication channels flexibly 3,398 1,193 and effectively to create good relationship with customers Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.6.2 Current situation of maintaining customer relations Maintaining customer relations is an important operation content of customer relationship management in Vietnam tea export enterprises According to Ms Duong Thi Van Anh, Director of Nam Anh Import-Export Company, said that target of maintaining customer relations is establishing data system related to characteristics and requirements that meet requirements of customers, from that establish and maintain good relation with customers and maximize the value for the enterprise Additionally, Ms Van Anh also said that maintaining relationship with customers is an important task to tea export enterprises after determining potential customers and markets Table 15: Survey result of maintaining customer relation of export enterprises Criteria Average (/5 Points) Standard Deviation Question 30: The enterprise easily maintain relationship with key 2,686 1,129 customer Question 31: The enterprise have all necessary resource (human 3,106 0,863 resource, equipment, technology…) to maintain key customer Question 32: The enterprise always takes best priority (support, 3,230 1,033 handle problem…) with it traditional key customers Question 33: The enterprise implement special program to improve 3,119 1,119 relationship with traditional key customers Question 34: The enterprise and traditional customer interact each 2,805 0,965 other based on the dependence and reliability Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.2.6.3 Current situation of finishing customer relations The survey result on the status of finishing customer relation shows that 89 participants said that Vietnam tea export enterprises have made efforts to support and have special programs for customers before the relationship with customers officially finish, the average score reach 3.288/5 points This result shows that the finishing of customer relations timely assesses in case customers dissatisfied with products/services such as price, competitiveness, and customer care service, and delivery… From that, Vietnam tea export enterprises implement several methods and special programs to support customer before the relationship with customer official finishes Table 16: Survey result on status of finishing customer relation of export enterprises Criteria Question 35: The enterprise take effort to support and have special program for customer before the relationship is official finish Question 36: The enterprise take effort to make impression afterall after finish the relationship with customers Question 37: The customer relations of the enterprise, for objective reasons such as demand, market changes… often finish with good impression of customer Average (/5 Points) Standard Deviation 3,288 1,051 2,876 1,008 2,681 1,260 15 15 Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.3 Assessing the impact of customer relation management systems to the business result of Vietnam tea export enterprises 3.3.1 Variable measurement 3.3.1.1 Exploratory factor analysis  For independent variables: In this research, KMO coefficient reaches 0.815, Sig value is 0.000 < 0.05, so KMO and Barlett’s Test are satisfied Eight variables formed from EFA exploratory element analysis and the results in the table below, have a cumulative total explaining up to 79,750% of the total amount of information, which is also consistent with the theory, so all components corresponding to research variables are satisfied 16 16  For dependent variable: With the same procedure as above for observed variables of the dependent variable, the main factor analysis results KMO = 0.765 (> 0.5) with significance level Sig = 0.000 ( 1, the only major factor achieving cumulative variance of 70.244% (> 0.5), or explaining up to 70.244% of the total information of observed variables, the component analysis is satisfied 3.3.1.2 Confirmatory factor analysis The results of the reliability test of variables created from the questionnaire the component show that the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of all scales is greater than 0.7, meeting the required standard Similarly, Bartlett's Test of all variables is also statistically significant at the 99% reliability level with the KMO coefficients > 0.7; which are also qualified to confirm the reliability of the generated variables This result also confirms that the question of components in the variables is not eliminated On the other hand, the only component made up of the CFA product of all variables explains > 50% of the total information Therefore, the scales of the variables are all accepted and reliable for in regression analysis 3.3.2 Variable correlation To evaluate multicollinearity, Pearson correlation analysis between independent variables was carried out The correlation results show that the Pearson coefficients of all pairs of variables are < 0.7; means that the independent variables not have a significant linear relationship, confirming that there will be no multicollinearity in the regression model of these variables 3.3.3 Regression analysis and testing of research hypotheses The research carried out multiple regression analysis with the dependent variable being the effectiveness of the CRM of Vietnam tea export enterprises and 21 independent variables The regression results are presented in the table below: Table 21: Regression results coefficient XDCL NCTT CNTT NSVH QTNB TLQH DTQH KTQH Regression coefficient Standard B deviation 0,000 0,032 0,017 0,033 0,099** 0,037 0,198*** 0,041 0,093** 0,033 0,381*** 0,041 0,237*** 0,040 0,268*** 0,039 † 0,058 0,033 R = 0,881; R Square = 0,776 Adjusted R Square = 0,768 F = 94,079 p = 0,000 Multicollinearity Value T Value Sig Tolerance VIF 0,000 0,522 2,649 4,807 2,843 9,304 5,980 6,905 1,739 1,000 0,602 0,009 0,000 0,005 0,000 0,000 0,000 0,083 0,963 0,744 0,605 0,957 0,616 0,656 0,687 0,928 1,039 1,344 1,652 1,045 1,625 1,524 1,457 1,077 † * ** *** Statistical significance 10% Statistical significance 5% Statistical significance 1% Statistical significance 0,1% Source: Results of survey data analysis The regression equation is set up as follows: KQHĐ = -1.99499E-17 + 0,017*XDCL + 0,099*NCTT + 0,198*CNTT + 0,093*NSVH + 0,381*QTNB + 0,237*TLQH + 0,268*DTQH + 0,058*KTQH in which: XDCL: Developing a strategy for international planning NCTT: Researching export markets and customers 17 17 IT: Application of information technology management and control NSVH: Developing operational personnel QTNB: Internal Process TLQH: Set up customer relation DTQH: Maintain customer relation KTQH: Finish customer relation From the results of the above regression analysis, the thesis analyzes the impact of activities on the CRM result of Vietnam tea export enterprises, specifically as follows: The variable develop CRM strategy has no impact on the efficiency of tea export of Vietnamese enterprises at the statistical threshold of 95% with the value B = 0.017; Sig = 0.602 Hypothesis is not properly tested Developing CRM strategy does not affect the CRM result of Vietnam tea export enterprises The variable Study export markets and customers has a positive impact on the efficiency of tea export of Vietnam enterprises at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.099; Sig = 0.009 Hypothesis is properly tested The more focus on market and customer research activities, the higher the tea export efficiency of Vietnam tea export This result is consistent with the results of previous studies by Anderson and Kerr (2002), Milovic (2012), Alteren and Tudoran (2016)… The variable Select the application of information technology in the strategic planning has a positive impact on the efficiency of tea export of Vietnamese enterprises at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.198; Sig = 0.000 Hypothesis is properly tested The selection of information technology application is invested more in scientific management, the higher the results of scientific management of Vietnamese tea exporters This result coincides with the findings of Herath and Silva (2011), Nunes et al (2017)… The variable Organize and develop personnel to operate the CRM system has a positive impact on the efficiency of tea export of Vietnam enterprises at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.093; Sig = 0.005 Hypothesis is properly tested The more Vietnamese tea export enterprises focus on developing the human resources to operate the customer relationship management system, the higher the results of the customer relationship management system of these enterprises Chen and Popovich (2003) also show a similar relationship between the development of human resources to operate the CRM system and the results of the CRM The variable Internal process has a positive impact on tea export efficiency of Vietnamese enterprise at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.381; Sig = 0.000 Hypothesis is properly tested This result shows that the clearer, more transparent and feasible the internal processes are, the higher the results of the QHSE of Vietnamese tea exporters This result is similar to the research findings of Milovic (2012); To Linh Huong (2017); Phung Thi Trung (2016)… The Variable Customer relations has positive effect on the tea export efficiency of Vietnam enterprises at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.237; Sig = 0.000 Hypothesis is properly tested The more Vietnamese tea export enterprises pay attention to the establishment of the strategic planning, the higher the results of the strategic planning of these enterprises This result coincides with the research results of Shen (2008); Buttle (2009)… The variable maintain the planning has a positive effect on the tea export efficiency of Vietnamese enterprises at the statistical threshold of 99% with the value B = 0.268; Sig = 0.000 Hypothesis is properly tested The more effective the activities of maintaining the strategic planning of Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises, the higher the results of the strategic planning of these enterprises Edward and Sahadev (2011); Buttle (2009); Kotler and Armstrong (2011) also showed similar results in their studies The variable Finish customer relation has a positive effect on tea export efficiency of Vietnam enterprises, but only at the statistical threshold of 90% with the value B = 0.058; Sig = 0.083 Hypothesis is only tested at the 90% statistical threshold This result indicates that the more Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises pay attention to the activities of Finishing customer relation, the higher the results of the CRM of these enterprises This result is similar to the findings of Herath and Silva (2011); Sarmaniotis, Papaioannou and Assimakopoulos (2010) 18 18 3.3.4 Multi-group structural analysis In this section, to clarify the difference in performance of tea export enterprises, in-depth analysis of ANOVA with basic characteristics of enterprises, including: (1) age, (2) position in the supply chain application, (3) type of enterprise; (4) labor size; and (5) average annual revenue of Vietnamese tea export enterprise The analysis results from SPSS software are obtained as follows: Table 22: Differences in efficiency of characteristics of Vietnam tea export enterprises Levene Statistic ANOVA Value Sig F Sig Enterprise age 3,311 0,012 2,825 0,026 Position in the supply chain 0,073 0,787 1,615 0,205 Enterprise type 0,846 0,497 0,620 0,649 Employees 4,059 0,008 0,786 0,503 Turnover 3,845 0,005 0,352 0,842 Source: Results of survey data analysis The results of the SPSS analysis show that there is only differences in operational efficiency between groups of export enterprises with different ages (Levene = 3.311; Sig = 0.012; F = 2.825; Sig = 0.026) Other factors of characteristics such as position in the supply chain, type of business, labor size, average annual revenue have no role or no difference in the performance of export enterprises ANOVA tests were not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level To further clarify differences in performance between export enterprises in different age groups, the Anova Post-Hoc deep test was implemented and obtained the following results: Characteristics Table 1: Differences in business performance between tea export enterprises of different age (I) Q2 – Optional efficiency 20 years - years - 10 years 11 - 20 years > 20 years < years - 10 years 11 - 20 years > 20 years < years - years 11 - 20 years > 20 years < years - years - 10 years > 20 years < years - years - 10 years 11 - 20 years Average difference (IJ) 0,440* 0,036 0,571* 0,145 -0,440* -0,404* 0,131 -0,296 -0,036 0,404* 0,535* 0,108 -0,571* -0,131 -0,535* -0,427 -0,145 0,296 -0,108 0,427 Standard Deviatio n 0,208 0,218 0,252 0,265 0,208 0,168 0,211 0,226 0,218 0,168 0,220 0,234 0,252 0,211 0,220 0,267 0,265 0,226 0,234 0,267 Sig 0,036 0,868 0,024 0,585 0,036 0,017 0,535 0,191 0,868 0,017 0,016 0,644 0,024 0,535 0,016 0,111 0,585 0,191 0,644 0,111 Confidence 95% Lower limit Upper limit 0,030 -0,393 0,075 -0,377 -0,851 -0,735 -0,284 -0,740 -0,465 0,073 0,101 -0,353 -1,068 -0,546 -0,969 -0,952 -0,666 -0,149 -0,570 -0,099 0,851 0,465 1,068 0,666 -0,030 -0,073 0,546 0,149 0,393 0,735 0,969 0,570 -0,075 0,284 -0,101 0,099 0,377 0,740 0,353 0,952 19 19 * with statistical significance of 5% Source: Results of survey data analysis Specifically, the result of Anova Post-Ho test in the table above shows that there is a significant difference in performance between all pairs of tea exporting enterprises of different ages in the positive direction, the older the age, the better the effect, including: pairs of export enterprises with the age of less than years and 3-5 years; less than years and 11-20 years; 3-5 years and 6-10 years; 6-10 years and 11-20 years Especially, export enterprises with more than 20 years of age did not show significant difference in efficiency compared to other enterprises; or can understand that these enterprises may be struggling in the current environment or cannot understand market fluctuations compared to 20 years ago 3.4 Factors affecting the customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises 3.4.1 External environmental factors The author has conducted a survey on 226 enterprises producing and/or exporting tea directly about external factors that affect to customer relationship management of tea export enterprises of Vietnam The results obtained are summarized in the following table Table 7: Survey results on the importance and impact of external factors on tea export enterprises Criteria Question 38: Factors of political policy, law Question 39: Factors of economy Question 40: Technological environment Question 41: Information system Question 42: Socio-cultural environment Question 43: Psychological reaction of customers Question 44: CRM strategy of competitors Importance Average Standard (/5points) deviation Current status Average Standard (/5 point) deviation 4,226 0,729 4,004 1,073 4,035 3,814 4,013 3,704 0,788 0,919 0,986 1,027 4,226 3,389 3,580 3,920 0,645 1,079 1,209 0,963 4,088 0,767 3,500 1,197 4,314 0,886 3,752 0,864 Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.4.2 Internal factors of the enterprises In addition to the factors of the international and domestic macro environment, the research also investigated the opinions from 226 enterprises on the importance and actual impact of internal factors of tea export enterprises Survey results for factors are summarized in the table below: Table 8: Survey result on the importance and impact to internal factors of tea export enterprises Criteria Question 45: Products characteristics of the enterprises Question 46: Financial capacity of the enterprise Question 47: Customer management capacity of the enterprise Question 48: Behaviors and attitude of customer relations employees Question 49: Knowledge about customers Importance Average (/ Standard points) deviation Current status Average (/ Standard points) deviation 4,221 0,991 3,327 0,625 3,965 0,942 3,442 0,777 4,022 1,073 3,173 1,189 4,177 0,931 3,761 1,013 4,372 0,727 3,628 1,039 20 20 Question 50: Technology infrastructure for customer relations 4,155 0,704 3,712 1,063 Source: Results of survey data analysis 3.5 Summary of actual status of CRM system of tea export enterprises in Vietnam 3.5.1 Achievements Firstly, in terms of customer relationship establishment, during the process of business operation, most Vietnam tea export enterprises have gradually approached and collected reliable sources of information about the product market as well as the consumer market Secondly, customer relationship maintenance, the enterprise has built relationships with customers who have imported tea products of the enterprise Thirdly, about customer relationship finishing, tea export enterprises have checked periodically and systematically the issues related to customers Fourth, about employees operating customer relationship management, tea export enterprises have basically met requirements of human resources in both quantity and quality such as professional qualifications, foreign languages, technological skills and knowledge of products/services that meet job requirements Fifthly, in terms of customer relationship management strategy of Vietnam tea export enterprises, the fact shows that the CRM strategies has been developed regularly and effectively Sixthly, about the selection of information technology application in customer relationship maangement, lmost tea export enterprises have satisfied the requirements of information technology for management activities 3.5.2 Limitations Firstly, regarding customer relation establishment, the process of collecting customer information in tea export enterprises is not initiated, in some cases, the timeliness of information is not guaranteed, thus affecting the quality of information information as well as business decisions of enterprises Secondly, about the maintenance of the scientific plan, the classification of the scientific plan at some Vietnamese tea export enterprises has not been carried out closely, the criteria for the classification of the scientific plan are not diverse and suitable with the characteristics of the enterprise Thirdly, regarding the closing activities of the customer planning, the inspection work, Vietnamese tea exporters have not really made efforts to leave a good final impression of their sincerity and thoughtfulness when ending the relationship with a customer row Fourthly, in terms of developing a strategic management plan, some tea exporters have not yet specified a strategic management plan, some enterprises choose a management strategy that is not suitable for the overall development strategy of the enterprise Fifth, about the quality of human resources and technological equipment in the work of scientific management • • 3.5.3 Reasons of limitations Objective reasons Firstly, although the state issued many practical policies for Vietnam tea export enterprises to learn from enterprises in the same field in the international market; however, the state does not have specific policies related to tea export Second, the economy of Vietnam and the world has grown and integrated in recent years, but it also contains many uncertainties Thirdly, the development of information technology in general and information technology for CRM in Vietnam in particular is still limited Fourth, for all enterprises in general as well as tea export enterprises in particular, competition is a big barrier Subjective reasons Firstly, the customer relationship management for Vietnam tea export enterprises is quite new, so the business administration in enterprises lacks of synchronization and consistency for the enterprise overall management Secondly, customer relationship management are mainly based on the human resources for management Thirdly, using information after collecting data and managing information 21 21 is still at a very low level Fourthly, the interaction channels between tea exporters and customers have not been synchronously exploited, so it is still difficult to collect information and solve problems, easily causing information confusion Fifthly, the awareness of the staffs of the departments about customer relationship management in the Vietnamese tea export enterprises is still low Sixthly, managers and enterprises themselves are not really aware of their roles and positions in the CRM activities of the enterprise CHAPTER 4: VIEWPOINTS AND SOLUTIONS FOR IMPROVING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGER SYSTEM OF VIETNAM TEA EXPORT ENTERPRISES 4.1 Forecasting some changes in the tea export business environment to 2030 4.1.1 Forecast some changes of the world tea market According to a report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the state of the global tea industry and a medium-term forecast to 2024, the global tea market will be worth $13.85 billion in 2015; reached 15.21 billion USD in 2017 On average, over the past three years, tea trade has increased by 4% per year By 2024, the global tea market is expected to be worth $21.33 billion Research from Research and Markets shows that the global tea market reached 24.3 billion USD in 2016, is expected to reach 37.5 billion USD in 2025, with a growth rate of 5% per year in the period from 2017-2025 In terms of price, the composite average tea price index of FAO is over the past decade to 2014 when price fell by 5.3%, almost due to a decline in CTC tea price Prices of tea recovered in 2015, reflecting an increase in CTC price, offsetting the decline in orthodox tea prices because tea imports from Russia and the Near East was declined In the medium term, it is forecasted that the supply and demand for black tea will balance in 2024 at a price of $2.83/kg This price continues increasing over the past decade, from an average of $1.64kg in 2005 to $2.65/kg in 2014, with a monthly peak of $3.18/kg and USD/kg took place in September 2009 and December 2012, respectively Although predictions point to a nominal increase in prices, real tea prices fell by an average of 1% per year over the next decade Price movements show a fragile balance between supply and demand and it is necessary to maintain this balance to achieve sustainability For example, assuming a 5% increase in output, the impact on prices would be dramatic: a drop of almost 40% over the next decade, reaching $1.78/kg in 2024 4.1.2 Forecast some changes in customer demand for tea products Firstly, customers' demand for tea products is getting higher and stricter With the Asian tea market, people's tastes are similar to those of Vietnam, but this market will require higher quality Secondly, customers will want to have new tea products to change their taste and create novelty Thirdly, customers will pay more attention to the product form, labeling and packaging of tea products Fourthly, in recent years, customers more like tea products which are more convenient Fifthly, food hygiene and safety for tea products will be more rigorously concerned Sixthly, in the coming time, a part of customers will shift their demand to high-class tea products 4.2 Development orientation and perspective on completing the customer relationship management system of Vietnamese tea export enterprises to 2030 4.2.1 Development orientation for the customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises to 2030 Firstly, the establishment of the customer relationship management strategy of Vietnam tea export enterprises should be directed to the implementation of the business strategy in order to maximize profits, revenues and customer satisfactions with center-customer background Secondly, the research of export customer and market of Vietnamese tea export aims to correctly determine and select customers, thereby allowing enterprises to increase customers’ consumption and decrease 22 22 unnecessary marketing costs on unsuitable customers Thirdly, in order to complete the CRM system, information technology plays an important role in successfully implementing CRM solutions at Vietnam tea export enterprises This activity should aim at completing the information technology infrastructure and data quality for the operation of the CRM system Fourthly, the customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises should complete the organizational structure and develop the human resources to operate the customer relationship management system Fifthly, in order to complete the CRM system, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to focus on improving the establishment and implementation of the internal process of customer relationship management Sixthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to pay special attention to complete the operation of the customer relationship management system by preparing all necessary resources to establish relationships with new customers 4.2.2 Perspectives on completing the customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises to 2030 Firstly, Vietnam tea export enterprises should improve the market research Secondly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to grasp the CRM strategy of their competitors Thirdly, Vietnam's tea export industry needs to establish a direct distribution system abroad Fourthly, it is necessary for Vietnam tea export enterprises to invest more to CRM system Fifthly, it is necessary for the enterprises to improve human resources in quantity and quality Sixthly, the enterprises need to actively apply technology in processes of tea productions and transportations to improve product quality, meeting customer’s needs, thereby completing CRM system Seventhly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to pay more attention to the result evaluation, periodically measuring the effectiveness of CRM strategy in order to determine whether the current strategy meets the targets and can be sustainably maintained in long term 4.3 Solutions for completing customer relationship management system of Vietnam tea export enterprises 4.3.1 Solutions for completing customer relationship management Firstly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to develop a CRM strategy that embodies the customer-centric philosophy Second, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to determine all objectives to be achieved in the establishment of CRM strategy Thirdly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to promote strategic communication of CRM strategy internally Fourthly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to focus on building a roadmap to implement reasonable CRM solutions Fifthly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to establish suitable CRM strategy for each stage of their relationship with customers Sixthly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to regularly develop CRM strategy At the same time, the enterprise's customer relationship management strategy should focus on the systematic and effective interaction between the business and the customer, managing customer information and other issues in order to better serve customers 4.3.2 Group of solutions for research of market and export customers Firstly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to determine and select correct customers It is necessary to accurately determine customers for Vietnam tea export enterprises to increase customers’ consumption and decrease unnecessary marketing costs on unsuitable customers Secondly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to approach and collect reliable and accurate information about markets and tea importers Third, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to focus on selecting key target customers so that they can approach new customers and build relationships with old customers through market research activities Fourthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to effectively and promptly handle market information and their tea importers Fifthly, information of market and tea importers of Vietnam tea export enterprises should be reasonably shared with relevant departments within the enterprise to serve market research Sixthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to focus on training 23 23 and developing a market research team with knowledge, skills and experience in implementing steps to carry out market research according to international market research standards Seventhly, market research, especially foreign markets, is quite expensive Eighthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to issue specific regulations on information collection and classification which are related to customers and markets in order to effectively serve market research Ninthly, in the process of researching market and export customers, tea export enterprises need to develop separate policies for key customer groups who are intermediate partners importing the enterprises’ products 4.3.3 Group of solutions for information technology application in CRM Firstly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to focus on information technology application in CRM to meet the actual requirements of the enterprise Secondly, information technology applied in CRM at Vietnam tea export enterprises needs to ensure that it is not inferior in quality and function compared to the technology of competitors Thirdly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to focus on building data and systems for processing, synthesizing, analyzing and exploiting customer data in tea import markets based on technology and modern data to supply necessary information and data for models of analyzing and forecasting risks, supporting in business decision-making Fourthly, information technology application in CRM of Vietnam tea export enterprises needs to be suitable with the requirements and qualifications of the enterprise's personnel Fifthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to actively apply CRM software packages to improve the efficiency of this activity Sixthly, businesses need to invest more in the information technology application in CRM systems 4.3.4 Group of solutions to complete the organization and development of human resource for CRM operation Firstly, the CRM system in Vietnam tea export enterprises needs to clearly define missions, reporting relations and power in order to maintain the effective operation of the CRM system Secondly, the customer relationship management system in Vietnam tea export enterprises needs to be stable and flexible enough to operate effectively in the current status Thirdly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to strongly train and develop the human resource for customer relationship management operation to be sufficient in quantity and quality (qualification, foreign languages, knowledge of tea products and related services ) to meet job requirements Fourthly, staffs operating CRM system of tea export enterprises need knowledges of CRM system Fifthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to strongly develop business culture, focus on working coordination of the staffs, especially operators of CRM systems Sixthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to actively popularize customer-centric strategy to all staffs Seventhly, in addition to necessary skills and qualification, it is necessary for Vietnam tea export enterprises to pay more attention to the establishment of professionalism and friendly attitude of the staffs to customers for effective customers relationship management system Eighthly, the staffs operating CRM systems directly implement CRM activities, have strong impacts to CRM results at Vietnam tea export enterprises Ninthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to focus on compensation policies for staffs in general and CRM system operators in particular 4.3.5 Group of solutions for completing the internal process of customer relationship management Firstly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to pay more attention to the establishment of internal processes CRM Secondly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to focus on measuring and evaluating the results of CRM through the internal process Thirdly, through the internal process of customer service management, the enterprises need to periodically measure and evaluate the service system by some criteria such as: service requests quantity, waiting time of customers, total processing time of customer requests, efficiency of website, CRM software in receiving and processing customer 24 24 information Fourthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to actively periodically measure and evaluate customer reactions (opinion, satisfaction, trust) to the quality of products and customer service of enterprises through internal processes Fifthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to focus on measuring and evaluating the results of their CRM activities through the evaluation opinions of the staff involved in CRM (through the internal process of CRM) 4.3.6 Group of solutions for completing the operation of CRM system Solutions for the establishment of customer relations: Firstly, Vietnamese tea export enterprises need to prepare all necessary resources (human resources, equipment, technology ) to establish relationships with new customers Secondly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to flexibly and effectively use communication channels to establish good relationship with new customers Thirdly, the enterprises need to develop strategies to find and establish relationships with new customers Fourthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to clearly define their goals in this period, thereby actively interacting with potential customers to establish more customer relations Solutions for maintaining the customer relations: Firstly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to clearly determine their key customers to implement activities to maintain effectively the customer relations Secondly, enterprises need to fully develop the necessary resources (human resources, equipment, technology ) to maintain relationships with key customers Thirdly, enterprises need to focus on best service to key traditional customers Fourthly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to actively implement special programs to improve relationships with key traditional customers Solutions for finishing customer relations: Firstly, Vietnam tea export enterprises need to make efforts to support and have special programs for customers before their relationship with customers officially ends Secondly, the enterprises make efforts have good impression of their dedication and thoughtfulness when finishing a relationship with a customer Thirdly, for objective reasons such as changes in market and demands…, the enterprise’s relationship with customer often end up leaving good impression on customers 4.4 Recommendations 4.4.1 To the State and relevant agencies Firstly, the State and relevant agencies need to create a stable environment of politic, policy and law for the tea export enterprises can produce and develop in a fair and healthy competitive environment, and at the same time create favorable conditions for the enterprises to actively integrate into the international market Secondly, the State and relevant agencies need to promulgate and implement of policies on quality management of exported tea products in order to create prestige for Vietnam exported tea products and create favorable conditions for tea export enterprises to easily access and maintain their customer relation in importing countries Thirdly, at present, the state has only issued policies to develop agricultural products in general, only a few commodities have their own development policies such as rice and catfish; there is no policy to develop tea production and export Fourthly, the State and relevant agencies need to actively implement policies to encourage investment in improving technology and modern equipment to improve the quality of CRM system of Vietnam tea export enterprises Fifthly, the State and relevant agencies need to pay more attention to policies on developing human resources for tea production and export as well as the CRM activities of tea export enterprises Sixthly, the State and relevant agencies need to pay more attention to policies on financial and credit support for agricultural and rural development Seventhly, the State and relevant agencies need to pay more attention to solutions on the tea export market 25 25 4.4.2 To the associations Firstly, the Vietnam Tea Association and tea associations in the provinces and cities need to have plans of survey for specifical demand of the market for exported tea products Secondly, associations need to strengthen agricultural encouragement, industrial promotion and training skills for tea makers, build high-tech tea growing models, and apply mechanization in harvesting, processing high-value traditional tea at household scale Thirdly, associations need to promote propaganda and mobilizing tea growers and tea export enterprises to raise awareness and well implement technical standards and regulations for tea industry Fourthly, the associations need to actively support the State in reorganizing production closely linking tea growers with the enterprises which process and consumes tea products to improve the production and export for sustainable development Fifthly, based on the needs of the domestic and international markets, associations need to support the State and tea enterprises to restructure and diversify export tea products; to focus on investing in new and renovating and upgrading processing plants towards modernity, producing high-value-added products Sixth, associations need to actively support tea export enterprises in modern technology application to production of exported tea as well as CRM activities CONCLUSION The thesis is carried out when the export market in general and Vietnam tea exports in particular are in a period of strong growth Meanwhile, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, many tea enterprises of production and export are facing many difficulties in terms of prices and orders, while the Vietnamese tea brand in the international market has not yet got a firm foothold In the fierce competition of tea export market and unpredictable fluctuations, CRM plays an important role in the success of business activities of enterprises in general and export enterprises in particular; it also plays an important role in building and maintaining a long-term source of potential customers for businesses Therefore, domestic tea export enterprises need to enhance the effectiveness of CRM to expand customer files, especially when the structure of this system in enterprises is still sketchy, only focusing on business CRM and collaborative CRM Due to the limited knowledge and experience of the author on the research problem, the thesis cannot avoid certain limitations Those are some analysis and evaluations of CRM of Vietnam tea export enterprises which are still theoretical In addition, some statistical data in this study have not been fully updated, and some related contents have not been studied in depth and detail Besides, this thesis only interviewed 12 leaders of 11 typical tea exporting enterprises in Vietnam, so the interview results are not highly representative The solutions to improve the CRM system in general are still low feasibility and sometimes not suitable with reality, especially in the current context of fluctuated tea export market In the future, it is possible to consider studying separately each content related to the construction and operation of CRM systems in Vietnam tea export enterprises in order to clarify related issues in detail The study of the actual status of CRM at some typical tea export enterprises should also be interest by researchers to specifically contribute to improve the results of CRM Especially, in current tea export market, CRM research of export enterprises in association with actual conditions and international competition will contribute to improving the practical significance for future studies  ... OF VIETNAM TEA EXPORT ENTERPRISES 3.1 Overview of Vietnam tea export enterprise 3.1.1 Vietnam tea industry Tea cultivars of Vietnam are quite diversified Indigenous tea varieties of Vietnam include... factors in CRM implementation in Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises - Professional contributions: The thesis studies the current situation of CRM implementation in Vietnamese tea export enterprises...2 + Space: Vietnam tea export enterprises + Time: Data from 2015 to 2020 Research methodology 5.1 Research process The thesis combines qualitative and quantitative methods, specifically: