Sales Force Motivation and Effective Implementation of a CRM Strategy in the Pharmaceutical and Health Care Industry in Nigeria.

Abstract

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a comprehensive business model for increasing revenues and profits by focusing on customers. More specifically, CRM refers to any application or initiative designed to help firms optimize interactions with customers, suppliers, or prospects via one or more touch points – such as a call center, salesperson, distributor, store, branch office, web, or e-mail – for the purpose of acquiring, retaining, or cross-selling customers. However, many pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria are struggling with their CRM initiatives probably because they have bought the sophisticated software, but do not have the culture, structure, leadership, or internal technical expertise to make the initiative successfully. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the impact of a salesforce motivation on effective implementation of a CRM strategy in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in Nigeria. The aim was to find the right elements in motivation mix for designing an integrated compensation and incentive program that can be used by managers to influence and direct a salesperson’s behaviour for effective implementation of a company’s strategic CRM plan. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. Questionnaire was the principal source of the primary data, while interview was complimentary. Taro Yamane formula was used to determine the sample size of 244 out of the population of 624. Data from the study was analyzed using descriptive and inferential approaches. Simple descriptive tables, charts and table of means were employed as descriptive tools. For hypothesis testing, t-test and correlation analysis were used to judge the significance of the obtained result. Regression analysis was used to formulate necessary mathematical model that depicted the relationship among the research variable that predicted the values of dependent variables. SPSS for windows (SPSS WIN Version 15) was used to analyse and process the data generated. Factor analysis was employed in analyzing the data in order to isolate principal components that account for motivation of a salesperson. The analysis of the study indicated that a close relationship exists between a company’s strategic CRM implementation and its salesforce motivation plan. This meant that the salesforce motivation plan has a direct bearing on the successful implementation of a company’s strategic CRM plan. Out of twenty-name (29) components analysed, the result revealed that six principal components account for 85.75% of the data. This suggests that salary compensation, commission incentive, bonus payment, fringe benefits, recognition of awards for outstanding performance, opportunity for promotion and advancement were the major factors that account for salespersons motivation. These components were further used as independent variables to regress customer relationship index, the result showed statistical significant effect of independent variables of the CRM at P ≤ 0.05 level of significant, and a correspondence value of F = 129.925. It suggests that to get its salespeople to aid in successful implementation of its strategic CRM plan, management needs to coordinate its salesforce motivation plans with the company’s strategic CRM plans. It is recommended that sales people should be involved in the CRM planning process from day one to ensure their interests are fully integrated into the system. Sales managers must make sure that each sales person understands what is expected in a CRM strategy implementation. Management should design a reward structure in which greater rewards are tied to better implementation of a CRM performance. Sales managers should convince salespeople that the rewards for better performance are worth the extra effort. Management should give rewards that are valued and attempt to sell the worth of these rewards to the salesforce. The study developed a salesforce motivation model that integrated the work of the motivational theorists, in particular Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory. The emerged model suggested how a motivated salesperson can impact a CRM strategic implementation in the pharmaceutical and health care industry in Nigeria. The model offered the sales managers how to motivate the salespeople, and what to expect from the salespeople when they are motivated.