The Role of Customer Relationship Management in Competitive Advantage of Swimming Pools in Birjand City

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of customer relationship management in competitive advantage of swimming pools in Birjand city. The study method was descriptive- correlation. 214 clients of Birjand swimming pools completed the two questionnaires: Competitive Advantage Questionnaire (Hosseini, 2011) and researcher-made questionnaires which assessed the competitive advantage and customer relationship management respectively in swimming pools. For data analysis, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, one-sample t test, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used. All data were analyzed using SPSS software at a significance level of P≤0.05. The findings showed a direct and significant relationship between apparent advantage (r=0.36), sustainable advantage (r=0.47), dynamic advantage (r=0.43), congruent advantage (r=0.36) and combined advantage (r=0.35) with customer relationship management. The results of stepwise regression analysis also showed that the predictor variables could totally explain 35% of the variance changes of customer relationship management. Regarding the results of this study, it is suggested that swimming pool managers should use a strategic CRM program to develop their competitive position and to gain a competitive advantage which can maintain current customers’ loyalty and absorb more customers.