Commercial communication and customer relationship management in the informal sector: the case of automobile garages in commune iv of the district of Bamako (Mali)

Abstract

Commercial communication is nowadays a strategic means through which companies can develop lasting relationships with their customers. However, research on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has mainly focused on formal enterprises and large organizations (Payne & Frow, 2017; Buttle & Maklan, 2019), while informal sector businesses remain under-researched (Meagher, 2013). This study analyzes the influence of commercial communication on customer relationship management in automobile repair garages in Commune IV of the District of Bamako. An interpretivist qualitative approach based on fourteen semi-structured interviews was adopted, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that the most widely used communication tools are mobile phones (14 occurrences), social media (14), informal signage (13), and word-of-mouth (11). These practices strengthen trust, relationship personalization, and customer loyalty despite the absence of formal CRM systems. The study thus highlights the emergence of an informal relational CRM based on social proximity, organizational memory, and interpersonal interactions. This research contributes to the literature on relationship marketing in the African informal sector and provides recommendations for small businesses.

JEL Classification: M31; M39; L26; O17

Article type: Empirical research article (qualitative case study).