Assessment of Customer Relationship Management Systems in Telecommunications: Case Study of 9mobile Nigeria’s Consumer Division

Customer relationship management systems are integral to telecommunications operators' ability to manage subscriber interactions, reduce churn, personalize service offerings, and resolve complaints efficiently. This study assesses the CRM system deployment, process integration, and operational effectiveness within 9mobile Nigeria's consumer division, examining how CRM capabilities translate into measurable subscriber retention and satisfaction outcomes. A professional organizational case study design was employed, with structured interviews conducted with nineteen CRM system administrators, customer service supervisors, and marketing analytics officers, supplemented by analysis of de-identified subscriber interaction data and CRM system performance reports for the 2022 to 2024 period. Results indicate that 9mobile's CRM platform provides adequate core functionality for contact history recording and complaint ticketing but lacks automated churn prediction capabilities. Subscriber data completeness was rated at 71%, with gaps in lifestyle and device preference data limiting personalization potential. Average complaint resolution time through the CRM workflow was 3.4 days, exceeding the NCC 24-hour acknowledgment standard. CRM data was not integrated with the network analytics platform, preventing correlation of subscriber complaint patterns with network performance data, which would enable proactive service recovery for network-affected customers. Staff CRM proficiency training was rated as infrequent and insufficiently scenario-based. Recommendations include CRM and network analytics platform integration, AI-driven churn prediction module procurement, complaint workflow automation, and quarterly CRM proficiency assessment for frontline staff. Keywords: CRM systems, 9mobile Nigeria, subscriber retention, complaint management, telecommunications.