Customer relationship management strategies in public service organizations: a case of Tanzania Revenue Authority

The aim of this study was to assess Customer Relationship Management strategies in public service organizations. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which customer service delivery strategy, management transparency and responsiveness strategy and ICT strategy retain and maintain the customer relationship. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has become an issue for the public sector because there is political and community pressure to provide better customer services more efficiently. However, Most TRA customers, especially traders blame the government due to high tax collection cost, corruption by most TRA officers, and the absence of data and information. This study adopted a quantitative approach. Purposive sampling and Convenience sampling techniques were used for selecting TRA customers. The study used the sample size of 120 TRA customers. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires and were analyzed by using descriptive analysis. On the other hand secondary data supplemented information collected through primary sources. The study found that there were easy availability of customer service personnel, and long distance to access transaction services in remote areas discouraged TRA customers to pay tax voluntarily. Moreover, the study also found that TRA staff provides inadequate education to customers on their responsibility to pay tax voluntarily and promptly, the electronic transactions are not user friendly to customers and information and communication technology services used by TRA are not reliable, especially to the remote areas. In other hand, customers dissatisfied to the inconsistency of TRA”s staff in tax deduction. The study recommends that since most of the customers (taxpayers) are not expert on the use of ICT, special department should be created to educate them on how to pay tax by using ICT. Also, it is recommended that TRA should provide adequate education to its customers on their responsibility to pay tax voluntarily and promptly as well as TRA should ensure that the electronic transactions are simple to use and reliable for taxpayers. It is also recommended that policy makers should formulate the policies which would guide the CRM in public sector organizations in Tanzania.