CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT MODERATION IN SCHOOL SELECTION AT AI IBRAH GRESIK

This research explores the moderating influence of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on Word of Mouth (WOM), service quality, and school location in relation to school selection decisions at AI Ibrah Gresik Integrated Islamic Middle School. The study adopts a quantitative descriptive research approach and collects data from SD IT AI Ibrah and SMP IT AI Ibrah, situated in JI. Brotonegoro Gresik, East Java, Indonesia. Smart PLS 3 software is employed for data analysis. The study reveals several significant findings. Firstly, Word of Mouth (WOM) directly impacts election decision, where recommendations and experiences from others play a vital role in individuals' decision-making process. Secondly, service quality is identified as a crucial factor influencing election decision, as individuals tend to favor schools offering high-quality services. Additionally, school location has a direct influence on election decision, with geographical factors and accessibility significantly influencing parents' school choices. Moreover, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) also holds a direct impact on election decision. Effective interactions and communications between the school and parents substantially affect the decision-making process. Furthermore, CRM is observed to moderate the relationship between WOM and election decision, as well as the link between service quality and election decision. However, CRM is found to be incapable of moderating the interaction between school location and election decision.


INTRODUCTION
Developments in the world of junior high school education in Indonesia are growing rapidly, this is evidenced by the increasing number of schools, both public and private (Schimmelpfennig & Hunt, 2020).According to data from the Gresik Regency Education Office, the number of junior high schools in 2021 will reach 272, consisting of 36 public junior high schools, and 236 private ones (Fuadi, 2022).This makes the school have to think about the best way to be able to recruit prospective students to enter or choose a place to continue their secondary education studies This study observes consumer behavior.Consumer behavior is consumer choice in determining a product or service that is influenced by values, belief systems that underlie consumer attitudes and behavior.Aburayya et al., (2020) define customer behavior as behavior in which consumers search for, buy, use, evaluate, and identify products, services, and ideas.Ailudin & Sari, (2019) defines customer habits as behavior that occurs immediately in obtaining, consuming or distributing products and services, including the decision-making process that precedes and follows that behavior.Kotler, (2004:12) define consumer behavior (consumer behavior) as people, both individuals and groups, choose, buy, and use all experiences, both products and services.
SMPIT Al-Ibra School is an educational institution within the Al-Ibra Gresik Foundation and implements a curriculum system that prioritizes academic development and the Koran.
Learning activities also focus on learning the Koran by modifying student-centered learning models.This system allows students to learn creatively, independently and in fun, using quality materials.
Enrollment numbers continued to grow by 5.7% over the final three years of the 2020/2021 to 2022/2023 school year, and tuition fees increased by 15%.This phenomenon is inversely proportional to the law of economics that purchasing power decreases because prices continue to rise.Individual (internal) and environmental (external) factors that influence the decision of Islamic Middle School (SMPIT) Al Ibrah Gresik applicants.This is of concern to researchers studying election decision making at SMPIT AI Ibrah.
The current condition in the last 3 years is that the PPDB (New Student Acceptance) team reports that in terms of numbers the acceptance target can be exceeded, but there is a question in management that internal students from Integrated Islamic Elementary School (SDIT) Al Ibrah who continue to Integrated Islamic Middle School (SMPIT) Al Ibrah are still relatively small percentage that is still under 50% of internal disciples.The following is student enrollment data in the last 3 years.

Figure 1 Graph of Graduates
From the graph, Figure 1 above shows that there are still many graduating students who choose to continue to the next level to other schools with an average in the last 3 years at 30.9% and this becomes a question as to why this can happen, while the acceptance data at SMP IT shows good progress.succeed according to the student's target in each acceptance within that period of the year.In the following, we present data on enrollment of SMP IT students from 2019, 2020 and 2021 in

Figure 2 Origin of Al Ibrah Middle School Students 2021
From the graph above (Figure 2), it can be concluded that many students come from outside Gresik, and this is a significant factor for the successful admission of new students each year.
Additionally, a considerable number of interested individuals opt for a boarding school (mukim school) over a full-day school.Despite having adequate and up-to-date school facilities and infrastructure, they do not always guarantee a high rate of student retention for secondary education.The key to success lies in providing quality service that caters to the needs of students.In the current competitive landscape, institutions must identify their target market, assess the quality of their offerings, and determine the value they can provide to students in their daily lives.
To address these challenges, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) mediation was selected as a way to maximize opportunities through customer satisfaction development (Al-Weshah et al., 2019).CRM serves as a consumer-centered marketing activity and involves acquiring, retaining, and developing profitable customers.It encompasses managing detailed information about each customer (Karwini et al., 2018).CRM adopts a long-term approach, focusing on establishing and nurturing ongoing customer relationships that add value to their experience (Sumantri et al., 2020).Previous research has shown that CRM positively and significantly impacts student satisfaction (Suryadi et al., 2022).The study highlights the immense benefits of CRM and its positive influence on the subject of investigation.
Moreover, it reinforces that CRM has a partial effect on service user satisfaction, indicating that CRM outcomes are observable in customer satisfaction (Li et al., 2020).Furthermore, Suryadi et al., (2022) asserts that CRM, when mediating social media marketing, significantly affects brand loyalty.
The study also utilizes Word of Mouth (WOM) as a research component.Previous studies have consistently shown that WOM significantly influences a brand.The findings demonstrate that an increase in WOM activity concerning a product correlates with higher levels of trust in the product (Bartschat et al., 2022).Another WOM-related study indicates that the quality of educational services affects WOM both positively and negatively (Al-Bourini et al., 2021).Additionally, the research considers service quality, with previous studies suggesting that service quality does not significantly influence school selection decisions.
Thus, the quality of service provided does not significantly impact consumers' decisions to utilize the services (Loureiro et al., 2021).Conversely, other research indicates that perceived quality has a positive effect on election decision (Al-Adwan et al., 2022).
Moreover, the research examines the impact of the school's location, SMP IT AI Ibrah, on school selection decisions.Previous research demonstrates that a school's superior location positively influences parents' decisions when selecting educational institutions (Trumbull et al., 2020).A journal further supports this by stating that price, product quality, and location all significantly affect customer loyalty through satisfaction (Ahmad & Zhang, 2020).
In light of these research questions, researchers are urged to conduct studies analyzing the moderating influence of CRM on WOM, service quality, and location regarding school selection decisions at AI Ibrah Gresik Integrated Islamic Middle School.

Overview of Research Methods
This study is a quantitative descriptive research conducted at SD IT AI Ibrah and SMP IT AI Ibrah, located at JI. Brotonegoro Gresik, East Java, Indonesia.The population of this study consists of parents of 6th-grade students in SD IT AI Ibrah and parents of 7th-grade students in SMP IT AI Ibrah, with a total population of 225.The sample was selected based on various characteristics such as knowledge level and education, resulting in 104 parents as the sample.The researchers prepared a closed-ended questionnaire with alternative answers in such a way that respondents could select the best alternative for each question.The questionnaire was distributed to parents of students in 6th and 7th grade at AI Ibrah School.

Data Analysis
For data analysis, Smart PLS 3 software was used to observe the data using regression methods (Sugiyono, 2018).Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine various data characteristics, such as mean, standard deviation, variance, minimum, and maximum values for each variable.

Validity and Reliability Test
Convergent validity of reflective measurement models can be assessed through the correlation between item/indicator scores and construct scores.An individual reflection is considered high if it correlates above 0.70 with the measured construct (Sugiyono, 2018).
Discriminant validity is also examined, and a model is considered to have good discriminant validity if the square root of the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) of each construct is greater than the correlations between the constructs or if the AVE of each construct is greater than 0.50.Reliability was tested using Cronbach's Alpha and Composite Reliability methods.The structure is considered reliable if the Composite Reliability and Cronbach's Alpha values are above 0.70 (Sugiyono, 2018).

Structural Model or Inner Model Test
The inner model is measured using the R-Square value.R-Square values of 0.70, 0.50, and 0.25 indicate strong, moderate, and weak effects, respectively (Irwan Hermawan, 2019).
Direct and Indirect Effect Test Variables that can be directly measured, also known as Observed Variables, can be quantified using clear measurement tools and have numerical values (Sugiyono, 2018).Additionally, the indirect effect is measured using the Sobel test.In hypothesis testing, from the t-statistic and probability values, for a 5% alpha level, the critical t-value is 1.96.Thus, the criteria for accepting or rejecting a hypothesis are that Ha is accepted, and H0 is rejected if the t-statistic > 1.96.The hypothesis with a probability (p) value of Ha < 0.05 is accepted.

RESULTS 1 Characteristics of Respondents
A description of the respondents' characteristics was gathered through the completion of the questionnaire by 103 parental participants affiliated with the AI Ibrahim Education Foundation.The data pertaining to the respondents' characteristics were processed by identifying each characteristic and calculating the corresponding percentages, as presented in Table 3.

Evaluate Measurement Model Test or Outer Model
To ensure this, a spatial analysis is carried out, the dimensions used can be used as a measure   0,847 Z.9 0,843 The results of the convergent validity test for the variables word-of-mouth (X1), quality (X2), location (X3), CRM (Z), and selection decision (Y) using reflective measurement models show that the loading factors for each indicator are above 0.700, indicating that the indicators achieve convergent validity (Sugiyono, 2018).

Results of the Discriminant Validity Test
The discriminant validity test assesses the measurement conditions between indicators and their constructs.If the correlation between a construct and its indicators is greater than the correlations between the indicators and other constructs, it indicates that the latent construct predicts the readings of its indicators better than those of the other constructs in different languages.Table 5 below shows the network loadings for each indicator.Average Variance Extracted (AVE) value greater than 0.5.Thus, it can be concluded that each variable exhibits good discriminant validity.

Results of Composite Reliability Test
The results of the Composite Reliability test can be seen in Table 7.  coefficients.This indicates that if the path coefficient value from one exogenous variable to an endogenous variable is larger, the influence between the exogenous and endogenous variables is stronger.Furthermore, the Goodness of Fit test was conducted, and the results are presented in Table 10.Based on the picture above (Table 9), it can be seen that the value for the election decision variable is 0.786.This states that the electoral decision is 78.6%.The goodness of fit assessment is observed from the Q-Square value.The Q-Square value is equivalent to the determination coefficient (R-Square) in the regression analysis, where the higher the Q-Square, the better it can be stated.The results of calculating the Q-Square value are: Based on the calculation results above, the Q-Square value is 0.786, meaning that it shows the great diversity of research data that can be influenced by the research model, namely 78.6%.Meanwhile, the remaining 21.4% is explained by other factors outside the research model.From this, the following research can be said to have good and positive goodness of fit, it is stated that this model can be accepted.

Direct and Indirect Effect Test
The results of hypothesis testing obtained in the following studies using the inner mode are presented in Table 10.This means that a better location significantly affects the selection decision.
Fourth, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has a positive and significant influence on KP with an Original Sample value of 0.415, a t-statistic value of 3.043 (>1.960), and a Pvalue of 0.002 (<0.05).This means that better CRM improves the selection decision.Fifth, WOM moderates the relationship between CRM and KP, and it has a positive and significant influence with an Original Sample value of 0.205, a t-statistic value of 2.301 (>1.960), and a P-value of 0.022 (<0.05).This means that better WOM moderating CRM will further enhance the selection decision.Sixth, K moderates the relationship between CRM and KP and has a positive and significant influence with an Original Sample value of -0.214, a tstatistic value of 3.447 (>1.960), and a P-value of 0.001 (<0.05).This means that higher K moderating CRM will positively impact the selection decision.Seventh, L moderates the relationship between CRM and KP and has a positive but not significant influence with an Original Sample value of 0.056, a t-statistic value of 0.829 (<1.960), and a P-value of 0.408 (>0.05).This means that lower L moderating CRM will enhance the selection decision but not significantly.
Eighth, WOM has a positive and significant influence on KP through CRM (Z) with a tstatistic value of 2.301 and a P-value of 0.022.Ninth, K has a positive and significant influence on KP through CRM with a t-statistic value of 3.447 and a P-value of 0.001.Tenth, L has a positive but not significant influence on KP through CRM with a t-statistic value of 0.829 and a P-value of 0.408.

WOM Has a Direct Influence on the Selection Decision
The hypothesis regarding the influence of WOM on KP has an Original Sample value of 0.160, which is positive but not significant because it is above zero but below one.The tstatistic value is 1.880, which is below the t-table value (t stat > 1.960), and the P-value is 0.061, which is greater than 0.05.Therefore, it is stated that WOM has no significant influence on KP, meaning that the quality of WOM does not significantly affect the selection decision.The results show that the hypothesis is accepted.
The research findings indicate that the majority of variables in this model have positive path coefficients.This suggests that the larger the path coefficient value from one exogenous variable to an endogenous variable, the stronger the influence between the exogenous variables and the endogenous variable.Furthermore, the strong WOM culture fosters a relationship of trust, openness, and honesty between AI Ibrah school and parents of students.This positive culture also leads to an increase in the selection decision regarding new prospective parents.
This research result is also supported by previous studies that examined the WOM variable, which concluded that WOM has a positive and significant influence on brand trust.This signifies that as WOM is shared more frequently about a product, the level of trust in the brand increases (Loureiro et al., 2021).

Quality has a Direct Impact on the Selection Decision
The hypothesis regarding the influence of Quality on the Selection Decision has an Original Sample value of 0.256, which is positive as it is above zero but below one.The t-statistic value of 2.036 (>1.960) and the P-value of 0.042 (<0.05) indicate that service quality significantly influences the selection decision.This means that better service quality will have a significant effect on the selection decision.The results confirm that the hypothesis is accepted.
One of the reasons why parents choose AI Ibrah for their children's education is because the education at AI Ibrah is designed with the concept of "one for all," which combines general education, religious education, and life skills.The Islamic atmosphere created is pleasant, resulting in students with religious, leadership, and entrepreneurial characters, as well as environmental awareness.Therefore, maintaining and continuously improving the quality of AI Ibrah is essential, along with introducing innovative new services.These research findings align with a previous study by Harisman et al., (2021), which emphasized the crucial role of service quality in achieving a competitive advantage over competitors.

Location has a Direct Impact on the Selection Decision
The hypothesis regarding the influence of Location on the Selection Decision has an Original Sample value of 0.163, which is positive as it is above zero but below one.The t-statistic value of 2.642 (>1.960) and the P-value of 0.009 (<0.05) indicate that the location significantly influences the selection decision.This means that a better location will have a significant effect on the selection decision.The results support the acceptance of the hypothesis.
The location of the school significantly influences the selection factor, hence AI Ibrah school ensures that the surrounding environment is well-maintained to facilitate access to the school.One of the measures includes expanding parking space and deploying a skilled traffic management team to ensure a comfortable journey to AI Ibrah school.These research findings are consistent with previous studies that stated that price, product quality, and location collectively have a positive and significant influence on customer loyalty through satisfaction (Almira, 2021).

CRM has a Direct Impact on the Selection Decision
The hypothesis regarding the influence of CRM on the selection decision has an Original Sample value of 0.415, which is positive as it is above zero but below one.The t-statistic value of 3.043 (>1.960) and the P-value of 0.002 (<0.05) indicate that CRM significantly influences the selection decision.This implies that better CRM will have a significant effect on enhancing the selection decision.The results confirm the acceptance of the hypothesis.
AI Ibrah school has implemented strategies to optimize profitability through customer satisfaction.These strategies focus on all aspects related to customer satisfaction.CRM plays a pivotal role in acquiring, retaining, and developing profitable customers.AI Ibrah school has successfully implemented CRM and should maintain this approach while fostering innovation in CRM implementation.These research findings align with a previous study, suggesting that CRM partially affects customer satisfaction, supporting the hypothesis that CRM is expected to have a partial influence on customer satisfaction (Abu Ghazaleh & Zabadi, 2019).

WOM through CRM Moderation Influences Election decision
The impact of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) through CRM moderation on election decision is examined.The original sample yielded a positive correlation coefficient of 0.205, indicating significance as it surpasses the null value while remaining below one.The statistical analysis resulted in a t-statistic of 2.301, exceeding the critical t-table value (t stat > 1.960), with a corresponding P-value of 0.022, below the significance level of 0.05.Consequently, it can be stated that WOM moderated by CRM significantly influences election decision, signifying that stronger CRM-mediated WOM will lead to increased election decision.
This research aligns with previous studies conducted by Sumantri et al., (2020), who found a positive and significant influence of location, CRM, and customer satisfaction on customer retention.CRM at AI Ibrah Gresik, in its moderating role on WOM and election decision, demonstrated significant results.This indicates that CRM at AI Ibrah enhances the impact of WOM on purchase decision performance.As a result of this research, companies can consider alternative measures to improve employee performance by maximizing workplace facilities and social communication.

Quality Through Moderation of CRM Effects Election Decisions
The Impact of Quality through CRM Moderation on Election decision: The original sample yielded a negative correlation coefficient of -0.214, indicating significance as it falls below the null value.The statistical analysis resulted in a t-statistic of 3.447, exceeding the critical t-table value (t stat > 1.960), with a corresponding P-value of 0.001, well below the significance level of 0.05.Consequently, it can be concluded that CRM moderated by quality significantly influences election decision, signifying that the quality of CRM moderation will have a significant impact on election decision.These results support the acceptance of the hypothesis.
At AI Ibrah Gresik School, the moderation of CRM on the relationship between service quality and election decision yielded significant results.This indicates that CRM can moderate or strengthen the relationship between service quality and election decision.AI Ibrah School may consider CRM as a knowledge application tool for employees, enabling the maintenance and improvement of parent's decision to choose AI Ibrah as the preferred school for their children.This research is consistent with previous studies by Khan et al., (2022), where the results showed that the CRM system development process using the RAD method is faster and meets the needs of business users.Additionally, with the assistance of CRM, customer satisfaction increased up to 85 percent, making business operations more manageable for companies.Therefore, by providing quality CRM services, the likelihood of favorable election decision is significantly improved.
both students and parents, can create positive Word of Mouth and contribute to more favorable school selection decisions.

3
years has decreased and conversely the fulfillment of external students is relatively stable and it is evident from the external that the fulfillment of SMP IT AI Ibrah students can reach the expected target.From the data above the writer wants to know in this study to find out whether the variables that influence the choice of purchase.SMP IT AI Ibrah has 2 programs in one school, namely boarding school (school with mukim in location) and full day school (morning-afternoon school).The composition of students who are more interested in boarding school compared to full day school, the following is the composition of the distribution of SMP IT AI Ibrah students based on region of origin (Figure2).

(
qualified and reliable).In this analytical mode I define the differentiating relationships between the variables and their indicators.Based on the results of the PLS analysis of the PLS algorithm for validity and reliability tests, the mode coefficient of determination and path coefficients of the equation mode are shown based on the results of the PLS algorithm Smart PLS, which can be seen in Figure 3.

Figure 3
Figure 3 Outer Model Testing Results value of 0.042 (<0.05).This means that better quality significantly affects the selection decision.Third, L (Location) has a positive and significant influence on KP with an Original Sample value of 0.163, a t-statistic value of 2.642 (>1.960), and a P-value of 0.009 (<0.05).

Table 1
above, it explains that the graduation of SD IT AI Ibrah from 2019 to 2022 has varied in the number of students who continue to the SMP IT AI Ibrah level, which shows a rate that does not reach 50%, following data from the table above for 2019 graduates of SD IT AI Ibrah who continue on to SMP IT AI Ibrah as many as 32 students or 29.9%.Whereas for 2020 it shows the number of 37 students continuing to SMP IT AI Ibrah or 36.2% and for year 21 shows the number 26 students or 26.5%.From these data the researcher wants to know the causes and what are the factors determining the selection.

Table 2
Student Enrollment Data at SMPIT AL Ibrah Source: AI Ibrah Student SectionFrom the table above we can conclude that the selection rate of internal students in the last

Table 4
can be described below:

Table 5 Cross Loading for Discriminant Validity
Based on the data displayed in Table6, it can be observed that each research variable has an

Table 7 Composite Reliability Results
requirement for the Cronbach's alpha value of 0.7, signifying that the overall variables have a high level of reliability.
values for all research variables are > 0.7.These results indicate that each variable meets the criteria for composite reliability, ultimately leading to the conclusion that all variables exhibit a high level of reliability.The research findings also demonstrate that each research variable meets the

Table 8 )
, it is evident that the majority of variables in this model have positive path