...FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN RETAIL BUSINESSES IN KERICHO COUNTY (A Case Study of Mutai Wholesalers Limited) BY PHILIP KIPRONO KEMEI ADM.NO. 2574/11 A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT OF MOI UNIVERSITY. 8TH MARCH 2012 DECLARATION This Project study is my original work and has not been presented to any other examination body. No part of this work should be reproduced without my consent or that of Moi University. Signature……………………………………………… Date………………………………….. Name: PHILIP KIPRONO KEMEI Declaration by supervisor: This research has been submitted with my approval as the Moi University supervisor Name: __________________________ Sign: ____________________ Date: _____________ Lecturer Moi University (Nairobi Satellite Campus) DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this research proposal to my loving wife and daughter who supported me emotionally all through this time and for the inspiration and support extended in various ways. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My warmest thanks goes to all those who have facilitated this research proposal. The greatest debt is to Dr. Mugambi the unit facilitator who through his knowledge he shared in class and several guidance has enabled this proposal...
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...Abstract The retail banking industry in the United States has undergone intense change due to regulation since 2008. Retail banks are continually looking for ways to set themselves apart from their competition, as well as retain and grow their customer base. Banks now understand the value of building relationships with their customers and that they need to provide excellent customer service to them as a means of profitability and survival. Understanding the factors behind customer service and its effect on customer loyalty is an important issue for the retail banking industry. This brings up the question “Does customer service influence customer loyalty?” With that question in mind, the following review acknowledges the importance of customer service to customer loyalty and also looks at what factors influence loyalty. The examination takes a look at service and its quality, and the overall effect it has on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The findings conclude a direct association among customer service, service quality, customer satisfaction and consumer bank loyalty. Introduction It is generally agreed that the top 3 constructs of building loyalty are: customer service, service quality, and customer satisfaction. This is especially true in people centric service businesses such as retail banking. In today’s competitive business environment many banks are focusing their efforts on having a loyal customer base. Thus, the question arises, “Does customer service...
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...of this paper is to determine if the traditional approach to measuring brand equity applies to online companies. Design/methodology/approach – This objective is pursued by: developing a measurement model of brand equity for online businesses; and testing the nomological validity of the model using structural equation modelling. Findings – This study finds partial support for the application of the offline brand equity theoretical framework based on brand awareness, brand associations and loyalty for online companies. Brand loyalty and brand value associations directly create brand equity. Research limitations/implications – The study is cross-sectional, the indicators or observable variables used in this study may not be deemed comprehensive enough, no interaction effects have been incorporated, and finally, the research study was based on a few online business retailers. Practical/implications – The results support the view that a consumer’s perceived sense of value resulting from a transaction with an online business develops loyalty. Also, brand-trust association and brand awareness indirectly contribute to creating brand equity through their influence on loyalty. Loyalty is by far the most important source of brand equity because of its direct influence and mediating role in creating brand equity. Originality/value – While many studies have identified and ratified the importance of brand equity dimensions among traditional firms, few have tested the model...
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...Influence of Service Quality on Attitudinal Loyalty in Private Retail Banking: An Empirical Study S Arun Kumar1, B Tamil Mani2, S Mahalingam3 and M Vanjikovan4 This paper examines the service quality dimensions of Indian private banks dealing with retail banking. Overall service quality level acts as an antecedent for customer satisfaction. The factors extracted give perceived service quality dimensions which correlate with overall attitudinal loyalty. Overall service quality further tested for any significant relationship with attitudinal loyalty, which is considered to be an important component of retaining valued customers. The data has been collected from 100 valued customers of two private retail banks of Tiruchirapalli. A questionnaireelicited information on socio-demographic variables along with SERVQUAL dimensions of service quality added with three extra contemporary validated variables and attitudinal loyalty variables. The results suggest that responsiveness and reliability of service quality dimensions determine customer satisfaction more than the assurance, empathy and tangible aspects (SERVQUAL score analyzed using Factor Analysis and Multiple Regressions). Overall perceived service quality fosters customer’s attitudinal loyalty through latent customer satisfaction (Tested using Chi-Square Statistics and Correlation Analysis). Increase in service quality of the banks can satisfy and develop attitudinal loyalty which ultimately retains valued customers. Introduction ...
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...Customer loyalty is widely accepted by marketers as being something that's worth nurturing, with many renowned analysts and researchers repeatedly showing the value of loyalty programmes in terms of greater spending and satisfaction, more profitable customer behaviour, reduced defection levels, and unique competitive advantages. But what are the main business factors that directly influence the loyalty of your customers? According to Peter Clark, co-editor of The Wise Marketer and co-author of The Loyalty Guide report series, there are six major factors that play key roles in influencing the loyalty and commitment of customers: In this article, we've drawn guidance from many of the 36 chapters of The Loyalty Guide Volume II, to offer practical insights into the workings of customer loyalty programmes and the ways in which they can positively influence shoppers' behaviour toward the company. The result is that customer retention is not only increased but customer lifetime value and profitability are also likely to increase significantly thanks to longer-lasting and more relevant customer relationships. This article is copyright 2007 TheWiseMarketer.com). Factors influencing loyalty Looking in more detail at the major factors that influence consumers' loyalty - not only to retailers but also to suppliers in all sectors, including business to business (B2B) - the six key areas of focus identified in the report can be summarised as follows: 1. Core offering The companies that...
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...identified five forces that are widely used to assess the structure of any industry. Porter’s five forces are the: • Bargaining power of suppliers, • Bargaining power of buyers, • Threat of new entrants, • Threat of substitutes, and • Rivalry among competitors. Together, the strength of the five forces determines the profit potential in an industry by influencing the prices, costs, and required investments of businesses—the elements of return on investment. Stronger forces are associated with a more challenging business environment. To identify the important structural features of your industry via the five forces, you conduct an industry analysis that answers the question, “What are the key factors for competitive success?” Audience: Business managers seeking to assess the nature of their marketplace Content: Presents five forces that influence the profitability of an industry Outcome: Reader should understand the forces and be able to counter them with appropriate tactics Using This Publication This publication describes five forces that influence an industry. The publication includes a set of application questions that will help you evaluate the structure of the industry you are in or are considering...
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...is marketing? • Marketing is a system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want-satisfying products, services and ideas to customers in order to achieve business objectives. • The process is customer-focused; it focuses on the needs and wants of customers, providing goods and services at the right price, place and time. Marketing’s role in the firm • By continually researching customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing provides the information the business needs in order to change direction or adjust its tactics by providing new products or changing existing productions. • Marketing continues to become more competitive; many goods and services are similar, so business needs to understand its target market to stand out and better serve its customers. Marketing’s role in society • Maximises customer satisfaction and improves quality of life. • Create jobs. • To operate in a socially responsible way. • Provide goods and services. Types of markets • Market – set of all actual and potential buyers of a product. Resource market • Identified as being where the factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise) are sold or exchanged. • The resources are used by firms to produce goods and services, which are then sold to customers. • Land: all the natural resources that go into production of goods/ services (forests, mineral deposits, water). • Labour: all the human physical and mental...
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...Increasing customer satisfaction improves an organization’s profitability and enhances customer loyalty (Evans & Lindsay, 2011). Quality is one of the main factors\that influences customer satisfaction. Dr. Deming’s 14 point philosophy stresses the need to continuously improve quality in order to benefit stakeholders (Evans & Lindsay, 2011; Knouse, Carson, P. P., Carson, K. D., & Heady, 2009). Measuring customer satisfaction is needed to capture the voice of the customer and enhance the actual and perceived quality. Identification of Best Practices Capturing, measuring, and analyzing the voice of the customer allows organizations to improve the quality of their offerings to meet customers’ needs and achieve customer satisfaction (Evans & Lindsay, 2011). Whether shopping at a retail store, reading an online article, staying at a hotel, or eating out at a restaurant, customers are encouraged to complete surveys to provide feedback about a service or a product. Often surveys are presented using a similar format to Likert Scales that provide a range of values for the customer to provide feedback (Evans & Lindsay, 2011). Surveys are prone to bias and have relatively low response rate. Using “statistically accurate polls” designed by professionals taking into account open ended questions, geographic location, and sample size typically result in honest and meaningful response. Direct customer contact is prevalent when the business client is another organization. Typically businesses are...
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...Table of content Page no (P1- Marketing definition----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 (P2- characteristic of marketing oriented organisation. ------------------------------------ 2 (P3- Marketing concept. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 (P4- Benefits & Costs of a Marketing Approach ------------------------------------------ 4 (P5- Micro and Macro environment factors affecting business. -------------------------- 5 (P6- Targeting strategies----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 (P7- Targeting strategies of TESCO. ------------------------------------------------------- 9 (P8- Buyer behaviour affecting marketing activity. --------------------------------------- 10 (P15- Difference in marketing product and service. --------------------------------------- 10 (P16- International marketing operation. ---------------------------------------------------- 11 (P [9-12]- Marketing mix (4ps) --------------------------------------------------------------- 12 (P13- Extended marketing mix. --------------------------------------------------------------- 13 (P14- Recommendation------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14 Reference----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Task 1 (P1- Marketing definition ...
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...Consultant Report: Pheonix Jewellers 04-74-234 April 7, 2015 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background 3 Analysis 3 Target Market 3 Competition 4 Consumer Satisfaction 5 Business Environment 6 Social Environment 6 Physical Environment 7 SWOT Analysis 7 Recommendations 8 Conclusion 9 Appendix A 10 Appendix B 12 Appendix C 13 Appendix D 14 Appendix E 15 Introduction This report will analyze the local retail establishment; Phoenix Jewellers, in order to assess their capacity to effectively use the principles of consumer behaviour to maximize their business potential. The many aspects of their business will be analyzed including their target market, consumer satisfaction and competition as well as their business, social and physical environment. Conclusions and recommendations will be made to enhance the future profitability of Phoenix jewellers. Background Phoenix Jewellers is a local retail establishment positioned in a plaza, surrounded by many other flourishing businesses of many varieties. Recently celebrating their ten-year anniversary, Phoenix takes pride in their personalized and friendly service whilst offering a variety of products necessary to meet the varying budget and taste needs of the consumer. We conducted an interview with Erin Parker, the store manager, to gain an insight on their business behaviours. A brief interview of the employees and consumers was also conducted to further our analysis. Analysis Target...
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...information systems (MIS) are a set of unique marketing tools that assists corporations around the world to utilize information gained from marketing research to assess their products and formulate their plans for the future. Models of consumer behaviour can influence the development of their products and services , as well as impacting decisions such as; the appropriate locations for their businesses, and development of their marketing strategies. Once companies collect the information regarding consumer behaviours and their purchasing habits, it is analyzed in order to draw conclusions and make informed business choices. The objective is to utilize this information in order to generate the largest possible revenues (Buyer to consumer). Information is gathered through interviews, customer comment forms , consumer inquires and spending patterns gathered through loyalty cards. The information is gathered and the analysis provides insight into products and services being purchased by different demographic groups (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity, etc.), and in different locations. After this is achieved, organizations can then target their marketing and advertising of the right product to the appropriate customer groups who will most likely be purchasing that product. This essay will demonstrate how marketing information systems can provide a powerful information tool that will allow companies to make informed business decisions and mitigate investment risks associated...
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...CHAPTER 15 CUSTOMER SERVICE, PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES To be successful in the long run , small firms must develop and maintain loyal customers, as it costs for more to replace than keep one. There are three basic beliefs that forms the foundation of customer loyalty: 1. Superior customer service creates customer satisfaction 2. customer’s satisfaction produces customer loyalty 3. Small firms possess great potential for providing superior customer service Failure to emphasis customer service jeopardizes the attainment of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. I. Components of Customer Satisfaction According to Thomas Jones and W. Earl Sasser Jr., in an article entitled “why satisfied customers Defect, “ (Harvard Business Review, Vol. 73, No. 6, Nov.-Dec. 1995, p. 90), there are four major elements that lead to satisfaction: 1. The most basic benefits of the product or service – the elements that customers expect all competitors to deliver. 2. General support services, such as customer assistance. 3. A recovery process for counteracting bad experiences. 4. Extraordinary services that excel in meeting customers’ preferences and make the product or service seem customized. Extraordinary service is the ingredient that small firms are in a unique position to offer. The following are ways to develop extraordinary services: 1. Naming names: Nothing is more well received than individual personalized attention. Besides courteous and...
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...distribution and financial services. (Pagano, Margareta, 16 May 1987). The Macro Business Environment of Tesco Group The Macro-Environment consists of factors that may influence an organization externally. This is usually outside of the control of corporations. Examples of factors that may influence a business are changes in interest rates, changes in cultural trends and tastes, more competitors in surrounding areas as well as greater regulations or changes to government laws. (Pagano, Margareta, 16 May 1987). A popular method used to analyze the macro-environment is through a PESTLE analysis which stands for political, environmental, sociological, technological, legal, and ethical issues. Factors That Will Have Significant Impact on Tesco Political Factors The political environment includes all government actions that affect the business in the retail trade. This effect may be through formal legislation, such as the law on the sale of goods, as well as through competition policies and planning systems. For example, the recent developments relating to food safety and sale of genetically modified foods also influence and restrict the activity in the retail sector. (Pagano, Margareta, 16 May 1987). The influence will be different for each type of retail businesses, and an enumeration of all possible political factors beyond the scope of this book. However, it is important to understand that many of the legal setting are introduced in order to protect consumers and are...
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...The Effectiveness Of Loyalty Cards To Build Store Loyalty. The Case Of Tesco YourFirstName YourLastName University title EFFECTIVENESS OF LOYALTY CARDS TO BUILD THE STORE LOYALTY Abstract The main purpose of this research is to assess the effectiveness of loyalty cards and identify how loyalty cards build store loyalty. The research entailed selecting a survey from a sample of British households, which included 175 loyalty card holder and 175 non loyalty card holders. The data involved sending of a structured questionnaire to potential participants via email and the result was expected back in a period of two week time. Both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used, Cronbach’s Alpha and Independent T-Test. The qualitative analysis was done with the use of content analysis. The findings from the research revealed that loyalty cards are less effective to build behavioral store loyalty but more effective in influencing attitudinal store. Introduction Considering the current economical crisis, new and existing companies have a reason to establish as well as maintain customers and earn profit as much as possible. New trends have emerged in the market which involves shortening products life cycles, and specialization in service area as well as focusing on customer preference, (Lee et al, 2010). Different countries adopt different methods of implementing customer relationship management (CRM). Traditionally, companies focused...
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...External Case Report The Warehouse is one of New Zealand’s largest retail stores. It is owned by The Warehouse Ltd and Stationary Warehouse is also part of this brand. These two stores are part of the retail industry. External factors are constantly changing the environment and industries that businesses operate in today. Analysing these factors is the best way to determine which aspects have the largest effect on the industry and the business. The retail industry in New Zealand is by no means small. This means that The Warehouse Ltd is constantly under threat from numerous competitors. Stores such as Farmers, Briscoes, Rebel Sports and Dicksmith all sell similar or the same products as The Warehouse Ltd products. In 2011 the total expenditure for the retail industry in New Zealand was $65,901,115 (Retail Research and Statistics, 2009-2011). This is a very high amount of expenditure which means rivals have plenty of opportunities to gain their share within the retail industry in New Zealand. The Five Forces Analysis is the best way to understand the key dynamics, drivers and forces which control the retail industry. The threat of new entrants to the retail industry is an important aspect. The Five Forces Model states that new entrants can pose to the industry consist of (Hanson, Ireland, Hoskisson, & Ireland, 2011): * Product differentiation * Economies of scale * Capital requirements * Switching costs * Access to distribution channels * Cost disadvantages...
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