The role of customer gratitude in making relationship marketing investments successful

This paper recognises that customer loyalty is important for many competitive organisations, and that retail firms make investments to build and maintain loyal relationships with their existing and potential customers (e.g. loyalty programs). However, there has been little focus on the mechanisms by which these relationship investments operate to achieve customer loyalty. This paper examines one mechanism, namely customer gratitude, which works to make a firm’s relationship marketing investment a success or a failure. Using data from 1600 undergraduate students, this study empirically confirms the mediating role of customer gratitude between the customers’ perceptions a firm’s relationship marketing investments and customers’ perceptions of the value of the relationship with the firm. Further, a significant moderating effect of perceived benevolence on the relationship between customers’ perceptions a firm’s relationship marketing investments and customer gratitude was identified. For theorists, this customer gratitude model offers a better psychological explanation of how relationship marketing investments operate to improve the value that customers place on their relationships with retailers. Our research suggests that managers should invest resources to stimulate customer gratitude in order to build strong customer–seller relationships.     

Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty in a Retail Setting: A Dyadic Exploration

Customer loyalty is increasingly seen to be crucial to the success of business organisations, with the growing realisation that attracting new customers is far more expensive than retaining existing ones. It has been suggested that a way of increasing customer retention is through secure relationships between buyers and sellers. Surprisingly, however, and despite the growing body of literature on relationship marketing issues, little empirical research has been conducted on the link between relationship marketing and customer loyalty in a retailing context. This paper attempts to address this gap by presenting and testing a conceptual model of the process by which the implementation of relationship marketing can enhance such loyalty. A dyadic exploratory study of clothing store managers and their customers was conducted. Findings reveal that customers' perceptions of clothing stores' relationship marketing efforts are crucial to enhanced commitment and loyalty. Implications are drawn from these results, and future research directions are discussed.     

Assessing customers’ perceived value of the online channel of multichannel retailers: A two country examination

Given the constant and often dramatic technological advancements that facilitate retailing, especially online channel adoption by industry and customers, research focusing on customers perceived value of the online channel of multi-channel retailer’s requires conceptual and empirical elaboration. This study advances understanding of customer perceived online channel value and how customer perceptions of value effect online channel satisfaction and online channel loyalty. Using data from a multi-country study, we provide a deeper understanding for multi-channel retailers of how to balance investments in various value drivers to enhance online channel satisfaction and customer loyalty.     

Loyalty or lethargy? Keeping sellers committed,not entrenched

While business sellers frequently enjoy long-term relationships with their buyers, not every extended association is based on a genuine sense of customer loyalty. Many organizations remain in relationships with providers for too long; while the seller has stopped providing value, the buyer sticks to the routine. Building from empirical research and theory on buyer-seller relationships, this research extends our understanding of customer complacency and seller entrenchment and introduces the concept of customer lethargy. Synthesizing theory from multiple domains with exploratory interviews conducted with business customers, this article offers insight into the functioning of organizational buying centers, the evolution of business exchanges over time, and how some exchanges can be undermined by various forms of relational dysfunction. I define customer lethargy, explore its root causes and offer business buyers a strategy which aims to help them self-audit their loyalty, avoid complacency and lethargy, and keep sellers committed, not entrenched.     

“Towards a co-creation framework in the retail banking services industry: Do demographics influence?”

Although many firms profess to adopt a customer-centric approach many are yet to embrace the notion that value is not solely created within the boundaries of the firm, that it is created co-jointly with outside parties. As such, value co-creation has increasing importance in modern marketing, impulsed by Service-Dominant Logic. While co-creation is a hot-topic in the marketing literature, services marketing literature recognizes the impact of demographic characteristics in consumer behavior. However, literature analysing the effects of demographics in co-creations models is very scarce.Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine a set of outcomes of co-creation (satisfaction, loyalty and WOM) from a customer perspective. More, this research also analyses the potential moderating effect of demographic characteristics such as gender and age in this co-creative framework.The results show that co-creation directly affects customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and WOM. Co-creation also results in increased levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn mediates the effect of co-creation on customer loyalty and positive WOM. Data also reveal different patterns of behavior depending on gender and age.This paper contributes to the understanding of co-creation from a customer viewpoint. Firms should strive to foster co-creation initiatives as this can lead to increased levels of customer satisfaction, more loyal customers and the possibility of attracting new customers through positive WOM by current customers. Customers databases must be segmented for higher levels of marketing campaigns efficiency.     

Loyalty programs,loyalty engagement and customer engagement with the company brand: Consumer-centric behavioral psychology insights from three industries

Firms make large investments in loyalty programs (LPs) to build customer relationships with customer loyalty as one of their primary goals. Despite the popularity of LPs, their effectiveness is questioned and the subject of academic debates in relation to outcomes such as profitability. Moreover, extant research has not investigated if customers engage with LPs through LP perceived value and how LP engagement improves LP loyalty, brand loyalty, and customer engagement (CE) with the company brand. This study examines, from a consumer-centric behavioral perspective, LP engagement (LPE) behavior, and how LPE behavior impacts brand and LP loyalty, as well as CE. We introduce LPE behavior, a relatively new concept, in the form of a multi-dimensional set of hierarchically-ordered dimensions. We show a differentiated view of the relationship between the antecedents of brand loyalty as well as LP loyalty and CE. External, convergent and discriminant validity are confirmed by testing our model with a representative sample (n = 593) of the U.S. LP population with participants being members of either a grocery retail chain, department store chain, or airline frequent flyer LP. We show that perceived LP value engages customers with LPs. Subsequently, LPE behavior improves LP loyalty and brand loyalty as well as CE with the company brand.     

An integrative approach to relationship marketing,customer value,and customer outcomes in the retail banking industry: a customer-based perspective from Turkey

Given how important it is to provide superior value to customers and to maintain customer loyalty for a sustainable competitive advantage, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationships among relationship marketing components of – trust, competency, commitment, communication, and conflict handling, – relationship investment, relationship quality, perceived customer value, satisfaction and loyalty in an integrated framework in the Turkish retail banking industry. Unlike previous studies, this research extends the literature by analysing affective as well as cognitive dimensions in the same model with a holistic view by simultaneously examining the direct and indirect effects of the related concepts. The distinctive nature of this study is its evaluation of customer satisfaction and loyalty from the perspective of actual consumers. The research model was tested using data collected from 685 retail banking customers by applying structural equation modelling. The findings show that relationship marketing induces loyalty through relationship quality, customer value, and satisfaction, which are mainly provided by trust, communication, and relationship investment. Furthermore, relationship investment and relationship quality are the most important factors in the development of customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. The emotional value dimension, which captures the affective aspects of perceived value, has the strongest effect on both satisfaction and loyalty.     

Status demotion in hierarchical loyalty programs: effects of payment source

Hierarchical loyalty programs are being operated currently by many firms to improve customer relationships. While past work has demonstrated the negative effects of status demotion in such programs, research on how these effects may vary across different customer group based on payment source is almost nonexistent. This paper examines the moderating role of payment source (‘own money’ versus ‘others money’) on the effects of status demotion on customer attitudes and behavior in hierarchical loyalty programs. Analysis of data collected from members of airline loyalty programs show that the negative effects of status demotion on customer attitudes, loyalty intentions, and share-of-wallet are stronger for demoted ‘own money’ customers than for demoted ‘others money’ customers. The study provides a deeper insight about the effects of status demotion and points out that firms could possibly be endangering the loyalty of many potentially valuable customers, in particular among the ‘own money’ customer group.     

Customer Selection and Prioritization

Abstract

That a firm benefits most when customers stick around for the long haul is a central premise of relationship marketing. This conviction has manifested itself over the past decade in the form of numerous formal loyalty programs that aim to seek and foster customer relationships. Scant evidence for the success of such programs has accrued since. This has lead firms to re-evaluate their investments in customer relationship management. Optimal resource allocation models address issues of relative investments in customer acquisition versus retention, and on managing relationships with profitable customers so that the value of a firm's customer base is maximized.     

Does the length of a customer–provider relationship really matter?

This study examines both a moderator and a mediator of perceived service quality and payment equity as they relate to customer loyalty in the banking industry. Through the moderating factor, the length of the customer–bank relationship, this study builds a conceptual framework for distinguishing between transactional- and relationship-oriented customers and provides an empirical analysis by using structural equation modelling. The empirical findings of this study, the result of the examination of 610 banking customers, showed that different lengths of the customer–bank relationship form loyalty from different variables and from a different path. For transactional-oriented customers, loyalty was built through the achievement of overall customer satisfaction; whereas for relationship-oriented customers, loyalty was built through the establishment of trust. Suggestions and limitations based on the finding are also discussed.     

Customer perceived value,satisfaction, and loyalty: the role of willingness to share information

This study proposes and tests an integrative model to examine the relationships among customers’ willingness to share information, satisfaction, perceived value, and loyalty in a retailing context. This study extends research on customers’ willingness to share information from trust and privacy concerns toward key outcome measures such as perceived value, customer satisfaction, and loyalty, and is thus among the first to model customers’ willingness to share information with companies in robust theoretical retailing frameworks. The proposed relationships were tested using data from two retailing contexts – groceries (N = 429) and do-it-yourself (DIY) (N = 895). Findings from the two samples suggest that both perceived value and satisfaction are significant determinants of customers’ willingness to share information with a company. Although some differences emerge in the two studies, structural modeling largely supports the hypothesized framework and positions customers’ willingness to share information as an important antecedent of their loyalty intentions and behavior. This study provides practitioners with preliminary insight into the relationship between willingness to share information and perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. This study advances retailing research, as it is one of the few empirical studies investigating the role of customers’ willingness to share information in driving loyalty and its relationship with perceived value and satisfaction in a retailing context.     

基于客户信任的忠诚形成机制研究

客户忠诚可以划分成客户对公司的忠诚和客户对员工的忠诚,这两种忠诚的形成机制是怎样的？哪些因素决定客户对谁忠诚？这两个问题是理论界和实务界普遍面临难题。文章从信任的角度考察了两种忠诚的形成机制,并基于我国销售企业和服务性企业进行了实证分析。研究结果表明：客户对公司的信任可以导致客户对公司的忠诚;客户对员工的信任可以直接导致客户对员工的忠诚,并通过客户对员工的忠诚的中介作用,间接影响客户对公司的忠诚;企业可以通过信任来影响客户对谁忠诚。     

Combined effects of franchise management strategies and employee service performance on customer loyalty: a multilevel perspective

Although franchisee performance is likely to be influenced by franchisors’ management strategies, little is known about whether and how franchisors’ strategies affect franchisee employees’ performance. This study examines the combined effects of three franchisor management strategies, namely innovative culture, support services and autonomy on service performance of the franchisee store employees and the loyalty of their customers. Data were collected from a total of 38 employees and 679 customers of 25 franchisee stores. The study employs multilevel analysis on a nested data-set created by matching customer data with employee data for each store. The results reveal that customer loyalty of a franchisee store is positively influenced by the service performance of its employees and the support services received by the employees of the store from its franchisor. On the other hand, it has been found that franchisor management strategy such as innovative culture and autonomy negatively influence customer loyalty of the franchisee store. The paper discusses relevant theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.     

Managing Customer Relationships by Gender

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Although relational bonds (i.e., structural bonds, social bonds, and financial bonds) positively contribute to customer loyalty, no study has yet examined the relative effectiveness of such relationship strategies on female and male customers. Moreover, businesses must make a tradeoff between improving one and the other bonds, warranting research into allocating resources effectively to improve them. Therefore, this study investigates whether and how marketers should strive to improve such bonds differently according to customer gender.

Methodology/approach: A cross-sectional design was implemented. The data consist of questionnaires filled out by a representative sample of 425 directors of animal hospitals. The sample is representative with regard to gender composition. By using confirmatory factor analysis, study items exhibited adequate reliability and validity. Quadratic regressions were used for testing the study hypotheses.

Findings: For female customers, relational bonds have concave relations with their loyalty (i.e., initial increases in relational bonds boost loyalty effectively while subsequent increases of relational bonds only raise loyalty marginally). However, for male customers, relational bonds have convex relations with their loyalty (i.e., initial increases in relational bonds raise loyalty less effectively than subsequent increases in relational bonds).

Originality/value/contribution: Results of this study are among the first to suggest that when targeting female customers, marketers should allocate their resources to improving all relational bonds to moderate levels. Conversely, when targeting male customers, marketers should concentrate their resources on creating an extremely strong relational bond. Managing customer relational bonds by gender can effectively cultivate loyal customers of each gender. This study is one of the first studies examining how to manage customer relational bonds by gender.     

An integrative framework for customer switching behavior

Due to increased intensity of competition, retention of customers has become a major concern in many service industries. Although researchers have investigated customer switching intention and its influential factors, the complex structural mechanisms that reduce the likelihood of switching intention in the field of financial services, especially in the banking context, have remained understudied. This paper addresses the role of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer trust, and customer perceived value within a new conceptual model for customer switching intention in the banking services. In particular, the paper contributes to examine the potential moderating effect of switching barriers on the relationship between customer loyalty and switching intention as well as the relationship between satisfaction and switching intention of customers in the banking services. Data are collected through a questionnaire survey, and partial least squares-structural equation modeling is used for data analysis. Empirical results confirm the proposed model and hypotheses and show that switching barriers strengthen the impact of both customer loyalty and satisfaction on switching intention. The findings of this research offer a unified view of the structural relationships that contribute to reduced switching intention and provide more in-depth insights into the role of switching barriers in the banking context.     

基于顾客忠诚提升视角顾客合作创造与顾客导向比较研究

顾客忠诚重要性已被学者和企业管理者广泛接受,对于如何提升和维持顾客忠诚,以往的研究主要以顾客导向经营模式进行探讨,基于企业与顾客合作创造这一全新视角来研究顾客忠诚提升在中国尚属空白。这篇文章拟研究在顾客与企业角色变化环境下,传统模式企业与顾客合作创造在顾客忠诚营造方面实施的可行性比较,拟对企业战略发展做出指引。     

培育合理的客户忠诚

本文认为,客户的忠诚是相对的,企业没有必要使所有的客户都维持高度忠诚,否则就有可能跌入客户忠诚陷阱。企业应根据不同客户的实际情况,在客户忠诚、客户关系成本和客户忠诚成本之间寻找较好的平衡,培育合理的客户忠诚。当企业愿意支付的客户关系成本刚好能补偿客户的忠诚成本和保留收入时,客户忠诚成本的灵敏系数或最小忠诚成本系数越小,企业能够培育的合理客户忠诚度越高;当企业愿意支付的客户关系成本大于客户的忠诚成本和保留收入时,客户关系成本的灵敏系数或最小关系成本系数越小,企业能够培育的合理客户忠诚度越高。     

What are the Building Blocks of Customer Brand Loyalty in Department Stores? A Multi-Level Mediation Analysis

Building customer brand loyalty through branding strategies to sustain competitiveness in the retail industry has gathered momentum among researchers. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of brand personality and consumer brand identification on customer brand loyalty via the mediating variables of perceived service quality, perceived value, brand trust, brand commitment, and word-of-mouth communication among Malaysian department stores' customers. Using a self-structured questionnaire, 381 usable responses are considered for data analysis by applying a covariance-based structural equation modeling approach. The results of exploratory factor analysis show that sincerity, followed by sophistication and competence, are the most significant dimensions used to predict brand personality in department stores. The outcomes also reveal that brand personality indirectly influences customer brand loyalty via consumer brand identification. Furthermore, perceived service quality, perceived value, brand trust, word-of-mouth communication, and brand commitment mediate the effects of consumer brand identification on brand loyalty. Finally, the proposed competing model implies that the indirect impact of brand personality and consumer brand identification is inevitable in building department stores' brand loyalty.     

The Effect of Cultural Distance on International Marketing Strategy: A Comparison of Cultural Distance and Managerial Perception Measures

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to examine whether service convenience increases customer satisfaction that fosters customer loyalty in Indian commercial banks. A cross-sectional study of 352 retail banking customers through questionnaires was conducted. The population of the study is retail urban customers of banks in Rajasthan. Responses are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Dimensions of service convenience are decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, and postbenefit convenience. Decision convenience was found to influence customer satisfaction more than the other dimensions of service convenience. Customer satisfaction furthers customer loyalty. The article emphasizes the significance of SERVCON on customer satisfaction for the Indian banking sector. The direct impact of SERVCON on customer loyalty is also studied.     

Price transparency reflects assurance and reliability

This paper aims to examine the effect of price transparency on assurance, reliability and customer loyalty in the case of Wal-Mart Best Price Store. A total of 402 usable responses were gathered from customers of Wal-Mart store in Bhopal (MP), India. The study scales were refined and validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The AMOS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 statistical programmes were used for measurement validation and to test the structural model. The results indicated that the price transparency has a significant effect on assurance and reliability to ensure customer loyalty. Also, the study did not find a direct effect of price transparency on customer loyalty. The identified dimensions of price transparency are expected to bring clarity to the issue of customer assurance, reliability and loyalty. This would help the management of the retailing sector. The study seems to offer opportunities to understand that only price transparency is not responsible for improving customer loyalty. It influences assurance and reliability which further increase customer loyalty.