Increasing customer loyalty through customer engagement in the retail banking industry

• Diego Monferrer ^[1] ; Miguel Angel Moliner ^[1] ; Marta Estrada ^[1]
  1. [1] Departamento de Administración de Empresas y Marketing. Universidad Jaume I
• Localización: Spanish journal of marketing-ESIC, ISSN 2444-9695, ISSN-e 2444-9709, Vol. 23, Nº. 3, 2019, págs. 461-484
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • La mejora de la lealtad a través del compromiso del cliente en el sector bancario
• Enlaces
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• Dialnet Métricas: 7 Citas
• Resumen
  • español

    Proposito – Este estudio identifica los principales antecedentes del compromiso del cliente (orientacion al mercado, satisfaccion, emociones y conexion con la propia marca) así como la relacion entre compromiso y lealtad en la banca minorista.

    Metodología – Se contrasta un modelo de efectos utilizando la metodología de diadas, basada en 225 asociaciones (director de la sucursal bancaria-promedio de cinco clientes por sucursal). Las relaciones se contrastan usando SEM (EQS 6.1).

    Limitaciones – El trabajo presenta diversas limitaciones como son el empleo de datos transversales, su aplicacion en el mercado español, la inclusion de exclusiva de clientes con experiencia con un banco específico y no operan exclusivamente online. Por último, las díadas se basan en la opinion del director de la sucursal, por un lado, y de una media de cinco clientes por sucursal, por otro.

    Implicaciones – La combinacion de la estrategia de marca a nivel corporativo y la estrategia de marketing relacional a nivel de sucursal crea una situacion en la que el compromiso y la lealtad del cliente pueden desarrollarse. Las campañas de comunicacion diseñadas para promover la imagen de marca y asociar los valores de marca con la personalidad de clientes actuales y potenciales ayudan a crear un vínculo emocional que supone un coste de cambio para el cliente. Los momentos de verdad en las sucursales son aspectos cruciales en la estrategia de la banca minorista.

    Originalidad – Primero, se establece una relacion directa entre el compromiso y la lealtad del cliente.

    Segundo, se contrasta la satisfaccion y las emociones del cliente son antecedentes del compromiso. Tercero, se establecen dos niveles de emociones del cliente en banca minorista: las generadas por el branding corporativo y las que surgen durante la experiencia de compra. Cuarto, el estudio muestra que la orientacion de mercado adoptada a nivel de oficina es crucial para generar resultados relacionales positivos con el cliente. Quinto, se combinan las corrientes de investigacion asociadas con la orientacion al mercado y la calidad de las relaciones

  • English

    Purpose – This study aims to determine the main antecedents of customer engagement (market orientation, satisfaction, emotions and self-brand connection) and the relationship between customer engagement and customer loyalty in the retail-banking context.

    Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model of effects is tested using dyadic methodology, based on 225 dyads (bank branch manager–average of five branch customers). The authors use structural equation modelling (EQS 6.1) to test the relationships.

    Findings – The results reveal a strong relationship between customer engagement and customer loyalty.

    Satisfaction is the main antecedent of customer engagement. Self-brand connection and emotions during the service also have a significant influence. Finally, branch market orientation has a positive influence on satisfaction and emotions.

    Research limitations/implications – The first concerns the transversal data used. Geographical context is the second limitation. Third, the study sample only included customers with experience of the financial services of a specific bank (online customers are not included). Finally, the dyads are based on the opinion of the branch manager, on one hand, and an average of five customers per branch, on the other.

    Practical implications – The combination of the branding strategy at the corporate level and the relationship marketing strategy at branch office level creates a situation in which customer engagement and customer loyalty can thrive. The communication campaigns designed to promote the brand image and associate brand values with the personality of the banks’ current and potential customers help to create an emotional bond that represents a switching cost for the customer. The moments of truth in branch offices are crucial aspects in the retail bank strategy.

    Originality/value – First, from the conceptual perspective, it establishes a direct relationship between customer engagement and customer loyalty. Second, it empirically tested Pansari and Kumar’s (2017) customer engagement framework, which establishes customer satisfaction and customer emotions as the antecedents of customer engagement. Third, the study took an innovative step in establishing two levels of customer emotions in the retail bank context: emotions generated by corporate branding and emotions that arise during the experience of purchase and consuming. Fourth, the study shows that the market orientation adopted not at the macro corporate level but at the individual branch level is crucial to the generation of positive relational outcomes in the service the customer receives. The fifth contribution is related to the fact that the research streams associated with market orientation and relationship quality have traditionally been studied in isolation.