Abstract
Orientation: To secure a competitive business position, mobile business service providers need to explore the factors that, in predicting customer loyalty, will enable them to focus marketing efforts on improving their current customer management strategy, ultimately leading to enhanced satisfaction.Research purpose: This study intended to determine the influence of selected customer relationship management factors on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.Motivation for the study: To ensure the loyalty of their customer base, mobile business service providers need to understand the factors that secure customer satisfaction in a competitive ICT business-to-business (B2B) market.Research design, approach and method: Data were gathered by means of a self-administered questionnaire, and a total of 253 responses were eligible for analysis. Simple regression analysis was applied to validate the hypotheses formulated.Main findings: It was established that corporate image, service quality, perceived value, customisation and trust have a significant and positive influence on ICT business customer satisfaction and loyalty.Practical/managerial implications: The findings suggest that efforts towards improving corporate image, service quality and customer perception of the value provided, focusing on the level of customisation and establishing trust among business customers will aid B2B mobile service providers in achieving satisfied and loyal customers.Contribution/value-add: This study adds to the body of knowledge by identifying and demonstrating the influence of five customer relationship management factors that contribute to achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Business-to-business information communication technology (B2B ICT) industry of an emerging African market.
Highlights
Price wars, shortened product lifecycles and newly emerging markets define the state of competition in the information communication technology (ICT) industry of South Africa
The results indicated that the respondents were predominantly male (77%) and white people (71%)
The R2 values for corporate image (0.603), service quality (0.599), perceived value (0.642), customisation (0.658) and trust (0.691) indicate the extent to which each independent variable explains the variance of customer loyalty, as follows: corporate image 60.3%, service quality 59.9%, perceived value
Summary
Price wars, shortened product lifecycles and newly emerging markets define the state of competition in the information communication technology (ICT) industry of South Africa. In the fight to maintain market share and profit margins, customer relationship management becomes a key factor in retaining business customers and keeping them loyal in the ICT industry of South Africa as an emerging African market. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a contemporary marketing topic that is gaining momentum because of growing competition, customers who are becoming more informed and changes in consumer preferences. Several research studies have explored the various interrelationships between customer satisfaction, its antecedents (corporate image, service quality, perceived value, customisation and trust) and its outcome (customer loyalty) from different perspectives.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
