Effect of relationship marketing on customer loyalty to brand choice: a survey of supermarkets in kisumu city

Abstract

Organizations entirely rely on a proportion of core customers for profitability and financial survival. Essential and deliberate marketing practices like quality products, quality of services, as well as appropriate product pricing among others must be employed to retain key customers besides attracting new ones. At an annual growth rate of over 20%, the supermarket sector in Kisumu City has five major players: Uchumi, Naivas, Tuskys, Choppies, Tumaini and Khetias all of which have huge customer base in the city. These firms have together have close to 10 shops spread over the city supermarkets without accounting for other small outlets fighting for a customer base of less than 10,000 active purchasers. It is however unknown whether these supermarkets practice customer relationship marketing to retain their customers to their brands. The main purpose is to investigate effect of customer relationship marketing on loyalty to brand choice among supermarkets in Kisumu city. Specific objectives are to: establish the effect of product quality on loyalty to brand choice, assess the effect of customer service quality on loyalty to brand choice, and to establish the effect of product pricing on loyalty to brand choice. Assimilation theory will be used to guide the study. Descriptive survey designs will be adopted on a target population of eight supermarkets spread all over Kisumu City comprising of 371 employees. Yamane’s formula (1987) will be used to obtain a sample size of 193 respondents. Stratified technique will be used to select the study respondents. Questionnaires will be used to collect primary data. Instrument reliability will be attained through test retest during a pilot study on 19 respondents from marketing departments of the supermarkets. Validity of the instruments will be achieved through consultations of experts from marketing department, Maseno University. Data will be analysed by means of descriptive statistics, while the relationship between customer relationship marketing and loyalty to brand choice will be estimated using regression analysis. Findings of the study may aid managers of supermarkets in formulating policies geared towards enhancing brand loyalty. Additionally, the study findings will provide additional knowledge in the field of relationship marketing and loyalty to brand choice, alongside offering opportunities for further research.