The role of Relationship Marketing for Customer satisfaction in the ...

School of Business and Engineering

¡°International Marketing¡±

The role of Relationship Marketing for Customer

satisfaction in the banking sector

S¨¦bastien Matagne & Mark G¨¦rard

The importance of Relationship Marketing on the Customer Satisfaction

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several

individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in

the preparation and completion of this study.

First and foremost we offer our sincerest gratitude to our supervisor, Mr Navid Ghannad

Professor in Halmstad University, who has supported us throughout our thesis with his

patience and knowledge.

We owe also our deepest gratitude to all our relatives for the correction and well considered

advices. Lastly, we offer our regards and blessings to all those who supported us in any

respect during the completion of the project.

S¨¦bastien Matagne

Mark G¨¦rard

Halmstad University

19 May 2013

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The importance of Relationship Marketing on the Customer Satisfaction

ABSTRACT

More and more companies are faced with fierce competition; ergo, companies are

consistently trying to build a long term relationships with their customer. In addition, a

decade ago, relationship marketing gained more and more credibility among the

companies and is still a topic of discussion today. Therefore, this study is aimed to

describe how service firms can use relationship marketing as a strategy to develop

customer satisfaction.

A theoretical framework has been developed derived from a review of the existing

literature in order to describe how service firms can use relationship marketing as a

strategy to develop customer satisfaction. Five different tactics have been empirically

investigated, namely the service quality, brand image, price perception, value offers

and communication. A qualitative method has been chosen for this study. Three

different companies have been studied within the banking sector and have been led

by an inductive and deductive approach which will aim to investigate the

aforementioned theoretical framework.

The analysis of the empirical findings exposed and discovered some relevant

findings. Indeed, empirical evidence suggests that four main customer relationship

tactics have a role on customer satisfaction and trust; namely the service quality, the

brand image, the price perception and the human capital. These tactics have been

identified as having a crucial role on gaining customer satisfaction.

Keywords: relationship marketing, customer satisfaction, customer trust

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The importance of Relationship Marketing on the Customer Satisfaction

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................... I

ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................. II

TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. III

LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... IV

1.

2.

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2

1.1.

Background ................................................................................................................. 2

1.2.

Problem discussion...................................................................................................... 3

1.3.

Research purpose......................................................................................................... 4

1.4.

Research question........................................................................................................ 4

1.5.

Delimitation................................................................................................................. 4

1.6.

Thesis disposition ........................................................................................................ 4

Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 6

2.1.

Relationship marketing ............................................................................................... 6

2.1.1.

2.2.

4.

Relationship marketing tactics .................................................................................... 7

2.2.1.

Service quality ...................................................................................................... 8

2.2.2.

Price perception ................................................................................................. 10

2.2.3.

Brand image ....................................................................................................... 11

2.2.4.

Communication .................................................................................................. 11

2.2.5.

Value offers ........................................................................................................ 12

2.3.

3.

Customer trust and customer satisfaction............................................................ 7

Theoretical framework .............................................................................................. 13

Methodology ................................................................................................................... 17

3.1.

Research Purpose ...................................................................................................... 17

3.2.

Research approach..................................................................................................... 17

3.3.

Research strategy....................................................................................................... 18

3.4.

Case selection ............................................................................................................ 19

3.5.

Data collection........................................................................................................... 20

3.6.

Data analysis ............................................................................................................. 22

3.7.

Reliability .................................................................................................................. 22

3.8.

Validity ...................................................................................................................... 23

Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 24

4.1.

Case study one: company A ...................................................................................... 24

4.2.

Case study two: Company B ..................................................................................... 28

4.1.

Case study three: Company C ................................................................................... 32

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The importance of Relationship Marketing on the Customer Satisfaction

5.

Analysis of empirical data ............................................................................................. 37

5.1.

5.1.1.

Service quality .................................................................................................... 37

5.1.2.

Brand image ....................................................................................................... 40

5.1.3.

Price perception ................................................................................................. 41

5.1.4.

Value offers ........................................................................................................ 42

5.1.5.

Communication .................................................................................................. 43

5.2.

6.

Within case analysis .................................................................................................. 37

Cross case analysis .................................................................................................... 45

5.2.1.

Service quality .................................................................................................... 45

5.2.2.

Brand image ....................................................................................................... 46

5.2.3.

Price perception ................................................................................................. 46

5.2.4.

Value offers ........................................................................................................ 47

5.2.5.

Communication .................................................................................................. 48

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 49

6.1.

Conclusion................................................................................................................. 49

6.2.

Contribution and implications ................................................................................... 50

6.3.

Further research suggestions ..................................................................................... 50

7.

References ....................................................................................................................... 51

8.

Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 57

8.1.

Interview guide .......................................................................................................... 57

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 - Outline of the Thesis ¨C Own illustration ............................................................... 5

Figure 2 - Theoretical framework - Own illustration........................................................... 13

Figure 3 - Summary of the service quality - Own illustration ............................................. 45

Figure 4 - Summary of the brand image - Own illustration................................................. 46

Figure 5 - Summary of the price perception - Own illustration........................................... 47

Figure 6 - Summary of the value offers - Own illustration.................................................. 48

Figure 7 - Summary of the communication - Own illustration............................................ 48

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