ACADEMIC YEAR 2007 – 2008
Grade: ………………
Course No. & Title: Marketing Research
Programme of Study: Postgraduate
Semester: Spring
Instructor’s Name:
Assignment due date:
Title of the Assignment:
Research Proposal. Affecting Customers Loyalty.
Student’s Name :
Chapter 1.
Affecting Customers Loyalty. Background and Justification for Selection of the Topic.
In today’s competitive markets services and service companies within the same industry are becoming increasingly similar. Differentiation through the delivery channel (i.e. delivery of services against payment) is difficult. A growing number of service companies have embarked on a journey of positioning through the communication channel (i.e. advertising and personal selling) (Andreassen, T. 1995), with the objective of building strong corporate images in order to create relative attractiveness. This development is in line with Lovelock (1984) who claims that «(images).. . are likely to play only a secondary role in customer choice decisions unless competing services are perceived as virtually identical on performance, price, and availability».
Recent years have shown a growing interest in customer loyalty. The globalisation of competition, saturation of markets, and development of information technology have changed customer behavior and perception and created a situation where success is no longer achieved through product price and qualities. Instead, companies build their success on a long-term customer relationship.
According to former studies, it can cost as much as 6 times more to win a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. (Rosenberg L. et al. ...