1.0 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY
1.1 Background
Customers are the purpose of what marketers do and rather than them depending on marketers, we very much depend on them. That is the main reason why organizations today are focusing on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive, regarding the fulfilment of some need, goal or desire (Zhang & Feng 2009). Customer loyalty is actually the result of an organization creating a benefit for a customer so that they will maintain or increase their purchases from the organization.
The retail store industry, in particular and all businesses whose service depend on building long term relationship need to concentrate on maintaining customer loyalty. In this respect, loyalty is greatly influenced by product quality, service quality and brand image. As such, retail store often invest in managing their relationship with customer and maintaining quality to ensure that customer who are loyal in the short term will continuously be loyal in the long term.
Loyalty has become important over the past few years because of increased competition within respective industries. To be successful, organization must look into the needs and wants of their customers. That is the reason why many researchers and academicians have continuously emphasizes on the importance of customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention.
Customer satisfaction is important because many researchers have shown that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on an organization’s profitability according to Jahanshahi et al 2011. Due to these consequences, customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction must be considered. There is also a positive connection between customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Market becomes so competitive. Nowadays, businesses competing to cater customer
Bibliography: Al-Rousan, M. Ramzi, Badaruddin.M. (2010) Customer Loyalty and the Impacts of Service Quality: The Case of Five Star Hotels in Jordan, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology ; 216-222. Buttle.F and Burton.J. (2001) Does Service Failure influence Customer Loyalty,Journal of Customer Behaviour, Vol. 1 No. 3, 217-227. Clottey.T.A, Collier.D.A, Stodnick.M (2008) Drivers of Customer Loyalty In A Retail Store Environment, Journal of Service Science, Vol.1 No.1;35-48. DeVellis and Robert F. (1991), Scale Development - Theory and Applications. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Jahanshahi. A.A, Gashti.M.A.H, Mirdamadi. S.A, Nawaser. K, Sadeq.S.M. (2011). Study the Effects of Customer Service and Product Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 1 No. 7 ; 253-260. Juan. L.U, and Yan. L.U. (2007). Dimensions and influencing factors of customer loyalty in the intermittent service industry Kumar.V, Batista.L, and Maull.R . (2011) The Impact of Operations Performance on Customer Loyalty. Journal of Service Science Vol. 3 No. 2 ;158-171. Lawson.A and Limayem.M, (2004) The Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Customer Loyalty : The Moderating Role of Web Site Characteristic. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Vol. 6 No. 1 ; 21-41. Nor Asiah. Omar,Muhamad Azrin and Hanita Sarah.(2009) What Customers Really Want: Exploring Service Quality Dimensions In A Retail Loyalty Programme. Unitar E-Journal Vol. 5, No. 1; 68-81. Malhotra, N.K. (2007), “Marketing Research: An applied orientation”, (Sixth Edition). Pearson Martineau, Publishing as Prentice Hall. Ogba.I.E and Tan. Z. (2009) Exploring the impact of brand image on customer loyalty and commitment in China. Journal of Technology Management in China, Vol. 4 No. 2 ;132-144. Parasuraman.A,Zeithaml V.A and Berry.L,L. (1988). A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perception of the Services Quality. Journal Of Retailing,Vol. 64 No.1 ;12-40. Parkson Kota Bharu Trade Centre. (2008, August 18). Parkson Happening. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from www.parkson.com.my Ou.W.M, Shih.C.M, Chen.Y.C , Wang .K.C Sondoh Jr.S, Maznah.W.O, Nabsiah.A.W, Ishak.I and Amran.H, (2007). The Effect Of Brand Image On Overall Satisfaction And Loyalty Intention In The Context Of Color Cosmetic, Asian Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1; 83–107. Yuen, Euphenia F.T, Chau, and Sian,S.L. (2010) The Effect of Retail ,Service Quality and Product Quality on Customer Loyalty, Journal of Product & Brand Management Vol. 20 No. 3; 190–204. Zhang.X and Feng.X, (2009). The Impact of Customer Relationship Marketing Tactics On Customer Loyalty- Within Swedish Mobile Telecommunication Industry, Master Program in International Marketing ; 1-52.