ABSTRACT
This study explores the impact of
quality service delivery on marketing performance within the banking sector,
focusing specifically on Access Bank PLC. With an ever-evolving landscape in
the financial industry, characterized by fierce competition and changing
consumer preferences, understanding the relationship between service quality
and marketing performance is crucial for sustained growth and competitiveness.
The research objectives are
delineated into three specific aims. Firstly, it aims to evaluate the influence
of the banking service mix on quality service delivery. Secondly, it seeks to
analyze the effect of timely service delivery in achieving customer
satisfaction. Lastly, it aims to determine the effect of network availability
on enhancing profitability in the banking industry.
The research adopts a purposive
sampling technique, selecting 450 respondents from the bank's customer base in
Abia State, Nigeria. Data is primarily collected through questionnaires,
providing insights into customer perceptions and experiences regarding service
quality and satisfaction.
Data analysis employs simple
percentages to analyze primary data collected in the field. Hypotheses are
tested using regression models, including Spearman product moment and multiple
regression analysis.
Findings indicate significant
relationships between various aspects of service delivery and customer
satisfaction. Improvement in the physical environment, timely customer service,
and network availability are all positively correlated with customer
satisfaction. However, service cost shows a negative correlation, suggesting
that higher service charges lead to decreased customer satisfaction.
Based on the findings, several
conclusions are drawn. Customer satisfaction is influenced by various factors
including customer care, age, employment, location, and gender. Service quality
improvements must align with the socioeconomic characteristics of customers to
effectively impact patronage. Additionally, variations in customer satisfaction
ratings exist based on location and gender, with male customers generally
showing higher levels of satisfaction.
In light of the conclusions drawn,
several recommendations are proposed. Bank service providers should prioritize
improving customer service levels to attract and retain customers effectively.
Moreover, aligning validity periods with mobile service attributes can enhance
customer satisfaction. Routine assessments are also recommended to understand
the relationship between demographic factors and customer satisfaction. Lastly,
segmenting customers based on their characteristics and designing tailored
strategies can lead to more profitable customer satisfaction initiatives.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
1.4 Research
Questions
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
1.6 Significance
of Study
1.7 Limitations
of the Study
CHAPTER
TWO
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual
Framework
2.1.1 Definition of Service
2.1.2 Services
Marketing
2.1.3 Characteristics
of Service Marketing
2.1.4 Service
Marketing Mix
2.1.5 Service
Marketing Premises and Strategy
2.1.6 Planning
and Developing Service
2.1.6.1 Service Marketing and Consumer Behavior
2.1.7 Challenges
of Service Marketing
2.1.8 Service
Quality and Improvement
2.1.9 Service
Quality and Productivity Improvement
2.1.10 Determinants of Service Quality
2.1.11 Service Failures and Recovery
2.1.12 Complaining Behaviour of Customers
2.1.13 Types of Complaints
2.1.14 Complaining Outcomes
2.1.15 Specification of Services
2.1.16 Service Recovery strategy
2.2 Model
of Consumer Choice
2.2.1 Marketing
Stimuli Theory
2.2.2 Learning
Theory of Consumer Brand Association
2.2.3 Psychoanalytic Theory
2.3 Empirical
Framework
2.3.1 Country
of Origin Effect
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Area of Study
3.3 Population of Study
3.4 Sample Size and Plan
3.5 Data Collection
3.5.1 Instrument
3.5.2 Data Sources
3.5.3 Validity and Reliability
CHAPTER
FOUR
DATA
ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDING
4.1 Questionnaire
Administration
4.2 Hypotheses
Testing
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
REFERENCES
APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Services
can be described as activities, benefits or satisfaction which are offered for
sale which are intangible in nature ; that is, they are not concrete objects
which can be seen, felt or tasted rather we enjoy the benefits from them. When
a customer buys a service from the service market he simply buys the time,
knowledge and skill as someone who is the service provider. With these, we can
say service marketing refers to the marketing of services against tangible
products. In addition, service marketing can be defined as the marketing of
processes, deeds and performance (Lovluck and Wirtz, 2006).
Service
marketing possesses unique characteristics that differentiate them from
marketing of goods. The most common characteristics include:
i.
Intangibility
ii.
Inseparability
iii.
Perishability
iv.
Variability
a.
Intangibility:
Services are activities performed by the service provider unlike physical
products; services cannot be seen, felt or smelt before they are consumed. Not all
services products have similar intangibility. Some services are highly
intangible while others are low.
b.
Inseparability:
Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously. In the case of
physical goods, they are manufactured into products, distributed through
multiple reservoirs and consumed later but in the case of services, it is
different because the service cannot be separated from the service
provider.
c.
Perishability:
Services are acts, performance or deeds whose consumption takes place
simultaneously. Services cannot be stored i.e. the value of services exist at
the point where it is required.
d.
Variability:
Services are highly variable, as they depend on the service provider.
Just
like the marketing mix of a product the service marketing comprises of product,
price, place and promotion. However, as a service is not tangible the marketing
mix has three additional elements which are: People, Process, and physical
evidence.
In
services industry like in the banking industry, we win and lose customers based
on the quality of the service. Only customers can judge the quality of service
rendered, one must first understanding now the customers and potential
customers judge service quality. Service quality is not an accident and can be
improved through total commitment. Management must take quality seriously.
However,
service organizations appreciate the need to offer quality services at all
times to their customers. This expectation is not always realized due to the
nature of services which vary in different ways including the production
process and the outcome. In the course of service delivery, service failures
could occur which could be of immense cost to the organization. As noted by
Kelly and Davis (1994) one negative service encounter can undermine an
extraordinary record of superior service, lowering evaluations of service
quality and causing customers to search for alternative service providers. But
service recovery can help to solve this problem.
Service
recovery can be defined as actions taken by service providers in response to
service failures. Service recovery also means trying to put back smile on a
customer’s face after you have made a mistake. This way he feels that the
company cares and will be an advocate for the company. When services fail, some
customers would complain while the majority would not but would say damaging
things about the services providers. In term of utility, those who complain are
more useful to the services providers. This is because the complaints provide
opportunities for service recovery. Complaints when properly addressed and
recovered result in service recovery paradox in which the aggrieved but now
satisfied customer will rate the company performance higher than he would have
if there was no service failure.
However,
empirical studies have documented that, the essence of rendering better
services to the customers in the telecommunication industry is because growth
and survival is the goal of every business organization. Thus no firm in the
telecommunication industry can make a healthy living without meeting the needs
of its customers. In the past, such companies took their customers for granted.
This resulted from the fact that their customers may not have had many
alternative sources of supply, or that all suppliers were equally deficient in
service, or that the market was growing so fast that the company did not worry
about satisfying its customers, (Kotler, 2000).
Today,
things have changed. Customers are harder to please. They are smarter, more
price conscious, more demanding, less forgiving and approached by more
competitors with equal or better offers, (Kotler, 2000).
It
is therefore not enough to be skillful in attracting new customers. There is
need to keep them as the cost of losing a customer is equal to the customer’s
lifetime value – that is the present value of the profit stream that the
company would have realized if the customer had not defected prematurely,
(Kotler, 2000).
The concept of growth and survival pose a great challenge to all
firms in the banking industry.
These growth and survival demands are further deepened by the need to satisfy
and retain customers, as customers are the main focus of their successful
business. Business success depends on the firm’s understanding and meeting
customers’ needs and demands.
A
number of empirical studies have been conducted on the subject of service
quality and customer satisfaction (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Spreng and Mackoy,
1996; Jones and Suh, 2000; Coyles and Gokey, 2002; Ranaweera and Prabhu, 2003;
Choi et al., 2004). Research on this subject shows that most of the
studies were conducted in industrialized countries such as United States, the
United Kingdom, and Japan. This implies that there is dearth of relevant
literature on underdeveloped and developing countries, including Nigeria which
has to be covered by research. In addition, despite the existence of these
studies, very little attention has been given to the banking industry. This
means that the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction in the banking
industry has not received adequate research attention in Nigeria. Thus, there
is a major gap in the relevant literature on Nigeria, which has to be covered
by research. This research attempts to fill this gap by studying the situation of
the Nigerian banking industry and providing more empirical evidence on the
effects of service quality on customer satisfaction.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Empirical
studies show that very little attention has been given to the banking industry.
This means that the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction in the banking
industry has not received adequate research attention in Nigeria. Thus, there
is a major gap in the relevant literature on Nigeria, which has to be covered
by research. This research attempts to fill this gap by studying the situation
of the Nigerian banking industry and providing more empirical evidence on the
effects of service quality on customer satisfaction.
The role of banking industry in an
economy cannot be overemphasized. This is because it is the means through which
all daily transactions and activities are undertaken. It aids decision-making,
influencing, instructing, provision of feedback, promoting interpersonal and
business relationships as well as exchange of information. All social,
political, economic, cultural and commercial activities are undertaken using
banking. The nature of a country’s banking industry affects its pace of
commercial and domestic activities. But due to the poor performance of many of
these banking firms, particularly in the developing countries, governments have
had to intervene through divestiture and privatization programs. This led to
the deregulation of many of the banking industries in many counties of which
Nigeria is no exception.
With competition becoming tough,
service providers realize that retaining one’s existing customer base is as
important as acquiring new ones, (Coyles and Gokey, 2005). In the light of this
intense competition, the major challenge confronting all the mobile operators
in Nigeria therefore is the determination and execution of various marketing
initiatives that would not only lead to the attraction of new subscribers, but
also the satisfaction and retention of the existing ones who would become loyal
customers.
Different countries have different
factors that affect their country’s customer satisfaction in the banking Market.
Lee (2001) pointed out that pricing, area coverage, clarity of voice, access to
provider, precision of billing service and perceived difficulty to switch are
main factors which have important impact on customer satisfaction in France.
Gerpott (2001) discovered network quality (indoor and outdoor coverage), the
price paid for obtaining access to and using the network and the quality of the
exchange of information between customer and supplier as the factors that have
important impact on customer satisfaction. Since different countries have different
factors that affect their country’s customer satisfaction in the banking sector,
Nigeria, being the most populous African country, with a fast growing banking
sector market under fierce competition also has some factors affecting the
customer loyalty in the market. Hence, the research seeks to investigate the
effect of service quality on customer satisfaction in the Nigeria’s banking
sector, and the performance of the service providers to improve the service
quality and to enhance satisfaction and loyalty.
This
therefore, required that the seven P’s (7ps) become the marketing mix variables
of the banking
sector Nigeria should be more of “Real Marketing
Thinking”. This can be done by the service providers and the likes carrying out
market oriented strategic planning for not only to achieve comprehensive and
long term planning. The research problem is concerned with identifying
opportunities through which banking industries satisfy their customers to
achieve effective and efficient service quality. It is the intention of this
research work to identify the impact of service quality delivery on customers,
how they react to it (whether negatively or positively) and how it influence
their buying behavior.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The
general objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of quality service
delivery in enhancing marketing performance in the banking industry. However,
the study seeks to achieve the following specific objectives are to:
i. determine the effect of banking service mix on
quality service delivery;
ii. analyze
the effect of timely service delivery in achieving customer satisfaction in the
banking industry;
iii. determine
the effect of network availability in enhancing profitability in the banking
industry.
1.4 Research Questions
Some
questions will be designed to guide the study. They are stated below:
i. What is the effect of banking service mix on
quality service delivery?
ii. What is the effect timely service delivery in
achieving customer satisfaction in the banking industry?
iii. What is the effect of network
availability in enhancing profitability in the banking industry?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
In
the course of the study, some hypotheses were stated in null form will be used
to guide the study. They are:
HO1: Banking service mix has no significant effect
on quality service delivery.
HO2: Timely
service delivery has no significant effect on customer satisfaction in the
banking industry;
HO3: Network
availability has no significant effect on enhancing profitability in the
banking industry.
1.6 Significance of Study
The major concern of marketing is
customer satisfaction likewise the objective of the activities of non-profit.
Therefore the study will be justified on the bases that the outcome shall be
immensely significant in diverse ways to business and marketing practitioners,
policy makers and stakeholders within the banking sector. To the management of
selected banks, the findings and results of the research shall provide a more
scientific measure and prospective for describing and evaluating the quality of
service they deliver as it affect the satisfaction of their customers. It will
also be useful to researchers as well as those interested in the subject.
1.7
Limitations of the Study
Every
study has aspects in which it falls short of the ideas which the researcher has
established or recognizes, not to speak of ideas which he is altogether unaware
of. It is a mark of intellectual honesty to admit that these shortcomings did
exist and to give an account of the way they have been manifested.
However,
the following constraints were encountered by the researcher in carrying out
this study.
Uncooperative
attitude of respondents: Most of the respondents more importantly the employees
of the case organization were not easily convicted to co-operate to release
value data that could help the researcher carry out this study. But the
researcher was able to convince them to released the data by letting the, know
that the data will be used only for academic purposes.
However, in carrying out this research, some factors
militated against it success. There
range from finance, time, distance and other relative course works that were also
carried out by the research at the same time.
So to this end, it
affected results of the questionnaire, the researcher therefore has to read the
questions to the respondents and also interpret to them in Igbo language as most
of them were Igbo’s who does not understand English language. So as a result of
the reading and interpretation, the respondents were able to answer the
questions according to their choice which in turn gave the researcher correct
answers to the questions.
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