The use of after-sales service as a business competitive tool for customer retention and loyalty in crisis situation: A sectoral study of building materials enterprises in Bamenda Metropolis Cameroon

Öz

The purpose of this study was to investigate if the use of after-sales service as a business competitive tool by building materials enterprises in the Bamenda Metropolis to create customer loyalty and ensure retention in the face of COVID 19 has yielded fruits. The hypothetical relationship guiding this study was that with the ongoing crisis after-sales service (warranty, installation service, maintenance service and delivery service) may not significantly influence on customer retention and loyalty. Using the survey research design with a sample of 47 purposefully selected enterprises both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and analyzed. Analysis made use of mean and standard deviation for descriptive statistics and regression analysis for inferential statistics. Based on the beta coefficients from data analysis, the generated study regression model was stated as Y= 4.771 + 0.333x1+ 0.608x2+ 0.378x3 + 0.813x4. The study thus concluded that the quality of the delivery service was the most influencing factor in creating and ensuring customer loyalty and retention. The study thus provides practical advice that managers operating in this sector should step up the quality of their offer especially as concerns warranty, and maintenance service. This may be through increasing warranty periods as well as ensuring quick and timely response for repairs when customers complaints are received.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• After-sales Service
• Customer Loyalty
• Retention
• Building Materials

Kriz durumunda müşteriyi elde tutma ve sadakat için ticari rekabet aracı olarak satış sonrası hizmetin kullanımı: Bamenda Metropolis Kamerun'daki yapı malzemeleri işletmelerinin sektörel bir çalışması

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı Bamenda Metropolis'teki yapı malzemeleri işletmeleri tarafından müşteri sadakati oluşturmak ve COVID 19 karşısında müşteriyi elde tutukmak için satış sonrası hizmeti bir ticari rekabet aracı olarak kullanmanın etkinliğinin araştırılmasıdır. Bu çalışmanın varsayımsal ilişkisi şu şekilde oluşturulmuştur: devam eden krizle birlikte satış sonrası hizmetin (garanti, kurulum hizmeti, bakım hizmeti ve teslimat hizmeti) müşteriyi elde tutma ve sadakat üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisi mevcut olmayabilir. Belli bir amaç için seçilen 47 işletmeden oluşan bir örneklem için anket araştırması ile hem nitel hem de nicel veriler toplanmış ve analiz edilmiştir. Analiz için tanımlayıcı istatistikler kapsamında ortalama ve standart sapmadan ve regresyon analizinden yararlanıldı. Veri analizinden elde edilen beta katsayılarına dayalı olarak oluşturulan regresyon modeli, Y= 4.771 + 0.333x1+ 0.608x2+ 0.378x3 + 0.813x4 olarak ifade edilmiştir. Bu nedenle çalışmada, teslimat hizmetinin kalitesinin müşteri sadakati ve müşteri sadakati yaratmada ve sağlamada en etkili faktör olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Bu nedenle çalışma, bu sektörde faaliyet gösteren yöneticilerin özellikle garanti ve bakım hizmetiyle ilgili olarak hizmetlerinin kalitesini artırmaları konusunda pratik tavsiyeler sunmaktadır. Bu durum, garanti sürelerinin uzatılması ve ayrıca müşteri şikayetleri alındığında onarımlar için hızlı ve zamanında yanıt verilmesi yoluyla sağlanabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Satış sonrası hizmet
• Müşteri sadakati
• Müşteriyi elde tutma
• Yapı Malzemeleri

Kaynakça

1. Ahn, J. S., & Sohn, S. Y. (2009). Customer pattern search for after-sales service in manufacturing. Expert Systems with Applications, 36(3), 5371-5375.
2. Aktepe, A., Ersöz, S. & Toklu, B. (2015). Customer satisfaction and loyalty analysis with classification. Algorithms and Structural Equation Modeling, Computers & Industrial Engineering, 86, 95-106
3. Alireza F, Fatemeh B and Pegah M (2011). How after sales service quality dimensions affect customer satisfaction. African Journal of Business Management, 5(17), 7656 – 7664
4. Anderson, E. W. & Mittal, V. (2000) Strengthening the satisfaction-profit chain. Journal of Service Research, 3,107-120.
5. Cohen, M. A., Agrawal, N., & Agrawal, V. (2006).Winning in the aftermarket. Harvard Business Review, 84(5),129-138.
6. Cohen M. A, & Whang S. (1997). Competing in product and service: a product life-cycle model. Manage. Sci., 43(4): 535-45.
7. Faizan, M. M., NAwaz, M. S. & Khan, Z. (2011). Impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty and intention to switch: Evidence from Banking sector of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Social Science. 2(16).
8. Gorondutse A. H. & Hilman H. (2014). Mediation effect of customer satisfaction on the relationships between service quality and customer loyalty in the Nigerian foods and beverages industry: Sobel Test Approach. International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, (9) 1-8.

9. Ibojo, B.O, Olawepo, G.T & Akinruwa, T.E (2013). Effect of customer satisfaction on organisational profitability, using an organization in the food and beverage industry. International Journal of Management Sciences, 1(5) 159-166.
10. Ibojo, B.O, (2015). Impact of customer satisfaction on customer retention: A case study of a reputable bank in Oyo, Oyo State. Nigeria. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research (IJMSR) 3(2) 42-53
11. Ladokun I .O, Adeyemo S. A, & Ogunleye P. O (2013). Impact of after sales service on consumer satisfaction and retention. A study of LG electronics in Ibadan, Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 11(4) 54-58
12. Lin, H.-H. & Wang, Y.-S. (2006) An examination of the determinants of customer loyalty in mobile commerce contexts. Information & Management, 43, 271-282.
13. Loomba, A. P. (1996). Linkages between product distribution and service support functions. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 26(4), 4-22.
14. Kurata, H., & Nam, S.-H. (2010). After-sales service competition in a supply chain:Optimization of customer satisfaction level or profit or both? International Journal of Production Economics, 127(1), 136-146.
15. Muhammad J.N (2011). Customer information driven after sales service management: Lesion from spare parts logistics. PhD Thesis of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
16. Muhammad A. (2019). After sales service, customer satisfaction and loyalty in telecom sector. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling: 3(1),31-42.
17. Murali, S., Pugazhendhi, S., & Muralidharan, C. (2016). Modelling and investigating the relationship of after sales service quality with customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty–a case study of home appliances business. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, 67-83.
18. Nasir, A., Mushtaq, H., & Rizwan, M. (2014). Customer loyalty in telecom sector of Pakistan Journal of Sociological Research, 5(1), 449-467
19. Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty? The Journal of Marketing, 33-44.
20. Ruben J (2012). Managing after sales services: Strategies and inter firm relationships. PhD Thesis of Diph-Kfm Technic., Universitatstuttgat.
21. Shaharudin, M R, Yusuf K M, Elias S J & Mangor S W (2009). Factor affecting customer satisfaction in after sales service of Malaysian electronics business market. Canadian Journal of Social Science. 5(6), 10 – 18.
22. Shahrouzifard, S., & Faraji, M. (2016). After-sales service quality as an antecedent of customer satisfaction. Accounting, 2(2), 81-84.
23. Wahjudi D. & Kwanda T, (2018). The impact of after-sales service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty of middle-upper class landed housings. Jurnal Teknik Industri, 20(1), 65-72.