The Impact of Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction Level, and Brand Image on Customer Loyalty of Singtel

Introduction

In the current competitive business environment, factors like customer service, customer level of satisfaction, and brand image have a significant impact on the overall performance of a business. As a result, firms have continued to exhibit sensitivity to the building a strong brand image and improving the overall customer care service while looking not only to attract potential customers but also to make the current customers loyal to the brand. There is a need for companies to channel their energy to customer retention with profitable long-term relationships (Customer loyalty in retailing 2011, p. 12). Even so, the primary factor for customer retention remains their satisfaction level towards the product and services of the company aside from higher value by customers. The reason for this is because it is more likely for happy customers to show more loyalty to the company compared to unhappy or unsatisfied customers. The loyalty translates into the willingness to repurchase the products or use the services of the company, and even provide positive words of mouth whenever the need arises. A business whose clients exhibit unwavering loyalty enjoys a higher market share in comparison to its counterparts struggling with the same. Moreover, the business firm may have significant confidence in implying higher cost for its goods or services (Russo and Confente 2017, p. 31). It is imperative to mention that brand image is one of the most important things necessary to secure a place in the mind of the customer and it can only be achieved by communicating the philosophy of the brand to the customer. Several scholars have extensively studied the above aspects. The following paper, therefore, seeks to critically review the existing literature on the effect of customer service, customer contentment level, and brand image on customer devotion of Singtel.

Singapore Telecommunication Limited, Singtel, is a mobile network operator with the largest market shares in Singapore availing various products and services to its clients including Internet Protocol Television (Singtel TV), Internet Service provider (Singnet), and mobile phone networks (Singtel mobile). Over the years, the company has expanded aggressively outside its parent country to own vast shares in myriad regional operators like Optus in Australia, and Bharti Airtel in India. Singtel enjoys considerable predominance in regarding the market share in Singapore. It controls 82%, 47% and 43% of the market in fixed-line market, mobile market, and broadband market respectively. For a corporation of Singtels stature, it is imperative to find out whether their standardized customer services is effectual in creating high customer satisfaction and impacts on a positive brand image.

Research aim and objectives

The questions which the research seeks to answer to include:

1. What are the major influencing factors on customer devotion?

2. What is the connection between brand image, customer contentment, and customer devotion intention?

3. How can SingTel measure its current loyalty status?

The objectives of the research include:

To identify if brand image has a positive effect and relationship with customer allegiance

To identify the impact of customer fulfillment level on customer retention

To examine the customer service influence on customer retention

Literature Review of Empirical Studies

Customer Satisfaction level

Does Customer Satisfaction Lead to Customer Trust, Loyalty, and Repurchase Intention of Local Store Brands? The Case of Gauteng Province of South Africa; Bhagat, 2012

This research adopted a case study strategy. In this particular study, the objective was to find out whether customer satisfaction has an impact on customer loyalty. The hypothesis for this study was that there occurs a considerable connection between client satisfaction and customer loyalty intention. The aspect of objective and goal of this research was applied research while the implementation aspect was a survey one. The primary means of data collection was through causal and field method was the field method of data collection was used.

The statistical universe of the study is hygiene products consumers in Rasht. In the analysis of the data collected, there was the examination of initially descriptive statistics which discern the state of research variables including age, gender, and education level. The analysis was done using the SPSS software. After that, statistical analysis in which the research measurement model was fitted was proposed to investigate the basic model and test the research hypothesis.

I believe the researcher made a prudent choice in formulating the research design because of a number of reasons. Foremost, the research method states the research problem in precise terms and specifying not only the independent but also the dependent variable under investigation. Moreover, the research method strictly follows the original set of research goals. This means it is easier to arrive at more objective conclusions, define the issues of causality, as well as to test the hypothesis. Furthermore, with the research method, it is easier to achieve significant points of consistency of the data collected due to mass surveys and other forms of investigation manipulation. Also, the research method employed by the researcher minimizes bias of judgment and gives room for longitudinal measures of succeeding studies on the same theme.

Impact of Customer Satisfaction on the Customer Retention: a Mediating Role of Customer Retention in Pakistan. Ambarwati; A. 2014

The goal of this research was to explore the connection between client satisfaction and customer retention. Ambarwati used a survey method in an attempt to scrutinize the impact of the brand image on client retention, and the study is quantitative. The observer would get first-person observation and responses from respondents in order to study the cause and relationship between the variables. For data collection, random sampling technique was employed. For the research study, however, convenience sampling was used because there was no sampling frame to be used. 200 questionnaires were used to collect responses. Out of the two hundred questionnaires, 156 had positive responses meaning there was a 78% response rate. Close-ended questionnaires were used to examine the relationship between brand image and the purchasing behavior of customers. In collecting the primary data, self-administered questionnaires were distributed among the respondents. The unit of the analysis, in this case, was fashion ware. SPSS software was used in the stage of data treatment to examine the hypothesis. Furthermore, Pearsons correlation, regression, reliability, and descriptive analysis were used. When it came to checking the mediation of variables, Sobel test was used.

In this research, Ambarwatis choice of methodology, the quantitative approach, is the best for the case and can be dependable when carrying out similar studies. The reason it suits this particular case is that the method gives data that is descriptive. Besides, the method was useful in reducing and restructuring the complex to a specific number of variables. Again, the quantitative method can examine the relationship between variables and can find out the cause and impact in an atmosphere that is highly controlled. In the same vein, the case study approach gave enough chance for the collection of details. It is usually not possible for one to collect as many details when using other research designs. The collected data in the study had a greater depth which is not possible to achieve with experimental designs. Even more importantly, the case study approach used by the researcher is an excellent way of stimulating new research (Russo and Confente 2017, p. 31). The finding of the research indicated a weak correlation between brand awareness and customer retention even though the two variables are significant with other. Also, there was a weak but significant correlation between customer retention and brand experience. Such valuable findings can be the chances of new and advanced research in the realm.

Brand image

The Effects of Brand Image on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention in Retail Supermarket Chain the UK. Neupane, 2015.The primary objective of the study was to scrutinize the impact of the brand image on client contentment and customer retention in the perspective of retail supermarket chain the UK. The study also had subsidiary aims one being to improve the appreciation of brand image and customer loyalty. The research was based on the philosophy of positivism. The philosophy states that social world is external and as such its properties ought to be measured using objective means rather than subjective inferences by means of intuition, reflection, or sensation. The study process goes through hypothesis and deductive approach. After the study, the results are generalized with the help of statistical tools. A deductive approach means that existing theory has to be tested before the survey. In other sciences, the deductive approach involves laws as the root of explanation and the prediction of occurrences of phenomenon thus allowing them to be controlled.

Appropriate data collection was undertaken to test the formulated hypotheses before deriving conclusions on the basis of the analyzed data and hypothesis tested. The strategy used in the study is survey. The survey method is one of the most widely used in technique in research in the realms of social sciences and business. The good thing about the technique is that it allows the researcher to gather quantitative data. This data can then be analyzed with the help of descriptive and inferential statistics. Moreover, the strategy gives control over the study process in the case where sampling technique is employed (Russo and Confente 2017, p. 31). It then becomes easier to come up with conclusions which are a representation of the entire population at a relatively lower cost compared to gathering data from an entire population. Analysis software such as SPSS can then be used for data analysis and interpretation. The researcher used a structured closed-ended questionnaire to gather data from the participants. All the data that would be needed for the research are collected through primary sources, which involve questionnaire survey, and secondary sources of data collection including journals books, research articles, and company reports. There could be several reasons for the choice of this method of data collection. Foremost, the tool is efficient especially when it comes to gathering the opinions and attitudes of respondents economically. This research also employed convenience sampling technique due to the nature of the study alongside other constraints such as limited time. Before being used, there was a pilot study for testing the validity, relevance, and clarity of the questionnaire as well as to test the adverse factors before starting to conduct the research.

The Effect of Brand Image in Creating Customer Loyalty in Retail Banking: A Case Study of Yapi Kredi Bank in Turkey; Rahi, 2015

This study had the objective of examining the brand image and customer retention in private label brands in Dharwad city. The hypothesis was that there exists a connection between brand image and customer retention. The technique of descriptive research was employed in this case. The choice of the research method was in consideration of the scope of the study. To gather information that would be critical to the study, the researcher took responses from participants i...