Article: Enhancing customer loyalty in financial service through harnessing relationship marketing: the mediating effects of brand image Journal: International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (IJECRM) 2024 Vol.14 No.2 pp.181 - 205 Abstract: Financial service providers are under constant pressure to renovate their relationship marketing (RM) strategies to both attract and retain customers while remaining competitive. Due to the increasing adoption of electronic customer relationship platforms, this study extended the RM theory by validating online interaction alongside the established dimensions of RM, including trust, commitment, competence, communication, and conflict handling. Thus, this study investigated the RM dimensions and their influences on brand image and customer loyalty. This research employed a quantitative approach to a dataset comprising 400 bank customers. The proposed model was evaluated through the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method, employing SmartPLS-4. The results showed that all dimensions, except conflict handling, influenced customer loyalty. Furthermore, the study revealed significant mediating effects of brand image in the relationship between RM dimensions and customer loyalty. This research illuminates how relationship marketing shapes brand image and fosters loyalty in financial services. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

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Title: Enhancing customer loyalty in financial service through harnessing relationship marketing: the mediating effects of brand image

Authors: Shah Alam Kabir Pramanik; Md. Shah Azam; Md. Rakibul Hafiz Khan Rakib

Addresses: Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, Islamic University, Kushtia-7003, Bangladesh ' Department of Marketing, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh; Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra University, Shahjadpur-6770, Sirajganj, Bangladesh ' Department of Marketing, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur-5404, Bangladesh

Abstract: Financial service providers are under constant pressure to renovate their relationship marketing (RM) strategies to both attract and retain customers while remaining competitive. Due to the increasing adoption of electronic customer relationship platforms, this study extended the RM theory by validating online interaction alongside the established dimensions of RM, including trust, commitment, competence, communication, and conflict handling. Thus, this study investigated the RM dimensions and their influences on brand image and customer loyalty. This research employed a quantitative approach to a dataset comprising 400 bank customers. The proposed model was evaluated through the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method, employing SmartPLS-4. The results showed that all dimensions, except conflict handling, influenced customer loyalty. Furthermore, the study revealed significant mediating effects of brand image in the relationship between RM dimensions and customer loyalty. This research illuminates how relationship marketing shapes brand image and fosters loyalty in financial services.

Keywords: relationship marketing; online interaction; brand image; customer loyalty; mediating effects; financial services.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECRM.2024.138649

International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management, 2024 Vol.14 No.2, pp.181 - 205

Received: 18 Sep 2023
Accepted: 14 Jan 2024
Published online: 22 May 2024 *

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Title: Enhancing customer loyalty in financial service through harnessing relationship marketing: the mediating effects of brand image

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