Harsh competition influence the profit margins of Swedish banks, where mortgages are some of the most profitable products. Unfortunately, mortgages also happen to be the most influential products when it comes to customers’ willingness to switch banks. Currently, the four largest banks in Sweden are losing both customers and mortgage market shares to smaller firms at an increasing rate. One of the big four face greater problems acquiring new credit market shares when compared to its three competitors. In this study, actions taken in order to keep existing customers are central and the bank finding it particularly troublesome to acquire new credit market shares out of the big four is therefore examined. Through a qualitative study, mortgage advisors at the bank in question are asked to explain how they handle theoretical concepts such as post-purchase feelings, repurchase behaviour and customer loyalty in practice. Answers from the interviews are then analysed and compared to existing theory, where the results show that practice is not always executed as expected from a theoretical perspective. The purpose of the study is to better understand how the advisors work with the theoretical concepts, in order to fathom why the customers are leaving. The results show that mortgage advisors at the bank in question worked inconsistently with customer’s post purchase feelings. This was due to the advisors having free reins over how to process their own customer base with a lack of system support. Consequently, some of the advisors worked with direct post purchase activities whilst some did not get in touch with their customers at all. In addition, loyalty was an aspect that customers often thought to be of great importance for the bank. However, loyalty was not a determining factor in the calculations made by the advisors in order to present the customers with interest offers. Though it could be of some importance for the small mandate every advisor had over the final interest discount, where satisfaction with a customer could grant a more generous proposition. / Den svenska bankmarknaden kännetecknas av en hård konkurrens, där bolån är en av de mest lönsamma produkterna. Dessvärre är bolån även den produkt som har störst inflytande när det kommer till kunders benägenhet att byta bankaktör, och länge har de fyra största aktörerna på den svenska bankmarknaden tappat kunder till mindre aktörer i en allt ökande omfattning. En av dessa storbanker har även visat sig ha det mer problematiskt än sina tre likar att ta nya marknadsandelar på kreditmarknaden vilken vidare undersöks i denna studie där åtgärder utförda i syfte för att behålla kunder är centrala. Genom en kvalitativ studie har bolånerådgivare vid banken i fråga ombetts förklara hur de arbetar med de teoretiska koncepten efterköpskänsla, återköpsbeteende och kundlojalitet i praktiken. Svaren har sedan analyserats och jämförts ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv, där resultatet visar att arbetssätt och teori inte alltid överensstämmer med varandra. Syftet med denna studie är att bättre förstå hur bolånerådgivare arbetar i förhållande till teoretiska koncept, för att skapa en bättre förståelse för varför det sker ett så kontinuerligt och tilltagande kundtapp. Resultatet av studien visar att bolånerådgivarna på banken i fråga arbetade på ett inkonsekvent sätt med kundernas efterköpskänsla. Något som var till följd av att arbetssättet med den egna kundstocken var individuellt konstruerat av varje rådgivare och att en avsaknad av systemstöd förelåg. Som en konsekvens, gjorde vissa rådgivare direkta efterköpsutskick, när andra inte hörde av sig till sina kunder över huvud taget. Vidare var lojalitet en aspekt som kunderna kunde tro var av stor vikt för banken. Men i själva verket var detta inte en variabel alls i de kalkyler som rådgivarna nyttjade för att ge ett så rättvist erbjudande som möjligt. Däremot kunde lojalitet ha en liten betydelse för det mandat varje rådgivare hade över den slutliga ränterabatten, där en bra kund kunde få ett mer generöst förslag.

With the gradual upgrade of fresh food consumption in China, the integration of online platforms and retail entities has brought more convenient and diverse fresh food consumption experiences to customers. This thesis is to explore how the customers loyalty in Chinese fresh e-commerce are affected by online and offline customer experience. This paper draws on strategic experience modules and situation experience theory and proposes three influencing factors respectively according to the two situations of online and offline. Specifically, this thesis analyzes the impact of the aesthetic experience, online service experience, and virtual community sense experience, environmental experience, service staff experience and community sense experience on customer loyalty. As a leader of fresh e-commerce, Hema Fresh has achieved great success especially during this epidemic and has been recognized by Chinese customers. This study collects 298 online questionnaires from Hema Fresh’s customers in China and uses SPSS for regression analysis to test these six factors. Empirical results show that enhancing customer aesthetic experience, online service experience, environmental experience and community sense experience can improve customer loyalty of fresh e-commerce in China, but our results do not show that virtual community sense experience and service staff experience can enhance customer loyalty. Meanwhile, this study finds that the effects of online and offline situations on customer loyalty of fresh e-commerce are different. By providing the experience and background of Chinese fresh e-commerce, it enriches the research on fresh e-commerce. Also, this study explores different types of customer experience impact on customer loyalty from the online and offline situations of customer consumption, contributing to the research on customer experience and provides implications for Chinese fresh e- commerce to improve customer loyalty.

Business-to-business customer loyalty management is an essential and long-standing theme in business research and practice. Loyal clients are of great importance within Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), as the business model relies strongly on long-term business relationships, e.g. due to subscription models. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study on how to design loyalty initiatives used in business-to-business SaaS relationships yet. Therefore, our thesis asks the question “How can loyalty initiatives be designed to improve the loyalty of SaaS business clients?”. By applying a qualitative research methodology with multi-case studies, we were able to investigate the status-quo of customer loyalty management by looking at the vendor side and then analysing the perception of loyalty initiatives, with respect to the client’s perspective. A broad number of in-depth empirical data was collected in semi-structured interviews conducted with employees of six SaaS vendor firms and seven of their clients. As we used an abductive approach, we were able to compare our findings with the existing literature and extend previous theory. Our interview findings were then clustered into eight dimensions, which were based on the customer lifecycle, and various initiatives have been assigned to them. All initiatives included several actions performed by the vendors, which were then classified into three categories, according to how important it was perceived by their clients. We concluded our research with the ‘Design Guide for Loyalty Initiatives’ that summarises our findings and provides an overview for SaaS vendors to review and adjust their initiatives. Hence, we deliver valuable insights for SaaS vendors to gain a deeper understanding of their clients’ needs and to, in turn, prioritise their performed loyalty actions and allocate their budget accordingly.

Background: To date, there have been several studies conducted on how social media marketing affects customer loyalty. However, they have been narrowed down to specific areas, such as luxury fashion, the airplane industry, and so on. Therefore, there is a literature gap on how social media marketing affects customer loyalty in general. This research seeks to fill that gap though investigating how certain characteristics of social media marketing activities affect customer loyalty in general. Purpose:  The purpose of this paper is to describe the effects social media marketing has on customer loyalty. Methodology:  This research will be conducted by gathering quantitative data through a cross-sectional research design. A survey was performed based on the theoretical concepts in the theoretical framework, which seeks to test the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. An operationalization was created to showcase the theoretical grounds for each question, where each question is bound to a concept/variable. Students in ages 18-30 were used to define the sample population for this research. Conclusion: The purpose of this paper was to describe the effects social media marketing has on customer loyalty. Due to H1 and H2 being approved, and H3 and H4 being rejected, this paper provides evidence that there is a significant positive impact of the SMMA characteristics of entertainment and interaction on customer loyalty. It was also established that there were two SMMA characteristics that did not have a significant positive relationship with customer loyalty; trendiness and customization.

This study examined the relationships between the six benefit types and customer loyalty through trust and satisfaction in integrated resorts. A self-administered survey was developed based on previous studies in customer loyalty and was distributed through e-Reward online survey panel. The findings showed that only financial gaming benefits, functional gaming benefits, and psychological non-gaming benefits had impacts on customer attitudinal loyalty and customer behavioral loyalty through trust and satisfaction in integrated resorts. Besides, functional gaming benefits had the most influence on customer loyalty through trust and satisfaction. This study extended existing literature in integrated resorts by showing that benefit types in a loyalty program can build customer attitudinal loyalty and customer behavioral loyalty in integrated resorts. This study also examined different types of benefits affect customer loyalty in different degrees. For operators of integrated resorts, understanding how different benefits of a loyalty program affect customer loyalty will allow them to modify their loyalty programs effectively to increase revenue and maintain customers.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if various measures of loyalty (satisfaction, continued patronage and share of wallet) converge or diverge. A related objective of the study is to examine the relative efficacies of merchandise quality, interaction quality, price and store environment in inducing store loyalty for two customer segments of a national automotive parts and accessories retailer in the USA. The two segments are the doityourself customers and the professional customers. Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study are collected via mail questionnaires. Usable responses are obtained from 17,034 customers. In operationalizing store loyalty, affective, conative and actionrelated measures are used. Findings – The results altogether suggest that merchandise quality is an effective predictor of loyalty but perhaps not as critical or dominant as interaction quality. Results also show that similar factors consistently exert like influence in generating loyalty for the two customer segments. Research limitations/implications – The efficacies of other antecedent variables (e.g. perceived value/value for money) as drivers of store loyalty should be examined. Also, it would be worthwhile to investigate the possible moderating role of demographic characteristics (e.g. gender) and situational characteristics (e.g. critical incident recovery) in attenuating the relationships between the antecedent variables and store loyalty. Practical implications – To reinforce loyalty among its both doityourself and professional customers, the focal retailer should continue to enhance the interaction skills of current and prospective employees via careful selection, training and motivation. Originality/value – The paper shows that the three measures of loyalty (satisfaction, continued patronage and share of wallet) converge. The strongest correlations are between affective and conative loyalty.

Banking sector is one of the largest sectors dealing with individual customers directly and in fact the success and profitability of company is also based on the number of customer base and their level of transactions. The current banking industry is under immense pressure because now the customer switching is quite common but the banks are still trying to sustain their customer base by managing the customer loyalty program through effective customer relationship management. The current study revolves around the customer relationship and customer loyalty in banking sector of UK. The study has been started with objective to understand that whether relationship marketing have any significant impact on customer loyalty and customer retention in banking sector of UK. The study is based on primary research work where the customers of UK banking sector have been contacted through social media for supporting in research work. There are 2500 customers were targeted for the survey purpose but just 160 people replied with survey and the same data was used for result analysis. The convenience sampling method is used in study and the survey was conducted through survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was prepared on Likert Scale and the questionnaire was formed on Google Drive. The survey result is analysed with help of SPSS 22.0 and the major statistical used for study are Mean and graphical presentation. The hypothesis testing is done through ANOVA. The result indicates that there is a positive relationship between relationship marketing and customer loyalty and retention.

En el presente trabajo de investigación, se analiza la Supply Chain del proceso de reparación de componentes de una empresa de servicio especializada en el tren de fuerza de maquinaria pesada, con el propósito de mejorar su Lead Time, dado que el resultado actual, impacta negativamente en los plazos de entrega del servicio comprometido y consecuentemente la insatisfacción de los clientes. El indicador de lealtad de los clientes NLS (Net Loyalty Score), en continuo decremento, implica un riesgo para la sostenibilidad y el crecimiento de la empresa, por lo que había que tomar acciones. El estudio levanta información desde la recepción, hasta la salida de los motores y transmisiones; recoge data de los tiempos de entrega e información de Focus Group con el personal de taller; se utiliza herramientas Lean como el diagrama de Ishikawa y Pareto, los cuales permiten discriminar las causas principales. Asimismo, el Value Stream Map (VSM) del proceso actual, permitió identificar una oportunidad de mejora relevante para llevar el Lead Time de la reparación de motores de 37.5 a 30.5, colocando un Supermarket del componente crítico – Short Block (Kanban). Por otra parte, la implementación de ciertos activos de taller (SMED) ayudó a mejorar el Lead Time en el VSM futuro. / In this research work, the Supply Chain of the component repair process of a service company specialized in the power train of heavy machinery is analyzed, with the purpose of improving its Lead Time, given that the current result impacts negatively in terms of delivery of the committed service and consequently customer dissatisfaction. The continually decreasing NLS (Net Loyalty Score) customer loyalty indicator implies a risk to the sustainability and growth of the company, so actions had to be taken. The study gathers information from the reception to the exit of the engines and transmissions; collects data on the delivery times and information of Focus Group with the workshop staff; Lean tools such as the Ishikawa and Pareto diagram are used, which allow discriminating the main causes. Likewise, the Value Stream Map (VSM) of the current process, identified a relevant improvement opportunity to bring the Lead Time of engine repair from 37.5 to 30.5, placing a Supermarket of the critical component – Short Block (Kanban). On the other hand, the implementation of certain taller assets (SMED) helped improve Lead Time in the future VSM. / Trabajo de investigación

Att ha lojala kunder har blivit avgörande för företag i servicebranschen. När en kris uppstår i samhället där viktiga delar av människors liv förändras, där råd och rekommendationer från myndigheter gör att man inte längre rör sig ute på samma sätt tvingas företag till förändringar och uppoffringar. När denna studie utförs pågår det en pandemi av viruset Covid-19 som påverkar hela världen. För att bibehålla citykärnan i en mellanstor stad krävs det att konsumenter är lojala och fortsätter stötta servicebranschen i den mån det är möjligt. Här är alltså kundlojalitet avgörande för många företag. I denna studie har vi undersökt hur kundlojaliteten ser ut hos företag och konsumenter i Linköpings city samt hur man kan bibehålla den under en kris. Syftet med studien var då att studera vilka aspekter konsumenter anser är viktigast för att vara en lojal kund samt vilka åtgärder företagen inom servicebranschen har gjort för att på bästa sätt anpassa sig för den rådande situationen. Studien är baserad på kvantitativ data i form av enkätundersökningar hos både konsument och företag i Linköping city för att få en bredare och ett mer valid resultat. Konsumentrespondenterna var totalt 156 stycken och företagsrespondenterna var sammanlagt 20 stycken där alla är baserade i Linköpings city. En kvalitativ analys har sedan utförts genom en tematisk analysmetod där empiri och teorier från teoretiska referensramen ligger till grund för analys och slutsatsen för studien. I slutsatsen besvaras studiens tre forskningsfrågor där vi bland annat kommit fram till vilka aspekter som företagen bör fokusera på för att bibehålla kundlojalitet, vad kundlojalitet innebär, hur kundlojalitet ser ut i Linköping city samt hur den har förändrats under en kris. I slutet av studien ger vi även rekommendationer för framtida forskning. / Having loyal customers has become vital for companies in the service business. When a crisis occurs in a society where important parts of people’s lives change, where advice and recommendations from authorities makes it difficult to live like we used to, companies have to make changes and sacrifices to survive. When this research is done a global pandemic from the virus Covid-19 are affecting the whole world in many different ways. To maintain the city center customers have to stay loyal and support their local businesses to the extent possible. In this study we have examined how companies and consumers customer loyalty looks like and also how you maintain customer loyalty during a crisis. The aim of this study was to see what aspects consumers think are most important to become a loyal customer and also what actions companies within the service business have done to best adjust to the ongoing situation. The study is based on quantitative data made from surveys that got answered from both companies and consumers to obtain a wider and more valid result. It was 156 consumer respondents and 20 company respondents that answered where all the respondents were based in Linköping city. A qualitative analysis has been made with a thematic analysis where empirical data and theoretical information builds the foundation to the analysis and the conclusion. In the conclusion we answer our three research questions where we among many things answer what aspects companies should focus on in to be able to maintain customer loyalty, what customer loyalty is, how customer loyalty looks like in Linköping city center and how it has changed during a crisis. In the end of the study we give recommendations for future research within this subject.

Franchised small businesses will not survive their first 5 years if they cannot implement marketing strategies that appeal to their customers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that successful franchise small business leaders used to retain customers. The population comprised 4 business leaders at franchise small businesses in North Carolina. Competitive advantage theory and blue ocean theory grounded this study. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of company marketing materials. Data were thematically analyzed, and 6 themes emerged: personalization of customer service, market segmentation, innovative advertising, networking, brand identity, and loyalty programs. Market segmentation and innovative advertising are fundamental strategies for retaining customers within the target market, whereas personalization of customer service can help build positive relationships with customers. These findings could improve customer loyalty and customer satisfaction, which might increase the number of successful small businesses in the United States. The implications for positive social change include the potential for business leaders to develop effective marketing strategies to retain customers, which may benefit customers through an increase in job opportunities in the local business community.