AN INVESTIGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BRAND EQUITY AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY: THE CASE OF ZEMEN BANK S.C

Abstract

Zemen Bank plays a significant role in the economy, making up one of the big financial services provider in Ethiopian economy and introducing the new era of banking. Hence, providing better quality is vital as banks have to compete for customers. The general objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between brand equity and customer loyalty the case of Zemen Bank S.Co. Primary data was obtained through structured questionnaire from customers of three branches namely (Main Branch, Bole Banking Center and CMC Banking Center). Simple random sampling technique was used to sample branches. The researcher proportionally distributed 384 questionnaires to customers of the three selected branches and 303 of the questionnaires were returned, properly filled. The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Pearson Correlation and multiple regressions were used to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent constructs of the research. The findings revealed that the four independent variables (i.e. Customer Experience with company, External Brand Communications, Company’s Presented Brand and Brand Awareness) are statistically important determinants of customer loyalty in Zemen Bank whereas Brand Meaning had no impact on customer loyalty of the bank. But has a strong positive relationship with customer loyalty. A conclusion was drawn to the effect that since factor influencing customer loyalty have been established, the bank have to note these and emphasize them in their marketing strategy.