EFFECT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MARKETING ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY: IN THE CASE OF MULTICHOICE ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of relationship marketing on customer loyalty at Multichoice Ethiopia and to examine the effect of each relationship-marketing factor (i.e., Trust, Commitment, perceived value, Empathy, and Conflict Handling) on customer loyalty. The digital entertainment industry is undergoing rapid and widespread changes due to the global economy and competitive markets. Relationship marketing is an ideal strategy for creating and maintaining long-term customer relationships in this industry. Both descriptive and explanatory research design was used, and data was collected through a survey of 282 customers. Descriptive and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that overall relationship marketing had a significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Regression analysis revealed that MCE’s relationship marketing practices could explain 78.93% of customer loyalty. Three out of five relationship dimensions (Perceived value, Trust, and Conflict Handling) demonstrated a significant association with customer loyalty in Multi Choice Ethiopia, while Commitment and Empathy were statistically insignificant. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Multichoice Ethiopia prioritize creating and developing customer trust, demonstrating commitment, and implementing effective conflict-handling strategies to gain a competitive advantage in customer loyalty.