Customer Loyalty and Integrated Marketing Communications among Subscribers of Telecommunication Firms in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Strategies for improving customer loyalty are a sine qua non for attracting new customers and retaining old ones in order to improve firms’ sustainable competitiveness. However, choice of marketing communication mix would differ between firms and across industries. This study examines the influence of integrated marketing communications (IMC) dimensions on customer loyalty to mobile telecommunication service among competing firms in telecommunication service industry. Using cross-sectional survey research design, multistage sampling procedure (stratified, quota and simple random) sampling techniques, data was collected from 150 respondents out of which n = 134 copies of the retrieved questionnaires. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (correlation and regression), while hypotheses were tested using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show a significant relationship between customer loyalty and direct marketing (r = .375**); publicity (r = .514**); sales promotion (r = .470**) and advertising r = .562**) respectively. The multiple regression result indicates R2 value of .483, meaning that integrated marketing communication dimensions accounted for 48.3% variance in customer loyalty. The study therefore recommends IMC as a strategic tool for targeting subscribers to patronize and retain them with a mobile telecom service provider for a long time. It further suggests that managers in the industry should prioritize their strategies on the basis of IMC dimension that makes the greatest contribution to the criterion of interest, with beta and high coefficient in their budgetary allocation for the optimal promotional mix to achieve the organisational goal both in short and long-run.

Keywords

• loyalty
• direct marketing
• publicity
• sales promotion
• advertising
• consumer buying decision
• telecom competitiveness