The Role of Customer Perceived Value, Brand Trust and Service Personalization in Shaping Customer Loyalty

Abstract

This study investigated factors influencing customer loyalty in three-star hotels in Dodoma City, focusing on customer perceived value, brand trust, and service personalization. Qualitative data, collected through purposive sampling and thematically analyzed, revealed significant disparities in customer perceived value. A majority the participants expressed dissatisfaction with pricing and alignment of services, signaling areas for hotel service enhancement. Transparent communication and consistent service delivery emerged as crucial for fostering brand trust, while personalized experiences positively impacted customer loyalty, highlighting the importance of tailored amenities and attentive staff. Recognizing the importance of meeting customer expectations, hotels emphasize personalized services and clear communication to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, quantitative data collected from 96 respondents using stratified random sampling and analyzed through multiple linear regressions indicated that neither customer perceived value nor brand trust significantly correlated with customer loyalty. This suggests that variations in these factors alone do not adequately explain changes in loyalty, hinting at a more unique and context-dependent relationship. However, a notable positive correlation was observed between service personalization and customer loyalty, indicating that improvements in personalization significantly influence higher levels of loyalty. Thus, hotels should focus on tailoring services and amenities to align with individual customer preferences and needs, thereby enhancing loyalty and fostering positive recommendations. Also, hotels should prioritize transparent pricing, consistent communication, and responsive customer engagement. The study provides fresh insights into customer loyalty dynamics within Dodoma City’s three-star hotel sector, offering valuable knowledge to aid hotel management in devising effective strategies to bolster customer loyalty.

Keywords

• brand trust
• customer loyalty
• customer perceived value
• service personalization
• three-star hotels