From Marketing Communications to Brand Management: Factors Influencing Relationship Quality and Customer Retention

Abstract

The research aims to investigate how to improve relationship quality and retain customers through marketing communications. The article presents an extensive review of the marketing literature relating to branding, relationship marketing, and marketing communications with a view to identifying effective ways to enhance brand personality, brand image, and brand awareness as well as relationship quality and, ultimately, customer retention. The exogenous constructs of the conceptual model include influential factors such as marketing communications, brand personality, brand image, and brand awareness. The endogenous constructs include cognitive and affective customer evaluations such as customers’ trust, satisfaction, value, and the resultant brand loyalty (retention). It is found that brand equity is important in determining customer expectations, which is an antecedent of customer satisfaction. Consumers will be satisfied with the brand if the initial expectations of the brand are nearly or entirely met. In return, high consumer satisfaction will augment the level of brand trust and brand value, eventually affecting repurchase intention. The study proposes that by enhancing marketing communications, firms can influence customers’ satisfaction, trust, and value and ultimately customer retention, which are critical for a company's success and long-term sustainability.