Role of Customer Loyalty in Maintaining Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Study of Tecno Company Outlets

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of customer loyalty in maintaining sustainable competitive advantage. The research was guided by the following objectives: To discuss the meaning and scope of customer loyalty in the context of Tecno; to examine the contribution of customer loyalty to sustainable competitive advantage; to discuss how customer loyalty enhances sustainable competitive advantage. The research targeted managers, supervisors and promoters in these outlets. A descriptive research approach was used andthe target population was 340. Stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 102. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data. The research also used qualitative and quantitative data. Percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies were used to present results. In addition, correlation was used to explore the relationship between the variables. ANOVA analysis was also carried out to determine the differences in means between the variables. The research distributed 102 questionnaires but only 100 were filled and returned. The demographic factor revealed that the company has been in existence for 10 years and majority of the respondents have worked at Techno for duration of 6-10 years. On analysis of the first objective on the meaning and scope of customer loyalty, the findings revealed that most respondents agreed that customers who come to buy Tecno devices have had an experience with other Tecno devices before. They also agreed that the company has a good reputation from their customer’s feedback and that it is easy to convince customers to buy Tecno devices as compared to other devices. In addition, the least mean was recorded from the variable that the company gives priority to its customers always. The second objective was to examine the contribution of customer loyalty to sustainable competitive advantage. It was established that most respondents neither agreed nor disagreed that retaining customers was an easy task for the company. Therespondents however agree that most of the customers who come to buy have bought a Tecno Device before, and that the company knows well where it lies in terms of competitive position in the industry. Furthermore the respondents also agreed that customers do not keep their complaints to themselves rather express them to the management, customers give a lot of attention to prices on the device and that customers get information about Tecno products from their friends through word of mouth. The third objective was to discuss how customer loyalty enhances sustainable competitive advantage. Most respondents agree that the company can almost be sure of its existence in the future and the company has increased its operations to other towns in the country of late. In addition, employee involvement in their customers has brought a positive impact on the company’s sales, Tecno comes up with new products from time to time, the company has affiliated with other major companies in the mobile industry to boost their efficiency and the company has been accredited to work with major phone retail outlets like Safaricom and Airtel.

On analysis of the first objective, the study recommended that Tecno should put the needs of their customers first by understanding their customer needs, do a survey and find out what customers want, ensure that customers will be able to easily access their products and acknowledge customers. On analysis of the second objective, it was recommended that for Tecno to retain its customers, it should build trust through relationships, listen to customers, implement customer feedback survey, offer products of high qualityand offer price discounts that build a brand name in the minds of the consumers. On analysis of the third objective, it was recommended that the company should come up with new products for them to be able to adapt to customers taste and preferences. For further research, the researcher recommends that since the mobile industry is growing, it is important for more research to be done and other factors to be used to determine the influence of customer loyalty in maintaining sustainable competitive advantage.