Influence of Digital Marketing Strategies on Customer Loyalty among Four-Star Hotels within Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the use of digital marketing strategies on customer loyalty on four-star hotels in Nairobi. The study was guided by the following research questions: what is the effect of social media marketing on customer loyalty among four-star rated hotels in Nairobi? What is the effect of online influencers marketing on customer loyalty among four-star rated hotels in Nairobi? And, what is the effect of mobile marketing on customer loyalty among four-star hotels in Nairobi? This study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population comprised of 1,518,782 people who follow top travel influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Convenience sampling technique was applied in this study because the researcher wanted to assess some of the social media users who were scattered across Kenya. The Yamane formula was used to provide the study with a sample size of 400 respondents. The study used primary data in the form of questionnaires that were tested for reliability before data was collected. Data was obtained from the respondents via the internet. The data collected through the questionnaire to answer the research questions was quantitative in nature and data analysis methods involved were; frequency counts, analysis of variances and regression analysis, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) tool was used to analyze data. The findings were presented in form of data visualization, narratives and tables. The study showed that emotional attachment to hotels influenced customers’ engagement and loyalty. Correlation analysis outcome demonstrated that a linear relationship existed between social media marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (r=0.417, p<.05). Regression model summary showed that social media marketing accounted for 17.1% of the variation in customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County. ANOVA analysis demonstrated the existence of a linear relationship between social media marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (F (1,307) = 64.438, p<.05), where a unit improvement in social media marketing had the capacity to improve customer loyalty in four-star hotels by 52.5%. The study revealed that customers normally used online influencers who were highly skilled in their areas of expertise. Correlation analysis demonstrated that a linear relationship existed between online influencer marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (r=0.159, p<.05). The regression model summary revealed that online influencer marketing accounted for 2.2% of the variation in customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County. The ANOVA analysis showed that there existed a linear relationship between online influencer marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (F (1,307) = 7.933, p<.05), where a unit improvement in online influencer marketing has the capacity to improve customer loyalty in four-star hotels by 17%. The study showed that mobile web application gave customers the assurance that hotels were readily available to them. The correlation analysis outcome demonstrated a linear relationship existence between mobile marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (r=0.656, p<.05). The regression model summary showed that mobile marketing accounted for 42.9% of the variation in customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County. The ANOVA analysis revealed that a linear relationship existed between mobile marketing and customer loyalty in four-star hotels in Nairobi County (F (1,307) = 231.216, p<.05), where a unit improvement in mobile marketing has the capacity to improve customer loyalty in four-star hotels by 68.6%. The study concludes that most people don’t share photos of their stay on social media even though, social media had persuaded customers in changing their perspective about certain hotels. Online influencers usually did not induce customer trust towards particular hotels because they relied on consumer ratings, review and testimonials about hotels when searching for honest consumer perspectives. Mobile web application gave customers the assurance that hotels were readily available to them, while banners had been effective in increasing their awareness and loyalty to particular hotels. This study recommends the managers of four-star hotels in Nairobi County to provide exemplary services to clients that would earn them great online reviews since consumers rely on these reviews when selecting hotels online. They also need to work with trusted influencers who would give great reviews and testimonials about them, and create mobile applications that can be downloaded by customers. This would allow customers to gain easy access to the hotels as well as acquire one-on-one assistance which may significantly increase customer loyalty of the hotels.