- Title
- Loyalty programmes in the South African restaurant industry
- Creator
- Raepsaet, Vincent
- Subject
- Customer loyalty programs
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43019
- Identifier
- vital:36733
- Description
- Loyalty Programme is the term used most commonly used when referring to a structured and long-term marketing effort, designed to motivate the customers in a business's target market, to make frequent purchases and shun competitors. This behaviour is achieved by providing repeat customers with certain incentives as a reward for loyal buying behaviour. In today’s ultra-competitive global marketplace, competition is rife and customers are faced with a plethora of choices, offerings and more specifically, Loyalty Programmes. Businesses, in a bid to retain and even increase their customer base, spend millions on their Loyalty Programmes, seeking to encourage customer loyalty, but with varying and often disappointing results. This treatise endeavours to embrace and delve into customer loyalty and the design of these Loyalty Programmes, by looking at Loyalty Programmes in general and then, more specifically, at those within the Restaurant Industry, with the purpose of exploring the factors that Loyalty Programmes in the South African Restaurant Industry should include in order to improve their design and increase their effectiveness. Loyalty Programmes in this industry have not been adequately addressed, this despite the fierce competition which exists amongst restaurants and the relatively low barriers to entry for new competitors. An in-depth literature review was conducted. Attitudes and behaviours were identified as the two dimensions common to customer loyalty, with both, therefore, being examined. Pertinent theories, such as Social Exchange Theory, Equity Theory, Relationship Marketing Theory and Commitment-Trust Theory were explored. Additionally, the factors that influence customer loyalty in the Restaurant Industry in South Africa were explored, with the literature laying the foundation for the conceptual model that included proposed communication, flexibility, personalisation, purchase behaviour, method of participation, rewards and trust as being the factors which influence Loyalty Programmes. This treatise was part of a bigger study of Loyalty Programmes, undertaken using a survey (questionnaire) distributed via email, which received 1090 respondents. The sample size applicable to this treatise is n = 399. Data analysis included the use of descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as Exploratory Factor Analysis. The results of the analysis identified relevant factors in regard to the effectiveness of Loyalty Programmes to be those with attitudes related to communication, flexibility, general assessment, rewards and trust, as well as those with behaviours related to communication, flexibility, general assessment, personalisation, purchase behaviour, and rewards. The Pearson Product Model Correlations identified the strongest factor relationships to be Attitude – General and Behaviour – General (.739), as well as Attitude – Communication and Behaviour – Communication (.711). In light of these results, as part of the managerial recommendations made to help improve the design of Loyalty Programmes, the need to embrace and employ new and varied communication channels and strategies must be considered, as well as the responsiveness of said communication to customers. Further important results of the study encourage Loyalty Programmes (LPs) to be more personalised by taking customer demographics into consideration. LPs need to incorporate more transparency into how the personal information of customers will be used, flexibility in terms of the reward type, accrual and redemption needs to be embraced through the use of more modern, relevant and popular platforms such as those offered via technological means. In summary, a regular review of LPs is recommended to keep them current and applicable, with an emphasis being placed on personalisation, the expectations of customers and the method of participation.
- Format
- xiv, 230 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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Collections
NMU Business School
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | LPs in SA Restaurant Industry_205029337_RaepsaetVincent.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |