SERVICE DELIVERY STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER PATRONAGE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined service delivery strategies and customer patronage of deposit money banks in Rivers State. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the dimensions of service delivery strategies (electronic service delivery, self-service delivery and customer service delivery) and the measures of customer patronage (customer preference and repeat patronage) of deposit money banks. Ten (10) research questions and hypotheses were put forward to address the objectives of the study. The study adopted the positivism research philosophy and correlational research design. The population of this study consisted of all the 21 licensed deposit money banks in Rivers State. The unit of analysis consisted of branch managers, marketing managers, operational managers, customer service managers and customer relationship managers of the 21 licensed deposit money banks in Rivers State. 105 managers of the above categories were identified in the 21 deposit money banks. The census sampling technique was adopted in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed statistically while the hypotheses were tested using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient (rho). The SPSS version 23.0 was used to perform the bivariate analysis. The findings revealed that electronic service delivery has a significant relationship with customer patronage (customer preference and repeat patronage) of deposit money banks. The study also found a significant relationship between self-service delivery and customer patronage (customer preference and repeat patronage) of deposit money banks. The study equally found a significant relationship between customer service delivery and customer patronage (customer preference and repeat patronage) of deposit money banks in Rivers State. Based on these findings, it is concluded that service delivery strategies are significant predictors of customer patronage of deposit money banks in Rivers State. Therefore, it is recommended that deposit money banks in Rivers State especially those that are experiencing low level of customer patronage should adopt service delivery strategies such as electronic service delivery, self-service delivery and customer service delivery as it would increase their level of customer patronage.