BRAND ASSOCIATION AND AFFECTIVE LOYALTY IN SELECTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS

 

Abisola Osoko¹* Oladele Kehinde² Oluwole Iyiola³ Olaleke Ogunnaike⁴ Odunayo P Salau⁵ Tolulope Morenike Atolagbe⁶

¹Covenant University, NIGERIA, abisola.osoko@yahoo.com

²Covenant University, NIGERIA, oladele.kehinde@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

³Covenant University, NIGERIA, oluiyiola@gmail.com

⁴Covenant University, NIGERIA, olaleke.ogunnaike@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

⁵Covenant University, NIGERIA, odunayo.salau@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

⁶Covenant University, NIGERIA, tolulope.atolagbe@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

*Corresponding Author

 

Abstract

Banks across the world are expected to build powerful brands that communicate their values through every point of contact they have with customers; particularly in services that need a great deal of interaction between customers and front-line employees. Brand association has a direct influence on customers’ trust, commitment, and satisfaction in the banking industry. However, as competition becomes intense and switching costs are actively innovated against, modern banks in developing countries need an inclusive understanding of what drives loyalty in customers. The charges placed on specific bank services such as card maintenance fees, notification charges are major threats in the Nigerian banking system as price sensitive customers still feel reluctant in associating with specific banks. As a result, deposit money banks are faced with challenges of high marketing costs in attracting new customers and retaining existing customers which on the long run affects brand association. Hence, this study ascertains the extent to which brand association can be used to influence the affective loyalty of customers in Nigerian deposit money banks. The study adopted a descriptive research design to obtain the opinion of customers on brand association and affective loyalty. The descriptive research design was adopted and the study population consists of customers of the five selected banks in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multiple (purposive, stratified and convenience) sampling was adopted and a structured questionnaire was developed to acquire quantitative data from the customers of the five selected banks. The data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Solutions (SPSS) version 25. These findings indicate that successful brand association helps consumers to recognise customer preferences and differentiate brands from their rivals, with the result that customers are more likely to patronise their brands. The study recommends that convenience hours should be introduced into the banking system in order to afford customers coming into the banking hall as at when opportune as this will increase the customer base and attachment with the bank.

Keywords: Brand Association, Affective Loyalty, Banks.