Introduction
Digicel and Flow are telecommunication companies that provide mobile networks and home entertainment. Digicel has covered more than 33 countries worldwide, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, and Haiti (Golding & Tennant, 2017). On the other hand, Flow, commonly written as FLOW, is known for marketing cable television, telephone, and internet in major Caribbean regions. This study has three questions namely; what is the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty? What is significant relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty? What is the significant relationship between brand image and overall service quality?
The purpose of the study is to determine how the brand image of Digicel and Flow affect customer loyalty. It means the study is seeking answers on why the brand image is associated with customer loyalty. Thus, it means the companies’ business metrics will be observed keenly to establish the grounds on which the two aspects relate to each other. Digicel and Flow have a brand image that makes trading across highly competitive telecommunications markets in Jamaica and other Caribbean parts (McCree, 2021). Brand image means the set of beliefs held about a given brand, which includes the consumer’s perception of a certain product or service. The brand image of Digicel and Flow influences customers to repurchase telecommunication services often and recommend others to become clients.
Background of the Study
This topic is of interest because of the need to know the success of businesses from branding. It is a fact that the way a company structures its brand determines the way customers will be probed to stick to the firm (Pandey & Jain, 2021). Some of the key factors that made this topic among the preferred are because customer loyalty is affected by many aspects such as price, brand expansion, and brand positioning. However, the brand image seems to be one of the influencing elements for customers’ minds. Thus, it is essential to analyze how the two issues complement each other. The other interest is to know to what extent brand image grows the customer base from the loyalty set by the initial customers. Therefore, by targeting customer loyalty from brand image, it is possible to understand the growth and development of these two firms, Digicel and Flow, which operate widely in Jamaica.
Researching on this topic satisfies academic themes in research and methodology and understanding the key determining factors in the success of businesses. By venturing into this topic, it is possible to learn comprehensive academic skills such as the ability to conduct research, interpretation of information or data, communication cues, and development of the cognitive function of the mind as far as business and economics are concerned. Digicel has developed its brand image through price, internet, and landline (McCree, 2021). On the other hand, Flow has grown its image through channels that surpass Digicel’s by six. Digicel has initiated what is known as Play Fast, and the company has faster internet download speed and unlimited landline calls to customers with Digicel landline. Flow gives its subscribers 100 free minutes, referred to as Flow to Flow (Golding & Tennant, 2017). By observing the metrics set by these two companies, customers can easily stick to the brand because of convenience.
This study has three questions that the researcher seeks to get information for the research. The first question is, what is the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty? The second question is the significant relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty? The last question is, what is the significant relationship between brand image and overall service quality? By answering the three questions, the study shall directly link brand image and customer loyalty for both Digicel and Flow in Portland.
The reader is expected to understand how the inner operations and decisions made by the companies influence the way the firms perform in the market. By doing so, the study reflects the audience on how they can link brand elements to ensure that they set a stable competitive advantage. The significance of the study is to make readers understand that brand imaging is an important concept when growing a product or service. The study tries to enlighten the business community that there is a guarantee for a breakthrough in whichever enterprise one ventures in as long as they manage brand image to gain customers.
Literature Review
In this section, the study will explain the concepts by answering the three questions fully. The content here will be supported by literary projections from competent researchers on the same topic. Using other people’s literature makes it possible to relate what they say about brand imaging and customer loyalty. This chapter enables the reader to have a broad knowledge of how business is done, specifically product branding aimed at establishing a brand.
The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty
Customer satisfaction refers to the measures that determine how happy a client is with a given company’s products and capabilities. Customer satisfaction surveys are vital for a company to make changes on how to improve the products or services. The perceived value of services, meeting customer expectations, and quality leads to customer satisfaction. When services are not observed well, the impact could be customer loyalty or customer complaints (Adi Surya Pranantha & Sri Subawa, 2019). Loyalty, in this case, means the customer will be selective of a brand when they require a given service based on the previous experience.
Digicel and Flow have invested hugely in their price, internet, and landline. Most of the customers prefer having the services from the two companies because there is a measure of value from the services offered. For example, Digicel has 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) download speed while Flow has 20 Mbps (Digicel Limited, 2020). Additionally, Digicel offers unlimited calls to its customers, while Flow gives 100 minutes (McCree, 2021). The two aspects are important to the customers, more so the internet since the current world is characterized by technology and browsing. Additionally, the calling duration favors customers since they can have sufficient airtime to meet their required demands. Because of these two elements, the two companies have created satisfaction for many customers in Jamaica and other Caribbean areas, expanding the loyalty base in terms of customer base in the telecommunications market.
The other major factor that has increased the customer’s satisfaction is the channels. Both Digicel and Flow have packages that define the number of channels that viewers can access on their televisions. For example, Digicel has up to 148 channels which cost $17,473.84, and a fiber speed of 100 Mbps, as shown in Figure 1 below (Digicel Limited, 2020). If customers do not afford expensive packages, they can opt for cheaper ones with several channels. Examples include Play Fast, Play Loud, and Play Bold. The packages contain 44, 56, and 104 channels, respectively and the maximum price is 7,338.34 (Digicel Limited, 2020). Due to the variety of options, customers feel satisfied and have created a loyal subscription. Flow is also known to satisfy its customer through similar plans. For example, the company has Essential, Plus, Max, and Watch All (“Flow confirms Barbados FTTH rollout completion, the copper shutdown,” 2021). The minimum number of channels is 50, while the maximum can be 170 (Yazid, 2020). The cost for the Essential package is 4658.84 dollars, and the installation cost is 1995 standard and $2995 for non-standard, as shown in Figure 2 below.
The Relationship Corporate Image and Customer Loyalty
The term corporate image, also known as reputation, means how a firm, its activities, and products or services are perceived by the buyers or external parties. Many businesses are on the verge of creating a positive image by improving their quality of services to their customers, shareholders, and public members (Adi Surya Pranantha & Sri Subawa, 2019). If a company does not have quality services, its corporate image will be ruined and, therefore, get a challenge to win buyers or subscribers’ hearts. Therefore, a positive corporate image leads to a company’s customer loyalty and vice versa.
Digicel has up-to-date services in networking, entertainment, and tariff management. For example, through the creation of Digicel International, WorldRemit has partnered with Digicel to facilitate mobile wallet transfers in Caribbean regions (Digicel Limited, 2020). The reason why most customers prefer using this model of the transaction is due to the security guarantee that in any event, data and information are given, and no malicious third-party groups can access or manipulate.
Additionally, it can send and receive money instantly, which means Digicel’s partnership with WorldRemit improves the social connection between families. Flow is also known for improving service to the (“Digicel picks Alepo AAA solution for FTTx services across the Caribbean,” 2021). For example, the company’s download is fast, and customers can talk until they get satisfied. From 2018, Flow customers started to access unlimited calling to any network in Jamaica and unlimited messaging using social media platforms such as WhatsApp through plans launched to better subscribers’ lives. Dwight Williams, a senior director in the company, says, “The Jamaican mobile market remains very talk-centric despite the growing appetite for mobile data” (Golding & Tennant, 2017). Therefore, it means that the company is focused on having improved services that will build its corporate image.
Relationship Between Brand Image and Overall Service Quality
If there are poor services, a company’s reputation will be negative and vice versa. Therefore, it means that overall service quality affects the brand image. Digicel and Flow have been working to ensure that the services given to customers are standard hence, targeting the return clients to build and develop the companies more. For example, Digicel has initiated a digital operator program by delivering a powerful digital experience. That has been effective through a package known as Digicel Prime Bundles. The customers can conveniently access Digicel’s services and bundles by using applications. Flow, on a similar note, has ensured the protection of consumer identity by setting voice recognition services in their services (Yazid, 2020). due to the digital power of the two companies in delivering their services, it has become easy to build a wide customer base.
Research Methodology
Research Design
This study uses a correlational research design to allow the researcher to establish a relationship between customer loyalty and brand image. This includes a non-experimental research design that will require data from the given sets. Under the same, the qualitative element of research design is applicable (Bougie and Sekaran, 2019). Therefore, it means that the study gave answers to why brand image affects customer loyalty. Here, it involves open-headed survey questions and comprehensive answers in response to the theories associated with the variables. At this point, it is possible to explain why the brand image determines customer loyalty, and the predictions are useful in relating the outcome hence, getting the candid framework that can be used to explain why it happens that way.
Population, Sample, and Sampling Method Used
The study was conducted in both Portmore and Mandeville towns in Jamaica and utilized clusters as samplings method. 36 telecommunications specialists were involved in the research. There were 24 men and 12 women grouped into six clusters. In each cluster, a sample was taken for analysis before making conclusions and presentations. All the samples ensured there was balance of gender and level of expertise (Bougie and Sekaran, 2019). Each sample had 4 men and 2 women and with diverse telecommunications background and exposure in media and other industries. Majority of the samples indicated that customer loyalty is affected by brand reputation.
Instrument
This study used surveys to get information on how brand image affects customer loyalty. As mentioned above, data was collected from predefined groups or respondents to obtain information and insights on the same. The researcher used clusters as the sampling method, where data from each cluster was used to make conclusions (Bougie and Sekaran, 2019). Under surveying, there was the use of a questionnaire with open and closed questions. Many respondents would answer depending on a given scale or pick answers from the provided list.
Validity and Reliability
To ensure validity, the researcher used an appropriate measurement method, and that is, selecting samples uniformly so that there is an even distribution of the responses. In this case, all the samples had ensured that the respondents were professionals in media and included both women and men in different roles in the media. There was a consistent application of methods (Bougie and Sekaran, 2019). For example, during the survey, the respondents observed behavior to ensure they do not cook information or conspire to give wrong information. Additionally, there were standard conditions of the research to ensure that the data was reliable. Using the same set of questions and subjects was important to get reliable data.
Procedure and Data Analysis
The procedure for data analysis involved asking questions, collecting data, presenting it, and interpreting the results. The study used cluster analysis by grouping a set of six clusters in ways that appeared similar (Bougie and Sekaran, 2019). The data collected in each cluster was monitored to see if there were any patterns and predict the next aspect. Respondents were grouped based on demographics such as experience in media, role, gender, and other elements.
Conclusion
From the research, it was found that the brand image determines customer loyalty. If the brand corporate image is positive, customers tend to be more loyal and vice versa. The overall quality of services also affects customer loyalty. Digicel and Flow have improved their services to be more digital, which has seen many customers stick to the brand. The two companies have worked on several channels and prices, packages available, and the convenience of use. Therefore, the relationship between corporate images for the two firms and customer loyalty is that customers will become loyal if the brand’s image is strong.
Reference List
Adi Surya Pranantha, K., & Sri Subawa, N. (2019). Lifestyle marketing, brand personality, brand image, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty dan impulse buying. Journal of Business and Management, 16(4), 116.
Bougie, R., & Sekaran, U. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach. London, UK; John Wiley & Sons.
Digicel Limited. (2020). Digicel steps out as a digital operator. Web.
Digicel picks the Alepo AAA solution for FTTx services across the Caribbean. (2021). Web.
Flow confirms Barbados FTTH rollout completion, copper shutdown. (2021). Web.
Golding, P., & Tennant, V. (2017). Strategy and technology in telecoms: Digicel withdraws IPO. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 7(2), 122-131.
McCree, R. (2021). The state and sport in Trinidad and Tobago, 1947–2019. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 13(3), 531-544.
Pandey, A., & Jain, M. (2021). Measuring The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction, Service Quality and Corporate Image: A Case Study of Airtel and BSNL. Management Insight – The Journal of Incisive Analyzers, 17(01), 15-23.
Yazid, A. (2020). The effect of corporate image on customer loyalty: The mediating effect of customer satisfaction. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 51(2), 124-138.