The effect of service brand dimensions on brand loyalty in the insurance industry

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree

Field: Business Management International Business Orientation

Abstract

The insurance industry is one of the growing industries in the current society of the world and Iran. Due to the increase in the number of different companies and its nature; Increasing competition in the market requires conducting various researches and obtaining the results of variable relationships that enable progress in this competitive and, of course, changing market by adopting better and more considered strategies and decisions. With regard to the increase of insurance companies, without a doubt, despite the competitive atmosphere governing the insurance industry in the coming years, there are effective factors to get the right place in the minds of customers so that they remain loyal to the insurance company. Customer loyalty is an obvious factor in the success of an insurance company's business. Loyal customers in the insurance industry bring many benefits. Among these benefits, we can improve the profitability of insurance companies, reduce insurance marketing costs, increase sales, lower prices for insurance customers, and so on. He pointed out that in this regard, conducting a study on the relationship between service brand factors on satisfaction and attitude and finally, on brand loyalty is very noticeable so that by conducting such research, a step will be taken in the direction of branding progress and obtaining customer satisfaction and ultimately more profit. Therefore, the present study will be studied in Iran's insurance service field, so that in addition to measuring the mentioned variables in the current conditions, the relationships between them will also be evaluated. It should be noted that revealing the relationships between the relevant variables can be a step towards the development of the insurance industry inside the country. According to the research model, the main question of the research is whether the dimensions of the service brand in Iran's insurance service sector can affect brand loyalty. The statistical population of this research is Iran's insurance customers in the first half of 2013. Sampling was done using the available non-probability method. The sample size was determined to be 309 people. The method of this research is practical in terms of the purpose and in terms of the method of collecting the research data, it is a part of descriptive and correlational research due to the investigation and description of the current situation, research variables and their relationships in the investigated society. The method of collecting data and information is field, as well as the tool of data collection is a standard questionnaire. The data analysis method was structural equation modeling using Lisrel software. Finally, by testing the hypotheses, the results of the analyzes show that there is a positive relationship between evidence and attitude, evidence with satisfaction and satisfaction with attitude; Also, there is a positive relationship between rumors with attitude and rumors with satisfaction and rumors with evidence and attitude with loyalty.

Key words: service brand, brand loyalty, brand attitude, brand satisfaction, brand evidence, brand rumors, Iran insurance. 

Introduction

Today, one of the most important marketing issues is brand[1] and brand name, which is facing commercial companies. Its importance is such that brand management has become an independent discipline in scientific societies. A brand is a name, phrase, term, sign, sign, design, symbol or a combination of them in order to identify the products and services of sellers or distinguish them from the products of competing companies (Carter and Armstrong [2], 2016, p. 376). From an economic and strategic point of view, the brand is considered among the most valuable assets of any company; In recent years, researchers have come to the conclusion that the real value of products and services for companies is not inside the products and services, but this value exists in the minds of real and potential customers, and it is the brand that creates real value in the minds of customers (Keller [3], 2008, p. 88). In this way, it can be said that the most obvious skill of a professional marketer [4] is to create a brand that can support, protect and strengthen it (Khadang, 2018, p. 8).

Also, as a result of the increase in competition that is characteristic of global markets, companies focus their strategies in order to satisfy and retain customers (Gustafson et al. [5], 2005). In this regard, brand building is a strategy that creates conditions for organizations to establish long-term profitable relationships with their customers; In addition, branding creates special value for the customer, which contributes to customer satisfaction and retention.However, due to the intangibility and perceived risk associated with services, customer perception of brand services is very important; Because the customer's perception creates its final behavior towards the brand (Kazemi Rad, 2018, p. 59). Of course, branding is as important for service users as it is for manufacturers of physical goods.

In this way, the brand name is one of the intangible assets of any organization, especially service organizations, in these organizations, it is possible for customers to evaluate the service due to its intangible nature, through the brand of the organization (Krishman et al. [6], 1996, p. 394); In this way, determining the brand name provides companies with the opportunity to attract a set of loyal and profitable customers, through which sellers take care of their brand name in front of competitors and exercise more control in their planning. (Cutler[7], 2016, p. 486).

Another important concept in the field of marketing is brand loyalty[8], which plays an important role in creating long-term benefits for organizations; Because loyal customers do not need extensive promotional efforts, they are willing to pay more for the benefits and quality of their favorite brand. In addition to increasing market share, loyalty causes the organization to demand higher prices than competitors and also increases positive word-of-mouth advertising among customers. The American Marketing Association [9] defines brand loyalty as: an opportunity in which a customer, instead of buying a product from several suppliers, repeatedly buys it from one supplier (Kazemi Rad, 2018, p. 64). Research shows that the cost of maintaining a loyal customer is lower than the cost of attracting a new customer (Syed Javadin, Amini and Amini, 2019, p. 61). Brand loyalty indicates the customer's positive attitude towards the brand and adherence and intention to continue purchasing in the future. Loyalty to the brand is directly affected by the customer's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the brand over time, as well as the quality of the product (Dohdashti, 2016, p. 72). Su et al. [10] in 2013 stated that brand loyalty is the commitment of customers to have a long-term relationship with a brand (Su et al., 2013, p. 405). This concept has not received much attention in Iran. The lack of brand knowledge and proper brand management in Iran has not brought any result other than the increasing sales of foreign brands among teenagers and young adults and the isolation of domestic products; The brand is considered a strategic requirement for the organization because it introduces the organization's identity to its customers. Academic research conducted in Iran identifies customer loyalty as the most important factor in consumers' preference for most products and services under review; According to Oliver [12] (1999), brand loyalty is a deep commitment to repurchase a service or product continuously in the future, which causes the repetition of the same brand or the purchase of a similar set of brands, even though environmental effects and marketing efforts are a factor in changing behavior (Khadang, 2008, p. 12). Creating customer loyalty is a concept in today's businesses because loyal customers have become the main components of organizational success; It has received more attention. Loyal customers buy more and are usually considered a suitable tool for advertising. As a result, today's organizations seek to identify and manage effective methods of creating loyalty (Saeed Nia, Sehat and Charkhian, 2011). From the point of view of Dick and Basu [13] (1994), loyalty is a combination of perceived attitudinal and behavioral dimensions. Behavioral loyalty to a brand is often interpreted as a repeat purchase behavior; Later, attitudinal loyalty to the brand was also recognized, which goes beyond repeated purchases by the customer and expresses a real commitment to a specific brand (Kikavahmkaran, 2012, p. 531). Among the most important issues that companies face today is how to establish a relationship between structures such as brand and customer loyalty, especially in the literature of marketing management, many factors have been proposed that affect customer loyalty (Syed Javadin et al., 1389 p. 60). Among the important factors in the formation of customer loyalty to the service organization is his perception of the face-to-face interaction with the service provider employees, or the quality of the service encounter (Haj Karimi, Makizadeh and Jamalieh Bastami, 2018, p. 30).