Exploring the relationship between customer engagement strategies and brand loyalty

Abstract

Customer engagement has become more than just a strategy for business or marketing. It empowers the consumer to be engaged throughout their initial interaction and purchase journey. This engagement journey can help a brand to establish and grow due to the continuous support from consumers. The general aim of this study was to determine the nature of the relationship between customer engagement strategies (CES) and brand loyalty. CES identified five antecedents (brand reputation, social media, word-of-mouth, customer experience, and merchandising) for the self-developed questionnaire where 135 social media participants could partake in this study. The value of this investigation lies in determining the most influential antecedents for brand loyalty from a consumer. These findings can contribute to how brands strategize their marketing budgets and which segments of customer engagement consumers find valuable. The study was conducted on the social media platform Instagram, where participants were recruited with the referral from other participants. The data, collected via Google Forms, are reliable (α≥0.70) and adequate (KMO≥0.70). Data analysis using exploratory factor analysis suggested that eight antecedents influence consumers’ brand loyalty. The study found a positive relationship for most of the antecedents. However, customer experience should be reconsidered because this antecedent did not significantly influence a consumer's loyalty to a brand.