Brand Resonance as a Driver of Customer Retention: Empirical Evidence from Microfinance Banks of Pakistan

Abstract

Customer retention is recognized as key to achieving long-term business success. However, in a quest to increase customer retention, marketing scholars overwhelmingly focused on customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment to fuel customer retention. Whereas, the influence of brand resonance (e.g., customer engagement, attachment, loyalty, and sense of community) on customer retention has been surprisingly ignored in the marketing literature. To address this knowledge gap, the present study aims to highlight the importance of brand resonance to determine customer retention in the microfinance sector. To meet this end, we involved (n = 407) existing clients of microfinance in urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Structural equation modeling technique was used to validate the proposed theoretical model. The results of this study show that customer engagement had a strongest positive effect on customer retention, followed by customer loyalty, customer attachment, and sense of community. Finally, we discuss in depth the limitations, future research opportunities, and managerial implications for the effect of brand resonance on customer retention.