000			10000ntm a2200193 a 4500
001			33866
003			0000000000
005			20240411192755.0
008			191016n 000 0 eng d
100	1		_aCanare, Josielet M.
245	0	0	_aThe loyalty status of customers among selected business establishments in the City of Balanga _h[manuscript] : _bIts implication to business administration / _cJosielet M. Canare.
260			_aBalanga City : _bBPSU, _c2017.
300			_a124 leaves ; _c28 cm.
500			_ainclude bibliographical reference.
520			_aThe study determined to identify the loyalty status of customers of selected business establishments in the City of Balanga and its relationship to the demographic profiles of the respondents inclusive of their status of participation on loyalty cards program during the Fiscal Year 2016. Specifically, the study focused on the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, civil status, occupation, income/allowance level, status of participation on loyalty card programs of selected business establishments, number of loyalty cards owned and frequency of use of loyalty cards. Also included in the study is the degree of loyalty status of customers when measured in terms of attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. The study also provided the significant difference in the loyalty status of customers of selected establishments when their profiles are grouped accordingly and the implications of findings in the business administration. The descriptive-survey design is used in the study. It describes extensively the factors including respondents' profile and customer loyalty status. The group of respondents is composed of the cardholders and non-cardholders of the selected thirty-one (31) business establishments in the City of Balanga. The population of the study was composed of 400 respondents chosen in accordance with convenience sampling technique. It is a non-probability sampling method and it occurs when researcher typically chooses elements that are readily available, nearby, or willing to participate. Convenience sampling technique was selected after companies' refusal to release customers' information due to confidentiality. Data gathering on the profile and the loyalty status of customers was undertaken through the use of a survey questionnaire generated by the researcher herself with corroboration from books, previous theses and dissertations. Items in the questionnaire were adopted from those materials. The questionnaire is consisting of two parts. First part zips on the profile of the customers in terms of age, sex, civil status, occupation, income/allowance level, status of participation on loyalty card programs of selected business establishments, number of loyalty cards owned and frequency of use of loyalty cards. And the second part gathered information on the loyalty status of the customers which will describe the degree of customer loyalty based on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. The data collected through the questionnaire was encoded and statistically processed using statistical software called Predictive Analysis Software (PASW) Statistics version 20 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences or SPSS for Windows). The data gathered was analyzed with the used of descriptive statistical tools such as frequency counts, percentage, mean, rank, and inferential statistics such as independent samples t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) or F-test. In answering the specific questions in the study, the investigation generated the following findings: The characteristics of those respondents identified as most loyal to selected business establishments in the City of Balanga are 15-24 years old, male, single, students, with income/allowance of ₱1,000.00-₱10,000.00 and use loyalty cards once a week. Cardholders and non-cardholders of various loyalty programs did not possess significant difference in their customer loyalty status similar to holders of 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9 units of viii loyalty cards. It is admitted by the holders of 7-9 pieces of loyalty cards that they are polygamous loyal towards different stores because of wanting to get all the benefits the cards may offer. Based on the average results, the Balangueño respondents scored high both in attitudinal (brand preference or relative attitude) and behavioral (share of market, relative purchase or repeat patronage) loyalty. These customers preferred a certain company or brand because that is the best choice for them and they are most likely to recommend a company or brand to someone who will seek their advice. Best choice could mean good price, best quality, excellent customer service and/or good ambience. These are great factors that the management of any company must be taken care of, for word of mouth could influence more than one customer. Though scored high in behavioral loyalty, the respondents' collated answers had volatility in terms of three statements for they neither agree nor disagree with statement numbers, 5, 6 and 7, to wit: 'When I see a new product/service, somewhat different from those of the company, I will not try it'; 'I would not switch to a competitor, even if I had a problem with the products/services of the company since it could be fixed right away'; and 'If the company is not available, since this is the best choice for me, I will not try an alternative'. These could mean that Balangueños have the tendency to change to a competitor once they encounter a problem with the current company, want a different variety or the company is temporarily unavailable. With these, it is proven that the managers need to know the ways on how to increase the switching barriers so that whenever the enumerated situations happen, these customers will think more than once before transferring to another company, for example providing hard benefits (to save money and get the best deal) and soft benefits (to feel important and receive special recognition). With regards to loyalty cards, results of the survey shows that the most number of card users have Robinsons Rewards Card and Happy Plus Card issued by large corporations with multi-merchants coalition. These corporations have large financial resources and build relationships with several brands or companies. In the light of the foregoing study, the researcher arrived at the conclusion that the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the respondents' profile and the status of loyalty of selected business establishments in the City of Balanga is rejected. In the light of the findings of the study and the conclusion arrived at, following recommendations are hereby given: The business establishments should create high quality product and services or programs catering to students and young professionals to further increase their customer loyalty. On the other hand, the business establishments should also come up with products and services or programs catering to other customers to encourage them to be loyal to the company. Promotional activities towards other customers may be considered in order to gain their loyalty. The business establishments may consider the needs of each customer and come up with a product or service that could answer these needs. The companies should have a thorough study if it is really beneficial to invest in customer loyalty programs, most especially to small-time players with limited resources. If the company opted to invest in loyalty cards program, it is suggested to do segmentation. By segmenting customers (priority members versus regular members), the audience is minimized in size. This in turn makes targeting customers with promotions and advertisements easier, more specific and more cost-effective. If the company opted not to treat loyalty cards as an asset, it is suggested that new or old businesses to learn from other businesses' experiences. Benchmarking with other business establishments may be beneficial in knowing ways on how to obtain loyalty from customers. This includes the reasons why the company is successful even if the company did not issue loyalty card. It is also proposed for businesses to exert extra marketing effort to convince non cardholders to get their loyalty cards by using social media (Facebook, twitter, instagram, yahoo mail, gmail, etc.). It is recommended for business establishments in the City of Balanga to retain the current status of loyalty of Balangueño customers by providing hard or monetary benefits like discounts and rewards. Other factors such as store's location, product's quality, price, etc. must not be taken for granted. Business administration, thru the management, must consider various factors which made customers in the City of Balanga as truly loyal.
520			_a With the continuous development and advancement in Marketing, businesses must strive harder to cope up with the changes and to survive never-ending competition. For future researches, it is recommended for business management and future researchers to do in-depth studies on ways or practices that sustain loyalty cards' attractiveness; impact of a specific loyalty card in a particular establishment; and factors or aspects which consider the company as the best choice among the rest to recommend and to increase purchases and consequently retain truly loyal customers to the company. In addition, as much as possible, increase the number of respondents whose age group is 65 years old and above to further analyze their customer loyalty status.
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