Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction as a Competitive Advantage in Commercial Banks in Kenya: A Case Study of Credit Bank Limited

Abstract

Customer satisfaction is critical in the survival of banks in the current competitive markets in the world in general. They depend on satisfying their customers for them to remain with them as they look for other customers to increase their performance. In Kenya banks are not left out either, they have researched on different ways to satisfy their customer this has included staff training in customer service, establishment of corporate counters for corporate customers and the introduction of customer service level agreements. The establishment of corporate counters has seen the corporate customers to receive a faster service which is customized to their ever changing needs. With the ever changing markets and the competition associated with it customer satisfaction has become a competitive strategy in the commercial banks in Kenya. Banks depend on sufficient and sustaining strategies to survive in the banking sector. Customers are the main source of banks' profitability therefore getting strategies to retain customers, then is a key headache to current managers. Many studies have established that there is a link between satisfaction and competitiveness of the banks in terms of customer satisfaction and retention. This study analyses the factors influencing customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage in commercial banks in Kenya, a case study of credit bank limited from the banks' customer perspective. The study sought to determine how organization responsiveness influences customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage in commercial banks in Kenya, to establish how organization assurance influence customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage in commercial banks in Kenya and to determine how organization reliability influence customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage in commercial banks in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used in this study in exploring the subject. Both primary and secondary data was used and this was collected using questionnaires designed appropriately for the purpose. The total population was 536 credit banks, corporate customers' from which using simple random sampling, a sample size of 161 customers was used. The data was analyzed using frequencies, means and standard deviation and the result presented using tables, pie charts, and graphs where applicable in the presentation of data.