Strategic Management Factors Influencing Credit Customer Retention at Equity Bank Limited, Kitale Branch, Kenya

Abstract

This study purposed to analyze the strategic management factors that influence credit customer retention at Equity Bank limited, Kitale Branch from the customer’s perspective. Specific objectives: To determine the credit customer likelihood of repeat borrowing; find out if gender and age of the credit customer had influence on the customers retention and to assess the influence of Credit Customer Relationship Management practices on credit customer retention at Equity Bank Limited, Kitale Branch. Case study design was used in this study. This is because case studies frequently make use of qualitative data. The target population were credit customers (5400) and staff (3) at managerial level of Equity Bank Limited, Kitale Brach. A sample of 540 customers (10%) was selected using convenience sampling technique.  Data was collected using questionnaire and interview schedule. Analyses were done using simple descriptive statistics of percentages and mean, while chi square test was used to test independence of the variables. The study revealed that gender and age have a great impact on the level of customer retention. It also established that customer relationship practices such  customer services like helpfulness of branch staff, accuracy of transaction in the bank, branch opening and closing hours, the bank efforts to inform customers about new products and services, good communication from the staff, fair price charge for banking transaction and the bank’s reliability of electronic products like ATM had a strong positive association on customers retention and the bank’s unique services to her customers are important factors for customers retention. This study concludes that quality of customer services, branch management, age and gender have a strong positive association on customers retention. Study recommends that banks should strive to ensure good and quality customer relationship management service so that they ensure customer retention. This can be achieved by improving their opening hours and closing hours, speed of service, and degree of responsiveness to enquiries, time taken to get service and good communication between the bank staff and customers. The study recommends study on strategies to attract customers of ages below 30 years and above 60 years.

Keywords: strategic management, customer retention, customer relationship management and competitive forces