Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction With Services Offered By Safaricom Mobile Cellular Network

ABSTRACT

Creating satisfied and loyal customers is a key concern of managers today and it will remain in the future. It is well accepted that customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool for customer-centred companies. Customers’ satisfaction which leads to purchase is a significant factor that leads business to success. The main objective of this research was to analyse the factors influencing customer satisfaction in the Kenyan mobile cellular industry. The study was based on American Customer Satisfaction index and the Theory of Reasoned Action. The study employed a descriptive survey research design in collecting data from respondents. The target population was Safaricom customers who visit Safaricom customer care centres/outlets in Nairobi County. There are about 14 Safaricom outlets in Nairobi. The sample included 399 customers randomly selected out of which 331 participated in the study, an 82% response rate. A semi structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The study also used descriptive statistics and correlation analysis to show the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The study established that promotional value, functional value, innovative value and emotional value have a significant relationship with customer satisfaction. Functional value and innovative value had the greatest influence on customer satisfaction. Emotional value and promotional value also had a moderate influence on customer satisfaction. The combination of all the factors and implementing them successfully brings about a high level of customer satisfaction with mobile cellular firms product and services. The limitation of the study was that it was focused on Safaricom customers in Nairobi County. The study targeted customers who visit Safaricom customer care centres or outlets in Nairobi County. Future studies could therefore focus on a wider coverage in order to assess the level of customer satisfaction with Safaricom services and products. More so, a study on customer satisfaction focusing on other factors could also be done. A further study aiming at validating the conceptual model could be carried out in other services sectors in the Kenyan economy such as banking and insurance, hotel and restaurant, and consulting services.