Creating customer satisfaction and loyalty through customer services in a retailing: A field research in Izmir city

Retailers are units that communicate with customers as the last chain of distribution channel. Establisihing good relationships with customer, satisfiying customers and gaining loyal customers are too important in retailing. In the competition condition today, creating customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in retailing provides sustainable competitive advantage and differentiation from rivals for retailers.The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the customer services? effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The field study is applied by using survey method on a face-to-face and electronic mail basis as interview methods including 400 shopping mall customers who live in Izmir city. The research model is formed for measuring customer services? effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The hypothesises are divided into two section as the hypothesises about the research model and the other hypothesises. The questions about customer services, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty is analyzed with factor analyzes and one sample t tests. The hypothesises about the research model is tested with correlation and regression analyzes. The other hypothesises are generally about shopping malls and demographic questions. These hypothesises are tested with chi square tests and correlation analyzes.As a result of the research, it is shown that there is a significant relationship between the customer services about shopping mall atmosphere and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Incentive customer services and customer services in service encounter stage are also related with customer loyalty. The effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty is found at high degree as it takes place in literature. According to this thesis?s research results, customer services which comprise 8 factors can explain 14 % of variance in customer satisfaction, 12.5% of variance in customer loyalty and customer satisfaction can explain 43 % of variance in customer loyalty. Customer services are only one of the tools which are used for creating customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Except customer services, there are stronger tools than customer services like product variety, product quality in creating customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.