THE ROLE OF FRIENDSHIP IN CREATING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: A REVIEW OF DOMESTIC BUS SALES SECTOR

Abstract

With the rapid developments in the industry, technology and other fields, competition among enterprises has increased gradually. Companies are trying to be different from other businesses in the eyes of customers; as a result, they develop various marketing strategies. One of the strategies is of making each of the customers who establish relations with the company a loyal customer. Within the scope of this strategy, companies carry out many activities with their employees and customers. The strong communication between the employees and customers of the company, being at a higher level of friendship, provides firstly customer satisfaction, then customer loyalty. This research is based on examining the role of friendship in creating customer loyalty. In the process of creating customer loyalty, relationship predecessors were evaluated together with the concept of friendship. Together with the relationship predecessors, the positive effect of friendship on creating customer loyalty is examined in the domestic bus sales sector. The sample size of the research consists of 147 people in total. With the convenience sampling method, data was collected through face-to-face surveys from the Marmara and Aegean Region. With the data obtained from the sample size, the research hypotheses were tested and it was determined that the independent variables used in the research had a positive effect on friendship and customer loyalty