| dc.description.abstract | In today’s highly competitive market place, retaining brand loyal customers is critical for survival. Keeping customers is often a more efficient strategy than attracting new customers. Customers have become more confident and more demanding. They want products and services that satisfy them and have no time for those which do not. More and more customers have a need to distinguish themselves from one another to express their individualism. For this reason, they demand quality that is sustained.
The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors that determine customer loyalty at the Port of Mombasa. A descriptive survey was undertaken for the current research where the population of the study was key customers of the Port of Mombasa who included cargo owners, clearing agents, shipping lines and agents, transporters and oil companies. A sample of 200 respondents was selected from lists of frequent Kenya-based port users and foreign port users which form the sampling frame.
Primary data was collected by use of a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics namely percentages, frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations were used to analyze data. In addition Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was also used to aid in factor analysis.
Factors were then ranked according to their significance in determining customer loyalty at the Port of Mombasa. From the research, reasonable charges at the Port of Mombasa were ranked first followed by the security within the port. The researcher therefore concluded that, the cost of services at the Port of Mombasa as well as the urgency to which customer complaints are handled within the Port are the major determinants of customers’ loyalty.
Charges at the Port of Mombasa should therefore be reviewed to reflect the value of services offered to build customer loyalty from both importers and exporters who use the Port of Mombasa. At the same time, security should be guaranteed to ensure that cargo at the Port is secured both from pilferage and fire. | en |
