research proposal

Brand Image, Perceived Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction- 1

Research Proposal

The study of relationship between brand image, perceived service quality and customer

satisfaction for Nepalese Banks

Kshitiz Gautam

Niyati Sharma

Shrizana Shrestha

Email: [email protected], [email protected],

[email protected]

MBA V Term

RES 610 Research Methodology

Arjun Kumar Shrestha

Course Instructor

Date: 21 May 2014


The study of relationship between brand image, perceived service quality and customer

satisfaction for Nepalese Banks

In the competitive banking industry, the impact of bank brand image on the attitudes and

behaviors of customers become an important issue which changes the perception about bank's

service quality. Banks are one of the most important institutions in a country, where it plays a

major role in developing the economy as well as the society. For a developing country like

Nepal, commercial banks help boost the economy through capital formation and investment in

various sectors. Due to technological advancement and a mature market, the gap between various

Nepalese banks and their counterparts with respect to products and services they provide is

gradually narrowing down. As products and services are so easily replicable in today's

environment, the biggest challenge for companies including bank is to compete in the market

place and differentiate their products from the competitors. All other things being equal, the only

feature that will help consumers identify and differentiate the product in the market is the brand.

A strong brand image is the only asset a company can develop that cannot be copied

In the highly competitive, complex and dynamic environment of the banking industry, the

very slight differences which exist in financial services and products together with an

increasingly demanding customer has led to a great transformation in the industry (Beerli, Martin

& Quintana, 2004). The traditional product-oriented banks now need to be more customer-

oriented. Factors such as financial products and services do no longer distinguish between one

bank and another. For banks today, the strength and marketing power of an institutions brand is

rapidly becoming one of the critical levers for differentiation and success (Onyancha, 2013).


Most of the researchers agree about the importance of stressing brand image. Aaker

(2009), for example, says image creates value in a variety of ways, helping consumers to process

information, differentiating the brand, generating reasons to buy, give positive feelings, and

providing a basis for extensions. Rory (2000) pointed out that, with the construction of good

brand image, customers were likely to increase the satisfaction of usage, and would like to

recommend to others.

Bank must thus make serious commitment to investing in developing a brand strategy for

their products and services. Banks need to provide a consistent brand experience to prevent

customers from switching to rival banks. Hence, the field of bank service is now emphasizing the

importance of customer-oriented marketing in many developed and developing nations too.

Banks endeavor to establish marketing strategies which promote brand image among customers

for enhancing the satisfaction of its customers.

In this context, the following study is hence conducted to study in detail the relationship

between branding/brand image and customer satisfaction for banks operating in Nepal. For a

service industry, customer satisfaction is what defined the success of failure of a product/service.

Hence, understanding the relationship would help Nepalese banks to assess the necessity of

branding and creating a positive brand image amongst the mindset of its customers which in turn

increases the customer satisfaction.

Problem Statement

Branding has since long been considered a necessity in business. It gives products its

name and identity. However, the concept is relatively new for service industries since the idea of

branding is normally perceived relevant to only consumer goods. On top of that, banks being a


financial institution do not see brand development as one of their important strategies. Banks

mostly focus on developing their human resources, pulling up experienced personnel and giving

good quality services but a study of how the perceived quality is enhanced in the mindset of

customers is yet to be verified. Banks thus have a difficulty in spending much to build a strong

brand image.

In the context of Nepal as well, building strong brands is considered a secondary factor

by banks compared to other strategic development initiatives. Even though many researches have

been conducted to study the impact of a banks brand image on its performance and customer

satisfaction, no applied research is conducted in the context of Nepalese banks. There is not

much basis on which banks could derive the relationship between whether investing in brand

management could enhance customer satisfaction for their services or not.

Hence, this paper reviews literature on the relationship between bank brand image,

perceived quality and customer satisfaction. The key question to guide the research is: Is there

any relationship between a banks brand image, perceived service quality and the level of

satisfaction customers have from its services?

Significance of the study

A lot of studies have been conducted in this area of brand image, perceived service

quality and customer satisfaction in service industry. This research adds the value in the existing

knowledge by revealing the impact of brand image on customer's satisfaction through the

perceived service quality. Such study may not only be applicable to banks but to other service

industry as well and valuable inputs to the existing knowledge. This research helps service

industry enhance service quality and customer satisfaction by allocating resources efficiently to


develop brand image. This research helps banks to differentiate their services from their

competitors and positioned their brand as a superior brand in the mindset of the customers. The

banks in Nepal could reflect the finding of the studies to incorporate in their companys

strategies. Banks could use the findings of the current study to know about the various

dimensions of brand image and brand equity and its importance in the overall performance of the

organization. The study could be used to assess the various facets in banking industry that could

help increase customer satisfaction, which is the ultimate determinant of a banks successful

performance in the service industry

Research Objectives

The primary objective of our research is to understand the relationship between a banks

brand image, perceived service quality and its impact on customer satisfaction. Through this

study, we aim to find out whether a bank having a positive brand image could lead to the

customers of the bank being satisfied with its services through the impact on perceived service

quality. Specifically, this study aims to fulfill the following objective:

To understand the impact of brand image on customer satisfaction level

To examine the role of perceived service quality in developing customer

satisfaction

To investigate whether brand image has an impact on perceived service quality

To reveal whether perceived service quality play a mediating role or not in the

relationship between bank brand image and customer satisfaction.

To develop a instrument for measuring brand image of bank in Nepal


Literature Review

Concept of Branding

Branding has become a necessity in business. Just having a good product or service is not

enough to differentiate oneself from the competitors. Additional value and especially fine brand

management is required. According to the American Marketing Association, a brand is a name,

term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and

services of one seller or group of seller and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.

For consumers, brands are vital because they provide them information about the product

maker or service provider of the brand and thus allow them to assign responsibility to a particular

manufacturer and also ease the consumers decisions of which product/ brand to use. If

consumers can recognize or recall a brand, it is more likely that they will also use a product of

that certain brand. Brands can simplify choice, promise a particular quality level, reduce risk and

engender trust. Brands thus reflect the complete experience customers have with products (Keller

and Lehmann, 2006).

Brand Image

According to Aaker (1996), a brand image is how the consumers perceive the brand (p.

69). The impressions consumers have of a company extend well beyond the product or service

the firm provides. Keller (2001) defines brand image as perceptions about a brand as reflected by

the brand associations held in consumer memory. A company or its product/services which

constantly holds a favorable image by the public, would definitely gain a better position in the

market, sustainable competitive advantage, and increase market share or performance (Park,

Jaworski & MacInnis, 1986).


In Kellers (2011, p.60) customer-based brand equity framework, brand awareness and

brand image, which comprise brand knowledge, are the primary sources of brand equity. While

brand equity is gaining significance in the marketing of products, brand image is as well gaining

recognition as an important concept of marketing (Park, 2009). According to Park et al. (1986),

creating, cultivating and sustaining a specific brand image is crucial to a brands long-term

success and to differentiate between various competitors, since the image of a brand plays an

integral role in building long-term brand equity.

According to a research conducted by Cho (2011), brand image is a consumers

perceptions and feeling towards a brand shaped by direct/indirect brand experiences, which

captures cognitive, sensory, and emotional aspects. These are reflected by the three dimensions

of mystery, sensuality, and intimacy respectively.

Brand image has been conceptualized and operationalized in several ways. It has been

measured based on attributes, brand benefits/ values or using Malhotras (1981) brand image

scale. Measuring image based on the above definition helps identify the strength and weaknesses

of brand as well as consumers perceptions toward their product or services (Sondoh, Omar,

Wahid, Ismail & Harun, 2007). Low and Lamb (2000) suggested using a measurement technique

using semantic differential items generated for the relevant product category to measure brand

image.

Brand image conveys emotional value and not just a mental image. It is a composite of

perceived quality and esteem dimensions. A positive brand image can be considered as a crucial

ability of a corporation to hold its market position. Onyancha (2013) suggests that brand image

of a bank is not absolute; it is relative to brand images of competing banks. The customers often


form a brand image of a brank from their own banking experiences. A favorable bank brand

image helps strengthen the intentions customers have for selecting a bank (Onyancha)

Even though brand image construct has been used in various researches, there has not

been much agreement on how to measure brand image and dimensionality (Dobni & Zinkhan,

1990). Low and Lamb (2000) assert that brand image measurement and dimensionality should be

measured by different items depending on the product or service category. Review of literature

has shown that brand image is a multidimensional construct composed functional and symbolic

concepts (Park, Jaworski & Maclnni, 1986). Functional brand image are product related

attributes of the brand, the characteristics of the brand such as reliability, design quality, and

other core features that enable brand to perform its function (Grace & OCass, 2002). In the

study that focused on service product category, Kandampully & Suhartanto (as cited in Holjevac,

Markovic & Raspor, 2010) categorized functional image in terms of location, physical facilities,

interior design, price and quality of goods and services, and staff performance. The functional

brand image is gained through product related attributes of the brand that fulfill customers lower

level motivations and needs.

On the other hand, symbolic brand image is composed of non-product related attributes

such as social approval, personal expression that satisfy higher level needs. Features such as

atmosphere, reputation, external appearance, and the layout can be example of symbolic brand

image attributes (Kandampully & Suhartanto, as cited in Holjevac et al., 2010)

Overall, a brand image can generate value in terms of helping customers to process

information, differentiating the brand, generating reasons to buy, give positive feelings, and

providing a basis for extensions (Aaker, 2009). Creating and maintaining a brand is an important


part of a firms strategy. Therefore, it is very important to understand the development of image

formation and its consequences such as customer satisfaction.

Service Quality

Zeithaml (1988) defined perceived service quality as customers overall impression or

assessment concerning the relative inferiority or superiority of the organization and its services.

It can be measured by the comparison of customers expectations with customers perceptions of

actual service performance (Parasuraman, 1985). As Wu (2011) states, customers form

expectations prior to their encounter with the service. They develop perceptions during the

process of service delivery and then they compare their perceptions to their expectations while

evaluating the outcome of service encounter. Service quality means how well the service level

delivered conforms to customers expectations.

On an operational level, research in service quality has been dominated by the

SERVQUAL instrument. SERVQUAL model was perhaps one of the most widely-used

frameworks in addressing service quality. The central idea in this model is that service quality is

a function of the difference scores or gaps between expectations and perceptions. It has been

proposed that service quality is a multidimensional concept (Parasuraman et al., 1985). Five key

dimensions of service quality have been identified namely, reliability, responsiveness, assurance,

empathy and tangibles. For banks, service attributes to performance are defined within the

service dimension of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles (Wei, 2009).

The SERVQUAL instrument has been widely used in a variety of service industries. According

to Ilyas et al. (2013), service quality of banks is more based on factors like tangibles, reliability

and responsiveness and less on assurance and empathy.


In a banking sector, where service is the key delivery to a customer, quality service plays

a major role in achieving customer satisfaction (Nagabhushanam, n.d.). However, in the service

industry, it is not easy to measure service quality. This is because the service sector as a whole is

very heterogeneous and what holds true for one service may not hold true for another. Ilyas et al.

(2013) argues that the quality of services provided by a bank is related to satisfaction of

customers and is estimated by dissatisfying and satisfying the service provided by the bank over

time. According to Nagabhushanam, customer satisfaction and service quality are interrelated to

each other. This is because customer satisfaction depends on service quality and service quality

is increasingly offered as a strategy by marketers to position themselves more effectively in the

market place. Bei and Chiao (2006) reported positive influence of perceived service quality on

three service providers i.e. petrol station, automobile repair and banking. Significant correlations

have been found between overall customer satisfaction and service quality dimensions (Agbor,

2011). The service quality in banking industry relates to assurance, empathy, responsiveness and

reliability (Johnston 1995). Reliability and assurance has strong influence on banking sector

service quality and customer satisfaction (Zhou 2004).

Similarly, Nguyen and LeBlanc (as cited in Malik, Naeem & Nasir, 2011) explained that

overall brand image of the company is formed by the combined perceptions of service quality as

a result of frequent service experiences.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction is the accumulated experience of a customers purchase and

consumption experiences (Onyancha, 2013). Satisfaction is a subjective concept and therefore

difficult to determine. The clients satisfaction in this paper will be measured through overall


satisfaction towards the services. When a product is matched with the expectation of the

customers, it enhances its satisfaction which ultimately leads to profitability (Anderson, Fornell

& Lehmann, 1994). Oliver (1997) defines satisfaction as a consumers fulfillment response.

According to a research conducted by Oliver, a number of related concepts which represent

either the affective (liking/pleasure) or cognitive (thinking/judging) components of product and

service experienced or a hybrid of two is frequently used interchangeably with satisfaction.

These components are moods (feelings), quality (cognitive judgment), value (comparative

judgment) and attitude (hybrid affective-cognitive judgment). Attitude can exist prior to

purchase/usage whereas satisfaction exists after users purchase and consumption experience

(Oliver)

Szymanski and Henard (2001) noted that previous research on consumers satisfaction

focused primarily on the effects of expectations, disconfirmation of expectations, performance,

affect and equity on satisfaction. The expectancy disconfirmation paradigm suggests that

consumers are satisfied when the product perform better than expected (positive

disconfirmation), dissatisfied when consumers expectations exceeded actual product

performance (negative disconfirmation), and neutral satisfaction when the product performance

matches expectations (zero disconfirmation/confirmation) (Bearden & Teel, 1983). Oliver (1980)

argues that expectations are thought to create a frame of reference about which one makes a

comparative judgment. Outcomes poorer than expected (a negative disconfirmation) are rated

below this reference point whereas those better than expected (a positive disconfirmation) are

evaluate above this base.


For this study, the satisfaction response will be reflected towards the level of affection for

the brand. Oliver (1997) noted that consumers at the affective stage would develop a positive

attitude towards the brand as a result of satisfactory repetitive usage over time.

Customers may explain their satisfaction with products or services in terms of specific

aspects such as products attributes, price, customer service or the combination of these features.

These products attributes on their combination of products features are related to brand. Ahmad

and Hashim (2010) find that satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer based brand

equity construct and loyalty. Bloemer, Ruyter and Peeters (1998) investigated the image related

issues in banks and pointed out that a positive brand image of a bank significantly improves

perceived service quality. Brand image is thus a critical determinant of service quality. Brand

image includes a products appeal, ease of use, functionality, fame and overall value. It is the

objective and mental feedback of the consumers when they purchase a product. Positive brand

image is exceeding the customers expectation. Meeting expectations result in satisfaction.

(Oliver, 1997).

Theoretical Framework

Bank brand image play a vital role in the selection and use of bank services. In this

competitive world, bank brand image impacts the attitudes and behavior of the customers. Thus

bank brand image is a variable of primary interest to us. A lot of research has been conducted in

the area of impact of brand image on customer perceived service quality and satisfaction. These

researches have been conducted especially in the west. Research has been conducted in different

service industry including bank too which reveal that brand image has a positive impact on

customer's perceived service quality which in turn increases the customer satisfaction.


Literatures suggest that brand image has significant positive impact on customer's

perceived service quality. Bank brand image is a critical determinant of service quality and

customer satisfaction. Customers have positive attitudes and perception with the bank service

which has favorable brand image. The idea behind it is that the consumer is not purchasing just

the product or service but also the image associated with that product or service. Favorable

Brand image not only communicate the goodwill of the bank among its customer but also

implicitly persuade its customers to use the service. Thus, positive brand image positively

influence customer satisfaction through enhancing perceived service quality. The relationship

among Bank brand image, perceived service quality and customer satisfaction are dramatically

shown below in which Bank brand image is an independent variable whereas customer

satisfaction acts as dependent variable. In the relationship between two variables, perceived

service quality acts a mediating variable.

Fig 1: Schematic diagram for theoretical framework

Bank Brand Image

Perceived

service

quality

Customer Satisfaction


Hypotheses

H1: Bank brand image has a positive impact on perceived service quality.

H2: Perceived service quality has positive influence on customer satisfaction.

H3: Banks brand image has positive impact on customer satisfaction.

H4: Perceived service quality mediates the relationship between bank brand image and

customer satisfaction.

Methodology

Research design

This study will be descriptive in nature as it is undertaken in order to ascertain and be

able to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation. It will be a cross-

sectional design as data will be collected just once with the help of questionnaire. Thus, this

study will be one-shot study. In this study, we will be focusing on impact of brand image on

perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Thus, we will be focusing on individual

customer of particular bank. Thus, unit of analysis will be individual in this study. For this study,

researcher will not interference with normal activities of the respondents i.e. customer of

particular bank. In other words, researcher interference will be minimal in this study. Besides

above, this study will be a field study where respondents having a account in a bank will be

chosen with no interference from the researcher. The study will be done in non-contrived setting

with no interference with the normal work routine.


Sample of the study

The population for our study wills all the people who have accounts at formal financial

institution of Nepal. According to World Banks Global Findex Database of 2011 this number

was 25% of total population of Nepal, approximately 6.65 million. (Worldbank, 2011)

Based on this population, a sample size was calculated at 95% confidence level and with

5% margin of error. Using the sample calculator (Insight, 2011), a sample size of 384 was

determined for the study.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire shall consist of four sections. The first section will questions that will

collect demographic information, including personal information such as name, age, gender,

income as well as banking information such as banking institution name, its address, type of

account, and so on. The second part of the questionnaire will be used to assess the brand image

of the banking institution. A custom questionnaire has been developed for this purpose. The third

section of the questionnaire will be based upon the modified SERVQUAL instrument and will

contain items from that instrument. These items will be used to assess perceived service quality.

The final section will assess the customer satisfaction.

Instruments

Perceived Service Quality: A five dimension 22 item scale devised by James Fitzsimmons and

Mona Fitzsimmons in 2006 will be used to assess the perceived service quality. The scale will

capture expectation and perceptions about the tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance

and empathy dimensions of service quality.


Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction will be measured by the 3-item scale, 7-point

Likert scale from 1 (not satisfied at all) to 7 (very satisfied), adapted from Oliver (1980).

Focus Group Interview to develop scale for Brand Image

With no standardized scale to suit our purpose, a focus group interview will be carried

out in order to develop brand image measurement. The group shall consist of 35 people of age

18+ who hold an account in a Nepali bank. They will be informed about the purpose of the study

i.e. finding measuring brand image of a bank. Two open ended questions will be asked for this

purpose: the first question will be used to evoke the banks name, and the second question will

be used to associate attributes for the recalled bank. The questions will involve techniques as

suggested by Krueger and Casey in 2002. The qualitative method of conducting such interview is

considered appropriate when seeking to gather information that requires anothers impressions,

interpretations, and opinions as members tal about the event, concept, product or service

(Sekaran & Bougie, 2010).

The focus group interview will render us attributes such as trustworthiness, good

environment, friendliness, cleanliness, convenient location, friendly staff, etc. which will be

turned into a one line sentence. These sentences after being tested for reliability and validity will

be used in the final questionnaire to measure brand image. Before the questions are placed in the

final questionnaire, a pretest among a small sample 20 people will be carried out and Cronbach

alpha for the responses will be calculated. The value of Cronbach alpha will help to test the

reliability and internal consistency of the items in the questionnaire. . Further, the items

generated from this procedure will be checked against the literature reviewed to establish content

validity of the items. Finally, 5 experts from different fields (banking, marketing, branding) will


be will be asked to rate each of the item in the questionnaire for accuracy, completeness, clarity

relevance, scoring system, compressive and length of questions (Yaghmale, 2009 ) to further

substantiate the validity.

Analysis

For our analysis, multiple regression analysis will be carried out to test the correlation

between the constructs and test the existence mediating variable. SPSS will be used as our

statistical software. One the responses are entered, it will be checked for inconsistency. Also,

reliability test will be carried out.

To test our first hypothesis (H1), a simple regression analysis will be carried out to test

the effect of bank brand image on perceived service quality. Similarly, simple regression analysis

will be carried out to test effect of perceived service quality on customer satisfaction, and brand

image on customer satisfaction respectively. Finally to test the mediating effect of perceived

service on bank brand image and customer satisfaction, we will run multiple regression analysis

as suggested by Baron and Kenny in 1986.


Limitations of the study

Though this proposed research uncovers the impact of bank brand image on perceived

service quality and customer satisfaction in Nepalese bank, there are several limitations in this

study. This research paper only concentrates on brand image and perceived service quality as

variables which affect customer satisfaction. There might be others variables which influence the

satisfaction level of customer. Secondly, Insights generated from this research might not be

applicable in all service industry in Nepal. This research is conducted only to the banks of the

Kathmandu valley. Findings of this research may not be generalized to the banks outside of

Kathmandu valley. Thus, this research might lacks generalizability and thus same result might


not be obtained outside of Kathmandu valley. There is no standardized scale to measure brand

image. Customized scale has been used for measuring brand image. Combine effects of brand

image and perceived service quality on customer satisfaction cannot be assessed through the

regression analysis model.


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Sample Questionnaire

Section A: General Information

Name: Age: Gender: Income per month: Do you have a bank account? Yes No Banking Information Name of the primary bank: Type of Account Checking Savings Other Address of the bank City: District:

Section B: Brand Image

Brand Image: Question for this section will be generated after focus group interviews and validity and reliability tests of the derived items.

Section C: Perceived Service Quality

EXPECTATIONS

This survey deals with your opinions of banks. Please show the extent to which you think banks should posses the following features. What we are interested in here is a number that best shows your expectations about institutions offering bank services. Use the scale below.

Strongly Disagree Slightly Neutral Slightly Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Expectations Perception

E1. Excellent banking companies will have modern looking equipment.

P1. My bank has modern looking equipment.

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

E2. The physical facilities at excellent banks will be visually appealing.

P2. My banks physical facilities are visually appealing.

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

E3. Employees at excellent banks will be neat appearing.

P3. My banks reception desk employees are neat appearing.

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SD D SD N SA A SA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

E4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) will be visually appealing at an excellent bank.

P4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing at my bank.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E5. When excellent banks promise to do something by a certain time, they do.

P5. When my bank promises to do something by a certain time, it does so.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E6. When a customer has a problem, excellent banks will show a sincere interest in solving it.

P6. When you have a problem, my bank shows a sincere interest in solving it.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E7. Excellent banks will perform the service right the first time.

P7. My bank performs the service right the first time.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E8. Excellent banks will provide the service at the time they promise to do so.

P8. My bank provides its service at the time it promises to do so.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E9. Excellent banks will insist on error free records

P9. My bank insists on error free records

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E10. Employees of excellent banks will tell customers exactly when services will be performed.

P10. Employees in my bank tell you exactly when services will be performed.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E11. Employees of excellent banks will give prompt service to customers.

P11. Employees in my bank give you prompt service.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E12. Employees of excellent banks will always be willing to help customers.

P12. Employees in my bank are always willing to help you.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E13. Employees of excellent banks will never be too busy to respond to customers requests.

P13. Employees in my bank are never too busy to respond to your request.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E14. The behavior of employees in excellent banks will instill confidence in customers.

P14. The behavior of employees in My bank instills confidence in you.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E15. Customers of excellent banks will feel safe in transactions.

P15. You feel safe in your transactions with my bank.


SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E16. Employees of excellent banks will be consistently courteous with customers.

P16. Employees in my bank area consistently courteous with you.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E17. Employees of excellent banks will have the knowledge to answer customers questions.

P17. Employees in my bank have the knowledge to answer your questions.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E18. Excellent banks will give customers individual attention.

P18. My bank gives you individual attention.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E19. Excellent banks will have operating hours convenient to all their customers.

P19. My bank has operating hours convenient to all its customers.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E20. Excellent banks will have employees who give customers personal attention.

P20. My bank has employees who give you personal attention.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E21. Excellent banks will have their customers best interests at heart.

P21. My bank has your best interest at heart.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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E22. The employees of excellent banks will understand the specific needs of their customers.

P22. The employees of my bank understand your specific needs.

SD D SD N SA A SA

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SD D SD N SA A SA

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Section Four: Customer Satisfaction The following set of statements relates your overall satisfaction of you banking institution. Please circle the number that best represents your level of agreement.

SD D SD N SA A SA I am happy about my decision to use my current bank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I believe that I am doing the right thing when I am using my current bank.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Overall I am satisfied with my decision to use my current bank.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS 1) What is the name of you banking institution? 2) What characteristics or attributes come to your mind when you think about your bank, use any

words or phrase that come to your mind.

MethodologySample of the studyQuestionnaireInstruments

AnalysisSection A: General InformationSection B: Brand ImageSection C: Perceived Service QualitySection Four: Customer SatisfactionFOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS

research proposal

Documents

strong brand image

institutions brand

banks service quality

impact of bank brand

brand strategy

rival banks

consistent brand experience

various nepalese banks