Andres Kuusik

Affecting Customer Loyalty: Do Different Factors Have Various Influences in Different Loyalty Levels?

The current paper studies the influence of various factors on customer loyalty. The main hypothesis of the study insists that the list of most important factors affecting loyalty is dependant on the level of loyalty of costumers. LOGIT method was used for testing the hypotheses on the sample of survey data about 1000 private customers of the biggest telecommunication company in Estonia. The results reveal that four analysed factors affecting customer loyalty (satisfaction, trustworthiness, image and importance of relationship) are playing different role on the different levels of customer loyalty.

How to avoid customers leaving: the case of the Estonian telecommunication industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that the major factors affecting loyalty are dependant on the level of loyalty of customers.Design/methodology/approach – A model of relationship between factors of loyalty and loyalty levels of customers was constructed and tested on the empirical data about 1,000 private customers from the Customer Satisfaction Survey of Elion, the biggest telecommunication company in Estonia. Logit model was used in order to examine which factors influence the probability of the customers remaining on their loyalty level or to moving to another loyalty level.Findings – The findings of the study revealed that it is not accurate to treat all customers equally in terms of methods of increasing their loyalty. The results reveal that four analysed factors affecting customer loyalty (satisfaction, trustworthiness, image and importance of relationship) are playing different roles in the different levels of customer loyalty. The overall satisfaction and importance of a relationshi...

LBS in marketing and tourism management: measuring destination loyalty with mobile positioning data

The aim of this article is to elaborate a mobile positioning-based methodology to measure the ‘destination loyalty’ of foreign tourists to a place. Loyal customers are highly appreciated in marketing, since they are of greater benefit than ‘on–off’ customers; they need different marketing strategies than those required to attract new visitors. Theoretical approaches to the destination loyalty of tourists suggest measuring behavioural loyalty, which we do here by detecting repeated visits. By using passive mobile positioning, we elaborated a methodology to determine repeat visits of tourists to a destination. This uses the number, duration, frequency and geography of visits in order to identify repeat visitors in a particular area. We tested the algorithm using a database containing information about foreign tourists who had visited Estonia in the past 5 years. It revealed that the algorithm permits detection of repeat visits. The results demonstrate that repeat visitors make up 29.9% of visitors to Estonia, 63.9% of the number of visits and 70.14% of the total number of visiting days. The algorithm can also be successfully applied in other location-based services solutions, in targeting location-specific advertising, m-ticketing or in personalising packages of mobile communication services.

Cultural and paradoxical values in advertising in Eastern Europe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether Hofstede’s (2001) cultural framework and the value paradox explain the use of appeals in advertising in Estonia. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are drawn in relation to Hofstede’s original four cultural dimensions – power distance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. A sample of 110 print advertisements from four magazines were analyzed using Pollay’s (1983) classification of advertising appeals. Findings – The results show that Estonian advertising reflects paradoxical values related to low power distance and femininity dimensions, and culturally congruent values related to high-uncertainty avoidance and individualism. Practical implications – Findings suggest that cultural values (desired) alone are insufficient to predict the reflection of culture in advertising. Rather, consideration of the discrepancies between the cultural values (desired) and practices (desirable) enables a better expla...

How to optimize sales flyers – novel experiment design

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show how analysing sales flyers with a combination of eye tracking, measurement of emotions, interview and content analysis can give an in-depth understanding on how different design aspects influence sales flyers’ effectiveness as a communication tool. The paper shows the relationship between different sales flyer design principles and a person’s preference towards it, as well as the intent to read it. Design/methodology/approach The paper chose for pilot study using eye tracking and emotions measurement to analyse retail sales flyers. In addition, interviews and content analysis were conducted to fully understand which aspects of sales flyer design influenced consumers. Findings The paper’s main findings are that sales flyers that evoke more positive emotions are prone to be chosen, and the attention and the view time of content pages is related to the number of elements on the page, page coherence and the location of the offers. Research limitations/implications This research uses eye tracking were sales flyers are shown on screen, which is not a natural way to read sales flyers. Future research should aim to test this methodology and prepositions in the natural environment. Practical implications The paper includes implications for designing better sales flyers. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, sales flyers have never been studied with a research design combining eye tracking, measurement of emotions, interview, content analysis and preferences.

Segmentation of Repeat Visitors with the Help of Passive Mobile Positioning

Since the 1980s the emphasis of marketing strategies has shifted to long-term relationships (Gummesson, 1999). The increasing number of destination alternatives and thus competition for market share requires also destination managers to think about customer retention and how to encourage customers to keep returning. The study by Wang (2004) revealed that repeat visitors spend more money than first-time visitors. Oppermann (1999) has added that having knowledge of the amount and type of loyal tourists helps to forecast total demand, design infrastructure, and create positioning strategy. Several authors (Buttle, 2004; Oppermann, 2000; Petrick, 2004, etc.) have pointed out that repeat visitation indicates a customer’s positive attitude, which leads to positive word-of-mouth (WoM).