A study on customer retention - a case of Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC) / Abdul Rahman Zaini

Retaining customers is good for a firm's economic health. Customer retention can have a direct influence upon profitability. The relationship between customer retention and loyalty has been discussed by scholars for a number of years. The goal of customer retention is to convert first-time or occasional buyers into loyal, long term customers. And to accomplish this, a business needs to understand what it is that converts the occasional or first-time buyer into a loyal customer. This research has mainly focused upon the extent to which customers repeatedly use MISC Agencies Sabah (MISA) freight services, the factors contributed to repeated usage of MISA services by its customers and the influence of satisfaction and dissatisfaction upon retention. Customer satisfaction is assumed to lead to good things," such as attitude change, repeat purchase, and brand loyalty." (Churchill and Suprenant 1982), lower costs of attracting new customers, (Fornell 1992) and lower costs of handling returns and complaints (Crosby 1979; Garvin 1988). The study has discovered that customer retention for MISC do exist as suggested by the number of loyal customers for this firm. Technical service quality was a dimension towards customer satisfaction of customers who just started to using the MISC services for a shorter time period. Meanwhile, a loyal customer does look into another aspect towards customer satisfaction that is through the functional service quality. This study also discussed on customer dissatisfaction as identified from their comment and suggestion. Recommendation also put forward to improve the present services and any related factors for the maximization of customer satisfaction.