EFFECT OF RE-BRANDING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN COOPERATE ORGANIZATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Over the past couple of years, the business environment has witnessed a tremendous change as a result of the re-branding by players in the banking industry. Re-branding is an important aspect of business as it tends to have a great impact on the satisfaction of customers. Most researchers characterizes re-branding as a firm trying to come out with a novel name, term, mark, blueprint or amalgamation of them to create a brand with the purpose of establishing a new image in the distinct minds of all interested parties, for example, competitors. However rebranding occurs when a brand is "reborn," and thus it aims to satisfy customer needs and wants.Re-branding can take the form of an evolutionary change or a revolutionary change.Revolutionary change occurs when franchises incorporate new things with their distinct names, signs, and jingles, whereas evolutionary change occurs only when logos are changed, for example.

Corporate organizations such as banks engage in re-branding to satisfy customers' needs or wants in the market. This is a critical determinant of the survival of firms in a competitive market environment. Since satisfaction of the client is the most objective way of measuring the value propositions of service firms, organizations constantly try to find out what customers desire for their customers, so that they can satisfy them.

Customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how happy customers are with a company's products, services, and capabilities.The organization's goal in terms of customer satisfaction is to keep them in its product offerings.According to Ranaweera and Prabhu (2011), the more a customer is satisfied, the more likely the customer will remain loyal to the service provider; thus, firms should devise ways to create customer satisfaction approaches to assist them.As far as customers are concerned, they are very important as they serve as a vehicle through which success and growth of the economic fortunes of the organization can be achieved. It is interesting to note that, once customers are satisfied with a firm's offerings and brand, they end up being loyal to that service provider and this loyalty can be influenced through rebranding.

1.2 Statement of the problem

In today’s competitive market, brand building is crucial. Strong brands can create options for growth, command market share, barriers of entry for competitors and consumer loyalty. Moreover, a strong brand will enhance positive perceptions of a product’s quality, provide a consistent brand image and personality and maintain a high level of product awareness. For firms to keep up with fierce competition in the market, they must seek to transform their businesses and make them adapt to a changing business environment. This change is mandatory for any organization that wants to survive. Therefore, rebranding can be termed as a necessary strategy or ingredient that can help build a new business image and also help in building confidence in consumers. Rebranding is also one of the most important factors that marketers and brand experts must pay attention to in order to refresh a brand that could have become obsolete, so as to promote customer satisfaction and loyalty to their products/services. Customer loyalty portrays the aggregate of customers who are committed to purchasing a particular product from a service provider even in the near future with no intention of switching to other competing brands. Hence, organizations are expected to do anything within their reach to ensure customers' satisfaction and one of those strategies is re-branding. It is upon this premise that this study seeks to examine the effect of re-branding on customer satisfaction in the banking industry.

1.2  Objective of the study

The main focus of the study is to examine the Effect of re-branding on customer satisfaction in the manufacturing industry. Specifically it seeks

1. To examine the perception of customers on re-branding in Access bank

2. To determine challenges that confront customers as result of re-branding in banking industries.

3. To evaluate the effect of re-branding on customer satisfaction among customers in Access Bank

1.4  Research hypotheses

The research is guided by the following hypothesis

HO1: Re-branding does not have any significant effect on customers perception of Access bank.

HO2: There is no significant effect of re-branding on customer’s satisfaction in Access Bank

1.5 Significance of the study

The study will be significant for the public, marketers and organizations. It would help the public understand why companies opt for corporate re-branding. It would also help consumers to understand what management styles and strategies can be used to effectively and successfully adopt the re-branding strategy effectively. This study would be useful for marketers to strategically plan for their re-branding efforts with the consumer in mind. The outcomes of the study would also help various companies, especially in the private sector, learn tactics that they should employ when seeking to adopt a re-branding strategy, thus becoming more effective and satisfying their customers. It would add value to the existing knowledge about corporate re-branding and serve as a reference document for future research.

1.6  Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on the Effect of re-branding on customer satisfaction. The study is therefore limited to selected customers found within the premise of Access Banks in Rivers State.

1.7       Limitation of the study

The following factors poses to be a limitation during the course of this research

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8       Definition of terms

Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how products or services provided by a company meet customer expectations

Re-branding: Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, competitors, and other stakeholders.