Testing the Relationships between Marketing Strategies and Customer Retention: The Growth of Hotels and Guesthouses in Upper East Region, Ghana

Organizations continually seek new ways to acquire, retain and increase business, since the cost of losing customers is rising. This study investigated the marketing strategies employed by hotels and guesthouses in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The main objective of the research was to examine the effects of marketing strategies on customer retention in the region. In a qualitative and quantitative study of 87 owners/managers of hotels and guesthouses in the region were selected with the use of the simple random sampling technique from 2 municipals and 5 districts. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from owners/managers of hotel/guesthouses in the region. The results revealed a positive relationship between pricing, product/service, promotion, place and physical evidence strategies with customer retention for growth of small hotels/guesthouses. It is suggested that these hotels and guesthouses should employ coordinated marketing strategies in their transactions to attain higher performance. This performance can be achieved if managers/owners and employees work together to ensure provision of quality goods and services to satisfy customers. Keywords: Marketing, Retention, customers, Strategies, Managers, Business