Influence of Brand Management Practices on Customer Satisfaction among Universities in Kenya

The objective of the study was to determine the influence of brand management practices on customer satisfaction among university students in Kenya. The study was founded on three theories namely: Customer based brand equity model, expectation confirmation theory and consumer utility theory. The study adopted descriptive research design, the target population comprised of students from all 70 universities registered and accredited to operate in Kenya, with a population of 443,783 students enrolled for various undergraduate degree programs from which a sample of 384 students was drawn. Data was analyzed using a combination of four different statistical analysis methods that included descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The study revealed that brand management practices had significant influence on customer satisfaction among university students in Kenya, with R2=0.238; p-value = 0.000. It was concluded that an increase in brand management practices result in an increase in the levels of customer satisfaction among the students across all the three university categories. The study recommends that policy can be developed that encourages inculcating brand management practices within universities in Kenya. Policy can be developed to encourage measurement and reporting of performance along brand management practices as used in this study. To sustain customer satisfaction through branding, the universities should identify ways in which their brand can create value to customers. This can be enhanced through quality service, superior technology, positive attitude among the employees (both teaching and non-teaching) as well as reputable professors who exhibit high integrity and knowledgeable, among other initiatives. The managers should also strive to integrate branding initiatives into the university marketing activities and exploiting secondary associations such as country of origin, heritage, ranking, institutional cooperation, value for money, integrity, accessibility, among others. Key words: Branding, Brand Management, customer satisfaction, universities, brand image