Effect of Relationship Marketing Tactics on Customers’ Loyalty in Commercial Banks in Geita District, Tanzania

The emergence of new forms of banking, automated teller machines (ATM), phone and SIM banking and also maturing financial market coupled with global competition have forced banks to engage into relationship marketing activities so as to improve customer loyalty. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of relationship marketing tactics on customer loyalty in commercial banks in Geita district Tanzania. The following research objectives guided (i) to determine the type of relationship marketing factors being used in commercial banks in Geita district; (ii) to analyze how relationship marketing tactics impact on customer loyalty and (iii) to determine which one of these relationship marketing tactics is most effective in Geita district. The study was carried out using questionnaire whereby a sample size of 108 customers and 31 management staff from three commercial banks (CRDB, NBC and NMB) was chosen. The findings of this research revealed that banks use a variety of relationship marketing tactics/ practices to gain customer loyalty and these include application of service quality dimensions, enhancing their brand name with slick (innovative), promotional campaigns (value offers) and competitive pricing strategies. The study recommended that commercial banks should tailor their relationship marketing tactics to local environment rather than applying urban practices to rural communities. It also recommended immediate training of all services delivery personnel on service quality as it applies to customer loyalty. The study also suggests the need for conducting extensive research in other towns/ regions before generalization as well as longitudinal studies to gauge changes of the effect of relationship marketing tactics on customer loyalty over a period of time