The interaction between digital marketing communication and customer loyalty

Digital channels and information technology are changing the way that companies communicate and maintain relationships with their customers. The Internet, email, mobile phones, digital TV, and other evolving channels offer opportunities for frequent, costeffective, personalized, and interactive communication between the company and their customers. In addition to traditional offers and persuasion, customers can be provided with relational communication like newsletters, usage tips, maintenance reminders, and interactive games. Being regularly in touch with customers via digital marketing communication (DMC) offers marketers new ways to cultivate customer relationships, which can lead to increased customer loyalty. This is important, because the effects of customer loyalty on company profitability are known to be significant. Despite the growing use of digital channels in marketing and the research evolving around them, there are few models that explain how DMC works, especially for cultivating customer loyalty. Dispersed ideas of how marketers could use digital channels to develop and sustain customer relationships are suggested in various areas of marketing literature. In this dissertation we draw together previous research into an integrative model that explains how DMC interacts with customer loyalty. In addition to a literature review, the model is based on empirical studies from companies practicing DMC. The model proposes that brand communication builds customer loyalty mainly through frequency and relational content. Information processing triggered by brand communication generates customer value and commitment. Increases in these can improve customer loyalty, both attitudinal and behavioral. It is suggested that personalization and interactivity moderate the effects of brand communication on customer loyalty. While it is apparent that digital channels in marketing are still mainly to be used for campaigns and short-term results, the findings of this dissertation show that marketers can benefit from harnessing DMC in building long-term customer loyalty. The model offers a framework for building customer loyalty in the modern interactive marketing environmen