Vol.
No.
December 2023.
Page.
80 - 92
Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty Among Optical Clinics in The City of Koronadal.
South Cotabato.
Philippines Jayson Diaz1.
Ray Lorenzo2.
Corine Mag-Aso3.
Bai Sarah Akilan4 School of Business-Green Valley College Foundation Inc.
Koronadal City.
Philippines e-mail: jason.
diaz@greenvalleyph.
com1, ray.
lorenzo@greenvalleyph.
com2, corine.
magaso@greenvalleyph.
com3, bai.
akilan@greenvalleyph.
* Corresponding Author: E-mail: jisson448@gmail.
1,2,3,4
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Received : August 1st 2023 Accepted : November 6th 2023 Published : December 6th 2023 This paper investigates customer loyalty factors in Koronadal's optical clinic industry.
It aims to provide insights for enhancing customer service and loyalty.
Key factors identified in past studies include service quality, customer satisfaction, trust, and brand image.
Using a quantitative approach with a descriptivemultivariate correlational design .
redictive analysi.
, this study collects primary data through purposive-convenient sampling.
Statistical results confirm that customer satisfaction and brand image significantly influence customer loyalty in the optical clinic industry, accounting for 46.
7% of the loyalty variance.
However, this study also revealed significant findings specific to this industry.
Researchers observed that customer satisfaction and brand image played crucial roles in influencing customer loyalty in these clinics.
Surprisingly, neither service quality nor customer trust exhibited a statistically significant impact on customer loyalty.
These findings have important implications, stressing businesses' need to prioritize customer satisfaction and brand image to enhance loyalty, particularly given the pandemic's impact.
Keywords:
Customer Loyalty.
Optical Clinics.
Regression Analysis Introduction The optometry field holds a pivotal role in preserving eye health and preventing vision-related ailments.
Optical clinics, as essential providers of eye care services, are instrumental in meeting the rising demand for eye-related issues.
Unfortunately, the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has presented formidable challenges to these clinics, leading to a decline in service revenue.
This decline can be attributed to the public's hesitancy to visit healthcare facilities amidst the pandemic .
A service design model was developed by .
for the ophthalmology and optometry industry to address post-epidemic challenges related to low consumer satisfaction and service entity-consumer service needs mismatch and the results indicated several important findings: professional and technical satisfaction positively impacts service experience satisfaction and service efficiency satisfaction.
efficiency satisfaction positively affects service experience satisfaction and serves as a mediating factor between professional and technical satisfaction and service experience DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the healthcare landscape, resulting in a substantial decrease in in-person visits to optometry clinics as individuals, concerned about virus transmission, hesitated to seek in-person healthcare services .
The study conducted by .
, yielded noteworthy results, highlighting crucial relationships in the context of Pakistan's telecommunications services sector.
It was found that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) exhibited a positive and significant correlation with customer loyalty.
Similarly, a strong and favorable connection was observed between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Additionally, the study unveiled a positive and meaningful link between customer trust and customer loyalty.
These findings significantly enhance our understanding of CSR, customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty dynamics, providing valuable guidance for policymakers, especially within Pakistan's Telecom sector.
The research also acknowledged its limitations and recommended avenues for future studies in this domain.
In Philippines, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, customer satisfaction with service quality plays a vital role in maintaining customer loyalty, highlighting the importance of enhancing empathy and service effectiveness during such crises .
Optical and optometry clinics have faced significant challenges in attracting and retaining customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With concerns about health and safety, many individuals have been hesitant to visit healthcare facilities in person, leading to a reduction in foot traffic.
This decline in in-person visits has posed a major obstacle for these clinics, as they rely heavily on regular customer interactions for revenue and customer loyalty.
To adapt to these challenges, clinics have had to explore alternative service delivery methods, such as optometry and online sales of eyewear, to reach and retain their customer base.
Additionally, ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for in-person visits has become a top priority to rebuild trust and maintain customer loyalty in these uncertain times.
Customer loyalty is a critical aspect of service industries in the Philippines, including healthcare, and has garnered attention due to the country's growing healthcare service sector.
According to .
Customer satisfaction has long been recognized as a precursor to customer loyalty.
In healthcare services, including optometry, satisfied patients are more likely to exhibit loyalty by returning for followup appointments and recommending the services to others.
In South Cotabato, the optical industry is experiencing growth, with several clinics vying to become market leaders.
The local government is also pushing for reforms in healthcare initiatives to enhance the delivery of basic optical health services to The common customer management practices of local optical clinics include providing quality services at affordable rates, committing to service excellence, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
The research gap lies in the limited knowledge regarding customer loyalty in the healthcare sector, especially in the optical health domain.
While existing literature points to the link between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, the specific connection between crucial factors and customer loyalty requires further DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
This study aims to fill this gap by identifying and assessing the relationship of significant factors influencing customer loyalty in optical clinics in Koronadal City.
This research seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on customer loyalty in the optical clinic industry, particularly within the unique context of Koronadal City.
South Cotabato.
While existing literature has extensively examined the interplay between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty across various sectors, the optical clinic domain remains relatively unexplored.
By investigating the specific determinants and dynamics affecting customer loyalty in this industry, this study offers a novel perspective that can potentially inform strategic decisions and practices for optical clinics.
It addresses a critical research gap and aims to provide timely insights into optimizing customer loyalty, a vital asset for businesses, especially in the face of challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic and evolving consumer behaviors.
Research Methods Research Design In this research, a quantitative method was employed to conduct a descriptive correlational study aimed at determining the significant factors influencing customer loyalty to the services offered by optical clinics in the City of Koronadal.
Primary data was exclusively utilized for the study, gathered through purposive-convenient The descriptive nature of this study focused on providing a comprehensive description of the characteristics of the specific population under investigation.
The quantitative approach adopted in this research allowed for statistical analysis to explore the correlations between each variable and the dependent variable, shedding light on the crucial relationships affecting customer loyalty.
Respondents The respondents in this study were consumers of Optical Clinic who had visited the clinic at least once.
They were the intended respondents of this survey as they had previous encounters with the services provided.
Since the total population of the respondents was unknown, the unknown population sample size calculation was used to determine the study's total sample size .
ith 90% confidence leve.
A total of 68 .
ased on the result of the sample size calculatio.
respondents participated in this Sample Size Caculation (For unknow population with 90% confidence leve.
n= Z2 y ( y .
- )) / E2
n= .
6452 y .
) / 0.
12 = 67.
65 or 68 respondents n is the required sample size.
Z is the Z-score associated with the desired level of confidence .
645 for a 90% confidence leve.
is the standard deviation at 0.
E is the desired margin of error .
xpressed as a decimal, 0.
10 for 10%).
Table 1.
List of Optical Clinics in Koronadal City.
South Cotabato.
Philippines Business Name Aplasca Optical Clinic Alajar Optical DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
Address Duay Leasing.
Inc.
Osmeya St.
Brgy.
Zone I RC Land Corp.
Gen.
Santos Drive.
Brgy.
Zone II (E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
Alajar Optical Cabayal Optical Clinic Calixton Optical Clinic Farrofo Eye Clinic Cruz-Farrofo Optical Lumbu-an-Porquez Optical Clinic Dr.
Denise Dawn Optical Clinic Eyeland Vision Optical Clinic Dr.
Denise Dawn Optical Clinic Mall of Ace Centerpoint.
Gen.
Santos Drive.
Brgy.
Zone II Morrow St.
Brgy.
Zone II Sanle Bldg.
Cor Lapu-lapu-Aquino St.
Purok Makisama.
Brgy.
Zone II Stall #4.
JTCT Bldg.
Gen.
Santos Drive.
Zone II Door 27.
MDFI Building.
Alunan Avenue.
Brgy Zone II Room 32.
Public Market.
Zone I Gaisano Grand Building.
Gen.
Santos Drive, brgy.
Sto.
Niyo No.
D & G Building.
Arellano St.
Brgy.
Zone i Shed 2.
Stall 29.
Public Market.
Zone I.
Research Tools and Instruments The research employed a modified questionnaire developed by .
, which underwent KMO reliability testing and content validity assessment conducted by two There were three .
components inside the survey questionnaire.
The first component comprised questions about the respondents' demographic profile, including their gender, age, occupation, average monthly income, most recent education, and the number of monthly visits to ophthalmic service providers.
The second section included questions about the framework's constructs.
The second component of the questionnaire was further segmented into four .
Service Quality.
Customer Service.
Customer Trust, and Brand Image, for the independent variable, with five .
items for each construct, for a total of twenty .
The objective of the third section was to collect data on the independent variable of Customer Loyalty.
Using Cronbach's alpha test, pilot testing was conducted to check the instrument's reliability.
Cronbach's alpha is one of the tools to measure the reliability of Table 2.
CronbachAos Alpha Cronbach's Consistency Alpha Ou 0.
9 > Ou 0.
8 > Ou 0.
7 > Ou 0.
6 > Ou 0.
Internal Excellent Good Acceptable Questionable Poor Unacceptable A total of 25 respondents was aggregated.
As a result, the reliability of the questionnaire accumulated to more than 0.
70, which means that the instrument is Table 3.
Reliability of Constructs Description Service Quality Customer Satisfaction 0.
Customer Trust DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
N of Items Internal Consistency Acceptable Good Good (E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
Brand Image Acceptable Source: Calculated via SPSS version 23 Table 3.
illustrates the alpha () for each construct.
It can be shown that Cronbach's Alpha of all constructs is greater than 60.
Therefore, all the constructs are Statistical Tool and Statistical Treatment All the data gathered from the processed questionnaire was tabulated and processed using the SPSS V23 or the Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
This software offers a variety of statistical analyses suited enough for qualitative research.
The following Statistical tools/analysis will be used in the study.
The researchers used different statistical tools in analyzing the data to answer the questions depicted in the study.
The statistical tools used were the following:
Frequency.
It will summarize the data by showing the number of times a data value The formula would be: f=1/T Where:
f=Frequency T= Period Percentage.
This is an expression of the proportion of the population corresponding to a particular variable or item.
This was used to present the profile of the respondents and the possible problems that the respondents might have encountered.
Researchers used it to transform proportion to a percent by multiplying by 100.
The formula would be:
% = f/n x 100 Where:
% = Percentage f = Frequency n = Total number of respondents Weighted Mean.
It aimed to get the quantity to be averaged in assigning weight, using the frequency distribution, and measuring the respondent's evaluation in the This is adopted to establish the weighted means of the values and attitudes of the respondents.
Standard Deviation.
The researcher used this because it is the most commonly used indicator of the degree of dispersion and the most reliable measure to estimate the variability in the total population from which the Multiple Regression Analysis.
Multiple regression is a statistical method for analyzing the relationship between a single dependent variable and several independent variables.
Multiple regression analysis aims to predict the value of a single dependent variable based on the known values of the independent variables.
Each predictor value is assigned a weight, representing the predictor's relative contribution to the overall Data Interpretation Data gathered was interpreted using the Likert Scale Rating .
ive-point scal.
Likert Scale Rating is an ordered scale from which respondents will choose one option that best aligns with their views.
It served as the basis for interpreting the results that DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
were arbitrarily prepared.
The weighted mean of the evaluation used to interpret was based on the five-point scale Table 4.
Five .
Point Likert Scale Scale Value Mean Range 21 Ae 5.
41 Ae 4.
61 Ae 3.
81 Ae 2.
00 Ae 1.
Verbal interpretation Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Five .
point scales can be assigned to each response in a point value, from 1 to 5, based on the number of responses.
Typical values for the options start with "strongly disagree" at 1 point and "strongly agree" at 5.
The mode will be the most common response to each statement, while the mean will be the overall average response.
Result and Discussion This section contains research results or experiments and analysis of research results or experimental results.
Table 5.
Demographic Profile of the Respondents (N=.
Gender Classification Male Female Total Age Group Occupation Income Educational Attainment DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
56 and above Total Student Housewife/Husband Unemployed Employed Retired Others Total Less than C10,957 Between C10,958 to C21,194 Between C21,194 to C43,828 Total Graduated high school or Some college, no degree Associate degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree Postgraduate degree Total Frequency Percentage (E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
According to Table 5, female respondents constituted 66% of the total population and dominated this survey, while male respondents constituted 34%.
Sixty-five percent of the population comprised those aged 18 to 24, followed by 16 percent of those aged 35 to 44, 10 percent of those aged 45 to 55, 7 percent of those aged 56 and over, and 2 percent of those aged 25 to 34.
49% of respondents are currently employed, 34% are students, 7% are jobless, 6% are housewives/husbands, 3% are retired, and 1% belong to other occupation classifications.
In terms of monthly income, 49% of the population has a monthly income of less than C10,957, 34% of the population has a monthly income between C10,958 and C21,194, and 18% has a monthly income between C21,194 and C43,828.
43% of respondents held a bachelor's degree, 38% a high school diploma or its equivalent, 9% an associate's degree, 6% a master's degree, 3% had some college but no degree, and 1% an advanced degree.
Table 6 Number of Visits and Visited Optical Clinics Number of Visits Frequency Once Optical Clinic Visited Aplasca Optical Cabayal Optical Clinic Calixton Optical Dulay Optical Eye Optical Clinic Eyeland Vision Clinic Vintage Vision Ideal Vision Farofo Eye Clinic RA Alajar Total Percentage Regarding the number of visits, the majority of respondents, or 64%, indicated that they had visited an optical clinic only once, and followed by 22% who had visited 4-6 times and 16% who had visited 2-4 times.
The majority of respondents, or 31%, were from Aplasca Optical, followed by Ideal Vision with 24% of the total population.
RA Alajar with 15%.
Vintage Vision with 9%.
Cabayal Optical Clinic and Eyeland Vision Clinic with 3% each, and Farofo Eye Clinic and Dulay Clinic with 1% each (Table .
Table 7.
Confirmative Factor Analysis of Variables Constructs KMO Sig.
Service Quality Customer Satisfaction 0.
Customer Trust Brand Image Customer Loyalty To examine the constructs, a confirmatory factor analysis was used.
Table 7 reveals that the Kaiser Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Measure of Sampling Adequacy is more DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
significant than 0.
60 and that the Sig.
level is less than 0.
05 for all constructs.
The key performance indicators (KPI.
for service quality are 0.
7%), customer satisfaction 827 .
7%), customer trust is 0.
3%), brand image is 0.
5%), and customer loyalty is 0.
8%).
Thus, all constructs are significant, including service quality, customer satisfaction, customer trust, brand image, and customer loyalty.
Table 8.
Service Quality The service of my Optical Clinic is reliable.
The location of my Optical Clinic is near to my office and home.
The environment and infrastructure of the Optical Clinic is pleasant.
The operations of my Optical Clinic meet my The Optical Clinic staff is humble and Mean Verbal Interpretation Strongly Agree Rejected Agree Rejected Agree Agree Overall Mean:
The results of the service quality survey are presented in Table 8.
Based on the interpretation, respondents agreed that service quality influenced customer loyalty (M=4.
Similarly, most respondents strongly agreed that the reliability aspect of service quality (M=4.
and the proximity from their office or home to the optical clinic are significant (M=3.
According to the findings, the optical clinic's reliability significantly influenced the respondents' customer loyalty.
They are also considering the site of the optical clinic.
This is similar to .
study titled " Exploring the Emerging Role of Healthscape in Determining Patient Satisfaction : An Empirical Study in the Indian Private Healthcare Industry.
" According to the study's findings, patients' satisfaction is influenced by the hospital's reliability and responsiveness.
Patients' satisfaction is closely tied to their Table 9.
Customer Satisfaction Verbal N Mean Interpretation I am satisfied with my decision to select this Strongly Agree Optical Clinic.
My Optical Clinic provides services that meet my Agree needs and expectations.
I am happy with the services provided by my Agree Optical Clinic.
My Optical Clinic handles my queries efficiently Agree and effectively.
DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
N Mean My Optical Clinic provides what they promise.
Verbal Interpretation Agree Overall Mean Agree The Customer Satisfaction responses of the survey respondents are displayed in Table 9.
The respondents agreed (M = 4.
that Customer Satisfaction strongly influenced customer loyalty.
Results also indicate that respondents are content with their present optical clinic (M = 4.
Most certainly, they are happy with the service provided by their optical clinic (M=3.
The results indicate that respondents are satisfied with their decision of the optical clinic for their eye care needs.
Likewise, they are satisfied with the current optical clinic's services.
Table 10.
Customer Trust N Mean My Optical Clinic is trustworthy.
This Optical Clinic keeps my information under strict This Optical Clinic is reliable, and I can rely on it.
This Optical Clinic is transparent and honest.
My possessions are in safe custody.
Overall Mean Verbal Interpretation Strongly Agree Agree Agree Agree Strongly Agree Agree Table 10 reveals that respondents agreed that consumer trust influences customer loyalty (M = 4.
Whenever they visit an optical clinic, they are assured that their belongings are secure (M=4.
Likewise, they agreed that their current optical clinic is transparent and honest (M=.
Results indicated that respondents are concerned about the security of their belongings every time they visit an optical clinic.
Additionally, they are sensitive to issues of transparency and honesty.
Table 11.
Brand Image N Mean Verbal Interpretation My Optical Clinic is reputable and well-established.
Strongly Agree My Optical Clinic's perception in the mind of people Strongly Agree is good.
The Optical Clinic name is well-known.
Strongly Agree My Optical Clinic provides me services better than Agree other Optical Clinics.
I can easily recall the symbol or logo of my Optical Agree Clinic.
Overall Mean Agree DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
The findings (Table .
show that brand image affects customer loyalty (M = Respondents strongly agreed that having a reputable and well-established optical clinic improved their opinion of the brand image (M=4.
and that they could readily recall the symbols or logo of the optical clinic they visited (M=3.
The results indicate that the optical clinic's credibility influences respondents.
They are looking for a well-established and reputed optical clinic to assist them with their eye care needsThe results align with the study conducted by .
, which explored the connection between brand image and customer loyalty in the service industry.
The study's findings also revealed a clear and positive relationship between brand image and customer loyalty.
A favorable brand image significantly contributes to enhanced customer loyalty.
Results of Multiple Regression Analysis This study was conducted to determine if various factors can influence customer loyalty in optical clinics in Koronadal City.
The hypothesis is that Service Quality.
Customer Satisfaction.
Customer Trust, and Brand Image significantly influence Customer Loyalty.
To test the hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was used.
Table 12.
Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.
Error Durbin-Watson R2 for the overall model was 49.
8% with an adjusted R2 of 46.
this shows a medium-size effect is reported by the model (Table .
Table 13.
ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Regression 15.
Residual Total The results indicate that the four .
predictors account for 46.
7% of the variance in customer loyalty (F.
=15.
, p=.
This demonstrates that the model only partially explains the goodness of fit but that the data are significant.
Durbin-Watson (DW) statistic was also calculated to evaluate the independence assumption of the residuals.
The acceptable DW range without autocorrelation is 1.
45 to As indicated by the DW Value of 1.
774, the fitted regression line result demonstrated no evidence of autocorrelation.
Table 14.
Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Model Error (Constan.
Standardized Coefficients Beta Sig.
ServQual CusSat CusTrst DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
Unstandardized Coefficients Model Error BrndImg Standardized Coefficients Beta Sig.
Looking at the factors influencing customer loyalty, the results show that Customer Satisfaction (=.
295, t=2.
181, p=.
Costumer Trust (=.
088, t=.
636, p=.
Brand Image (=.
404, t=2.
950, p=.
positively predict customer loyalty.
On the other hand.
Service Quality (=-.
009, t=-.
088, p=.
negatively influences Customer Loyalty.
This indicates that for Customer Satisfaction (.
as a predictor of customer loyalty, there was approximately a .
329 rise in customer loyalty for every 1-point increase in customer satisfaction.
Similarly.
Customer Trust (.
as a predictor revealed an increase of approximately.
097, and Brand Image (.
indicated an increase of 493 in customer loyalty for every 1-point increase.
In other words, customer loyalty increases with customer satisfaction, trust, and brand image.
Alternatively, for every 1-point increase in Service Quality (-.
, customer loyalty decreases by approximately .
Table 15.
The Final Remarks and Results of the (Acceptance/rejection of Hypothesi.
Hypothesis Hypothesis Statement Test Statue Ho1 Service quality has a significant influence on customer loyalty in Optical Clinic in Koronadal City t = 0.
Sig.
= 0.
Rejected Ho2 Customer satisfaction has a significant influence on customer loyalty in Optical Clinic in Koronadal City t = 2.
Sig.
Accepted Ho3 Customer trust has a significant influence on customer loyalty in Optical Clinic in Koronadal City t = 0.
Sig.
= 0.
Rejected Ho4 Brand image has a significant influence on customer loyalty in Optical Clinic in Koronadal City t = 2.
Sig.
= 0.
Accepted Table 15 shows the rejection or acceptance of hypothesis based on regression Based on the results, hypothesis 2 and hyphothesis 4 were accepted with a pvalue of more than 0.
A p-value less than 0.
05 is typically considered statistically significant, so the null hypothesis should be rejected.
A p-value more significant than 05 means that deviation from the null hypothesis is not statistically significant.
Conclusion This study on customer loyalty in optical clinics within the City of Koronadal revealed significant findings.
Researchers observed that customer satisfaction and brand image played crucial roles in influencing customer loyalty in these clinics.
Surprisingly, neither service quality nor customer trust exhibited a statistically significant impact on customer loyalty.
These results align with the study conducted by .
, which also emphasized a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
In contrast, .
observed an indirect relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty DOI: 10.
37802/jamb.
(E-ISSN 2745-6.
Journal of Applied Management and Business .
mediated by customer trust.
The researchers found that consumer trust had a substantial and positive effect on customer loyalty, revealing a close association between the two.
These divergent results suggest that factors influencing customer loyalty may not follow a uniform pattern across industries.
It indicates that the dynamics governing customer loyalty can vary and be specific to each industry.
For optical clinics and similar businesses, these findings hold valuable insights.
Understanding the specific factors that drive customer loyalty can guide them in developing targeted strategies to enhance customer retention and satisfaction, ultimately contributing to improved overall performance.
However, it is important to acknowledge that customer loyalty is a complex phenomenon, and further research is needed to explore these dynamics in different contexts.
Ongoing investigations will provide a deeper understanding of the intricacies of customer loyalty and its implications for various sectors.
References