Total Quality Management (TQM) for Sustainable Customer Loyalty
Read this article. The paper seeks to demonstrate how implementing TQM can be a precursor to sustainable customer loyalty. While reading, reflect on how your favorite store or brand seeks to maintain your satisfaction and loyalty. What in particular do they do that keeps you a loyal customer?
Results
Proposed Model
Extant studies like Munizu, Margaret & Oluwakayode and Dapper et al. have shown how TQM affects organization performance and how it leads to customer satisfaction but limited research has been done on how TQM can lead to customer loyalty which goes beyond satisfaction. The proposed model presented in Figure 1 integrates the TQM process and how it can lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. It shows that top management commitment and continuous product improvement are the backbone for successful implementation of TQM and it requires the cooperation of top managers in all departments and divisions of the organization (Teamwork) and there must be effective control for monitoring and measuring the real performance of the business. Once all these are in place, it will lead to customer satisfaction thereby enhancing sustainable customer loyalty and there must also be room for feedback from customers. The model represents two propositions which were examined in this study. Proposition 2 examines how top management commitment to TQM can enhance customers' patronage and proposition 1 explains that continuous product improvement can sustain customer loyalty.
Figure 1: Proposed Model On TQM Process Leading To Customer Loyalty