CULTIVATING LOYALTY IN FAST FOOD THROUGH MARKETING CUES

Abstract

Purpose – Cultivating customer loyalty is extremely crucial for fast-food players to remain competitive in the industry. This research is discovering the path to cultivate customer loyalty through experience that is built based on auditory, gustatory, haptic, olfactory and visual cues. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research has been conducted by distributing survey questionnaires to customers at selected fast-food restaurants in urban areas. The collected data has been analyzed by descriptive and structural equation modeling analysis. Findings – The customers’ loyalty to fast food can be cultivated through gustatory, haptic and olfactory cues. However, auditory and visual are not functioning as marketing cues to cultivate customer loyalty. Practical implications – The fast-food players may emphasize gustatory, haptic and olfactory marketing cues to cultivate customer loyalty. These cues can be shared through experience. Originality/value – This study has discovered the potential ways to cultivate customer loyalty in dining at fast-food restaurants within the Malaysian market.