Creating consumer-based brand equity for customers by brand experience: Evidence from Iran banking industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of brand experience on brand equity dimensions in the perspective of customers (including brand identification, physical quality, staff behavior quality, brand awareness, ideal self-congruence and life style-congruence) on brand satisfaction and loyalty in Iranian banking industry. Design/methodology/approach The author designed the conceptual model of the research based on the existing relationships between the research variables and the proposed hypotheses. By a questionnaire, the opinion of 288 customers and clients of selected branches of Melli and Tejarat banks were collected in two Provinces, including East and West Azerbaijan Provinces. The research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings The results of the paper showed that the brand experience directly affected all dimensions of brand equity. Also, the results indicated that except for lifestyle congruence, other dimensions of equity directly affected the customers' brand satisfaction. Originality/value This paper is significant, because it addresses the experience relationships and brand equity with the perspective of the customers of banks in an Islamic country, which affects the development of branding literature.