The Effect of Relationship Marketing on Service Quality and Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Study, in Indonesia

The purpose of this research is to examine and analyze the effect of Relationship Marketing on service quality and customer loyalty, especially in the context of the retail industry. In retail industry, Relationship Marketing is the key to increase and maintain a large pool of customers. This research was conducted in North Sulawesi Province with a sample size of 155 supermarket customers. The sampling technique used for the study is the purposive sampling. Data was analyzed using SEM based on GeSCA components. The results showed that Relationship Marketing had a significant positive effect both on service quality and customer loyalty. The commitment, communication, conflict handling, and competence play an important role in improving service quality which ultimately makes customers loyal. In addition, the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, also has significant positive findings. These findings are in line with the concept of SERVQUAL and The Commitment-Trust Theory. The implication of the managerial research is that supermarket managers in North Sulawesi must focus and emphasize more on the Relationship Marketing dimension especially in terms of commitment, communication, conflict handling, and competence. Once these factors can be met, the quality of service will increase, and it causes an increase in customer loyalty to shop more at the supermarket.