Relationship marketing: the effect of relationship banking on customer loyalty in the retail business banking industry in South Africa

Relationship banking, as exemplified by retail banks, is a valuable relationship-marketing enabling strategy that promotes competitiveness and provides sustainable success. South Africa has only recently started to optimise relationship marketing. The authors investigated the effect of relationship banking on customer loyalty in one of the four main South African retail banks. The primary data were collected using a questionnaire by means of an electronic mail survey. The sampling frame was drawn from one of the four major banks in South Africa. The research findings indicate that having a relationship-banking offering as part of the relationship-marketing strategy enhances customer loyalty.