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competitive advantage. Building loyalty with key customers has become a core marketing objective shared by key players in all industries catering to
business customers. According to Kotler 2009, loyalty can be achieved through two stages:
a. The Company shall have the ability to give satisfaction to the consumers so that consumers get a positive experience, means the
purchase of re-prioritized on previous sales. b. The Company must have a way to maintain a more distant relationship
with their customers by using the method of forced loyalty that consumers want to make repeat purchases.
2. Method of Customer Loyalty Measurement
According to Lovelock and Wirtz 2004:352 loyalty is the willingness of consumers to subscribe to the company on an ongoing basis, purchasing
and using goods and services on a repeated and preferably exclusive basis, and recommending the firm‘s products and services to friends and
associates. In general, there are three distinctive approaches to measure loyalty:
a. The behavioral measurement b. Attitudinal measurement
c. Composite measurement The behavioral measurement considers consistent, repetitious purchase
behavior as an indicator of loyalty. Thus, repeat purchase does not always mean commitment. Roger Palmer et al., 2007:10 stated that behavioral as
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the act of purchase may be due to a number of factors perhaps loyalty, where the customer has a preference for the product, or simply through
habitual behavior or the lack of alternatives. Attitudinal measurements use attitudinal data to reflect the emotional and psychological attachment
inherent in loyalty. Roger Palmer et al., 2007:10 stated that repurchase is driven by underlying emotions which are expressed as preference for the
brand, product or service despite the opportunities posed by alternative and substitute products. The third approach, composite measurements of
loyalty, combines the first two dimensions and measurement of loyalty.
Meanwhile, Oliver 1997 in Kotler and Keller 2009:163 divided the
levels of loyalty based on the quality and quantity of re-purchase and resistance power of competitor‘s product or service.
Figure 2.3 Oliver’s Four Stage Loyalty Model
Source: Oliver Sivadas and Prewitt, 2000.
Service Quality Relative Attitude Recommend Share of Visits Satisfaction Repurchase
Cognitive Loyalty
Affective Loyalty
Conative Loyalty
Action Loyalty
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Based on figure 2.3, the level of customer loyalty divided in some stages, which is starting from the cognitive, affective, conative and action
loyalties. Cognitive and affective loyalties are still to be oriented relative and functional benefits, while the conative and action loyalties are more
permanent and more oriented to emotional benefits. a. Cognitive Loyalty
Oliver 1999 in Lovelock and Wirtz 2004:352 has argued that consumers first become loyal in a cognitive sense, perceiving from
brand attribute information that one brand is batter than its alternatives that can fulfill customer desired. This means that information held by
a consumer brand consumer confidence must point to a focal brand is considered to be superior over the competition.
b. Affective Loyalty Lovelock and Wirtz 2004:352 stated that affective loyalty as a
consumer develops a liking for the brand, based on cumulatively satisfying usage occasions. Such attitudes are not easily dislodged by
counterarguments from competitors. Affective loyalty indicates the level of favorable attitudes and liking that the customer displays
towards the site or brand. Level of consumer preferences on the focal brand should be higher than rival brands, so there is a clear preference
on the affective focal brand.
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c. Conative Loyalty Hennig-Thurau et al., and Janda et al. 2002 define conative loyalty as
the development of behavioral intention to continue to buy the brand or the site. This loyalty state is characterized by a deeper level of
commitment or purchase intentions of the customers. Commitment to the brand indicates tendency to maintain relation with a brand.
Consumer commitment to the brand has been identified important in marketing Ahluwalia, Rohini, 2000; Kotler Philip et al., 2009.
Intention to repurchase can be measured by asking consumers about their future intentions to repurchase a given product or service.
Consumers must have the intention to buy the focal brand, other brands are not carried out when the buying decision. The condition is
that there is a tendency on the customer to perform certain actions. d. Action Loyalty
Oliver 1999 in Lovelock and Wirtz 2004:352 states that action or behavioral loyalty is the stage where behavioral intentions get
converted into actions. Behavioral loyalty has been considered as repeat purchases frequency or proportion of purchase and likelihood to
recommend.
E. THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH
