THE MEDIATING IMPACT OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN R.ELATION OF BRAND EQUITY AND BRAND LOYALTY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PEOPLE'S LEASING AND FINANCE PLC COMPANY AND HNB FINANCE LIMITED WITH BRAND CHANGE

Abstract

The study investigates the impact of brand equity on brand loyalty with the mediation of customer satisfaction in People's leasing & finance pLC and HNB finance limited Batticaloa city branch. The study uses five dimension of brand equity, which include perceived quality, perceived value of cost, brand identification, trust and lifestyle congruence' Questionnaire has been used to collect the data from the customers in using People's leasing & finance PLC and HNB finance limited Ltatticaloa city branch' The data has been collected fuom 267 respondents and analyzed through SPSS. The existing level of the independent variable brand equity and customer satisfaction indicated that there is a high level of brand equity and customer satisfaction. Further the finding of this study shows that there is a high level of brand loyalty in the selected customer in People's leasing & finance pLC and HNB finance limited Batticaloa city branch. The study shows a positive significant impact of brand equity on brand loyalty. All hypotheses have been supported to the study and the customer satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between brand equity and brand loyalty.Thestudy will enable the managers to change policies and to train the staff so they can satisf,, the customers which in turn would make custoniers loyal with the organuation. The study is limited only to the selected two finance sector in Batticloa city only. Future studies can be conducted across ditferent type ofbusinesses and cultures. This paper provides a basis to study the effect of trust on brand loyalty rvith mediation of customer satisfaction and offers practical help for managers to train employees which could enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.