Title: Process of customer loyalty in very small craft enterprises: an exploratory study of the steps and skills of the owner-manager

Authors: Thierry Mahougnon Adankanhounde

Addresses: Ecole Normale Supérieure de l'Enseignement Technique de Lokossa, Université Nationale des Sciences, Technologie, Ingénierie et Mathématique, BP 148 Lokossa, Benin

Abstract: Customer loyalty, already studied by many practitioners and researchers, continues to be topical due to the benefits that loyal customers provide to the business. There are, in the literature, tools developed for companies to retain customers who become demanding and rare. Very small craft enterprises (VSE) which are booming presently represent the next economy. However, the proprietors of such ventures, though mostly illiterate, have to adapt not only to the different stages for establishing long-lasting relationships with customers, but also to the necessary skills in the process. In this line, interviews were held with 25 groups of group-based VSE proprietors. The data collected shows that the process of customer retention follows three steps during which the owner-manager must develop skills and specific skills.

Keywords: customer loyalty; very small craft business; process; steps skills.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2020.111575

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2020 Vol.41 No.4, pp.490 - 502

Received: 31 Oct 2017
Accepted: 12 Oct 2018
Published online: 02 Dec 2020 *

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