Title: Boost customer loyalty with online support: the case of mobile telecoms providers

Authors: Allard C.R. van Riel, Jos Lemmink, Sandra Streukens, Veronica Liljander

Addresses: Maastricht University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Marketing, PO Box 616, NL-6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. ' Maastricht University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Marketing, PO Box 616, NL-6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. ' Maastricht University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Marketing, PO Box 616, NL-6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. ' Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Marketing and Corporate Geography, PO Box 479, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland

Abstract: The paper explores the effect of customer satisfaction with online supporting services on loyalty to providers of an offline core service. Supporting services are provided to customers before, during, or after the purchase of a tangible or intangible core product, and have the purpose of enhancing or facilitating the use of this product. The internet has the potential to dominate all other marketing channels when it comes to the interactive and personalised communication that is considered quintessential for supporting services. Our study shows that the quality of online supporting services powerfully affects satisfaction with the provider and customer loyalty through its effect on online value and enjoyment. Managerial implications are provided.

Keywords: customer support; service quality; satisfaction; loyalty; online services; consumer behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2004.003687

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2004 Vol.1 No.1, pp.4 - 23

Published online: 09 Nov 2003 *

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