Abstract
M.B.A.
Increasing customer longevity in branch banking is a difficult process, with the average bank loosing fifteen (15%) to twenty (20%) percent of its customers each year, any help a bank can get in holding on to them is welcome (Power, 2000: 19). Central to these concerns is researchers and practitioners realization that: Not all customers should be targeted with retention and loyalty efforts and, Some of the most satisfied and loyal customers might still switch / defect for reasons beyond the control of the bank and at times even beyond the control of the customer.
Although it is encouraging to note the increasing awareness that not all customers are alike (Blattenberg and Deighton; Reichheld, 1993), little is known about how and why they differ. Simple put, if important attitudinal and behavioural differences can be identified among various customer groups, service providers can efficiently identify and target customers as part of a broader acquisition, value assessment, and retention strategy. This, in essence is the focus of the current study.