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If you have their minds, will their bodies follow? Factors effecting customer loyalty in a ski resort setting

Massey 306, Robert Morris University School of Business, 6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, PA 15108, USA, clarkj{at}rmu.edu

Jill K. Maher

Marketing in the Robert Morris University School of Business

In many business situations, the primary focus of marketing activities can be viewed as developing and maintaining repeat patronage or loyalty from the firm’s customer base. Due to many alternatives for consumers, vacation marketers are building loyalty by developing relationships with consumers. While organizations may conceptualize and even implement relationship marketing practices into their consumer loyalty strategies, it is necessary to examine the variables contributing to a more loyal consumer base. This paper explores the relationship between organizationally related factors and consumer attitudinal loyalty in the resort industry using data collected from a ski resort. All factors in the study have been linked to loyalty, but have not previously been examined in one study. Regression results indicate that trust, commitment, satisfaction, past behavior, and value predict 60 percent of the variance in attitudinal loyalty. Implications suggest resort marketers need to segment customers based on number of visits, creating strategies to manipulate factors that are most important to each segment.

Key Words: commitment • customer loyalty • consumer trust • relationship marketing • value

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