Communication skills of sellers as a determinant of consumer satisfaction and loyalty
Komunikacione veštine prodavaca kao determinanta satisfakcije i lojalnosti potrošača
Abstract
The quality of interaction between sellers and consumers is the starting point for developing satisfaction and establishing long-term relationships between enterprises and consumers. The aim of the paper is to examine the influ-ence of verbal and non-verbal communication skills of the sellers on consumer satisfaction and loyalty, relying on the dimensions of the SERVQUAL model. Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 229 consumers and the data were analyzed in statistical software SPSS. The research found that the possession of the verbal and non-verbal communication skills of sellers determines the consumer satisfaction and loyalty, where the strength of the influence of non-verbal communication skills in both cases is stronger than the strength of the influence of verbal communication skills. It has been additionally tested and confirmed that satisfaction has a mediating effect when considering the relationship between the verbal and non-verbal communication skills of the sellers and the consumer loyalty. The paper points to the importance of analysis of the communication relationship quality established between sellers and consumers, and its results can have practical implications in the business practice of modern enterprises.
Apstrakt
Kvalitet interakcije između prodavaca i potrošača polazna je osnova za razvoj zadovoljstva i uspostavljanje dugoročnih odnosa između preduzeća i potrošača. Cilj rada je da se ispita uticaj veština verbalne i neverbalne komunikacije prodavaca na satisfakciju i lojalnost potrošača oslanjajući se na dimenzije SERVQUAL modela. Sprovedeno je empirijsko istraživanje na uzorku od 229 potrošača a podaci su analizirani u statističkom softveru SPSS. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno da posedovanje veština verbalne i neverbalne komuniacije prodavaca determiniše satisfakciju i lojalnost potrošača, pri čemu je jačina uticaja veština neverbalne komunikacije u oba slučaja jača u odnosu na jačinu uticaja verbalne komunikacije. Dodatno je ispitano i potvrđeno da satisfakcija ima medijatorski efekat kada se posmatra odnos između veština verbalne i neverbalne komunikacije prodavaca i lojalnosti potrošača. Rad ukazuje na značaj analize kvaliteta komunikacionog odnosa koji se uspostavlja između prodavaca i potrošača a njegovi rezultati mogu imati praktične implikacije u poslovnoj praksi savremenih preduzeća.
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