Title:
INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON CONSUMER LOYALTY AMONG STAR- RATED HOTELS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Authors:
Lydia Kemunto and Dr. Mwaura

Abstract:
Digital marketing has been recently referred as one of the best means to cut through the mess and interact directly with the customer. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of digital marketing on customer loyalty in hotels in Nakuru town. More specifically the study sought to investigate the role of consumer digital culture on consumer loyalty. The study adopted a descriptive research design with the population comprising all the 21 hotels in Nakuru town in which three employees were targeted making a total number of 63 respondents. A questionnaire with closed ended questions was used to collect primary data. Secondary data was collected from the customer feedback reports from each hotel. Data was analyzed using SPSSV.21, Inferential statistics (mainly multiple regressions). The findings were presented in tables and graphs. The study found out that, 1 unit change in digital marketing (comprising of digital culture, OWM, digital environment and digital advertising) results in 0.40 units increase in customer loyalty. It can therefore be concluded that digital marketing positively affects customer loyalty. The study recommends that similar research should be replicated in other service industries which have adopted digital marketing