Referral Marketing and Firm Performance a Case Study If Uba Bank Unilorin Branch

ABSTRACT
New customer acquisition is a big challenge for every company, as it is directly connected with the growth of a brand and an organization. The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between referral marketing and firm performance (A case study of UBA Unilorin branch). The specific objectives include were to: determine the influence of social media engagement on customer retention rate of UBA Unilorin branch, examine the impact of referral marketing strategies on customer loyalty of UBA Unilorin branch; and ascertain the relationship between referral incentives and customer satisfaction UBA Unilorin branch. The descriptive design was adopted and this enables collection of data without manipulating the research variables. It was selected because of its direct interaction with the sample population, which is pertinent to the study. The study adopted a purposive sampling technique to select the sample size and Godden (2004) was used in arriving at the sample size of 384. The study found out that Social media engagement has significant influence on customer retention rate of UBA Unilorin branch. Referral marketing strategies has significant impact on customer loyalty of UBA Unilorin branch, and; there is significant relationship between referral incentives and customer satisfaction of UBA Unilorin branch. The study recommended that; UBA should ensure timely and relevant post on their social media and ensure frequent engagement with customers on social media. Also, it is recommended that UBA should offer more attractive referral marketing strategies and offer genuine benefits to new and existing customers. Lastly, it is recommended that UBA should ensure that the incentives offered to customers worth the effort put in by the customers and should always ensure delivery of the rewards in a timely manner.