Investigating the effect of empirical marketing and brand attachment on brand commitment Among Sepah Bank customers

Sepah Brand Bank, as the first Iranian state-owned bank, plays a pivotal role in the behavior of customers of Iranian banks. Sepah Bank has had a tremendous impact on the development of the banking industry in Iran by establishing strong relationships between its customers and its brand. Creating such strong relationships has led to the formation of deep emotional bonds and ultimately brand love between Sepah Bank customers and the Sepah brand. Creating and strengthening strong emotional bonds turns customers into staunch defenders of the brand, resulting in huge investments in Sepah Bank, which makes Sepah Bank one of the best banks in the Middle East. In this study, using a research model, the effect of empirical marketing on brand commitment by considering the mediating variables of brand attachment, brand trust and brand loyalty among Sepah Bank customers has been investigated using structural equation modeling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The answers to the questionnaires were collected from 384 customers of Sepah Bank. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by theoretical foundations and experts' opinions and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha. Findings showed that empirical marketing is effective in customer attachment to the brand, customer loyalty to the brand and customer trust in the brand in Sepah Bank and leads to customer commitment to the Sepah brand. It is suggested that other banks use Sepah Bank as a model in empirical branding and re-marketing to witness the growth and prosperity of the country's banking industry.