Achievement of loyalty in the online environment through brand acceptability: A case study of the customers of Tejarat Bank

In the challenging world today, with companies increasingly competing together, competition is not possible using old marketing philosophies. With the emergence and development of communication technologies, social networks serve as an important type of tools for effective participation in the field of competition. There is an ongoing debate over the activities of brands and companies in social media. Researchers believe that social media offer a unique opportunity for brands. Our goal in this study is to show how brand acceptability is based on social media and how it influences the elements of a customer-centered model (i.e., the relationships among focal customer and brand, product, company, and other customers) and brand loyalty. The statistical population of this research consisted of the customers of Tejarat Bank in Tehran using social networks. A survey-based empirical study was conducted with 386 respondents sampled through Cochran formula and cluster random sampling method. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for each of the variables was over 0.7. The results of structural equation modeling showed that brand acceptability established on social media has positive effects on customer/product, customer/brand, customer/company and customer/other customers relationships, which, in turn, have positive effects on brand trust, and trust and commitment have positive effects on brand loyalty. The purpose of this study is to help banks to provide better-quality services using new marketing methods and increase customer loyalty by attracting them and providing their satisfaction at a low cost.