Research on Customer Loyalty Impact Factors and Strategy Optimization Based on Automotive Testing and Certification Industry

Abstract

—Based on Kevin Lane Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity Model (CBBE Model), this article explores the influencing factors of loyalty and develops a customer loyalty model for the automotive testing and certification industry. Through interviews and expert opinions, this article extracts eight loyalty determinants and 25 estimated performance indexes to adapt the loyalty assessment dimensions of this industry. This article innovatively combines Partial Least Squares-Based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) to quantify the extent of influence of each determinant on loyalty and to provide guidance for the prioritization of actions. The advantage of combining the two models is identifying the company’s weaknesses and quantifying the effects of improvements. Data were collected through questionnaires, and SmartPLS 4.0 was used to verify the proposed hypothesis. The analysis concludes that the company should improve the quality of certificate reports in the short term and provide more added value for customers in the long term. The model has a substantial application value and enables companies to identify problems, prevent business churn, optimize their overall management system, and improve market competitiveness.