The Effect of Service Quality and Product Innovation toward Competitive Advantage and Implications on Interest in Reference Customers "BRI" Bank in Bengkulu Province: Case Study in "BRI" Bank Bandar Bintuhan Branch

As one of the banking institutions in Indonesia which is one of the largest state-owned banks in Indonesia, BRI Bank has various service strategies that are intended for benefit of its customers. Especially the BRI Bank Bandar Bintuhan Branch in Bengkulu Province which is located at Jln. Merdeka Bintuhan South Bengkulu, Bengkulu Province, 38963 of course also puts forward strategy for service of its customers, most of who come from Bengkulu Province. The specific objective of this research is to know and analyze the influence of service quality on competitive advantage, product innovation, and competitiveness at the BRI Bank Bandar Bintuhan Unit, Branch in Bengkulu Province. This research is a quantitative research that uses data collection methods with questionnaires. Through this method, the researcher able to get input directly from the customer of BRI Bank regarding the policies whether company strategy for service quality was already good or still need to be improved. Based on the data concluded, the customer of BRI Bank Bandar Bintuhan Branch positively considers the policies that have been made, the only difference is insignificance or not the policy itself. For example, service quality, product innovation, and competitive advantage are considered positive and significant customers, while the interest in reference remains positive but not significant. Keywords—service quality, product innovation, competitive advantage, interest in reference