The Impact of service quality and brand experience on customer satisfaction in a sample of private banks in Erbil City

Abstract

This study examines the impact of service quality and brand experience on customer satisfaction within private banks in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The service industry, and especially the banking industry, has changed a lot and in ways that have never happened before. In order to protect long-term relationships, it is now necessary for businesses to keep an eye on and study their customers' service expectations and their banking and brand association activities. To address this challenge, the research utilized a comprehensive quantitative methodology, collecting primary data from 388 bank customers through a structured and closed-ended questionnaire, grounded in validated measurement scale designs. In this conceptual framework, the service quality and brand experience variables are autonomous, while customer satisfaction is the dependent variable. Using AMOS, we looked at both the measurement and structural models of SEM to analyze the data. We did a number of tests to make sure that the scales we made were strong, including Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and average variance extracted. The data confirmed that the quality of service is a major provider and influencer of customer satisfaction. It also stressed the importance of service banking being seen as reliable, responsive, assured, empathetic, and having tangible aspects. Moreover, the brand experience positively influenced customer satisfaction, and it was affirmed that the variety of sensory, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral experiences significantly contributed to customers’ favorable perceptions of the bank. It has been determined that service quality and brand experience significantly enhance customer satisfaction within Erbil's private banking sector. To fully prepare bank managers and business owners to improve service quality in order to build brand loyalty and keep customers. This is meant for a situation where there is cutthroat competition.