Evaluating the connection between customer satisfaction and strategic integrated marketing communication in Africa: The mediating role of customer expectation in Ghanaian banks

Abstract

In Ghana's competitive banking sector, Strategic Integrated Marketing Communication (SIMC) is becoming increasingly popular as a way to improve customer relationships and satisfaction. Nonetheless, its influence within the African context, especially regarding customer expectations, is still insufficiently examined. This study investigates the correlation between SIMC and customer expectation and satisfaction in Ghanaian banks, emphasising the mediating influence of customer expectation. The research was directed by the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Theory, Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory, and Relationship Marketing Theory. A quantitative approach and a cross-sectional design were employed. The target population consisted of bank customers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, from whom a sample of 468 was obtained through convenience sampling. The data were gathered through Google Forms and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that SIMC has significant effects on both customer expectation (β = 0.605, p < 0.001) and satisfaction (β = 0.542, p < 0.001). Customer expectation has a significant direct effect on satisfaction (β = 0.634, p < 0.001) and is a partial mediator in the relationship between SIMC and satisfaction, accounting for 70.85% of the total effect. The study concludes that SIMC primarily enhances customer satisfaction through the management of expectations. It suggests that Ghanaian banks use SIMC frameworks that are in line with their business goals and to ensure that communication is clear and consistent to effectively set expectations, increase satisfaction, and build customer loyalty.