Investigating the relationship between quality, loyalty, and personal relationship in the banking sector: An analysis of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine specific aspects of banking services, from the founding of the company and the first steps of entrepreneurs, through its growth from micro, small to medium-sized enterprises. The quality of the bank's service is directly related to the positive experience of service users, i.e. it depends on the extent to which the bank manages to solve the problem of the entrepreneur. Furthermore, this quality leads to a deeper connection between the bank and the business client, a personal relationship, based on two-way communication and trust, which contributes to building a loyal two-way relationship. In the Serbian market, we examined the experience of 99 entrepreneurs with the services offered by 26 banks. The products are similar; what makes the difference is the marketing of banking services and the positioning of the bank's brand in the consciousness of the entrepreneur as a bank that cares about the client and is ready to further invest in building trust and loyalty. Our findings indicate that the owners of micro-size firms and entrepreneurs located in Belgrade, have comparatively more concerns about the quality of rendered services.