Word-of-Mouth Communication and Customer Patronage Behaviour Towards Smartphones

Abstract

Words are perceived to be powerful, especially in the viral digital age of today. This study focused on investigating the effect of word-of-mouth communication on customer patronage behavior towards smartphones. The specific factors examined were customer referral, celebrity endorsement, and social media. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to gather primary data from 276 smartphone users, who responded to a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. The collected data underwent analysis using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, specifically multiple linear regression, conducted in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 23). The results indicated that customer referral, celebrity endorsement, and social media exerted significant positive influences on customer patronage behavior towards smartphones. Consequently, we suggest that smartphone marketers should implement incentive programs, capitalize on celebrity endorsements, and utilize social media platforms to attract new customers and foster positive recommendations for smartphone brands. From the limitations of this study, we proposed theoretical directions for future research.