Factors Influencing Customer Retention : A Study of Usage of Mobile Phone in Sudan

With the advancement in the telecommunication industry, mobile telecommunication and use of other phone types in Sudan have gained impetus in the recent past. This advancement in telecommunication technology in Sudan gained momentum in the year 2005. Since then, many Sudanese have embraced the technology which shows that communication technology is spreading rapidly in the country. At this very early stage of development, the industry hosts three major competitors giving the implication that the market is still green. Therefore, the company that employs the best strategies in ensuring highest customer retention has an upper hand of gaining a competitive advantage in the market and thus reaping maximum profits from the industry. Being operational in a developing country, the companies have not done much to improve customer retention strategies in their mode of service delivery. If the key players would pay the attention of improving consumer retention strategies, they would improve their service delivery infrastructure which would affect the profitability of different service providers differently depending on how consumer friendly their services are. This study seeks to establish some of the fundamental factors that affect consumer retention by investigating the three major mobile telecommunication operators in Sudan. It will focus on MTN Sudan, Sudatel and Zain Sudan (Mobitel). The study employs quantitative method by surveying university students. A discussion of the results of this study will form the basis of recommendations for companies, academicians and other operators and stakeholders of the telecommunication industry in Sudan. The realization that customer retention is highly influenced by customer loyalty and behavior among many other factors will be explored in the context of the three companies mentioned hereinbefore. It will be evident that behavioral intentions directly rely on price perceptions, perceived switching barriers and firms’ reputations.