1

Evaluation of customer satisfaction with services of a Micro-finance Institution :

Empirical Evidence from WAGES customers in Togo

Edd !A"EM!A #an urhi$

%h& 'ellow and Senior "ecturer( &epartment of 'inance and Management ( )atholic *niversit of !u+avu ,&- )ongo.( %/0/!o1 02 ) angu( -wanda ( Tel : 3 245 667 76 8989( 3 245 9: 5$5$ :77( Email : eddinesca@yahoo.fr / %rogramme since 2006/ ;e detains a )omplementar master degree from European Microfinance

The author is grateful towards professors Aad <an Til=urg and &>ogratias

!uganda for helpful comments the provided him to improve this papers ?ualit /

Abstract. @owada s( Micro-finance industr is affected = competition leading to customers switching across M'IS/ Thus( M'Is are concerned a=out customer satisfaction and have to pa attention to understand their customers preferences to survive in a competitive environment/ *sing data from 5:5 Women and Association for Gain =oth Economic and Social ,WAGES.s customers in Togo( this stud aimed to : ,$. determine the main dimensions of financial services of Microfinance institution ,2. determine the customer satisfaction level and ,5. assess to what e1tent customer satisfaction is influenced = customers characteristics/ -esorting to 'actorial anal sis( )ustomer Satisfaction Inde1 and A@A<A( we found that responsiveness remains the most important dimension in micro-finance sector/ -esults reveal that customers =ranch( customers revenue and num=er of services accessed = customers strongl influence customers satisfaction/ -esults also indicate that the current customer satisfaction is e?uals to 7$/2B/

Key words:

Micro-finance customers satisfaction dimensions( customers satisfaction

Inde1( customer characteristics influence/

1. Introduction

Microfinance industr

is now affected = strong competition : C commercial =an+s have clientele is =ecoming more sophisticated

=egun to target M'Is traditional customers ( new M'Is have continued to =e created in microfinance industr ( the microfinance concerning the ?ualit of service the re?uire or e1pectD, &au=ert 2002. / These factors ma negativel affect the M'Is/ In fact( the microfinance industr is losing customers =ecause of =oth the aggressive competition and M'Is wea+ness to satisf their clients ,*rguiEo 2008./ This simple description shows wh M'Is are concerned a=out customer satisfaction and retention/ It Fustifies also wh the must Cpa attention to understand their customers preferences and prioritiesD ,I'A& 2007. to survive in a competitive environment/ The microfinance industr is ?uite slowl in =ecoming more Cmar+et orientedD and it seems that customer satisfaction is one of the important tools to run a =usiness and to achieve the mission statement ,on sustaina=ilit and outreach. in this sector/ )ustomer satisfaction is an evaluative process( it is defined as CG a Fudgment that a product of service feature( or the product or service itself( provided ,or is providing. a pleasura=le level of consumption related fulfillment( including levels of under or over fulfillmentD ,Aliver $667( $5. cited = , Swaid 2007H ;om 2002./ )ustomer satisfaction is Ccaptured as positive feeling ,satisfaction.( indifference or negative feelings ,dissatisfaction.D ,!hattacherFee( 200$. cited = ,Swaid 2007./ It is a short-term attitude that can readil change given a constellation of circumstances/ Therefore( satisfaction is not a static idea and it changes as soon as a client finds a =etter deal that meets his e1pectations/ In this perspective( firms must focus on customer satisfaction( stud ing and determining as soon as possi=le the customer satisfaction level( to adFust the product to customer needs/ Indeed( customer satisfaction has great significance for the future of an institution and it is seen as a =asis for securing mar+et position and achieving other o=Fectives of the institution ,#oraus ( 2002./ This stud focuses on customer satisfaction with respect to the services of Micro-finance institutions in Togo/ &ata have =een e1tracted from one M'I ,the Women Association and Gain for =oth Economic and Social: WAGES. for two reasons: ,$. WAGES is the second =iggest M'I in TogoH launched in $664( it grew rapidl serving nowada s more than 84/7$0 clients divided in eight =ranches located in the Togolese =iggest towns/ Thus( stud ing WAGES case will provide an e1haustive insight on M'Icustomer satisfaction issue in Togo/

,2. WAGES is one of the Cmar+et orientedD M'Is with a well esta=lished mar+eting department aiming to develop new products on clients needs and competitors strategic actions =asis/ Thus( it was eas to access to WAGES data=ase and installations what was impossi=le for other institutions mainl characteriEed = opa?ue structures/ TogoleseM'I sector e1perienced =ig competition since 2007H active M'Is increased in num=er reaching $87 institutions ,Togoleses M'I networ+ -eport( 2007./ The multiplication of financial institutions ,M'Is and commercial =an+s.( a wea+ diversification of products and the lac+ of entrance =arriers ,M'I sector. are among elements e1plaining hard competition in the sector/ While man M'Is have =een concerned = competition( WAGES has =een highl affected losing almost : B of active clients/ WAGES mar+eting department positivel reacted = conducting a customer satisfaction surve in Iune 2009 aiming to indentif clients needs and complaints for defining management implications for operational and strategic actions/ *sing WAGES surve outcome( this stud aims to determine M'Is customer satisfaction level in Togo/ The o=Fective is to determine the current customer satisfaction level( to understand the main dimensions of service from the customer point of view and( at the end( to assess if the customer satisfaction is influenced = some characteristics of customers li+e: num=er of services o=tained( the location of customer( the age( the se1 ,gender.( the school level and num=er of ears spent as customer in the M'I/ )ustomer satisfaction is a su=Fect with a lot of interest in =oth the mar+eting and finance literature/ The great emphasis on customer satisfaction has given =irth to multiple studies and innovative methodologies to assess and to understand customer =ehavior/ %arasuraman et al/$69:( $699. are among the most well-+nown researchers who assessed customer satisfaction using service ?ualit ,ServJualit . model/ Toda ( ServJualit model is used( with few adaptations( in multiple sectors to assess =oth service perceptions and e1pectations Cacross a range of different service characteristicsD ,European )ommission( 2009./ The original model is adapted in function of the researchers needs and CmovedD from the non financial sector to the financial sector/ Therefore( it is feasi=le to assess customer satisfaction also in the financial sector/ Thus( Cthe !A@#SE-< model was developed in Australia to measure service ?ualit in retail =an+ing as perceived = customers/ It was adapted from SE-<J*A" to specificall suit the Australian =an+ing industr D,%ont and McJuil+en 2002./ The )A-TE- model Cwas conceptualiEed as a proposed framewor+ for measuring ?ualit of services in Islamic =an+s ,Athman and Awen 200$.( etc. Innovative( structured and formal models to assess customer satisfaction in Microfinance are still rare/ ;owever( some studies

tried to formaliEe the main items of satisfaction that can =e measured in this particular field/ Murra ,200$. investigated M'I customers value through a comparative anal sis from three continents/ ;is results show that CM'I customers will continuall push for higher loan amounts( faster turnaround times( lower loan re?uirements and lower pricesD/ This stud ta+es inspiration from previous studies and tries to adapt the ServJual model to the micro-finance field/ It uses a sample of 5:5 respondents from WAGES = a stratified and reasoning sample choice/ &ata were o=tained = a surve in three stages: the first stage is a focus group/ The o=Fective assigned to it is to gather the most important dimensions of service from the customers point of view and these dimensions will =e introduced in the ?uestionnaire to =e a=le to use a ?uantitative methodolog / The second stage was a presurve / In this case( the ?uestionnaire has =een proportionall su=mitted to 50 customers in function of num=er of customers = =ranch ,Giannelloni and <ernette 200$./ The third stage is the proper surve / A ?uestionnaire( inspired = previous studies and customer answers( has =een used to gather e1pectations and perceived service = customers/ &ata processing has =een done = resorting to factorial anal sis( Anova test and customer satisfaction Inde1/ This stud is divided in five sections/ The first section presents the literature review/ We define customer satisfaction( discuss the importance of customer satisfaction in relation of retention and lo alt ( present a short review of measurement tools of customer satisfaction and provide some results related to previous studies/ The second section focuses on methodolog and h pothesis/ Some techni?ues related to information gathering and processing are presented ,focus group( pre-surve and sampling( surve ( factorial anal sis( Anova test( customer satisfaction Inde1./ The third section presents data/ &ata relate to customers characteristics( different items constituting the customer satisfaction and WAGES financial products/ The fourth section discusses results providing main dimensions of customer satisfaction( the current customer satisfaction level and assesses if customer satisfaction is related to their characteristics/ The fifth section raises limitations( implications and future research from this stud / 'ollowing section presents literature review/ 2. Literature review We review customer satisfaction theories and provide some empirical results related to customer satisfaction in Micro-finance and 'inance sectors ,2./

2/$/ Theoretical review/ We define customer satisfaction( discuss the importance of customer satisfaction in relationship with retention and lo alt and present a short review of measurement tools of customer satisfaction/ 2.1.1. Definition of customer satisfaction. According to e1isting definitions and approaches( customer satisfaction can =e anal Eed as a generalKoverall Fudgment that a customer ma+es after consuming a product or a service/ )ustomer satisfaction is perceived as Cps chological state ,feeling. appearing after =u ing and consuming a product or service GD ,"endrevie and "indon $667. cited = ,Merouane 2009K2006./ Thus( customer satisfaction reflects Ca pleasure resulting to products consumption( including under or over fulfilment levelD ,Aliver $667( $5. cited = ,;om( 2002./ According to Aliviers argument ( customer satisfaction does not mean onl positive feeling( it could also lead to a negative or neutral feeling withdrew from consuming a product or a service/ !riefl ( Ccustomer satisfaction is captured as positive feeling ,satisfaction.( indifference ,neutral.( or negative feelings ,dissatisfaction.D ,!hattacherFee 200$. cited = ,Swaid and Wigand 2007( ;om 2002./ When approaching customer satisfaction as a feeling( it is important to note that it is mostl influenced = the customers e1perience with the firm and product/ In this perspective( customer satisfaction is conceived as Cthe emotional state that occurs as a result of a customers interactions with the firm over timeD ,Anderson et al/ $664. )ited = <erhoef ,2005( 52./ In fact, customers are usuall comparing the product received from the firm to their own e1pectations over time/ If the product fulfils and performs the customers e1pectations( customer seems satisfied/ !riefl ( customers satisfaction is anal Eed as a confirmation or not of customer e1pectations ,)onchon et al/ 2008./ )learl ( it seems that customer satisfaction is composed = Ctwo components: client

e1pectations and the perceived ?ualit / Thus( a proper measure of satisfaction would include a separate assessment of =oth client e1pectations and the ?ualit of provided serviceD ,Affice of the )omptroller General Evaluation and Audit !ranch $66$./ %arassuraman et al /$69:( $699( $66$. approached customer satisfaction in the same wa = demonstrating that customer satisfaction is a function of Cthe difference scores or gaps =etween e1pectations and

perceptions ,% L E.D/ According to them( customer satisfaction is onl achieved Cif actual perceived ?ualit surpasses the consumers e1pectationsD/ Even if the %arasuraman et al/ $69: customer definition seems to =e more dominant( it is now more criticiEed =ecause of practical pro=lems related to the gap Cperformance minus e1pectationsD ,Teas $664( $52./ Thus( an alternative measurement of customer satisfaction has =een proposed estimating that customer satisfaction would =e onl o=tained = focusing on actual perceived satisfaction ,)orin and Ta lor $662H Teas $664./ In this perspective and contrar to %arasuraman et als approach( C)ustomer satisfaction is defined as customers overall evaluation of the performance of an offering to date ,Ionhnson and 'ornell $66$. cited = ,Gustafsson et al/200:( 2$0./ 2.1.2. Importance of customer satisfaction in firms: retention and loyalty. "o alt and retention are often anal Eed as direct conse?uences of customer satisfaction/ The two terms e1press Cthe attachment a customer feels for a compan s people( products( and services/ A lo al customer is someone who ma+es regular purchases( purchases across product and service lines( refers others( demonstrates an immunit competitionD Griffin ,$66:. cited = to the pull of the , )hurchill 2002. / 'inancial and mar+eting studies

have supposed that satisfied customers constitute an important asset of firm/ Even if there is not much empirical evidence( it seems that customer satisfaction will enhance =oth customer lo alt and retention through repeated purchases( less price sensitivit and costs reduction/ In fact( when customers are satisfied ( the =ecome more lo al and will increase their level of purchasing from the firm over time , Anderson and Sullivan $665( -eichheld $668. cited = ,<erhoef 2005( 55. directl ( the will also recommend other customers to consume the firms products and services / Thus( Cthe positive word of mouth that satisfied customers generate influences other consumers future purchasesD ,Anderson $668. cited = , Gruca and "opo 200:( $$8./ Satisfied customers are also e1pected to =e Cless li+el to defect to competing products as a result of lower pricesD ,'ornell et al/ $668./ 'or this reason( Cgreater customer satisfaction ma ena=le firm to charge higher prices or at least to =etter resist downward pressure on pricesD ,Anderson $668 ( @ara andas $669. / !riefl ( C a satisfied customer reacts less sensitivel to price changes and is prepared to pa a higher price for a service that corresponds to their re?uirements and conceived ideasD ( #orauM 2002( Anderson et al /2004 ( $72./

)ustomer satisfaction will also e1ert a positive impact on firms costs through retention/ Indeed( = satisf ing customers( firms and M'Is will lower their actual costs avoiding gaining new clients and ma+ing e1tra mar+eting e1penses/ This argument is more important in microfinance sector where clients and the M'I are supposed to act for a long-term relationship/ In fact( C with client retention( institutional costs decrease as the institution needs to do less mar+eting( less new client orientation( and fewer new client =ac+ground chec+s( staff productivit increases =ecause loan officers wor+ with esta=lished clients whom the +now well( clients income increases as loan siEes generall increase with e1perienced clientsD , Waterfield 2008H #orauM 2002). !rief( = satisf ing their customers( Cfirms and M'Is will generate =enefit for themselves =e ond the present transaction and the current moment/ These =enefits will arise from the positive shaping of the satisfied customers future =ehaviourD ,Anderson $668. cited = ,Gruca and "opo 200:( $$8./ It means that if firms and M'Is in particular( Care a=le to meet customers needs successfull ( then( household sta=ilit will increase/ )ustomer household sta=ilit will in turn contri=ute to organiEations financial sustaina=ilit D ,Asian Institute of Management 200:./ 1.1.3. Evolution of customer satisfaction measurement There are man techni?ues and methods for measuring customer satisfaction/ We will not review all e1isting methods/ We will limit our attention to representative methods li+e ServJual( Serv%erf and some adapted methods resulting to ServJual model/ a) Service quality model: The ServJual model is considered as the pioneer model in customer satisfaction measurement/ &eveloped = %arasuraman et al/$69:( the model has =een recogniEed as the most representative tool in approaching customer satisfaction issues/ The central idea is that service ?ualit is C a function of the difference scores or gaps =etween e1pectations and perceptions ,% L E.D/ CSE-<J*A" contains 22 pairs "i+ert scale statements structured around five service ?ualit dimensions in order to measure service ?ualit ,)ronin and Ta lor $662. : -elia=ilit ( -esponsiveness( Assurance ( Empath ( Tangi=les .D ,!loemer ( -u ter et al/ $666./ In this perspective( customer satisfaction is anal Eed as multidimensional concept resulting from a comparative approach =etween customers e1pectations and perceived ?ualit delivered = the firm ,cf/

%arasuraman et al/ $69:./ Thus( Ca positive gap score implies that e1pectation have =een met or e1ceeded and a negative score implies that e1pectations are not =eing metD ,%arasuraman at al/ $699. cited = ,Safa+li( nd( !arnes 200:( %arasuraman( et al/$69:). @ow( ServJual model is anal Eed and modified = some authors see+ing to adapt it or to correct some mista+es it ma =e perceived to contain/ -ethin+ing ServJualit has given =irth to multiple others models among them Serv%erf which we anal Ee =elow/
b)
The SER !ER"

model: This model had =een developed = )ronin and Ta lor $662

from ServJual model =asis/ The fundamental criticism launched to ServJual model = )ronin( Ta lor and other authors li+e Teas concerns the gap scores ,%E./ In fact( those authors estimated that Cthere are serious pro=lems in conceptualiEing service ?ualit as a difference score G/D ,)ronin and Ta lor $662( 28./ Thus ( Serv%erf model suggests C that customer satisfaction with service is =ased onl on CperformanceD rather than a gap =etween performance and e1pectations( with the performance-onl scale termed SE-<%E-'D ,)ronin N Ta lor $662( $664. cited = , "owndes 200$./ ;owever( SE-<%E-' model is composed of the same 22 perception items included in SE-<J*A"/ CIt e1cludes an consideration of e1pectation( which ma+es SE-<%E-' a more efficient ,A@PMA) )onference %roceedings 2002./ Empirical studies have measure in comparison to SE-<J*A" ,"ee( "ee and Ooo 2000H !uttle( $668.D cited = confirmed a relative superiorit of Serv%erf to ServJual models/ Thus( %P! $664 argued that CServ%erf has greater construct validit and that Serv%erf measures also e1hi=it convergent and discriminant validit D ,)ronin and Ta lor $662./ c) #dapted models from Serv$ual model: Toda ( ServJual model is adapted from mar+eting to finance sector/ The principal ServJual model has =een changed in function of authors research and interest/ Man modifications are have =een done = diminishing or adding some items or dimensions to the original model/ Thus( for e1ample ( the %A#SE-<$ model is using C SE-<J*A" dimensions of tangi=ilit ( relia=ilit and assurance =ut replaced the responsiveness and empath dimensions with three new dimensions: Sincerity% consumers evaluation of the genuineness of the service personnel.( "ormality% consumers evaluation of social distance( form of address and ritual. and !ersonali&ation% consumers evaluation of individualiEe and individualiEed attention.D , Saunders nd. / The !A@#SE-< 2

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model adopts a Qperception-e1pectation approach to the measurement of service ?ualit / CThe model contains $7 items regrouped in four main factors: staff conduct( credi=ilit ( communication( access to Teller ServicesD ,%ont and McJuil+en 2002. for assessing customer satisfaction in =an+ sector in Australia / The )A-TE- model was =een developed to adapt ServJual to Muslim culture ena=ling it to measure customer satisfaction in Islamic =an+s/ CThe model ma+es assumption that the cultural and religious influences were significantl rated and placed in the front = Islamic =an+s customers/ )A-TE- model includes 8 dimensions with 54 items/ It includes in addition to the compliance with Islamic law and principles all SE-<J*A" five dimensionsD ,Athman et al/ 200$./

2.1.

Some em irica! studies.

I'A& ,2007. studied customer satisfaction in rural micro-finance institutions in *ganda( #en a and TanEania/ )om=ining ?ualitative ,$4 focus group of 7$ clients. and ?uantitative approaches ,206 interviews.( this stud assessed the determinants of customer satisfaction for rural customers accessing =oth credit and savings facilities/ -esults revealed that C customers prefer unlimited access to their savings while on credit facilities( customers want to have access to loan amounts the actuall appl for at a Qreasona=le price and on fle1i=le concluded that repa ment term conditionsD / The stud suggested also that surve ed customers were all satisfied e1hi=iting a )ustomer Satisfaction Inde1 of 9$B/ The stud Qchanged KswappedD/ Murra ,200$. concentrated his stud on customer satisfaction levels using data from four M'Is affiliated to Womens World !an+ing in three countries: )olom=ia ,America.( !angladesh ,Asia. and *ganda ,Africa. with a total sample of 5(000 clients/ *sing "i+erts scale( the author too+ into account e1pectations and perceptions items plotting results on a two-a1is grid/ -esults proved that customers are more satisfied = accessing higher loan amounts( faster turnaround times( lower loan re?uirements and lower prices/ ;owever( it seemed that customers preferring to develop a long-term relationship with the M'I want to =e given preferential treatment while all customers are demanding increasing levels of customer service/ Cfinancial services should =e delivered = courteous staffs that prefera=l are not =eing

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Athman and Awen ,200$. conducted a stud a=out customer satisfaction in Islamic !an+s = using the service ?ualit model/ Their stud used a surve of 580 customers selected = S stematic -andom Sampling/ *sing )A-TE- model scale( their results suggested that customer satisfaction in Islamic =an+s Cshould =e measured through the proposed 54 items instead of reducing it into the original num=er of SE-<J*A"s five dimensions and their 22 itemsD/ Their results indicated that in Islamic =an+s( managers and practitioners should =e aware of cultural or religious dimension/ Alhemound ,2007. investigated customer satisfaction in the =an+ing sector in #uwait/ ;is stud used a sample of 80: randoml selected retail customers/ *sing descriptive statistics( )orrelation and A@A<A tests( his results showed that( in general( customers in #uwait are satisfied with services provided = retail =an+s/ In this regard( customer satisfaction is mainl driven = : Cavaila=ilit of ATM in several locations( safet of funds( eas to use ATM and the ?ualit of services providedG/D "ab!e n#1$ Summary of resu!ts from em irica! studies
%# $

Authors Sam !in& and 'ata (ain resu!ts Ifad , 2007. 290 customers from *ganda( TanEania 9$ B of customers are satisfied = services/ and #en a using ?ualitative ,focus *nlimited access to savings( access to loan groups. and ?uantitative interviewers( amounts at a Qreasona=le price and on recurring to )ustomer satisfaction Inde1 fle1i=le repa ment term conditions are ,)SI. / significant dimensions of customer satisfaction/ Murra ,200$. A total of 5000 customers were =een )ustomers are more satisfied = : higher selected from three countries: loan amount( faster turnaround times ( lower )olom=ia( !angladesh and *ganda/ loan re?uirements and lower prices The author used graphic anal sis for results processing/ Athman and A sample of 580 customers selected = )ustomer satisfaction in Islamic =an+s is Awen ,200$. the S stematic -andom Sampling ,S-S. defined towards proposed 54 items among s stem Was used while )A-TE- model cultural K religious dimensions are more was =een used for data processing important/ through factorial anal sis/ Alhemound A sample of 80: retail customers Generall ( customers are satisfied/ )ustomer ,2007. randoml selected/ Statistics descriptive satisfaction is more influenced = the ,Mean( Standard &eviation. and customers locations ,#uwaiti and non statistics tests used ,%ersons #uwaiti./

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)orrelation( processing/

A@A<A.

for

data

Source: !uilt = ourselves from empirical studies material/

). (ethodo!o&y and hy otheses definition. We successivel anal Ee techni?ues used to gather and process data/ 3.1. Data collection techniques: focus groups, sample and survey. We firstl conducted $$ focus groups with $$9 participants from eight =ranches/ The

o=Fective was to gather representative attri=utes from the customers point of view/ *sing three guide ?uestions and two criteria for meetings s nthesis( we o=tained $: attri=utes as =eing the most important for clients ,@etteret and @igel ;ill( 200:./ We secondl conducted a pre-surve on 50 clients for sampling definition and ?uestionnaire testing purpose/ )lients have =een proportionall e1tracted from the 84/7$0 active WAGES clients/ This ,MR 5/99H Standard deviation R 0/46. allowed us to determine the sample siEe: n' (%1.)*+2, %-..)+2/ 0
%-.-1+2 ' 3*) customers . Through a pre-surve ( we also modified the ?uestionnaire =

canceling am=iguous ?uestions and changing the s nta1 of =adl formulated ?uestions for ensuring =est understanding = clients ,@iraF et al/( 2005./ We resorted to a proportionall stratified and reasoning sampling =asis/ The 586 clients have =een e1tracted from 8 =ranches focusing on =oth time spent as WAGES clients ,would =e regular M'Is mem=er one ear ago. and financial product ,=enefiting at least one of three financial products: loans( savings and -oscas./ &ata have =een collected = a team composed of 24 loans officers during 2$ da s/ 'rom the 586 distri=uted surve s( 5:5 have =een returned and were well completed( representing a 68 B response rate/ &ata have =een collected through a ?uestionnaire adapted from previous studies ,%arasuraman et al/ ,$699.( European *nion ,2007.H WetEels ,$667.( e1isting ?uestionnaire at WAGES and focus interviews/ The ?uestionnaire contained three principal sections/ The first section was designed to gather information a=out =oth customers e1pectations and perceptions/ This section includes 52 ?uestions/ )ustomers e1pectations and perceptions have =een gathered using a five point "i+ert scale ranging from Cstrongl agree R:D to Cstrongl disagree R $D/

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'or this section( C the statements were administered to the respondents with the following instructions: We would li+e ou to put ourself in place of an M'I customer and then respond to all of the following statements = chec+ing the categor which =est reflects our opinionD , Oavas 2008./ Second section has =een concentrated on identification of customer satisfaction level for WAGES specific products li+e savings( loans( -oscas( transfer( formation( etc/ We used a performance "i+ert scale ranging from CStrongl satisfiedR:D to Cstrongl dissatisfied R$D for measuring $9 elements which have =een identified with the programme and mar+eting manager as the most important for the institution/ The third section was designed for customers identification/ E1tracted varia=les were related to customers age( se1( location in terms of =ranch( num=er of ears spent as customers( financial services received from Wages( =usiness status( enrolment status and customers revenues/ 3. 2. 'ata rocessin& techni*ues.

Three main techni?ues have =een used for processing data/ We firstl resorted to factorial anal sis to Csatisf the need of identif ing structure through data summariEation and data reductionD allowing us to define customer satisfaction dimensions/ *sing this techni?ue( we were a=le to Ccondense ,summariEe. the information contained in a num=er of original varia=les ,items. into a smaller set of new( composite dimensions or factors with a minimum loss of informationD ,;air( Anderson( Tatham( N !lac+( $669 cited = Sarreal (2009./ We used %arasuraman et al/ ,$699. scale measurement as reference / CThe original scale had 22 item scales =uilt on five dimensions/ ;owever( even if the C 22 items are inclusive enough to cover the general service ?ualit issues in various service =usinesses including =an+ service( the ma not =e specific enough to understand the conte1t of specific ?ualit concerns and their priorities in the minds of =an+ customers/ Therefore( the =lind use of the 22-item SE-<J*A" instrument ma limit the accurac in understanding service ?ualit terms of customers in a specific service =usinessD ,"ee( 2008. li+e M'Is/ We modified the original model to adapt it to M'I sector and African conte1t/ <erhoef ,2005. had proceeded in the same wa = Cadding four new items on Signhs ,$660. scale to fit the conte1t of financial servicesD/ Adopting <erhoefs ,2005. approach( referring to focus groups results , aiming to gather clients points of view. and the e1isting ?uestionnaire( we developed an em=edded scale with 52 item-scales and si1 principal dimensions: Tangi=les( comfort and appearance of personal and material ,8.( -elia=ilit or capacit to accomplish tas+ ,4.( -esponsiveness( d namism and willingness for helping customers ,8.( Insurance and

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confidence ,:.( Empath and attention to clients ,:.H %rice( costs and conditions ,8./ Although the five first dimensions are similar to the %arasuraman scale in terms of structure( the items content is deepl different form the original scale tr ing to incorporate and meet sector ,MI'I. and conte1t ,Africa. matter/ Thus( the tangi=les dimension give insight a=out particular items related to loan officers using motorc cle and =adge as tangi=les items facilitating loans officers mo=ilit and identification on field/ The si1th dimension is a new one added to the original scale highlighting how do microfinance clients are strongl concerned = services pricing/ We captured =oth customers e1pectations and performance =ut onl performance items have =een su=mitted to factor anal sis ,)orin and Ta lor( $662H Teas( $664( ;arrisonWal+er( 2000. using structural coefficients ,/50. ( communalities ,e?ual or a=ove /:0. ( eigen values , e?ual or a=ove $. ( e1plained B of variance , at least 80B . ( )ron=achs Alpha , S / 70. for o=taining optimal solution ,Malhotra et al 2007H H )arricano and %ouFol( 2009H Ahmad and Sungip( 2009./ H 1$ -esponsiveness( Empath ( %rice( conditions and costs are e1pected to e1hi=it high level of e1tracted variance proving the satisfaction for WAGES clients/ are the most representative dimensions of customer

We secondl

resorted to customer satisfaction Inde1 for determining WAGEScurrent

customer satisfaction level e1pressed Cas a single num=er in percentage that tells the supplier where he stands toda GD ,!have( 2002. using =oth customers e1pectations and customers performance ,#umar and Mahaptra( 2008./ We o=tained WAGES actual customers satisfaction Cusing an importance weighting =ased on an average of $D inspired from =oth !have ,2002.( @etteret and @igel ;ill 200: following three stages: 'irst( Cwe calculated the average of all the weightings given = the customer/ Second( we divided the individual weightings = this average to find the weighting on the =asis of average of $/ )ustomerTs higher priorities are weighted more than $ and lower priorities less than $/ The averages of the )ustomers Importance Scores are calculated and each individual score is e1pressed as a factor of that averageD ,#umar and Mahaptra 2008./ Third( we e1pressed the average in percentage terms and o=tained the actual customer satisfaction level/

H 2: WAGES current customer satisfaction level is high ( it also is a function of financial services ,saving and credit./

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We thirt resorted to A@A<A test to assess whether one or a com=ination of customers ?ualitative characteristics ,location( level of education( num=er of financial services accessed( customers revenue( etc. would have an effect on customer satisfaction measured as ?uantitative varia=le from significant factors and items after scale purification/ We processed = preliminar test for ensuring A@A<A usage ,"evene test /0: and &uncan test for identif ing the means that were significantl differentD. and chose significant varia=les = e1amining their attached pro=a=ilities ,p-value e?ual or less than /0: used as a thum= to Fudge the relevance of statistics tests at five percent level of significant./

H3$ WAGES customers satisfaction is positivel influenced = customers characteristics such customers =ranch( customer revenue( the num=er of financial services accessed = clients/

+. 'ata resentation.

We discuss customers characteristics ,$. and we provide insights related to customers e1pectations and perceptions ,2./

+.1. Socia!, economica! and demo&ra hica! characteristics of the Sam !e.

The maForit of surve ed clients are women representing 84B of the sample while men constitute onl 58 B/ Surve ed customers are adults with an average age of 57 ears/ Surve ed clients achieved at least primar school and secondar for 70 B of cases since :B have non graduated s+ills and trainings in various fields including sawed machine( Foiners wor+shop( etc/ 7$ B of clients are active in a small =usiness ,food( clothes selling. whereas 2:B own a small and informal firm producing mainl services li+e hair Lcutting ( restaurant ( sewed units ( etc / The importance of commercial and services activities can =e e1plained = a rapid rotation c cle ena=ling clients to invest and earn mone in short period for affording M'Is wee+l or monthl pa ment/ 92 B of surve ed clients contract an individual loan

16

whereas $9 B are mem=er of a group lending/ In average( surve ed customers are M'Is clients since 5 ears and four months/ 80 B of clients earn monthl income a=ove 45 Euro( the SMIG defined = the Togoleses government/ Anl $0 B of Surve ed clients are poor in the sense of the a=ove criterion/ This situation is mainl due to the fact that the M'I is now mostl focused on individual clients/ Is there a mission driftU

+.2. ,ustomers- e. ectations and erce tions eva!uations.

&ata from customers e1pectations prove that the average e1pectation score is 4/:: for all customers/ So( three principal dimensions appear to =e of value for customers/ These are: ,$. Tangi=les( ,2. %rice( costs and conditions and ,5. Insurance and confidence/ All three dimensions are given high average scores of 4/:7 and 4/88( which are a=ove 4/:: the total average score for the all sample/ )ustomers wea+l rated the three remained dimensions comparing to total average notes/ Thus( the attri=uted an average score of 4/:2 to -elia=ilit , 4/:0 to -esponsiveness and 4/47 average score to Empath dimensions which are all =elow the total average for all dimensions ,4/::./ !riefl ( surve ed customers are li+el to value tangi=les( Insurance and price dimensionsH average importance to relia=ilit and responsiveness dimensions whereas the e1hi=it less importance for empath dimension/ The insurance and confidence dimension seems to =e the less important one on clients point of view. &ata related to customers perception e1hi=it an average perception score of 5/74/ Three dimensions are highl appreciated = the sample$ Insurance and confidence ,$.( Tangi=les ,2. and -esponsiveness ,5./ In fact( the average perception attached to those dimensions e1ceeds 5/74( the total average perception rate for the total sample ,4H 5/99 and 5/97 5/74./ )ustomers wea+l rated perception of three dimensions: -elia=ilit ,$.( Empath ,2. and %rice( costs and conditions ,5. attri=uting them average perception scores =elow than the total perception average score for all dimensions ,5/88H 5/46 and 5/:2 5/ 74./ )onnecting customers e1pectations and perceptions( we noted that for all dimensions perceptions average scores are =elow e1pectations average notes/ There is then a gap =etween customers perceptions and e1pectations indicating that current services are not meeting customers e1pectations , $ /0: for price( costs and conditions dimension and 0/85 for

17

responsiveness dimension. / It is clear that we met rational and more demanding customers( who are a=le to state clearl what the e1pect from an M'I/ /. 0esu!ts and discussion We present the main dimensions of customers satisfaction ,$.H we highlight results related to the current customer satisfaction level ,2. and assess customers characteristics influence on customers satisfaction ,5.. .1. 'etermination of customer-s rinci a! items and dimensions

-esults from preliminar tests are strongl significant ,#MAR/608( !artlett R appro1 chis?uareR2(282( df R$60( sign R/000. allowing us to appl factor anal sis/ *sing an iterative approach( we o=tained a factor structure with 20 items ,!ressolles( 2008H %arasuraman et al( $669( % 24./ Ta=le =elow summariEes the main results a=out factor structure/ "ab!e 2$ 1actor structure with rinci a! dimensions and items after rotation
%# $ 'imensions 0es onsiveness, dynamism and wi!!in&ness customers VR/992 2 "an&ib!es, a materia! 45.66) 5 ,onditions VR/998 4 ,osts and 2rice VR/960 Item 27 Item 29 Item 26 Item 50 Item 5$ Item 52 : 7m athy and attention to Item 7 /76: /8$: /8$2 /886 /8$4 /782 /884 /87: /:68 /:87 /:90 /852 /866 /700 comfort and earance of ersona! and for he! in& Si&nificant items Item $2 Item $: Item $8 Item $7 Item $9 Item $6/ Item 22 Item 2 Item 5 Item 4 Item : Item 9 2rinci a! factors3,om osantes $ /8:5 /746 /9$4 /707 /754 /890 /877 2 5 4 : /:97 /:76 /729 /807 /864 /809 /:75 /:4$ /:06 /895 /850 /:9$ ,ommuna!ities

/878 /:7: /784 /88: /:62

18
c!ients VR/996 )ron=achs AlphaR/960 Item 2: Eigen <alues E1plained %ercentage variance Source: )omputations inspired from !ressolles ,2008( p26./ 7/0$8 5:/07 2 $/92 7 6/$5 : $/59 0 8/60 2 $/$8 $ :/90 4 /7:: $/05 2 :/$: 9 /849

-elia=ilit and validit anal sis showed that overall 20 remained items =elong to the same concept of customer satisfaction applied to M'I/ In fact( the )ron=achs Alpha is high e?ual to /960 , W /70. indicating a ver good relia=ilit of scale measurement ( attesting that our scale is measuring what it was supposed to do( according to %arasuraman et al/ , $699 ( p 29. who state: C the scale items capture +e facets of the uno=erseva=le construct =eing measured/ The )ron=achs Alpha after item deletion is also high ,W/90. proving that it is not possi=le to remove one item for improving the final solution/ The 20 remaining items are regrouped in five dimensions showing that customer satisfaction with service in an M'I is a multidimensional construct that allows e1plaining of 82/ $ B of variance / This result does not confirm our first h pothesis which predicted a factor structure with si1 principal factors corresponding to the =asic scale model/ This is due to the fact that a num=er of factors from the original model have disappeared ,-elia=ilit . and corresponding items have =een integrated in other factors ,tangi=les and Empath ./ -esponsiveness and insurance dimensions have =een com=ined to form one dimension ,-esponsiveness. whereas price( costs and conditions singular dimension engendered two separate dimensions ,%arasuraman et al( $669( % 25./ The first factor is named Cresponsiveness( d namism and willingness for helping customersD com=ining responsiveness and insurance aspects/ This factor is the most important and is e1plaining 5:/$ B of the total varia=ilit / This result confirms the importance of human relationship in M'Iconte1t where people strongl interact/ In fact( as consumers Cdo not clearl differentiate the interaction aspects of relia=ilit ( responsiveness and assurance G/D ,;arrison LWal+er( 2000( %4:.( the will Fudge and appreciate the M'I service ?ualit through the ?ualit of the interaction the have with the M'Is emplo ees/ The more +ind( polite and competent will =e the emplo ees( the more customers will appreciate the service the will receive reinforcing insurance and confidence the have in the M'I/ !riefl ( the

19

human interaction =etween customers and M'Is front off officers will impact more customers satisfaction and enhance lo alt and retention/ In fact( e1perience has proved that C=an+s customers attitudes towards the human provision of services and su=se?uent level of satisfaction will impact on =an+ switchingD ,Athman and Awen( 200$./ The second dimension refers to the appearance of M'Is emplo ees( =uildings and e?uipments/ This factor is e1plaining 6/$ B of the total variance/ The appearance of this dimension is a surprising result since Micro-finance institutions provide pro1imit services/ So( we could not e1pect customers to attach so much importance to such items as e1ternal appearance of individuals( =uildings and e?uipments/ ;owever( focus group interviews had raised tangi=le aspects as important dimension on customers point of view e1plaining that customers are not receiving services on time =ecause loans officers logistic is ver poor/ In fact( customers desire to =e served = emplo ees who have their owners motorc cle( who can clearl =e distinguished = a =adge or a pullover mar+ed = M'Is signs/ Motorc cles ena=le loan officers to attend clients house ?uic+l for collecting savings and wee+l installments/ It also enhances loan officers mo=ilit on field( increase their productivit and indirectl reduce transactions costs ,time and mone saved. leading to great satisfaction level/ ! well identif ing the M'Is emplo ees( the !adge is an authenticit s indicator improving confidence and insurance mainl for new customers who do not +now all emplo ers of M'I/ Tangi=les aspects reflect also the M'Is a=ilit to respect time ta=le given to client providing them seats when the are waiting for service/ Those two aspects are more important for clients who are wor+ing dail to perform their =usiness ,time save. and who come from far wa the M'I/ The third factor is =an+ing factor reflecting conditions to =e fitted for accessing M'Is financial services/ It is appealed C"oan conditionsD e1plaining 8/6 B of the total variance/ The appearance of this dimension highlights the importance that customers attach to the loan term( loan amount and the grace period/ These results indicate that M'I customers will =e more satisfied with a credit with a long term maturit ( with grace period and with loan amount increasing for each loan c cle/ ;ence( the strategic d namic incentives will ena=le clients to underta+e proFects with great impact while allowing M'I to increase its revenues and efficienc / In fact( when customers access to great loan amount and to other advantages such as grace period( the are li+el to =e lo al and unli+el to switch to another institution ,Murra ( 200$.

20

The fourth factor can =e named Ccosts of financial servicesD from the M'I e1plaining :/9 B of the total variance/ It is related to the importance that customers attach to guarantee( original fees and transaction costs due to the limitation of amount customers can access ,loan. or can contri=ute in -osca/ This factor reveals that customers will =e more satisfied if some costs or conditions are released/ 'or e1ample( customers with growing =usiness will =e penaliEed when the intend to develop a large =usiness =ecause the cannot withdraw an amount around 785 Euro without having a ph sical guarantee/ The same statement would =e done for poor people who are acting in -osca/ As contri=ution amount is fi1ed and invaria=le( the cannot contri=ute an amount =elow the standard/ )onse?uentl ( as the are solicited = dail needs( the will spend mone for food putting them in contri=ution dela / This result suggests a ree1amination of costs procedure for =oth customers and M'I effectiveness/ The fifth factor is an empath factor showing attention on clients in some particular situations e1plaining :/2 B of the total variance/ Although its percentage of variance is low( it remains significant for clients/ Since focus on social impact of Micro-finance =ecomes more important( M'I must develop loans and savings collection methods that valoriEe clients human rights/ In this perspective( aggressive loans and savings collecting methods might not produce e1pected effects in the long run as customers ma switch to avoid =eing inFured = loans officers/ !riefl ( Cwh fle1i=ilit is re?uiredD/ /.2. 8A97S- customer current satisfaction !eve!. WAGES customers actual satisfaction has =een o=tained = the )ustomer Satisfaction Inde1 using =oth customers e1pectations and perceptions on the 20 remaining items/ Ta=le =elow give us more e1planation/ "ab!eau n# ) $ ,om utin& ,ustomer Satisfaction Inde.
%# Attributes Im ortance (wei&htin& )(a) $ 2 5 4 -esponsiveness Tangi=les Empath )onditions 4/:9 4/:5 4/49 4/2: 2erceived *ua!ity (Score)(b) 5/62 5/77 5/$: 5/:: wei&htin& (avera&e of 1) (c)5(a)3Avera&e $/0: $/05 $/02 0/67 wei&htin&:score (d)5 (c):(b) 4/$$ 5/99 5/2$ 5/44

do punish customers when dela

is due to illnessU More

21
: )osts 5/68 AverageR 4/58 5/:5 average R5/:9 0/60 5/$7 )SIR5/:8

Source: computations Inspired from !have ,2002.( @etteret and @igel ;ill ,200:./ We o=tained a )ustomer satisfaction Inde1 of 7$/ 2 B ,5/:8K:R 0/7$2X$00./ This result is in line with our second h pothesis that predicted that WAGES customers will =e highl satisfied/ -esults also indicate that customer satisfaction is a function of financial services/ In fact( customers are more satisfied = savings products than credit products/ Thus( for all +inds of savings( the average satisfaction scores are a=ove 5 /:8 ,7$ /2 B.( the glo=al satisfaction rate for all services ,5/6 5/:8./ -esults also prove that clients are more satisfied = the cash deposit saving ,'R 8/27( pR/000. than other +ind of savings ,4/08 to 5/78( 5/97 and 5/6$ for term deposit( mandator savings and -oscas savings./ -esults show that for each categor of savings( customers are more satisfied = the re?uested documents for account opening than the minimum savings =alance re?uired to access savings products/ We o=serve a contrar =ehavior for credit products/ In fact( for all +inds of loans( the average satisfaction score is =elow the total average score( 5/:8 to 5/$2( 5/$4 and 5/$7 for direct credit( special credit and -osca credit/ ;owever( customers appreciate -osca credit more than other +ind of loans ,5/$7 5/$2 and 5/$4 for direct credit and special credit./ Three conditions are almost critical for all +ind of loans and less appreciated = customers: -is+ on loan( origination fees and guarantee ,direct credit especiall ./ In fact( the average satisfaction score attached to those elements are =elow the total average satisfaction scores attri=uted to each +ind of loans ,2/64( 2/6$ and 5/$$ 5/$2 for direct creditH 2/6$ and 2/67 5/$4 for special creditH 2/99 and 2/60 5/$7 for -osca credit./ It seems that those conditions are =adl appreciated = clients and need to =e adFusted for the future/ Interest rate is apparentl =etter appreciated = clients ,average satisfaction score attached to it is high than the total average score attached to each +ind of loans./ This result confirms the theoretical h pothesis that Cpoor people and entrepreneurs in developing countries will afford a high interest rateD ,ArmandariE and Murdoch( 200:./ .3. "he inf!uence of customers characteristics on customer-s satisfaction

%rimar tests attested that data fitted optimal conditions in which Anova test can =e applied and provide sound results/ The "evenes test provided a significant result ,0/47 0/0:( 'R

22

$/052( df$R269( df2R 47. allowing to accept the h pothesis of variances homogenous intragroup/ This result ena=led us to appl A@A<A test on data =asing the decision of the significance of varia=les on 'ischer Test/ Ta=le =elow presents the important results from Anova test/

"ab!e + $ 0esu!ts from Anova test

Source )orrected Model Intercept School level @um=er of services T pe of credit !ranch of customer Se1 !usiness -evenue Age Time spent as customer Error Total )orrected Total a/ - S?uared R ($64 ,AdFusted - S?uared R ($05. "y e III Sum of S*uares 20(87$a 44(26$ (67: 8(290 (::8 :(0$5 (8:8 (79: 4(449 (578 (692 9:(904 495:(447 $08(474 df 5: $ 4 8 2 : 2 5 : : 5 5$0 548 54: (ean S*uare (:6$ 44(26$ (244 $(047 (279 $(005 (529 (282 (960 (07: (527 (277 1 2($54 $80(020 (99$ 5(79$ $(004 5(825 $($9: (64: 5(2$4 (272 $($92 Si&. /000 /000 /478 /00$ /589 /005 /507 /4$6 /009 /629 /5$7

Source : )omputed using S%SS

-esults show that onl three customers characteristics significantl influence the customer satisfaction level: the num=er of total services to which customers can access ,'R5/79H pR/000. ,$.( the customers !ranch ,'R5/82H pR/005. ,2. and the customer estimated revenue ,'R5/2$H pR/009. ,5./ Those three characteristics are e1plaining $6 B of variance/ -esults reveal that the higher the num=er of products to which clients have accessed( the less is the satisfaction level/ Thus( when customers access to three services( the average satisfaction score is 5/45( it decreases from 5/45 to 5/20 when customers access to all products offered = the M'I/ ;owever( when customers access to onl one product or at least to two products( the average satisfaction score goes up attending values of 4/$2H 5/7$ and 5/ 80 when customer accesses onl to savings( loan and -osca credit onl / Anl com=ination of =oth credit and savings gives a high average satisfaction scores ,5/89. than other possi=le com=inations/

23

-esults from &uncan test prove that customers from "om> are less satisfied than clients from other =ranches e1hi=iting an average satisfaction rate =elow average satisfaction scores from other =ranches ,5/8$ 5/64 for Tsvevie( 5/ 65 for Agoe( 5/99 for So+ode( 5/9$ Agodrafo and 5/72 for Adidogome ./ These results suggest that there is a variance in ?ualit of services through =ranches conducting to different levels of satisfaction rate/ Is there a pro=lem of general management or a missing of mar+eting plan in =ranchesU -esults from &uncan test suggest also that average satisfaction scores are different from classes of revenues/ Thus( ver poor customers are less satisfied = services ,mean R 5/:$. whereas middle and high income customers are high satisfied = services ,Mean R 5/77 for clients with a revenue range from 22 Euro to 80 euro and 5/85 for rich clients with revenue a=ove 80 Euro./ &o those results suggest segmentation mar+eting for products and services to customers in terms of revenues and =ranchesU ;. ,onc!usions, im !ications, !imitations and future research ers ectives. This stud pursued three o=Fectives: identification of WAGES customer satisfaction principal items and dimensions ,$.( determination of the current level of WAGES customer satisfaction ,2.( test if the customer satisfaction is influenced = customers characteristics ,5. / To achieve these o=Fectives( factor anal sis( )ustomer Satisfaction Inde1( and Anova test have =een applied/ Through an iterative process( we applied factorial anal sis and we five principal dimensions: a. o=tained a refined scale with 20 items represented =

responsiveness( =. tangi=les( c. conditions( d. costs and ,e. empath e1plaining 82B of the total variance of customer satisfaction/ Among the retained dimensions( 5 =elong to the standard scale whereas 2 are related to the conditions and costs of M'I services/ The results confirm that responsiveness remain the most important dimension in micro-finance sector/ -esults from the )ustomer Satisfaction Inde1 revealed that WAGES customer satisfaction level is high attending 7$/2B and var ing in function of specific financial services/ In general( customers are more satisfied with saving services than with loans products/ -esults from Anova test revealed that customers =ranch( customers revenue and num=er of services accessed = customers influence customer satisfaction/

24

So( customer satisfaction is mainl driven = responsiveness items indicating that performing M'I will account more on their emplo ees providing those desired s+ills ena=ling them to deliver tailored services with more +indness to customers/ That =ehavior will influence customer satisfaction and enhance customers retention and lo alt / As customer satisfaction will var with time( managers would periodicall assess the current satisfaction level and defining the most modifications to =e =rought to services to allow it to fulfill the customers needs/ The variance of satisfaction level depending on the num=er of services( customers revenue and =ranches have practical and mar+eting implications/ It means that M'I will focus efforts to perform current services avoiding =rutal diversification of products ,consolidation strateg . whereas the difference in customer satisfaction in relating to revenue and =ranches suggests a segmentation strateg groups/ Although this stud provided sound results( it has some limitations which are sources for future research/ In fact( customers surve ed in this stud are coming from one M'I/ Thus( results do not allow an comparison/ So( the first improvement of results might =e =uilt on a surve of two( three or more M'Is( test the varia=ilit of results and validit of the scale measurement ena=ling to move towards a scale measurement for Micro-finance sector in general/ The second wa is to conduct cluster anal sis on =ranches and revenues to determine mar+eting strategies to =e implemented for satisf ing clients in different =ranches and with different revenue/ for lending methods and mar+eting implementation/ It suggests also a level of monitoring on the wa customer care is handled among the different

25

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44/ Swaid( S/( and Wigand( -/( ,2007.( C #e &imensions of E-commerce Service Jualit and Its -elationships to Satisfaction and "o alt D( 20th !led )onference Mergence: Merging and Emerging Technologies( %rocesses( and Institutions , Iune 4 - 8( 2007H !led( Slovenia/ 4:/ Teas ( #/( ,$664.( CE1pectations as a comparison standard in measuring service ?ualit : An assessment of a reassessmentD ( 3ournal of 4ar5etin6 ( :9( $52-$56/ 48/ Tuli ( #/( #otli( A ( et al ,2007.( C-ethin+ing customer solutions : from product =undless to relational processesD( 3ournal of 4ar5etin6( 7$ ( $-$7/

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