Correlating service touch-point preferences with engagement parameters

Purpose - This paper aims to contribute to extant research which emphasises the need for service suppliers to be able to leverage firm-customer relationships through an understanding of the correlation between service touch-points and engagement parameters. Design/methodology/approach - The authors utilised multivariate methods (CATPCA and Pro-fit) to analyse the data. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 238 respondents, sampled through the social networking site, "Facebook". Findings - It was found from the analysis of data that within the context of customer engagement, four critical parameters ("satisfaction", "loyalty/ advocacy", "recruitment/retention" and "customer losses") impact on customer touch-points. Research limitations/implications - The study is characterised by two limitations. The first is that the respondents' simultaneous utilisation of multiple touch-points was not accounted for in the study. Second, the authors acknowledge that the narrow demographic spread of the respondents is a possible limitation of the study. Originality/value - The study findings are grounded in empirical findings which is a departure from traditional scholarship on customer touch-points which has been based on case observations and anecdotal evidence.