Revisiting Young Customers’ Bank Selection and Loyalty Decisions in Ghana

This study examines first-year students’ (who mostly are opening/operating bank accounts for the first time on their own) bank selection and loyalty decisions. An extensive literature review was done to develop study instruments. An exploratory analysis of 320 usable questionnaires was done. The study found in order of importance that: bank service/convenience, service quality/bank image, staff attitude/recommendations, core service/communication and customer service were factors influencing their bank selection decisions in Ghana. Also, friendly operations/regulations, relationship management, service quality/ financial benefits, client satisfaction and bank image were identified in order of importance to be responsible for their loyalty to banks in Ghana. This study reiterates to bank management that factors including quality of service, bank image, recommendation (word of mouth), employee competence, bank knowledge, customer satisfaction, price of transactions, relationship marketing and bank regulation should be at the core of their strategy development and implementation. The study is original with insightful updates and new perspectives on young adults’ bank selection and loyalty dimensions. This study is the first attempt to systematically combine bank selection and loyalty factors in a single comprehensive survey in Ghana. (JEL G21) Keywords: bank, customers, Ghana, loyalty, selection