Increasing Customer Retention Through Employee Competence and Service Innovation with Brand Image as a Mediation Variable (Empirical Study at Rumah Sakit Islam Kendal)
Abstract
The hospital industry faces significant challenges in maintaining patient loyalty, particularly in customer retention. Customer retention, or in the hospital context, Patient Retention, can be defined as the efforts undertaken by hospitals to retain and attract patients who have used their services, preventing them from switching to other hospitals. This study aims to determine how to improve customer retention through employee competence and service innovation, with brand image as a mediating variable. This research is quantitative with an explanatory approach. This research is quantitative with an explanatory approach. The data collection technique used a questionnaire. The respondents used in the study were 222 outpatients at the Kendal Islamic Hospital polyclinic. The data collection technique used a questionnaire. In this study, data analysis used the SEM-PLS method with SmartPLS (Partial Least Square) software. The results of the study: 1) Employee competence has a positive and significant impact on brand image. 2) Employee competence has a positive and significant impact on customer retention. 3) Service Innovation has a positive and significant impact on Brand Image. 4) Service Innovation has a positive and significant impact on Customer Retention. 5) Brand Image does not have a significant impact on Customer Retention. The results of mediation tests show: 1.) Brand Image is unable to mediate the relationship between Service Innovation and Customer Retention. 2) Brand Image cannot mediate the relationship between Employee Competence and Customer Retention.
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