Increasing customer satisfaction in strategic communication studies: Excellence awards in the transportation sector

Abstract

As a partner of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), KalDer (Quality Foundation) annually gives Excellence Awards to companies and non-governmental organizations operating in various sectors as a result of certain criteria and studies in line with EFQM criteria. The awards given since 2013 include companies and NGOs from different sector groups. IETT (Istanbul Electricity, Tramway, and Tunnel) General Directorate, which is one of these companies, has the largest share in Istanbul’s public transportation after service transportation (Excluding Private Public Bus and Bus). IETT, which transports thousands or even millions of individuals from a certain point to a certain point every day, carries out studies to increase the existing customer satisfaction with its efforts. Within the scope of the research, it is aimed to analyze the satisfaction of individuals about IETT by conducting a face-to-face survey with individuals in transfer stations located in different regions of Istanbul (Beylikduzu, Avcılar, Cevizlibag, Zincirlikuyu, Uzuncayır, and Sogutlucesme). The transfer stations were selected from the main line stops on the IETT website. The research population consists of approximately 2 million people. Since it is not possible to reach all of these people, it is planned to conduct a survey with 829 people (351 females to 478 males) representing the population. The survey study will be randomly selected from the individuals at the transfer station. The research will be conducted between December 27, 2019 and January 4, 2020 at selected transfer stops. Three scales will be used for the study. In the research, questions in Chinomona (2013)’s “The Influence Of Brand Experience On Brand Satisfaction, Trust And Attachment In South Africa” scale, Bobâlcă et al. (2012)’s “Developing a scale to measure customer loyalty” scale and Imam (2014)’s “Measuring Public Transport Satisfaction from User Surveys” scale will be used.