The Practicality and Application of Aaker’s Customer Based Brand Equity Model in the Nigerian Banking Sector

The study investigates the practicality and application of Aaker’s customer based brand equity model in the Nigerian banking sector using 185 bank customers of Kano and Lagos branch offices of Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria. The exogenous variables are perceived quality as measured by 4 items, brand awareness by 3 items, brand association by 4 items, while the endogenous variables are brand loyalty by 4 items and brand equity by 3 items. The study is a quantitative research which sourced data through questionnaire. 250 questionnaires were administered to bank customers and 185 were returned representing 74 percent response rate. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationship among the variables. The goodness of fit indices of the revised model indicate adequate fit (GFI=.938, RMSEA=.039, RATIO CMIN/DF=1.259, P-VALUE=.075). The regression parameter estimates show three significant positive relationships between brand loyalty and brand association with brand equity (β=.875, CR=5.923, P<.001); brand loyalty & brand equity (C.R= 3.017, β = .453 & P= .003) and brand association & brand equity (C.R 2.280, β =.520 & P = .023). Future studies need to be done if the findings are to be generalized to other commercial and non commercial banking customers in the light of the significant cultural and religious differences across Nigeria. Further studies may also strengthen these findings by including organizational effectiveness into the model.