THE FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY FOR THERAPEUTIC SERVICES: THE CASE OF ECO SOUND THERAPY

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
YSP524 INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

CAPSTONE PROFESSIONAL PROJECT

TITLE:

THE FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY
FOR THERAPEUTIC SERVICES: THE CASE OF ECO SOUND THERAPY

NAME:

LEE SOOK SING

SUPERVISOR:

DR. SURIATI SAAD

Table of Content 3

1.0 Executive Summary 4

2.0 Background 7
7
3.0 Problem statements and Research Information Findings 7
3.1 Research Issues 8
3.2 Research Method
3.3 Research Findings 10
10
4.0 IMC Plan 11
4.1 Target Clients 12
4.2 Strategic Objectives
4.3 Strategic Plan, Tactical Plan & Media Plan 25

5.0 Timeline & Budget 26

6.0 Conclusion 27

7.0 References 28

8.0 Appendix

1.0 Executive Summary
People nowadays are increasingly aware of their quality of life. Modern

society is nevertheless influenced by the old adage "You Only Live Once", especially
in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in Malaysia, a country known for its
traditional values and traditions, stereotypes about psychiatric problems and access
to psychological treatment are still not readily accepted by the vast majority of the
general public.

Eco Sound Therapy offers both psychological and educational assistance,
aimed to create a holistic wellness centre, a community for Malaysian women within
the next five years. It plans to offer entrepreneurial support by providing a common
space, networking support and a series of lectures on different topics. Nevertheless,
it has hindered the ability to recruit clients and deliver treatments as the brand and
service is fresh to the market. Therefore, Eco Sound Therapy needs to build local
brand awareness to achieve its goal.

In this IMC plan, four strategies and respective tactics were suggested for Eco
Sound Therapy to acheive the proposed business, marketing and communication
objectives, to enhance awareness of sound therapy in Malaysia, and to increase the
overall client satisfaction and loyalty towards Eco Sound Therapy. The most
challenging part of this plan is the limited budget, so promotion activities that have
maximum impact are highly valued by the owner, Balony.

2.0 Background
In November of 2020, Belony establised Eco Sound Therapy, a centre for

healing services. At Eco Sound Therapy, Belony is the one and only qualified Holistic
Therapist. She is also the mother of two adorable children and works full-time as a
secretary. She offers healing services such as Singing Bowl Therapy, Gong &
Singing Bowl Therapy, and Arkhe Healing to clients from all over the world in English
and Mandarin, both online and offline. She believes "To heal is to make sound," and
her mission led to the establishment of Eco Sound Therapy is to assist those who
are having spiritual challenges and help them through a unique combination of
Sound, Energy, and Crystal Healing (Low, 2020).

Picture 1：Belony, the founder of Eco Sound Therapy

In fact, these therapeutic services are required to be performed face-to-face to
achieve the best results. However, due to the regularity of the outbreaks of Covid-19
in the past few years, so usually, the therapy services are delivered through online
meeting platforms such as Skype and Microsoft Teams.

Picture 2：The online event of Eco Sound Therapy during Covid-19

In addition, Eco Sound Therapy has never had a regular treatment hub in
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, as her clients are not visiting on a daily or weekly basis, and
also due to pandemic constraints. Luckily, in the past year or so, movement control
order in Malaysia has also been gradually opening up, which allows certain clients to
undergo treatment offline. Therfore, the therapist would book a daily rental space
near herself and her clients after they had made an offline appointment for the
therapeutic session.

At the moment, the most frequently used common shared spaces are located
in Eco Botanic, Iskandar Puteri Johor Bahru (An extra space rent out from a salon)
and in Toppen Shopping Center, Tebrau Johor Bahru ( A flexible spaces own by the

mall). The proximity between these two places, one in the east and the other in the
west, makes it easier for the clients to access the therapeutic services.

Picture 3: The face-to-face consultation & the therapy room
Apart from the psychological assistance, Belony also currently conducts
Singing Bowl Classes for people seeking a holistic approach to health or to feel
refreshed and balanced on their own, also for those who want to develop a career in
sound healing industry. She aims to build Eco Sound Therapy into a holistic wellness
centre, a community that would benefit Malaysian women within the next five years.

Picture 4: The sound healing students of Belony

3.0 Problem statements and Research Information Findings
3.1 Research Issues

After extensive interviews with the business owner, all of the issues and
concerns had been expressed, including the fact that this therapy is new to Malaysia.
Recruiting new clientele is extremely expensive, which worries her and she should
focus on keeping current consumers rather than obtaining new ones. The business
owner wants to know how to improve her service to maintain and gain customers.
She wants to understand what has influenced her clients' perceptions since they
rarely return. The researcher helped her determine the most significant variables that
may enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty in this market report.

3.2 Research Method
This research employed quantitative research to identify the elements that

determine client satisfaction for Eco Sound Therapy, investigate the effects of those
factors on client satisfaction, and examine the effect of client satisfaction on client
loyalty. The quantitative study was empirica and was suitable for the topic, as the
business wanted to understand its clientele who had received Eco Sound Therapy's
therapeutic services. Non-probability sampling, such as purposive sampling and
snowballing, is also used because the researcher can only gather actual answers
from clients who have received the therapeutic service, and Eco Sound Therapy's
database is small. On the basis of Eco Sound Therapy's client database, a Google
Forms survey in English and Chinese was distributed to a sample of 55 clients who
had previously visited the therapy centre. The survey has successfully collected 50
responses, achieving and exceeding the goal number of respondents necessary to
meet the standard margin of error at a confidence level of 95 percent.

3.3 Research Findings
Customer loyalty is essential to the success and sustainability of a sound

healing business. While sound therapy is a relatively new service in Malaysia, it will
be difficult to convince customers to choose it above other ways of relaxation.
According to the descriptive analysis of the demographic and therapy visit
experience characteristics in the survey, the audience of Eco Sound Therapy are the
women at the age ranged between 25 to 39 with a stable job and income, who are
typically willing to travel anywhere from ten to thirty minutes to receive a service, and
once they have established an interest in a particular routine, they will participate in
the event on a consistent basis, as frequently as once a month.

Based on data collected, the sound therapist professionalism was shown to
be the most influential factor (Rank 1), followed by a positive experience during
therapy (Rank 2), and the quality of the service received was ranked 3 as least
important, finally by the price and value of the therapy (Rank 4).

The results of the correlation analysis have shown the importance of the study
variables in establishing customer loyalty intentions, which has concluded that
satisfaction has a prominent impact on customer loyalty. The first objective of
identifying the factors that affect client satisfaction for Eco Sound Therapy was fully
achieved as the quality of services, value of the services, affective experience,
technical knowledge has shown a medium strength to strong positive effect on client
satisfaction. The multiple linear regression analysis summary for perception of
services predicting customer loyalty was based on service quality, value, affective
experience, and technical knowledge. These variables statistically significantly

predicted customer loyalty, meaning all four variables contributed significantly to
satisfaction.

Next, the descriptive analysis answered the second objective of examining the
factors' impact on customer satisfaction. According to the survey, respondents said
technical knowledge has the most impact on satisfaction, and they firmly believe that
Eco Sound Therapy has met their demands and wants in business and therapist
technical knowledge. Followed by service value and quality, the closest to the full
mark said these elements are in line with customers' psychological expectations.
Respondents' affective experience with Eco Sound Therapy was lowest, so the
business owner should pay attention to this component, the clients' emotions.

Finally, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression
analysis helped explain the third purpose of examining client satisfaction and loyalty.
The mean and standard deviation of client satisfaction and loyalty suggest that Eco
Sound Therapy's clientele are satisfied and loyal. Satisfaction and client loyalty had a
strong Pearson's correlation. In a linear regression analysis, satisfaction predicted
customer loyalty and accounted for 60.3% of its variability, meaning customer loyalty
can only be formed on total satisfaction. To retain clients, the business owner must
utilise well-planned marketing to keep customers satisfied and coming back.

4.0 IMC Plan
Based on the findings, these are the summary of the insights:

I. Since sound therapy is a relatively new service in Malaysia, it will be tough to
persuade people to pick it over other relaxing alternatives.

II. The main clients of Eco Sound Therapy are women at the age ranged
between 25 to 39 with a stable job and income, and self-discipline.

III. The professionalism of the therapist has the greatest impact on client
satisfaction and loyalty, followed by a positive therapy experience.

IV. The affective experience of respondents with Eco Sound Therapy was the
lowest; therefore, the business owner should focus on this aspect, the clients'
feelings.

Creating brand recognition is the first stage for a new brand (Miller, 2022).
Eco Sound Therapy must build a favourable image to promote brand awareness,
and consistency is key. For branding, it's not just about colours and logos, but also
about how to communicate with the audience. The owner should use a continuous,
sincere, high-quality, compassionate, and reliable tone of voice to keep current
customers and attract new ones.

4.1 Target Clients
As a result of this epidemic, many people have become psychologically

stressed, such as people like the owner of Eco Sound Therapy, who is also a
full-time white-collar worker and a married woman. She understands that this is a
difficult time for everyone, especially since she is surrounded by her female
colleagues who are also very anxious during this time but refuse to accept that they

need medical treatment, even if it is now a post-epidemic era. In addition, the
responses to the questionnaire revealed that the target audience consisted of
white-collar workers, and Eco Sound Therapy can focus on the women between at
the ages of 25 and 39, who have a solid career and income, as well as
self-discipline, so that it is easier to develop sound healing in this target segment.
Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs model, the highlighted segmentation attribute
ultimately leads to the satisfaction of safety needs, as after physical demands are
addressed, the need for safety and security becomes important (McLeod, 2022).
They desire order, predictability, and control in their life, while the family, community,
and healthcare, such as psychotherapy and sound therapy, can meet the
specifications.

4.2 Strategic Objectives
The following strategic objectives are suggested to solve the research gaps

mentioned in 4.0 respectively:
1. Business Objective: To increase the brand awareness of Eco Sound

Therapy in Malaysia.
2. Communications Objective: To cultivate and promote sound therapy

among white-collar workers by highlighting the importance of learning to relax and
embracing healing via sound therapy.

3. Communications Objective: To portray Eco Sound Therapy brand image
as the most professional and reliable sound therapist in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

4. Marketing Objective: To achieve 50% repurchase rate of Eco Sound
Therapy’s clients.

4.3 Strategic Plan, Tactical Plan & Media Plan
Apart from the fact that sound healing is a new market and Eco Sound

Therapy is a new brand in Malaysia, also because of the owner's own
circumstances, the biggest challenge was to maximise the cost of the IMC plan
within a limited budget. Hence, to achieve the stated objectives in a doable manner,
four strategies and respective techniques are recommended for Eco Sound Therapy
to implement in the future in order to boost customer satisfaction with the owner's
therapeutic services, increase customer repurchase rate, and increase brand
awareness. Also, the primary objective of these tactics is to establish a brand image
that is professional, trustworthy, and helpful in achieving client satisfaction, so that
customers may develop a strong affinity for Eco Sound Therapy.

The proposed strategies are as followed:

A "Holistic Women's Wellness Malaysia" campaign will be conducted as an
annual initiative that implements the above strategies. One-year plan will effectively
allow time and budget to be planned in order to better articulate the shift across the
brand, and the owner will be able to carry out these activities in a manageable
amount of time. This camapign has adopted Consumer-Oriented Strategic Approach
because it focuses on how Eco Sound Therapy can assist the target audiences in
resolving their pain point by positioning or associating the brand as the finest for

relaxing their mind and heart. According to Kisielewska (2022), consumer orientation
enables brands to satisfy the needs and desires of customers and retains them for
longer.

In summary, the overall campaign and tactics employ Quadrant 2 of Foote,
Cone, and Belding's Thinking/Feeling model, as well as High Involvement Feeling or
Feel-Learn-Do from the High/Low Strategy Planning Model. Matusinska and
Stoklasa (2021) claimed second quadrant is when consumers become emotionally
linked to a brand without knowing much about it. They then take their own initiative to
collect information and make buying decisions. Therefore, focusing on the
customer's perception of what they are receiving will allow the overall strategy to be
more effective.

4.3.1 To make the service more accessible.
Most of the target market are working individuals with limited time to undergo

treatments. If the Eco Sound Therapy offered more flexible hours slots, such as
on weekends or after work. In addition, the business owner may have close
relationships with a number of other shared spaces in various locations, so
that the temporary venue that is currently cooperating is rented by someone else,
resulting in a temporary lack of a suitable site to schedule the therapy. The objective
of doing so would be to improve the customer's perspective and make them feel
that the Eco Sound Therapy is willing to assist them with their scheduling
concerns, thus establishing a reputation for dependability.

Since the owner has other full-time jobs and is a mother of two children,
scheduling responses to customer appointments may be delayed. According to
AgentBright (2022), an immediate reaction can set business apart from delayed
responders by matching clients' expectations. As a solution, it was proposed that she
build up an auto-response system on current social platforms such as
Facebook Automated Responses and WhatsApp Auto Reply in order to provide
interested clients with the most rapid responses possible. For example, by using
WhatsApp Business to better reception of customer queries and appointments. The
owner can utilise the functions in WhatsApp Business such as set up basic operation
hours, label the category of customers, and to set up auto reply (refer to Appendix
2).

Picture 5: Sample of WhatsApp Business auto reply interface

If circumstances permit, the owner can also set up a web-based reservation
system with many partners for the daily rental space. This booking system will
be able to update the availability of each venue in real time, allowing clients
interested in direct bookings to jump directly to the booking platform via the
automatic recovery system and select the appropriate time and location to finish the
booking in a single step. Here, the Koalendar is recommended to be used as the
reservation system. It helps thousands of schools and small businesses save time by
making appointments scheduling as simple and effective as possible (Koalendar,
2022). In three steps, setup by adding the availability preferences and connected to
the owner’s google calendar, share a link via any platforms, and clients can see the
available timing and location in one click. After they picked from th available time,
both owner and clients will received the confirmation email (refer to Appendix 1 ).

Picture 6: Sample of booking interface, Eco Sound Therapy on Koalendar

4.3.2 To cultivate and promote sound therapy.
Additionally, Eco Sound Therapy should be more active on social platforms

and participate in on-the-ground event to effectively create brand awareness.
Based on the responses from the survey, clients are looking forward to receiving
more information and home-practice suggestions for sound therapy and relaxation.
In terms of enhancing service value and demonstrating technical expertise, Eco
Sound Therapy's social media platforms should include more educational information
about the treatment and tips of sound therapy.

Picture 7: The educational information: The Benefits Of Sound Healing
For instance, each time a case is resolved, the clients would be asked if they
are willing to share their experience or write a review on the social media as
testimonial because a variety of cases may attract the attention of similar customers

in order to increase visits from new customers, meanwhile indirectly inform the public
that the owner has been active in providing therapeutic services and that customers
are consistently returning, thereby boosting the confidence of new clients to book the
service.

Picture 8: Client Testimonials on Eco Sound Therapy
In brief, the regular posting on social media platform can be the testimonials,
the educational information of sound therapy, the tips of sound therapy and
relaxation and etc. In order to prevent a tone of hard sell, it is also recommended
that owner doesn't need to post discounts or services on offer straightaway and.
Instead, she should be accompanied with additional material that is of value to the
customer. For instance, utilising the AIDA model to write the copy of a Facebook
carousel ad, the first step would be to attract the audience's attention, followed by

describing how sound therapy can alleviate their pain point, arousing their desire to
find a solution, and urging them to schedule an appointment with the sound
therapist. After audiences have been relieved by following the information on social
media platforms on their own, they will have more faith in the information shared by
the business and may even plan to visit the therapist in person, thereby increasing
the company's reputation for technical expertise and helpfulness.

Picture 9: Facebook carousel ad, using the AIDA model

In addition to internet advertising, the owner can also conduct promotions
on the ground. Recently, there are many opportunities for stalls at craft markets and
festival bazaar in Johor Bahru, and business owner can find the opportunity to attend
these types of events frequently in order to raise the sound therapy awareness of
these areas. Additionally, the ground advertising will enable more people to be
exposed to sound healing services and to interact directly with the healers and
directly experience their services. According to Mozart (2018), on-ground marketing
efforts provide customers with sensory, emotional, cognitive, and rational
experiences, thereby establishing long-lasting brand-customer ties. Also, these
activities skillfully generate synergies between significance, perception,
consumption, and brand loyalty.

Picture 10: On-the-ground Christmas bazaar, Sound Healing promotion
illustration (Booth design and promotional sign board included) (Christmas bazaar
image retrieved from MAGistrate 杂志大人, 2021)

Picture 11: On-the-ground Christmas bazaar poster

4.3.3 To shape up a professional and reliable brand image.
Moreover, Eco Sound Therapy could form partnerships with hospitals and

healthcare organisations, psychological clinics, schools, and the local
community in order to establish a professional and trustworthy brand image. By
partnering with them, the owner can increase knowledge of sound therapy among
individuals in need of it, as well as boost confidence in it, as it will be perceived as
authorised by the hospital, resulting in more people accepting it. For example,
working with small counseling centres, the psychologist is able to refer clients in
need to sound healers, and working with the sessions helps to maximize the
therapeutic effect. This would allow the target audience to expand beyond working
women.

Furthermore, the owner can regularly attend international sound healer
conferences more frequently and share her conference insights on social media
platforms to develop an international and professional image. This would also led to
the founding of relationships with a number of renowned scholars of sound
healing, allowing the owner to invite them as guests to future events where
they will share their knowledge with clients or those interested in sound healing. At
the same time, the owner can unintentionally add her professional international
healer certification and other titles to these promotions, showing the strength and
credibility of her own healing practise. This will help to build trust in the brand among
more people as they can benefit from it and thus be loyal to the brand.

Picture 12: Baloney joined as a panelist to share about the himalayan singing bowl
for self healing at the Alternative Healing Summit 2021 hosted by Purvi Tantia.

4.3.4 To enhance client relationships.
In terms of boosting the service quality and emotional experience of current

clients, Eco Sound Therapy could increase the consumer emotional experience by
offering more frequent warm and pleasant greetings as the touchpoint that helps
reinforce the brand's image in their minds. For instance, a lovely and high-quality
greeting card or a modest treat-related present, such as an audio recording of
singing bowl frequency (shared google file or pendrive copy) and aroma oil set.
Meanwhile, Eco Sound Therapy could also collaborate with the local artisanal,
handmade fragrance brand, Lilin+Co, to help each other and introduce local quality
small brands to Malaysians (Lilin+Co, 2022). The intention is for clients to choose
Eco Sound Therapy first when looking for a means to de-stress or when referring

sound therapy to their friends, because the brand projects a sincere and high-quality
image, hence growing brand awareness through word-of-mouth. In addition, based
on the survey findings, the business may offer additional benefits for "insiders",
such as discounts on treatments around birthdays or even complimentary treatments
to regular customers, so that they feel adequately cared for, thereby developing a
caring image.

Picture 14: Birthday Greeting to client

Picture 15: The lovely and high-quality gift set for loyal clients (Including the special
edition: Eco Sound Therapy X Lilin+Co, Relaxation Candle Set)

In addition, survey respondents hoped that more people would become aware
of the benefits of sound therapy and that they might meet others with similar
interests. Therefore, it is proposed that the owner build a community page on
Facebook for sound therapy enthusiasts. This community will be established on
social media platforms, but will also be able to host offline social gatherings where
members can discuss their experiences in the same topic and help each other out.
As this community becomes more active on social media, it will support in the
promotion of sound therapy, and over time, more Malaysians will become familiar
with and accept this therapy method.

Picture 16: Sample of Facebook community page of Eco Sound Therapy

5.0 Timeline & Budget
Since ‘Holistic Women's Wellness Malaysia‘, the campaign will continue for a

year, so various activities will be scheduled one after another. Amongst other things,
the daily Facebook copy and ads will be pushed out to the target audience around
this Holistic Women's Wellness Malaysia theme. Due to the limited budget of MYR
25,000, there are not many major events that can be carried out, so the timeline and
budget will be used wisely in order to achieve the objectives of the IMC Plan.

The timeline and media plan are as followed:

6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, the most challenging aspect of this plan is that the budget is

restricted to only what is essential in order to have the most possible impact in the
advertising. In spite of this, the mentioned timetable and budget allow for these
tactics and possibilities for execution to be realisable and productive in terms of
attaining the objectives.

For instance, the established strategies to address and accomplish these
objectives based on the results of the survey that had been filled out earlier. In
addition, engaging and helpful promotions for local companies were organised as
part of this effort to promote these efforts. Although this project does not have the
same budget as a large company to market in a huge advertising media such as
television or radio, I feel that the tactics and implementation described above are
suitable for the firm and are well within its means to maximise the benefits.

Each of the four strategies catered to a specific operation aspect, such as the
business objective, which was to increase Eco Sound Therapy's brand awareness in
Malaysia; the communications objective, which was to cultivate and promote sound
therapy among white-collar workers by emphasising the significance of learning to
relax and embracing healing through sound therapy; and the business objective,
which was to portray Eco Sound Therapy as the most professional and reliable
sound therapist in Johor. Eco Sound Therapy will gain from the return on investment
by following these tactics and undertaking these activities in their fullness.

7.0 References
AgentBright. (2022). Learn the importance of Immediate Response.

https://www.agentbright.com/support/knowledge-base/immediate-response-2/
Kisielewska, M. (2022, May 26). Customer Orientation: Definition, Examples &

Strategies. Tidio. https://www.tidio.com/blog/customer-orientation/#definition
Koalendar. (2022). Eliminate theback and forth of meeting scheduling.

https://koalendar.com/
Lilin+Co. (2022). About Us– Lilin+Co. https://www.lilinandco.com/pages/about-us
Low, B. (2020). Discover Eco Sound Therapy. Certified Sound Healer | Eco Sound

Therapy | Energy Healing | Johor Bahru. https://www.ecosoundtherapy.com/
MAGistrate 杂志大人. (2021, December 3). Eco Galleria by EcoWorld Christmas

Bazaar. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MAGistrate.my
Matušínská, K., & Stoklasa, M. (2021). Advertising Strategy According to the

Concept of the FCB Model in the Conditions of the Various Generations. E&M
Economics and Management, 24(4), 189–205.
https://doi.org/10.15240/tul/001/2021-4-012
McLeod, S. (2022, April 4). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Miller, C. (2022). What is Brand Recognition, and Why Does it Matter? Tailor Brands.
https://www.tailorbrands.com/blog/brand-recognition
Mozart, M. (2018, January 30). On Ground Marketing: What Is It? And Why Should
You Use It? ChilliPrinting.
https://www.chilliprinting.com/Online-Printing-Blog/on-ground-marketing/

8.0 Appendix
Appendix 1： Koalendar

Koalendar Appointment Link : https://koalendar.com/e/meet-with-belony

Picture 6: Sample of booking interface, Eco Sound Therapy on Koalendar

Figure 1: Koalendar available to share link to various platforms

Figure 2: Koalendar booking interface
Figure 3: Koalendar booking confirmation interface

Figure 4: Koalendar booking confirmation notification via email.

Appendix 2: WhatsApp Business
Picture 5: Sample of WhatsApp Business auto reply interface

Figure 5: WhatsApp Business, Business Tools

Figure 6: WhatsApp Business, Label function to categorise clients