The Impact of Brand Equity on Customer Choices in the Higher and Tertiary Institutions: Evidence from Universities in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This research aims at investigating the impact of brand equity on customer choices of a university to be enrolled at. The target population of the research was approximately 500 registered university students in Zimbabwe. The research focuses on universities with main campuses in Harare. The study employs a quantitative research methodology. Stratified and simple random samplings were adopted to choose students to participate in the study out of 500 population sample size. The response rate was 356. Factor analysis results indicated that brand awareness and brand loyalty were the most dominant elements. Explanatory statistics showed that there were statistically significant differences in the opinions of customers basing on level of education and institutions. The research recommends that brand equity should be employed to play a primary role in service-related strategies aimed at establishing a marketing strategy for university education services.