Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Banks in Nigeria: A Statistical Analysis Using Minitab

By Chukwuma E. Divine a student studying data science @Lagos School Of Programming

Background of the Study

The banking industry is highly competitive, and customer satisfaction has become a critical factor in retaining customers and attracting new ones. Satisfied customers are more likely to continue using banking services, recommend the bank to others, and purchase additional financial products.

Factors such as service quality, waiting time, staff professionalism, digital banking experience, complaint resolution, and branch accessibility may significantly influence customer satisfaction.

Understanding these factors enables banks to improve service delivery and increase customer loyalty.

Problem Statement

Despite significant investments in customer service and digital banking platforms, many banks still experience customer complaints and customer attrition.

There is limited statistical evidence regarding the specific factors that most strongly influence customer satisfaction within banks.

This study seeks to identify the determinants of customer satisfaction and develop a predictive model that banks can use to improve service quality.

General Objective

To determine the factors contributing to customer satisfaction in Nigeria banks.

Specific Objectives

1. Determine the average level of customer satisfaction.
2. Assess the effect of waiting time on customer satisfaction.
3. Examine the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction.
4. Investigate whether staff professionalism affects customer satisfaction.
5. Determine the influence of digital banking experience on customer satisfaction.
6. Examine whether complaint resolution affects customer satisfaction.
7. Develop a predictive model for customer satisfaction.

Research Questions

1. What is the average customer satisfaction level?
2. Does waiting time significantly affect customer satisfaction?
3. Does service quality influence customer satisfaction?
4. Does staff professionalism influence customer satisfaction
5. Does complaint resolution affect customer satisfaction?
6. Which factor contributes most to customer satisfaction?

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1

H₀₁: Waiting time has no significant effect on customer satisfaction.

H₁₁: Waiting time significantly affects customer satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2

H₀₂: Service quality has no significant effect on customer satisfaction.

H₁₂: Service quality significantly affects customer satisfaction.

Hypothesis 3

H₀₃: Staff professionalism has no significant effect on customer satisfaction.

H₁₃: Staff professionalism significantly affects customer satisfaction.

Hypothesis 4

H₀₄: Digital banking experience has no significant effect on customer satisfaction.

H₁₄: Digital banking experience significantly affects customer satisfaction.

Methodology

Research Design

This study employs a quantitative, cross-sectional research design to examine the relationship between key banking service determinants and overall customer satisfaction. A empirical survey approach is used to collect numerical data, which is then analyzed statistically using Minitab.

The analytical procedure followed a multi-stage approach :

• Descriptive Statistics: Computation of measures of central tendency (mean, median) and dispersion (standard deviation) to provide a comprehensive summary of the core dataset features.
• Distributional Assessment: Application of distribution plots to evaluate skewness and kurtosis, facilitating an understanding of the data’s structural properties.
• Normality Testing: Formal statistical assessment of the primary dependent variable the Customer Satisfaction Score to determine whether the data conforms to a normal distribution, thereby validating the assumptions required for parametric testing.
• Correlation Analysis: Application of correlation techniques to examine the strength and direction of the relationships between the independent service quality variables (such as waiting time and staff professionalism) and the overall customer satisfaction outcome.

Findings And Conclusions

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The results above suggest generally positive service perceptions, with average scores above 7 for Service Quality Score(mean 7.086), Staff Professionalism Score(mean 7.414), and Complaint Resolution Score(mean 7.248). Digital Banking Experience Score is slightly lower at 6.956, indicating it may be the weakest of the rated service areas.

Waiting Time (Minutes) stands out as the clearest concern. Its mean is 20.602 minutes, but the distribution is strongly right-skewed (skewness 1.93) with high kurtosis (4.65), indicating most customers waited a relatively short time while a smaller number experienced very long delays, up to 120 minutes.

Age appears fairly balanced and approximately symmetric, with a mean of 37.502 and only mild skewness (0.28), suggesting the sample covers a broad adult customer base without major distribution issues.

Customer Satisfaction Score (1– has a mean of 70.732 and appears moderately stable, with slight left skewness (-0.36) and a relatively narrow spread compared with its scale. The presence of two modes, 68 and 77, may indicate two common satisfaction levels among customers rather than one single dominant score.

In summary, service ratings are generally favorable, but reducing variability in Waiting Time (Minutes) and improving Digital Banking Experience Score are the most actionable opportunities for improving the overall customer experience.

Normality Test Output

The Anderson-Darling normality test indicates that the Customer Satisfaction Score is not normally distributed because the p-value is less than 0.005, which is below the significance level of 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis of normality is rejected. The dataset consists of 500 observations, with an average satisfaction score of 70.73 and a standard deviation of 13.04. Although the data is not perfectly normal, the large sample size (N = 500) means many parametric statistical tests can still be appropriate.

Correlation Analysis Of Features

The analysis shows that the strongest positive correlation is between Customer Satisfaction Scoreand Complaint Resolution Score with a correlation of 0.633. This indicates a fairly strong association, meaning higher complaint resolution scores tend to be associated with higher customer satisfaction.

The strongest negative correlation is between Customer Satisfaction Scoreand Waiting Time (Minutes), with a correlation of -0.565. This suggests that longer waiting times are associated with lower customer satisfaction, making waiting time an important operational driver of the customer experience.

Other notable positive relationships include Customer Satisfaction Scorewith Service Quality Scoreat 0.598, and with Staff Professionalism Scoreat 0.457. Complaint Resolution Scorealso shows positive associations with Service Quality Scoreat 0.457 and Staff Professionalism Scoreat 0.384. These results suggest that service quality, staff professionalism, and complaint handling are all meaningfully tied to satisfaction.

Most remaining correlations are weak or near zero, including several relationships with Age, which indicates that age is not a major factor in this set of variables. Overall, the findings suggest that improving complaint resolution, reducing waiting time, and strengthening service quality and staff professionalism are the most promising levers for improving customer satisfaction.

Recommendations

Based on the descriptive statistics, normality test, and correlation analysis, the following recommendations are proposed:

. Reduce Branch Waiting Times (Key Bottleneck)

• Implement Digital Queuing & Virtual Tickets: Allow customers to generate queue tickets via the mobile banking app or SMS before arriving at the branch to minimize physical wait times.

. Fast-Track Complaint Resolution (Strongest Positive Impact)

• Empower Frontline Staff: Give branch customer service reps and call center agents the authority to resolve minor disputes and transactional issues immediately without waiting for multi-level management approvals

Improve Digital Banking Reliability

• Enhance App Stability & Peak-Time Uptime: Invest in server capacity and app infrastructure to eliminate downtime and transaction failures, particularly during high-volume periods (such as month-end salary payments).

Standardize Service Quality & Staff Competency

• Customer Service & Empathy Training: Conduct routine workshops for branch personnel focused on effective communication, active listening, and efficient problem handling.