A study on the Impact of Consultants’ Nonverbal Communication on Customer Satisfaction, Trust, and Long-term Relationship Orientation of the Client Firm

Abstract

Background/ Objectives: The purpose of this study is to verify the importance of nonverbal communication of consultants on customer satisfaction, trust and long-term relationship orientation. Methods/ Statistical Analysis: To test the validity and reliability of our measuring tools, we perform an exploratory factor analysis. All variables were tested through a principal component analysis. To determine the number of factors and simplify the factor loading, the varimax rotation method was used. Findings: Our main findings show that, among the specific features of nonverbal communication, both spatial language and appearance language significantly affect customer satisfaction. Body language, spatial language, and appearance language were found to have significant effects on customer trust. Nonverbal communication also has a significant impact on customer satisfaction and on the long-term relationship orientation of client. Application/ Improvement: The present study analyses the impact of nonverbal communication on customers, with the aim of strengthening consultants’ competencies, as well as contributing to the growth and development of the consulting industry by filling the existing gap in the literature.