Experiencing Pizza Hut: The Role of Experiential Marketing in Shaping Customer Satisfaction in Sri Lanka

Ever-changing client requirements need invaluable and lasting impressions to retain loyal consumers and acquire new client bases. Experiential Marketing is a tool used to attract consumers into interactive brand experiences. Although experiential marketing boosts the restaurant industry, the use of experiential marketing has not been thoroughly documented in prior studies, and a limited number of studies have been undertaken in culturally diverse Sri Lanka. However, no research study has been conducted for well-established brands like Pizza Hut. This study aims to address that empirical and contextual gap by investigating the influence of experiential marketing on customer satisfaction in the Sri Lankan restaurant industry, focusing on Pizza Hut. Researchers have utilised five experiential marketing aspects, sense, feel, think, act, and relate, to analyse the consumer experience. The first presented by Schmitt, Strategic Experiential Modules (SEM), are the source of sense, feel, think, act, and relate, and the module was not altered. The study employs a deductive approach and convenience sampling method; 305 respondents were selected from the population to participate in the survey. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire with 5-point Likert scales, and hypotheses were evaluated using a regression model in SPSS. Overall, the study's findings suggest that experiential marketing significantly impacts customer satisfaction, thus confirming the objectives of the research study. Managers in the hospitality and restaurant industry can utilise the findings of this study to gain valuable customer insights and develop effective marketing strategies.