THE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS SERVICE ENCOUNTER: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN THE IRAQI BANKING SERVICE

In the midst of a business environment that gave the customer an advanced position in the interests and orientations of marketing organizations, the method of nonverbal communication comes to occupy an important and integrated space with verbal or word communication in the field of interaction with customers in order to achieve the best response to them and build the image and positive view towards service organizations. Therefore, the current study sought to measure the influence of nonverbal communication behaviors and signals practiced by frontline employees in service organizations on the perceptions of customers during the encounter that happens between the two parties. The banking sector was chosen as a domain of study, and the quantitative approach and the random sampling method were adopted through the participation of 397 customers who received different services from banks operating in Basra Governorate - Iraq. The results indicated that the behaviors and cues related to nonverbal communication used by the frontline employees of the respective banks positively affect the perceptions of the customers surveyed, and among the silent cues in this form of communication, body language had the strongest influence on customer perception in service encounters. The study recommended that banks should strive to create a friendly climate in providing service in which work is based on the principle of customer friendship, where nonverbal communication is integrated with verbal. Article visualizations: