Exploring Brand Experience, Firm-Generated Content, and Trust as Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Indonesia's Telecommunications Sector

This study investigates the influence of brand experience and firm-generated content on brand trust and customer satisfaction within Indonesia’s telecommunications sector, focusing on Telkomsel Prepaid users in Aceh Province. Despite Telkomsel’s dominant market share and superior network infrastructure, recent declines in user numbers suggest a gap between brand promise and actual customer experience. Drawing on theories of experiential marketing and digital brand communication, this research explores how emotional engagement and content credibility shape consumer trust and satisfaction. Using a quantitative explanatory design, data were collected from 204 respondents via structured online surveys and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that brand experience significantly affects both brand trust and customer satisfaction, while firm-generated content positively influences brand trust but has no direct impact on satisfaction. Brand trust emerges as a strong mediator, linking brand experience and content credibility to overall satisfaction. Multi-group analysis shows no significant generational differences, indicating that trust and experience are universally influential across age segments. These findings underscore the importance of aligning promotional content with actual service quality to maintain brand credibility. Managerially, Telkomsel should prioritize experience-based marketing strategies and responsive digital communication to enhance emotional value and trust. The study contributes to the literature by integrating firm-generated content and brand experience into a unified model of satisfaction, offering practical insights for improving digital engagement and loyalty in competitive telecom markets. Future research is encouraged to expand the geographic scope and incorporate user-generated content for a more holistic understanding of brand dynamics.