Trust Matters: Digital Marketing and Price Perception as Antecedents of Subscription Intention in Public Sanitation Services, with Brand Trust as a Mediating Variable

Abstract

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of digital marketing and price perception on subscription intention toward the Scheduled Fecal Sludge Service (Layanan Lumpur Tinja Terjadwal/LLTT) in Surabaya City, with SENJA brand trust operationalized as a mediating mechanism. Employing a quantitative explanatory design, this study collected data from 120 household respondents through a structured questionnaire and analyzed the data using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). The results indicate that digital marketing and price perception each exert a positive and significant effect on subscription intention, with path coefficients of 0.336 (t = 3.129, p = 0.002) and 0.336 (t = 3.650, p = 0.000), respectively, and both predictors also significantly strengthen brand trust. Brand trust, in turn, exerts a positive and significant effect on subscription intention (β = 0.302, t = 2.879, p = 0.004) and is confirmed as a partial mediator of the digital marketing–subscription intention path (β = 0.174, t = 2.820, p = 0.005) and the price perception–subscription intention path (β = 0.162, t = 2.660, p = 0.008). These findings suggest that strengthening SENJA's credibility should accompany, rather than replace, digital marketing and pricing efforts in public sanitation service promotion.