Marketing 334 Consumer Behavior Chapter 18 Post Purchase Evaluation and Customer Satisfaction From: Consumer Behavior, 10th ed. By Hawkins, Mothersbaugh and Best

Postpurchase Consumer Behavior

Postpurchase Dissonance Postpurchase Dissonance occurs when a consumer has doubts or anxiety regarding the wisdom of a purchase made and is a function of the following: The degree of commitment or irrevocability of the decision The importance of the decision to the consumer The difficulty of choosing among the alternatives The individual’s tendency to experience anxiety

Postpurchase Dissonance After the purchase is made, the consumer may utilize one or more of the following to reduce dissonance: Increase the desirability of the brand purchased Decrease the desirability of rejected alternatives Decrease the importance of the purchase decision Reverse the purchase decision (return before use)

Postpurchase Dissonance Consumption guilt - when guilt feelings are aroused by the product/service use. Marketers need to focus on validating the consumption for “high guilt” products. Indulging in chocolate for some can cause consumption guilt

Postpurchase Dissonance What If? Marketers often encourage counterfactual and pre-factual thinking. Counterfactual thinking refers to imaging the outcome if a different decision had been made in the past. Prefactual thinking is the same as counterfactual except it occurs before a decision is made.

Product Use and Nonuse display them together, or Retailers can frequently take advantage of the fact that the use of one product may require or suggest the use of other products, e.g., dresses and shoes. Retailers can promote such items jointly display them together, or train sales personnel to make relevant complementary sales Displaying complementary products together

Product Use and Nonuse Product Use Stringent product liability laws have made firms responsible for harm caused by products not only when the product is used as specified by the manufacturer, but in any reasonably foreseeable use of the products.

Disposition

Purchase Evaluation and Customer Satisfaction The Evaluation Process Expectations, Performance, and Satisfaction

Purchase Evaluation and Customer Satisfaction The Evaluation Process Determinants of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Instrumental performance Symbolic performance Affective performance

Dissatisfaction Responses

Dissatisfaction Responses Marketing Strategy and Dissatisfied Consumers Firms need to satisfy consumer expectations by Creating reasonable expectations through promotional efforts, and Maintaining consistent quality so the reasonable expectations are fulfilled.

Dissatisfaction Responses Marketing Strategy and Dissatisfied Consumers When a consumer is dissatisfied, the most favorable consequence is for the person to communicate this dissatisfaction to the firm but to no one else. Unfortunately, many individuals do not communicate their dissatisfaction to the firm involved. Companies often make it difficult to complain or are unresponsive to complaints.

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Repeat purchasers continue to buy the same brand though they do not have an emotional attachment to it. Switching costs are the costs of finding, evaluating, and adopting another solution. Brand loyalty involves commitment to the brand – it is a biased behavioral response expressed over time.

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Repeat Purchasers, Committed Customers, and Profits A churn is a turnover in a firm’s customer base. Reducing churn is a major objective of many firms today. It typically costs more to obtain a new customer than to retain an existing one, and new customers generally are not as profitable as longer-term customers!

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Sources of Increased Customer Profitability over Time

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Repeat Purchasers, Committed Customers, and Marketing Strategy Developing a marketing strategy for a particular segment includes identifying specific objectives to be pursued, such as Attracting new users to the product category Capturing competitors’ current customers Encouraging current customers to use more Encouraging current customers to become repeat purchasers Encouraging current customers to become committed customers

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Customer Satisfaction Outcomes

Customers Satisfaction, Repeat Purchases, and Customer Commitment Relationship Marketing Five key elements to Relationship marketing: Developing a core service or product around which to build a customer relationship Customizing the relationship to the individual customer Augmenting the core service or product with extra benefits Pricing in a manner to encourage loyalty Marketing to employees so that they will perform well for customers