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 Prefactual thinking is the

refers to imaging the same as counterfactual
outcome if a different except it occurs before a
decision had been made in decision is made.
the past.
Product Use and Nonuse
Product Use

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

1. Creating reasonable expectations through promotional efforts, and

2. 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

1. Attracting new users to the product category

2. Capturing competitors’ current customers
3. Encouraging current customers to use more
4. Encouraging current customers to become repeat
purchasers
5. 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:

1. Developing a core service or product around which to

build a customer relationship
2. Customizing the relationship to the individual customer
3. Augmenting the core service or product with extra
benefits
4. Pricing in a manner to encourage loyalty
5. Marketing to employees so that they will perform well
for customers