Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY– LIPA

Marawoy, Lipa City

College of Accountancy, Business and Economics

MKT. 102- Consumer Behavior

Chapter No.10 Post-purchase Processes, Customer Satisfaction & Customer Commitment

Lesson No. 1 Post-purchase Processes

Following a major purchase, consumers are likely to experience some post-purchase

dissonance. With or without dissonance, product use and package disposition generally occurs.
This is normally followed by product disposition. Evaluation of the purchase experience, the
product, and disposition of the product and package occurs simultaneously with and following
each of these events. This evaluation produces some level of satisfaction that in turn causes
brand switching, increased product/brand use, repeat purchases, or committed customers.

Habitual decisions involve product use, disposition, and very limited evaluation, and
generally maintain a high level of repeat purchase motivation. Extended decision making also
involves product use and evaluation. However, it is likely to also involve post-purchase
dissonance, a thorough evaluation of the product and the purchasing process, and a more
complex impact on repeat purchase motivation. Post-purchase processes for limited decisions
generally fall between these extremes.

Post-purchase dissonance refers to an after-purchase psychological condition in which the

purchaser experiences some doubt or worry about the wisdom of the purchase just made.

Characteristics of the purchase situation which are likely to contribute to post-purchase

dissonance include:
The degree of irrevocability of the decision. The easier it is to alter the decision, the less likely
one would experience dissonance.
The importance of the decision to the consumer. The more important the decision is to the
consumer, the more likely dissonance will occur.
The difficulty of choosing among alternatives. The harder it is to select from among the
alternatives, the more likely one will experience postpurchase dissonance.
The individual's tendency to experience anxiety. Some individuals have a higher tendency to
experience anxiety than others. The higher the tendency to experience anxiety, the more likely
the individual will experience post-purchase dissonance.

By increasing the desirability of the brand purchased, one can reduce feelings of post-
purchase dissonance, decreasing the desirability of rejected alternatives, or decreasing the
perceived importance of the purchase.

Occurs when some negative emotions or guilt feelings are aroused by the use of a product
or service

Refers to a consumer using a product in a new way. Marketers who discover new uses for
their products can greatly expand sales.

Occurs when a consumer actively acquires a product that is not used at all or used only
sparingly relative to its potential use. Nonuse can occur due to post-purchase dissonance. One
way to reduce such dissonance is to return the purchased item and withdraw from the purchase
decision. While this is an extreme response, it does occur. For many products and most services
the decision to purchase and to consume are made simultaneously. . Marketers are concerned
because nonuse does not produce a satisfied customer, repeat sales, or positive word-of-mouth
communications.

Disposition of a product and/or its packaging refers to how the product and/or packaging
is disposed of before, during, or after product use. Consumer disposition behavior is important to
governmental agencies like the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) because of potential harm
disposed products and/or their packaging present to the environment.

Product disposition is important to marketing strategy because:

(a) sometimes disposition must precede product use due to financial or space limitations
(b) certain disposition strategies may give rise to a used or rebuilt market
(c) difficult or unsatisfactory disposition alternatives may cause some consumers to withdraw
from the market for a particular item.

A consumer's evaluation of a purchase is influenced by the purchase itself, post-purchase

dissonance, product use, and product disposition. The outlet or the product or both may be
involved in the evaluation. Consumers may evaluate each aspect of the purchase ranging from
information availability to price to retail service to product performance. A particular alternative
such as a product, brand, or retail outlet is selected because it is thought to be a better overall
choice than other alternatives that were considered in the purchase process. Whether that
particular item was selected because of its presumed superior functional performance or because
of some other reason, such as a generalized liking of the item, consumers have some level of
expected performance that it should provide. After (or while) using the product or outlet, the
consumer will perceive some level of performance. This perceived performance level could be
noticeably above the expected level, noticeably below the expected level, or at the expected
level. Satisfaction with the purchase is primarily a function of the initial performance
expectations and perceived performance relative to those expectations

Instrumental performance relates to the physical functioning of a product while symbolic

performance of a product relates to the aesthetic or image-enhancement performance of a
product. Dissatisfaction is most likely to be caused by a failure of instrumental performance,
while complete satisfaction requires instrumental performance plus symbolic performance at or
above expected levels.

Affective performance is the emotional response that owning or using the product
provides. It may arise from the instrumental and/or symbolic performance or the product. That is,
a suit that produces admiring glances or compliments may produce a positive affective response.
Or, it may be the primary product benefit such as an emotional movie or novel.

When dissatisfaction occurs, a consumer can either take action or take no action. When
no action is taken, a less favorable attitude is likely to result.

Action can involve:

(1) complaining to the store or manufacturer
(2) no longer buying that brand or at that store
(3) warning friends
(4) complaining to private or government agencies
(5) initiating legal action.

Initial research indicates that convenience, site design, and financial security are the
dominant factors.

Marketers would like consumers to express dissatisfaction directly to the firm. This can
be encouraged by providing an 800 telephone number (on packaging and in advertisements) that
consumers may call to communicate dissatisfaction. Using the Internet as a service tool is also a
good way to encourage interaction with the consumers.

Churn is a term used to refer to turnover in a firm's customer base. If a firm has a base of
100 customers and 20 leave each year and 20 new ones become customers, it has a churn rate of
20 percent. 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.

Price premiums since repeat and particularly committed customers tend to buy the brand
consistently rather than waiting for a sale or continually negotiating price. Referrals generate
profits from by new customers acquired due to recommendations from existing customers.
Lower costs occur because both the firm and the customer learn how to interact more efficiently
over time. Finally, customers tend to use a wider array of a firms products and services over
time.

Customer satisfaction with a brand or store is generally necessary for repeat purchases to
occur. If other alternatives are readily available, consumers not satisfied with a brand/store's
performance will generally try them in the future. However, satisfaction is not sufficient to
produce committed customers. The customer must come to identify with the firm/brand and/or
believe that it, to some extent, is committed to him or her.

Brand-loyal purchasers are psychologically or emotionally committed to the brand.

Repeat purchasers continue to buy a brand out of habit, lack of choice, because it is the cheapest
or for other reasons, but they feel no attachment to the brand.

The costs of finding, evaluating and adopting another solution (product).

Loyal customers are somewhat immune to competitors' actions and are more likely to
purchase the brand at full-price. They also tend to be receptive to line extensions and new
products from the same firm.

Measures the percentage of a firms promoter customer base left after subtracting out the
firms detractors. Promoters-detractors

Attempts to develop an ongoing, expanding exchange relationship with a firm's

customers. In many ways it seeks to mimic the relationships that existed between neighborhood
and county stores and their customers many years ago.

Relationship marketing has five strategy elements:

(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.

Loyalty programs are intended to encouraging repeat purchases. Many are designed to
generate repeat purchases rather than committed customers.

What factors influence e-loyalty?

1. Security and Privacy
2. Customization and personalization
3. Interactivity
4. Convenience
5. Online community

Lesson No.2 Customer Satisfaction

Reasons Why Customer Satisfaction Is Important

Do you know how happy your customers are with your products, services and their overall
experience with your company? 

If your answer is “no” or “I’m not sure,” then you need to take action and figure it out. 

Measuring customer satisfaction can show you where your business is getting it right and where
you’re struggling to meet people’s expectations.

If your customer satisfaction levels are low, you should quickly learn why and look for
resolutions. 
On the other hand, high customer satisfaction indicates that customers are enjoying their
experience with your company.  
Did you know?

 The probability of selling to an existing, satisfied customer is 60-70 percent (while the

probability of converting a new customer is 5-20 percent).
 Over 33% of customers would consider switching due to unsatisfactory customer service.
 After a satisfactory customer experience, 69 percent of people would recommend the
business to others, and 50 percent would use the company more frequently.

Due to the potential effects it has for your company, it’s critical for you to understand what
customer satisfaction is and why it is important for your business. 

So, in this article, we break down the basic definition of the concept and look at some of the key
reasons to start measuring customer satisfaction.

You’ll also learn about:

 What differentiates customer satisfaction from customer loyalty

 The most popular customer satisfaction metrics out there
 How to improve customer satisfaction for your business

What Is Customer Satisfaction?

Put simply, customer satisfaction is how satisfied people are with the quality of the product and
service they get from your business.

You measure satisfaction by conducting surveys that ask customers to rate their engagement or
interaction with your business on a five-point scale. 

The customer satisfaction questionnaire used for these surveys usually asks people to pick
answers between “highly satisfied” and “highly unsatisfied.”

The results of the survey can give you an idea of your company’s health.

If your product or service has shortcomings, it’ll be reflected in your customer satisfaction score.

Likewise, people’s approval of your offerings, pricing, etc., will be reflected through a positive
score along with increased customer retention and referral rates.

Customer satisfaction looks at how customers feel about your offerings at a given point in time.

Customer loyalty, in contrast, measures their involvement with your company over the long
term. 

The former is driven by customer service and brand experiences, and you have to keep those
experiences positive. 

6 Reasons Why Customer Satisfaction Is Important

Customer satisfaction can be a game-changer for your business, and here’s why:

1. It helps you make smarter marketing decisions.

Customer satisfaction can take the mystery out of your marketing spend.

For example, customer satisfaction surveys can help you see which products are a hit with your
customers.

Plus, you can use surveys to learn which communication channels customers actually prefer.

Insights like these clear up your vision, enabling you to make profitable marketing decisions.

2. It makes you stand out among the competition.

Customer satisfaction can also serve as your unique selling proposition, helping you stand out in
a competitive industry.

That’s because people no longer rate companies based on price or product. Instead, they evaluate
the customer experience delivered by a particular business.

So, when you provide stellar customer experience, you create an environment where satisfaction
levels are high.
And that serves as a core differentiator between you and your competition.

3. It prevents your customers from churning.

Churn happens when a customer decides to stop using your product or service.

Research by thinkJar found that 67 percent of people see bad experiences as a reason for churn.

Since negative experiences often result in low satisfaction levels, measuring customer
satisfaction can help you identify whether or not customers are churning at a high rate.

If your customer satisfaction is low, then you can take steps to improve the overall quality of
your customer experience.

Not big – but small, sincere steps like offering customers a free replacement or providing support
through their channel of choice. These can work wonders for your customer satisfaction levels.

4. It prompts word-of-mouth referrals.

When customer satisfaction is high, people are much more likely to recommend your business.

According to Accenture, 55 percent of consumers showcase loyalty by recommending the

companies they love to friends and family.

This can help inspire word-of-mouth referrals as 83 percent of consumers trust recommendations
from their personal network more than any other form of marketing.

Satisfied customers will share company recommendations on social media, discuss them in the
workplace, and even advocate for their favorite business. There’s nothing more powerful than
a referral generated through a positive experience.

5. It helps you identify areas of improvement.

Keeping tabs on customer satisfaction can also help you meet changing customer needs.

For example, your customers might be interested in a newer design or layout introduced by
another company in the market. 

And if they feel your product’s design is outdated, they will let you know by expressing their
dissatisfaction with it while sharing their preference.

Boom.

You have something to work on and improve.

6. It protects your online image.

When you track customer satisfaction on social networks, you get an overview of both negative
and positive feedback and can take relevant measures to protect your brand.

For example, you can reach out to unhappy customers and explain your side of the story.
Apologizing is also a part of turning around a negative experience. 

Plus, you can offer to make things right and provide a timeline for when customers can expect
their issue to be resolved.

Also, consider doing all of this publicly.

As in, don’t take conversations to a private inbox. Rather respond to customers’ comments in
open threads so that thousands of others see that you actually care about customer satisfaction.

How to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Now that you understand what customer satisfaction is, let’s look at how it is measured. Below
are the steps to measuring customer satisfaction.

1. Set a goal

It may look obvious, but the first step to measuring customer satisfaction is to set a goal. 

Ask yourself: What is the purpose of this activity? What will I do with the data? If you’re
making an effort, make sure you have an objective. 

As an example, you can set a goal of improving the quality of customer service. The results
you’ll get from the customer satisfaction questionnaire will tell you how your support team is
currently performing. 

If the customers are somewhat already satisfied with your team, all you may have to do is make a
few adjustments (such as follow up after an issue has been resolved) to attain your goal. 

2. Pick a customer satisfaction metric

After you’ve set a goal, choose from one of the following customer satisfaction metrics to
evaluate customers’ opinions:

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Customer satisfaction is usually measured via CSAT, which is the same 1-5 scale survey that we
introduced at the start of this blog post. 

The advantage of using this metric is that it is simple to use and to get results: people can
provide answers to the customer satisfaction survey questions with just a few clicks.
To calculate the customer satisfaction score, ask customers to rate the questions using a 1-5
survey scale: How satisfied are you with [the speed of customer service, the knowledge of our
team, etc.]?

Once you have the answers, divide the total number of “satisfied answers” by the total number of
survey responses and multiply the value by 100.

As you can see,CSAT helps to determine the average scores (expressed as a percentage) of
satisfied responses. 

The results generated by this method do not require a big amount of analysis, and you have the
option of following up with customers to ask what could improve their customer satisfaction
scores. 

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

In plain language, NPS is the result you get when you survey clients with the “would you
recommend” customer satisfaction questionnaire. 

With the Net Promoter Score, customers have the ability to rank a company from 1 to 10, 10
being the highest customer satisfaction and 1 being the lowest.

What’s different about NPS is that it categorizes customers into three groups based on their
scores: Detractors, Neutrals, and Promoters.

Customers who rate your company 0 to 6 are classified as “Detractors.” Detractors are unhappy
customers that are very likely to stop giving you their business. 

People who give you a 7 or 8 are “Neutrals” who can either become your advocates or switch to
your competitors. 

Lastly, those who choose 9 or 10 are categorized as “Promoters.” Promoters are regarded as
loyal customers who are very likely to spread positive word-of-mouth about your company. 

To calculate the Net Promoter Score, deduct the percent of Detractors from the percentage of
Promoters. 

For example, if there are 100 respondents and you get 10, 30, and 60 responses in the range of 0
to 6 (Detractors), 7 to 8 (Neutrals), and 9 to 10 (Promoters) respectively, the NPS would be as
follows:

Net Promoter Score = 60/100 * 100 – 10/100*100 = 50.

Source

The best score you can get is +100 and the worst score you can get is -100. 

The higher the NPS is, the more likely customers will recommend your business to others. 

Customer Effort Score (CES)

CES follows a different route than the other customer satisfaction metrics on this list. 

Essentially, CES asks customers: “how much effort did you have to make to get an issue
resolved/a service provided/a question answered?”

The scale of the CES customer satisfaction questionnaire usually goes from 1 to 7, 1 implying it
was extremely easy and 7 saying it was extremely difficult. After the responses have been
collected, you can calculate the average CES by subtracting the percentage of easy responses
from the percentage of difficult responses. 

The lower the CES is, the easier it was for customers to complete a specific task.

Source

3. Create a survey

Surveys are a handy tool for gathering information pertaining to the metrics discussed above. 
You can use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to create a good-looking survey in a matter of
minutes.Both of these tools allow you to drag and drop various elements and set up multiple
choice answers are needed. 

Also, there are a variety of pre-made templates to choose from, some of which are already based
on customer satisfaction metrics. 

SurveyMonkey, for example, offers a template for Net Promoter Score. Here’s what the
customer satisfaction questionnaire sample for NPS looks like:

Feel free to apply the template of your choice to set up the design of your customer satisfaction
survey.

Additionally, don’t go overboard with the list of questions you write for your
survey. SurveyMonkey’s research revealed that respondents were likely to abandon a survey that
took seven to eight minutes to complete. . 

Regardless of the type of survey you’re planning to conduct, aim for a maximum of five-minute
answer time and ten questions.

4. Get the timing right

The timing of the customer satisfaction survey is key. 

Ideally, it should be sent immediately after an interaction with your support team, or within 24
hours, so that the conversation remains fresh in your customers’ memory. 

Otherwise, they may forget how they feel. 

On the other hand, surveys related to a product or service should be sent sometime after a
purchase is made. 

This is because it takes a while for consumers to familiarize themselves with the item or service. 

While the timing varies from company to company, a good rule of thumb is to send the survey at
least three days after purchase.

Companies may also send a “product improvement survey” to their customers to understand
what they want in the future.

To conduct this survey, you need to provide customers with some insight into the changes
you’ve made to your product, either online or in-person and then ask for their thoughts.

5. Analyze The Data and Come Up with Solutions

The data you collect won’t be beneficial unless you can use it to extract relevant insights. 

So, once you get a good number of responses, look at the patterns in the data and draw
conclusions.

For example, responses to a CSAT survey may help reveal bottlenecks at a certain stage of the
customer journey. 

If customers showcase low levels of satisfaction just after buying a product, this could indicate
that their path to conversion needs to be reworked. 

Likewise, responses to a CES survey may indicate issues in your customer service. 

If your customer effort score is low, you should take steps like working on reducing the response
time, delivering training to your customer service team and implementing convenient support
channels (such as live chat on your company’s website). 

In addition, you can reach out directly to specific respondents, thanking them for their feedback
and apologizing for any inconveniences.

The possibilities are endless when you dive deep into the data. 

Analyzing Customer Satisfaction Through Social Media 

You don't always have to rely on survey responses to evaluate how satisfied customers are with
your product. 

Tracking what they say on social media can also help you gauge what they really think about
your offering. 

For example, if someone says, "The polyester is a big no for me. I'm a sweaty person." when
discussing a t-shirt you sell, it indicates that they are dissatisfied with the fabric. You can now
look into changing the fabric to something more summer appropriate.

Social Mention is a great tool to track all your brand mentions across social media platforms.
You can use it to track the mention of your business or keywords associated with your offering. 

How to Improve Customer Satisfaction

While customer satisfaction is relatively easy to measure and analyze, it is much more difficult
to innovate and meet the high expectations of today’s customers. 

So, instead of setting all of your hopes on automated birthday reminders, consider taking the
following action steps to improve customer satisfaction.
1. Provide self-help resources

When it comes to building a customer service strategy, companies often tend to overlook the
cheapest support channel: self-help resources in the form of FAQs, tutorials and knowledge
bases. 

According to research, 89 percent of consumers expect businesses to have an online self-service

portal for customer support. So, it can be a good idea to create materials that empower customers
to become more knowledgeable and better users of a product or service. 

Nike, for example, offers a FAQ page to tell consumers about the differences between the many
variants of Apple Watch Nike:

Consider building self-help resources that make it easy for consumers to find answers to their
queries. This could include structured FAQs, YouTube tutorials, and more.

2. Create an omnichannel experience

Adopting an omnichannel approach is critical to supercharging your customers’ happiness in an

incredibly multi-channel landscape. 

One of the best ways to do this is to use the data you have on your customers (such as their email
and phone number) to provide them with a seamless experience across various touchpoints. 

For example, a conversation that begins on Twitter can be continued via email or SMS with all
the relevant context preserved across platforms. 

Going omnichannel also means sharing information about customers’ behavior and purchase
history with your sales and marketing teams. 

This will help them give tailored recommendations, such as special offers based on what
customers have bought in the past. 

Additionally, make it clear to customers that they can reach out to you on any platform whenever
they require assistance. 

Whether it’s social media, blogs, websites, or mobile apps, customers shouldn’t need to think
twice about their choice of platform for reaching out to you.

3. Put the customer first

Never let a problem or issue overtake your customers and their needs for its importance. 

For example, if a product broke down or service got mismanaged, don’t blame the customer or
say that they didn’t follow the instructions in the manual. 

Instead, try to meet their needs and remember that it’s the customer who’s always right. 

Taco Bell, for example, told the 6000-something residents of Bethel, Alaska that they are going
to open their first Taco Bell restaurant chain in the locality. However, it was an elaborate prank
that left people confused and disappointed. 

To rectify the situation, the brand implemented a surprise-and-delight marketing tactic, airlifting
a truck to the place with 10,000 tacos. This was a wow moment for the residents of Bethel and
proved customers are vital to the company. 

People love companies that go the extra mile in customer service. Satisfied customers will
benefit you, in many ways, and never leave when you continuously treat them well.    

4. Reduce your waiting time

 Waiting time is one of the key factors affecting customer satisfaction levels in business.

When people are made to wait too long to get something, it raises a red flag in their books. For
example, if a product or service misses its delivery deadline, they might think the seller
mishandled their order. 

In a society where most people want instant gratification (or at least gratification with minimum
wait), it’s important to think about ways to reduce waiting time.

That brings us full circle to the first step, providing self-help resources that enable customers to
perform some functions themselves.
You can use live chat, self-service order management software, and self-service kiosks to cut
down on waiting time. These solutions will empower customers to do things like viewing order
detail history and tracking shipped orders…without having to wait for assistance. 

5. Optimize your online experiences

When it comes to your online presence, use visual content to provide value to the customer.

You can do this by including videos that guide customers about using their new purchase,
customizing the product’s functions, and more. 

Improving your site’s design is another great way to improve the customer experience. Use
striking visuals to draw people in, make it convenient to see more details about a product, and
follow the KISS (keep it simple, silly!) principle for the overall design.

Finally, think about real-time interactions because today’s customers love them. Just having a
WhatsApp chat option for queries can be a simple way to enhance customer satisfaction. Take a
cue from Adidas:

The German sportswear brand has been using WhatsApp to interact with its UK customers in
real-time since 2015. 

Customers can use the company’s WhatsApp hotline to have a direct conversation with an
Adidas representative. It’s like talking to someone in-store for guidance or product advice.

Conclusion

Measuring customer satisfaction is the way forward for all businesses. 

Since people today have so many buying choices and substitutes, you can no longer afford to
ignore the importance of providing great experiences to your customers.

Identifying key demands along your customers’ journey, gathering feedback to improve or
iterate their experiences, and applying trends will help you improve customer satisfaction – and
subsequently generate more revenue and sales.

What steps have you taken to increase customer satisfaction? Let us know in the comments
section below. 

25 Surefire Ways to Improve Customer Satisfaction

According to new report from CFI Group, customer satisfaction levels have experienced a slight
decline over the past year. Data compiled from consumers across various sectors reflects a
customer satisfaction score of 68 (out of 100), a four-point decline from the previous year.
This year’s reading is the lowest score since the report was first issued and it represents the
uphill climb many companies face in satisfying increasingly demanding consumers.
So what are some ways companies can drive customer satisfaction in today’s consumer-centric
landscape? The following is a curated list of 25 different tactics to improve customer
satisfaction, from a variety of sources:
1. Develop Customer 10. Offer Proactive 18. Study Complaints
Service Communities Customer Service and Compliments

2. Treat Customers 19. Hold Daily Stand

Like You Would Want 11. Personalize Up Meetings with your
to Be Treated Team

20. Ask How Your

3. Provide
12. Slash Wait Times Clients Would Like to
Multichannel Support
be Responded to

4. Make Employee 13. Put a Social Media 21. Provide Additional

Satisfaction a Priority Plan in Place Benefits

5. Encourage Agents to 14. Rethink the Approach

22. Offer Free Product
Take Ownership of to Doing Business &
Training and Support
Problems Building Relationships

6. Turn Customer
15. Demonstrate Product 23. Press Reset After
Survey Data into
Knowledge Every Call
Action

7. Figure Out What the

16. Benchmark Customer 24. Ask for More
Customer Really
Satisfaction Feedback
Wants

8. Focus on Company 17. Set Clear Expectations 25. Empower Your

Culture and Exceed Them Agents

1. Develop Customer Service Communities

“The most advanced companies are using [customer service] communities to generate product
ideas and test new products. Seventy-two percent of respondents [who participated in a Get
Satisfaction survey] are using communities to get feedback on how existing products are used;
67 percent use them to collect ideas for new products or features from customers; and 46 percent
rely on them for feedback on prototypes or beta products.”

2. Treat Customers Like You Would Want to Be Treated

“Remember that your customer wants to see the sunny side of you and your business, so have
your filter on and put yourself in their shoes.
A good way to instill this attitude among your staff is to do some simple role play in which they
act out a few scenarios that involve both easy-going and difficult customers. Observe how they
handle the situation and coach them on areas to improve.”

3. Provide Multichannel Support

“With newer communications channels such as social, mobile, web chat, and email becoming
increasingly important to customers, companies must develop an omnichannel approach to their
customer service in order to connect with customers on the channels they prefer to use.
Multichannel support not only offers customers a seamless transition between channels; it also
prevents them from having to repeat information they may have already provided to different call
center agents, which can be both irritating to customers and potentially damaging to a company’s
reputation.”

4. Make Employee Satisfaction a Priority

“Simply put, when your employees are happy, they can provide better customer service. Studies
have proven that employees often perform better at the jobs when they feel appreciated. Give
each employee a personalized ‘thank you’ every now and then, and introduce an employee of the
month program, if you don’t have one already. If you can help your employees take pride in their
jobs, their work performance will also improve.”

5. Encourage Agents to Take Ownership of Problems

“Encourage operators to take ownership of problems and spend time dealing with the customer,
rather than escalating or passing over the problem. This gives advisors a real sense of pride in
their job and means they are taking their own action and really shows excellent customer
service.”

6. Turn Customer Survey Data into Action

“Good data reflects the experiences your customers actually have with your company.
Furthermore, good data equips your company to take action. [The key is to] develop a
satisfaction survey that probes truthfully into the heart of your gaps and opportunities.”

7. Figure Out What the Customer Really Wants

“Figure out what the customer really wants, if you can solve the problem they will pay; the value
is often not in the discount you can offer but rather in the solution you can provide.”

8. Focus on Company Culture

“The best companies put a focus on culture. They implement training programs around their
cultural values to ensure everyone shares the same values and that they are consistently
demonstrated when dealing with customers.”

9. Stay Current on Customer Reviews

“In a world that is heavily dependent on the internet, consumers are quick to hop online and
share how they feel about a product or service. Take the time to log onto the internet and observe
what people are saying about your business. Find out what people enjoy, as well as what they’d
like to see improved. The reviews you stumble across might surprise you and introduce you to
areas of improvement that you had not previously considered. An expert from Meyers Transport
Ltd says problems with shipping and receipt of goods, especially, can often be identified through
customer reviews. Being aware of these issues is the first step towards resolving them.”

10. Offer Proactive Customer Service

“The key here is to contact your customers before they need to pick up the phone and contact
you! To be effective, these contacts should be timely, personalized and relevant to the consumer.
The best proactive strategies make regular contact throughout the consumer lifecycle. Examples
include: payment reminders, fraud monitoring, and personalized loyalty and reward schemes.
This strategy can reduce inbound calls and improve agent efficiency. This proves that offering
great customer service isn’t just good for the consumer, it’s good for the business as well.”

11. Personalize
“In everything you do, make sure the customer feels like he or she is the only one that matters.
Use the customer’s name, refer to personal information and congratulate a customer on his or her
birthday. Make them feel at home.”

12. Slash Wait Times

“Everyone is busy, and if your company can’t provide the highest levels of service your
customers won’t hesitate to find someone who can. Customer wait time needs to be eliminated or
managed. Bureaucracy needs to be replaced with customer-friendly processes. Be easy to do
business with, and your customers will reward you over and over again.”

 13. Put a Social Media Plan in Place

“Customers are increasingly demanding speedy responses—sometimes as quickly as in real time
—to their complaints on social media. A company that isn’t paying attention can wreak havoc
with its reputation.”

 14. Rethink the Approach to Doing Business & Building Relationships

“Because consumers are operating differently today, and more differently tomorrow, companies
must embrace the environment in which we’re operating. It’s only fair to customers that
companies rethink their approach to doing business and building relationships with them.”

15. Demonstrate Product Knowledge

“One of the most important aspects of successful customer service revolves around product
knowledge. In other words, any and all agents who have direct customer contact should know the
company’s product and/or service inside and out.
In many cases, developing robust product knowledge involves managers helping agents build
their confidence so they’re motivated to succeed. To do this, managers might try mapping out
their assessment of an agent’s product knowledge and compare it against the agent’s, identifying
any gaps that exist and making it easier to put together a professional development plan for the
future.”

16. Benchmark Customer Satisfaction

“Benchmarking is the process of comparing your own organization or operations against other
organizations in your industry or in the broader marketplace.
You might compare your most successful competitor’s customer processes and satisfaction with
your own. Or, you might look at a firm outside of your industry known for remarkable customer
service practices. Establishing a benchmarking initiative is an important component of measuring
and improving your customer service and satisfaction.”

17. Set Clear Expectations and Exceed Them

“Nothing is more frustrating for a consumer than wandering around in a digital world unsure of
what to expect from a business, or when. Let customers know up front what your standards and
practices are. How long will they wait for a response or a callback? Will that response truly be
on target and accurate? Removing the customers’ uncertainty about such common issues in
customer service lets them know that a company is committed to their success and satisfaction,
especially when the business builds in enough leeway that it can routinely exceed expectations.”

18. Study Complaints and Compliments

“Every message from a customer presents an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction.
Compliments show you what to reinforce, while complaints point to new ideas and action steps
for improvement.”

19. Hold Daily Stand Up Meetings with your Team

“Problems tend to come in waves. You might have a bug of the week, a new release causing
more questions or a seasonal volume increase. Instead of letting agents figure out how to deal
with this on their own, take it on as a team with daily stand-ups. You’ll start the day on the same
page and fire up.”

20. Ask How Your Clients Would Like to be Responded to

“One way to increase customer satisfaction is to communicate with clients through their
preferred method. For online consumers, email is the standard method. This allows them to
maintain the anonymous status which is important to online consumers. Even when consumers
provide a telephone number, they may be surprised when you contact them by phone. If you
decide to place a call, take into consideration that it is a more personal and perhaps invasive
action.
Prepare notes or a list of questions beforehand to ensure you cover all your points and maximize
the time. By contacting people in their preferred method, you will most likely have a better
chance of reaching them with that reasonable time frame, communicating effectively and
achieving your goals.”

21. Provide Additional Benefits

“Who doesn’t like added benefits? Or, a special offer once in a while? Surprising your customers
with a free goodie unexpectedly can go a long way in building concrete relationships.
Sometimes, an unanticipated discount on the products your customers have been eying for some
time can work. On other events, you can consider throwing in an additional accessory or a
week’s worth post-purchase support for free. You would be amazed at how effective these little
things can be in building a positive image of your brand. It helps in increasing customer
satisfaction immensely.”

22. Offer Free Product Training and Support

“This is a clear, business-winning decision. Nothing decreases customer satisfaction more than
being confused with how to make a product work. And free product training and support will be
how you alleviate this customer frustration. Why does this work? For starters, when people
spend money on something, they tend to doubt themselves and their ability to make the product
work right. With detailed, free training, you’ll alleviate that self-doubt and win a life-long
customer.”

23. Press Reset After Every Call

“Dale Carnegie said “Dealing with people is probably the biggest problem you face, especially if
you are in business. Yes, and that is also true if you are a housewife, architect or engineer.”
Each new customer interaction should be entirely fresh and new for you. I used to imagine an
actual reset button that I would press after something frustrated me. Shed any frustration before
you interact with the next customer with a few deep breaths. Then, visualize the amazing
potential of your new opportunity to interact with your next customer.”

24. Ask for More Feedback

“Sometimes, it can be difficult to find ways to improve customer satisfaction. But there are
always more customers who have valuable insights that they haven’t given to you. It’s up to you
to go fishing, not for compliments, but for criticisms. In your survey, after asking customers how
satisfied they are, you should provide a form where they can type out a response. You have a few
different options here. It’s most common to ask customers to explain why they gave you the
score that they did. You can pick more customers’ brains by phrasing your question/statement
more clearly. For example, you could ask: “What could we have done differently to improve
your experience?” By being upfront about what you’re asking, customers will provide you with
more insightful responses.”

25. Empower Your Agents

“Agents who have been carefully hired and properly trained then need the authority to handle
customer issues before they need escalation. No customer really wants to have to ask to speak to
a supervisor they want to be talking to someone who can solve the problem in the first place.
Giving your reps the power to make their own decisions makes your customers happy, and it also
keeps your reps happy, reducing agent turnover. More operational cost savings!”
(BONUS WAY!) Leverage 100% of Customer Conversations “Contact center conversations
are a treasure trove of meaningful data. Most contact centers record every call and maintain
records for every chat and email correspondence. Imagine the difference between a CX data set
that covers 100% of interactions with your organization and what your best survey response rate
might be. Applying speak analytics to this data set will often uncover CX issues you didn’t know
you had, and just as often point the way to how to solve them for improved customer
satisfaction”
How Do You Define Customer Satisfaction?
There are a number of definitions of customer satisfaction flying around, but they are all focused
on the same thing – how a company’s product or service measures up to customer expectation.
Companies place a great deal of focus on customer satisfaction because it can have a major
impact on revenue – the higher the level of customer satisfaction, the more likely customers are
to remain as customers. Furthermore, a high level of customer satisfaction increases the
likelihood of revenue generated from customer referrals and helps you to build your brand.
Many call centers use customer satisfaction surveys at the end of calls. Customers are asked to
complete a quick survey after every call to and rate the level of service they received and
understand how the customer feels about your business. Customer satisfaction surveys help
companies to uncover problems with their service in a timely manner. They also provide
visibility into the performance of each member of your team.
If your call center uses customer satisfaction surveys it is important that you turn the data you
collect into action. If agents are consistently getting low scores in surveys, coaching sessions
should be set up to identify and eradicate the behaviors that result in negative customer
sentiment.
What is the Importance of Customer Satisfaction?
Customer satisfaction is an important metric for companies as it provides an insight into things
like customer loyalty, likelihood of churn, and also helps identify issues with the product or
service. Companies that provide a high level of customer satisfaction can also use it to
differentiate themselves from their competitors.
The importance of customer satisfaction was highlighted by a 2008 survey conducted by
Accenture which showed that poor customer service, and not price, was the main reason for
customer churn. By increasing the level of customer satisfaction you can reduce customer churn
rates at your company.
Similarly, a high level of customer satisfaction reduces negative word of mouth. McKinsey
estimates that an unhappy customer tells 9-15 people about their bad experience. One thing
companies who provide a low level of customer service sometimes overlook is the collateral
damage caused by unhappy customers. It is bad enough losing business because you provided a
customer with a low level of service, but what about losing 15 more customers as a result?
Customer satisfaction can have a massive impact on your business and appropriate care should
be taken.
You should also remember that acquiring new clients is a lot more expensive that keeping the
clients you already have. Misallocating resources and overlooking customer happiness as you
chase new business opportunities is a common mistake that must be avoided.
Final Thoughts
While there’s no one solution for improving customer satisfaction levels, the key is to develop a
customer-centric mindset that will help inform decisions and company direction. Staying up to
date with call center best practices is also something to keep in mind. The above list of
recommended tactics from a wide variety of sources represents only the beginning – the
possibilities are endless.

Lesson No.3 Customer Commitment 

Defining The Three Types of Customer Commitment

With different ideas of what it means, it can be difficult to figure out the exact nature of
commitment customers share with the brands that they interact with on a regular basis.

Sometimes, commitment can be a very positive force. It symbolizes dedication and devotion to
something or someone. When commitment is viewed in this light, it is both positive and
inspiring. The second definition, however, paints a very different picture. Here commitment is
viewed as an obligation and a limitation. Something that “restricts freedom of action”

To help explain the different kinds of customer commitment, it’s helpful to borrow from John
Meyer and Natalie Allen who outlined the three components of commitment and how they affect
organizations. Meyer and Allen focus primarily on employees and their commitment to the
organizations they work for but their work can teach us a lot about customer relationships as
well.

According to Allen and Meyer, commitment is broken into three different types: affective,
continuance, and normative. Each style creates a unique relationship with a customer and
encourages them to stay with the brand for very different reasons. You can think of affective,
continuance, and normative commitments as coming from dedication, situations, and obligation
respectively.

Affective Commitment is Inspired by Dedication

Affective commitment is the style most closely related to the positive definitions of commitment
discussed earlier. In simple terms, affective commitment means that customers are staying with a
brand because they want to. Of the three styles of motivation it is by far the strongest and when
achieved, affective commitment creates customer relationships that grow stronger and last
longer.

The term “affective commitment” comes from the root “affect”, which is the experience or
feeling of emotion. Consequently, customers who experience affective commitment to a brand
tend to be very emotionally invested in the business behind the products they love. They identify
personally with the brand and sometimes regard it as a close friend or an extension of
themselves.

Affective commitment inspires more than just loyalty – it creates brand advocates. These are
customers who go above and beyond to represent the brand to the people around them.
Consumers that are committed to a brand in this way are almost completely insulated from
competitive offerings because their feelings for the brand make them very difficult to lure away.

How to Create Affective Commitment

While there are many ways a brand can nurture affective customer commitment,customer
satisfaction isn’t one of them. Just satisfying your customers is very unlikely to instill the
emotional response that is the hallmark of affective commitment. Brands need to move past
satisfaction and into customer delight in order to reap the benefits of affective commitment.

Luckily, this type of delight comes in many shapes and forms. Adding some personalization to
your customer experience, focusing on world class customer support, or even offering a well
designed rewards program can be excellent drivers of customer delight.

In fact, a rewards program is one of the most predominant delight strategies today’s best brands
are investing in. From Starbucks’ My Starbucks Rewards to Sephora’s VIB program there are
many examples of rewards being used to delight customers. Rewards help put the “custom” back
in customer experience by treating each shopper like the individual that they are. This distinction
is what develops affective commitment and the advocacy that goes along with it.
Continuance Commitment is Created By A Situation

The second kind of commitment is continuance commitment, and the line between this and
affective commitment can be easy to blur. A good way to differentiate the two is that while
affective commitment occurs because a customer wants to remain with a brand, continuance
commitment happens when a customer feels like they should remain with a brand.

To illustrate the difference between the two, think about a student contemplating their future and
considering the opportunities they might want to pursue. The student may genuinely have a
passion and a desire to engage in marketing (an affective commitment) but may feel like they
should consider a career in finance for the competitive compensation in that industry
(continuance commitment).

The issue here is that, like the marketing maven stuck behind a financial statement, continuance
commitments are uninspiring. Customers who find themselves in a state of continuance are in a
relationship with a brand that involves their head but not their hearts.

These relationships may last for a while but they will usually fail to prompt brand advocacy or
any of the other benefits that come with affective commitments. These customers may engage in
repeat purchases and might even become loyal customers, but valuable behaviours like referrals
are a stretch for them. Additionally, they are much more susceptible to competitive offerings that
can match the value your brand provides.

How to Create Continuance Commitment

Continuance commitments are built on customer satisfaction which is created by meeting a

customer’s needs and expectations. Exceeding these expectations creates an affective
commitment and failing to satisfy will result in a normative commitment. In this way,
continuance commitments represent the middle ground –  a customer relationship that could be
better but could definitely be worse.

Brands can use many savvy business tactics to create continuance customer commitments.
Competitive pricing, industry leading features, and other temporary incentives are just a few
examples of ways a brand can secure this kind of commitment from its customers.

While it can be fairly easy to lock-in continuance commitments, it is not necessarily in a brand’s
best interest. Take mobile service providers, for example. These telecom companies offer
everything from free trial months to free phones to sell a customer a plan.

The thing to keep in mind though, is that very few customers actually build a relationship with
these brands based on a special promotion alone. As is often the case with continuance
relationships, when the promotion ends, the commitment ends because customers think with their
heads but commit with their hearts.

Normative Commitment is a Result of Obligation

The last of our commitment components is normative commitment and, as you may have already
guessed, it is the least desirable of the three styles. Instead of a customer staying because they
want to or because they feel they should, normative commitment is what happens when a
customer remains with a brand because they feel they have to.

Returning to our example of the student, while they may want to explore some careers and may
feel like they should consider other ones, the law dictates that the student must remain in school
until they are 16. Normative commitments arise from a sense of obligation.

The problem with normative commitments is that, like the student waiting to get out of school,
their effects are temporary at best. Normative customer commitments often result from current
circumstances leaving a customer with little or no choice.
Like continuance commitments, normative commitments will never inspire value driving
behaviours like brand advocacy or positive word of mouth. The difference here is normative
commitments can actually cause customers to harbour very strong and very negative feelings
about the brand because they feel like they are unable to disassociate from it.

The Danger of Normative Commitment

Normative commitments can be created by strict contracts, cancellation penalties, monopolies

or oligopolies. These factors create a sense of obligation that should remind you a lot of the
second definition of “commitment” from the search result earlier: “an engagement or obligation
that restricts freedom of action”.

Brands should try whenever possible to avoid a normative commitment because customers who
are normatively committed to a brand can be more trouble than they are worth. As soon as the
circumstances that are creating the commitment are gone, the customer will be as well. Secondly,
the negative feelings that often accompany these commitments can spill out in conversations
with peer groups and can seriously damage the reputation of a brand.

Even if your brand is the only option for a customer (think monopoly or contractual agreement)
strive to make the reason for their commitment to you affective,or at the very least, continuance.

Commitment is a Two Way Street

As you can see, a customer’s commitment to a brand is a function of the brand’s commitment
back to the customer. Commitment is a reciprocal relationship and investing in your customers
will make them more likely to invest in you.

The way a brand builds relationships with its customers will affect how those customers view the
brand in return. The difference between an individual seeing interacting with a brand as
something they want to, should, or have to do can make all the difference in how they engage
with and promote that brand. In short, building effective (or maybe affective) customer
relationships is a goal worth committing to.

5 Ways To Gain Commitment From A Client

We often get salespeople asking “What’s the best ‘close’ I can use?” or “How can I ‘close the
sale’ more often?”
Putting the emphasis on the ‘close’ can be a big mistake in the sales process. Too often, the
salesperson will try to get the order and prescribe an answer before determining and diagnosing
the real problems that occur in every business.
A ‘close’ will not just materialise as a result of asking the right questions, though. Other skills
are needed to get to the stage where the prospect will trust you enough to say ‘yes’. If we think
about building relationships with clients, instead of ‘closing the deal’ it may help us to develop
our sales.
Knowing how to build relationships with clients is paramount in sales. We do need to work with
clients, of course, in trying to gain commitment in sales; however, we don’t really want to ‘close’
the customer. We want to gain commitment and open the relationship, rather than close
something. It may sound a case of semantics, but it will make a big difference in your attitude
and response as the conversation goes on.
Gaining commitment in sales requires a different mindset to simply selling your products.
Building relationships with clients helps us in the journey to the close, or in gaining commitment
in sales.
Determining how to get that commitment can be difficult at times, so here are some ideas that
will make it a tad easier:
* Have goals for every stage in the process
Decide what you want to achieve in every meeting. Is it to make a further appointment? Or to
start a trial period? Or to visit another part of the business? The goal is the objective for this
session, so you need to know what you want to achieve. Building relationships may be important
but we need to have short-term goals as well.
* Summarise everything the prospect has said to you
What this does is prove you have been listening and understand the real needs of the prospect as
they have been describing them. It builds your credibility as well as your knowledge and helps
you on the journey to gaining commitment.
* Give them reasons to trust you
As you create trust, you build believability, and this opens up the connection and relationship
between the two of you. You’re more likely to get the prospect thinking about the next steps
when they see the conversation progressing well.
* Talk about solutions as they will affect the buyer’s business
Buyers will make decisions that create a better future for them and their business, so you need to
discuss what the solution will mean to them. Buyers will only concentrate on objections if the
value of those solutions don’t outweigh the cost of change. Only then will they see some form of
commitment to the sale.
* Paint a rosy future for the business by using your products
Commitment is about making a decision based on what future results and outcomes will be. If
you put the emphasis on what your products or services will do for them and what they should
see as a result, it is more than likely you will get a favourable response to your request for
commitment to the next stage in the sale.
What you’re attempting to do at each stage is build relationship with the client, so it makes it
easier for them to trust you and say ‘yes’ to your proposal. As they see that rosy future
developing for them, your client will naturally see you as the catalyst for that eventuality. Every
stage you develop with them will show how your client relationship-building skills can be
improved.
Each of these ideas will create the foundation for the prospect to agree to what your suggestions
are and help them see the benefits of committing to your ideas.
Happy Selling!

ELVIS B. LUMANGLAS, MDM

Course Instructor

ACADEMIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Textbook
T1 : Phillips, Jean M., Organizational Behavior Tools for Success,
International Edition, 2014 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

References:
R1 : Newstrom, John W., 2007. Organizational Behavior; Human
Behavior at Work, McGraw Hill International Edition,
R2 : Medina, Roberto G. 2011. Human Behavior in Organization.
Quezon City: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
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Online References:
https://www.google.com/search?
q=customer+commitment&rlz=1C1BNSD_enPH930PH930&oq=Customer+Commitment&aqs=
chrome.0.0l6j69i60j69i61.1470j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8