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Goals

Chapter 11 Understand customers’ post-purchase dissonance and how

to solve it
Customers’ purchase Study theories that measure customers’ satisfaction/
dissatisfaction
decision process Know if the satisfaction or dissatisfaction leads to next
behaviors and how to deal with negative response from
AFTER BUYING customers.

Content Post purchase consumer behavior

1. Customers’ post purchase satisfaction/dissatisfaction

2. Using and not using products
3. Product disposal
4. Purchase evaluation

1. Customers’ post-purchase dissonance

Have you ever thought that the product you
had just bought was a mistake?
The probability of a consumer’s experiencing postpurchase
dissonance, as well as the magnitude of such dissonance, is a
function of
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

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1. Customers’ post-purchase dissonance 1. Customers’ post-purchase dissonance

Consumers may use one or more of the following approaches Marketers should:
to reduce dissonance:  help buyers confirm the wisdom of their purchase
Increase the desirability of the brand purchased.  place follow-up calls
Decrease the desirability of rejected alternatives.
Decrease the importance of the purchase decision.
Reverse the purchase decision (return the product before use)

2. Product use 2. Product use

 Product use
ü may differ between regions  Product package
ü multiple-use ü An important marketing
ü supporting product. tool
ü How consumers use the
package
 Defective products
ü Find other use or recall

2. Product use 3. Product disposal

 Product nonuse occurs when a consumer actively acquires
a product that is not used or used only sparingly relative to
its potential use
 Sometimes customers buy a product that is meant to be
used in a different occasion but they never get to use it.
 Consumers may think it’s a waste of money and want to
return the product or not buy it in the future
Marketers should encourage consumption
 Disposition of the product or the product’s container may
occur before, during, or after product use.
 For many product categories, a physical product
continues to exist even though it may no longer meet a
consumer’s needs
Øno longer function physically
Øno longer provide the symbolic meaning desired by the
consumer

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4. Purchase evaluation
 Purchase evaluation is influence by consumers’
psychology after buying, using and disposing products.
 Their perceived (practical) satisfaction can be the same,
lass or more than their expected satisfaction.
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3. Product disposal
Product disposal and marketing strategies
 allowing old items to be traded in
 assist the consumer in the disposition process
 ensure that products are reused
develop products, packages, and programs that encourage
proper disposition decisions
4. Purchase evaluation
4.1 Post-purchase satisfaction/ dissatisfaction
definition
Satisfaction happens when a customer has favorable
evaluation or is pleased with their decision.
Dissatisfaction happens when a customer has unfavorable
evaluation or is displeased with their decision.
2 performance dimensions: Instrumental performance
relates to the physical functioning of the product.
Symbolic performance relates to aesthetic or image-
enhancement performance
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4. Purchase evaluation Expectancy disconfirmation model

4.2 Theories about customer satisfaction/

dissatisfaction
4.2.1. Expectancy disconfirmation model
We form beliefs about product performance based on our
prior experience with the product or communications
about the product that imply a certain level of quality.

4. Purchase evaluation 4. Purchase evaluation

4.2 Theories about customer satisfaction/ 4.2.3 Equity theory (Adam Stacey)
dissatisfaction The consumer evaluates his/her inputs and outcomes and
4.3.2. Attribution theory compares them to the perceived inputs and outcomes of the
Attribution theory is concerned with how ordinary people seller in an effort to assess the equity of the transaction
explain the causes of behavior and events. Kelley (1967) (Lapidus & Pinkerston 1995).
factors that affect the formation of attribution
 stability: the cause is temporary or regularly?
 focus: customer or company related?
 control: within the customer’s or company’s control?

4. Purchase evaluation 4. Purchase evaluation

4.3 Determinants of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction 4.4 Dissatisfaction responses

Core service failure Responses to service failures
Service encounter failures Attraction by competitors
Pricing Ethical problems
Inconvenience Involuntary switching

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4. Purchase evaluation
Dissatisfaction responses (Mothersbaugh,2010)
 25% of these unsatisfactory purchases resulted in brand switching.
 19% caused the shopper to stop buying the products.
 13% percent led to an in-store inspection of future purchases.
 3% produced complaints to the manufacturer.
 5% produced complaints to the retailer.
 35% resulted in the item’s being returned.
In a similar study of durable goods, 54 percent of the dissatisfied
customers said they would not purchase the brand again (brand
switching), and 45 percent warned their friends (negative WOM) about
the product
4. Purchase evaluation
Complaints
According to the equity theory, the more unfair the
exchange, the more possibility of complaints
According the attribution theory, the more the cause is
attributed to the company, the more possibility of
complaints
Aggressive/ confident/ experienced people complaints to
the company more than others.
4. Purchase evaluation
Negative WOM
üCustomers spread unfavorable words about a product /
service to other customers.
ü Negative WOM is a serious problem as it’s highly
persuasive to customers
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4. Purchase evaluation
Complaints
The most reasonable action but not many do this
customers whose complaints are resolved to their
satisfaction are sometimes even more satisfi ed than are
those who did not experience a problem in the fi rst place
Some people find it difficult to complain because of a lack
of resources (e.g., income and education), while others
have personality traits (e.g., introversion) that make the
complaint process emotionally painful
4. Purchase evaluation
Marketing strategies to deal with complaints
create processes and an atmosphere that encourages
consumers to direct their complaints to them
train and empower their employees to respond to and
resolve consumer problems in a timely and effective
manner (e.g. Toll-free call centers and hotlines)
4. Purchase evaluation
4.5. Customer satisfaction repeat purchase and commitment
 satisfied customers are much more likely to become or remain
repeat purchasers than are dissatisfied customers
 Repeat purchasers continue to buy the same brand though they
do not have an emotional attachment to it
 These individuals perceive the switching costs — the costs of
finding, evaluating, and adopting another solution —to be too
high.
 However, they may engage in negative word of mouth and are
vulnerable to competitors’ actions
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4. Purchase evaluation 4. Purchase evaluation

4.5. Customer satisfaction repeat purchase and
commitment
 committed customer, has an emotional attachment to the
brand or firm
Brand loyalty can arise through identifi cation, where a
consumer believes the brand refl ects and reinforces some
aspect of his or her self-concept
 Committed customers are more receptive to line
extensions and other new products offered by the same
firm. They are also more likely to forgive an occasional
product or service failure
4.5. Customer satisfaction repeat purchase and commitment
Relationship marketing has five key elements:
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.

4. Purchase evaluation Discussion

1. What retailers should do to customers’ cognitive
 General principles to retain customers
dissonance after buying the following products / service
ü care about them
Laptops Hospitality service (hotel)
ü remember them
Cars A tour
ü build a reliation and trusting relationship
ü Monitor the process of providing products or services
2. If some dissatisfied customers spread negative words
ü Make maximum efforts about your company’s product on social media, what will
you do to solve this problem?

Discussion
3. Use the attribution theory to list all possible reasons for
customer dissatisfaction for these services and provide
solutions for these reasons.
Education Hospitality service (hotel) Tourism