Post Purchase Evaluation:Determinants of Satisfaction, Consumer Complaint Behavior

<< Marketing Implications of Decisions Related to Post Purchase:Understanding

Post Purchase Dissonance:Dissonance Reduction, Marketing Implications >>

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Lecture 41

Post Purchase Evaluation

Understanding:

Post Purchase Evaluation

Consumer Complaint Behavior

1. Post Purchase Evaluation

Consumer is uncertain of the wisdom of his decision; he rethinks this decision in the post purchase stage

Post purchase stage serves to broaden the consumer's set of experiences stored in the memory. It provides a check

on how well he is doing as a consumer in selecting products, stores, etc... Feedback that consumer receives from

this stage helps make adjustments in future purchasing strategies.

Satisfaction is an important element in the evaluation stage. Satisfaction refers to the buyer's state of being

adequately rewarded in buying situations for the sacrifice he has made.

Adequacy of satisfaction is a result of matching actual post purchase and consumption experience with the

expected reward from the brand in terms of its anticipated potential to satisfy the consumer's motives

Hunt's definition: Satisfaction is a kind of stepping away from an experience and evaluating it ... One could have

a pleasurable experience that caused dissatisfaction because even though pleasurable, it wasn't as pleasurable as it

was supposed or expected to be. So satisfaction/dissatisfaction is not an emotion, it is the evaluation of an

emotion

Consumers' Expectations Prior to Purchase

Consumers form certain expectations prior to purchase. These include: the nature and performance of

product/service (the anticipated benefits to be derived directly from the item). The costs and efforts to be

expended before obtaining the direct product or service benefits and social benefits or costs accruing to the

consumers as a result of purchase (the anticipated impact of the purchase on significant others).

Determinants of Satisfaction

Growing body of research suggests that there are several determinants which appear to influence satisfaction

including:

· Demographic Variables

· Personality Variables

· Expectations

Some other important variables are:

Men tend to be more satisfied than women

The more confidence one has in purchase decision making and more competence in a given product area, the

greater one's satisfaction tends to be

Older consumers tend to have lower expectations and higher level of satisfaction

Higher education tends to be associated with lower satisfaction

There is also greater satisfaction when relevant others are perceived to be more satisfied

Higher levels of product satisfaction are also indicated by persons who are more satisfied with their lives as a

whole and by persons who are more satisfied with consumer domain that is market place, consumerism and

business firms

Relationship between Expectations and Performance

The interaction between expectations and actual product performance produces either satisfaction or

dissatisfaction. There, however, does not appear merely to be a direct relationship between the level of expectation

and level of satisfaction instead a modifying variables is more important here.

131

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Disconfirmation of Satisfaction

When a consumer does not get what is expected the situation can be described as disconfirmation. Positive

Disconfirmation occurs when what is perceived is better than what is expected. Negative Disconfirmation

occurs when things turn out worse than expected.

Confirmation occurs if the expectations from a product are met

2. Consumer Complaint Behavior

Consumers may exhibit unfavorable word-of-mouth communication, if they are dissatisfied with a product. In this

case, customers tell twice as many people about bad experiences as good ones and such behavior can severely

damage a company's image. Consumers may not repurchase the brand.

Third action several generalizations exist from research on consumer complaining:

Complainers tend to be of more upscale socio-economic groups than non-complainers

The severity of the dissatisfaction or problems is positively related to complaint behavior

Complaining is more likely when there is more positive perception of retailer responsiveness to customer

complaints

Model of Consumer Complaining Behavior

Consumers may complain not to seller but a third party such as news papers or legal system. They may engage in

private CCB e.g. telling friends and relatives about their bad experience and changing their patronage. They may

complain their voices to manufacturer or retailer involved or even take no action if they are loyal to seller and

believe that complaining is pointless

132

Table of Contents: