Postpurchase Processes, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Commitment

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Postpurchase Processes, Customer Satisfaction,
and Customer Commitment

• Dr. John T. Drea
• Associate Professor of Marketing
• Western Illinois University

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Postpurchase Dissonance

• Defined doubts or anxiety about the wisdom of a
  purchase.
• It is the result of desired outcomes being
  inconsistent with anticipated/actual outcomes.
• Dissonance is psychologically uncomfortable and
  motivates the consumer to reduce dissonant
  feelings.

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Postpurchase Dissonance (cont.)

• Postpurchase dissonance is most likely to occur
• among individuals with a tendency to experience
  anxiety
• after an irrevocable purchase
• when the purchase was important to the consumer.
• when the purchase involved a difficult choice
  between two or more alternatives.

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Postpurchase Dissonance (cont.)

• Consumers are motivated to not undertake
  activities which will increase dissonance.
• Consumers are motivated to seek information which
  agrees with their purchase decision (consonant
  information).
• Dissonance is magnified when individuals in the
  same social network do not agree on a purchase
  decision.

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Postpurchase Dissonance (cont.)

• Postpurchase dissonance is important, because if
  it isnt resolved, it can result in
• product returns
• a negative evaluation of the purchase
• leads to negative word-of-mouth
• leads to fewer repeat buyers

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Product Use

• Product purchase is normally followed by product
  use (though not always.)
• Consumers use products to fulfill needs - it is
  not the purchase which generally fulfills the
  need, but the product use.
• To complete the marketing concept, you need to be
  concerned about how products are used.

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Product Use (continued)

• Satisfaction Benefits - expectations
• To increase satisfaction, it is imperative that
  consumers receive maximum possible benefits.
• Need for consumers to use a product so that
• actual usage ideal usage (to yield maximum
  level of benefits)
• To determine this, we need monitoring.

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Monitoring Product Use

• Monitoring can indicate
• New uses for existing products.
• Needed product modifications.
• Appropriate advertising themes.
• Opportunities for new products.

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Product Non-Use

• Product non-use can be a significant problem in
  some categories.
• Non-use can indicate
• the perception that the utility of the product
  has changed.
• situational influences have not been favorable
  for product use (need to expand acceptable range
  of situations)

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Product Disposition

• Defined The final discarding of the package and
  the product
• For some consumers, the ability to recycle
  materials can differentiate the product from
  competitors.

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Product Disposition (cont.)

• Product disposition is important for three
  reasons
• Disposition of a product may be required before
  another can be purchased (financial/space
  limitations)
• Certain disposition strategies can create a
  use/re-built market.
• Unsatisfactory disposition options can cause
  consumers to withdraw from the market for some
  items.

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Postpurchase Evaluation

• The purchase evaluation process is potentially
  influenced by postpurchase dissonance, product
  usage, and product disposition.
• Satisfaction generally occurs when the use of the
  product fulfills the expectations of meeting
  instrumental and symbolic needs.
• When these needs are not met, dissatisfaction
  occurs.

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Negative Purchase Evaluation

• A negative purchase evaluation may trigger the
  following symptoms
• Existing consumers take no action to re-purchase.
• Existing consumers switch to competitor
  brands/stores.
• Negative word-of-mouth increases.

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Handling Complaints

• Three complaint handling strategies
• Overbenefitting
• Equity
• Underbenefitting
• Be careful not to get caught in the downward
  spiral of quality!