CONSUMER

SATISFACTION AND
CONSUMERISM
 CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OR
DISSATISFACTION:

 Satisfaction is a very important aspect of the evaluation stage in the

purchase process.

 Satisfaction can be referred to as the buyers state of being sufficiently

rewarded in a buying situation in terms of the brand’s potential to
satisfy the consumer’s motives.
 WORKING TOWARDS ENHANCING
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
 Customer satisfaction is a continuous process which does not begin
or end with a purchase.
 It covers the entire ownership experience from selecting a
product, to purchase, through aftercare to repeat purchase.
Clearly there are three phases in the customer satisfaction process
namely:
 Pre- sales:
During this stage the customer expectation are developed through
the various information sources like advertising, word of mouth etc.
 During sales:
When the customer is engaged in experiencing the sales process i.e.
how the salespersons deals with enquiries and sell products.
 After sales Period:
This refers to the period after the customer has started using the
product.
 Thus consumer expectations and their experience will together
determine the level of satisfaction. These expectations are
inclusive of:
 PRE SALES PERIOD:
 Availability of clear and useful information on:
 The product or service.
 Its quality aspect.
 Its core benefit or advantages.
 Its Price.
 Its availability at sales outlets.
 The procedure of obtaining it.
 DURING SALES PERIOD:
 Opportunity to inspect the products.
 Provision of an attractive sales environment.
 Courteous and attentive service.
 Reasonable and reliable delivery.
 Enhancing the quality of goods or services.
 Prompt redressal in case of complaint received.
 AFTER SALES PERIOD:
 If enquired necessary support or advice be provided.
 Prompt replacement or refund if necessary.
 Smooth and straightforward complaint redressal procedure.
 Efficient repair and maintenance service.
 Efficient and effective consumer follow up process.
 IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR RESEARCH:

 Regular research is necessary to keep a track of the changing

levels of customer satisfaction.

 Market research will give excellent clues to the firm about what
their existing or prospective customers think.

 At the same time they will also provide information on how to rate
one’s competitor. This will indirectly indicate where the firm
stands.
 FEEDBACK:

 Many of the companies are encouraging their customers to give a

feedback and use this as a means of maintaining regular contact
and dialogue.

 Feedback helps the marketer and firm to get an idea about the
customer’s viewpoint on their products or services.

 Based on the response from the customer’s feedback questionnaire

it will go a long way if the marketing manager will work towards
enhancing the customer satisfaction level to a higher level.

 It has been rightly said ‘Design delivers value’. Good marketers

have always worked towards channelising their customer’s
feedback into their product development in order to establish a
link between product features and customer requirements.
 EXAMPLE:

 When Samsung India was seeking customer feedback before

designing its TV set it used questionnaires to probe deep into its
target customers with fulfilment notions.

 They discovered that he/she would love to watch a video film that
doesn’t have creepy crawly advertisements running across the
bottom.

 So Samsung India added a facility to its TV Set that allowed

viewers to zoom the picture cutting the commercials out of frame.
 ADD VALUE THROUGH EFFECTIVE
PRICING:
 Pricing is another sensitive issue. Marketers should use the entire
pricing issue to have a long term relationship with the customer.

 In competitive pricing scenario the manner in which the product or

service can add perceived value will determine what the customer
is willing to pay and whether this will add to customer satisfaction.
 CREATE DISTRIBUTION EQUITY:
 Marketers have realised that with greater availability of goods that
are close substitutes to competing brands having good distribution
channels can actually prove to be the differentiating factor in
determining customer value, satisfaction and hence their loyalty
also.

 Wipro Infotech has built a network of 15 C&F(Carrying and

Forwarding) agents and 400 dealers to enable it to keep
inventories low as well as mark a turnaround time for products and
dealer’s investments.

 Today firms are going all out to enhance customer satisfaction and
value and also increase their distribution equity by monitoring and
sustaining the quality of their product till it reaches the customer’s
doorstep. Such firms try to do this by getting closer to the physical
activity of distributing their products.
  PLANNING PROMOTIONS TO BENEFIT
THE CONSUMER:
 Promotions which deliver value will go a long way in building consumer
franchise. Marketers must work out different promotions to attract
various kinds of customers. This could take the form of:

 Make use of ‘more for less’ to attract the buyers who switch brands
frequently. Here the opportunity to bargain will prove to be a source of
value for the customer.

 Reward the regular buyers with a lower price during certain months of
the year. The marketer must make efforts to convey these promotional
offers which are meant exclusively for regular users only.

 Offer lesser prices and communicate a feeling of protecting them against

inflation.

 When prospective consumers are postponing their purchase decisions

especially seen in case of consumer durables in the form of discounts
could motivate them to take decisions more quickly.
  SOURCES OF CONSUMER
DISSATISFACTION:
 Very often customer dissatisfaction may occur on account of
discrepant expectations and realisations. At times the nature of
expectations may be ambiguous. Such situations of ambiguity may
occur in various ways:

 Lack of experience with an existing product.

 The product under consideration may be a new product or an

innovation.

 While making purchase decisions the services may not be physically

present. Ex the customer may be placing order for products online
without actually seeing the same.

 The quality of a service varies spontaneously.

 PERCEPTION OF THE QUALITY:
 Quality is a term frequently used in relation to a product or
service. Though everyone has an idea of what quality is its very
hard to define the same. The term quality may be approached
from various perspectives:
 Transcendental Quality:
 This is a kind of innate excellence which is generally recognised.
Skill and love for one’s profession works as an Indicator of the
quality of the service provided.
 Production Design Quality:
 Here the product or service has to conform to its design
specifications as an assurance of quality.
 Product Character Quality:
 This is an accurately measurable product characteristic. For
example the proportion of fruit pulps and other ingredients in
Kissan jam, the content of cocoa in chocolate etc.
 Value directed Quality:
 Value directed quality is defined in terms of price or cost. A
product has a high quality if it functions well at a reasonable price.
 For ex: TVSE MSP series of printers could outscore over its
competitor EPSON printers based on the customer’s perception of
better quality and reasonable price.

 Perceived Quality:
 This aspect is associated with consumer’s perception. Products and
services have high quality if they meet the desires and
expectations of consumers.
 LEVELS OF CONSUMER
DISSATISFACTION:
FOUR LEVELS OF
CONSUMER
DISSATISFACTION

Dissatisfaction at Dissatisfaction may Dissatisfaction may

general level that can occur at the Dissatisfaction at occur at the
be associated with the category levels. the brand level. specific levels.
consumption system Here certain Here This is with
itself. product classes dissatisfaction reference to
Ex: Dissatisfaction itself may be the can be directed certain services
may be with demand causes for towards certain and offers
and supply or use of consumer specific brands, affecting the
goods and service, dissatisfaction. retailers or the customer ‘s
dissatisfaction may organisation satisfaction level.
Ex: Washing itself.
occur due to choice Machines, Package For example the
possibilities i.e. tours repair services or
purchase system. maintenance done
on the scooter etc.
 INHIBITING AND FACILITATING
FACTORS:
 It is also important to make a note of the dimension of the
satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Sometimes when satisfaction may
have more than one dimension a distinction between facilitation
and inhibition is necessary.

 Too high a price may deter consumers( inhibition) whereas a

reasonable price may not stimulate them enough to purchase or
accept the product.

 Presence of inhibiting and facilitating factors can influence

consumer satisfaction. The inhibiting factors cause dissatisfaction
and removal of these may prevent dissatisfaction may not actually
create satisfaction. Facilitating factors cause satisfaction provided
inhibition is absent.
 A good example of dissatisfaction caused by inhibitions can be
illustrated with the public transport system at Bangalore. All the
daily commuters and travellers are dissatisfied if the bus is late or
if no seats are available.

 But this is generally taken for granted if the bus arrives on times
and if they are able to procure seats. So the priority of public
transport management is to avoid or remove inhibition and not the
creation of facilitation.
 ATTRIBUTION:

 Dissatisfaction with a product or service offered will occur if in

reality there is a mismatch between the consumer’s expectation
and on the basis of the availability of alternatives in a particular
product or service category.

 Attribution, is the identification of a set of user actions that

contribute in some manner to a desired outcome, and then the
assignment of a value to each of these events.
 THREE CASUAL DIMENSIONS:

Locus of
Stability
control

Controllability
 LOCUS OF CONTROL:

 This will indicate which party is considered to be the cause

of the event the consumer or the supplier that is indication
external or internal attribution respectively.

 Ex: The scooter repair service may not have been up to the
mark probably because the rider had not explained the
exact problem to the mechanic (internal attribution) or may
be the mechanic had knowingly not carried out the repair
work correctly in spite of knowing what the problem was
(external attribution).
 STABILITY:

 Stability refers to the duration of the cause. The scooter repair

had been carried out incorrectly because the mechanic had a bad
day (temporary cause or phase) or the mechanic was not good at
the job (permanent cause).
 CONTROLLABILITY:

 It refers to the extent or degrees to which somebody has control

over the cause.

 For instance if the mechanic consciously and knowingly carries out

a repair badly, hoping that the customer will not detect it its said
to be controlling or the controller of the cause in a negative
manner and vice versa.
 DEALING WITH CONSUMER
COMPLAINTS:
 A marketer who ahs understood the specific service requirements
of an individual customer will be in a position to make and offer a
matching product.

 This is possible if the complaint is handled well. More specifically

put complaint handling helps the firm by:

 Providing information on the product or company’s performance.

 If handled properly it can help to reduce the amount of brand
switching among dissatisfied customers as against silent dissatisfied
customers.
 Dissatisfaction usually reveals a high sense of brand loyalty and
arresting consumer’s flight to competitors is worth the effort.
 The cost of retaining a customer will always be less as compared to
attracting a new customer.
 When consumers complain expressing their dissatisfaction this
could be used as a feedback for better product. Most business
loose around 25% of their customers annually.
`
 If this could be reduced by atleast 5% the profit impact of this
saving can work out to be very high even on a per customer basis.
 PROACTIVE MODEL OF COMPAINT
HANDLING:
 The way in which the organization handles complaints will reflect its
commitment to the services its offering.

 Problems identified by the analysis of complaints will prove to be a

valuable element for market research.

 Addressing such problems before they begin have a measurable

impact on the firm’s market share is a key goal of the development
process.

 If the complaint handling function is to be real influence at each stage

its necessary that it must be integrated into the decision making level
at the board.
 The complaint function is necessary for the development of new
services. This has to be properly represented especially when
decisions about such services are made.

 Ex: Motorola has linked every manufacturing process by developing

network of teams that assemble themselves as a cross functional
teams called Total customer satisfaction teams where all the
members of the team interact and listen to customers.
 Role of complaint handling in a
Proactive Organisations:

Better Services

Complaint Handling
Market Research and
helps in:
Development

Identify Opportunities for

Improvement
 Consumer Protection Act 1986::

 This is a very important legislation passed by the government of

India to ensure a proper system is established for the protection of
consumer rights and the redressal of consumer disputes.

 This act includes amendments made in Consumer protection

amendment act 2002 which was bought into force w.e.f 15-3-
2003.

 This act applies to the whole of India except the state of Jammu
and Kashmir .
 OBJECTIVES:

 To provide for better protection of the interests of the consumers.

 To fulfill the above objective make provision for the establishment

of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of
consumer’s disputes and for matters connected therewith.
 Meaning of Complainant and service:
 As per the act complainant means a consumer or any voluntary
consumer association registered under the companies act 1956 or
under any other law for the time being in force or the central
government or any state government one or more consumers where
there are numerous consumers having same interest or in case of
death of consumer, his legal heir or representative who makes a
complaint.

 According to the act services of any description made available to

potential users can be termed as service. Services include all
facilities made available for the purpose of banking, finance,
insurance, transportation etc. but does not include the rendering of
any service free of charge or under a contract of personal service.
  Consumerism in India:
 In India as a developing economy its felt that the plight of the
consumers are not different from that of their counterparts in the
rest of the world.
 Not all the Indian consumers are very well educated and hence are
unable to comprehend and understand the complex method of
marketing they are also exploited and often become victims of false
claims for products, misled by deceptive ads and packaging, poor
after sales services etc.
 Consumerism is still in its infancy stage. It is a social force used to
protect consumers against the unfair marketing practices occurring
during transaction between the buyers and sellers.
 The rapid rise in the customer earnings and savings rate resulted in
the generation of increasing amounts of disposable income to be
spent on customer products or services.
 Situational factors that have aided the marketers:

 The vastness of a country like India along with an imbalance in the

distribution of income and wealth and backwardness of the people
came in the way of organising consumer awareness and
movements.

 The high rate of illiteracy and ignorance among the majority of the
population.

 Unable to understand the technical complexity of the goods and

accepting the information given by manufacturers or salespersons.

 Indian consumers getting carried away by the clever advertising

and promotion tactics used by the marketers.
 Factors responsible for the sad
plight of Indian consumers:
 India faces a severe imbalance in the demand and supply of essential
commodities.

 Low literacy levels , incorrect and unsatisfactory information

generated many of the Indian consumers are not consciously aware of
their rights.

 In absence of proper information and unfamiliarity with some new

product features, consumers become easy victims and accept
substandard, inferior and defective products.

 Legal framework and system in India is a time consuming and tiresome

process.

 Consumerism is still in its infancy stage and hence not well organised
and developed as much as in the developed countries.
 Reasons for growth of consumerism
in India:
 Make the business community more honest, efficient, responsive
and responsible.

 Consumerism can also be viewed as an opportunity for

businessmen to serve the consumers in a better and more efficient
manner.

 Consumerism will also ensure that the government takes necessary

measures to protect consumer interests by guaranteeing their
legitimate rights.