Session 6

Post-Purchase Behavior
Spotlights
 Product and service consumption
 Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction
 Purchase-associated cognitive dissonance
 Post-purchase behavior
 Product disposition
 Consumption Chain Mapping
Product and Service
Consumption
 Consumption is the possession and/or use of goods
and services and the benefits they deliver
 Consumption situation
 Physical context: time and place of consumption
 Social context: the presence of others
 Consumption episode: the set of items belonging to the
same event and occurring in temporal proximity
 Consumption system: a bundle of goods and services that
are consumed over time in multiple episodes.
Categories of Satisfactory Performance
 Ideal: when a purchase performs as or better than

expected
 Equitable: if it is adequate to the cost and effort the

consumer made to obtain the product

 Expected: although the purchase works out as

anticipated, it barely qualifies as satisfactory (this is

the lowest level of satisfactory performance)
 Expectancy Disconfirmation Model
(confirmation Vs expectancy disconfirmation)
 Expectation and Satisfaction

 Satisfaction Versus Dissatisfaction

Purchase and Postpurchase Issues

 Behaviors Purchase
Trial
Outcomes
Planned
Satisfaction
Repeat
Dissonance
Unplanned/Spontaneous
Involvement
Word-of-Mouth
Information Search

Disposal
Customer satisfaction

An attitude/feeling of a customer towards a product

or service after it has been purchased/used.

 Expectancy Disconfirmation Model: Consumers form

beliefs about product performance based on prior
experience with the product and/or communications
about the product that imply a certain level of quality.
 Managing Expectations: Customer dissatisfaction is
usually due to expectations exceeding the company’s
ability to deliver.
Expectation and Satisfaction
 Product experiences can be classified into three types
based on the degree to which consumer expectations
are fulfilled (confirmation) or not (expectancy
disconfirmation):
 Simple confirmation: the purchase performs as expected
(satisfaction)
 Positive disconfirmation: when performance is better than
expected (much higher satisfaction)
 Negative disconfirmation: when the purchase falls short of
expectations (dissatisfaction)
 If the negative disparity is wide it may lead to the contrast
effect (poor performance is magnified by the customers)
Satisfaction Versus
Dissatisfaction
 The level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction we
experience depends upon how well the product’s
performance meets our expectations
 A finite time period of possession is necessary to
determine satisfaction
 Satisfaction is not easily measured because:
 It means different things to different people
 The level of satisfaction can change over time
 Satisfaction can change when consumer needs and
preferences change
 Satisfaction includes a social dimension (the experience of
others may add or subtract from our own satisfaction)
Closing the Gap between
Expectation and Performance
 Marketers must understand consumer
expectations and the extent to which
purchases satisfy them.
 Marketers must match product benefits to
consumer needs:
 Needs of target market and the benefits of the
product must be a good fit.
 Communication must clearly describe both the
product’s benefits and the way it is to be used
 Do not raise consumer expectations beyond the
actual benefits that the product offers.
Purchase-Associated Cognitive
Dissonance
 It occurs at “time of commitment”.
 It is the feeling of uncertainty about
whether the right choice is being made.
 There is no finite time of possession or
use requirement for it to occur.
Factors that Affect Cognitive
Dissonance
 Importance of the purchase decision
 Consumer’s tendency toward anxiety
 Finality of the purchase decision
 Clarity of the final purchase choice
Reducing Dissonance
 What consumers do:
 Try to find ways to reinforce the desirability of the choice
made
 Try to make the “losing” choices look weaker
 Try to lessen the importance of the choice decision than
they had originally thought
 What marketers must do:
 Match their products with the appropriate target consumers
 Offer clear communication, return policies, warranties, in-
store demonstrations
 Make salespeople available to answer questions
Post-Purchase Behavior
 It’s as important as understanding what
causes consumers to buy.
 It deals with actual rather than potential
customers
 It has an impact on future sales.
 Information learned can be used to improve
products and services, undertake better
targeted promotions, and design more
effective strategies to keep actual customers
and attract new ones.
Positive Post-purchase
Behavior
 Customer loyalty: a feeling of “commitment”
on the part of the consumer to a product,
brand, marketer, or outlet that results in high
levels of repeat purchase or outlet visit
 Loyalty develops over time through positive
market experiences
 Loyalty phases:
 Cognitive (based on beliefs only)
 Affective (like, based on repeated satisfying use)
 Conative (behavioral intention loyalty)
 Action (strong readiness to act)
Brand Loyalty
 Fairly high levels of loyalty are evident with
products that are geared to personal tastes
(e.g., toothpaste, shampoo, bath soap) or
when there are a few dominant brands (e.g.,
camera film).
 Levels of loyalty are lower among products
that are purchased infrequently (e.g., athletic
shoes, batteries, tires, TV sets)
 Multiple brand loyalty
 Product benefits loyalty
 Product form loyalty
 Occasion of use loyalty
Factors Influencing Brand
Loyalty
 Number of brands available
 Frequency of purchase
 Perceived differences among brands
 Level of involvement
 Level of perceived risk
 Brand benefits
Negative Post-Purchase
Behavior
 Passive: lack of repeat purchase or
recommendations to other consumers
 Active: potentially damaging to the reputation
and future sales of the product
 Types of negative post-purchase behavior:
 Negative word-of-mouth
 Rumor
 Complaint behavior (no action, private action,
public action)
Marketer Actions to Reduce
Dissatisfaction
 Build realistic expectations
 Demonstrate or explain product use
 Stand behind the product
 Encourage customer feedback
 Periodically make contact with
customers
Attribution Theory of Post Purchase Behaviour
 Another Type of Post Purchase Behavior - Customer Complaint Behavior

 Cognition & Emotion together influence Customer Complaint Behavior.

 Attribution Thoery Uses diverse perceived causes of behaviour to explain “

why a particular event or outcome has occurred and the consequences of
the phenomenal causality

 Attribution= Causal Cognitions

 Attribution Research revolves around systematic assessment or

manipulation of ANTECEDENTS that include –Information,Beliefs &
Motivation.

 (Punch words: Perceived- Causal- the “Why” Subset of CB )

Product Disposition
 It is the process of reselling, recycling,
trashing, repairing, trading and the like
associated with the physical product,
packaging, and its promotional materials
when no longer perceived as useful by the
consumer or marketer.
Product Disposition

 Role of the consumer

 Recycle, donate, repair, pass on to others, conserve
resources, consider “efficiency ratings” of products including
autos, recycle with fee (battery, oil), reuse shopping
containers, etc.
 Role of the marketer
 Use more (easily) recyclable materials
 Encourage and support recycling
 Use resources more efficiently
 Demarketing
 Green marketing (www.greenmarketing.com)
Consumption Chain Mapping

 Consumption chain analysis is a tool that helps businesses

differentiate their offerings within a market.

 This tool works on the premise that opportunities for Differentiation

lurk at every step of the way your customers take, from the time they
first become aware of their need for your product to the time they finally
dispose of the remnants of the used-up product. The steps are called the
customer’s consumption chain.

It gets down to a 1-2-3 process.

Step #1: Constructing The Chain
Step #2: Optimizing the Links
Assignment-Evaluation Component
 SELECT A PRODUCT/SERVICE OF YOUR
CHOICE AND APPLY -CONSTRUCT THE
CONSUMPTION CHAIN MAPPING
FRAMEWORK TO IT AND IDENTIFY -SUGGEST
POTENTIAL PRODUCT/SERVICE
IMPROVEMENTS
References
 Evans, Jamal, Foxall, Consumer
Behaviour© 2006 John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd