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Consumer Behaviour

Notes perceive some level of performance that could be noticeably more than the expected level,
noticeably below expectations, or match the expected level of performance. Thus, satisfaction
with a purchase is basically a function of the initial performance level expectations, and perceived
performance relative to those expectations.
Consumers engage in a constant process of evaluating the things that they buy as these products
are integrated into their daily consumption activities. In case of certain purchases, consumers
experience post-purchase dissonance. This occurs as a result of the consumer doubting her/his
wisdom of a purchase. After purchase, most products are put to use by consumers, even when
they experience dissonance. Consumers experience post-purchase dissonance because making a
relatively longer commitment to a selected alternative requires one to forgo the alternative not
purchased. Thus, in case of nominal-decisions and most cases of limited-decisions, consumers
are unlikely to experience post-purchase dissonance because in such decisions consumers do not
consider attractive attributes in a brand not selected. For example, if a consumer purchases the
least priced brand of toilet soap out of three alternatives that she/he views as equivalent on all
relevant attributes except price, she/he would not experience dissonance. Generally, high-
involvement purchases include one or more of the factors that cause post-purchase dissonance.

As one may expect, a positive post-purchase evaluation results in satisfaction and the negative
evaluation causes dissatisfaction. In case the consumer’s perceived performance level is below
expectations and fails to meet the expectations, this will definitely cause dissatisfaction and the
product or the outlet will be most likely pushed in the inept set and dropped from
being considered on future occasions. Thus, the consumer is also likely to initiate complaint
behaviour and spread negative word-of-mouth.
The consumer generally experiences satisfaction when the performance level meets or exceeds
the minimum performance expectations. Similarly, when the performance level far exceeds the
desired performance level, the consumer will not only be satisfied but also will most likely be
delighted. Such an outcome tends to reduce the consumer’s decision-making efforts on future
purchase occasions of the same product or service to accomplish need satisfaction. Thus, rewarding
purchase experience encourages consumers to repeat the same behaviour in future. A delighted
consumer is likely to be committed and enthusiastic about a particular brand and usually unlikely
to be influenced by competitors’ actions. A delighted consumer is also inclined to spread
favourable word-of-mouth.

Marketing Strategy

To meet consumer expectations, marketers need to focus on (1) creating reasonable expectations
among consumers through appropriate promotional efforts and (2) ensure consistency in product
quality so that whatever expectations are created among consumers through marketing
communications are fulfilled. As consumers tend to express their dissatisfaction more vigorously,
this may result in loss of sales not only to unhappy consumers but to their friends as well.
It is advantageous for the concerned firm if the dissatisfied consumer directly communicates
with the firm and to no one else about her/his unhappiness with the product. This offers the firm
an opportunity to handle the problem quickly and decrease the chance of negative word-of-
mouth communications. Research shows that consumers whose complaints are resolved to their
satisfaction are comparatively more satisfied than consumers who had no complaints and were
actually satisfied with the product. In case of many complaints, consumers generally approach
the retail outlet from where they made the purchase first and often those retailers do not pass on
the complaint to the manufacturer. The firms should develop an efficient system to receive
complaints and encourage consumers to record their complaints as soon as they occur. For
example, General Electric spends substantial amounts of money on its toll-free “Answer Centre”
which handles 3 million calls annually. The company believes it is money well spent because
the payback is many times the money spent.

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