Post-purchase evaluation of the decision
The creation of customer satisfaction is the real art of effective marketing. Marketing managers want to create positive experiences from the purchase of their products or services. Nevertheless, it is common for customers to experience some post-purchase concerns; this is known as cognitive dissonance. Such concerns arise because of an uncertainty surrounding the making of the right decision. This is because the choice of one product often means the rejection of the attractive features of the alternatives.
There are four ways in which dissonance is likely to be increased: due to the expense of the purchase, when the decision is difficult (e.g. there are many alternatives, many choice criteria, and each alternative offers benefits not available with the others), when the decision is irrevocable, and when the purchaser is inclined to experience anxiety. Thus it is often associated with high involvement purchases. Shortly after purchase, car buyers may attempt to reduce dissonance by looking at advertisements and brochures for their model, and seeking reassurance from owners of the same model. Rover buyers are more likely to look at Rover advertisements and avoid Renault or Ford ads. Clearly, advertisements can act as positive reinforces in such situations (see Exhibit 3.3), and follow-up sales efforts can act similarly. Car dealers can reduce this 'buyer remorse' by contacting recent purchasers by letter to reinforce the wisdom of their decision and to confirm the quality of their after-sales service.
The outcome of post-purchase evaluation, however, depends on many factors besides this kind of reassurance. The quality of the product or service is obviously a key determinant, and the role of the salesperson acting as a problem solver for the customer rather than simply pushing the highest profit margin product also can help create customer satisfaction, and thereby reduce cognitive dissonance.
Choice criteria
The various attributes (and benefits) a customer uses when evaluating products and services are known as choice criteria. They provide the grounds for deciding to purchase one brand or another. Different members of the buying centre may use different choice criteria. For example, purchasing managers who are judged by the extent to which they reduce purchase expenditure are likely to be more cost conscious than production engineers who are evaluated in terms of the technical efficiency of the production process they design. Four types of choice criteria are listed in Table 3.1, which also gives examples of each.
Economic criteria concern the cost aspects of purchase and include price, running costs and residual values (e.g. the trade-in value of a car). However, it should not be forgotten that price is only one component of cost for many buying organizations. Increasingly, buyers take into account life cycle costs- which may include productivity savings, maintenance costs and residual values as well as initial purchase price-when evaluating products. Marketers can use life cycle cost analysis to break into an account. By calculating life cycle costs with a buyer, new perceptions of value may be achieved.
Exhibit 3.3 Tango uses post-purchase dissonance in its advertising for Diet Tango, playing on the notion of guilt (about consuming high-fat food) and implying that this can be remedied by the consumption of a low-fat drink
Social criteria concern the impact that the purchase makes on the person's perceived relationships with other people, and the influence of social norms on the person. Choosing a brand of trainer may be determined by the need for social belonging. Nike and Reebok recognize the need for their footwear to have 'street cred'. Social norms such as convention and fashion can also be important choice criteria with some brands being rejected as too unconventional (e.g. fluorescent spectacles) or unfashionable (e.g. Mackeson).
Personal criteria concern how the product or service relates to the individual psychologically. Emotions are an important element of customer decision-making. The rejection of new-formula Coca-Cola in 1985, despite product tests that showed it to be preferred on taste criteria to traditional Coca-Cola, has been explained in part by emotional reactions to the withdrawal of an old and well-loved brand. Saab ran a two-page advertising campaign that combined technical and economic appeals with an emotional one. The first page was headlined '21 Logical Reasons to Buy a SAAB'. The second page ran the headline 'One Emotional Reason'. The first page supported the headline with detailed body copy explaining the technical and economic rationale for purchase. The second page showed a Saab powering along a rain-drenched road. Personal criteria are also important in organizational purchasing. Risk reduction can affect choice decisions since some people are risk averse and prefer to choose 'safe' brands. The IBM advertising campaign that used the slogan 'No one ever got the sack for buying IBM' reflected its importance. Suppliers may be favoured on the basis that certain salespeople are liked or disliked or due to office politics where certain factions within the company favour one supplier over another.
Marketing managers need to understand the choice criteria being used by customers to evaluate their products and services. Such knowledge has implications for priorities in product design, and the appeals to use in advertising and personal selling.