Following some purchases, consumers experience
doubts or anxiety about the wisdom of the purchase.
This is known as postpurchase dissonance. It is most
likely to occur (1) among individuals with a tendency to
experience anxiety, (2) after an irrevocable purchase,
(3) when the purchase was important to the consumer,
and (4) when it involved a difficult choice between two
or more alternatives.
Whether or not the consumer experiences dissonance,
most purchases are followed by product use.
This use may be by the purchaser or by some other
member of the purchasing unit. Monitoring product
usage can indicate new uses for existing products,
needed product modifications, appropriate advertising
themes, and opportunities for new products. Product liability
laws have made it increasingly important for
marketing managers to be aware of all potential uses of
their products.
Product nonuse is also a concern. Both marketers
and consumers suffer when consumers buy products
that they do not use or use less than they intended. Thus,
marketers frequently attempt to influence the decision
to use the product as well as the decision to purchase the
product.
Disposition of the product or its package may occur
before, during, or after product use. Understanding disposition behavior is important to marketing managers
because of the ecological concerns of many consumers,
the costs and scarcity of raw materials, and the
activities of federal and state legislatures and regulatory
agencies. E-waste is an emerging area of concern related
to disposition.
Postpurchase dissonance, product usage, and disposition
are potential influences on the purchase evaluation
process. Consumers develop certain expectations
about the ability of the product to fulfill instrumental
and symbolic needs. To the extent that the product meets
these needs, satisfaction is likely to result. When expectations
are not met, dissatisfaction is the likely result.
Taking no action; switching brands, products, or
stores; and engaging in negative WOM (e.g., warning
friends) are all common reactions to a negative purchase
evaluation. A marketing manager generally should encourage
dissatisfied consumers to complain directly to
the firm and to no one else. Unfortunately, only a fairly
small, unique set of consumers tends to complain. Developing
strategies and processes that minimize the
costs and hassles of complaining are critical in encouraging
dissatisfied consumers to complain to the firm.
After the evaluation process and, where applicable,
the complaint process, consumers have some degree of
repurchase motivation. There may be a strong motive
to avoid the brand, a willingness to repurchase it some
of the time, a willingness to repurchase it all of the time,
or some level of brand loyalty or customer commitment,
which is a willingness to repurchase coupled with a psychological
commitment to the brand. As online retailing
continues to grow, marketers are examining ways in
which e-satisfaction and e-loyalty can be bolstered.
Marketing strategy does not always have the creation
of brand loyalty as its objective. Rather, the manager
must examine the makeup of the brand's current and potential
consumers and select the specific objectives most
likely to maximize the overall organizational goals.
Relationship marketing attempts to develop an ongoing,
expanding exchange relationship with a firm's customers.
It is used to increase brand usage, repeat sales,
or customer commitment.
