Post purchase Behavior

The marketer's job does not end when product is bought. After purchasing product, the consumer will be dissatisfied or satisfied and will engage in post purchase behaviour of interest to the marketer. What determine whether the buyer is satisfied or dissatisfied with a purchase? The answer  lies  in  relationship  between  and  the  product's  perceived performance and the  consumer's  expectations  . If product falls short of expectations, the consumer is disappointed; if it meets expectations, the consumer is satisfied; if it exceeds expectations, the consumer is pleased.

Larger the gap between and performance and expectations, greater the consumer's dissatisfaction. It suggests that sellers should make product claims that faithfully represent the product's performance  so  that  buyers  are  satisfied.  Some sellers may  even  understate performance levels to enhance consumer satisfaction with the product. For instance, Boeing's salespeople tend to be conservative while they estimate the potential benefits of their aircraft. They approximately always underestimate fuel efficiency-they promise a 5 % savings that turns out to be 8 %. Customers are pleased with better-than-expected performance; they buy again and tell other potential customers  about  products.

Approximately all major purchases result in cognitive dissonance, or uneasiness caused by post purchase conflict. After purchase, consumers are satisfied with the benefits of the selected brand and are glad to ignore the drawback of the brands not bought. However, every purchase involves compromise. Consumers feel uncomfortable about acquiring the drawbacks of the selected brand and regarding losing the benefits of the brands not purchased. Therefore, consumers feel at least some post purchase conflict for every purchase.

Why is it so significant to satisfy the customer? Such satisfaction is significant because a company's sales come from two basic groups-new customers and received customers. It typically costs more to attract new customers than to received current ones, and the best way to received current customers is to keep them satisfied. Customer satisfaction is a key to making enduring connections with consumers-to  keeping  and  rising  consumers  and  reaping  their  customer  lifetime  value. Satisfied customers purchase a product again, talk favourably to others regarding the product, pay less notice to competing brands and advertising, and buy other products from company. Various marketers  go  beyond  merely  meeting  the  expectations  of  customers-they  goal  to  happiness  of the customer. A pleased customer is even more likely to purchase again and to talk favourably regarding the product and company.

A dissatisfied consumer responds different manner. While, on average, a satisfied customer tells four people regarding a good product experience, dissatisfied customer gripes to ten people. In fact, one study indicate that 13 % of the people who had a problem by an organization complained regarding the company to more than twenty people. Obviously, bad word of mouth travels farther and quicker than good word of mouth and can rapidly damage consumer attitudes about a company and its products.

So, a company would be wise to measure customer satisfaction frequently. It cannot easily rely on dissatisfied customers to volunteer their complaints while they are dissatisfied. Some 96 % of unhappy customers never tell the company regarding their problem. Companies should set up systems that support customers to complain. In this way, the company may learn how well it is doing and how it may improve. The 3M Company claims that over two-thirds of its new-product ideas come from listening to customer complaints. But listening is not sufficient-the company also have to respond constructively to the complaints it receives.