Customer Experiences As Drivers of Customer Satisfaction - Case Study Example

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR By Student’s Name Student ID: Assessment Name: Word Count: 1989 Consumer Behaviour 1) Introduction The Samsung group is a huge South Korean Company that has its primary focus on the electronics, defense, construction industries, and heavy industries. The company is among the largest in Korea and around the globe with some subsidiaries. Some other subsidiaries of Samsung include advertising, the entertainment industry, and insurance. This paper will, however, delve more on the electronics segment of the company. The company was started in 1st March of 1938 by Lee Byung-chull as a trading company in Taegu, Korea. The Samsung Company first was put up to supply products across the city and abroad with only forty employees. The company has gone through other businesses before getting into electronics business in 1960. The company is well known today for its high quality and innovative electronics. A lot happened since 1960 until 1980 when the company bought Hanguk Jenja Tongsin to build telephone switchboards, fax systems, and phone and later mobile phone. The mobile phone business was classified under Samsung Electronics segment, and in the 80s, the group invested heavily in research and development. Through the 90s, Samsung grew as an international corporation. The Samsung company journey is long, but it was progressive since, in 2012, it was named the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones. The company has a secret that keeps them in business for this long. The company always has with the customer's feedback, which means that the more they listen to their clients, the more they satisfy them. This paper is set to explain satisfaction of consumers about Samsung products and the degree to which consumers are compelled to make a repurchase of the same product or an upgraded one. 2) Concept 1: Satisfaction The report filed by the American Customer Satisfaction Index on the satisfaction ranking of telecommunications showed that Samsung is in the lead for another year. The Galaxy Note 5, emerged the top beating Apple’s iPhone 6S Plus and 6S. Samsung appears to be the most preferred smartphone brand among the Indians too because of its services and quality of the product. The Samsung Electronics Company has stood out amid the stiff competition that has engulfed the smartphone industry (Dalla 2014). The competition is actively presented in the area of features, aesthetics, performance and price. The number of mobile phone users has grown rapidly over the last decade all over the world (Faizan 2012). When the competition gets stiffer, a company can win more customers by outsmarting the rest. Over the past couple of years, Samsung has single-handedly grown Android by a wide scope though the situation is changing. Samsung has crafted real masterpieces with Android thus widening their market stand (Güngör 2007). From the introduction, it is clear that by the time Samsung got into the mobile industry, there were other brands already in the business. The company has won respect all over the world and become a successful brand overcoming all disadvantages present in the industry. The company is scaling high in the global market, and it is, therefore, wise to understand what makes it this successful. The company has won the world market through small but distinct technological features. When they came into the market, they made their prices low for everyone to be in a position to purchase the product (Hill and MacDougall 2003). Some of the technologies introduced by Samsung include 3G wireless, Multimedia, Broadband and home networking smart appliances among others (VANITHA 2012). The company has grown its staff to ensure they remain competitive with the latest technology and innovative features in their gadgets. Customer satisfaction is facilitated by the minor qualities that seem to stand out from the rest. Every customer has a reason why they prefer Samsung mobile phones to any other brand in the market (Johnson and Gustafsson 2006). The innovative design and functionality of the product make people purchase Samsung products. The research and development department of Samsung is extremely active since the company has successfully launched the unique products in the world which stand as the newest technology in the market. Customers are having a hard time choosing which mobile brand to purchase because the offers and opportunities provided by cell phone manufacturers are endless. Internet, mobile, and smartphones are some of the digital media tools that are developing at the fastest rate (Mullins and Walker 2013). All mobile brands are striving to provide customer satisfaction because it leads to a higher market share. With customer satisfaction, a cell phone brand can improve and maintain profitability and client's loyalty. Samsung Company has over the years provided grounds for customers to like them and become loyal to the brand (Nurcahyo 2016). While releasing any product, the Samsung Company is aware of the target group because most of them are definite. The most recent product is a revolution of the previous product, and since people do not want to become outdated or irrelevant, they end up purchasing the new one. The Samsung mobile can perform some functions that other exclusive (Mullins and Walker 2013). There is a high need to invest in customer satisfaction so as to build loyalty and experience. Samsung keeps their customers informed on what to expect on the new products they are yet to unleash. This company has a responsive team which gives feedback for their clients who need help (Temporal 2011). With a good P.R., the image of the company is decorated with its customers feeling that the company is taking care of their needs. Customer satisfaction is determined by the attitude or overall feelings of an individual towards a product. Reference List Author Title Dalla Pozza, I 2014 Customer experiences as drivers of customer satisfaction DR K VANITHA, D 2012 Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction. Definition Faizan Ashraf Mir, F 2012 Customer Insights: A study on Samsung Smartphones Güngör, H 2007 Observing and registering emotional satisfaction of customer contacts Hill, N, Brierley, J and MacDougall, R 2003 How to measure customer satisfaction Increasing customer satisfaction 1997 Leader to Leader Johnson, M and Gustafsson, A 2006 Improving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profit. Definition Mullins, J and Walker, O 2013 Marketing management Nurcahyo, B 2016 The Role of Customer Satisfaction in a Relation of Experiential Marketing and Customer Loyalty Temporal, P 2011 Advanced Brand Management 3) Concept 2: Intention to Repurchase The above details have tabled out that customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty. It is defined by Jones and Sasser (1995) like the feeling of affection or attachment to a company, its people, services, and products. Loyalty is described regarding behavior and attitude. To be truly loyal, the customer must have a right attitude towards the brand so that they can repeatedly purchase it (Madevu 2012). As for the behavioral terms, the loyalty of a customer is measured by the many times the consumer has purchased the product. Repurchase Intent cannot gauge the loyalty of a buyer if defined as an attitude but the behavioral component (Mittal and Kamakura 2001). Repurchase Intent is a reward of favorable outcomes and not a measure of them. Future behavior is predicted by the plan to repurchase. The means of generating consistent profits has clients who not only by but consistently repurchase. Returning customers are the backbone of sales to any company because they make sustainable and positive financial returns. Managers and researchers are dwelling more on repurchase intention and customer satisfaction because they are fundamental to every business. Various analyses conducted show that several outcome variables are linked to customer satisfaction and repurchase intention (Myung 2008). These factors include mitigated client defections, consumer retention, reduced rates of complaint and share-of-wallet. The Samsung Company is making efforts to ensure that they retain their customers. There is a direct link between customers who are satisfied and the rate of repurchase (Yi and La, 2004). The performance of a Company is influenced by the satisfaction of its consumers. Samsung in the manufacture of smartphones always pays attention to the interests of the people. The peoples' wants and thoughts are collected by the R&D segment of the company and incorporated into the latest models (Yongbum 2008). The customer is, therefore, happy to have a product which is satisfying their needs directly. 4) A Parent Theory The parent theory of reasoned action states that attitude influences behavior. The above parent theory is explaining the connection between concept one and concept two. Concept one which is consumer satisfaction influences concept two, repurchase intent. From studies conducted by various scholars, when a customer is satisfied, he/she is in a position to repurchase the product. The Samsung Company has ensured clients are satisfied with the products because for their sales to register consistent profits, there must be repurchase involved. A buyer could not purchase a product from the same brand as the previous if they were not satisfied in the first place (Schiffman et al. 2012). Satisfaction is contributed by various factors such as innovative and quality that is above all other products in the same line. Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, and this would not be possible were it not for the client satisfaction they offer. The products have a 12-month warranty that assures customers of its genuineness and originality. Consumers have gained faith in the product, and they believe it will not have many technical hitches as any other sub-standard gadget. Overall satisfaction is related to the concept of attitude. From the above research, various scholars have mentioned that customer satisfaction is driven at by the attitude. In the definition of this word, attitude and behavior are specified by Jones and Sasser (1995). One must have a positive attitude towards an object so that they can request for it again. Attitudes are the feelings, behaviors, and thoughts one has towards a particular item. If the customer develops a right attitude, it will influence their behavior. Some will express attachments and even addiction to using a particular item (Schiffman et al. 2012). For instance, there are Samsung fanatics who are looking forward to the next product that the company will roll out. It is, therefore, true to conclude that satisfaction influences repurchase behavior. Reference List Author Title Schiffman, L Hansen, H and Kanuk, L 2012 Consumer behaviour Parent Theory 5) Relationship between Satisfaction and Repurchase Intent Customer loyalty is increasingly emphasized by almost all companies. Due to the emphases, many organizations have laid down structures such as retention programs and marketing strategies (Alireza 2012). Appreciation of the client us the antecedent of repurchase though it does not have to be definite. The connection between satisfaction and repurchase was so high in the 80s through 90s though as time went by, there arose an argument that higher customer satisfaction does not necessarily result to higher repurchase (Hume and Sullivan 2010). Satisfying customers is not enough to have to have consistency in profits because it is not guaranteed that they will be back for repurchase. Some scholars in the late 80s such as Tellis (1988) measured loyalty as the number of times a customer did a repurchase. The correlation is still upheld to date, and Samsung Company estimates their commitment using the same principle (Kumar 2002). In this case, Samsung has registered a high number of people who are loyal to the brand. This proves the theory which says that customer satisfaction leads to repurchase intent. Reference List Alireza Mosavi, S 2012, "A survey on the relationship between trust, customer loyalty, commitment and repurchase intention", AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, vol. 6, no. 36. Hill, N Brierley, J & MacDougall, R 2003, How to measure customer satisfaction, 1st ed, Burlington, VT, USA, Gower. Hume, M & Sullivan Mort, G 2010, "The consequence of appraisal emotion, service quality, perceived value and customer satisfaction on repurchase intent in the performing arts", Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 170-182. Kumar, P 2002, "The Impact of Performance, Cost, and Competitive Considerations on the Relationship between Satisfaction and Repurchase Intent in Business Markets", Journal of Service Research, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 55-68. Madevu, H 2012, Utilitarian and hedonic drivers of repurchase intent in consumer electronics. 1st ed. Mittal, V & Kamakura, W 2001, Satisfaction, Repurchase Intent, and Repurchase Behavior: Investigating the Moderating Effect of Customer Characteristics. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(1), pp.131-142. Myung Soo Kang, 이한석 and 이정훈 2008, “A Study of the Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Price”, Productivity Review, 22(4), pp.75-98. Nurcahyo, B 2016, “The Role of Customer Satisfaction in a Relation of Experiential Marketing and Customer Loyalty”, Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 3(1). Yi, Y and La, S 2004, “What influences the relationship between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention? Investigating the effects of adjusted expectations and customer loyalty”, Psychology and Marketing, 21(5), pp.351-373. Yongbum Cho 2008, “The Effects of Kimchi product Selection Attribute on Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intent”, Culinary Science & Hospitality Research, 14(4), pp.203-216. Research findings for influence of Concept 1 on concept 2 Literature that supports the possible influence of concept 1 on concept 2 Hume, M and Sullivan Mort, G 2010 Alireza Mosavi, S 2012 Nurcahyo, B 2016 Kumar, P 2002 Hill, N, Brierley, J and MacDougall, R 2003 Madevu, H 2012 Mittal, V and Kamakura, W 2001 Myung Soo Kang, 이한석 and 이정훈 2008 Yi, Y and La, S 2004 6) Proposition With reference to the parent theory and basing the argument on the literature discussed in the previous session, we propose that; Customer satisfaction influences repurchase intent. 7) Conclusion Satisfaction is the overall pleasure that a client feels amounting from the aptitude of the product or the amenity to fulfill their requests, needs, and expectations. Repurchase intention is the judgment of an individual buying a designated product or service again from the same organization. From the above research, it is key to note that the issue of retaining current customers is even more significant than attracting new ones. In the 80s, people concentrated more on customer retention, and business practitioners agree that it is easier to lose a client than to win a new one. Customer loyalty is a tool which can be used by a company to outshine their competitors dominate the market. It is easy for businesses with loyal customers to achieve higher market share and outperform their competitors. Results of customer loyalty conducted by scholars show that companies with a huge number of returning clients do not compete with others in the market regarding price. Customer satisfaction builds up loyalty which means consumers will be retained for various reasons provided by the company. The Samsung Electronics Company has given many reasons for clients to stay. The company is growing productively, outshining the rest because of customer loyalty caused by satisfaction. Reference List Dalla Pozza, I 2014, “Customer experiences as drivers of customer satisfaction”, Gestion 2000, 31(3), p.115. DR KVANITHA, D 2012, “Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction International Journal of Scientific Research, 3(4), pp.1-3. Faizan Ashraf Mir, F 2012, “Customer Insights: A study on Samsung Smartphones”, Global Journal For Research Analysis, 3(4), pp.1-4. Güngör, H 2007, Observing and registering emotional satisfaction of customer contacts, 1st ed. Amsterdam: Vossiuspers UvA. Hill, N, Brierley, J & MacDougall, R 2003, How to measure customer satisfaction, 1st ed. Burlington, VT, USA: Gower. Increasing customer satisfaction, 1997, Leader to Leader, 1997(3), pp.18-21. Johnson, M & Gustafsson, A 2006, Improving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profit, 1st ed. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass. Mullins, J & Walker, O 2013, Marketing Management, 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Nurcahyo, B 2016, “The Role of Customer Satisfaction in a Relation of Experiential Marketing and Customer Loyalty”, Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 3(1). Schiffman, L Hansen, H and Kanuk, L 2012, Consumer Behavior 1st ed. Harlow: Pearson. Temporal, P 2011, Advanced Brand Management, 1st ed. Hoboken: Wiley. Read More