home Marketing Basics of Marketing - Kotler Philip

Basics of Marketing - Kotler Philip

Response to purchase

Having bought the goods, the consumer will either be satisfied or dissatisfied with it. He will show a number of reactions to the purchase, which are of interest to the market leader. The work of a marketing person does not end with an act of purchase, but continues in the after-sales period.

SATISFACTION WITH PURCHASE . What determines the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the consumer with a perfect purchase? The answer lies in the relationship between the consumer's expectations and the perceived operational properties of the product24. If the product meets expectations, the consumer is satisfied if it exceeds them - the consumer is very satisfied, if not consistent with them - the consumer is dissatisfied.

Consumer expectations are formed on the basis of information received from sellers, friends and other sources. If the seller exaggerates the performance of the product, the consumer will have too high expectations, which will result in disappointment. The larger the gap between the expected and actual operational properties, the more strongly the customer's dissatisfaction.

It follows that the seller must make such statements in favor of the goods, which would reliably reflect its likely operational properties. Some sellers can even to some extent understate these properties, so that the consumer, was able to get satisfaction from the product above the expected.

ACTIONS AFTER PURCHASE . Satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product will affect the subsequent behavior of the consumer. If satisfied, he will probably buy the goods at the next opportunity. In addition, a satisfied consumer is inclined to share favorable reviews about the product with other people. Using the words of market leaders: "Our best advertising is a satisfied customer."

The dissatisfied consumer reacts differently. He can refuse to use the goods, return it to the seller or try to find some favorable information about the subject of the purchase. In the case of Betty Smith, she can either return the camera, or try to find information that will enhance the purchased camera in her eyes.

Dissatisfied consumers have a choice of actions or inaction. They can send a complaint to the firm, ask a lawyer or some groups that may be able to help the buyer achieve satisfaction. In addition, he can simply stop buying this product in the future and / or express his unfavorable impression of it to friends and other persons. In all these cases, the seller, who failed to satisfy the customer, loses something.

THE FINAL DESTINATION OF THE PURCHASED GOODS . In the behavior of the buyer after buying a marketer should be interested in one more step, namely: what the consumer will eventually do with his product? The main directions of possible actions are shown in Fig. 37. If the consumer adapts the goods for use for some new purposes, the seller should be interested, since these goals can be beat in advertising. If consumers postpone the goods in reserve, almost do not use it or get rid of it, this means that the goods do not very satisfy them and that a favorable rumor in its favor will not be too active. Equally interesting is how, in the end, the consumer will get rid of the goods. If he sells it or commits a barter deal with him, it will reduce the volume of sales of new goods. Given all this, the seller needs to learn how to use the goods and how to get rid of it in order to find answers to probable problems and opportunities.

Understanding consumer needs and the buying process is the foundation of successful marketing. After figuring out how consumers overcome the stages of understanding the problem, finding information, evaluating options and making a purchase decision, and also their reaction to buying, a marketer can gather a lot of information about how best to meet the needs of their customers. Having dealt with various participants in the buying process and realizing that it has a major impact on their buying behavior, a marketer will be able to develop an effective marketing program in support of his attractive offer facing the target market.

Fig. 37. How consumers use or dispose of the goods

Box 12. What is the success of the restaurant?

Opening the restaurant, you probably want to attract as many visitors as possible. Along with the development of the menu, your main concerns will inevitably be the problems of the location of the institution and the level of prices . We can assume that the best place will be as close as possible to potential customers, and the lowest prices will attract the largest number of visitors. One of the psychologists recently conducted a study aimed at finding out how people choose restaurants.

Contrary to possible expectations, people who dine out of the house tend to stop at restaurants that have to be reached after all. Thus, residents of the north-western part of New York are sure that the best restaurants are in the central part of the city, in Greenwich Village. Many residents of Greenwich Village believe that the best food is served in the restaurants of the north-eastern part of the city. And residents of the north-eastern part often prefer to dine at restaurants in the north-western part of the city. Residents of cities in different parts of the country, such as Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles, unanimously declare that the best restaurants are not in their cities, but somewhere else.

The location is important from a different point of view. As soon as the restaurant becomes popular, people start to believe that other establishments next to it should also be good. So the restaurants located close to each other benefit from the success of their neighbors.

The study also touched upon the question of how people choose restaurants that are going somewhere else for quite different purposes. In particular, special attention was focused on the visitors of theaters, who often dined outside the house before the performance. In such situations, the most important factor determining the choice of the restaurant was the price. Contrary to popular beliefs, the most attractive for theatergoers were restaurants that were not high or low, but with moderate prices. This category of visitors prefers to avoid restaurants with high prices because of fears that the feast will be too complicated or the dinner will be too abundant, and as a result they may be late for the theater or fall asleep during the performance. Restaurant with low prices, according to theatrists, can spoil their mood for the whole evening. And here in order to be economical after buying expensive tickets, it's good to eat, do not change at the same time, and stay in high spirits, they go to a restaurant with reasonable prices. It is important for theatergoers and the location of the restaurant. Because they are always worried, no matter how late to the beginning of the performance, the closeness to the theater makes the restaurant more preferable when choosing.

The influence of the location of the restaurant and the level of its prices does not always directly affect. Some remoteness can even play into the hands of the restaurant in cases where dinner should be the main event of the evening or, conversely, play against the restaurant, when the food simply precedes some other occupation. Low prices can be a negative factor also in the case when they seem to belittle the joyful uplift of the event. Depending on the circumstances, people are guided by various considerations, deciding whether or not to become regular visitors to a particular restaurant.