Examining the relationship between customer bonding,customer participation,and customer satisfaction

This study empirically analyzes the relationship between customer bonding, customer participation, and customer satisfaction. It uses data from 804 VIP customers of South Korea's commercial banks. The hypotheses are tested using the structural equations modeling technique. The results show that social and structural bonding are the main antecedents of customer participation. Additionally, customer participation positively impacts customer participation value and worth. The findings also show that customer participation, customer participation value, and customer participation worth strongly and positively affect customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it finds that customer participation value and worth are essential mediators between customer participation and satisfaction.     

Reaching the customer: Strategies for marketing and customer service

The author suggests that logistics and marketing can combine to provide a sustainable means of competitive advantage. Many marketing executives never consider the very substantial contributions which effective logistics management could make to success in the marketplace. “Marketing Logistics” can lead to success by securing a cost advantage through increased efficiency and by maximising added value through customer service, providing high levels of service at lower cost.     

Retailing strategy for customer growth and new customer attraction

The image that current and potential customers have of a retail store affects the magnitude of patronage at that store. In attempting to increase store patronage, management of a retail store must look to people who already are customers, as well as to people who are not current customers. The appropriate strategy depends upon the dimensions used by people in their evaluation of the store. The hypothesis is tested that the strategy used for gaining increased patronage from customers may have to differ from that used to gain patronage from noncustomers.Field survey techniques were used to collect data from 225 adult females. Respondents evaluated three large retail department stores, which were believed to have distinct images in the minds of female shoppers, on the basis of a set of 12 semantic scales that represented various store attributes. Each respondent indicated frequency of shopping at each store. The data were analyzed by two different multiple discriminant analyses. For the customer growth strategy, the semantic scale measures were used to develop a discriminant model for each store to determine which attributes would be the best predictors of shopping frequency. The analysis relevant to the strategy of new customer attraction differed. First, shoppers were classified as loyal to one store on the basis of their rates of shopping at each store. Second, the 36 attribute measurements (12 scales for 3 stores) were factor analyzed, and three factors were extracted. Those attributes which loaded highest on each of the factors for each store were used as predictor variables in the discriminant analysis.The results of this study indicate that different marketing strategies may be required for increasing sales to existing customers and attracting new customers. In addition, consumers do not necessarily differentiate similar type retail stores on the same dimension.     

实施顾客满意和顾客忠诚的营销探析

客户满意是企业提高效益、快速发展的策略之一.经营本应从各方面采取措施提高顾客对企业的满意度.     

Effects of customer loyalty on customer entitlement and voiced complaints

The value of customer loyalty has been well documented by academicians and practitioners. Nevertheless, prior literature has paid little attention to the negative consequences of customer loyalty, for example, entitlement behaviors (e.g. requests for deeper discounts) and complaint behaviors (voicing dissatisfaction to the company). This research empirically examines the effects of customer loyalty on entitlement and voiced complaint behaviors in the context of Frequent Flyer programs in airline industry. Base on partial least squares-structural equation modeling, the results show that (1) customer loyalty has a positive effect on customer entitlement, which is the extent to which customers expect special treatment from the company; (2) the effect of customer loyalty on voiced complaints is fully mediated by customer entitlement; (3) perceived status of loyalty programs amplifies the entitlement behaviors of loyal customers, while tangible rewards of loyalty programs mitigate the entitlement behaviors of loyal customers. Theoretical and managerial implications are elaborated in the discussion section.     

The link between customer satisfaction and loyalty: the moderating role of customer characteristics

This research examines whether trust and commitment mediate the extent to which satisfaction influences loyalty, and whether such mediation is conditional on certain demographic or situational customer characteristics. The findings suggest that assuming homogeneity supports the general notion that trust and commitment partially mediate the extent to which satisfaction influences loyalty. FIMIX-PLS and PLS-MGA analyses substantiate that this mediation differs between two distinct customer segments. The two segments reveal heterogeneity in how trust and commitment partially mediate the link between satisfaction and loyalty. That is, the effect of satisfaction on loyalty is fully mediated by trust and commitment in the segment of customers with high education, whereas satisfaction is partially mediated by trust, but not by commitment, in the other segment of customers with less education.     

Measuring customer equity and managing the customer asset: an explanatory study in the Australian hotels

Although there are a range of conceptual and theoretical studies about customer equity (CE) measurement and management in the literature, there are few empirical studies where these two concepts are examined together. This paper focuses on the need for a more synthesised approach and addresses calls for more research into this specific area of marketing management. A conceptual framework was developed that synthesises both customer lifetime value and customer relationship management from a customer equity management (CEM) perspective. The framework was used to empirically examine how four CE strategies, together with a firm’s use of the two types of customer data (aggregated and disaggregated), impact on CEM outcomes. Data were collected from 114 hotel managers in Australia and analysed through a decision tree methodology. The results show that hotels are utilising their CE strategies for acquisition purposes more than retention purposes (customer asset management), which overall appears to satisfice more than maximise their hotel’s capacity in achieving effective CE outcomes. The study’s contribution to theory is through empirically testing a framework that combines two discrete theoretical concepts in one study to provide insights to guide future research.     

Moving from customer lifetime value to customer equity

We study the consequence of moving from Customer Lifetime Value maximization to Customer Equity maximization. Customer equity has traditionally been seen as the discounted sum of the lifetime earnings from all current and future customers and thus it has been largely assumed that maximizing customer lifetime value would lead to maximum customer equity. We show that the transition from CLV to CE is not that straightforward. Although the CLV model is appropriate for managing a single non-replaceable customer, the application of a CLV model to the acquisition and valuation of customers as an ongoing concern for the firm leads to sub-optimal customer relationship management and acquisition strategies. This leads the firm following a CLV maximization approach to have a smaller and less profitable customer base than one that follows a CE maximization strategy.

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How customer engagement in the live-streaming affects purchase intention and customer acquisition,E-tailer's perspective

In the emerging retail market, e-tailers operating in developing economies have to cope with the rapid use of the Internet, new electronic purchasing methods and online selling platforms. However, e-tailers do not understand the effect patterns in which customer engagement on purchase intention and customer acquisition. From e-tailers’ perspective, this study explores how customer engagement behaviors are related to both purchase intention and customer acquisition. We obtained live streaming data in the mature e-tail live streaming market environment and found empirical evidence supporting the conceptual framework through regression model analysis. The analysis results show that the specific indicators of the customer engagement are not all positively related to customer purchase intention and customer acquisition, and it is worth noting that the influence of “like” behavior on customer acquisition is no statistical significance. This is expected to encourage e-tailers to rethink their focus on customer acquisition and sales enhancement digital strategies as they operate in emerging markets.     

An empirical study into the influence of customer satisfaction on customer revenues

It is broadly expected that customer satisfaction (CS) influences customer revenues (CR), but there is little evidence for the corresponding hypothesis. If CS influences CR, there must be a relation between CS at time t?=?0 and CR at time t?>?0. We developed a statistical model representing this relation, which we tested in a longitudinal study using person-level data (N?=?1682) from a Dutch retail bank. We found that CS had a positive effect on CR with 1-year and 2-year time lags. These results support the hypothesis that CS influences CR.     

On linking the perceived values of mobile shopping apps,customer well-being,and customer citizenship behavior: Moderating role of customer intimacy

Marketing studies that seek to determine the drivers of Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB) are still relatively rare, especially for its multi-faceted relationship with perceived values in the context of online transactions. This study seeks to bridge this research gap by exploring the relationship between the perceived values of mobile shopping applications (MSApps) and CCB through perceived well-being based upon the social exchange theory. This study also makes another original contribution by investigating the moderating role of customer intimacy. A quantitative approach was adopted by collecting data through a web survey and then applying structural equation modelling, as well as cluster and multigroup analyses to test the proposed hypotheses. Perceived values were found to influence consumer well-being, thus predicting CCB, with consumer intimacy playing a significant moderating role in this relationship. This study is one of a few seeking to verify the drivers of CCB for MSApps, and it is the first of its kind to investigate consumer intimacy as a moderating factor. The findings will prove useful to providers of MSApps and retailers.     

The impact of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability

We study the effects of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability in a business-to-business setting. Using data from a company providing hygiene services, we look at the impact of a hitherto unstudied type of expense targeted at individual customer relationships: the offering of free equipment to customers. The data allow tracking the activities performed in more than 4,500 customer relationships over a period of 4 years. Retention rates are higher for customers targeted with free equipment, but this effect results from an interaction with customer size. First-order dynamic panel data analyses show that the impact of targeted marketing expenses on customer dollar profit is positive for large customers, but there is no effect for smaller customers. Thus, targeted marketing expenses seem to be a tool for relationship maintenance rather than customer development: they help in retaining large customers that generate more profit, but they do not seem to work in developing new customers into larger, more profitable ones.     

The influence of customer loyalty program design on the relationship between customer motives and value perception

Despite the strong use in marketing practice, the effectiveness of loyalty programs is still heavily questioned among researchers. In our study we present an empirically tested framework that views customer loyalty programs (CLPs) with their differing designs as a moderating tool in a means-end relationship between customer motives and value. By disentangling customer value perceptions of loyalty programs we contribute to the remaining question of the efficacy of CLPs and set the road for further research. Our results support the argument that CLPs can be an effective tool and are not only something that adds to the value of a product or service, but rather creates value by itself. However, this is only the case for programs that target prevailing customer motives and hence provide a higher level of perceived value.     

What influences the relationship between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention? Investigating the effects of adjusted expectations and customer loyalty

This study examines how loyalty influences the relationship between customer satisfaction (CS) and repurchase intention (RPI). Considering the effect of time, the study introduces adjusted expectations, which are expectations updated after consumption experience. The present study investigates the role of adjusted expectations in the CS–RPI link. With structural‐equation analysis, the proposed model was tested in the family‐restaurant setting. The results show that adjusted expectations can mediate the effect of CS on RPI. The results also indicate that processes underlying the CS–RPI link are different between low‐loyalty and high‐loyalty customers. Specifically, the transient route, which reflects the indirect path from CS to RPI via adjusted expectations, has a greater impact for nonloyals than for loyals. On the other hand, the chronic route, which represents the direct path from CS to RPI, has a greater impact for loyals than for nonloyals. CS is found to have no direct influence on RPI for low‐loyalty customers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conceptualising town centre image and the customer experience

Abstract

Compared with store image literature, the town centre is underexplored as a retail image context. This paper examines what is meant by town centre image by conducting an empirical study of 536 consumers to elicit top-of-mind images of five town centres. Following extensive content analysis and rigorous replication, the findings reveal a broader, holistic image construct than previously assumed in the literature. New psychological, intangible elements of town centre image are identified, confirming the need to measure image specific to the retail context. Further, drawing on the customer experience framework, a conceptual model of town centre image is developed. The model provides the basis for future conceptualisation and operationalisation of town centre image, combined with an approach for managing the customer experience in town centres.     

Sustainable growth for the self-employed in the retail industry based on customer equity,customer satisfaction,and loyalty

In Korea, traditional retail districts face a serious situation whereby businesses in downtown areas face collapsing as local population declines: resulting in a decrease in self-employed sales and a declining local economy. Traditional retailers use ambiguous accounting and are reluctant to use credit cards, and thus, the overall reliability of their customer data is low. This paper solves this problem by applying the concept of customer equity (CE). We conducted an empirical analysis through questionnaires to identify differences in CE between traditional and new retail formats. The questionnaire consisted of questions related to CE (value equity, brand equity, relation equity), satisfaction, loyalty, and demographic characteristics. CE and satisfaction were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 400 surveys were completed, resulting in 391 usable returns for analysis in this study. In the regression analysis between CE and customer satisfaction, both old and new retail firms showed statistically significant effects. In the traditional retail industry, value equity and brand equity were statistically significant, while relation equity were not.     

The customer retail app experience: Implications for customer loyalty

Retailer mobile applications are one of the principal retail purchase and information search channels. Customer experience is key to retail app success. However, its dimensions and impact on retailer performance have been the subject of only a limited number of studies. This research builds on existing customer retail app experience literature by considering four dimensions as precursors of satisfaction with the retailers’ app and customer loyalty (cognitive, affective, relational and sensorial). Data were collected from a sample of 545 retailer app users and analysed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrate that the affective dimension has the most influence and they highlight the importance of the sensory experience, which even surpasses the cognitive experience. The effect of the relational dimension on customer satisfaction, meanwhile, could not be positively confirmed. Analysis of the moderating effect of gender, age and device type used identifies effects that have not, until now, been demonstrated in current literature.     

"德尔福"冲击汽车售后市场

在"第三届中国国际汽车维修展"上德尔福汽车系统宣布,将其在汽车售后市场领域的全线产品、全新技术及全面的客户服务和支持,以"德尔福"这一统一品牌在京城亮相,随后将陆续登陆中国的其他城市.