Customer query handling in sales interactions

Using a novel approach with video-recordings of sales interactions, this study focuses on a dynamic analysis of salesperson effectiveness in handling customer queries. We conceptualize salesperson behaviors, namely, resolving, relating, and emoting, as separate elements of customer query handling and empirically identify the distinct verbal and nonverbal cues that salespeople use to display these behaviors during sales interactions. We draw from compensation effects in social cognition theory to propose that customers’ perceptions of a salesperson’s effectiveness are prone to trade-offs between competence (resolving behaviors) and warmth (relating and emoting behaviors). Results, robust to endogeneity corrections, support the proposed tradeoffs such that the effectiveness of salesperson’s resolving behavior is significantly curtailed, even neutralized, by the salesperson’s relating and emoting behaviors. We situate these counterintuitive results within the extant theory and research on sales interactions, and outline implications for practice.     

Marketing survey research best practices: evidence and recommendations from a review of <Emphasis Type="Italic">JAMS</Emphasis> articles

Survey research methodology is widely used in marketing, and it is important for both the field and individual researchers to follow stringent guidelines to ensure that meaningful insights are attained. To assess the extent to which marketing researchers are utilizing best practices in designing, administering, and analyzing surveys, we review the prevalence of published empirical survey work during the 2006–2015 period in three top marketing journals—Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), Journal of Marketing (JM), and Journal of Marketing Research (JMR)—and then conduct an in-depth analysis of 202 survey-based studies published in JAMS. We focus on key issues in two broad areas of survey research (issues related to the choice of the object of measurement and selection of raters, and issues related to the measurement of the constructs of interest), and we describe conceptual considerations related to each specific issue, review how marketing researchers have attended to these issues in their published work, and identify appropriate best practices.     

When and why do customer solutions pay off in business markets?

Manufacturers invest in customer solutions to differentiate their offerings and sustain profitability despite declining margins from goods sales. Notwithstanding strong managerial and academic interest, an examination of whether and explanations for when and why solutions translate into superior performance are lacking. We test hypotheses developed from the resource-based theory and transaction cost economics, supplemented with in-depth theory-in-use interviews, on primary and secondary data collected from 175 manufacturers. From a model that corrects for endogeneity, the findings suggest that, compared with other service offerings, solutions are associated with increased return on sales. This positive profitability effect is enhanced in firms with greater sales capabilities; it is stronger in industries with greater buyer power but weaker in technology-intensive industries. These results caution against the simplistic view of solutions as a universal route to gaining competitive advantage and aid in better identifying the role of solutions in a manufacturer’s offering portfolio.     

Do loyal customers really pay more for services?

Service firms are encouraged by historic evidence that loyal customers are less price sensitive. Yet, some research has challenged the assertion while others have demonstrated considerable heterogeneity within loyal segments. Aiming to reconcile this debate, we investigate the relationship between customers’ behavioral loyalty and the importance they place on price relative to two managerially relevant service attributes: rewards and convenience. We also assess the moderating role of attitudinal loyalty resulting from superior service experience. Results from a longitudinal survey and transaction data from an airline carrier show that as customers’ behavioral loyalty increases, they place more importance on price and less importance on rewards and convenience, revealing that behavioral loyalty causes a shift in emphasis toward price. As a result, behaviorally loyal customers spend less and revenue decreases. However, by improving attitudinal loyalty, firms achieve the desired outcome of reducing price sensitivity and increasing revenue. Specifically, after experiencing better service, behaviorally loyal customers focus less on price and instead shift their focus toward rewards and convenience, and this results in revenue gains for the firm. Overall, attitudinal loyalty from better service experience acts as a key mitigator of the positive link between behavioral loyalty and price sensitivity.     

Unlocking the power of marketing: understanding the links between customer mindset metrics,behavior, and profitability

Recent evidence about the central role played by perceptual constructs in driving performance outcomes has produced a renewed interest in studying customer mindset metrics (CMMs; e.g., satisfaction, service quality, and loyalty intentions). However, we still lack a proper understanding of how (i.e., process) and to what extent (i.e., magnitude) these CMMs ultimately translate into profitability at the customer level. In this study, we integrate CMMs into an individual-level framework of customer behavior and profitability and provide a conceptual understanding of the process through which these metrics influence customer profitability. Specifically, we propose three mechanisms through which CMMs affect customer behavior and profitability: behavioral effect, marketing effectiveness effect, and marketing efficiency effect. We empirically test this framework across two distinct contexts, a B2B high-tech firm and a B2C telecommunications firm. The results demonstrate that these unobservable CMMs have a significant and multi-dimensional impact on customer behavior and customer profitability. Furthermore, we compute the increases in customer behavior and customer profitability that each firm can expect due to increases in CMMs to help firms improve resource allocation and make better decisions about how much (and when) to invest in CMMs.     

The substitution strategy dilemma: substitute selection versus substitute effectiveness

Many brands build market share by acting as a substitute when competitive brands become undesirable or difficult to obtain. Notably, prior research offers competing strategic recommendations for marketers hoping to encourage consumers to engage in substitution. Past research examining substitute selection—measuring consumers’ beliefs about how well one product will substitute for another—suggests that marketers should offer replacements that are similar to the initially preferred product. In contrast, research examining substitute effectiveness—the consequences of substitution—suggests that differentiated brands will enjoy more long-term success. We integrate these two streams of research, explaining why there is a mismatch between substitute selection and substitute effectiveness, replicating and showing boundary conditions for the effects, and testing a managerial intervention that encourages consumers to choose more dissimilar (and more effective) substitutes.     

Cost-effective service excellence

This article integrates relevant literature to develop a conceptual model on the potential avenues to achieve service excellence at low unit costs, which we term cost-effective service excellence (CESE). To gain a deeper understanding of these strategies, their applicability and interrelatedness, we analyze how 10 organizations have achieved CESE. Our findings show that CESE can be achieved through three core strategies. First, a dual culture strategy provides a comprehensive set of high-quality services at low cost, largely driven by leadership ambidexterity and contextual ambidexterity. Second, an operations management approach reduces process variability and thereby allows the increased use of systems and technology to achieve CESE. Third, a focused service factory strategy can enable CESE through a highly specialized operation, typically delivering a single type of service to a highly focused customer segment. The use of the three approaches ranges from “pure” (e.g., mostly pursuing a dual culture strategy) to combinations of the latter two approaches with the dual culture strategy (e.g., a focused service factory strategy combined with dual culture). Our conceptual model provides an integrated view of the strategic options available to organizations that aim to pursue a strategy of CESE.     

The stability of money demand in the long-run: Italy 1861–2011

Money demand stability is a crucial issue for monetary policy efficacy, and it is particularly endangered when substantial changes occur in the monetary system. By implementing the ARDL technique, this study intends to estimate the impact of money demand determinants in Italy over a long period (1861–2011) and to investigate the stability of the estimated relations. We show that instability cannot be excluded when a standard money demand function is estimated, irrespectively of the use of M1 or M2. Then, we argue that the reason for possible instability resides in the omission of relevant variables, as we show that a fully stable demand for narrow money (M1) can be obtained from an augmented money demand function involving real exchange rate and its volatility as additional explanatory variables. These results also allow us to argue that narrower monetary aggregates should be employed in order to obtain a stable estimated relation.     

Managerial,organizational, and external drivers of sales effectiveness in export market ventures

The authors extend sales management theory by considering the role of export sales management in small- and medium-sized firms, and they develop an integrated model of export sales organization effectiveness. Specifically, the authors test 16 hypotheses that examine the relationships among export sales management control, export territory, psychic distance, export sales performance, and export sales organization effectiveness. Using a mail-survey approach, data were collected from U.K.-based export sales managers in 146 direct exporters of industrial products. Though certain anomalies are observed, the research findings support many of the hypothesized associations, confirming the robustness of existing sales management concepts and theories in an export-marketing context.

Effects of offline ad content on online brand search: insights from super bowl advertising

Individuals watch TV shows while simultaneously and/or immediately searching online. Thus, the content of offline TV ads can affect online brand search, a key predictor of sales. Yet there are few insights on the effect of offline ad content on online brand search. We develop hypotheses relating the informational and emotional content of TV ads on online brand search, independently, and in conjunction with two attentional content elements of the ad campaign, prior media publicity and brand website prominence in the TV ad. We test the hypotheses using a quasi-experimental study, the telecast of TV ads on the annual Super Bowl event between 2004 and 2012 (n = 293 observations). We measure online brand search by online brand search lift, i.e., the growth in online brand search following the telecast of the brand’s ad on Super Bowl. The findings indicate that the informational content of the TV ad increases online brand search, while both attentional content elements decrease this effect. We find no support for the effect of emotional content of the TV ad on online brand search. Our findings extend marketing theory on online search and generate managerial implications for designing TV ads to increase online brand search.     

Cause marketing and customer profitability

This research marks the first attempt to investigate the cause marketing–customer profitability relationship, and to assess whether features can moderate the influence of cause marketing (CM) on customer profitability for a focal brand and its main rival. We obtain a panel dataset on 7257 customers to evaluate the Yoplait–Susan G. Komen partnership. On a propensity score matched sample, we estimate a multilevel model and find that Yoplait’s CM initiative positively influences Yoplait’s customer profitability (2.70%), along with a deleterious effect on Dannon’s customer profitability (?13.31%). These findings are theoretically meaningful and pragmatically useful as they: (1) provide behavioral evidence of CM’s profit impact, (2) establish CM as an “offensive” strategy that cultivates the rival’s customers, (3) suggest features can amplify the effect of CM on the focal brand’s customer profitability, and (4) support that managers can add CM to their strategic marketing arsenal as an instrument to strengthen brand equity.     

Service crisis recovery and firm performance: insights from information breach announcements

The extant literature has studied the effects of a firm’s service recovery efforts on the reactions of customers and employees following an individual service failure. However, the impact of recovery efforts on a firm’s performance after a public and large service failure—such as a large-scale information breach—has received scant attention. To address this gap, this current research develops a framework and finds support for the impact of service crisis recoveries on a firm’s performance, as measured by firm-idiosyncratic risk. Using a unique dataset of service crisis recoveries, the authors find that firms offering compensation (i.e., tangible redresses) or process improvement (i.e., improvements in organizational processes) show more stable performance (less idiosyncratic risk), from two quarters to two calendar years after the announcement of their recovery plan. In line with the documented dual effect of apologies, firms that offer apology-based recoveries display more volatile performance (higher idiosyncratic risk). Of note, this volatility increases with the number of affected individuals, and it remains unaffected even when the apology is expressed with high intensity.     

Genetic and neurological foundations of customer orientation: field and experimental evidence

We explore genetic and neurological bases for customer orientation (CO) and contrast them with sales orientation (SO). Study 1 is a field study that establishes that CO, but not SO, leads to greater opportunity recognition. Study 2 examines genetic bases for CO and finds that salespeople with CO are more likely to have the 7R variant of the DRD4 gene. This is consistent with basic research on dopamine receptor activity in the brain that underlies novelty seeking, the reward function, and risk taking. Study 3 examines the neural basis of CO and finds that salespeople with CO, but not SO, experience greater activation of their mirror neuron systems and neural processes associated with empathy. Managerial and research implications are discussed.     

Negative word of mouth can be a positive for consumers connected to the brand

It is widely accepted, and demonstrated in the marketing literature, that negative online word of mouth (NOWOM) has a negative impact on brands. The present research, however, finds the opposite effect among individuals who feel a close personal connection to the brand—a group that often contains the brand’s best customers. A series of three studies show that, when self–brand connection (SBC) is high, consumers process NOWOM defensively—a process that actually increases their behavioral intentions toward the brand. Study 1 demonstrates this effect using an experimental manipulation of SBC related to clothing brands, and provides process evidence by analyzing coded thought listings. Study 2 provides convergent evidence by measuring SBC associated with smartphones, and followup analyses show that as SBC increases, the otherwise negative effect of NOWOM steadily transforms to become significantly positive. Study 3 replicates these results using a combination of a national survey conducted by J.D. Power investigating hotel stays and data drawn from TripAdvisor. Results of all three studies, set in product categories with varying levels of identity relevance, support the positive effects of NOWOM for high-SBC customers and have implications for both managers and researchers.     

Managing innovation through customer coproduced knowledge in electronic services: An exploratory study

Marketing theory and practice both recognize the increasing importance of customer collaboration for service provision and innovation. As part of such customer collaboration, customers of electronic services coproduce knowledge in varying degrees. An evolving phenomenon, knowledge coproduction has yet to receive much research attention; we therefore conduct a qualitative study of the roles customers play in knowledge coproduction and their resultant influence on different innovation tasks from a service provider view. Data from three electronic service interaction channels, involving managers, engineers, and customers; case study findings; and an extensive literature review indicate the importance of knowledge coproduction by customers and its ability to improve different tasks substantially during innovation activities. The results show three different roles of customers in knowledge coproduction and explain comprehensively how each role impacts various innovation tasks.

Linking cause-related marketing to sales force responses and performance in a direct selling context

The influence of a firm’s cause-related marketing efforts on sales representative attitudes and behavioral performance is investigated. Results from a field study indicate that the influence of a representative’s construed customer attitude toward the cause campaign on selling behavioral performance is mediated through cognitive identification and selling confidence. Further, the influence of construed customer attitude toward the campaign on selling confidence is moderated by cognitive identification such that the effects are stronger for salespeople with lower levels of identification with the company. The authors discuss the implications of the research and offer directions for further research.

Individual differences in perceptions of service failure and recovery: the role of race and discriminatory bias

This article investigates the role of contextual cues in the evaluation of a service failure. Empirical data demonstrates that although discrimination is a factor in the evaluation of a service failure for black (vs. white) customers, contextual cues also play a role in the evaluation of the encounter. When a black customer experiences a service failure, the failure will be evaluated more severely when no other black customers are present. In addition, the context of the event differentially affects the negative emotions generated by the service failure and results in racially driven differences in the amount of remuneration perceived as necessary to successfully recover from the failure. The implication is that when serving customers, the race of both the customer and other customers can provide service providers with information relative to the appropriate service recovery effort to implement.

利用互联网开展定制营销

市场竞争的激烈和消费者选择的多样性促使企业开展定制营销，同时互联网络的迅速发展和普及为企业开展定制营销提供了一个很好的平台。企业通过互联网络平台及时获取顾客信息并强化与顾客的互动，开发出满足顾客个性化需求的产品，制定顾客知觉产品价值差异的价格，选择方便不同顾客的渠道和开展个性化的促销活动，从而使顾客真正满意。     

Domestic exchange rate determination in Renaissance Florence

We explore the price-setting protocol used by the money-changers guild, the Arte del Cambio, to set the exchange rate between domestic gold and silver coins in Renaissance Florence, a precursor in purpose and set-up to the contemporary system of posting interest rates. We show that the protocol is evolutionarily stable and designed to converge to the efficient price, which had important implications to the political economy of Florence and the stability of its monetary system. We also show that the predicted dynamics of convergence are consistent with surviving exchange rates from 1389 to 1432, thereby linking the empirical properties of the historical data to the institutional features of the guild that generated them.