chapter 11

e r t r t l 5? 1 e ure Post-Decision Processes shop www.costco.com f.rr thousonds of items you ft' 't find in your locol Costco €osrco IEARNl: OEJEC ' Afterstudyirg th is thaptef, mr r', I be able to l, D slrnquish bet\,/eer the dr$onance and the regret i lraiaonsumefs may aperence afte r acqu sit ion, :trJumpt of, or d 5pos t of. l, [rola n how con5umers :ar learn ftom experience ,ld \ ' /hy marketefs need to !r' ler5tand tlr r5 Post. dea s of pfocesS. J. D 5c!s5 horr cof5Lrmefs rudle sr!sfact on of Cxiat sfr. l on uith the r detrvons rbo!t aLqur5 t on, atir5umpt on of d sposrtion. 4, Des[r be how colrsun]ofs rai drspose of somethrng, ,,/ny th s proaess is nore :-rr: r ' f l l mean ngful : . : , and what n f uences 'r"!l1e eryL nq oenav of /:- '"!r: ;{ f.:', B I cts \ Deu Treasure Hunt ls On at Costco ho would pay for the pr vi ege of shopping rn a no fril ls nrarehouse store? Costco's 52 mi l l ion custonrers g ladly pay an annua membership fee and they are so satrs f ied and loyal that near y 90 percent of them renew year after year. lf fact, membersh p rs on the frse as more consrrners search out bargain pr ced brand-name foods, books, electronics, gasol ne, and other goods and serv ces at Costco's 540 stores or on ts \,vebsite. While o\,1i pflces are a najor attraction, customers also enjoy the fun of hLtnting down ore-ttme deals o r a " v t l - r g ' r o " d ' a r o r d r r g . r o d e , g l e j e a l s Another reason f0r Costco's success is its generous return po icy. Anything can be returned for a refund at any time; evef the membersh p fee wi I be refunded if a customer is dissat sfred. The only exceptiors afe e ectron c ltems lrke TVs, camefas, cornputers, and Pods, n,h ch cannot be returned after 90 days. Costco's research shows that most e ectron c prodLrcts are retLrrned because customers cannot figure out how to operate them, so the retailer now offers free technical assistance and a two year wafranty to demonsttate its commLtment to providing complete satisfaction. 27',| The w PART THREE . The Process o fMak ino Dec is ions The Costco example l lust rates severa l key topics in th ls chapter . F i rs t , thghl igh ls mportarce of customer sat is fact ion as the foundat ion of a sLccessfu l busrness. Second, i t shows how customer satisfaction depends on good performance, creating posit ve fee' ngs, and percept ions of equi ty (a fa i r exchange). Thi rd, i t i l lust rates how consumers lean about of fe f ngs by exper iencing them di rect ly , as customers do when shopping in C0$c0 or us inq i ts websi te . F inal ly , i t demonstrates how a business can counter customer drssat isfaction by offering warranties, technical support, and a generous retLrn po icy. All 0f these phen0mefa occur af ter the consumer has made a decis on. This chapter exarn nes the four post 'dec is ion processes shown in Exhib i t l l . l :d issonance and regret , consLmer earn ing, sat is fact ion. /d issat is fact ion, and d isposi t ion-a l o f which have inp0r tant implrcat ions for marketers. Post-DecisionDissonance and Regret Post-decision dissonance A ice irq of anxiety over !'r 'hether the rofrect decis on Was rrl a0 e. Post decision regret A feeling tha t one shou ld have pur cna5c0 a no tne t op t o f (lonsumers are not alr 'r 'a_vs conlident aborrt theil a( quisit i{)n, cor rs r.rnr ption, or dis' pos i t ion dc t : i s io r rs . l hcy may Icc l uncer la in abou l whethcr thcv nr i rc lc the co l rcc t choice or r)lay e\rcn rcgret thc clecisioD that t lrcV madc, as tire foll()\\, ing i jccli0ls sh(^ r . t'-t: | .: J,.,.t t 2-,i^ ,..:l r \ i l c l you urake an i l c ( lu is i t ion , consu l l lp t ion , o l d ispos i t ion dec i r i r , rn , y , r t r rna) soDet i r les l ce l uncc f t iL in about whethor you l l ta ( le thc cor rcc t cho i ( :c . YoL l rn igh l i vor rder n 'hc lher yoLr shou ld l ra r ,e boLrg l r t a sh i t l o r c l ress o ther t l la l thc onc rou did, or rvhctlrcr you should Itave u'orn sortrelhiitg clse to it l)artJ,', or' ' , l ,hetltr:r vou shor r ld havc kept an o ld tcd t ly bear ins (ead o l t l t ro \ \ ' i ng i t a \ ,vav Pos t -dec is ion dissonance is most l ikclY to occrlr \\,hci) nlo[c than one altctnatir,e is attractive nrd thc dec is ioD is impor ra r ) t .2 l ' o s t - d c c i s i o n d i s s o n a r r t : c c a n i n l l L r c n c e c o l t s u l l l c r l t e h a v i r r r D e c a L r s e l c fca tes anx ic tv tha t l l l c consLrmer \ {o t r l c l l i kc to |cdLrce , es l tec ia l l t \ \ , l ren no l i !a . t io l l , ab i l i t \ , , and op l )o r tu l t i t ] ( I l ' \O) a rc h igh . Onc $ 'a r , o1 r ' rduc iDg c l i ssonaDce is to scarch l i : r 'add i t i0na l in fo r rna t ion l r 'on sor r rces such as exper ls and n taga, zincs. This scarch is vcry selective ancl is clcsignetl to nakc the cl)oscn alternative r l o r e a t t r a c t i ! e a n ( l t h e r c j c c t e d o t r c s l e s s a t t r a ( 1 i \ i c , t h e r c l l Y r e d u c i n g ( i rssonance. 1 :a , l'r': Post-decision regret occurs \ 'vhcn consurners pcrccive an untavoraltle compari- son l le t \vecn the pcr l i r rn ran tc o f the chosen o l ) t io l t a |d t l le pcr tb r t r lance 0 l rhe o l ) l ions nn l choscr . l f you cons ider l l t ree cars i le fo lc rnak ing yoLr r purchase c lcc is ion anc i then l i r rd ou t tha t the rcsa le va l r rc o f the car tha l voLr boug l t t i s r r u c h l o \ \ - o r t h a n t h a t o f c i t h e r o f l l t c t \ \ , o o p t i o n s , \ . o L l n t a \ f e g r c t \ ' o l l r rq h Iight5 ;s. secon4 itive feel- u merS I H A P T ! R I I Post Decision Processes 1$g coNsuMEs S cutr{ ft Psvchooraohice 5ocr r l C lass and va lues p ; rsonat i ! v , *'"tii',gj**' *1.1'";;*