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1.0 Introduction
This report aims to explore all the research literature available on the topic ‘factors that influence customer satisfaction with hedonic services’. Customer satisfaction is a very important concept because it leads to repeat patronage, positive word of mouth and ultimately increased profits for the business. It is therefore of much benefit to understand the factors which influence customers satisfaction to allow businesses to better serve their customers. This report begins by defining hedonic services and customer satisfaction according to the relevant literature. The factors which influence customer satisfaction on hedonic services are then outlined. The selected factors are the seven Ps of the service marketing mix; price, promotion, place, physical evidence, people, process and product. The gaps in the literature are then mentioned with recommendations for future research which will provide a full view of this topic.
2.0 Definitions
2.1 Hedonic Services
Hedonic services are those which are fun, emotive or pleasure driven and are sought after by customers to fulfil a psychological or emotional need (Joseph-Matthews, Bonn & Snepenger 2009; Ng, Russell- Bennett and Dagger 2007; Fiang & Wang 2006; Hirschman & Holbrook 1982). It must be noted that services are not simply classified as hedonic or not hedonic but instead services have different degrees of hedonism (Strombeck & Wakefield 2008). The hedonic nature of a service is also dependant on the consumer, their motivations and context, not solely on the product itself (Strombeck & Wakefield 2008). The same service may be seen as hedonic to one consumer and non hedonic to another, generally though services can be classified as mainly hedonic services or main...
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...uring consumer perceptions of service quality’, Journal of Retailing, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 12-40.
Strombeck, SD, Wakefield, KL 2008, ‘ situation Influences on Service Quality Evaluations’ Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 409-419.
Szymanski, DM, Henard, DH 2001, ‘Customer Satisfaction: A meta Analysis of the empirical evidence’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 16-35.
Tam, J 2004, ‘Customer Satisfaction, Service Quality and Perceived Value: An integrative model’, Journal of marketing Management, vol. 20, no. 7-8, pp. 897-917.
Wakefield, K, Barnes, J 1996, ‘Retailing Hedonic Consumption: A model of Sales Promotion of a leisure service’ Journal of Retailing, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 409-427.
Winstead, KF 2000, ‘Service Behaviours that lead to Satisfied Customers’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 34, no. 3/4, pp. 399.
According to Business Studies ‘’Customer service is one of the most important ingredients of the marketing mix for products and services. High quality customer service helps to create customer loyalty. Customers today are not only interested in the product they are being offered but all the additional elements of service that they receive from the greeting they receive when they enter a retail outlet, to the refund and help that they receive when they have a complaint about a faulty product that they have paid for’’ (Business Studies, n.d).
Miller, B. W. ( 1992). It’s a kind of magic. Managing Service Quality, 2(4) 191-193
Zeithaml, Valarie A, Berry, Leonard L, & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 9401886).
McDonald's Corporation, an American company, is the world's leading food service retailer, with more than 30,000 franchise restaurants in more than 100 countries (McDonald cooperation, 2010).McDonald’s entered the China market in October 1990 and it becomes a popular restaurant which owns 960 restaurants and over 60,000 employees in China at the present day (Liu, 2008). According to the service gap model (Zeithaml, 2009), the problems existing in the servicescape which is the physical environment where the service is delivered (Bitner, 1992) will lead to provider gap 2 (the service design and standards gap) in the gaps model of service quality (see appendix one). In China, although McDonald’s’ acts locally in building the restaurant’s service environment to some extent, there are still some issues existing in its servicecape design. However, have studied customers’ discussions about the service environment in McDonald’s’, the issues existing in its servicescape include the shortage of the ambient condition (such as the inadequate use of music), the insufficiency of the spatial layout design (such as the lake of Self-help sauce pavilion), and the use of symbols and...
Williams, P. & Naumann, E. 2011, "Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firm-level analysis", The Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 20-32.
Many scholars believe that customer satisfaction has a crucial role in the success of a business, and is pivotal in increasing the overall profitability of the business (Kotier, 1991). Customer value is gained through the experience they receive from the goods or purchases they have obtained from a certain business. Customer value has various definitions and concepts, Holbrook (1999) stated that it is a kind of “interactive, mutual, and preferred experience”; but simply said, “the term customer value has many meanings.”
In this paper, I will take a closer look at traits of poor customer service, how consumers react to poor customer service and the traits of quality customer service.
This is why marketers must provide « unique and memorable experiences » in order to have an impact on the consumer physically and psychologically (Mutua 2016)
Researchers have proposed models on customer satisfaction index in service industry but they all very much specific for a particular industry there must exists a single model that be fitted to every service domain. The requirement of a customer satisfaction index in a service industry in India motivated me to research on Indian Customers and to propose a model that can very much be useful for every service industry.
The customer’s experience within the service process is a crucial determinant of his or her satisfaction with the service (Bitner, Booms & Tetreault, 1990b). The service encounter thus facilitates the consumer’s evaluation of service quality. Therefore, the service encounter is the ultimate moment of truth in the service industry. How well a customer is served will determine not only his or her satisfaction, but also their loyalty and future consumption trends (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010). It is against the background of the growing importance of service encounters that much research has been done in order to determine different situations and factors that contribute to consumer satisfaction (Czepiel et al, 1985).
Customer satisfaction measures the expectation of a customer relating to the product and services provided by the retail stores. Satisfied customers tend to be loyal to the organization and make more and more purchase from the same store, which in turn is beneficial for the organization. According to Hoyer and Maclnnis (2001) satisfaction can be compared with the feeling of acceptance, relief, pleasure and
A service encounter is defined as a moment when a customer interacts with a service or product for the first time. It is the customer’s actual interaction with a service company. It is identified as a key component of the current agenda for service marketers. More than half of the world’s multinational corporations employ in providing services, thus the scrutiny of service encounters is becoming increasingly significant. Research evidence indicates that customers generally compare their expectations with the performance of service industries and they are influenced by the quality of service they receive. The scope of this essay is to discuss about the view that customers don’t buy products they focus on solutions and also about the consumer’s behaviour pattern regarding services provided. Further, it will be noted how businesses are trying to improve the service quality to attract customers leading to an increase in the economic competitiveness.
A measure of overall customer satisfaction typically shows consumer expectations towards the service provided, as well as how far the provided services are from their side. Customer satisfaction is one of the fundamental determinants of very long term consumer behaviour. In order to control customer defection, most of the company’s focus on the one of the major is managing customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has gained very much attention in the last few years in most of the areas of production. In an increasingly competitive and rapid environment, greater attention is paid to customer relationships and existing satisfied customers. For companies, customer satisfaction is most effective way to differentiate from competitors and gain competitive advantage but it is also one of the key issues in their efforts towards improving quality. Satisfaction is most used as a predictor of future consumer purchases. Satisfied customers have a higher likelihood of repeating purchases in time, of recommending that others try the source of satisfaction and of becoming less receptive to the competitor’s
Taylor, S., (1994), Waiting for service: The relationship between delays and evaluations of service. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58(2), pp. 56-69.
The dimensions of service quality refer to the attributes which contribute to consumer expectations and perceptions of service quality, thus serving as the determinants of consumers’ quality assessment (Rowley, 1998). The most well-known, commonly used service quality scale is the SERVQUAL, a general instrument for measuring service quality developed by Parasuraman et al., (1988). It includes five dimensions of service quality: (1) tangibles: appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials; (2) reliability: ability to perform the promised services dependably and accurately; (3) responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provide prompt service; (4) assurance: knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence; and (5) empathy: caring, individualized attention that a firm provides its