Do you think that your customers patronize you because your price is right? Have you been made to believe that giving constant coupons and discounts is a sign that your products are top quality and better than other brands? Consumers have various theories about what the market and marketing is all about. Some would tell you that when the price of a product is low, then that product is of low quality. On the other hand, some would claim that they had a poor deal when the price of a product is high while others would also claim that a high price means that product has a high quality.
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Price, quality etc – which criteria do you think can best be used to influence your customer?
Memorable points when designing reward programs for customer happiness and satisfaction.
Consumer research teaches us one lesson: to sell to the masses, create products that are uniform in character and design, but to sell to a customized clientele, to people in the know, create products that have unique experiential aspects. I breached this topic in another blog concerning the different ways novices and experts seek new knowledge and how much they are ready to cost those new knowledge.
Humans compare themselves against their peers and competition.
When companies design reward programs that are easily countable, they could indirectly be asking their customers to compare their reward against that of others. Andrew was given $50 and I was given $40. Why? What if a customer thinks he was downgraded; that your reward was unfair when he has been a loyal customer? That would be bad for customer retention. On the other hand whether customers are faced with a reward program or with the choice of picking between competing products on the store shelf, it has been found that humans as novices always compare when they are presented with different products. Only experts take a product apart; only experts have the unique ability of evaluating products on their intrinsic features, separate from comparison with other products. Experts make up a tiny fraction of the universe of customers. So, whether it be a reward program or doing shopping, humans will always compare, will make decisions slowly and carefully after every consideration has been given to their buying and will want to choose the product that is uniform to the accepted standard. Comparison creates a veneer of confidence. What this means is that if your reward program is targeted at the general public, like say, a sweepstake, then you should not be worried about giving them rewards that can be easily monetarily estimated. You could even be using that as a competitive strategy. The options given in the program should also reflect the values you believe your customers would usually attach to the effort needed to receive such a gift. This is because the public are usually novices. They will compare notes whether you like it or note. They will compare between your present and past programs, between your programs or offerings and that of your competitors.Related posts:
- Me novice, you expert - we select new knowledge and products differently
- Chose: Remind people of money and dominate them, or other values and have their hand of friendship.
On the other hand, if your reward program has as its target customer retention, customer satisfaction, or enhancing experience and increasing their happiness, it would be a mistake to present them with rewards that can be easily monetarily estimated or counted. Your customers are assumed to know a little more about your product than the average. That is why your brand is a favorite or preferred. They would be more satisfied if you present them with an experience rather than monetary value.
Me Novice, you expert - We select new knowledge and products differently.
Different prices for novices and experts.
This difference between how novices and experts chose to increase their knowledge is the reason why seeking out new knowledge involves different costs. It is just like when seeking out the news. The general news costs differently from specific niche news, especially in the academic arena. This is because when one starts out, his selective picking ability involves very little costs. A novice usually picks from generally available cheap news sources, believing that in doing so, he could stumble upon useful finds. In short, a novice does not yet face the costs of what he is seeking. That is why new general knowledge, or knowledge that covers broad aspects, usually costs lesser than new specialized knowledge. As for an expert, he is experienced in seeking out knowledge, understands the costs of doing so and picks out the best quality news source. Furthermore, an expert does not just select anything; an expert selects new knowledge only from a chosen area and is blind to other areas. And so were discounts and coupons born. Without these buying incentives, novices will find it costlier seeking out new knowledge and products.Search engines exist so you do not spend more searching for quality.
Another way to filter novices from experts is in the quality of products or information they seek. Some say you can tell a man’s education if he reads the New York Times, and his financial literacy if he finds the Wall Street Journal boring. Publishers who cater to experts know that their information and products are of higher quality, and hence price these higher than mundane and general purpose products whose quality require much more advertising signals. Some sellers even sell two types of products: one for the novice, and another for the expert. I see these most often when I visit a flea market. Mass produced clothing is of different quality than customized clothing because the latter caters to the tastes of experts and fashion connoisseurs. Let’s take a man who searches for a job that pays highly. Because of the status of the job, he spends more in searching for it and in order to be successful, he spends more in acquiring the needed knowledge to find the job. If he is averse to spending on finding a job, then he’d have to settle for one of lower status. That is what I want you to remember: if you desire information and products of high quality, it is often wise to seek the opinion of experts, else you’d be a novice playing in the field of experts and could be hoodwinked to take a low quality product for high. There is then a high incentive to shop around because of the difference between high and low quality products and services. To solve this problem, search engines like google, amazon, yahoo and bing exist. If you go to websites like wirefly with search facilities for electronic accessories, especially mobile phones and smart phones, you’d have to possess higher knowledge than a novice. You do not necessarily have to be an expert, but you should be adept and should be able to find your way around the universe of phones. Even when we love seeking out new knowledge, sometimes we do prefer sticking to our favorites, to the brands and news sources that we have come to trust, whether we be experts or novices. Eventually, every knowledge becomes favorite or disfavored. Keep that in mind as you go shopping.follow me on twitter, @emeka_david or be a friend on facebook, odimegwu david