ML 4201 Chapter 22 Satisfaction A positive emotional reaction that a consumer has after using a product or service It is a meaningful although temporary affective state Dissatisfaction A negative emotional reaction that a consumer has after using a product or service Many researchers argue that satisfaction and dissatisfaction should be regarded as separate constructs They are INDEPENDENT of one another One can have a level of satisfaction with one brand but dissatisfaction with another Ex You may be satisfied with your favorite ice cream s taste and cost but be dissatisfied with its packaging Net Dissatisfaction Consumer s overall judgment of the product after combining both satisfaction and dissatisfaction Net Satisfaction Satisfaction Dissatisfaction The Disconfirmation Model The most widely recognized theory of consumer satisfaction Cognitive model applicable in situations where consumers carefully evaluate the brand and compare it to their pre purchase expectations People will not typically part with their money unless they expect more value Expectations than they are giving up Product Performance performance After purchase the consumer uses the product and experiences it s Normally produces descriptive beliefs which allow the consumer to confidently evaluate the product s performance Comparison Process Consumer undergoes a cognitive comparison process whereby perceived brand performance is compared to pre purchase expectations The motivation for this comparison is that behavior is goal directed and people desire feedback regarding goal achievement Comparison Norms Comparing the brand s performance to what was expected what was deserved the minimum tolerable performance cultural standards similar brands the best brand the ideal product or specific desires Confirmation The product s performance is approximately equal to expectations so the expectations are said to be confirmed Here performance is within the zone of indifference which often goes unnoticed by consumers In these cases confirmation simply reinforces the consumer s prior attitude Thus confirmation indicates there is no surprise so the effects of disconfirmation i e satisfaction or dissatisfaction do not occur Positive Disconfirmation The product s performance is noticeably above expectations or other comparison norm so the expectations are disconfirmed but in a positive way i e the consumer gets more than expected According to the disconfirmation model consumers are satisfied and have positive emotions Negative Disconfirmation The product s performance is noticeably below expectations so the expectations are disconfirmed but in a negative way i e the consumer gets less than s he expected Attributions Consumers seek to understand the reason why negative disconfirmation occurred If the consumer attributes the cause to the product or manufacturer then dissatisfaction with the brand occurs If the consumer attributes the cause of the negative disconfirmation to himself or other uncontrollable factors dissatisfaction will be not directed toward the brand or manufacturer Product Performance The product s performance should produce the majority of satisfaction by directly gratifying the consumer s needs and desires Essentially the disconfirmation surprise component of satisfaction can be expected to play a smaller role in many situations Product Performance and Primary Affect Primary affect If the product satisfies the consumer s needs and desires direct positive affect is produced and is associated with the brand It represents the consumer s immediate response to whether the product has satisfied the original needs and desires Ex A person buys a pizza with a discount coupon They don t eat it all but would you expect most of the satisfaction to come from the good taste and gratification of hunger or the fact that it cost less than expected Positive disconfirmation of cost Typically performance outweighs expectations Affect As Satisfaction Model A third major model of consumer satisfaction is the affect model Here consumers can be satisfied with a product s performance even if it only meets instead of exceeds expectations Specifically each consumer has some products that produce favorable emotional responses regardless of the level of EV Ex You probably have some favorite foods e g ice cream that you enjoy even though you expect it to taste good Accordingly whenever consumers have positive emotions after product use satisfaction is said to exit Conversely negative emotions set low expectations Ex Going to a job interview and doing poorly Common Sources of Dissatisfaction One reason that many people do not like to watch or read the news reports is because they are filled with bad news So we screen this out to avoid unpleasant information The Law of Diminishing Returns States that as people obtain an increasing amount of a commodity they will reach a point where additional units of that commodity generate less utility or value than the preceding unit In other words people tend to become bored with things they possess in large quantities As a result consumers experience less value than they expected when dealing with products over time Produces some dissatisfaction Grumbling Theory Maslow 1970 also developed what he called grumbling theory the idea that satisfaction is only temporary and ultimately leads to higher discontent It has 2 major causes 1 When a consumer s need is gratified there will be a period of satisfaction increase in positive affect and or tension reduction decrease in negative effect However this feeling is normally fleeting and quickly replaced by the next striving cycle Reason is because of multiple motivation Consumers have a variety of needs active at any time so gratifying one may produce satisfaction but the striving orientation of humans quickly redirects our attention to the next ungratified need 2 People inherently need more and more to make them satisfied As basic needs e g hunger are satisfied over and over the source of reinforcement grows tiring e g eating the same breakfast every day So consumers can be expected to have a grumbling orientation much of the time Preventing Dissatisfaction The only way to minimize our own personal dissatisfaction is to carefully edit the IM so that our beliefs and values are realistic Obviously completing this task would involve considerable cognitive dissonance and require maximum flexibility Over estimating value Instead some people use the IM in a way that