Is satisfaction enough in order to understand the customer-brand relationship? What should firms measure?

Satisfaction of its customers is often a top priority of service firms; moreover, service industries strive for consistent satisfaction of its customers in order to reach their objectives of repeat purchases. In today’s competitive market it is no longer sufficient to merely satisfy customers, Jones argues that satisfied customers defect, and that completely satisfied customers are much more loyal that satisfied customers (Jones & Sasser, 1995). Satisfaction has become an initial stepping-stone for competitive service firms, who continually strive to obtain loyal customers to form long-term relationships.

In order to understand customer-brand relationships we must understand the division of loyalty, as it has become somewhat lost in translation when firms seek to engage in customer-brand relationships. Jones and Sasser explain two types of loyalty that are commonplace in the service industry that include true long-term loyalty and false loyalty. False loyalty can eventuate when government regulations limit competition, when high switching costs of changing service provider in the middle of treatment (hospitals), when proprietary technology limits alternatives, and strong loyalty-promotion programs like frequent flier miles expire (Jones & Sasser, 1995). False loyalty can explain why seemingly loyal customers defect, so it becomes matter of completely satisfying customers in order to gain loyal customers as with the Xerox case study that identifies that totally satisfied customers were six times more likely to repurchase products (Jones & Sasser, 1995).

When obtaining loyal customers through complete or total satisfaction, a service firm can move to the next stepping-stone of developing relationships with those customers. Eisingerich, Auh, and Merlo (2014) argue that customer voluntary performance (CVP) is the missing link and key indicator of customer-firm relationship strength. The CVP behaviours identified by Eisingerich (2014) fall into two categories, the first of such behaviours being customer-to-customer behaviours, such as word of mouth, and the second being customer-to-firm behaviours, which refer to customer participation with the firm. Customer participation with the firm can be defined as “customer behaviours indicating active and responsible involvement in the governance and development of the organisation” which entails constructive feedback and helpful suggestions on the service being provided (Eisingerich, Auh, & Merlo, 2014). It was found by Jones and Sasser (1995) that whilst satisfied customers defect, actively encouraging them to participate can be important to gain repeat business, so it becomes increasingly important for firms to manage and measure the amount of customer-to-firm participation. The customer-to-firm interaction category becomes easier to measure than customer-to-customer WOM as it is readily within the control of management. Eisingerich (2014) explains that the service firm is one party to the exchange of information from customers “to provide feedback or volunteer advice, and these contributions, can be more easily observed, studied, invited, and rewarded than customer-to-customer word-of-mouth.”

The transition between satisfaction, loyalty and customer-brand relationships become increasingly hard objectives for service firms to accomplish in a highly competitive markets due to the many alternatives available. Fraering and Minor (2013) touch on the point that satisfaction has been demonstrated to moderate the relationship between product/service performance and loyalty, and satisfaction affected short-term loyalty more than long-term loyalty. However, because of the nature of action loyalty, customers are subject to information about competing brands and this elicits vulnerability to brand switching (Fraering & Minor, 2013). Service firms should measure customer fortitude; meaning that some customers display the mental toughness in a branded service to reject/ignore the marketing efforts of competitors, these customers have gone beyond loyalty to the point of a love-like attachment to the brand (Fraering & Minor, 2013). The fortitude of the most valuable customers becomes increasingly more valuable for service firms in highly competitive markets, and it entails completely satisfying your customers, customer volunteered participation and the measuring and management of the two.

Reference list

Jones, T.O & Sasser, E.W. 1995, “Why Satisfied Customers Defect”, Harvard Business Review. pp. 88-99.

Eisingerich, B, Auh, S, & Merlo, O 2014, “Acta Non Verba? The Role of Customer Participation and Word of Mouth in the Relationship Between Service Firms’ Customer Satisfaction and Sales Performance”, Journal of Service Research, Vol.17, No.1, pp40-53.

Fraering, M & Minor, M.S. 2013, “Beyond loyalty: customer satisfaction, loyalty, and fortitude”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol.27, No.4, pp. 334-344.