1 the connotation of customer satisfaction and customer trust
Customer satisfaction and customer trust are two levels of problems. If customer satisfaction is a value judgment, then customer trust is the behavior of customer satisfaction.
1. 1 the connotation of customer satisfaction
Generally speaking, customer satisfaction refers to customers' direct and comprehensive evaluation of products and services provided by enterprises and employees, and it is customers' recognition of products, services and employees. Customers evaluate products and services according to their value judgments. Customer satisfaction includes three levels:
The first level is material satisfaction, which is the core of customer satisfaction. Enterprises make customers feel material satisfaction by providing the use value of products.
The second level is spiritual satisfaction, which is the satisfaction of customers in the process of consuming the form and extension of products provided by enterprises. Spiritual satisfaction is mainly achieved through the appearance, color, brand and service of products provided by enterprises.
The third level is social satisfaction, that is, customers can safeguard social interests and achieve social and cultural harmony in the process of purchasing and consuming products provided by enterprises. Social satisfaction mainly depends on the moral value, social and cultural value and ecological value contained in the product.
1.2 Connotation of customer trust
The so-called customer trust refers to the customer's recognition and trust in the products or services of a certain enterprise or brand. It is the result of the increase of customer satisfaction, which is different from the perceptual feeling of customer satisfaction. Customer trust is the affirmation, recognition and trust to customers on the basis of rational analysis. Generally speaking, customer trust is divided into three levels:
The first level is cognitive trust, which is directly based on products and services, because such products and services just meet his individual needs. This kind of trust is at the basic level and may be transferred because of changes in interests and environment.
The second level is emotional trust, which is a lasting satisfaction after using products and services, and may form a preference for products and services.
The third level is behavioral trust. Only when the products and services provided by enterprises become indispensable needs and enjoyment of customers will behavioral trust be formed. Its performance is the maintenance of long-term relationships and repeated purchases, as well as the concern for enterprises and products, and in this concern, we look for information to consolidate trust or verify untrusted information to prevent fraud.
2 Several problems in reality
(1) For various reasons, customer satisfaction has become one of the core principles guiding enterprise behavior. In fact, many companies have taken customer satisfaction as a guiding principle and started various strategies or procedures in the name of improving customer satisfaction.
This idea is very reasonable. Real customer demand orientation must be based on full understanding of customer demand, so as to ensure that customers get satisfactory service and enterprises get rich profits. However, one-sided pursuit of customer satisfaction, whether for enterprises or customers, seems to be increasingly ineffective. The worst case is that enterprises will fall into the mindset of one-sided pursuit of customer satisfaction.
Although many enterprises have adopted a strict customer satisfaction evaluation system, they may have adopted the wrong variables or only used feedback information. For example, the concept of customer satisfaction is wrongly equated with the concept of quality, and it is considered that preventing dissatisfaction is more important than improving satisfaction, so the focus of attention is on "what went wrong" within the enterprise, rather than looking for "what can be done in the future" from outside the enterprise.
(2) In marketing management theory, customer loyalty is a widely used concept, but customer loyalty is actually just a misunderstanding. When marketing experts put forward the concept of "customer loyalty", the highest concept of enterprise management is mass production, that is, enterprises first design products according to their own understanding of customer needs, and then reduce costs and attract customers to buy through long-term mass production. In the whole process, enterprises are dominant and in an active position; As the receiver of enterprise products, customers can only accept the products designed and produced by enterprises, with poor selectivity. Especially in the out-of-stock environment, customers have to buy the same products again and again. This kind of repeated purchase gives people an illusion of "customer loyalty".
Customer loyalty-oriented marketing may lead to arrogance, separation from customers and poor service quality of enterprises or products; In order to achieve the purpose of sales, enterprises abuse consumption cases, sell customers' goodwill and induce customers to consume; In the sales process, be eager for quick success and instant benefit, do not talk about credit, and do whatever it takes.
On the other hand, the object of customer loyalty is the enterprise or product, so customer loyalty is the customer's loyalty to the enterprise or product, and it is a product-centered product. The current situation should be that enterprises are loyal to customers. Only with this change of concept can enterprises serve customers and maximize customer value.
(3) The marketing mode of cultivating customers' trust through customer bribery, that is, attracting and retaining customers through discounts or feedback. The marketing model of cultivating customer trust by bribing customers has no effect on cultivating customer trust On the contrary, long-term promotion will make customers form a psychological dependence. If you don't engage in activities, you won't buy products, which will lead to a disguised price war and further loss of commercial profits.
According to the report of American Food Marketing Association, the customer transfer rate in Switzerland is the lowest (7%) and the highest in Britain (24%). However, Switzerland with low transfer rate has the lowest customer participation rate in loyalty marketing (15%), while Britain with high transfer rate has the highest customer participation rate in loyalty marketing (83%). Among the customers who did not participate in such activities, 12.7% thought that these activities were too time-consuming to get these benefits. 35.5% of customers said that they would still buy the same things without these activities, and 87.5% of customers claimed that they would still buy the goods of the store without these activities. This also shows from one side that the biggest beneficiaries of customer bribery are the vast number of customers of enterprises, who are the real beneficiaries, not the clients of enterprises, and enterprises are not worth the candle in such activities.
(4) In order to increase the market share and complete the increasing sales pressure, enterprises more or less take finding new customers as the focus of marketing management, while ignoring the role of old customers. Actually, this is a misunderstanding. Professor DanielCharmich once used the leaky bucket as a vivid metaphor for this kind of behavior of enterprises. When he was teaching marketing, he drew a bucket on the blackboard, and then drew many holes in the bottom of the bucket, and marked the names on these holes: rude, poor service, untrained staff, poor quality, poor selectivity and so on. He compared the water flowing out of the bucket to a customer. He pointed out that in order to maintain the original turnover, enterprises must constantly inject "new customers" from the top of the barrel to supplement the lost customers, which is an expensive and endless process. Therefore, more and more enterprises begin to protect their old customers by improving service quality, because plugging barrels bring about the improvement of "customer quality" rather than "customer quantity".
3 From customer satisfaction to customer trust.
3. 1 Cultivate customer loyalty and increase income
After customers are satisfied for many times, they will have trust in the enterprise, often buy products repeatedly and generate related consumption, and are not so sensitive to price. Many facts show that 80% of the company's profits are created by 20% of customers. Repeated customers often form a certain relationship with enterprises, which is conducive to enterprises to make long-term plans and enable enterprises to design and establish low-cost working methods to meet customer needs.
3.2 Reduce costs
Enterprises can save the marketing cost and service cost of acquiring new customers. The cost of maintaining an old customer is only equivalent to 1/6 of the cost of winning a new customer. Winning a new customer requires not only the cost of advertising investment, time and energy, but also these costs will exceed the basic contribution of customers for a long time.
3.3 Form a good image effect and word-of-mouth effect.
Customer satisfaction will enhance the image of the enterprise in the eyes of consumers. Satisfied and trusted customers are free advertising resources for enterprises and will actively recommend them to others. Studies have shown that a satisfied customer usually tells his happy consumption experience to 3 ~ 5 people. If one of these people also buys and is satisfied, he will share it with another 3 ~ 5 people, so that the enterprise can get more profits. Customers who are satisfied with and trust the enterprise will continue to spread the interests of the enterprise and can quickly improve the visibility and reputation of the enterprise.
4 from customer satisfaction strategy to customer trust strategy
4. 1 terminal integration strategy
Terminal integration strategy is to work out reasonable prices and meticulous services on consumer terminals through careful and meticulous market research and accurate market positioning.
(1) Make customers willing to buy through reasonable demand positioning. The ultimate goal of our terminal recommendation is to satisfy customers. Only when customers are satisfied will they consume our products. This demand also includes timeliness, environmental differences, demand and use differences, and so on. Take the time difference of liquor demand as an example: in the 1980s, consumers paid attention to material benefits, and the demand was an old brand without color packaging. In the 1990s, with the improvement of living standards and the change of consumption consciousness, consumption began to pursue exquisiteness. 2 1 century, people's consumption concept has further changed. With the influence of China's entry into WTO, international economic and trade integration and foreign consumption consciousness, wine consumption emphasizes brand, taste and cultural connotation, and pursues health, fashion and avant-garde consciousness. For the purpose of consumption, the wine used for gifts is festive and beautifully packaged; Invite friends with booze, pursue taste and fashion; And the family pays attention to the benefits of self-use. Therefore, we must seriously study the change of this demand and achieve customer satisfaction through reasonable demand positioning.
(2) Make customers affordable through reasonable pricing. Consumers realize consumption through monetary payment, and if the price of products is unreasonable, they will not be satisfied with customers. If the target customer is a senior business person who entertains friends in a three-star hotel, and you recommend 15 yuan products to him, I don't think he will consume them, so he will not be satisfied. The same friends get together for dinner in a small restaurant. If you recommend him a product with a unit price of 100 yuan, he will still not accept it, so he will not be satisfied. Of course, the pricing we are talking about must follow the most basic principle, that is, the principle that the price fluctuates around the value, so that consumers can feel the value for money.
(3) Provide it to customers through meticulous service. The purpose of our terminal service is to make it available to consumers. Of course, the terminal services we are talking about cover a wider range, not only hotels, shopping malls and supermarkets, but also vast retail terminals, community terminals, alternative terminals and home delivery terminals. We meet the needs of consumers through a variety of comprehensive services.
4.2 communication strategy
Communication strategy refers to frequent communication with consumers to understand market changes, and the products and services produced by enterprises should adapt to market changes. Only by being close to customers, strengthening communication with customers and cultivating feelings can enterprises obtain accurate market information. The main methods to implement communication strategies and win customers' trust are:
(1) The enterprise will strive to establish a "learning relationship" with every customer, that is, we know who you are, remember you and communicate with you frequently. In this way, we know you better than others and can provide you with some free services that competitors can't provide. This means that your customers actually get more value from the products or services you provide. They will find it easier and cheaper to do business with you than to start a business elsewhere. In this way, you set an exit barrier for your customers.
(2) Companies committed to improving customer affinity are well aware of the importance of maintaining long-term and deep relationships with customers, and constantly explore ways to manage customer relationships. Customized production is a good way to improve customer affinity.
The core of customized production is to provide customers with personalized products with acceptable delivery date and price, which can not only win customers, but also effectively realize the production and sales of enterprises' market competition goals. For customized production, the core is to organize production according to market drive, which is based on market segmentation and market positioning, actively seeking the satisfaction and feedback of target customers and integrating them into every link of customized production chain. We should not only know the current needs of target customers, but also know the potential needs of customers and introduce new products and services to customers. Under the customized production mode, the cost for customers to obtain commodity information is unprecedentedly reduced, and they can freely choose and control. Customers' requirements for product differentiation, reasonable price, convenient purchase and thoughtful service can directly face the producers and realize one-on-one dialogue with them, and the initiative is completely in the hands of customers. After the transaction, the enterprise still keeps all kinds of customer information, and can contact at any time to understand the customer's satisfaction and requirements, get more clear and direct demand information and feedback, and update and innovate products in time.
4.3 the strategy of becoming a spokesman for the interests of customers
In order to maintain the original turnover, enterprises must constantly inject "new customers" from the top of the barrel to supplement the lost customers, and must change the marketing model of cultivating customer trust by bribing customers. The strategy of being a spokesman for customers' interests and plugging the barrel is far from the improvement of "customer quantity" but "customer quality"
In short, the strategy of being a spokesman for customers' interests is to truly represent customers' interests and become a "spokesman" for customers' interests in essence.
The logic of this strategy is that if the company seeks benefits for customers, customers will give back to the company with trust, loyalty and consumption, or buy the company's products and services immediately or in the future, and then the company can raise the prices of products and services, because many customers are willing to pay extra money for extra value. In addition, when customers have trust in a company, they will share this trust with others, thus reducing the cost for the company to acquire new customers.
The key to becoming a spokesman for customers' interests is that the company should establish a trustworthy image in the eyes of customers. In order to achieve this goal, the company must do the following: first, improve the transparency of customers and provide them with true and open information. For example, online travel service companies such as Expedia and Orbitz provide information about almost all flights and fares, which is convenient for customers to make choices. Second, products and services must have quality assurance. Third, one of the effective ways for companies to form a partnership with customers is to help customers help themselves. This practice further sublimates the concept of consulting sales. This kind of pure consultation requires the company to provide comprehensive help to customers, even beyond the scope of its own products. Although it seems to be for the benefit of others, in fact, this cooperative relationship is extremely beneficial to the growth of customer base. Fourth, the cooperation between the company and customers is conducive to the establishment of mutual trust between them. Many companies have begun to obtain valuable information from customers, including design concepts. The fifth is full action. At first glance, customer trust may only be related to the company's marketing, advertising, sales and distribution departments, but in fact, the customer interest endorsement strategy needs the participation of the whole company. For example, to produce high-quality products that meet the needs of customers, R&D, engineering and manufacturing departments are all crucial. The human resources department must also recruit suitable candidates for any position that may interact with customers and conduct appropriate training. Management must adopt incentive measures and corresponding organizational structure that are conducive to the establishment of enterprise trust culture. The company's values must put the interests of customers first and gain the trust of employees and other stakeholders.
5 conclusion
With the rapid development of technology and the emergence of new products, customers' expectations for products and services are getting higher and higher, and service marketing is becoming more and more important. Customer satisfaction is the basic content of service marketing. Only customer satisfaction can win the trust of customers and enterprises can achieve long-term development.
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