Free Marketing Dissertations - Perceived Value Is Very Subjective. For Instance, What’s The Value Of Owning
Perceived value is very subjective. For instance, what’s the value of owning a pair jeans designed by Giorgio Armani or one designed by Benetton? They’re both good quality jeans, both renowned labels/brands but Armani’s jeans cost, at least, double the price. The difference is that Armani’s confer higher status and image levels to the customer, so much so that the customer might be willing to pay a premium price. Basically, consumers will base their buying decision on how they value a product customer value. Kotler (2001) writes,
Customer value is the difference between the values the customer gains from owning and using a product and the costs of obtaining the product.
Another underlying concept in evaluating consumers’ needs and wants is ‘customer satisfaction’. Customers are satisfied when the product they buy meets their expectations on the perceived product value. Kotler (2001) states, If the product’s performance falls short of the customer’s expectations, the buyer is dissatisfied. If performance exceeds expectations, the buyer is delighted.
Organisations have realised how important it is to keep customers satisfied, as now more than ever before consumers have gained more bargaining power.
Another element, which is fundamental to keeping customers satisfied, is quality. To constantly improve the quality of products and services has been one of the top priorities. Total Quality Management programmes have been widely adopted by most companies, as organisational focus has shifted from simply ‘achieving sales’ to ‘keeping customers satisfied’. As Kotler states (2001), satisfied customers make repeat purchases. An example of a TQM programme is ‘Six Sigma’. Six Sigma is a quality programme, which was first developed by Motorola and quickly adopted by General Electric. Six Sigma is a statistical measure that strives to identify by how much a process deviates from perfection. The aim is to achieve zero defects. In the process of measuring the number of defects, customers’ input is very important, in order to understand what has gone wrong and what needs to be changed. ‘Voice of the Customer’ is a tool used to assess customers’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction (please refer to Appendix 2).
Penske Logistics
Penske Logistics is an American company - a subsidiary of Penske Truck Leasing and General Electric which started its European operations in 1997. One of the main services it offers, it’s management of the total transport function on behalf of customers thus outsourcing activities. The logistics market is highly competitive and overcapacity is one of the main features of the European logistics industry.
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