Relationship marketing is the development and outbreak of the combined theory of the traditional marketing,and it is a new idea.It puts more emphasis on the long-term and satisfying relation between enterprises and customers.and its success relies on some conditions.Its application in China has its own characteristics.

On relationship marketing

Marketing academics and practitioners have acknowledged that consumers look for brands that provide them with unique and memorable experiences. As a result, the concept of brand experience has become of great interest to marketers. The present field study, conducted with actual consumers, addresses the question whether different consumers prefer different experiential appeals and whether experiential types moderate the relationships between brand attitude and purchase intention. We find that there are five types of consumers: hedonistic, action-oriented, holistic, inner-directed, and utilitarian consumers. Moreover, the relationship between attitudes and intentions is strongest for holistic consumers and weakest for utilitarian consumers.

Using the Brand Experience Scale to Profile Consumers and Predict Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of gamification on connections between consumers’ self-image congruence in relation to the purchasers of an environmentally friendly product electric vehicles (EVs) and their possession of a stereotype of EV owners as being “unconventional”, and their attitudes towards EVs, having regard to their levels of environmental concern and prior knowledge of EVs. Additionally, the research explored the link between attitudes towards and willingness to purchase EVs.,Participants completed a questionnaire and an Implicit Association Test (IAT) both before and after playing a computer game wherein the player assumed the identity of an EV driver. A structural equation model was constructed to predict attitude to EVs. The relationship between attitude and willingness to purchase was examined via a conditional process analysis.,The experience of playing the game improved the favourability of the respondents’ stereotype of EV owners by an average of 19 per cent, and their attitude towards EVs by 17 per cent. Self-image congruence in relation to EV ownership increased on the average by 14 per cent and reported EV product knowledge by 8 per cent. However, willingness to purchase an EV was not substantially affected. The link between attitude and willingness to purchase was weak, but was significantly moderated by stereotype favourability and self-image congruence with EV owners.,As with any IAT study, it was necessary to pre-specify a particular form of stereotype. Future research could employ alternative stereotypes. The investigation took place in a single country and involved a single environmentally friendly product.,Gamification has much potential for helping manufacturers and government agencies to stimulate the mass market for EVs. To negate unfavourable images of EV owners, marketing communications promoting EVs might usefully employ celebrities, sports personalities and/or leading political figures as exemplars of the types of people who drive electric cars.,The research is the first to explore the effects of gamification on product user self-image congruence and stereotype formation. It is novel both in its employment of an IAT to measure the consumer stereotype of an environmentally friendly product and in its examination of the moderating influences of stereotype and product user self-image congruence on the attitude-willingness to purchase link.

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Consumer attitudes towards electric vehicles: Effects of product user stereotypes and self-image congruence

In markets where products and services have become similar, with no major functional differences and where consumer choices are more and more influenced by emotional aspects rather than by rational thinking, experiences have surfaced as the main form of differentiation between companies. More than the inherent characteristics of products or services perse, brands become a source of differentiation of companies, with its role expanded from an assembly of attributes to a sum of experiences. This investigation in the experiential marketing area aims to understand the dimensions of the experiences that have an influence on consumers and how do these experiences have influence on consumer-based brand equity. Based on a quantitative study, the results show that brand experience has a positive influence on consumer-based brand equity. Sensory and emotional experiences evidenced a higher influence in all the dimensions of brand equity. Multigroup analysis also shows that intellectual experience triggers brand equity consumers in consumer with positive brand behavior.

The influence of brand experiences on consumer-based brand equity

The purpose of the study was to predict how drivers of petrol or diesel cars might vote in a ‘Yes/No’ referendum concerning the UK government’s decision to ban from 2040 onwards the sale of all new non-electric vehicles. Five main factors were hypothesised to influence voting intention: a person’s (i) level of environmental concern, (ii) attitude towards electric cars (measured via an Implicit Association Test), (iii) belief about the importance of air pollution, (iv) driving requirements, and (v) reaction to the cost of the ban to the individual (assessed using a contingency valuation approach). The study also examined possible determinants of attitudes to electric vehicles, e.g., whether an individual was a ‘technology enthusiast’, had prior knowledge of and searched for knowledge about electric vehicles, and whether a person had played an online game where the player assumed the identity of an electric car driver. A structural equation model was developed and tested on a sample of 675 UK drivers, none of whom had ever owned or driven an electric car. The results suggested a good fit of the model to the data, except that neither environmental concern nor belief in the importance of clean air affected attitude to electric cars. Also, high levels of environmental concern did not motivate people to search for knowledge about electric vehicles. Social marketing campaigns that will be needed to precede the ban should focus on its health benefits, and not target particular age groups, gender, or whether a participant had children.

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An assessment of UK drivers' attitudes regarding the forthcoming ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles

To meet the expectation of customers during experience era, it is important to understand their perceptions of different brands. To achieve this, this study aimed to investigate the relationship among brand experiences, self-concept congruence, customer satisfaction, and brand preference. This study used Tablet PC users as the research objects and collected empirical data through online questionnaires. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to validate models, and hierarchical regression was used to test the hypothesis. The results of this study showed that brand experience has a significant positive effect on brand preference, brand experience has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction, and self-concept congruence has a positive effect on brand preference. In addition, self-concept congruence has positive effect on customer satisfaction and brand preferences. These results show that through a comprehensive brand experience, companies could enhance brand preferences and purchase intentions of customers.

Keywords: Brand Experiences, Self-Concept Congruence, Customer Satisfaction, Brand Preference

To cite this document: Yi-Ching Tsai, Hui-Chen Chang, and Kung-Chung Ho, "A Study of the Relationship among Brand Experiences, Self-Concept Congruence, Customer Satisfaction, and Brand Preference", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.11, No.2, pp.97-116, 2015.

Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.12970

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A Study of the Relationship among Brand Experiences, Self-Concept Congruence, Customer Satisfaction, and Brand Preference

The threshold for switching mobile phone numbers between different mobile communication service providers has largely decreased since the government lifted the ban on mobile phone number portability service. Users can convert their mobile communication service from their current provider to others while maintaining their existing phone numbers. The demand for mobile communication services has been increasing, along with the popular sales of smartphones and tablet PCs. However, more and more complaints have emerged in response to system service failures, employee service mistakes, and the sales promotion activities offered from competitors, which could destroy the trading relationship. These factors will lead to the customers’ intentions of complaining and switching to another service provider. 
This study aims to explore the relationship between destructive factors in trading relations, service providers’ relationship-recovery policies, and the outcome of customer default. Empirical data were collected from mobile service users through online questionnaires. Using the general linear model (GLM) to test the research hypotheses, the results showed that (1) the relationship-destroying factors including service system failures and personnel service errors positively impact customers’ complaining and switching intentions and (2) the financial and psychological recovery policies might decrease the customers’ complaining intention. Finally, this research also offers mobile communication services providers with strategic implications in customer relationship management.

Keywords: Relationship-destroying factors, relationship recovery, customer response

To cite this document: Hui-Chen Chang, Yi-Ching Tsai, and Sheng-Yuan Hsu, "The Effects of Relationship-Destroying Factors on Customer Relationships: Relationship Recovery as the Moderator", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.9, No.4, pp.369-388, 2013.

Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.11261

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Yi-Ching Tsai

Papers

A Study of the Relationship among Brand Experiences, Self-Concept Congruence, Customer Satisfaction, and Brand Preference

The Effects of Relationship-Destroying Factors on Customer Relationships: Relationship Recovery as the Moderator