The role of any marketing manager in any organization is to practically apply the techniques of marketing and manage the organization’s marketing resources and activities. He must make sure that the desired goals and objectives of the marketing programs are met at reasonable costs. The role of marketing to the firm is to attract the needs and desires of the customers. Marketing focuses on attracting new and maintaining old customers. Whenever a customer buys a product from a certain firm he or she has high expectations that it would satisfy his or her needs. To some point, the consumer gets satisfied or he may not. Consumers’ reactions to the nature of the good may affect the firm public image. If for instance, the product does not satisfy the anticipated needs, customers may create a bad image of the firm to the public, otherwise a good image (Kotler & Armstrong 1993:67).
Therefore marking managers must be up to date on reactions from customers who have bought their goods and should address the reactions of consumers appropriately. Post-purchase reactions from consumers may promote the goodwill of the organization or create a bad image to the public, thus any feelings of customers should be taken with seriousness. Some consumer complaints are related to the prices of goods and services. If consumers find the price of the product they have bought unjustifiable they may raise some complaints. The difference in prices of similar commodities sold at the same point is a great concern to the consumer. In case consumers realize that a particular kind of product is being sold at a different price within the same marketplace, they raise the alarm that affects the sales of the organization. Price-matching guarantee is a tool used by markets to assure customers of fair prices for the product they provide (Kotler & Armstrong 1993:123).
In case lower prices are found within the same market after the purchase, the manager should refund the difference between the purchase price and that lower price found by the buyer within the market. The resolution of complaints by the organization may have an impact on consumer loyalty to the firm. These feedbacks from the consumers are essential to the business. It gives the firm a clue on what they are doing right, what is not being done well and points that require some adjustments. Collecting such feedback information and channeling them to the right people in the business may be quite a challenging task.
One way of analyzing the post-purchase feeling of consumers of LCD television is by measuring consumer satisfaction. This is done through a coordinated survey by sending questionnaires to the consumers. For any manager to successfully manage the satisfaction measuring survey one must have basic knowledge of satisfaction measurement and some past experience with customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction measures how satisfactory the firm’s product has met consumers’ needs and desires. Satisfaction is not only by actual product alone but also on services offered by the firm and operations of the firm to the environment it operates in. Customer satisfaction is very critical to the firm’s operation because it indicates customer retention and continuous purchase. The measure is based on the opinion of the consumer depending on his experience with the product. The measure revolves around three psychological elements of cognitive feeling and behavior. The quality and attributes of any product or service measure consumer satisfaction (Kotler & Armstrong 1993:104).
Affection measure deals with measuring the consumer’s attitude towards the product which results from the product’s information and experience. Observing the continuous use of the product by the consumer will provide a manager with enough information on the consumer’s attitude towards the product. A cognitive element is establishing whether the product has fully met the consumer’s expectations or whether it is useful to the consumers. The behavior of the consumer after using the product services is a better indication of whether the product has been satisfying or not. The product attributes might be used to carry out the survey. They include the product use by looking at how many times the customers have used the product and the rate of using the product. Product familiarity establishes how well the product is known to the people, how people are aware of the existence of the product in the market and the reasons why people bought the product in the first place. The survey will collect information on price impact and quality impacts of the good to the consumers.
This survey on consumer satisfaction is very important to any marketing manager and for the best of the company. After analyzing the results of the survey the firm should address the finding of the survey critically. Unless customers are satisfied with any product its survival in the market is at stake. Let’s say that the survey has found that the new LCD televisions are doing well to the customers, then how should the marketing manager react. Even though the television has provided what other television had not provided managers should not relent in marketing the TV. The manager may run promotional activities as a way of encouraging further purchases.
In case the sale of the LCD television fails in the market then the firm will work on improving the quality of the television. In liberalized economies, there are many competing firms each maximizing profits as well as reducing costs. The ability of any firm to withstand competition in the market is through the provision of quality products at reasonable prices. Manufacturers introduce tools and mechanisms that would attract customers from their competitors. The failure of the LCD television to hit the market may be due to unappealing attributes to the customers. The marketing manager should advise the production department on the missing attributes of the machine with respect to other televisions in the market. The company needs to change the attributes of the television to meet the consumers’ needs and attribute satisfaction.
Other than the physical attributes that might have failed the success of television in the market, prices might also contribute to its failure to arise customers’ desires. High prices of the television higher than the prevailing market prices may discourage consumers from buying it. “Low price guarantee is a pricing strategy being used by manufacturers to win customers from their competitors commonly applied in consumer and producer markets” ((Kotler & Armstrong 1993:144).
The manufacturer normally introduces their product at low prices to the market so as to attract more customers. This move has much impact on the final customers. In case consumers are charged higher prices the firms go-ahead to refund the excess money to consumers. This is a good strategy that the manager can employ to maintain the LCD television in the market by allowing low prices to the consumers to keep the dominance of the LCD alive in the market.
In addition, the firm should ensure that is no large price difference within the same markets. If the price charged to consumers and the lower price prevailing in the market is high then, consumers may be tempted from buying such goods. This is because the difference in price for the same kind of good sounds like deception to the consumer hence the need to harmonize prices within the market for televisions. This price difference is a key indicator that, the company does not take into consideration the prices of competitors which is a threat to the company.
Together with pricing changes and quality improvement on the television massive marketing strategy must accompany the new look of the television. The company must employ all forms of marketing strategies. The marketing team should move to the ground to meet the customers, that is personal selling. Media advertising should be increased to reach people who cannot be reached by the person selling the team.
Bibliography
P. Kotler, G. Armstrong (1993) Marketing, An Introduction, Prentice-Hall. p 45- 167 (Kotler & Armstrong 1993).