Marketing communication: principles and practice

Consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction
We evaluate our experience with a product by considering the extent to which
our needs were satisfied and how the experience compared with our pre-
purchase expectations about how the product would perform. 
Alternative products are evaluated on their attributes that represent the
benefits that satisfy our needs. When we evaluate performance, we compare
this to what we expected. Three outcomes are possible:
•
positive disconfirmation
: the products perform better than we expected
•
confirmation
: we got what we expected
•
negative disconfirmation
: our expectations were not met
Here is a lesson for designers and quality managers: good performance may
not be enough, we can still be disappointed when our expectation is not
met.
Consumer complaining behaviour
If we feel satisfied with a product purchase and/or use experience, we may
be more inclined to remain committed to that supplier and/or product when
next we have a need that can be similarly satisfied. When dissatisfied, points
out Singh (1988), we may:
C O N S U M E R B E H A V I O U R A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N
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•
voice our dissatisfaction to the supplier
by complaining of poor
performance and suggesting ways for improvement; often we want a
response, perhaps in the form of a refund, discount, or additional service
to compensate and/or increase performance
•
voice our dissatisfaction privately
to people in our reference groups
in word-of-mouth communication
•
seek the support of a third party
by writing letters of complaint to
newspaper, magazine, and TV consumer advocates, or to trade and
government bodies, or we may seek legal recourse 
•