David J. Reibstein

What Attracts Customers to Online Stores, and What Keeps Them Coming Back?

Many businesses on the Internet in the late 1990s spent wildly, doing whatever it might take to attract customers to their sites. It soon became clear that the challenge was not simply to bring the customers in the door but also to retain these customers for future purchases. The quest was on to discover what tactics had the most appeal to Internet shoppers. This study reveals survey and behavioral data drawn from Internet customers that reflect what was most important to the Internet shoppers and compare the factors for attraction versus retention. Since many have viewed the Internet as creating more perfect information for the buyer, the question arises as to how important price will be in the purchase process. What becomes clear from the analysis is that what attracts customers to the site are not the same dimensions critical in retaining customers on a longer term basis.

The effect of differences in the number of attribute levels on conjoint results

It is well known that the range of attribute variation used in a conjoint design influences the inferred attribute importance. However, even if the range is held constant, the addition of intermediate levels can increase this importance. In this paper we show why the problem occurs for rankorder preferences. The results from an experimental study confirm the existence of a systematic influence due to the number of (intermediate) levels. Surprisingly, the problem is equally strong when rating scale preferences are collected. Several possible solutions are suggested.

Dashboards as a service: why, what, how, and what research is needed?

Recent years have seen the introduction of a “marketing dashboard” that brings the firm’s key marketing metrics into a single display. Service firms across industries have created such dashboards e...Recent years have seen the introduction of a “marketing dashboard” that brings the firm’s key marketing metrics into a single display. Service firms across industries have created such dashboards either by themselves or together with a dashboard service provider. This article examines the reasons for this development and explains what dashboards are, how to develop them, what drives their adoption, and which academic research is needed to fully exploit their potential. Overcoming the challenges faced in dashboard development and operation provides many opportunities for marketing to exercise a stronger influence on top management decisions. The article outlines five stages of dashboard development and discusses the relationships among demand for dashboards, supply of dashboards, and the implementation process in driving adoption and use of dashboard systems. Key topics for future research include metrics selection, relationships among metrics, and the ultimate question of whether dashboards provide sufficient benefits to justify their adoption.

Benefit segmentation in industrial markets

Abstract This article investigates whether or not traditional bases of industrial segmentation, such as SIC codes and company size, produce segments that are homogeneous within and heterogeneous between with respect to benefits sought. The study is applied to the acquisition of nonintelligent data terminals. We discovered that the traditional bases do not yield segments that seek significantly different dimensions. Alternatively, a benefit segmentation approach is demonstrated that results in segments substantially different from the traditional approach.

STRUCTURAL MODELS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF TRAVELER ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIPS.

Traveler attitudes and behavior have been shown to correlate in numerous previous studies. However, the correlation by itself leaves open the nature of the interrelationships between traveler attitudes and behavior. For example, attitudes could either cause or be caused by behavior. In fact, both options are concurrently possible. Structural equations are applied to a set of data gathered from Los Angeles central business district workers to ascertain the direction and nature of interrelationships between attitudes and behavior with respect to frequency of taking the bus to work. A mutual dependence between attitudes and behavior is demonstrated in the context of this dataset and behavioral choice situation; behavior and attitudes concurrently cause each other. In addition, it is found that two attitudinal components, perceptions of and affect toward a mode, function differently with respect to travel behavior.

The Direction of Causality between Perceptions, Affect, and Behavior: An Application to Travel Behavior

This study investigates the relationship between perceptions, affect, and behavior regarding choices of transportation modes. Applying nonrecursive structural equations to a sample of over 800 respondents, the hypothesis that attitudes and behavior mutually influence each other is confirmed. It is also shown that affect can mediate the impact of attribute perception on behavior.

The Prediction of Individual Probabilities of Brand Choice

This paper investigates three alternative methods for estimating individual probabilities of brand choice: a multi-attribute attitude model, a dollar-metric model, and a constant sum scale. These approaches are compared to actual choice behavior in a controlled experimental setting, with the constant sum scale being the dominant method.

The impact of business objectives and the time horizon of performance evaluation on pricing behavior

Abstract There is an emerging literature that focuses on (excessive) patterns in competitive behavior based on the nature of company objectives, reward systems, organizational structures and information systems for managers. We consider questions related to this area of inquiry in a setting in which managers make pricing decisions over time. We manipulate the nature of objectives the managers are instructed to pursue and the frequency with which they are told their performance will be evaluated. We find that a long time horizon (reduced frequency of evaluation) results in managers engaging in more price experimentation, presumably to learn the demand function, and in reduced competitive reactivity, compared with a shorter horizon. If the objective is “do the best you can”, managers tend to pursue relative performance objectives. This pursuit tends to result in higher competitive reaction effects, compared with “profit maximization”. In the experiment, the combination of a long time horizon and profit maximization as the objective produces highest average profits. Our results suggest that firms may want to reconsider the formulation of objectives and the time horizon of performance evaluation systems.

Managing Product Variety

Cannondale, a producer of premium mountain bikes, offers 22 models ranging in price from

Optimal Entry Timing in Markets with Social Influence

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