Eugene H. Fram

We Can Do A Better Job of Selecting International Distributors

Highlights the importance of selecting the correct international distributors if a firm wishes to trade effectively in the wider market. Describes a study commissioned exploring the steps required to minimize the risk when selecting a distributor, e.g. use of end‐user references and suggestions. Concludes that firms need to develop an effective procedure for selecting distributors, utilizing management attention and objectivity to decide on the key factors involved.

An exploratory investigation of customer penalties: assessment of efficacy, consequences, and fairness perceptions

As organizations are striving to increase customer loyalty through relationship marketing programs, more firms are implementing customer penalty policies that impose fees or charges (e.g. airline reticketing fees) on customers that fail to comply with purchase agreements. While penalties are intended to increase customer compliance with purchase agreements, they may also reduce customer loyalty and increase negative word‐of‐mouth communications. Owing to a paucity of available research, the authors conducted a national consumer survey to determine, first, if penalties increase customer compliance, reduce customer loyalty, and/or increase negative word‐of‐mouth communications, and second, what factors may influence customer perceptions of penalty fairness. The results indicate that while penalties may increase customer compliance, some customer conflict and other negative consequences are likely to follow the imposition of a penalty. Also, the effects of a number of demographic and situational factors on customer perceptions of penalty fairness are presented and discussed. Considers the implications of the findings for management practice and discusses directions for future research.

Do you know what the customer you penalized yesterday is doing today? A pilot analysis

Given the growing and widespread use of consumer penalties, there is little doubt business considers them an effective way to get customers to follow through on commitments. Yet no one really knows how people, as individuals, respond when they are penalized by banks, airlines, cell phone companies or other vendors. What types of behavioral reactions do penalties elicit from consumers? What is the impact on the businesses that charged them? The authors turn a spotlight on these previously unexamined issues by analyzing the reactions of 44 randomly selected consumers who faced 66 different consumer penalties. Key findings, from a pilot analysis, include the fact that in 38 of the 66 penalty cases examined, study participants thought that the penalties that they incurred were both unfair charges and the amounts unjustified. Overall, a third of all penalties resulted in customers changing vendors. Additional findings show word‐of‐mouth communication to others was significant, and that over half of penalized c...

Retaining customer satisfaction in turbulent times

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an insight into the actions required by trust officers to improve customer satisfaction during a time of difficult economic and regulatory conditions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 96 bank trust officers located in the USA were surveyed using a mail questionnaire.Findings – Increased compliance regulation and financial industry problems during 2008 and 2009 have had only a minor negative impact on customer satisfaction. Success in maintaining satisfaction levels has come from customer‐focused corrective actions including more frequent customer meetings, improved electronic/print mail communications and the provision of more friendly financial information.Practical implications – The paper makes three recommendations to senior managers to help them maintain customer satisfaction: 1, continue to focus on the basics of customer focus; 2, use existing and emergent technology to provide customer friendly support; and 3, constantly review and update the financial v...

Consumer Behavior in China: An Exploratory Study of Two Cities

ABSTRACT Many multinational enterprises have not been successful in China. According to the literature, one of the reasons for their failure appears to be that planning has been centered on country-wide data, with little attention being paid to regional, social and cultural differences. This study shows the necessity of moving away from broad assumptions about China and the necessity of understanding Chinas regional and urban differences. There is much hearsay among expatriate managers in China and among others with respect to the supposed sophistication and mores of Shanghainese consumers. They are often described as being formal, fashion conscious and critical. To explore the assumptions that underpin this idea, and ideas like it, our research compared upscale consumers in Shanghai and Chengdu and the motivations and processes involved in making a purchase of a so called “shopping good.” We chose apparel as a proxy for a shopping good, on the grounds that it has high consumer involvement and recall. Our data reveal some important differences between the buying patterns in the two cities. They have pragmatic managerial implications for western multinational firms wanting to tap the top layer of the vast market of 1.3 billion Chinese people. Specifically, they demonstrate a need for adaptation of marketing strategies to reflect significant differences based on geographic location and the derivative differences in lifestyles.

Research universities versus teaching universities ‐ public perceptions and preferences

Claims post‐secondary institutions are facing two major problems ‐ enrolment declines and increases in operating costs. Suggests that, as the turmoil in higher education has accelerated, the research university seems to have lost public support, while the teaching university has been placed in a more favourable light. Reports on a pilot study of the public’s preferences for, and perceptions of, the research‐oriented and teaching‐oriented universities. Asks whether one or the other is more favoured by the US public. Presents the perceptions and preferences from 100 personal interviews, utilizing a psychological projective technique to gather the information.

Not so strange bedfellows: marketing and total quality management

Long‐term success of total quality management (TQM) programmes depends on initiatives which form strong partnerships with marketing activities. The objective of the partnerships is to integrate customer requirements into programmes. Analyses these relationships, based on information developed from extensive seminar discussions over a three‐year period. Concludes that the status of TQM‐marketing partnerships is highly variable, with respect to customer understanding. Many remain in their infancy, while others have matured well in a short period. For the latter group, marketing’s customer voice has become an expanding part of the quality movement to develop products and services that excite customers.

A Study of Chinese Street Vendors: How They Operate

There is a great deal of criticism levied at street vendors, despite the fact that these vendors, as part of a global informal economy, are becoming more important as millions are being occupationally downsized. Criticisms include street vendor businesses are not economically robust, they can be conduits for pirated goods, they do not make good use of public spaces, and they are considered by economists to be “bad news” for the world economy. This article reports on a study of the operations of 80 street vendors in Dalian, China. It shows their operations (e.g., buying, selling, merchandising) are very similar to those of permanently anchored small retailers, and consequently they should be able to make similar societal contributions. Research propositions and recommendations for further research are presented.

IDENTIFYING NEGATIVE PRODUCTS: DO CUSTOMERS LIKE TO PURCHASE YOUR PRODUCTS?

Negative products/services are seen by customers as an unpleasant buying necessity to avoid or reduce some disutility. The negative concept as it relates to products/ services is based on the behavioral modification phenomena of negative reinforcement. Empirical data are presented in this article, which places fourteen product categories relative to the degree of negative perception associated with them. This procedure provides a model by which marketing executives can empirically determine whether their products/services are viewed as negative ones. This article is designed to: 1. Discuss the operant conditioning concepts of positive and negative reinforcement as they relate to purchasing and consumption behavior. 2. Suggest a pragmatic method for marketing practitioners to make distinctions between negative and positive products. 3. Aid marketers in examining the difference between the two to support the making of effective strategic and tactical decisions.

Customer Partnering — Suppliers' Attitudes and Market Realities

Reports on an exploratory study (mail survey) of industrial supplier satisfaction with the purchasing partnership format and how these agreements can relate to current market conditions. The respondent sales managers had very positive attitudes toward, and expectations from, purchasing partnerships. For some, these partnerships appear to be the only way to compete in an unstable market. It appears that the responsibility for keeping the arrangement mutually profitable is that of the supplier. It also seems that top managers will have to be more involved with these accounts because of the large sales volumes generated by each. The suppliers reported a need for a better flow of information from buyers which can be facilitated by a purchasing partnership. The major partnership challenges for suppliers are to maintain fair profit margins for themselves and to build buyer loyalty so that competitors cannot interrupt the relationship.