Rajneesh Suri

Impact of Gender Differences on the Evaluation of Promotional Emails

ABSTRACT Advertisers are recognizing the internets potential for helping firms directly communicate with consumers using media rich emails. Though the efficiency of such emails cannot be denied, their effectiveness needs to be assessed. It is argued that components of promotional emails are likely to be evaluated differently by males and females. The results from a survey suggest that women and men differ in their evaluation of information content and the visual presentation used in emails. Compared to men, women were also more concerned about privacy and preferred to use the media to build social contacts. Implications for using promotional emails are discussed.

Brand evaluations: a comparison of fixed price and discounted price offers

While fixed price offers are quite common in the marketplace, there is limited empirical evidence that documents the effectiveness of these offers in comparison to price discounting tactics. Drawing on information processing theory we provide a conceptual framework that explains the differential impact of fixed price and price discounting tactics. The empirical study shows that consumers’ perceptions of quality and value for the product were higher when price information was presented in a fixed format (versus a discount). Furthermore, perceptions of sacrifice were higher in the discount format than the fixed price format. Overall, this study finds empirical support for the notion that fixed price formats may be more effective than price discounts.

The use of 9‐ending prices: contrasting the USA with Poland

American multinationals, when deciding pricing strategies for their culturally diverse foreign markets, usually have to debate whether to change or to keep the pricing strategy that they have been using at home. The recent move towards standardization in global markets has only raised the importance of this issue. This research addresses this issue by comparing the effectiveness of 9‐ending prices or just below prices in the USA and in a Central European country, Poland. A conceptual framework was developed to predict why there might be differences in preference for such 9‐ending prices in Poland and the USA. Results from the first study show that 9‐ending prices, which are popular in the US market, are not well received in the Polish market. The second study provided further insights by determining reasons for differences in perception and preference for such prices in the two countries.

Quality perception and monetary sacrifice: a comparative analysis of discount and fixed prices

In this article we analyze price discounts and fixed price offers in terms of their comparative impact on consumer valuation of products. Using a model of consumer valuation, we explore the interaction between the negative quality effect and the positive monetary sacrifice effect associated with price discounts. This model suggests that intermediate levels of price discounts will be more desirable than a fixed price offer. However, a fixed price offer may be more desirable than both high and low levels of price discounts. The results from an experiment conducted to test this model showed support for the predictions from the model.

Trading Effort for Money Consumers’ Cocreation Motivation and the Pricing of Service Options

Services involve cocreation, such that businesses often treat consumers as partial employees to help boost productivity. However, not all consumers are intrinsically motivated to engage in the effort required to produce a service. Hence, service providers offer monetary incentives to compensate consumers for their effort by using cocreation options where consumers can either spend their own effort in exchange for extra savings or have service providers perform such options and incur additional cost. Consumers are likely to evaluate such options by determining the price that they would be willing to pay and the amount that they expect to save if they were to perform such options. In eight studies, this research shows that consumers seek more compensation for their effort than the amount that they are willing to pay a service provider. However, characteristics of the service option (expected vs. not expected), the service provider (fit with effort), the service itself (cost of labor), and consumers (budget constraints, expertise) moderate the differences between willingness to pay and expectations of compensation. Hence, companies that are expanding their markets and pursuing strategies that offer both full service and do-it-yourself service options would need to (a) consider the fit of such options with the positioning of the brand and (b) identify appropriate consumer segments that would be favorably disposed toward such options. Identifying such options and their prices would lead to effective price structures that will provide not only value to consumers but also profitability to firms.

Comparing fixed price and discounted price strategies: the role of affect on evaluations

Price is an important variable because it has a direct impact on a company’s profitability. However, there is limited evidence to support the effectiveness of competing strategies of fixed pricing and discounted pricing. As a result, both strategies are practised extensively in the industry. This paper draws on theories on affect, information processing, and pricing to provide a conceptual framework. The aim is to examine the effect of fixed pricing and discounted pricing on consumers’ affect and evaluation of products. Results from an experiment indicate that a fixed price format elicits more positively valenced thoughts and stronger positive affect than a discounted price format. This affective response, in turn, results in a less thorough processing of price information and, consequently, higher perceptions of quality and value for the fixed price format. Managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Are You In Good Hands?: Slogan Recall: What Really Matters

ABSTRACT Slogans are very important in brand building, and recall is considered one of the most effective measures of slogan success. For this study, 220 respondents were asked to recall slogans. Factors impacting recall of the 150 short-listed slogans were investigated. The study relied on objective (rather than perceptual) data, and factored in the natural variance associated with the variables of interest in the marketplace without imposing the artificial constraints of lab settings. The results suggest that to improve recall, slogans should be retained for long periods of time and supported by extensive marketing budgets. When designing the slogans, care should also be taken to keep them short. However, contrary to expectations, none of the other design elements—complexity of slogans, use of jingles, and use of rhymes—had an impact on slogan recall.ABSTRACT Slogans are very important in brand building, and recall is considered one of the most effective measures of slogan success. For this study, 220 respondents were asked to recall slogans. Factors impacting recall of the 150 short-listed slogans were investigated. The study relied on objective (rather than perceptual) data, and factored in the natural variance associated with the variables of interest in the marketplace without imposing the artificial constraints of lab settings. The results suggest that to improve recall, slogans should be retained for long periods of time and supported by extensive marketing budgets. When designing the slogans, care should also be taken to keep them short. However, contrary to expectations, none of the other design elements—complexity of slogans, use of jingles, and use of rhymes—had an impact on slogan recall.

Consumers Prior Purchase Intentions and their Evaluation of Savings on Product Bundles

Bundling of more than one product has been a strategy used by retailers and manufacturers for decades in both consumer and industrial markets (Nagle 1984). The hardware and software packages offered by computer manufacturers, vacation packages offered by the travel agencies, a shaving foam sold along with razors at some retailers are just a few commercial examples of bundling. While offering such product bundles, marketers usually use one of two forms of product bundling—either a pure bundle or a mixed bundle. When following a pure bundling strategy, the marketer offers a combination of certain products or services only in bundled form. However, when a marketer gives an option to consumers to buy these products or services separately or as a bundle, the bundling strategy is called mixed bundling. Given the popularity and the effectiveness of mixed bundling in marketing, this research will focus only on this type of bundling strategy.

Who pays the price for loyalty? The role of self-consciousness

Purpose – This paper aims to study the role of self-consciousness from the point of view of firm loyalty. Firms increasingly vie to gain, and then maintain, loyal consumers. A firm’s assumption that such consumers will be willing to pay premium prices, however, contradicts consumers’ rational motivations to seek low prices. This research suggests that consumers’ self-consciousness and the nature of their loyalty toward a firm help resolve this apparent contradiction. The results show that when past purchases reflect an exclusive relationship with a retailer, participants with high public self-consciousness valued relatively low-price offers, whereas those with high private self-consciousness expressed high-value perceptions for higher priced offers. However, when past purchases were divided between retail partners, self-consciousness showed no impact on value perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – Firms increasingly vie to gain, and then maintain, loyal consumers. A firm’s assumption that such consume...

Machine Usability Effects on Preferences for Hot Drinks

Research suggests that usability of a machine affects consumers’ preference for the machine. However, there is no research available to explain if evaluation of a product prepared using that machine, is likely to be impacted by the usability of the machine. In a controlled study using three trials, participants prepared hot beverages using two different beverage machines that also differed in their usability. In all three trials, machine usability, participants’ drink selections and evaluations of hot drinks prepared on the machines were measured. Our results indicate that machine usability influences consumers’ preference for the products prepared on these machines.