Sales Management: Products and Services. Dr Jae K Shim

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СКАЧАТЬ of a new synthetic fiber because she was dissatisfied with one previously purchased. This can happen even if the new synthetic fiber has been improved and is superior to the earlier one. Associations that are in agreement or harmony take place when the consumer responds favorably to a particular salesperson because she (the salesperson) is in agreement with the consumer’s attitude. For example, if the consumer prefers conservative clothes and the salesperson also has conservative tastes, the consumer is more likely to respond favorably to the salesperson. An example of the effect of relating one factor with another is a situation where the customer judges the whole store and all its merchandise on the basis of a single unpleasant experience with a sales clerk.

      Factors causing attitudes to change are contradictory influences, strength or intensity of the experience, multiple syndromes of circumstances, and emphasis of a particular factor. An example of an attitude changing because of contradictory influences is when a very thrifty and conservative bachelor buys an expensive, flashy car because her girlfriend liked it and he wishes to impress her.

      The strength or intensity of an experience can cause an attitude to change. An illustration of this is when a person who is completely indifferent to the dangers of smoking suddenly changes her mind because of a heart attack.

      Or the consumer may have an attitude unfavorable to the purchase of a particular product but reverses her attitude and makes such a purchase because of a multiple syndrome of circumstances. The circumstances may be that the product catches her eye, a friend strongly recommends it, almost everyone is currently using it, and she is influenced by a highly persuasive salesperson.

      Changes in an attitude can also occur when there is emphasis of a particular factor or when the consumer makers a decision to purchase on the basis of a single dominant factor which is stronger than several others combined. For example, a person may have definite attitudes regarding the brand name, color, material, and price she wishes to pay for a sport jacket but chooses one almost entirely on the basis of its style because of the attention it will attract. A change in the product or service, new ways of perceiving the product, a change in the type and/or amount of information available on the product, a change in how the product idea is communicated, and a change in the importance of the product are additional factors which can influence and change consumer attitudes.

Learning

      Another important dimension of consumer behavior is learning. There are varying definitions, but generally the essence of learning is that it involves a change in a person’s response or behavior, Human responses can either be learned or unlearned. Examples of unlearned responses are breathing, blinking your eyes, and crying. All other responses not based on instinct or reflexes are learned. Forgetting, which is the loss or fading of a thought that was previously in the mind, is another aspect of learning. Because of forgetting, it is often necessary for the salesperson to repeat or reinforce and idea if she is to be effective in influencing the consumer to buy a particular product or service.

      Although learning takes place in different ways, the three basic processes involved are stimulus, response, and reinforcement. In order for a stimulus to take place, and object generally must be perceived, and motivation must also be present. The object may be physical or non-tangible. For example, the customer may be stimulated by such physical things as a particular product, a given size or quantity, its color, or its style. In other cases she might be stimulated by such intangibles as the service she receives or the prestige value of the product. In addition to perceiving the object, the customer will also be motivated by love, security, safety, or many other motives.

      The response is an action or reaction resulting from the stimulus and can be either physical or mental. Responses vary in speed, frequency, and/or in the nature of the response. Research has also shown that learning tends to increase as the speed, the frequency of correct responses, and the reward of the response increases.

      Reinforcement is the third basic factor in the learning process. Definitions vary among authors, but it may be loosely defined as a condition which increases the probability of an identical favored response. It can also be defined as a rewarding or satisfying situation which helps to stimulate the same response. There are three laws of reinforcement -- the law of effect, the law of exercise, and the law of readiness. The law of effect refers to repetition of a satisfactory response. If an association is formed between a stimulus (a product advertisement), a response (going to the store to buy it), and reinforcement (experiencing satisfaction with the product), the connection of these three processes is generally strengthened by repetition.

      The law of exercise relates to a form of conditioning. If the customer experiences the same stimulus a second time, she responds more quickly and with less difficulty because of her satisfying experience in the first instance. It is similar to a runner who continues to improve her performance as she continues to exercise and practice.

      The law of readiness refers to the customer’s ability and willingness to solve a problem. If she has the ability and willingness to learn, effective learning generally can take place. And conversely, if these two qualities are absent, then little or no learning will occur. As previously discussed, learning is any change in a person’s response or behavior. Applying it to selling, then, means that the salesperson must be able to change customers from negative or indifferent positions to positive ones if she is to be successful in making sales.

Dyadic interaction

      There has been considerable research on qualities necessary for success in selling and on consumer behavior. However, most of these studies have been made exclusive of each other, and only in recent years has there been research on the interaction between the customer and the salesperson. Such research is referred to a “dyadic interaction” where two separate units are treated as one. It is an integrated analysis of the roles played by both parties in a sale. These studies also focus attention on the transaction itself and on such factors as content of the transaction, average length of the transaction, and when and where the transaction takes place.

      Other related variables also are isolated, controlled, and studied. Some of these studies have shown that the more alike the customer and salesperson are in such factors as age and economic and social background, the greater is the probability for a sale. Other studies have indicated that dependent persons tend to favor more assistance from the salesperson in arriving at purchase decisions, while independent persons tend to prefer a minimum of assistance. As far as the sex of the purchaser is concerned, some of these studies have shown that males are more likely to respond favorably to aggressive salespeople than are females. Research of this kind is relatively new, and the findings should not be accepted as hard-and-fast conclusions which will always apply. However, such studies emphasize the many variables that must be analyzed in order to better understand the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.

      

Indicate whether each of the following statements “is true or false

      1.If two persons witness the same robbery of a bank, they are both likely to give identical accounts of the event.

      2.A “straight” college professor may buy mod clothes because of a multiple syndrome of circumstances.

      3.The three basic factors in the learning process are stimulus, response, and readiness.

      4.Dyadic interaction research has produced some hard-and-fast conclusions regarding the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.

       Answer

      1.False. No two persons are likely to perceive the same stimulus in exactly the same way. Two witnesses to the same event often tell vastly СКАЧАТЬ