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Marketing
Consumer perceptions of quality significantly differ due to the perceived attributes of products.
Consumer perception of products often differs due to perceived product attributes. Such perceptions are higher in the category of healthy snack food bars because consumers search and want to experience distinct characteristics and qualities of these products. The search attributes are those that customers evaluate before they purchase. In the snack food bars category, search attributes include freshness, price, ingredients, brands, shape, color, size, and texture. Experience qualities refer to those qualities customers experienced after purchasing the product. In the snack food bars category, customer experience attributes include sweetness and taste. The credence attributes refer to qualities that consumers cannot confidently evaluate even after purchasing the product. These attributes include food safety, environmental sustainability, and other attributes. These attributes influence consumer perception since each consumer has a specific preference in terms of freshness, color and size, and texture. Besides, different consumers have different tastes; therefore, each customer has a distinct perception. The perception of quality differs among the customer as different customers have a discrete perception of quality. Some equate quality to color, size, ingredients, and prize.
Understanding customer perceptions of quality is particularly important for managers in the operation of service businesses. Service quality varies considerably due to various factors that are hard to control. Using the Starbucks as an example, discuss and explain how the following marketing concepts are used to explain variations in consumer perceptions of service quality: intangibility, perishable, inseparability, and inconsistency
The intangibility of products means customers cannot thoroughly verify service since they cannot touch, see, or taste (Lamb, 184). Given the intangibility of services, consumers need proof of the quality of service. Starbucks achieves this by offering quality customer service through the reliable and courteous staff. Friendly and polite staff make customers distinguish Starbucks from competitors. Inseparability refers to the marketing concept meaning the difficulty of separating service from the provider. Starbucks provides top-notch customer service distinguishable from services offered by competitors. Perishability of service means it cannot be stored, saved, or resold. It means that once provided, the service is consumed, and the customer cannot return. Because of the perishability of service, customers look for the best services that guarantee quality. To achieve this, Starbucks endeavors to provide high quality service to customers to shield customers from regretting procuring its services. Inconsistency refers to heterogeneity or uniqueness of services. The quality of services offered varies and can never be repeated. Given this characteristic, consumers often look for the best providers who guarantee services close to ones provided earlier. Starbucks tries to achieve this by staff training and equipping to ensure that services provided are similar.
Works cited
Lamb, Charles W, Joseph F. Hair, and Carl D. McDaniel. Mktg4: Student Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print
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