Browse Archives by Keyword: Customer Relations
Connecting with Clients: Best to Be Funny or Clever?
[9/1/2023]
Holly S. Howe, PhD, Lingrui Zhou, PhD, Rodrigo S. Dias, PhD Candidate, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons, PhD
Humor has been a popular marketing strategy throughout the years. In our research, we argue that if a brand wants to use humor, they benefit more from using clever humor versus merely being funny. When a brand uses clever humor, it is better able to connect with the audience, which can lead to more positive brand attitudes and greater brand engagement
Influencing Negotiations: Salesperson Favor Requests
[9/1/2023]
Veronica L. Thomas, PhD, Stephanie M. Mangus, PhD, and Dora E. Bock, PhD
Consumers often believe that salespeople do not have consumers' best interests in mind and, thus, dread the idea of engaging in negotiations with a salesperson. In our research, we focus on the interpersonal relationship between the consumer and the salesperson and examine whether a favor request from a salesperson to the consumer will encourage engagement and the idea of negotiation
When “Too Much” is Just Too Much
[6/1/2023]
Lisa Beeler, PhD, Alex Zablah, PhD, and Adam Rapp, PhD
Salespeople are often indoctrinated to love what they sell, but too much enthusiasm from the salesperson may cause the customer to feel pressured and form a tendency to avoid the salesperson and the brand altogether. While brand attachment is important in terms of salesperson effort and performance, it may be equally off-putting for customers
Power Distance Belief: A Tool to Design Tailored Appeals to Persuade Your Audience
[3/1/2023]
Lingjiang Lora Tu, PhD, JaeHwan Kwon, PhD, and Huachao Gao, PhD
In consumer-based businesses, understanding how to effectively design marketing messages is key. Our research on power distance belief brings salespeople one step closer to understanding what is going on in the minds of different consumers which increases the power to persuade audiences through appeals tailored directly toward specific consumer mindsets
Speaking or Writing? The Impact of Expression Modalities
[3/1/2023]
Jonah Berger, PhD, Matthew D. Rocklage, PhD, and Grant Packard, PhD
Word of mouth has become a pivotal factor in what shapes consumers' thoughts and actions. We break down two modes of communication and find that writing does not have the same effect as speaking. This research offers insight as to how and when to use each form of communication in order to maximize agent success
The Effects of Gratitude vs. Indebtedness
[3/1/2023]
Stephanie M. Mangus, PhD, Dora E. Bock, PhD, Eli Jones, PhD, and Judith Anne Garretson Folse, PhD
Nearly all business exchanges are built around the practice of reciprocity—or exchanging things with others for mutual benefit—which paves the way for feelings of gratitude and indebtedness. This study specifically focuses on how the salesperson's feelings of gratitude and indebtedness impact seller-buyer relationship quality, relationship satisfaction, and customer word of mouth
Making the Brand-to-Customer Relationship Work
[9/1/2022]
Claudio Alvarez, PhD, Danielle J. Brick, PhD, and Susan Fournier, PhD
When it comes to buying products, we all tend to have favorite brands to which we are loyal. To better understand how brand relationships change, our research takes a deeper look at how consumers’ actions create, maintain, transform, and terminate brand relationships over time
Reducing Social Anxiety to Boost Sales Performance
[9/1/2022]
Bruno Lussier, PhD, Matthew Philp, PhD, Nathaniel N. Hartmann, PhD, and Heiko Wieland, PhD
Numerous professions, including real estate sales, involve duties that can lead employees to experience social anxiety, which can be detrimental to a salesperson, especially when working directly with customers. This research explores strategies to mitigate social anxiety in order to boost sales performance
Making Tough Choices Today for an Easier Tomorrow
[6/1/2022]
Ashley S. Otto, PhD, Joshua J. Clarkson, PhD, Nathanael S. Martin, PhD ABD
Consumers make countless decisions every day. Some situations require minimal decision-making effort, while others require more thought and effort to reach a decision. Our research finds that there are two situations, driven by a motivation to achieve cognitive closure, in which people will put more effort into the decision-making process in order to simplify the process in the future
Why Marketers Fail to Understand Their Customers: The False Consensus Effect
[6/1/2022]
Walter Herzog, PhD, Johannes D. Hattula, PhD, and Darren W. Dahl, PhD
Marketing is all about understanding customer preferences and providing solutions that match these preferences. However, marketers’ perceptions of their target customers’ preferences can be biased through the so-called false consensus effect, whereby marketers project their personal preferences onto customers
