This paper presents the main findings obtained through a longitudinal study on housewives. Its main goal is to establish the predictive capacity of interbrand consumption that offers a series of variables or measuring instruments which have been traditionally used in market research. These variables or measuring instruments are: brand salience, advertising recall, preferences, multi-attribute attitudes and intention. The percentage index of predictability obtained allows, on one hand, a judgement of the real value of said variables to be made, and on the other hand, enables us to discuss a series of previous theoretical bases, latent in much research, which seem to need modification. Recommendations to simplify questionnaires and achieve a more precise interpretation of the relationship between brand image and the dynamics of consumption is also offered.
Through the process of obtaining consumer reactions to a wide variety of public service advertisement, an attempt has been made in this paper to understand the factors that govern consumer expectations of public service advertising. This paper presents the argument that effective public service advertising must not only fulfil the various criteria applicable to effective advertising of any product or service but must also be in line with what consumers expect the advertising to look and feel like. Finally, this paper presents a conceptual framework of the process that consumers go through in arriving at these expectations. This framework, we feel, can be used by researchers to develop measuring instruments which can measure consumer expectations more formally and more effectively.
This research addresses a key issue of concern to the international users of customer satisfaction measurement (CSM) information. One of the benefits of CSM is that it offers a yardstick forjudging the performance of the company in becoming customer- driven. Increasingly, multinational firms are using CSM results obtained from different countries to make allocative decisions between national or regional business units and to incentivize management. However, good decisions can be made only to the extent that the multicountry CSM information provides a TRUE "apples-to-apples" comparison. The results of this study conducted in nine countries in Europe, North America, and the Pacific Rim reveal substantial differences in the response bias toward a 5-point, perceived quality scale after controlling for perceived performance and (to some extent) expectational differences. Suggestions are made for correcting the response bias in multicountry CSM data to increase the validity of international comparisons and to facilitate the "roll-up" international results.
Advertisements constitute a powerful means of communicating and establishing cultural values throughout all of society. The receivers of these messages respond to them in terms of their vital situation as subjects and as members of social groups . This paper presents a method for the qualitative analysis of the audience's response to the characters, bonds and types of family structures displayed in commercials. The basis for accomplishing the above is the General Systems Theory as a tool for analyzing and correlating the responses of the receivers to the communication objectives of the emitter. The starting point for the analysis encompasses the identification of the psychosocial profiles of the interviews based upon their own self-perception, their experience within a system as a couple and as a family in close interaction with their socio-cultural environment. Upon applying this theoretical framework we have found that the aspirations of the interviewees , regarding both their personal ideals and those as couples and families, closely correlate to their reactions to the family dynamics portray- ed in the commercials. As an example we have included the case study on the spontaneous reactions of a segment of housewives towards two commercials that show different types of family bonds and structures . It was concluded that the expectations and hopes held by consumers with regard to lifestyles and interpersonal relationships can be included within publicity efforts as a positive contribution that serves to motivate in the target audience the search for improved bonds.
Advertisements constitute a powerful means of communicating and establishing cultural values throughout all of society. The receivers of these messages respond to them in terms of their vital situation as subjects and as members of social groups . This paper presents a method for the qualitative analysis of the audience's response to the characters, bonds and types of family structures displayed in commercials. The basis for accomplishing the above is the General Systems Theory as a tool for analyzing and correlating the responses of the receivers to the communication objectives of the emitter. The starting point for the analysis encompasses the identification of the psychosocial profiles of the interviews based upon their own self-perception, their experience within a system as a couple and as a family in close interaction with their socio-cultural environment. Upon applying this theoretical framework we have found that the aspirations of the interviewees , regarding both their personal ideals and those as couples and families, closely correlate to their reactions to the family dynamics portray- ed in the commercials. As an example we have included the case study on the spontaneous reactions of a segment of housewives towards two commercials that show different types of family bonds and structures . It was concluded that the expectations and hopes held by consumers with regard to lifestyles and interpersonal relationships can be included within publicity efforts as a positive contribution that serves to motivate in the target audience the search for improved bonds.
Local government is going through a period of considerable change in a number of European countries, including France and Britain, as the nature of central-local relations changes. While Britain is centralising power and decision-making, France is devolving these away from Paris. In both countries, however, effective resource management and improving the quality of local public services are high on the agenda of local authorities. There is growing recognition that now, more than ever before, local government needs to know about customer attitudes and expectations. Local authorities are coming increasingly to recognise the practical role survey research can play in monitoring service delivery, in responding to the opinions of both users and non-users of services, and in improving customer care. This paper explores recent research conducted for local authorities in Britain and France. Case histories are used to illustrate the ways in which research is providing a reliable tool for decision-making in both countries. The paper focuses on the use made of survey data by clients keen to respond to changing local needs, with particular reference to the problems facing rural areas, which are not always recognised by central government. The paper demonstrates how research has provided a springboard for action, and provided cost-effective guidance to local planners and policy-makers in both France and Britain.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the race is on to understand and meet customer expectations of service delivery, and research has a key role to play in helping organisations implement and sustain effective customer service programmes. For this paper, the authors have combined their experience of working closely with US and UK clients, across a range of different market sectors, to prepare a recipe for success in achieving good customer service, in which research is a vital ingredient. Two case studies, one from each country, are presented to demonstrate how the recipe ingredients have been blended by two very different organisations to produce uniquely successful service cultures. The authors conclude that detailed applications require informed tailor-making, but that research techniques translate well between cultures and markets, and that the exchange of ideas and experience will continue to benefit both clients and their customers.
The present paper will discuss the relevance of several rational and other apparently irrational indicators in making forecasts for individual markets, in other words, the relevance of the plans, desires, moods and expectations expressed by consumers in the interview. Trends based on these factors will be compared with the actual trends in ownership data, also ascertained by our surveys. This comparison has enabled us to develop several methods for making forecasts solely on the basis of easily manipulable aggregate data. In addition, questions concerning the psychological climate in specific markets will be analyzed, focusing on the issue of whether they provide an early indication of new modes of behavior, and thus of new areas that may be approached in advertising, and on the extent to which this applies. Finally, we shall examine economic forecast indicators derived from representative surveys. The studies presented demonstrate that while subjective assessments made by consumers may seem unprofessional, they are in fact highly significant.
The present paper will discuss the relevance of several rational and other apparently irrational indicators in making forecasts for individual markets, in other words, the relevance of the plans, desires, moods and expectations expressed by consumers in the interview. Trends based on these factors will be compared with the actual trends in ownership data, also ascertained by our surveys. This comparison has enabled us to develop several methods for making forecasts solely on the basis of easily manipulable aggregate data. In addition, questions concerning the psychological climate in specific markets will be analyzed, focusing on the issue of whether they provide an early indication of new modes of behavior, and thus of new areas that may be approached in advertising, and on the extent to which this applies. Finally, we shall examine economic forecast indicators derived from representative surveys. The studies presented demonstrate that while subjective assessments made by consumers may seem unprofessional, they are in fact highly significant.
This paper is divided into four parts. The first part describes the dramatic changes which are currently being made to the National Health Service in the UK. Many of these changes affect the hospital service with the formation of an internal market of managed competition. Local Health Authorities are being divided into purchaser and provider functions: the purchaser aims to become the champion of the patient by buying and monitoring services on his behalf. Every household in the UK has been issued with a copy of the Patientâs Charter, which gives details of people's rights. The second part of the paper describes the methodology used to conduct a major study of levels of patient satisfaction in three District Health Authorities located in East Sussex. The methodology was specifically tailored to allow for analysis both at the most general and at detailed levels. After an extensive development phase, a total of over 6000 postal questionnaires were despatched to patients who had recently left the hospital: a response rate of 71% was achieved. The survey is helping the process of change within the health service, by focusing on the needs and views of patients, and by helping the Authorities to move towards the Charter's objective, which is always to put patients first, providing services that meet clearly defined national and local standards, in ways responsive to people's views and needs. The final part of the paper looks at the future, the possibility of a repeat survey in 1993 and the encouragement which the three pioneering Districts are giving to other Districts to follow suit.
This study was carried out by the interprofessional committee for dairy products CIDIL (Comite Interprofessionnel des Industries Laitieres) in order to define the set of values underlying the attraction to various dairy products, in particular for the young, ranging from 15 to 25 years of age. The final objective is to optimize communication of these products towards the target group of young people. The study makes use of an original methodology called Semiometry, making it possible to gain in-depth understanding of the sensitivities and expectations of a segment of the population.