Serving Customers In Global Market

Introduction:

The communication material selected is the Virgin Atlantic website because of the information it contains regarding customer experience and what they should expect from the company in terms of service delivery and charges. The company states that customer service and commitment is the major driving force behind the brand. It goes on to state that the company believes in getting things right the first time but even if lapses occasionally occur then it will do its best to ensure that the mistakes are rectified in time. Understanding the psychology of the customer is extremely important to businesses because it helps them in figuring out the customer demands (Schiffman, Kanuk, & Hansen, 2012). Good understanding and implementation of business psychology leads to more customers because the satisfied ones often tend to spread the message to their colleagues with an aim of influencing them to try the service. However, the converse is also true because when they do not like the experience, they will as well spread around the bad message (Donnelly & Harrison, 2009). Businesses should therefore always strive to ensure that they understand the demands of the clients and then move on to give them the best experience in terms of service delivery because failure to do this only leads to loss of consumers (Palmer 2011). The key message that the advertiser wishes to communicate to the customers is that it believes that they have the right to information regarding the level of service they expect from the company all the time even in the rare moments when it falls short of the high standards set by the company.

Importance of understanding Theories of Consumer Psychology:

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The message in the Virgin Atlantic’s website attracts the attention of the consumers because it has positioned itself as a company offering the lowest possible fares in the industry. Many people prefer paying less for more and this is what the company is banking on as it promises the consumers to give them the best service at the best rates in the industry (Solomon et al 2010). The layout of the site is also a major factor in attracting the attention of the consumers because most of the information is available and easily retrievable thus giving the clients an easy time when it comes to booking and making travel arrangements.

The message facilitates the learning of the consumers in order to embed the message in their memory as recommended by the theories of consumer psychology. The company informs the consumers prior to booking on what they should expect from the company. Once they have this information, then they know what to expect from Virgin Atlantic in terms of service delivery. The standards set by the company are very high and at times, it fails to attain them but the consumers know this in advance so that in case of any mishaps the extent of the damage is not grossly over exaggerated. Virgin Atlantic motivates the consumers to act in the way the company desires through giving them what they desire and at reasonable costs that are well below the industrial average. It does this through setting very high standards for the company and then offering them to the clients at the lowest possible price in the industry. Everyone often desires to have the best service and when this comes along with the lowest possible prices then the motivation to use Virgin Atlantic will always be high (Dibb, Simpkin, & Ferrell, 2006). The company’s communication system therefore covers all the four aspects of theory of consumer psychology.

Donnelly & Harrison G, (2009) state that personality often influences the way consumers respond to the marketing messages. As such, the management of the company knows how to position itself in order to achieve its objectives. Virgin Atlantic predominantly uses the cognitive marketing strategy in winning over the trust of consumers. It does this by presenting pieces of information or rational arguments concerning its services to the consumers (Janson-Boyd, 2010).This method proves to be effective for Virgin Atlantic because the important message in the advert is on the attributes of the services it renders and the benefits that the consumers can derive from them. The company has designed the message in manner that influences the beliefs of the consumers with an aim of enticing them into using its services.

Virgin Atlantic mostly relies on functional theory in packaging its advertisements as a way of attracting and retaining consumers. According to this theory, households form attitudes in order to be able to structure, organize and summarize large information on an entity (Buttle 2007). In this case, therefore, attitudes primarily serve as functions of knowledge. Knowledge can be either perceptual or conceptual in nature. Attitudes often express self-perceptions, values and preferences hence playing a big role in the consumer decision-making process (Gronroos2007).Owing to the fact that attitudes facilitate interpersonal communication and also serve as a function of value expression, Virgin Atlantic pays close attention in informing the potential consumers on the reasons why its services are the best in the industry. All the services of the airline are available on the site for easy access.

Conclusion:

The selected message meets all the requirements of theory as it efficiently informs the potential consumers on what they should expect from the company. The message is not only informative but also appealing to the audience as it intends to influence their attitudes about the company. The company can improve the message on the website by informing the potential consumers on the challenges facing the industry and the average industrial charges. It can actually indicate that they are the best airline in the industry by offering comparisons of their services and the costs with those of the industry. Once the consumers see this they will tend to form positive attitudes towards Virgin Atlantic and then inform their colleagues to try it. The functional approach chosen by the company fits very well in its advertising methods as it tries to create an advantage over its peers in the industry.

Bibliography:

Buttle. F. (2007) Customer Relationship Management. Elsevier

Dibb,S., Simpkin, L., & Ferrell, O.C. (2006) Marketing Concepts and Strategies, Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Donnelly, R.& Harrison G, (2009) The Marketing Planning Process, Butterworth-Heinemann, London

Gronroos, C (2007) Service Management and Marketing: Customer Management in Service
Competition, 3rd ed, Wiley

Janson-Boyd, C.V. (2010). Consumer Psychology. Maidenhead : Open University Press

Palmer A (2011) Principles of Service Marketing 6th Ed. McGraw Hill

Schiffman, L.G., Kanuk, L.L. & Hansen, H. (2012). Consumer Behaviour – A European Outlook.
2nd. ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Solomon, M et al. (2010). Consumer Behaviour – A European Perspective. 4th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Virgin Atlantic Website. http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/customer-service/customer-service-plan.html

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