Improve Customer Value Research Articles

Analysis of Brand Concept Marketing Strategy Based on CustomerValue Realization—Take Jellycat as an Example

In the era of all kinds of Netflix products, the brand’s marketing strategy is the focus of today’s research, and the researchers found that Jellycat is expensive but can always maintain a high level of heat in the whole industry. The reason for the success of its internal marketing strategy is worth an in-depth study of the subject in order to understand the brand communication and customer value of the association. However, there is still a lack of more detailed explanation and cognition about the brand concept marketing strategy, so this study can further promote marketing psychology-related research and also help major brands to further improve customer value, with theoretical significance and practical significance. Therefore, this paper investigates the conceptual connotation, target group, and experiential feedback of the Jellycat brand through the literature research method and questionnaire survey method. In this paper, the target customer group and the reason why the concept attracts the target group through relevant research reports. Besides, this paper, through the questionnaire survey, randomly selected netizens to ask a series of questions about the Jellycat brand in order to investigate the marketing and effectiveness of the Jellycat brand concept. Finally, the study found that the Jellycat brand concept effectively locks the target group, and its unique marketing strategy also promotes its concept deep into the hearts of customers, which helps to realize its customer value.

Can gamified e-service quality improve customer value co-creation and relationship quality in e-retailing?

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effect of gamified e-service quality (GE-SQ) on customer value co-creation, relationship quality and purchase intention in e-retailing.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 549 e-retailing customers who participated in a gamified online service process. A structural equation modeling approach was adopted to analyze the model.FindingsThe empirical evidence confirmed that GE-SQ encouraged customer value co-creation behavior and relationship quality. Customer value co-creation and relationship quality led to higher purchase intention. Also, value co-creation and relationship quality partially mediated the relationship between GE-SQ and purchase intention.Originality/valueThe findings increase our knowledge of GE-SQ and its behavioral consequences. Moreover, the study proposes and validates a theoretical framework based on GE-SQ, value co-creation and customer relationship quality. This study provides insight into using gamification as a practical tool in the e-retailing industry.

Keeping customers sweet

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Firms looking to improve relationships with their customers can look to improve customer value ratings, and therefore customer-based brand equity, through customer engagement. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

포스코 ESG 경영 사례 연구

Purpose: This study is based on the awareness that ESG management is a key factor in realizing sustainability in corporate management at a time when it is formed as a new order at the global level and is a key criterion for judging the sustainability of investment in companies or businesses in Korea. Management/policy implications were derived through research on POSCO’s ESG management philosophy, institutions, and practices, which are implementing ESG management.
 Research design, data, and methodology: POSCO’s ESG management case, which is distinct from the declarative ESG management promotion case that can be represented by ESG washing, is analyzed as a good case of POSCO’s ‘citizen company’ that conceptualizes ‘citizen company’ by continuously improving customer value and brand value by creating economic value. The main data used in the case analysis were analyzed and organized focusing on the contents and data discussed and published on the POSCO website and various media reports, as well as internal announcements of “Corporate Citizen POSCO’s ESG Management.”
 Results: As a major result of the case analysis, the significance of start-up citizens presented as ESG identity in terms of institution and the ESG management strategy system to implement it were confirmed. In terms of implementation performance, the environment reviewed achievements such as responding to climate change, improving the air environment, innovating eco-friendly products, and resourcing by-products, focusing on ESG core issues. Society examined the performance of major ESG activities related to customers, employees, suppliers, and communities, focusing on stakeholders. The governance structure confirmed major achievements, focusing on ESG committee for ESG implementation, corporate citizenship advisory meetings, and ethical management. The analysis of POSCO’s financial performance analyzed sales, gross profit, operating profit, net profit, and EBITDA from 2018 to 2022 in consideration of the 2018 declaration of corporate citizenship and the enactment of the POSCO Corporate Citizenship Charter in 2019.
 Implications: The main implications of the study were the importance of ESG management strategies linked to corporate overall management strategies, the pursuit of a balance between economic performance and ESG performance, the formation of a board of directors to strengthen governance, the importance of active communication and significance of ESG management in the steel industry as global competition intensifies.

Channel choices and interaction patterns in continuously provided services: a customer journey perspective

ABSTRACT This research investigates channel choice antecedents in service industries, specifically referring to the online/offline dichotomy. We focus on continuously provided services in which prolonged interaction occurs between the provider and the customer in the post-purchase phase. Using a survey sample of 311 cross-service cases relating to bank accounts, mobile telecom, and electricity services, we identified five distinct journey patterns and tested our hypotheses on channel synergy effects and a set of customer-centered antecedents. This research advances the knowledge of customer – provider interactions and provides useful insights for service providers into how to improve customer value and retail strategies.

Effect of COVID-19 health threat on consumer’s perceived value towards mobile payments in India: a means-end model

Shifting to mobile payments from offline payments can be considered as a social distancing measure in times of a pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak is currently entering its ‘endemic’ stage; continued usage of mobile-based payment services is thereby warranted as a social distancing mechanism. This could be true in case of any other pandemic/endemic outbreaks like SARS/Nipah virus outbreaks. The current study examines how the ‘perceived’ health threat posed by COVID-19 and mobile payment service quality (MPSQ) influence consumers' perceived value toward continuous usage of mobile payment services (MPS) in India. In addition, the investigation considers other factors that prompt consumers to continue using the service. Customers, who used mobile payment applications for making cashless transactions during the pandemic, formed the subjects of the study. Data were collected from 720 mobile payment users. The research model integrates the concept of health threat in health belief model to means-end chain model to explain why a customer opts to choose m-payment at times of a pandemic, and what prompts him/her to continue with its usage. The model was empirically tested with structural equation modeling, along with mediation and moderation analysis. It was found that MPSQ, perceived susceptibility, and perceived severity of COVID-19 significantly enhanced consumers’ value perceptions regarding MPS, which leads to satisfaction and continuance intention of using the same. In addition, the study also found a significant positive moderating role of consumer involvement on the relationship between perceived health threat, perceived value, and MPSQ. The threat of COVID-19, being an endemic, or occurrence of similar pandemics persists, and adopting contactless transactions via MPS to comply with social distancing norms may improve customer value perceptions that could aid in the persistence of MPS usage. Also, derivation of value perceptions out of the service quality acts as a driver to continuous usage.

Improving Customer Value Through the Integral of Techniques Quality Function Deployment and Value Engineering

Health service institutions suffer from challenges resulting from the great changes that our world is witnessing today. This has affected the value that these institutions add to the patient.
 This research aims to identify the effect of integrating each of the techniques of QFD and value engineering for the health services provided to the patient to improve the value for him and thus obtain his satisfaction, which is reflected in the reputation of the surveyed hospitals. To achieve this, the descriptive analytical method was used, and a questionnaire was designed to collect the necessary data, which represents a measure of this research. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample deliberately taken from the research community consisting of hospital directors, department managers, and divisions in research hospitals, where the sample size was (97) individuals. Various statistical methods were used to test the research hypotheses, including confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. The results were extracted using SPSS and Amos. The quality function diffusion and value engineering had an effective and substantial effect in improving value for patients in the surveyed hospitals, which is the most important finding of this research. One of the most important recommendations of the research is to work on the participation of health staff in the health sector with the academic authorities represented by universities and specialized colleges and to work on continuing consultations to implement methods that contribute to achieving the highest levels of quality of health services.
 
 Paper type: Research paper.

The Impact of Multichannel Integration Capability on Customer Value and Satisfaction - An Empirical Study of Retail Enterprises in Hanoi

This study aims to explore the impact of multichannel integration capability on customer satisfaction which is mediated by customer value of retail enterprises in Hanoi. From the literature review, this study establishes the research model of the impact of multichannel integration capability on customer value and the influence of customer value on customer satisfaction of retailers. The quantitative research method which uses PLS-SEM by Smart-PLS3 software is used to examine the research model. By a survey of 249 consumers in Hanoi, the research results have shown that multichannel integration capability has a significant and positive impact on customer value and customer value favorably influences on customer satisfaction of retailers in Hanoi. Based on the findings, this study gives some recommendations to improve customer value and customer satisfaction by strengthening retailers’ multichannel integration capability.

Improving Customer Value Index and Consumption Forecasts using a Weighted RFM Model and Machine Learning Algorithms

Collecting and mining customer consumption data are crucial to assess customer value and predict customer consumption behaviors. This paper proposes a new procedure, based on an improved Random Forest Model by: adding a new indicator, joining the RFMS-based method to a K-means algorithm with the Entropy Weight Method applied in computing the customer value index, classifying customers to different categories, and then constructing a consumption forecasting model whose RMSE is the smallest in all kinds of data mining models. The results show that identifying customers by this improved RMF model and customer value index facilitates customer profiling, and forecasting customer consumption enables the development of more precise marketing strategies.

For Fuzzy Classification of Databases with Fuzzy Classification Query Language

Business information systems have extensive databases that are mainly managed in relational databases. What is often missing are automated procedures to analyze these inventories without major restructuring. Based on this, we develop the Fuzzy Classification Query Language, FCQL, which enables fuzzy queries to the extended database schema using linguistic variables and converts them into SQL statements to the database. With this, we give the user a data mining tool so that he can start extended queries on his databases based on a pre-defined fuzzy classification and obtain an improved basis for decision making. As a result, the fuzzy classification query language enables marketers to improve customer value, launch useful programs, automate overall customization, and refine business campaigns.

Improving Customer Value Index and Consumption Forecasts Using a Weighted RFM Model and Machine Learning Algorithms

Collecting and mining customer consumption data are crucial to assess customer value and predict customer consumption behaviors. This paper proposes a new procedure, based on an improved Random Forest Model by: adding a new indicator, joining the RFMS-based method to a K-means algorithm with the Entropy Weight Method applied in computing the customer value index, classifying customers to different categories, and then constructing a consumption forecasting model whose RMSE is the smallest in all kinds of data mining models. The results show that identifying customers by this improved RMF model and customer value index facilitates customer profiling, and forecasting customer consumption enables the development of more precise marketing strategies.

A Study on Improving Customer Value Based on the Effect of Word of Mouth.

The overlapping effect originates from an extension of Mendel’s law in genetics, where one of the interactions between non-alleles is called additive effect. It is more applied in studies on overlapping brand niches in marketing today, with relatively few researches on continuous customer value creation characterised by user adhesion and need matching. Based on the need matching and user adhesion that are features of the mobile Internet era, this article proposes a model for continuous customer value creation based on overlapping marketing. According to grounded theory, this article extracts three types of factors—demand effect, user effect, and overlapping marketing—that affect continuous customer value creation in the smart terminal business. From the perspective of service perception, this research explores how overlapping marketing affects product requirement matching and user adhesion based on a survey of 491 participants, and validates the theoretical model and hypotheses. It is found that overlapping marketing can effectively enhance need matching, improve user adhesion and increase customer value. This research not only addresses the confusion regarding need matching and user adhesion in the communications market, but also reveals how the smart terminal business affects continuous customer value creation in the era of the mobile Internet through overlapping marketing, combined with need matching and user adhesion.

Implementing Social Customer Relationship Management in Turbulent Environments: A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Purpose: Despite the crucial contribution of social media on customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, how social CRM can be transformed into customer value, and economics returns for firms remain unexplored in the hospitality industry, especially in turbulent environments. As a new approach for dealing with both gradual and disruptive changes in the market, this study develops and tests the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in the social CRM - performance relationship. Methodology: Drawing on resource-based view and capabilities perspectives, a mixed methodology was applied. First, a survey was conducted to quantitatively test the proposed hypotheses using Structural Equation Modelling with PLS approach (PLS-SEM) on a sample consisting of 111 SEMs. Then, a qualitative fuzzy-set Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) was employed to look for the unique combinations of capabilities to achieve firms‟ superior performance. Findings: The outcomes indicated a mixture of expected and unexpected findings, including: (i) the direct effect of social CRM on firm‟s performance; (ii) Dynamic capabilities as the missing link between social CRM capabilities and firms‟ performance; (iii) the unique roles of social media technology use in the combinations with other capabilities for generating the best firms‟ performance. Originality: This study is among the few to consider the dynamic nature of the market when investigating how to implement Social CRM successfully. The insights and practical implications in this study can be useful for managers in SMEs whose desire is to build a dynamic system for improving customer value and firms‟ performance.

A Framework to Motivate Students in Choosing Their Future Medical School

In recent years, the number of universities in the Saudi Arabian education industry, both government and private, has been steadily increasing. Saudi Arabia accounts for the majority of universities in the Middle East and North African region. By 2030, the number is expected to continue to climb with improved ranking of existing educational institutions and the arrival of new universities, including renowned international universities. Technology schools and medical schools are the two largest segments of the current education industry in Saudi Arabia. There are numerous competitors in these two fields, including schools in government, private, and international universities. It is widely acknowledged that universities with excellent customer value will attract excellent students. The aim of this study was to look into whether students can be motivated to choose their future institute if customer value principles from the business sector were implemented. Using Porter's five-forces analysis, this study developed a framework to motivate students' choices among various medical schools. The Balanced Scorecard model was used to establish a sustainable growth rate. The study concludes that customer value in the education industry, especially in universities, should be improved and included as a key performance indicator for schools and universities. Implementing excellent strategies to improve customer value will positively impact the education industry.

Driving Value Creation Through Proper Design of Goal Realization Frameworks

Organizations have become increasingly aware that customer value creation is critical to remain relevant and to stay in business. Hence, most organizations have incorporated these elements into their overall mission statement and their organization-wide strategy. Yet many of them struggle to create an organization where employees focus effectively on executing the formulated strategy and on delivering and continuously improving customer value. This article describes how clever and tailored design of goal realization in organizations can foster value creation and embed it in the daily work routines of employees. The key to success is to adopt goal realization in such a way that it creates an environment where employees feel safe, empowered and confident to go after aspirational, value-based goals while creating alignment and connecting employees to the overall goals and objectives of the organization. This is illustrated in a practical manner by presenting the framework as adopted by Google.

How to Improve Value Creation by Service Interaction: The Role of Customer-Environment Fit and Efficacy.

Under the service-dominant logic, the interactions between employee and customer create opportunities for value creation. Yet, prior research has ignored the underlying mechanism by which service interaction might improve customer value creation. This study develops a conceptual model of customer–environment fit (C–E fit) from the perspective of customer and conducts empirical research to examine the mediating effect of C–E fit between service interaction and customer value creation and the associated boundary conditions. With data from 435 customer questionnaires, the results show that service interaction has a positive effect on value creation (utilitarian and hedonic); customer–product fit and customer–employee fit act as mediators between service interaction and value creation; customer self-efficacy moderates the mediating effects of two mediators on the relationship between service interaction and value creation; customer other-efficacy only moderates the mediating effects of customer–employee fit on the relationship between service interaction and value creation. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

Design of diversified package tours for the digital travel industry : A branch-cut-and-price approach

Motivated by the revolution brought by the internet and communication technology in daily life, this paper examines how the online travel agencies (OTA) can use these technologies to improve customer value. We consider the design of a fixed number of package tours offered to customers in the digital travel industry. This can be formulated as a Team Orienteering Problem (TOP) with restrictions on budget and time. Different from the classical TOP, our work is the first one to introduce controlled diversity between tours. This enables the OTA to offer tourists a diversified portfolio of tour packages for a given period of time, each potential customer choosing a single tour in the selected set, rather than multiple independent tours over several periods as in the classical TOP. Tuning the similarity parameter between tours enables to manage the trade-off between individual preferences in consumers’ choices and economies of scale in agencies’ bargaining power. We propose compact and extended formulations and solve the master problem by a branch-and-price method, and an alternative branch-cut-and-price method. The latter uses a delayed dominance rule in the shortest path pricing problem solved by dynamic programming. Our methods are tested over benchmark TOP instances of the literature, and a real dataset collected from a Chinese OTA. We explore the impact of tours diversity on all stakeholders, and assess the computational performance of various approaches.

Relationship Marketing, Orientation, Brand Equity and Firm Value: The Mediating Role of Customer Value—An Emerging Market Perspective

This study investigates how customer value mediates the relationship between relationship marketing and firm value, and how brand equity mediates the relationship between relationship marketing and firm value in the telecommunications industry in Ghana. A quantitative research design was adopted. Data were collected from 1,000 customers from four main telecommunications companies in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the relationship among the variables. The findings demonstrate that all five dimensions of RM—trust, empathy, shared value, communication, and bonding—have a significant positive influence on brand equity. The test further revealed that brand equity significantly leads to firm value and customer value. The research findings indicate that the relationship marketing concept and brand equity can be used to improve customer value and firm value issues in the telecommunications industry in Ghana. Moreover, the study revealed the usefulness of brand equity scales adopted in evaluating context-specific issues as exist in the telephony industry. The findings also indicate that customer value partially mediates firm value and brand equity. The study shows that brand equity components have varying mediating effects on firm value.

Customer centricity in mobile banking: a customer experience perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to increase understanding about how to improve customer value and to make mobile banking services a profitable business for banks and other financial actors. The study explores the user experiences and related value of a new mobile banking service.Design/methodology/approachThe study is implemented as a case study that is phenomenological in nature and linked to an interpretive consumer study. Empirical data were collected through 14 semi-structured theme interviews and a diary method. The data were analysed by using a content analysis method.FindingsThe findings illustrate the importance of customer centricity in the mobile banking context by identifying customer experience and related value in a new mobile banking service. The study extends current understanding of customer experience as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon by including value related to process, the use situation and the outcome, and it identifies temporality as influencing and connecting all these aspects. The study identifies several aspects that help us to understand what creates value for the customer while using mobile banking services.Research limitations/implicationsAs one limitation, this study was conducted in a developed country and the findings could be different in an emerging market context. Another limitation relates to the data, as the interviewees’ age range is quite limited, ranging between 20 and 40 years. However, they represent the consumers who normally use mobile services well and thus provide reliable data about their use experiences.Practical implicationsAs the banking industry is currently experiencing rapid and widespread changes and customers become more demanding, it is crucial for banks and other mobile service providers to understand the everyday lives of their customers and to integrate their future services into the customers’ value creation processes as smoothly and inseparably as possible. The findings of this study will help banks and other financial institutions to develop their strategies and operations in regard to customer-oriented thinking, which will further help them to create long-term, profitable customer relationships and improve future viability.Originality/valueThe study contributes to bank marketing research and extends previous research on customer-centred service marketing by providing a framework that identifies the value related to customer experience in a new mobile banking service. It explores the experiences of actual mobile banking service customers’ and the related value, and thus provides original implications for both theory and practice.

Customer Perceptions of Innovativeness: An Accelerator for Value Co-Creation

Hospitality and tourism businesses engage customers as collaborators in creating value through the satisfactory delivery of products and services. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of customers’ perception of innovativeness on their value co-creation behavior. Specifically, with the theoretical support of Service-Dominant logic, the present study investigates customer value co-creation behavior, its antecedents (i.e., customer’s perceived innovativeness) and consequences (i.e., customer satisfaction and loyalty) at restaurants. This study confirms a holistic concept of perceived innovativeness as the key predictor of customers’ behavior for value co-creation, which in turn leads to their satisfaction and loyalty. This study contributes to the evolving knowledge of innovativeness and value co-creation and offers practitioners effective strategies to improve customer value co-creation behavior through their perceptions of restaurants’ innovativeness and thereby maximizing their satisfaction and loyalty.