Interview on perceptions of a product or service and ways of Assignment

Interview on perceptions of a product or service and ways of motivating customers and increasing customer satisfaction - Assignment Example The product is intended to be utilised as a night and day-wearing product, wearable under make-up as an all-day moisturizer, designed to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The Time Zone line contains a blend of antioxidants, Vitamin C and exclusive Cell Vector technology that assist in not only skin hydration, but to repair cellular damage. The product’s trademarked Tri-HA Cell Signalling Complex is included in the product in order to motivate skin to increase production of the natural hyaluronic acid that plumps up skin and reverse the signs of normal aging (Estee Lauder 2013). The product retails between ?70 and ?105 for a 48.19 gram product and 70.87 gram portion, respectively. This product is positioned as a luxury product on the market, backed by 67 years of competitive branding and promotion and is therefore targeted to the high resource buyer. 2. Perception, motivation and satisfaction – A review of literature Perceptions of product value impacts consumer satisfaction (Tam 2004). However, what is considered to be valuable is unique to different consumer segments based on their lifestyles, beliefs, resource availability, and assessment of how the product can provide meaning or self-expansion to the consumer. When consumers attempt to interpret marketing communications and product value, they often rely on stereotypes and the halo effect, which is where perceived value of one product offered by the marketer extends into other product brands. The halo effect involves pre-established trust in a branded product that translates into consumer perceptions that other products by the same manufacturer will be equally valuable (Schiffman and Kanuk 2010; BBC News 2005); a form of brand trust leading to brand loyalty. Estee Lauder products have been positioned as luxury products since the 1950s, with some of the first contracts for distribution established with U.S.-based high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue. Celebrity endorsemen ts have been utilised for decades illustrating endorsers sharing aspirational characteristics relevant to consumers that are motivated by credible and attractive famous figures. Thus, Estee Lauder products are generational and the brand has been a common household name in beauty enhancement, with considerable brand awareness and loyalty with certain target markets. Escalas and Bettman (2005) state that brands become symbolic especially when they are tied to celebrity involvement; taking on perceived characteristics of glitz, aspiration and charm when consumers compare the ability of the product to enhance their self-image. When attempting to understand perception, it is necessary to highlight the aspirational opportunities of certain luxury brands, especially those that influence advancement of the consumers’ social status and reference group affiliation (Kim, Forsythe, Gu and Moon 2002). In fact, O’Cass and McEwen (2004) identify the phenomenon of status consumption, in which buyers of a product select the brand as a means of showing their social status in order to achieve some form of psychological satisfaction. This is where stereotypes come into play for marketers since many luxury consumers are very concerned about their role in affiliation with important reference group figures. Estee Lauder has been able to create an aspirational brand that is perceived by many consumer segments as being viable for improving their social lives