Defining, Measuring and Managing Consumer Experiences

Book excerpt: This book offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges that marketing faces in understanding, managing and measuring the dynamics of modern consumer behaviours and successfully managing the customer experience. The reader will gain a deeper knowledge of the approaches to consumer behaviour and learn about the theoretical and empirical challenges of studying customer experience management. It also considers the post-modern consumer, which requires a move beyond the purely rationalist perspective of traditional marketing and provides methodological support for firms and scholars who wish to measure cognitive, emotional and behavioural consumer reactions. More specifically, it explores the changes in consumer behaviours, the limitations of traditional measurement approaches and the importance of capturing small insights with neuromarketing metrics, with a chapter contributed by a leading expert. A new three-point perspective on consumer behaviours is set out that combines behaviour (what people do) with the declared (what people say) and the perceived (what people feel). This approach acknowledges the complexity of consumer behaviours and the methodological bias derived from the use of the traditional techniques (principally the survey) or from big data. Only a holistic perspective can capture the heterogeneous nature of consumer behaviour. The book thereby takes up the theoretical debate about the definition, management and measurement of customer behaviour. It also examines measurement methodologies, an area that has received little attention elsewhere. Besides addressing the scientific community in the field, the book will also be a valuable practical resource for marketing managers, entrepreneurs and consultants who want to implement innovative strategies to manage the customer experience.