Apologizing to customers after product failures can encourage
repurchase, stave off lawsuits

Date:
September 7, 2021
Source:
Binghamton University
Summary:
Companies that express remorse in the wake of a product failure
are more likely to encourage customers to repurchase from them,
according to new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Companies that express remorse in the wake of a product failure are more
likely to encourage customers to repurchase from them, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.


==========================================================================
The study, which examines how emotional reactions affect how consumers
interact with a company, also found that remorseful statements can help
stave off retaliatory actions such as lawsuits.

"Human beings are emotional. When something bad occurs, the first thing
that happens is an emotional reaction -- usually anger. We wanted to find
out how the buyer's anger translates into action when a product failure
is caused by the seller's negligence," said Subimal Chatterjee, SUNY distinguished teaching professor of marketing at Binghamton University's
School of Management.

Chatterjee and his fellow researchers conducted two experiments to
determine how consumers react to product failures, and looked specifically
at two groups of consumers -- a "promotion-focused" group, who were
naturally inclined to gain something positive from the buyer-seller relationship, and a "prevention- focused" group, who sought to avoid
failure in the buyer-seller relationship.

In one experiment, participants were shown an apology from a CEO, while participants in the other experiment were shown a message from a lawyer
looking to seek damages from the company.

The researchers found that consumers were more likely to repurchase from
the company when there was a match between the framing of the CEO apology
and their natural inclinations, meaning a promotion-framed message worked
best with promotion-focused consumers, and a prevention-framed message
worked best with prevention-focused consumers.

Researchers also found that when consumers had an option to join a class
action suit, the framing of the lawyer's message had more of an impact
on the prevention-focused consumers than the promotion-focused consumers.

"There is a lesson here," said Chatterjee. "Framing a message can only
go so far in persuading consumers, and it appears to work less when
they are angry." According to Chatterjee, the most effective apologies encourage forgiveness and stress that consumers have more to gain from reengagement with the company rather than retaliation.

"By framing your apology with a promotion message, you're acknowledging
the failure, but telling the consumer that there is more to gain from
trying again," he said.

While Chatterjee's study focuses on the framing of messages to consumers,
he stressed that other factors, such as consumer perceptions of
authenticity, are important.

"Consumers are smart. They can figure out if messages are authentic or inauthentic," he said. "One good way to show that you are authentic is
to highlight your corporate social responsibility footprint. That goes
a long way in strengthening your apology, or conversely, blunting calls
to punish you," he said.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Binghamton_University. Original
written by Allen Wengert.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Gizem Atav, Subimal Chatterjee, Rajat Roy. To forgive or
retaliate? How
regulatory fit affects emotional reactions and repurchase decisions
following product failures. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2021;
38 (4): 397 DOI: 10.1108/JCM-05-2020-3843 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210907094718.htm

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