The article under consideration is “Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in After-Sales Service of Malaysian Electronic Business Market” written by Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin et al. in Canadian Social Science journal. The main idea of the article is to consider the factors which influence customer satisfaction in after-sales services.
The research was conducted in Malaysian company Permintex Electronic Sdn. Bhd. Mostly the workers of three departments were involved in the research, engineering department, marketing department and purchasing department. People were given questionnaires to respond.
The main idea of the research was to consider three main questions, whether the delivery, installation, and warranty affected customer satisfaction. It should be mentioned that demographic data were also collected. The questions about age, working experience, sex, gender, ethnicity and job tenure were included in the first section of the questionnaire.
Summary
The results were analyzed with the Statistical Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17. It should be mentioned that a number of analyses were provided. The authors of the research used pilot study, factor analysis, and regression analysis to get the most concise results (Shaharudin et al. 14).
Thus, when the research had been conducted, it appeared that all those items, delivery, installation and warranty, influence customer satisfaction. The authors of the research come to the conclusion that delivery plays an important role. Customers want for their purchase to be delivered in time and in place which they stated. Moreover, it is important that the purchase should be without signs of damage.
The authors state that “a good delivery system always derived from pull strategy where demand ‘pulls’ rather than ‘pushing’ the product through marketing channels to final customers” (Shaharudin et al. 14). It is also important that the customer should pay the price for the delivery established when the purchase was made.
Furthermore, fast and professional installation of a product is a factor that influences customer satisfaction greatly. The results of the research show that customers were satisfied more when the installation was provided on the highest level (Shaharudin et al. 14).
The installation services should also include some technical pieces of advice for use. It is important to state that the warranty also influence the customer satisfaction greatly. If the company offers its customers better warranty terms, it may be sure that the customer will be satisfied.
It is really important to provide customers with the services the company has promised. The services should be on the highest level as this may increase customer satisfaction greatly, which leads to the increase in sales. It is important to remember that after-sales which lead to customer satisfaction “may generate more than three times the turnover of the original purchase during a given product’s life-cycle, and often provides profitability higher than product sales” (Shaharudin et al. 15).
Analysis
The article under consideration makes the assumption that to become a profitable company with the satisfied customers the after-sales services should be provided on the highest level. Having read the article it becomes obvious that after-sales services are also important for the company image and profit as well as those which are provided when the sale is not decided for sure.
The analysis of the research makes me understand that the same situation occurs not only in Malaysia, but worldwide as all customers want to be satisfied with the purchase they do and with the services they are provided with, especially when money for a product are already paid.
The main purpose of the research was to check whether such after-sales services as delivery, installation, and warranty increase the possibility for longer relationships with the customer. Customer is a king of the market and all services are created with the purpose to satisfy his/her desires and make him/her interested in the further collaboration. The article under consideration firmly states that it is important to satisfy customers’ needs not only while the closure of a deal but also when the product is bought or the service is delivered.
The after-sales services are really important. It is one of the main reasons why customers become patrons and return to the company further when the similar product/service is necessary. The article proves that “after-sales plays a key role in supporting marketing activities to enhance customer loyalty, and thus to increase profitability in the long term” (Shaharudin et al. 12). The results of the research conducted in one of the Malaysian Electronic Business Market prove the statement.
Coming out of the conducted analysis and obtained information, it is noteworthy to point out that the after-sales services is the key for success in the work with customers. Buying a product/service, customers expect that they will be provided with the additional help in case if they have some troubles.
Moreover, when the customer is promised to receive the installation services, he/she should be provided those in the concrete time and place that was arranged. If the company wants others respect its time and effort, it should get used to honor the time the customers spends to receive the promised services.
Moreover, the results of the research presented in the article state that customer satisfaction depends more on after-sales services rather than from the product/service itself. In fact, the after-sales services can easily reduce the negative effect from the purchase if some problems appear. It is also the main means to prove the quality and reliability of the product/service the customer gets.
The conclusion Shaharudin et al. (2009) make is that a good distribution system is a system where a product is delivered to the customer in time and in a proper place, with the installation services and a proper terms of warranty.
If the company was unable to provide the customer with the delivery in time, with the professional installation and the appropriate terms in warranty for a customer, the negative effect should be expected. It is obvious that customer dissatisfaction may reduce sales. The authors of the research recommend for the sales companies to provide customers with the highest level services of delivery, installation, and warranty.
Works Cited
Shaharudin, Mohd Rizaimy, et al. “Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in After-Sales Service of Malaysian Electronic Business Market.” Canadian Social Science 5.6 (2009): 10-18. Print.