Net Promoter Score (NPS) is considered to be an important metric for measuring customer loyalty. The concept is widely popular and adopted in several established and emerging industries. This master’s thesis work is aimed to spot the factors influencing the NPS of a company and the score rated by an individual. The study is conducted at a SaaS company, Funnel. Starting with the exploration of NPS in Funnel, the thesis work goes on to deep-dive in the journey of Funnel’s customers who responded to NPS. Each customer journey is presented as an individual case study. There are five such case-studies that represent five customers belonging to three distinct behavioural groups marked by NPS (Promoter, detractors and passives). The cases are analysed together with formulation of a revised framework of customer loyalty. The framework demonstrates factors that affect the customer loyalty, individual NPS response, and consequently the customer behaviour. It is noticed that customer satisfaction plays an important role in the individual response to NPS survey along with multiple other factors that influence the customer attitude and behaviour in different ways. It is also observed that the customer behaviour in the cases differs from the expected behaviour of promoters, detractors and passives proposed by NPS.   The findings show that the loyalty behaviour could be manifested due to multiple industry-specific factors which are irrespective of company’s internal performance and satisfaction. Hence, the phenomenon of loyalty and satisfaction is addressed on an industry level. The analysis unfolds a theory that is demonstrated with a matrix to understand the impact of industry dynamic on satisfaction-loyalty relationship. This varying satisfaction-loyalty relationship calls for alterations in NPS practices as per the industry characteristics.

Submitted by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2016-04-07T22:10:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Almeida, Tatiane Nunes Viana de.pdf: 6386798 bytes, checksum: 2058d838b1ff97e17ff623a0ac0dbb89 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2016-04-19T18:24:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Almeida, Tatiane Nunes Viana de.pdf: 6386798 bytes, checksum: 2058d838b1ff97e17ff623a0ac0dbb89 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-19T18:24:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Almeida, Tatiane Nunes Viana de.pdf: 6386798 bytes, checksum: 2058d838b1ff97e17ff623a0ac0dbb89 (MD5) / Em um ambiente extremamente competitivo, muitas empresas lançam novos produtos de forma sistemática com o intuito de obter um diferencial perante seus concorrentes. Todavia, o excesso de opções no mercado pode confundir e sobrecarregar o consumidor que deseja adquirir um novo produto. Neste contexto, a comunicação boca a boca online surge como uma forma de superar a assimetria de informação ao descrever os atributos do produto em termos de situações de uso, mensurando sua qualidade sob o ponto de vista do usuário, diminuindo o risco do consumidor. Assim, esta tese tem como objetivo geral analisar empiricamente um modelo téorico, baseado na Teoria do Comportamento Planejado, que relacione a atitude em relação à marca, a confiança na marca, o controle comportamental percebido, a norma subjetiva e intenção de compra de um produto eletrônico, em contextos em que os consumidores se deparam com comentários online positivos e negativos. A influência deste tipo de comunicação boca a boca na intenção de compra, em contextos de baixo e alto envolvimento, também foi verificada. O método de pesquisa adotado foi o experimental, sendo o delineamento estudo de grupo de controle pré-teste/pós-teste, com esquema fatorial 2 x 3. A amostra final válida foi de 690 alunos de IES de Salvador/BA. A abordagem de pesquisa foi quantitativa e foram utilizados métodos da estatística descritiva, análise fatorial, teste t e modelagem de equações struturais para a análise dos dados. Os resultaram comprovaram que os comentários online influenciam a intenção de compra, sendo que o maior efeito foi verificado em relação as informações positivas. Os indivíduos com baixo envolvimento foram mais influenciados pelos comentáriosonline positivos, enquanto que os com alto envolvimento foram mais impactados pelos comentários online negativos. Em relação ao modelo teórico, foi incluído um construto de segunda ordem, denominado fatores motivacionais da intenção de compra, responsável pela maior variação na intenção de compra em todos os modelos analisados. Os fatores de ordem pessoal – confiança na marca e atitude em relação à marca – foram os que apresentaram maior impacto na formação do construto de segunda ordem e também os que, de forma indireta, explicaram a maior variação na intenção de compra em todos os modelos analisados. De uma forma geral, os resultados apontam para a necessidade de as empresas investirem em marcas fortes e confiáveis, dedicando maior atenção às estratégias de comunicação e à manutenção de relacionamentos de longo prazo com seus clientes. Não obstante, ressalta-se que os comentários online não devem ser negligenciados. In an extremely competitive environment, many companies launch new products in a systematic way in order to get a differential to its competitors. However, the excess of options in the market can confuse and overwhelm consumers who wish to purchase a new product. In this context,electronic word-of-mouth appears as a way to overcome information asymmetry in describing the attributes of the product in terms of situations, measuring its quality from the user's point of view, reducing the consumer's risk. Thus, this thesis has the general objective to empirically analyze a theoretical model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, which relates the attitude toward the brand, trust in the brand, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm and purchase intent of an electronics products, in contexts where consumers are faced with positive and negative online consumers reviews. The influence of this type of word-of-mouth communication in purchase intent, contexts of below and high involvement, was also checked. The research method adopted was the experimental, and the study design pretest control group before-test/post-test with factorial 2 x 3. The valid final sample was of 690 students from Universities at Salvador/BA. The research approach was quantitative and were used methods of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, t-test and structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The result proved that the online consumers reviews influence purchase intent, with the greatest effect it was checked against the positive information. Individuals with low involvement were more influenced by the positive online consumers reviews, while with high involvement were most impacted by the negative online consumers reviews. Regarding the theoretical model, it was included a second-order construct, called motivational factors of intent to purchase, accounted for most variation in purchase intent in all the analyzed models. The factors of personal order - trust in the brand and attitude toward the brand - presented the main contribution to the second-order construct and also those who, indirectly, explained most variation in purchase intent for all models analyzed. In general, the results point to the need for companies to invest in strong and trusted brands, devoting more attention to communication strategies and maintaining long-term relationships with their customers. However, the online consumers reviews should not be overlooked.

[pt] Este estudo busca compreender os fatores que influenciam a intenção de compra e o boca-a-boca positivo de sites de reserva online. Essa análise é feita para entender os motivos que levam as pessoas a aderir este tipo de serviço através da internet, mesmo tendo o meio online aproximado os consumidores de turismo de seus fornecedores, como sites de hotéis e companhias aéreas. Busca se explicar, portanto, quais são os principais motivos de atração deste tipo de serviço. Dessa forma, é proposto um modelo para avaliar como os construtos de comunicabilidade, complexidade, vantagem relativa e risco percebido, mediados pela atitude, influenciam a intenção de compra e o boca-a-boca positivo. O modelo foi testado por meio de uma equação estrutural, com dados coletados através de um questionário aplicado de forma online para a avaliação de cada construto. Os resultados obtidos confirmam a confiança do modelo e as hipóteses apresentadas, com um bom nível de explicação das variáveis dependentes. O estudo apresenta elementos consistentes que podem ser trabalhados pelas empresas que atuam neste segmento, para impulsionar a utilização e propagação dos sites de reservas, e também pontos de atenção que devem ser considerados pelos concorrentes deste tipo de serviço. Assim, é apresentado um modelo parcimonioso, que explica consistentemente a intenção de compra e o boca-a-boca positivo de sites de reservas online. / [en] This study aimed at understanding the factors that influence the purchase intention and the positive word-of-mouth of online booking sites. The purpose was to understand the reasons that lead people to use and recommend this type of service in the internet, even though the online media approached tourism consumers from their suppliers, such as hotel websites and airlines. Therefore, it tries to explain what the main reasons for attraction of this type of service. In this way, a model is proposed to evaluate how the constructs of perceived risk, complexity, relative advantage and communicability, mediated by attitude, influence the intention to purchase and the positive word-of-mouth. The model was tested using a structural equation, with data collected through an online questionnaire administered in order to evaluate each construct. The results confirm the confidence of the model and support the research hypotheses, with a good level of explanation of the dependent variables. The study presents consistent elements that can be considered by the companies that are in this segment to boost the use and the positive world of mouth of reservation sites, as well as points of attention that should be considered by the competitors of this type of service. Thus, a parsimonious model is presented, which consistently explains the purchase intention and the positive word-of-mouth of online booking sites.

As social media becomes a more important part of people’s everyday lives, it is also becoming a more important part of the corporate market. Due to the complaints received on social media sites, some forms of customer care are being directly, or indirectly, carried out on social media. Part of this customer care is apologizing in response to complaints. The purpose of this case study is therefore to examine the apologies, apology strategies and expressions of regret employed when apologizing in response to customer complaints on Twitter by the two airlines Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Air France. The aim of the study is to compare the different forms, and frequencies, of the apologies, apology strategies and expressions of sympathy/regret the companies employ to apologize. This is done through examining tweets from both airlines and looking at the use of certain keywords, as well as through analysis of the tweets in context. The results are then related to image repair theory and politeness theory. The most significant findings show a clear preference for certain Illocutionary Indication Devices, and strategies within each airline. Moreover, there is a clear difference in how the two airlines use Twitter to communicate with their customers, with Air France employing a more cohesive style, than Norwegian.

Influencer Marketing är relativt nytt och ingen naturlig del av de flesta företags strategier. Däremot ökar det i popularitet. Detta innebär att företag behöver ett hjälpmedel, en slags nybörjarguide, för att förstå grunderna i Influencer Marketing på Instagram. Denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka hur marknadsföringsstrategin kan användas av företag som vill marknadsföra miljövänliga livsmedel på Instagram, till Millennials. Med detta är målet att bidra till forskning och marknadsföring av Influencer Marketing och den hållbara konsumtionen. All teori som använts kan på något sätt kopplas till Influencer Marketing. I teoridelen redogörs det för Stealth Marketing, Product Placement, Celebrity Endorsement, electronic word-of-mouth, Influencer Marketing, visuell kommunikation samt Two-step flow theory. För att få både konsumenternas och influencernas åsikter och attityder har en trianguleringsmetod används. Den kvalitativa datan har utgjorts av intervjuer med influencers, eko-experter och expert på Influencer Marketing. Den kvantitativa datan samlades in med hjälp av en enkät för Millennials som följer influencers på Instagram. Empirin ger bland annat en tydlig bild av vad influencers värdesätter i ett samarbete med ett företag, vad eko-experterna säger om Influencer Marketing av miljövänliga produkter och hur påverkade Millennials anser att de blir av strategin. I analysen sammanfattas intervjuobjektens åsikter och jämförs med Millennials attityder. Detta diskuteras tillsammans med de teorier som tas upp i studien. Ändringar i den tidigare strukturen som presenteras i den teoretiska referensramen diskuteras i samband med Millennials attityd och hur samhället har förändrats. Ett stort fokus ligger på den dolda marknadsföringen, hur den idag är olaglig och ineffektiv på målgruppen. Studiens slutsats är att Influencer Marketing är en effektiv strategi för den utvalda målgruppen, som har en positiv attityd till strategin så länge marknadsföringen är ärlig och transparent. Studien sammanfattas i en ny demonstrerande figur av den teoretiska referensramen, med förslag på hur teorierna borde diskuteras i framtiden. Dold marknadsföring är inte längre relevant att diskutera, då både Millennials och influencers har en negativ attityd till en sådan marknadsföring. Celebrity Endorsement föreslås även ses som en del av Influencer Marketing, istället för enbart föregångaren, då Influencer Marketing idag skapar nya kändisar på en ny sorts plattform. Analysen sammanfattas även i en modell vars syfte är att visa hur företag, influencers och Millennials kommunicerar sinsemellan, följt av rekommendationer till företag eller andra intresserade som enkelt vill ta del av och använda vad studien kommit fram till.

As more hotels are established and that competition in turn increases, it becomes increasingly important to offer a good service to attract customers. If the hotels do not satisfy the guest they may complain. With the Internet's advancement, new approaches were established for dissatisfied guests to raise their complaints and, in other words, the criticism does no longer reach only family and friends. The study aims to create an understanding of how the hotel's complaint management works on the internet. This has been examined by answering the following research questions: • What strategies are used in digital complaint management in social networks? • How does complaint management affect Word of Mouth? To answer the research questions a qualitative approach with five semi-structured interviews and a non-participation observation has been conducted. The study indicates that communication has become more digital, but that personal contact is still more important. The conclusions that can be drawn are that the strategies used in digital complaint management are to respond quickly, to be understanding, to apologize to some extent, use a clear and well-formulated language, consider every word, take a direct dialogue from public to private and compensate the guest if necessary. If the strategies are taken into account in digital complaint management the work towards a satisfied guest will be simplified. A general conclusion drawn in the study is that the formulated strategies are important to work with to increase customer satisfaction and to successfully reverse the guest before spreading negative WOM or e-WOM. It has also been found in the present study that traditional WOM still has a greater impact than e-WOM, despite the fact that e-WOM reaches a larger audience. / I takt med att allt fler hotell etableras och att konkurrensen i sin tur ökar blir det viktigare för hotell att kunna erbjuda en god service för att locka till sig kunder. Lyckas hotellen inte tillfredsställa gästen kan de komma att klaga. Med internets framfart grundades nya tillvägagångssätt för missnöjda gäster att föra fram sina klagomål och med andra ord når kritiken inte längre bara bekantskapskretsen. Föreliggande studie ämnar att skapa en förståelse kring hur hotellens arbete med klagomålshantering fungerar på internet. Detta har undersökts genom att besvara följande forskningsfrågor: • Vilka strategier används vid digital klagomålshantering i sociala nätverk? • På vilket sätt påverkas Word of Mouth av klagomålshanteringen? För att besvara forskningsfrågorna har en kvalitativ ansats med fem semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en icke-deltagande observation genomförts. De slutsatser som dras i studien är att allt mer kommunikation sker via det digitala, men att den personliga kontakten fortfarande är viktigare. Studien visade även att strategier som används vid digital klagomålshantering är att svara snabbt, vara förstående, be om ursäkt i viss mån, använda ett tydligt och välformulerat språk, överväga vad man säger, ta en direkt dialog från det offentliga till det privata samt kompensera gästen vid behov. Om strategierna tas i beaktande vid digital klagomålshantering kommer arbetet mot en nöjd gäst att underlättas. En generell slutsats som dras i studien är att de formulerade strategierna är viktiga att arbeta med för att öka kundnöjdheten och för att lyckas vända gästen innan den sprider negativ WOM eller e-WOM. Det har också framkommit i föreliggande studie att traditionell WOM fortfarande har en större påverkan än e-WOM trots att e-WOM når en större publik.

The final thesis compares the changes of the marketing communication among the specific hotels during the global recession. The analysis results in the dominanat usage of the electronical media and the internet, rather than changes of the marketing communication instruments,becasue of their advantage of the measurable effects.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-07-21T18:09:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Silva dos Santos.pdf: 1818866 bytes, checksum: 5ebb03d38952f88ab9db4ffc34d88a3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-21T18:09:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Silva dos Santos.pdf: 1818866 bytes, checksum: 5ebb03d38952f88ab9db4ffc34d88a3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-31 / The main objective of this work is to determine which of the two main constructs available in the marketing literature on the involvement of consumers (PII Personal Involvement Inventory - Zaichkowsky - 1994) and (NIP New involment Profile - Jain and Srinivasan - 1990), has the greatest power prediction as to word of mouth and repurchase intention to participate in street racing events in the city of São Paulo. The street race has shown an exponential increase in the number of practitioners every year in the same proportion also increases the number of events related to this sport practice, showing its importance as a promoter in the act of consumption, health and well-being of the population . Moreover, it is a popular sport low cost, low risk, high efficiency and great practicality. With this growth, the market has simultaneously attracting more competition between companies that organize these events in São Paulo, generating new challenges so that we can provide participants with a greater range of products and services to be offered to such customers and street runners, who are increasingly involved with this sport. Data were collected through a field survey with a sample of 320 respondents. To analyze the data we used structural equation modeling technique where it was found that construct NIP New involment Profile, it showed the best predictive results in relation to the mouth of variables mouth and repurchase intention. With the results obtained in this study is expected to increase knowledge of consumer involvement with sports and can be used by researchers and professionals of marketing and sport management. / O principal objetivo desta dissertação é determinar qual dos dois principais construtos disponíveis na literatura de marketing sobre o envolvimento dos consumidores (PII Personal Involvement Inventory de Zaichkowsky - 1994) e (NIP New Involment Profile de Jain e Srinivasan - 1990), tem o maior poder de predição quanto ao boca a boca e a intenção de recompra de participação em eventos de corrida de rua na Cidade de São Paulo. A corrida de rua tem mostrado um aumento exponencial no número de praticantes a cada ano, na mesma proporção aumenta também o número de eventos relacionados a essa prática esportiva, mostrando a sua importância como promotora no ato de consumo, saúde e bem-estar da população. Além disso, é um esporte popular de baixo custo, baixo risco, alta eficiência e grande praticidade. Com esse crescimento, o mercado vem atraindo simultaneamente uma maior concorrência entre as empresas que organizam esses eventos na cidade de São Paulo, gerando novos desafios a fim de que se possa proporcionar aos participantes uma gama maior de produtos e serviços a serem oferecidos a esses consumidores e praticantes de corrida de rua, que estão cada vez mais envolvidos com essa prática esportiva. Os dados foram coletados através de uma pesquisa de campo com uma amostra de 320 respondentes. Para analisar os dados foi utilizada a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, onde constatou-se que construto NIP New Involment Profile, foi o que apresentou os melhores resultados preditivos em relação as variáveis de boca a boca e a intenção de recompra. Com os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa espera-se ampliar o conhecimento sobre o envolvimento dos consumidores com esportes e que possam ser utilizados por pesquisadores e profissionais de marketing e gestão do esporte.

Cette thèse explore le concept, l’état de la littérature, et les implications commerciales de la bouche-a-oreille électronique (eWOM). Elle est basée sur un article conceptuel et deux articles empiriques. Dans le premier essai, j’apporte une clarification conceptuelle en mettant en évidence la multidimensionnalité du concept qui comporte cinq aspects (qui, quoi, où, quand et comment). Dans le second essai, le modèle résultant du premier essai est suivi d'une analyse historique des dimensions, terminologies équivalentes, théories et méthodes utilisées dans la recherche existante pour étudier l’eWOM.Utilisant l'analyse de réseau de citations, j’identifie des lacunes dans la littérature scientifique afin de faciliter la construction progressive de connaissances dans ce domaine. Enfin, dans le troisième essai, j'utilise une méta-analyse pour tester empiriquement les effets modérateurs de quatre des cinq dimensions de l’eWOM sur l'efficacité des ventes. J’observe que l’eWOM est corrélé positivement avec les ventes (.091), mais que son efficacité diffère grandement en fonction de la plateforme, du produit considéré et des mesures utilisées. Les implications théoriques et managériales, ainsi que des pistes de futures recherches, sont discutées. / This dissertation explores the construct, prior scientific inquiry, and market implications of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and it is based upon one conceptual and two empirical papers. In the first essay, I provide conceptual clarity by dimensionalizing the construct according to five aspects (the Who, What, Where, When, and How of eWOM). In the second essay, the resulting organizing framework is followed up with a historical analysis of eWOM dimensions, aliases, theories, and methodologies used in prior research.Additionally, I employ citation network analysis in order to identify gaps in scholarly communication and facilitate progressive knowledge building in this area. Finally, in the third essay, I use meta-analysis to empirically test the moderating impact of four of the five eWOM dimensions on sales effectiveness. I find that eWOM is positively correlated with sales (.091), but its effectiveness differs across platform, product, and metric factors. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for further research are discussed.

Old Spice cleverly used a handsome actor to play the Old Spice Man character for a Super Bowl commercial in 2010. After the game, this Old Spice commercial was viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube, a social media video-sharing site. This viral marketing campaign, also known as electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM), propelled the Old Spice brand into the forefront of consumers’ minds, increased brand awareness, and inspired people to share the video links with their family, friends, and co-workers. The rapid growth of E-WOM is an indication of consumers’ increased willingness to convey marketing messages to others. However, despite this development, marketing academics and practitioners do not fully understand this powerful form of marketing. This dissertation enriches our understanding of E-WOM and how e-servicescape may lead to E-WOM. To that end, stimulus-organism-response theory and the network co-production model of E-WOM are applied to investigate the relationships between e-servicescape, trust, E-WOM intentions, customer loyalty, and purchase intentions. Two forms of E-WOM were examined, namely emails and social network postings. E-servicescape is defined as the online environmental factors of a marketer’s website. E-servicescape is composed of three main dimensions, including aesthetic appeal, financial security, and layout and functionality. This study used cross-sectional customer data from a single e-tailer. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the responses. Customer reviews was added as an additional sub-dimension of e-servicescape. The findings suggest e-servicescape positively impacts trust, which in turn positively influences E-WOM and customer loyalty. Moreover, two groups of customers were compared using multi-group analysis, where one group of users received emails and the other group received social network postings from the same e-tailer. Overall, the results indicated emails had a stronger impact on e-servicescape, E-WOM, and customer loyalty. Social networking site postings had slightly greater influence on trust, and two sub-dimensions of e-servicescape, i.e., interactivity and ease of payment. These findings contribute to the marketing research on E-WOM theory and electronic commerce shopping behavior. In particular, the sub-dimension of customer reviews is added to e-servicescape. This study yields practical implications for marketers in understanding consumers’ perceptions of websites and how to better design sites. In addition, these findings add to knowledge on how to engender consumers’ trust and customer loyalty online. Finally, this research provides suggestions for firms wanting to create marketing campaigns that will lead to E-WOM.