Business Analytics
Executive Summary
This study sought to assess whether customers who bought the African adventure will be willing to provide feedback. The study revealed that there more customers who are unwilling to provide feedback compared to those who are willing to provide feedback. A regression analysis was used to determine the factors that influence WOM intentions. WOM intentions were modelled as a function of age, income, trust and attitude. The analysis revealed that the demographic characteristics (age and income) do not influence WOM intentions. However, trust and attitude influence WOM intention. The paper recommends that smart marketing and advertising should be adopted to appeal to consumers. It further recommends a consumer survey to identify the desires of consumers so that they can be incorporated in the African adventure. A survey to identify the factors that are causing the low trust should be conducted to inform corrective measures.
The respondents had a mean income of 1,893.07 dollars with a standard deviation of 1,355.96 (see Table 1). Therefore, there is a large dispersion in the incomes earned by the respondents. The lowest earner had an income of 400 dollars while the highest earner had an income of 10,000 dollars. The mean age of the respondents was 35.10 with a standard deviation of 13.89 years (see Table 2). Therefore, there was also a large dispersion in the ages of the respondents. The youngest respondent was 18 years, and the oldest respondent was 72 years.
The first issue that the study seeks to assess is the proportion of clients who bought the African adventure that is likely to provide feedback. The study participants’ responses were ranked on a 7-point Likert scale. 55.7 percent of the respondents were unlikely to provide any feedback of which 8.4 percent were very unlikely to provide feedback (see Table 3). Only 44.3 percent of the respondents were likely to provide any feedback of which 8.4 percent were very unlikely to provide feedback (see Table 3). From the bar graph (see figure 1), it can be observed that the responses are skewed towards unlikely to provide feedback.
The second issue that the study seeks to assess customers’ attitudes towards the adventure. A 9-point Likert scale was applied. The study reveals that at least 41.5 percent of the respondents have a negative attitude towards the adventure of which 3.6 percent have a very negative attitude (see Table 4). Similarly, 58.5 percent of the respondents have a positive attitude towards the adventure of which 2.7 percent have a very positive attitude (see Table 4). The bar graph does not show any unique distribution. However, it can be observed that seven had the highest proportion/frequency (see figure 2).
The third issue that the study sought to assess is whether customers have trust in the agency. A seven-point Likert was used to rank the responses. The study reveals that at least 59.6 percent of the respondents have a low trust in the agency of which 11.1 percent have a very low trust (see Table 5). Only 40.4 percent of the respondents have a high trust in the agency of which only 0.6 percent have a very high trust (see Table 5).
The last issue of interest was whether the factors that were assessed in addition to the demographic characteristics of the respondents had an influence on WOM intention. A regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The dependent variable was the WOM intention. The independent variables were age, income, the level of trust in the agency and the attitude towards the African adventure. The results are presented in Table 6 and 7. The model has an adjusted R-square of 0.411. Therefore, the model explains at least 41.1 percent of the variations in the WOM intention. Trust, income, and attitude are statistically significant. There is a positive relationship between trust, income and attitude, and the willingness to provide feedback. An increase in trust-rating by one unit increases the WOM intention by 0.308. AN increase in trust by 1 unit increases the WOM intention by 0.25. An increase in income has no effect on WOM.
Short-comings
The study had a number of short comings that may have influenced the study findings. This section discusses the short comings and proposes solutions based on literature review. The assumptions made by the study were not assessed before analysis. The study naively assumes that WOM intention is influenced by age, income, the level of trust in the agency and the attitude towards the African adventure. A study by Berger (2014) assesses the factors that drive word of mouth. The factors identified include emotional regulation, impression management, information acquisition, persuasion and social bonding (Berger, 2014, p. 589). Similarly, Cheung and Lee (2012) identify various factors that drive WOM intentions. The factors identified include egoism, collectivism, altruism, principlism and knowledge efficacy (Cheung & Mathew, 2012, p. 220). Alexandrov, et al., 2013, (p. 533) identify an almost similar set of factors that influence WOM. They model WOM as a function of both a vector of self-motives and social motives. This study should conduct a literature review to incorporate all factors that influence WOM intention. Consequently, data on those factors should be collected, and a more robust model should be developed. This study revealed that the model explains 41.1 percent of variations in WOM intentions. This means that there are variables that explain close to 60 percent which were not included. Cheung and Thadani (2012) reveal that there are differences in consumer perception and behavior between the traditional word of mouth and electronic word of the mouth (Cheung & Thadani, 2012, p. 462). Berger & Iyengar, 2014, (p. 570) also show that there are differences between oral and written communication. This study does not differentiate online and offline WOM. Sweeney, et al., (2012, p. 344) use a sample of close to 1,000 respondents. This study only used 322 respondents. A larger sample should be used to ensure the findings are more accurate. A larger sample also improves the representativeness of the sample that was selected for the study (Barbie, 2016, p. 25). The study can also use a census to be certain about the results. The population is not too large that would prevent a census. A sample is often used because the population is too large.
Simple random sampling is a procedure where all elements share an equal chance of being part of the sample (Hall & Roussel, 2012, p. 7). Simple random sampling ensures objectivity because the research cannot influence the sample that is selected for the study (Durand & Tracey, 2014, p. 104). Therefore, the researcher cannot preselect to achieve premeditated objectives. A random sample also ensures that the obtained sample is representative (Rubin, 2012, p. 99). The study does not indicate the method that was used to obtain the sample. If non-random sampling was applied, there are chances that the sample is not representative. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to the entire population.
Recommendation
This study sought to assess whether customers who bought the African adventure will be willing to provide feedback. The study revealed that there more customers who are unwilling to provide feedback compared to those who are willing to provide feedback. A regression analysis was used to determine the factors that influence those intentions. The demographic profile of the customers who bought the African adventure is diverse in terms of age and income. Analysis revealed that both age and income have no influence on the willingness to provide feedback. Therefore, the agency should not focus on specific niches. There are no differences in the various market segments. The agency should continue marketing to all customer segments to ensure that revenues and market shares are maximized. The study revealed that the attitude of the customers towards the African adventure influences the chances that a customer will provide feedback. The study revealed that close to half of the respondents have a negative attitude towards the African adventure. It partly explains the low willingness to provide feedback from customers. Therefore, the agency should first invest in improving the customers’ perception of the African adventure. Firstly, customers’ likes and preferences should be sought and incorporated in the African adventure. That way, the adventure will be tailored to reflect the needs of the customers which will improve their attitudes towards it. Secondly, smart advertising and marketing should be conducted. The agency can employ the self-persuasion theory that seeks to create a need that does not exist in the consumers. In this case, it is the African adventure which is something new. Therefore, the marketing of the adventure should first focus on making customers believe that they need to venture somewhere else where they have never been before. Somewhere outside America with a unique culture and history. Consequently, they then present them with a solution which is the African adventure.
The trust that customers have towards the agency also has a bearing on the willingness to provide feedback. The analysis revealed that more customers had low trust in the agency compared to those who had high trust in the agency. The low trust ratings partially explain the low willingness by customers to provide feedback. The brand name and firm reputation have a great influence on the revenues of a firm. The reputation of a firm is based on past experiences of customers. Therefore, a bad reputation is as a result of poor services or customer service relations. The firm should identify the causes of the low trust. It should conduct a survey to obtain direct feedback from its clients. The findings of the survey should inform the agency the appropriate measures to undertake to improve trust. A clear strategy to reverse the situation should be crafted that incorporates all the stakeholders of the agency. The strategy should have milestones and constant reviews to provide feedback.
Appendices
List of Tables
List of Figures
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Bibliography
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