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Trevor Richards: Trevor Richards is Director of RSGB (Taylor Nelson AGB Plc)
The conversion model is generally used as a marketing tool to identify commitment to different brands of goods or services, and has been used across over 400 studies worldwide for categories as diverse as cat litter, soft drinks, cigarettes, retail chains, banks and motor cars. Essentially, the model is used to give marketers an edge over their competitors by establishing what factors can be built on to retain disaffected customers while attracting disaffected users of competitive brands.
The model has firmly established itself as a successful brand in its own right in the USA, UK, Europe, Australia and South Africa, where it was developed by Dr Jan Hofmeyr as part of his studies into the theory of religious conversion. However, partly as a result of its academic origins, it has been used in public sector and social contexts, notably in examining the potential behaviour of voters, for the ANC in South Africa.
In this paper, it will be argued that the conversion model goes well beyond conventional customer satisfaction measurement techniques, in providing a measure which is predictive of future behaviour while identifying the factors which drive commitment and loyalty.
Many companies have invested in total quality management (TQM) in recent years. As part of the purchase, they have made significant investments in monitoring and attempting to improve customer satisfaction. Yet, many have been disappointed by the results. In one finding, of over 100 firms surveyed in Britain, 80 per cent reported no positive impact on their businesses from TQM (see [1]).
In conversion modelling, we work on the basis that it is not enough to have satisfied customers. In over 400 studies conducted across 80 product categories around the world, we have found that "satisfaction" is a poor predictor of behaviour. Satisfied customers will leave; dissatisfied customers will stay. Rather than "customer satisfaction" therefore, we talk about "customer commitment". By applying the conversion model, we can distinguish between customers who are at risk and those who are not.
A second concern we have is that the focus of customer satisfaction research tends to be too narrow. Experience tells us that it is impossible to prevent some defections from taking place. There are...