Examining the impact of experience on value in social marketing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of experience levels on consumers' value perceptions in their use of a social marketing preventative health service. The study uses services thinking to investigate customer value in a social marketing consumption situation.

Design/methodology/approach

An online, self-completion survey was conducted on n=853 Australian women who were users of breastscreening services.

Findings

Experienced users derived higher levels of functional and emotional value than novice users and reported higher levels of satisfaction and behavioural intentions to use the service again. However, path analysis indicated that satisfaction was a stronger driver of behavioural intentions for novice users.

Practical implications

The findings highlight the need to understand and segment target audiences in more meaningful ways beyond traditional demographic segmentation. There is a need to understand the value benefits that target audiences seek and acknowledge that these value and service experience perceptions are likely to change over time as target audiences transition from novice to experienced users. This is useful in allowing health services to consider ways of providing a degree of customisation to target audiences, resulting in higher levels of satisfaction, particularly amongst novice users, leading to behavioural intentions to return.

Originality/value

Two novel approaches are used to understand social marketing behaviour: value theory and a services perspective. Through the examination of experience levels, this study acknowledges the enduring nature of many social marketing behaviours, allowing social marketers to examine differences in target audiences' experiences based on whether they are new to or familiar with a behaviour. This provides a fresh perspective in understanding target audiences in social marketing through an understanding of their value perceptions which influence their behaviour, and how these value perceptions are likely to change over time.

Citation

Zainuddin, N. (2013), "Examining the impact of experience on value in social marketing", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 257-274. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-04-2013-0024