Understanding of customer satisfaction and customer enthusiasm and their delimitation
Customer satisfaction can be defined according to DIN EN ISO 9000 as "perception of the customer to the degree to which the requirements of the customer have been fulfilled". Or in simpler
terms: Give the customer what he expects, then he will be satisfied - no more and no less. On the other hand, customer enthusiasm is a pleasant feeling of the customer, which results from a
positive surprise and / or a surpassing of expectations. Customer enthusiasm is thus more than just a high degree of customer satisfaction, as is often assumed in practice. The
starting point for experiencing enthusiasm is the perception of a positive stimulus or event. In order for a customer to be able to evaluate this at all, he needs a corresponding comparison
measure such as: • Expectations and experience with the service itself • Expectations and previous experience with the service provider • Expectations and experience with
competitors.
As a result, there are no generally valid benchmarks which always and automatically lead to of customer enthusiasm, but the events triggering the enthusiasm can be individually designed
differently. Moreover, these benchmarks are not static constructs but change over time. In addition to the experience of enthusiasm as an intensely perceived feeling, an associated physical
reaction pattern, for example, a change in heart rate or blood pressure, and a motor-expressive experience, i.e. a radiant smile or a joyous exclamation, can occur. Subsequently, various effects
such as motivational, cognitive and psychological effects can occur. This means, in particular, the loyalty effects desired by companies, such as resale, cross-buying and recommendation.
Exciting moments remain in the customers' minds longer than just satisfying experiences, which leads to stronger effects on the loyalty of customers (Berman, How to excite your customer,
2005). Customer enthusiasm can be a result of material elements, for example by an outstanding emotionalizing design for innovative products, consulting, sales or exhibition space (such as
flagship stores), and intangible elements, i.e. by a mystification of outstanding Service minors in the sense of "How do they do that?". However, not every positive surprise automatically
provokes a sense of enthusiasm at the customer. It may well happen that a customer is positively surprised, since the latter had not believed to be able to receive such a quality level. Though it
does not lead to enthusiasm, if the customer recently had an even better experience with a competitor. After all, it is also disputed in science whether it is always necessary to have a positive
surprise in order to experience customer enthusiasm. However, a positive surprise seems to positively influence the experience of customer enthusiasm, i.e. the greater the positive
surprise, the stronger the enthusiasm. The challenge for the constructs of customer satisfaction and customer enthusiasm is that they are subjective sizes, which means that one customer
satisfaction or even inspiration, does not necessarily have to lead to the same experience or feeling with another customer. For this reason, a standardized offering of services does not
necessarily mean the desired experience for all customers. A successful international airline is therefore more likely to score through personal service than by offering standardized additional
services. This is confirmed by the flight attendants of a German airline in stating, that it was in particular the personal approach that would inspire passengers. The fact that customer
enthusiasm is a very individual matter is also shown by an exploratory survey of a key account manager of a large German logistics company. For example, the manager of a clothing company
representing the customer company replied that he was particularly enthusiastic about the environmental services and the studies made available to him free of charge by the logistics
company. The manager of a solution provider replied that the events of the VIP club, such as an invitation to Silverstone including the visit of the F1, would have inspired him.
Finally, the manager of a commercial company stated that he had been thrilled by the joint development of the business in the sense of a business development.
Thus, it is seen that the feeling of customer enthusiasm is very individual and depends on various factors. This includes first the experiences that a customer has with the company, but also with
competitors. The question is closely related to which industry or market is concerned. In the case of a mass market, it will be easier to surprise and enthuse the customers than in the case of
premium or even luxury markets, since the expectations and demands of the customers are much higher. This is illustrated by two simple examples:
Imagine the following situation: You go to the supermarket on Christmas Eve at 3:00 pm to buy a roast roll. The special thing about this day is that the supermarket is only open until 4:00pm. By
the time you get to the meat counter, it is already 3:45, all but 15 minutes before the shop closes. What are your expectations? Probably, something like this: The meat counter has
been vacated and at your request, if you can still get a roast, the saleswoman will probably tell you: "No, I'm sorry, we have no more." On the other hand, you receive the answer: "Of
course. I'll go and get one for you real quick. How would you like it? Filled with bacon, onion or peppers? " You will be completely surprised, and when you actually hold
the roast in your hands, also enthusiastic.
As a customer, you should ask yourself why this experience really inspires you. Ultimately, you have only received the regular available service during regular store operating hours. Therefore
nothing really extraordinary. It is exceptional only because customers have often had conflicting experiences in similar situations. These have become embedded in the memory and represent the
so-called predictive expectations, which give an answer to the question: "What will happen in all probability?" And the predictive expectation is: "We will not get the roast meat because they‘re
punctual and they would rather get to closing time and therefore have no desire to undertake this "extra effort" for us. " Now, please be in the position of a guest of an exclusive luxury
hotel. Here, you‘d expect, as a standard, that everything wil be addressed to you personally and catered according to your wishes. As a result, it will be much more difficult for the hotel
management and staff to surprise and inspire you. Here, the company has to undertake a greater effort and always think about possible innovative services in order to create continued surprise and
excitement. Consequently, it is much more difficult for a provider of premium and in particular luxury services than for a provider of mass services to create these moments and experiences
of customer enthusiasm. However, other decision-making criteria, such as the price, play a more important role in the purchasing decision of the customers in mass markets. As a result, it may
well be worthwhile for premium service providers to invest in the enthusiasm of their customers, since the effect on customer loyalty is comparatively strong. The examples should show
that the customer wants to be surprised and enthusiastic about the company, the performance or the product and the company. It is important to know that there are different types of customer
expectations. In the present context, the differentiation between the socalled predictive and normative expectations is of relevance. Predictive expectations have an anticipatory character in
that they provide an answer to the following question: "What will most likely happen?" They therefore reflect the image of a company. Normative expectations, on the other hand, represent the real
requirements of the customer in the sense of "what should happen?" While an increase in the predictive expectations is positive for a company, since it ultimately represents an image enhancement
of the company, an increase in normative expectations poses a challenge for companies, as the demands are ever increasing, making it more and more difficult to meet or exceed them. In
addition to customer expectations, the relevance of current customer experiences characterizes the quality and intensity of the experience of customer enthusiasm. Thus, a surprisingly positively
perceived performance of a company by a customer in situations that are particularly problematic and important, are experienced more intensively than in everyday situations. Companies are
therefore able to inspire customers precisely in complaint situations through a quick and uncomplicated approach. What’s important is, that the customer perceives the action as a consciously
performed reaction and not as a random result. In addition, customer enthusiasm occurs particularly when the customer experiences are perceived as individual behavior by the company or
its employees and not as a standardized response. Finally, enthusiasm also depends on the personality of the customer. Some people are just more or less enthusiastic than others. Finally,
it should be pointed out that both customer satisfaction and customer enthusiasm are dynamic constructs, meaning both the expectations and the perceptions, as well the experiences and their
evaluation by the customers over time. What satisfies or even inspires a customer today, will most likely have become normality tomorrow.