| Summary: | Product support is a key aspect in the marketing of high-technology
products, since it strongly influences customer satisfaction and can also be an
important source of revenue. Typical forms of support include operator
training, equipment maintenance and, if necessary, repair - all of these are
normally provided by manufacturers' support organizations. Good support is
particularly important in some markets; an example is medical equipment
where good operator training and quick repairs are essential because
products are used in critical situations. Despite its importance, support has
not been extensively researched. This study describes a management
investigation of two aspects.
Several authors have identified that product support is dependent on
product design. Consequently, the same authors emphasize that support
should be thoroughly evaluated during product design. This study identifies
the range of factors that may be evaluated and shows that most of the
companies surveyed do not fully evaluate support during the design stage.
These results are not covered by previously published material and have
implications for management.
As support influences customer satisfaction, it is important to know
how customers perceive support. The study investigated the customer
attributes of good support, using interviews with medical equipment
customers. The results show that a common set of attributes are associated
with support, some relating to the product itself and some to the support
organization. The characteristics of products which are easier to support
were also identified from the interviews.
The contribution of the research is that it made an exploratory
investigation of the concept product support. It not only gave the first survey
data on how companies plan support but also investigated customers'
perceptions of product support. Consequently the study provides a
foundation from which there is real scope for further management research,
into what is becoming recognized as a vital element of high-technology
marketing.
|
|---|
