This entry is a response to a recent blog post by Nav Sran. Nav talks about buyers of the new Apple iPad products feeling a sense of post purchase dissonance. A link to his blog post:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/navsran/2013/10/08/comm-296-ipad-mini-and-air-customers-may-face-post-purchase-cognitive-dissonance/

As a personal who has experience with multiple Apple products and is an iPad owner, I can understand what the buyers of the latest iPad are going through. Relative to other tablets on the market, the iPad is an expensive device which makes buyers question if the product is really as valuable as they believe. However, I believe Apple does a great job dealing with post purchase dissonance. From my experience, they have a top notch warranty structure. Buyers will be more confident in their purchase once they are fully aware of the complimentary warranty offered by Apple. When my iPad was suffering from a software issue, I was able to conveniently set up an appointment at an Apple store to talk about the issue. Apple was happy to replace my faulty device with a brand new one, and offered to extend my warranty for an additional 90 days.

Apple fully standing behind the quality of their product definitely reduced the buyers’ remorse I had after purchasing my iPad. Ultimately, Apple wants to solidify a loyal relationship with their customers. The warranty they offer is something that changed my post-purchase outcome from regretful to complete satisfaction. Customer loyalty is a relationship most marketers strive for, and being satisfied with my purchase of the iPad is a good start to that relationship.

I stumbled across an article written by a best selling author named Paul B. Brown, who wrote about the effectiveness of market research in the following Forbes post:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/actiontrumpseverything/2013/10/09/heres-the-only-market-research-you-need-get-your-product-out-in-the-market-place-and-see-if-it-sells/

In summary, Brown’s title to his blog, “Here’s The Only Market Research You Need: Get Your Product Out In The Market Place And See If It Sells”, gives you a good idea of what he thinks about marketing research. Brown believes that market research is not a necessity for start up businesses. He believes that “When you do customer research, people tell you what you want to hear”. Another interesting excerpt from the post is “Here’s the way I put it to people who are hesitant to begin: “Can you learn to throw a ball or sail or swim from a book?” No, of course you can’t.  Well, it is the same thing here.”

According to Brown, the best way for a startup to enter the market is to simply put the product out for purchase without analyzing its current state.While I agree with some some of Paul’s points, I have to disagree with others. While some forms of primary market research are indeed costly and time consuming, they provide firms with information that is for the most part current and applicable to the company. If the market research answers the right question, something as simple as a customer survey can help you identify where the company can improve its goods and services to further add value to the consumer.