Marketing and “Cognitive Dissonance”

You’ve been asked by the Marketing Department to give them feedback from your customer service area about customer complaints and issues concerning their new product—an “All-In-One” coffee maker, toaster oven, and microwave.
Although your department has collected specific information concerning likes and dislikes of customers (as called in on your customer service toll-free number), you recognize that many of these calls could be reduced in time—or eliminated—if you helped the Marketing Department understand the concept called “Cognitive Dissonance.”

You’ve been asked to provide this feedback as a two to three page article for their departmental weekly update, and you busily begin this project. In your article for the Marketing Department, be sure to include the following information:
– In one paragraph, provide an overview of what you’ve been asked to do.
– Next, define the term “Cognitive Dissonance” and explain how it relates to customer purchases. (In business, cognitive dissonance is often referred to as “Buyer’s Remorse.”)
– Provide two or three customer examples of how Cognitive Dissonance affects customers and the types of reactions they have to your product.
– Finally, suggest some changes that can be made to the marketing materials to help reduce this effect on your customers and create and maintain long-term customer loyalty