Are Premium Services Attractive in an Empty Room? Customers Who Desire Quality Versus Customers Who Desire Superiority

摘要

Currently, many companies focus on providing premium services to differentiate themselves from other companies. Airlines' first and business classes are typical examples. Providing these services is perceived to be a way of implementing the traditional marketing method of the up-market stretch, which is intended to maximize profits by mixing a middle-market line with a premium line (e.g., Kotler & Keller, 2006). However, the coexistence of a middle-market line and a premium line in the same brand often causes problems. Specifically, it is apparent in the circumstance of collective consumption that one customer simultaneously consumes with others and, consequently, interaction occurs between customers. In the case of superior treatment of particular customers, these customers feel comfortable, but others perceive unfairness and experience dissatisfaction.