The Impact of Salesmen’s Customer-Oriented Behavior on Customer Satisfaction in Finland

Abstract

Customer satisfaction is an important indicator of business success, but the factors behind it in the grocery market are still unexplored. Therefore, this study conceptualizes salespeople's customer-oriented behavior that affects customer satisfaction. Afterward, it examines the direct effect under the framework of social exchange theory. A survey instrument was designed to collect data from 97 customers who purchased grocery products from the Finnish supermarket, which was considered convenience sampling. Subsequently, SPSS was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. Empirical results show that salespeople's customer-oriented behavior, such as product knowledge, communication skills, and customer orientation, directly influences customer satisfaction in the Finnish grocery market. The research also confirms that the social exchange theory applies to the relationship between salespeople's customer-oriented behavior and customer satisfaction. The study suggests that managers should focus on the customer-oriented skills of salespeople in Finnish grocery stores. It also indicates that companies should frequently train their salespeople monthly or quarterly with experienced trainers to increase customer satisfaction and profitability.