Decidir melhor com uma abordagem customer-centric

: retalhistas de papel e designers gráficos a servir melhor

Abstract

Graphic designers, when considering the conceptual requirements in their client's interest, frequentlyinfluence the decision to purchase premium and fine papers by ordering from paper retailers andindirectly via graphic production suppliers. It turns out that retailers' technical-commercial behaviouris product-focused and oriented to graphic production suppliers, who are also product and production-focused. Given the importance of graphic designers in purchasing these papers, retailers shoulddevelop an approach centred on this influencing agent. Solving this problem will help characterizethe decision-making process of graphic designers on paper purchasing advice and their touch pointswith retailers that together constitute their customer journey.The research assumes the graphic designer as a client of premium and fine papers. The object ofstudy is this customer's decision-making process in what regards its’ purchasing advice for this product.The research aim in this process to: (a) identify the weight of the general and specific decisioncriteria; and (b) identify interests for a good customer experience.The study is based on data from 24 decision-making processes in graphic design projects collected byquestionnaire and interview to 10 individuals (6 graphic designers and 4 graphic production consultants).The samples were obtained within the Greater Porto area and considered representative. Datawere treated using MS-Excel and MaxQDA.According to the research, the predominant criteria in the decision making process is related to the‘product interaction’, being within these 'sustainability' the least influencing, and in the 'direct interactionwith the paper' the 'temperature' criterion is the least weighted. The data suggest that designers'experience, as customers in interacting with paper suppliers should be improved by providingclues to a customer-centric approach.The analysis model resulting from this study provides a structured basis for the graphic designer's'decision-making journey' as a paper client relating it to the moments of contact with retailers andthe elements that influence these touch points, that should be the foundation of building the customerexperience, and helping paper retailers improve their value chain in the primary activities of:service, marketing and sales, and paper supply chain. Future investigations should take a differentapproach from this study in order to discriminate decision criteria related to the need for touch.

Date of Award	11 Dec 2019
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Susana Silva (Supervisor) & Henrique Manuel Pereira (Co-Supervisor)