In-person Communication Styles and Consumer Advocacy - Centered on the Chinese Luxury Market -

Abstract

China is one of the largest markets for high-end items. Consumers in China prefer to make purchases in stores after interacting with salespeople. However, the impact of communication style on customer behavior has received little research attention in terms of how salespeople build rapport and promote consumer advocacy. Two research questions were proposed accordingly. Which aspects of luxury salespeople’s communication style (e.g., task orientation, interaction orientation, and self-orientation) affect the relationship between consumers and brands in China? Does rapport-building generate Chinese consumer advocacy? A questionnaire survey with 319 consumers who had visited luxury stores was conducted. Data was analyzed using a structural equation model. The findings show that when salespeople adopt an interactive communication style with consumers, it means they succeed in building rapport and influencing consumers’ advocacy. Self-oriented salespeople can also positively influence customer advocacy by relational rapport-building with consumers. It was suggested that luxury managers should further improve their salespeople’s communication perceptions and skills, use targeted communication strategies for various consumer types, and encourage customers to act as “brand ambassadors”. The study findings contributed to the body of the literature in that it investigated how behavior of salespeople in luxury stores affected ordinary consumers and filled knowledge gaps in the research on Chinese luxury retail service.