Valores pessoais na decisão do consumo de serviços odontológicos de Uberlândia

Abstract

The dental services industry has suffered in recent years, a decline in profitability due to increased competitiveness in a faster rate than demand growth. In this scenario, we highlight the importance of knowing the consumer behavior of this sector, with the goal of improving the marketing activities and, consequently, to adapt the different aspects of the service to guide professionals and entrepreneurs. Thus, this study sought to identify what are the values to the client in the consumption of dental services in clinics and this city. For this, we performed a literature review of services marketing, the concept of personal values and the theory of means-end chain. Data were collected and analyzed using the laddering technique, also known as scaling, which is a technique developed to understand and grasp how consumers translate the attributes of products, through its effects on associative meanings about yourself that according to the theory of means-end, are the instrumental values and terminal. We identified important dimensions of values, with greater emphasis on "conservatism" and "autoaprimoramento. Specifically, we have in relation to personal values, we identified some patterns of behavior guided by them, such as "capacity" and some statesfinals of existence, including: welfare, development, happiness, and socialization. Regarding the attributes, we can highlight the price, references, cleaning, care, expertise and professional training. We noticed a concern of consumers in having quality assurance of treatment, recovery of the relationship with the dentist, the need for confidence in the profession, concern for aesthetics, with their self-esteem and your health, to achieve personal values.