Product registration: Companies should make it automatic

A collection of electronic devices. (stock image)ANN ARBOR—Many people pitch those abrasive product registration cards when they buy a new reckoner or lawn mower. And companies who sell those products would be wise to do the aforementioned, say University of Michigan researchers.

Consumers say they prefer automatic registration, followed past email and website, just non post-card registration, according to a new written report by Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak of the U-Thousand Transportation Research Constitute.

"Registration of new products by customers tin can help manufacturers communicate important information regarding product updates or recommendations, actuate warranties, track usage and maintenance bug, and aid during notifications concerning safety warnings or product recalls," Schoettle said. "While product registration rates are customarily low, registration methods that are well designed and effectively implemented tin result in significant improvements in these rates."

The study found that merely 6 percentage of consumers e'er register products they buy, while another 25 pct unremarkably do and 24 percent sometimes practise. On the other hand, 29 percentage seldom register products and 16 percent never do.

"Those who were more likely to register products do so to activate warranties or to receive recall notices," Schoettle said. "Respondents who were less probable to register products detect the process to be inconvenient, of no benefit to them, or more often than not are forgetful near completing the process."

Virtually 87 pct of consumers say they are more likely to annals a production if it were required to activate a warranty, roughly 78 percentage say they are more likely to register expensive products, and near 63 per centum say they would register safety-related products.

More than than half of consumers say they are concerned about unwanted communication from the company after registration. But virtually 79 percent would be more than likely to register products if companies were prohibited from contacting customers for purposes other than rubber warnings or recalls.

Consumers are more than likely to say they would annals major appliances and electronic devices (ordinarily expensive items with a warranty to actuate) than babe and toddler products or automobile tires (both safety-related products).

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  • Michael Sivak
  • Brandon Schoettle