You are on page 1of 36

Consumer Behavior Samenvatting boek Chapter 1 Understanding Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior: the totality of consumers decisions with

th respect to the acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services, time and ideas by human decision-making units (over time) A closer look at each element: 1. Consumer behavior involves goods, services, activities, experiences, people and ideas Offering: a product, service, activity, or idea offered by a marketing organization to consumers 2. Consumer behavior involves more than buying - Acquiring - Using - Disposing 3. Consumer behavior is a dynamic process Disposing is often linked to acquisition. Acquisition, using is disposing is related. 4. Consumer behavior can involve many people Making decision, acquisition, using etc can all be done by one or several people. Different people might have different roles 5. Consumer behavior involves many decisions - Whether to acquire/use/dispose - What offering to - Why - Why not - How to Marketers want to know about: Acquisition methods: Buying, trading, renting, bartering, gifting, finding, stealing or sharing for definitions check the book Ways of using an offering Ways of disposing an offering - Find a new use for the product - Get rid of it temporarily - Get rid of it permanently Other important issues for marketers to understand: - When do people acquire/use/dispose offerings (time of the day, time in the year, special situation (e.g. marriage). - Where do people acquire/use/dispose offerings - How much, how often and how long to acquire/use/dispose of an offering Consumer behavior involves feeling and coping What affects consumer behavior? 1. The psychological core - Having motivation, ability and opportunity - Exposure, attention and perception - Categorizing and comprehending information - Forming and changing attitudes

- Forming and retrieving memories 2. The process of making decision Thus process is tightly linked to the previous process - Problem recognition and the search for information - Making judgments and decisions High effort- vs. low effort decisions - Making post-decision evaluations 3. The consumers culture: external processes Culture: the typical or expected behaviors, norms, and ideas that characterize a group of people - Diversity influences - Social class and household influences - Values, personality and lifestyles - Reference groups and other social influences 4. Consumer behavior and outcomes - Consumer behaviors can symbolize who we are Symbols: external signs that we use to express our identity - Consumer behaviors can diffuse through a market - The dark side of marketing and consumer behavior, ethics, and social responsibility Who benefits for the study of consumer behavior? - Marketing managers - Ethicists and advocacy groups - Public policy makers and regulators - Academics - Consumers and society Marketing implications of consumer behavior Questions which can be answered by performing consumer behavior research 1. Developing and implementing customer-oriented strategy - How is the market segmented? - How profitable is each segment? - What are the characteristics of consumers in each segment? - Are customers satisfied with existing offerings? 2. Selecting the target market 3. Positioning - How are competitive offering positioned? - How should our offerings be positioned? - Should our offering be repositioned? 4. Developing products and services - What ideas do consumers have for new products? - What attributes can be added to or changed in an existing offering? - What should our offering be called? - What should our package and logo look like? 5. Making promotion and marketing communication decisions - What are our advertising objectives? - What should our advertising look like? - Where should advertising be placed? - When should we advertise? - Has our advertising been effective? - What about sales promotion objectives and tactics? - When should sales and promotions take place?

- Have our sales promotions been effective? - How many salespeople are needed to serve customers? - How can salespeople best serve customers? 6. Making pricing decisions - What price should be charged? - How sensitive are consumers to price and price changes? - When should certain price tactics be used? 7. Making distribution decisions - Where are target consumers likely to shop? - How should stores be designed?

The psychological core Chapter 2 Motivation, ability and opportunity 1. Motivation: an inner state of arousal that provides energy needed to achieve a goal. Effects of motivation: - High-effort behaviour; when motivated to buy a car you will work extra to have the money, search the web for the best car, visit dealers and make test-drives - High effort information processing and decision making; pay more attention to behaviour, think about it, try to understand the info etc. Motivated reasoning: processing information in a way that allows consumers to reach the conclusion that they want to reach - Felt involvement; Felt involvement: self-reported arousal or interest in an offering, activity or decision. Types of involvement: Enduring involvement: long-term interest in an offering, activity or decision Situational (temporary) involvement: temporary interest in an offering, activity, decision often caused by situational circumstances Cognitive involvement: interest in thinking about and learning information pertinent to an offering, activity or decision Affective involvement: interest is expending emotional energy and evoking deep feelings about an offering, activity or decision

Objects of involvement Consumers can be involved with many different things, in different ways: - with a product or retail category - with experiences - with a brand - with ads - with a medium (TV, internet etc.) - with a particular article or show (American idol etc.) Response involvement: interest is certain decisions and behaviours
Motivation is affected by: - Personal relevance; people perceive something as personally relevant when it is consistent with their values, needs, goals, and emotions. Personal relevance: something that has a direct bearing on the self and has potentially significant consequences or implications for our lives Consistency with self-concept; Self concept: our mental view of who we are Values; beliefs about what is right, important or good Needs; an internal state of tension caused by disequilibrium from an ideal/desired physical or psychological state categorizing needs: Maslow;s hierarchy of needs, Social vs. Non-social + functional, symbolic, hedonic (see exhibit 2.4 pg 51) Functional needs: needs that motivate the search for offerings that solve consumption-related products Symbolic needs: needs that relate to how we perceive ourselves, how we are perceived by others, how we relate to others and the esteem in which we are held by others Hedonic needs: needs that relate to sensory pleasure characteristics of needs:

- needs are dynamic (when one need is fulfilled, others arise) - needs exist in hierarchy - needs can be externally or internally aroused - needs can conflict Approach-avoidance conflict: a feeling of conflictedness about acquiring or consumer an offering that fulfils one need, but fails to fulfil another need Approach-approach conflict: a feeling of conflictedness about which offering to acquire when each can satisfy an important but different need Avoidance-avoidance conflict: a feeling of conflictedness about which offering to acquire when neither can satisfy an important but different need It is important for marketers to identify and measure different needs of different consumers, however, this is very difficult to do. Consumers are unaware of their needs, and it is difficult to tell others about them. For marketers it is also difficult to observe. Goals; outcome that we would like to achieve - it is about the amount of effort you put in - goals can be concrete (being on time) or more abstract (being a good student) - goals can be promotion-focused or prevention-focused Appraisal theory: a theory of emotion that proposes that emotions are based on an individuals assessment of a situation or an outcome and its relevance to his or her goals. Consumers needs and goals have particular relevance to marketers: - segments based on needs and goals - create new needs and goals - develop need- and goal-satisfying offers - manage conflicting needs or goals - appeal to multiple goals and needs - enhance communication effectiveness - appeal to goals - manage consumers emotions Motivation is also affected by: - Perceived risk; consumers are more likely to pay attention to, and carefully process marketing communications when perceived risk is high. Perceived risk: the extent to which the consumer is uncertain about the consequences of an action, e.g. buying, using or disposing of an offering. perceived risk tends to be higher when; - there is little information about the offering - when the offering is new - when the offering has a high price - when the offering is technologically complex - when brands differ fairly substantially in quality - when the consumer has little confidence or experience in evaluating the offering - when the opinions of others are important Types of perceived risk: Performance risk: uncertainty about whether the offering will perform as expected Financial risk: the extent to which buying, using or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to create financial harm Physical or safety risk: the extent to which buying, using or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to create physical harm or harm ones safety

Social risk: the extent to which buying, using or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to do harm to ones social standing Psychological risk: the extent to which buying, using or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to create negative emotions or harm ones sense of self Time risk: uncertainties over the length of time consumers must invest in buying, using or disposing of the offering When perceived risk is high, marketers can either reduce uncertainty or reduce the perceived consequences of failure. A final factor which affects motivation is: - inconsistency with attitude: the extent to which new information is consistent with previously acquired knowledge or attitudes 2. Consumers ability: resources to act Ability: the extent to which consumers have the resources needed to make an outcome happen A consumers ability is influenced by: - Product knowledge and experience knowledgeable consumers (experts) are better able to think deeply about information than are equally motivated but less knowledgeable customers (novices) - Cognitive styles; preference for ways information should be presented - Complexity of information; - Intelligence, education and age - Money 3. Consumer opportunity The final factor affecting whether motivation results in action. Even though when someone has high motivation and ability, someone may not take action or make decisions because of lack of time, distractions, and other factors that impede the ability to act. - Time - Distraction - Amount, repetition and control of information

Chapter 3 Exposure, Attention and Perception 1. Exposure: The process by which the consumer comes in physical contact with a stimulus. Marketing stimuli: information about offerings communicated either by the marketer( via ads, salespeople, brand symbols, packages, signs, prices and so on) or by non-marketing sources (e.g. the media or word-of-mouth) consumers can be exposed to marketing stimuli at the buying, using or disposing stages of consumption Factors influencing exposure: - The positioning of an ad within a medium (back of a magazine, within TV programs which interest your target group, near articles which interest them, beginning or end of commercial break) - Product distribution (the more stores which sell the product, the greater the chance a customer will be exposed to it) - Shelf placement (at the end of aisle, beginning of shelf, lot of shelf space) Selective exposure Ultimately it is the consumer who decides if he/she will be exposed to the ad or not. Specific target groups (e.g. women reading Vogue) will be more likely to selectively expose themselves to fashion-oriented ads. Consumers avoidance of marketing stimuli is a big problem for marketers Measuring exposure how to measure exposure to websites and online advertising is a big concern. How many people pass and look at a billboard, watch a TV commercial, view an ad on a website etc. 2. Attention Attention: The process by which an individual allocates parts of his or her mental activity to a stimulus. Characteristics of attention: - Attention is selective; We decide what we want to focus on at any one time. E.g. in a store we dont look at all products/prices/displays/posters etc. people pay less attention to things they have seen many times before attention is also affected by goals - Attention can be divided; we can parcel our attention resources into units and allocate some to one task and some to another (drive a car and talk) - Attention is limited; we can attend to multiple things only if processing them is relatively automatic, well practiced and effortless. Focal and non-focal attention Pre-attentive processing: the non-conscious processing of stimuli in peripheral vision most of our attention resources are devoted to one thing, leaving very limited resources for attending something else. our ability to process information preattentively depends on: (1) whether the stimulus in peripheral vision is a picture or a word (2) whether it is placed in the right or left visual field About the brain Stimuli on which we focus on directly are processed by both hemispheres. Stimuli

placed on the right side of what we focus on (article, billboard on right side of road etc.) are being processed by the left part of the brain and vice versa. Right hemisphere is best on processing music, grasping visual and spatial information, forming inferences, drawing conclusions Left hemisphere is best at processing units that can be combined, performing tasks such as counting, processing unfamiliar words and forming sentences. pre-attentive processing is useful since research shows that people tend to like a brand more if they have processed it pre-attentively then when they have not been exposed to it at all. Marketers need to attract consumers attention since they are being exposed to many stimuli. Ways of getting attention include: - Make stimuli personally relevant (appeal to needs, values, emotions or goals) - Make stimuli pleasant (by using attractive models, using music, using humour etc.) - Make stimuli surprising (using novelty, unexpectedness, using a puzzle) - Make stimuli easy to process (prominence, concreteness etc) Customer segments defined by attention It is possible to focus on different segments based on the attention they pay to an ad Habituation Habituation: the process by which a stimulus loses its attention-getting abilities by virtue of its familiarity when a stimulus becomes familiar, it will be less attention getting. 3. Perception Perception: the process by which incoming stimuli activate our sensory receptors: eyes, ears, taste buds, skin and so on. So it occurs when stimuli are registered by one of our senses. Perceiving through vision What arouses our visual perception: - Size and shape - Lettering - Colour - Effects of colour on physiological responses and moods - Colour and liking Perceiving through hearing Marketers should use specific sounds etc. but not too loud, not too soft. People should not speak too fast . Using the same voice over and over, people might link the voice to the particular brand Also in a store, which music should be played etc. Perceiving through taste Perceiving through smell - effects of smell on physiological responses and moods - smells and product trials - smell and liking - smell and buying Perceiving through touch

Both touching goods or salesperson touching you When do we perceive stimuli for us to perceive something, it must be sufficiently intense. Absolute thresholds: the minimal level of stimulus intensity needed to detect a stimulus Differential threshold (j.n.d. = just noticeable difference): the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before they are perceived as being different Webers Law: the stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the additional intensity needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different. sometimes markets want you to see that there is a difference (e.g. increase in size of the package but price staid the same) but also sometimes marketers dont what you to notice (decrease in package size) Subliminal perception: the activation of sensory receptors by stimuli presented below the perceptual threshold subliminal perception is different from preattentive processing (pg 87). remember research in movie theatre, where it was said sales of coke increased after flashing the words drink coke. This research turned out to be false. How do consumers perceive stimulus Perceptual organization: the process by which stimuli are organized into meaningful units 4 basic principles related to perceptual organization: - Figure and ground: according to the principle, people interpret stimuli in the context of a background - Closure: according to this principle, individuals have a need to organize perceptions so that they form a meaningful whole - Grouping: the tendency to group stimuli to form a unified picture or impression - Bias for the whole: the tendency to perceive more value in a whole than in the combined parts that make up a whole (e.g. you are less likely to spend 20 when you have 1 20 bill, then when you have 1 of 10 and 2 of 5)

Chapter 4 Knowledge and understanding Overview of knowledge and understanding there are 2 broad domains of prior knowledge: knowledge content (stored info) and knowledge structure. Knowledge content: information we already have in memory Knowledge structure: the way in which knowledge is organized prior knowledge is essential for 2 aspects of consumer understanding: categorization and comprehension Categorization: the process of labelling or identifying an object. Involves relating what we perceive in our external environment to what we already know Comprehension: the process of deepening understanding. Involves using prior knowledge to understand more about what we have categorized. 1. Knowledge Knowledge content Schema: the set of associations linked to a concept The associations in schemas can be described along several dimensions: - Types of associations. There are many different types of associations; e.g. for food: attributes, benefits, who eats it, where it is eaten, ways it is eaten etc. - Favourability: - Uniqueness (fat is not unique to McDonalds but the yellow M is) - Salience (how easy they come to mind) - Abstractness Types of schemas Examples include; product category schema, brand schema, people-, store-, ads-, companies schemas etc. Images Brand image: a subset of salient and feeling-related associations stored in a brand schema Brand personality: the set of associations that reflect the personification of the brand (how people would describe the brand if it was a person) Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication and Ruggedness Schemas, images and personalities can sometimes be created by means of brand extensions, licensing agreements and brand alliances (so there will be a transfer of associations) Scripts: a special type of schema that represents knowledge of a sequence of actions involved in performing an activity (you may have a script for how to arrange roses just bought in the store (from opening up to putting in the vase)) Knowledge structure !! Taxonomic category: a group of objects that are classified in an orderly and often hierarchically based scheme based on their similarity to one another (SKUs etc.) - things within the same taxonomic category share similar features, and the features they share are different from features of objects in other categories.

10

Graded structure: the fact that category members vary in how well they represent a category (e.g. cola fits better in the soft drink category then sierra mist) Prototype: the best example of a cognitive (mental) category (e.g. IPod is a prototypical digital music player) What affects proto-typicality? - share associations (prototype has the most associations) - frequency with which an object is encountered as a category member you can position a brand either as being similar to the category prototype, or position away from the prototype (differentiating) Correlated associations: the extent to which two or more associations linked to a schema go together Hierarchical structure Super ordinate level: the broadest level of category organization containing different objects that share few associations but are still members of a category Basic level: a level of categorization below the superordinate category that contains objects in more refined categories Subordinate level: a level of categorization below the basic level that contains objects in very finely differentiated categories important to know for: establishing a competitive position and designing retail stores and sites !! Goal-derived categories Goal-derived categories: things that a viewed as belonging in the same category because they serve the same goals. category structure is flexible; the same object can be part of a goal-derived category and part of a taxonomic category Construal level theory High-level vs. low-level construal theory Why consumers differ in their knowledge: - Culture - Expertise 2. Using knowledge to understand Categorizing: categorizing occurs when consumers use their prior knowledge to label, identify, and classify something new (Mac Book as type of computer). Important that customers categorize the product good, otherwise they wont buy it. Categorizing is a basic psychological process that has far-reaching implications for marketers, including the following: - Inferences -Elaboration - Evaluation - Consideration and choice - Satisfaction Comprehension while categorization reflects the process of identifying an entity, comprehension is the process of extracting higher-order meaning from it. Objective comprehension: the extent to which the receiver accurately understands the message a sender intended to communicate (intended by

11

marketer) Subjective comprehension: reflects what we understand, regardless of whether this understanding is accurate (might not be intended by marketer) Miscomprehension: inaccurate understanding of a message may occur because; low motivation, limited opportunity, complex massage, only show 1 or 2 times, because of culture etc. Improving objective comprehension: - simple message - repeat the message - presenting the info in different forms Perceptual fluency: the ease with which information is processed marketers should try to influence the subjective comprehension of customers Consumer inferences (subjective comprehension) - Brand names and symbols; - Product features and packaging (product attributes, country or origin, package design, colour etc.) - Price - Retail atmospheric and display - Advertising and selling - Pictures - Language Ethical issues!

12

Chapter 5 Attitudes based on high effort Attitude: a relatively global and enduring evaluation on an object, issue, person or action Attitudes are important because they: - Guide our thoughts (the cognitive functions) - Influence our feelings (the affective function) - Affect our behaviour (connative function) Marketeers needs to influence our attitudes in order to influence consumer decision making and change consumer behaviour. Attitudes can be described in terms of 5 main characteristics: - Favourability (how much we like or dislike something) - Attitude accessibility (how easy an attitude can be remembered) - Attitude confidence (how strongly we hold an attitude) - Attitude persistence (how long an attitude lasts) - Attitude resistance (how difficult it is to change an attitude) - Ambivalance: when our evaluations regarding a brand are mixed (both positive and negative). We will then be much more easily influenced by others. Attitudes are based on thoughts (cognitions) or emotions/feelings (affect) Central-route processing: the attitude formation and change process when effort is high Peripheral-route processing: the attitude formation and change process when effort is low Attitudes tend to be more accessible, persistent, resistant to change and helf with confidence when consumers MAO to process information is high. Marketers can influence consumers attitudes either: cognitively or affectively MAO: Motivation, Ability, Opportunity Theories which explain how thoughts are related to attitudes (high effort): - Direct or imagined experience - Reasoning by analogy or category - Values-driven attitudes - Social Identity-based attitude generation - Analytical processes of attitude formation Cognitive thoughts: thoughts we have in response to a communication - counterarguments - support arguments - source derogations: thoughts that discount or attack the source of the message Expectancy-value model: a widely used model that explains how attitudes form and change (based on knowledge or beliefs and evaluations of the beliefs) Theory of reasoned action: A model that provides an explanation of how, when and why attitudes predict behaviour. Behaviour (B): what we do Behavioural intention (BI): what we intend to do Attitude towards the act (Aact): how we feel about doing something

13

Subjective norms: How others feel about our doing something Normative influences: How others influence our behaviour by social pressure Theory of planned behaviour: An extension of the TORA model that predicts behaviours over which consumers perceive they have control Both the communication source and the message influence how favourable a consumers attitude will be. Communication Source - source credibility - company reputation The Message - argument quality - One- versus two-sided message One sided: presents only positive information Two sided: presents both positive and negative information - comparative messages: make a direct comparison to competition The affective (emotional) foundations of attitudes Affective involvement: Expending emotional energy and heightened feelings regarding an offering or activity Affective responses: When consumers generate feelings and images in response to a message Emotional appeals: Message designated to elicit an emotional response How affectively based attitudes are influenced Characteristics of the source and the message can be used The Source Attractiveness: a source characteristic that evokes favourable attitudes if a source is physically attractive, likable, familiar of similar to ourselves Match-up hypothesis: the idea that the source must be appropriate for the product/service The Message - emotional appeals (love, desire, hope etc.) - fear appeals (messages that stress negative consequences) Attitude towards the ad (Aad): whether we like or dislike an ad Utilitarian dimension: When an ad provides information Hedonic dimension: When an ad creates positive or negative feelings what we intend to do, does not always predict what we will actually do! Factors that will affect whether a consumers attitudes will influence his or her behaviour: - Level of involvement/elaboration - Knowledge and experience - Analysis of reasons - Accessibility of attitudes - Attitude confidence

14

Specificity of attitudes Attitude-behaviour relationship over time Emotional attachment Situational factors Normative factors Personality variables

15

Chapter 6 Attitudes based on low effort Since consumers tend not to actively process message arguments or become emotionally involved in messages about e.g. beer, marketers must use other techniques to create positive evaluations of their brands, raise awareness of need situations and stimulate purchasing and consumption. Low effort situation: when the consumer is unwilling or unable to exert a lot of effort in processing the central idea behind marketing communication. Peripheral route to persuasion: Aspects other than key message arguments that are used to influence attitudes Peripheral cues: Easily processed aspects of a message, such as music, an attractive source or picture, or humour. Low effort attitude formation and change: 1. Unconscious influences on attitudes - Thin slice judgements: Evaluations made after brief observations - Body feedback: Cognitive bases of attitudes when consumer effort is low: When processing effort is low, attitudes may be based on a few simple and not very strong beliefs because consumers have not processed the message deeply. When processing effort is low, consumers may acquire simple beliefs by forming simple inferences based on simple associations. Beliefs based on peripheral cues Heuristics: simple rules of thumb that are used to make judgements Frequency heuristic: belief based simply on the number of supporting arguments or amount of repetition Truth effect: When consumers believe a statement simply because it has been repeated a number of times How cognitive attitudes are influenced 1. The communication source Characteristics of the source play an important role in influencing consumers beliefs when processing effort is low (e.g. statements from experts can be trusted) 2. The message - Category- and schema-consistent information; people make inferences from brand names, inferences of quality based on price, or attributes such as colour. - Many message arguments (frequency heuristic) - Simple messages - Involving messages; self referencing: relating a message to ones own experience or self-image 3. Message context and repetition Incidental learning: learning that occurs from repetition rather than from conscious processing

16

Affective bases of attitudes when consumer effort is low 1. The mere exposure effect: When familiarity leads to a consumers liking of an object (familiar objects are preferred over unfamiliar ones.) 2. Classical conditioning: Producing a response to a stimulus by repeatedly pairing it with other stimulus that automatically produces this response (dog with food and saliva) 3. Attitude toward the ad Dual-mediation hypothesis: explains how attitudes toward the ad influence brand attitudes. Brands which ads are like are evaluated more favourable 4. Mood How affective attitudes are influenced 1. The communication source - Attractive sources - Likable sources - Celebrity sources 2. The message Pleasant pictures Music Humour Sex Emotional content Message content

17

Chapter 7 Memory and Retrieval Consumer memory: A personal storehouse of knowledge about products and services, shopping, and consumption experiences Retrieval: The process of remembering or accessing what we have stored in memory Chapter 4: information stored in memory affect whether and how we interpret and categorize objects Chapter 5 + 6: indicated that attitudes are part of our memory they represent stored summary evaluations of objects. Types of memory: 1. Sensory memory (echoic and iconic memory) 2. Short-term memory (imagery and discursive processing) 3. Long-term memory (autobiographical and semantic memory) 1. Sensory memory: The ability to store sensory experiences temporarily as they are produced. This memory works automatically, e.g. when talking to someone, you might still hear some words from another conversation Echoic memory: Very brief memory for things we hear Iconic memory: Very brief memory for things we see 2. Short-term memory: The portion of memory where incoming information is encoded or interpreted in light of existing knowledge Discursive processing: The processing of information as words Imagery processing: The processing of information in sensory form (in terms of smell, feel, sound, taste etc.) Characteristics of ST memory: - It is limited; we can only remember a certain number of things at any time - It is short lived; we will remember it only for a short period of time ST memory (particularly imagery processing) has 4 key implications for marketers: 1. Imagery processing can affect product liking and choice 2. Imagery can stimulate memories of past experiences 3. Imagery can affect how much information we can process 4. Imagery may affect how satisfied we are with a product or consumption experience 3. Long-term memory: The part of memory where information is placed for later use: permanently stored knowledge Autobiographical (or episodic) memory: Knowledge we have about ourselves and our personal experiences Semantic memory: General knowledge about an entity, detached from specific episodes How memory is enhanced

18

Processes which affect memory (additional to the factors of chapter 3, which affect attention): Chuck: A group of items that can be processed as a unit Rehearsal: The process of actively reviewing material in an attempt to remember it Recirculation: The process by which information is remembered via simple repetition without active rehearsal Elaboration: Transferring information into long-term memory by processing it at deeper levels Marketing implications: - Chucking: provide larger bits of information as chucks of smaller bits of information - Rehearsal: use tactics such as jingles, sounds or slogans to perpetuate rehearsal - Recirculation: create different ads which communicate the same message - Elaboration: use unexpected or novel stimuli What is retrieval? Semantic or associative network: A set of associations in memory that are linked to a concept (exhibit 7.6) 2 factors of the semantic network affect what we remember: 1. Trace strength: The extent to which an association or link is strongly or weakly linked to a concept in memory - Accessible: The extent to which an associations or link is retrievable from memory 2. Spreading of activation: The process by which retrieving one concept or association spreads to the retrieval of a related concept or association - Prime: Activation of a node in memory, often without conscious awareness Retrieval failures: - Decay: The weakening of memory nodes or links over time - Interference: That which causes us to confuse which features go with which brand or concept due to semantic networks being too closely aligned - Primacy and recency effects: The tendency to show greater memory for information that comes from first or last in a sequence (e.g. you remember best what you have studied first, or you remember the first commercial best) Retrieval errors Consumers can retrieve information through two retrieval systems: Explicit and Implicit memory 1. Explicit memory: Memory from some prior episode achieved by active attempts to remember Recognition: the process of determining whether a stimulus has or has not been encountered before Recall: The ability to recall information from memory 2. Implicit memory: Memory for things without any conscious attempt at remembering them

19

Marketing implications: - Retrieval as a communication objective - Retrieval affect consumer choices - Recognition and recall relate to advertising effectiveness Enhancing retrieval 4 additional factors to chunking, rehearsal etc. 1. Characteristics of the stimulus: - Salience - Prototypicality - Redundant cues - The medium in which the stimulus is processed 2. What the stimulus is linked to - Retrieval cue: a stimulus that facilitates a nodes activation in memory - Brand name as a retrieval cue - Other retrieval cues: logos, packages etc. 3. How a stimulus is processes in short-term memory Dual coding: the representation of a stimulus in two modalities, e.g. pictures and words in memory 4. Consumers characteristics affecting retrieval - Mood - Expertise

20

Chapter 9 Judgment and decision making based on high effort Judgements: Evaluations of an object or estimates of likelihood or an outcome or event. Judgement do not require a decision, however judgements can serve as important input for decision making. Decision making: Making a selection among options or courses of action Estimation of likelihood: Judging how likely it is that something will occur Judgements of goodness/badness: Evaluating the desirability of something Anchoring and adjustment process: Starting with an initial evaluation and adjusting it with additional information Imagery: Imagining an event in order to make a judgement Judgements are not always objective. Biases and other factors may compromise the quality of the consumers decision. - Confirmation bias: consumers will focus more on what they already believe - Self-positive bias: consumers make judgements about the extent to which they or others are vulnerable to having bad things happen to them - Negativity bias: consumers give negative information more weight than positive information - Mood and bias: - Prior brand evaluations: Inept set: Options that are unacceptable when making a decision Inert set: Options toward which consumers are indifferent Consideration set: The subset of top-of-mind brand evaluated when making a choice Attraction effect: when adding of an inferior brand to a consideration set increases the attractiveness of the dominant brand Deciding which criteria are important to the choice -The relevance and importance of various decision criteria depend on: - Consumers goals - Timing of the decision - How the decision is framed or represented Cognitive decision making models: The process by which consumer combine items of information about attributes to reach a decision - Compensatory model: A mental cost-benefit analysis model in which negative features can be compensated for by positive ones - Non-compensatory model: Simple decision model in which negative information leads to rejection of the option - Cut-off levels: For each attribute, the point at which a brand is rejected with a non-compensatory model Affective decision making models: The process by which consumers base their decisions on feelings and emotions Decision based on brands Brand processing: Evaluating one brand at the time

21

Multi-attribute expectancy-value models: A type of brand-based compensatory model Conjunctive model: A non-compensatory models that sets minimum cut-offs to reject bad options Disjunctive model: A non-compensatory model that sets acceptable cut-offs to find options that are good Decision based on product attributes Attribute processing: Comparing brands, one attribute at the time Additive difference model: Compensatory model in which brands are compared by attributes, two brands at the time Lexicographic model: A non-compensatory model that compares brands by attributes, one at a time in order of importance Elimination-by-aspects model: Similar to the lexicographic model but adds the notion of acceptable cut-offs. Pg 233........

22

The consumers culture Chapter 12 Consumer diversity Age influences 4 major age groups targeted by marketers: - teens and generation Y (millenniums) (Gen. Y born between 1979 and 1994) - generation X (born between 1965 and 1976) - boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) - seniors (individuals over 65) Important to realize that these groups, and the needs and wants of these groups change over time check the marketing implications on how to reach them etc. Gender influences Agentic goals: goals that stress mastery, self-assertiveness, self-efficacy, strength and no emotion (goals which guide males in western society) Communal goals: goals that stress affiliation and fostering harmonious relations with others, submissiveness, emotionally and home orientation (goals which guide woman in western society) traditional sex roles are changing and evolving in many countries. sex roles in advertisements can provoke differing responses - There are many differences between the acquisition and consumption behaviours of men and women Men Selective information processors Tend to be more sensitive to personally relevant information Tend to use specific hemispheres of the brain for certain tasks Women Detailed, thorough examination of messages Make extended decisions based on product attributes Tend to pay attention to personally relevant info and info relevant to others Use both parts of their brain for more tasks

Sexual orientation Sexual orientation: A persons preference toward certain behaviours, either masculine, feminine or androgynous. Thus different ads attract different people. - Sexual orientations are important because they can influence consumer preferences and behaviour. Regional influences The region in which people live can affect their consumer behaviour. Clustering: the grouping of consumers according to common characteristics using statistical techniques. Regional influences may be per province, country, etc. Cultural influences affect consumer behaviour: Individualism vs. Collectivism Horizontal vs. Vertical orientation Masculine vs. Feminine Ethnic influences

23

Ethnic groups: subcultures with a similar heritage and values Acculturation: learning how to adapt to a new culture (through family, friends, media etc.) - Different ethnic groups should be targeted in different ways in order to attract them! Multicultural marketing: strategies used to appeal to a variety of cultures at the same time Accommodation theory: the more effort a source puts into communicating with a group (e.g. by using role models and the native language) the greater the response by members of this group and the more positive their feeling. Religious influences Religion provides people with a structures set of beliefs and values that serve as a code of conduct or guide to behaviour. Religion can help in segmenting the market and reach these segments in different ways. Chapter 13 Social class and household influences Social class hierarchy: the grouping of members of society according to status high to low. They are loose collections of individuals with similar life experiences, not formal groups with a strong identity. All levels of the social class hierarchy make an important contribution to society The amount of levels and the division of people within the hierarchy differ per country. Over-privileged: families with an income higher than the average in their social class Class average: families with an average income in a particular class Under-privileged: families below the average in their class social class structures are important because they strongly affect norms and values and, therefore, behaviour. Trickle-down effect: trends that start in the upper classes and then are copies by lower classes (e.g. clothing styles) Status float: trends that start in the lower and middle classes and move upward (e.g. tattoos and blue jeans) How social class is determined Income; more money means higher social standing, however income is not strongly related to social class: - income levels overlap in social classes - income increases with age, but older workers do not automatically have a higher social status - dual-career families generate a higher than average income, but do not necessarily attain a higher status Income cannot explain social class, social class can often explain how income is used.

24

Occupation and Education; The greatest predictor of class standing is occupation. Other indicators of social class; - area of residence - possessions - family background - etc. Status crystallization: When consumers are consistent across indicators of social class income, education, occupation etc. When a person scores low on some factors but high on other factors, they are difficult to put in one social class. Therefore it is difficult for marketers to target them right. Social classes change over time Upward mobility: raising ones status level (through educational or occupational achievement) Downward mobility: losing ones social standing status panic: the inability of children to reach their parents level of social status Social class fragmentation: the disappearance of class distinctions How does social class affect consumption Conspicuous consumption: when consumers but items because they signal a message of status or eliteness to others. Conspicuous waste: visibly buying products and services that one never uses (e.g. houses, cars, pianos etc.) Status symbols: products or services that tell others about someones social class standing Parody display: status symbols that start in the lower social classes and move upward Fraudulent symbols: symbols that become so widely adopted that they lose their status Compensatory consumption: the consumer behaviour of buying products or services to offset frustrations or difficulties in life. The consumption patterns of specific social classes - The upper class - The middle class - The lower class - The homeless Managers must delve deeper to intensify sub-segments of consumers with specific and unique consumption patterns! Marketers should adapt the following to the different social classes: - product and service development - messages - media exposure - channel selection The household influences on social behaviour Types of households: Nuclear family: father, mother and children

25

Extended family: the nuclear family plus relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins Household: a single person living alone or a group of individuals living together in a common dwelling, regardless of whether they are related. because the number of households increases, marketers are increasingly thinking in terms of households rather than families. Family life cycle: different stages of family life, depending on the age of the parents and how many children are living at home. marketers must consider the great variation in needs over the family life cycle and the effect on consumer behaviour within households. Changing trends in household structure - delayed marriage; single person households exhibit unique consumption patterns - cohabitation; live with people of the opposite sex outside marriage. Cohabitating individuals tend to be more self-oriented - dual careers; increased spending, value different offerings (e.g. which safe time) and men tend to be home more often or participate in shopping. Thus more ads are focused towards men - divorce - smaller families Roles that household members play Household decision roles: roles that different members play in a household decision: - Gatekeeper: who collects and controls information important to the decision - Influencer: try to express their opinions and influence their decision - Decider - Buyer - User Instrumental roles: roles that relate to tasks affecting the buying decision (when and how much to purchase) Expressive roles: Roles that involve an indication of family norms (choice of colour or style) Roles of spouses - husband-dominant decision - wife-dominant decision - automatic decision: decision equally likely to be made by the husband or wife, but not both - syncratic decision: decision made jointly by the husband and wife Chapter 14 Psychographics: values, personality and lifestyles Psychographics: a description of consumers based on their psychological and behavioural characteristics Values: enduring beliefs regarding which is right or wrong Value system: our total set of values and their relative importance Values can vary in terms of their specificity: - Global values; a persons most enduring, strongly held, and abstract values that

26

hold in many situations - Terminal values; highly desired end states such as social recognition and pleasure - Instrumental values; the values needed to achieve the desired end states such as ambition and cheerfulness - Domain-specific values; values that may only apply to a particular area of activities Values that characterize western cultures: - Materialism; placing importance on money and material goods - Home - Work and play - Individualism - Family and children - Health - Hedonism; the principle of pleasure seeking - Youth - Authenticity - Environment - Technology Values differ across different groups of consumers People in different countries are exposed to different cultural experiences, a situation that leads to cross-cultural differences in values> Hofstedes value dimensions: - Individualism vs. Collectivism - Uncertainty avoidance - Masculinity vs. femininity - Power distance Marketers need to understand how consumer values affect: - consumption patterns - market segmentation - new product development - ad development strategy - ethics How to measure values It is difficult to measure values because (1) people do not often think about their values and (2) people may sometimes feel social pressure to respond to the values in a questionnaire in a certain way to make them look better. making inferences based on a cultures milieu means-end chain analysis: a technique that helps us understand how values link to attributes in products and services. Personality: An internal characteristic that determines how individuals behave in various situation Approaches to studying personality - Psychoanalytic approaches: states that personalities arise from a set of dynamic, unconscious internal struggles within the mind - Trait theories; states that personality is composed of characteristics that describe and differentiate individuals

27

- Phenomenological approaches: propose that personality is largely shaped by an individuals interpretation of life events - Social-psychological theories: focuses on social rather than biological explanations of personality, proposing that individuals act in social situation to meet their needs - Behavioural approaches: propose that differences in personality are a function of how individuals have been rewarded or punished in the past Optimal stimulation level (OSL): Peoples preferred level of stimulation, which is usually moderate Dogmatism: a tendency to be resistant to change or new ideas Need for uniqueness (NFU): the desire for novelty through the purchase, use and disposition of products and services Need for cognition: a trait that describes how much people like to think Frugality: the degree to which consumers take a disciplined approach to shortterm acquisition and are resourceful in using products and services to achieve longer-term goals National character: the personality of a country Lifestyles: peoples patterns of behaviour Activities, interests and opinions (AIOs): the 3 components of lifestyle Consumer lifestyles can have important implications for market segmentation, communication and new product ideas Psychographics: combining values, personality and lifestyles Values and Life Style Survey (VALS): a psychographic tool that measures demographic, value, attitude and lifestyle variables. Chapter 15 Social influences on consumer behaviour Social influences: information by and implicit or explicit pressure from individuals, groups and the mass media that affect how a person behaves. Sources of influences can come from a marketing source or a non-marketing source and they can be delivered personally or through mass media. non-marketing sources tend to be more credible. Information delivered via the mass media can reach many people but may not allow for a two-way flow of communication. Marketing source: influence delivered from a marketing agent, e.g. advertising and personal selling. Non-marketing source: influence delivered from an entity outside a marketing organization e.g. friends, family or the media (e.g. WOM) The different sources differ in terms of their reach, capacity for two-way communication, and credibility. These characteristics affect how much influence each source can have with consumers. Marketing implications: - Use non-marketing sources to enhance credibility

28

- Use personal sources to enhance two-way communication - Use a mix of sources to enhance impact Opinion leader: an individual who acts as an information broker between the mass media and the opinions and behaviours of an individual or group. Gatekeepers: sources that control the flow of information Market maven: a consumer on whom others rely for information about the market place in general Marketing implications: - Target opinion leader - Use opinion leader in marketing communications - Refer consumers to opinion leaders Reference group: a set of people with whom individuals compare themselves for guidance in developing their own attitudes, knowledge and/or behaviours. Aspirational reference group: a group that we admire and desire to be like Associative reference group: a group to which we currently belong Brand community: a specialized group of consumers with a structured set of relationships involving a particular brand, fellow customers of that brand and the product in use Dissociative reference group: a group we do not want to emulate Marketing implications: - Associate products with aspirational reference groups - Accurately represent associative reference groups - Help to develop brand communities - Avoid using dissociative reference groups Reference groups can be described to the degree of contact, formality and similarity among members; group attractiveness, density, degree of identification, strength of ties connecting members. Primary reference group: group with whom we have physical face-to-face interaction (e.g. family and friends) Secondary reference group: group with whom we do not have direct contact (e.g. gangsta rappers) Homophily: the overall similarity among members in the social system Tie-strength: the extent to which a close, intimate relationship connects people Marketing implications: - understanding information transmission (does it go slow or fast etc.) - formal reference groups as potential targets - homophilous consumers as targets - targeting the network - understanding the strength of weak ties Embedded markets: markets in which the social relationship among buyers and sellers change the way the market operates. Reference groups affect consumer socialization Consumer socialization: the process by which we learn to become consumers (and come to know the value of money).

29

Normative influence Normative influence: social pressure designed to encourage conformity to the expectations of others. Norms: collective decisions about what constitutes appropriate behaviour. normative influence can have several important effects on consumption behaviours Brand choice congruence: purchase of the same brand as members of a group Conformity: the tendency to behave in an expected way Compliance: doing what the group or social influencer asks Reactance: doing the opposite of what the individual or group wants us to do The strength of normative influence depends on the characteristics of the product, the consumer and the group to which the consumer belongs. Coercive power: the extent to which the group has the capacity to deliver rewards and sanctions Marketing implications: - demonstrate reward and sanctions for product use/non-use - create norms for group behaviour - create conformity pressure - use compliance (toestemming) techniques Foot-in-the-door technique: a technique designed to induce compliance by getting an individual to agree first to a small favour, then to a larger one, and then to an even larger one Door-in-the-face technique: a technique designed to induce compliance by first asking an individual to comply with a very large and possibly outrageous request, followed by a smaller and more reasonable request. Even a-penny-will-help technique: a technique designed to induce compliance by asking individuals to do a very small favour, one that is so small that it almost does not qualify as a favour. - ask consumers to predict their behaviour - provide freedom of choice - use expert service providers who are similar to the target consumer Information influence Information influence: the extent to which sources influence consumers simply by providing information Factors affecting informational influence strength - product characteristics - consumer and influencer characteristics - group characteristics Marketing implications: - create informational influence by using experts - create a context for informational influence - create informational and normative influence Valence: whether information about something is good (positive valence) or bad (negative valence)

30

Viral marketing: rapid spread of brand/product information among a population of people

31

PART 5 Consumer Behaviour Outcomes and Issues Chapter 16 Adoption of, Resistance to, and Diffusion of Innovations Given the role that new products play in a companys sales and profitability, it is very important for marketers to understand new products and what drives their success. Innovation: An offering that is perceived as new by consumers within a market segment and that has an effect o existing consumption patterns. Innovations can bring about changes in acquisition, consumption and disposition patterns. Marketers classify innovations in three main ways, in terms of: 1. the innovations type (type of novelty) The degree of change that they create in our consumption patterns Continuous innovations: An innovation that has a limited effect on existing consumption patterns (= most new product innovations) Dynamically continuous innovations: An innovation that has a pronounced effect on consumption practices and often involves a new technology (e.g. the introduction of the digital camera) Discontinuous innovations: An offering that is so new that we have never known anything like it before (e.g. once airplanes and the internet were such innovations) The different types of innovations require different levels of behavioural change 2. the type of benefits it offers Functional innovations: A new product, service, attribute or idea that has utilitarian benefits that are different from or better than those of alternatives (e.g. hybrid cars). Functional innovations often rely on new technology that makes the product better than existing alternatives Aesthetic or Hedonic innovations: An innovation that appeals to our aesthetic, pleasure-seeking, and/or sensory needs (e.g. new types of music, new clothing styles etc.) Symbolic innovation: A product, service, attribute or idea that has new social meaning (e.g. new styles of clothing that convey membership of a group) 3. its breadth (the range of new and different uses for a product) E.g. baking soda: baking ingredient, tooth polisher, carpet deodorizer, refrigerator deodorizer etc. Resistance versus Adoption Adoption: A purchase of an innovation by an individual consumer or household Resistance: A desire not to but the innovation, even in the face of pressure to do so Marketers have to understand whether, why and when consumers resist innovations How consumers adopt an innovation High-effort hierarchy of effects: A purchase of an innovation based on considerable decision-making effort Awareness Information collection/search Attitude formation Trial Adoption

32

Low-effort hierarchy of effects: A purchase of an innovation based on limited decision-making effort Awareness Trial Attitude formation Adoption When consumers adopt innovations - Innovators - Early adopters - Early majority - Later majority - Laggards Diffusion Diffusion: the percentage of the population that has adopted an innovation at a specific point in time Important for marketers to know is: How an offering diffuses through the market How quickly an offering diffuses through the market S-shaped diffusion curve: A diffusion curve characterized by slow initial growth followed by a rapid increase of diffusion Exponential diffusion curve: A diffusion curve characterized by rapid initial growth Product life cycle: A concept that suggests that products go through an initial introductory period followed by periods of sales growth, maturity and decline Fad: A successful innovation that has a very short product life cycle Fashion: A successful innovation that has a moderately long and potentially cyclical product life cycle Classic: A successful innovation that has a lengthy product life cycle Influences on Adoption, Resistance and Diffusion Characteristics of the innovation 1. Perceived value: when perceived value is high (due to higher perceived benefits or lower perceived costs) innovations may be more readily adopted 2. Perceived benefits: relative advantage: benefits in an innovation superior to those found in existing products use innovativeness: finding use for a product that differs from the products original intended usage 3. Perceived costs: the higher the purchase cost, the greater the resistance, and hence the slower the diffusion. Uncertainty Consumer learning requirements (what consumers need to do to use the innovation effectively) 1. Compatibility: The extent to which an innovation is consistent with ones needs, values, norms and behaviours

33

2. Trialability: The extent to which an innovation can be tried on a limited bases before it is adopted 3. Complexity: The extent to which an innovation is complicated and difficult to understand or use Social Relevance Social relevance: The extent to which an innovation can be observed or the extent to which having others observe it has social cachet Legitimacy and adaptability Legitimacy: the extent to which the innovation follows established guidelines for what seems appropriate in the category Adaptability: The extent to which the innovation can foster new styles Characteristics of the social system - Modernity: the extent to which consumers in the social system have positive attitudes towards change - Homophily (overall similarity among members of the system) - Physical distance (diffusion tends to be slower when members of the social system are spread apart) - Opinion leadership (opinion leaders have much influence on product adoption and diffusion) The consequences of innovations Innovations often offer relative advantages that may not have previously existed, they are not always good for society.

34

Chapter 18 - Ethics, Social Responsibility and the Dark Side of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Deviant consumer behaviour: - Addictive - Compulsive - Impulsive behaviour - Consumer theft - Use of black markets - Underage drinking and smoking deviant consumer behaviour occurs during the acquisition or during the consumption stage Addictive behaviour: taking action as a result of physiological dependency. Addiction: Excessive behaviour typically brought on by a chemical dependency E.g. repeated use of a product Compulsive behaviour: an inability to stop doing something Compulsive consumption: an irresistible urge to perform an irrational consumption act E.g. purchasing many items which one doesnt need, and sometimes cannot even afford. It is about buying something, not about owning it. Impulsive behaviour: non-thoughtful action acting on impulse (mostly buying or eating) Impulse: A sudden urge to act Consumer theft: the desire to steal things 2 psychological factors seem to explain theft: - the temptation to steal; when consumers want products that they cannot legitimately buy - the ability to rationalize theft behaviour; justifying their behaviour or think that they are driven by forces outside themselves. Black markets: An illegal market in which consumers pay often exorbitant amounts for items not readily available. Different products to fulfil different needs: functional needs, experiential needs or symbolic needs. Underage drinking and smoking: Illegal use of these products by minors is a form of deviant consumer behaviour. Ethical Issues in Marketing - Advertising to children - Questions about marketing and obesity - Advertising and self-image - Privacy concerns Should marketers advertise to children? Because children do not understand when they watch a program, and when the commercial starts, they are being influenced without knowing it. Therefore they come up with several rules to change this. Do marketing efforts promote obesity? More TV programs intend to encourage healthier behaviour. Does advertising affect self image?

35

- Does advertising make consumers dissatisfied with their appearance? Social comparison theory: A theory that proposes that individuals have a drive to compare themselves with other people. - Does advertising make consumers materialistic? Do marketing practices invade consumers privacy? E.g. retailers, banks, credit reporting agencies, Internet businesses, telephone companies, insurance companies etc. Collect and exchange information about consumers through product registration cards a.o. Social responsibility issues in marketing - How to encourage environmentally conscious behaviour and how to encourage conservation behaviour. Marketers can help in making consumers more environmentally responsible; e.g. by the products they sell products in refillable containers. Conservation behaviour: Limiting the use of scarce natural resources for the purposes of environmental preservation. Consumers are most likely to conserve when they accept personal responsibility for the pollution problem. Also, they are more likely to preserve when there are no barriers to do so. How can consumers resist marketing practices? - Try to bring about change individually - Advocacy groups - Boycotts Boycott: An organized activity in which consumers avoid purchasing products or services from a company whose policies or practices are seen as unfair or unjust.

36

You might also like