Copyright 2006

Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Chapter 14
Consumer Decision Making I:
The Process
Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-2
Levels of Consumer Decision
Making
Extensive Problem
Solving
Limited Problem
Solving
Routine Response
Behaviour
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14-3
Factors That Affect the Type of
Decision Making Process Used
Importance of the decision
Extent of previous experience
Existence of well-established decision
criteria
Amount of information at hand about each
alternative
The number of alternatives available
Model of consumption being followed
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-4
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-5
Consumer Decision Making The
Process
Need Recognition
Pre-purchase Search
Evaluation of Alternatives
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14-6
Need or Problem Recognition
The realization that there is a difference
between actual and desired states
The higher the gap, the stronger the need (or
bigger the problem)
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14-7
Types of Problems
Active Versus Inactive problems
Active: those you are aware of
Inactive: those that you are not yet aware of
(but exist)
Those that require immediate solutions and
those that do not require immediate
solutions
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14-8
Problem Recognition and
Marketing Strategy
Identify existing consumer problems and find
solutions for these
Lower the actual state
Increase the desired state
Increase the importance of the gap between actual
and desired states
Convert inactive problems to active problems
Convert problems into ones requiring an
immediate solution
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-9
Pre-Purchase Search
Types of Information Sources
Types of Information Sought
Factors Affecting Extent of Information
Search
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14-10
Figure 14-3: Types of
Information Sources
PERSONAL

Friends
Neighbors
Relatives
Co-workers
Computer salespeople
Calling the electronics
store
IMPERSONAL

Newspaper articles
Magazine articles
Consumer Reports
Direct-mail brochures
Information from product
advertisements
Internal web site
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14-11
Types of Information Sought
Brands or alternatives available
Evaluative criteria to be used
Generally, product features
Ratings of brands on evaluative criteria

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14-12
Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-13
Factors that Increase the Level of
Pre-purchase Search
Product Factors: Higher search when
It is a long-lasting or infrequently used
product
There are frequent changes in product styling
Large volume is purchased
The price is high
There are many alternative brands
There is much variation in features
continued

Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-14
Factors that Increase the Level of
Pre-purchase Search
Situational Factors: Higher search when:
Experience is lower
Previous experience was unsatisfactory
Social Acceptability: Higher search when:
Purchase is a gift
Product is socially visible in use

continued

Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-15
Factors that Increase the Level of
Pre-purchase Search
Value-Related Factors: Higher search
when:
Purchase is discretionary
All alternatives have both positive and
negative qualities
No agreement among users exists
Conflicting information is available
Other considerations exist
continued

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14-16
Factors that Increase the Level of
Pre-purchase Search
Consumer Factors: Higher search when:
Consumers are well-educated, have higher
income levels and are younger
Consumers are low in dogmatism and risk
perception
Level of involvement is high
Shopping is seen as an enjoyable activity
continued

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14-17
Evaluation of Alternatives Types
of Consumer Choice Processes
Affective choices
More holistic; an overall evaluation
based on how one feels about a purchase
Attribute-based choices
Have pre-determined evaluative criteria
May require both external and internal search
Complicated decision rules may be used


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Nature of Evaluative Criteria
Can be tangible or intangible
Include surrogate indicators
Attributes that are used as indicators of another
attribute
Are often ranked in order of importance

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Consumer Decision Rules
Procedures used by consumers to facilitate
brand or other consumption-related choices

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14-20
Consumer Decision Rules
Compensatory
Brands evaluated in terms of each relevant
criteria and the best brand (or one with the
highest score) is chosen
Non-compensatory
Positive evaluations do not compensate for
negative evaluations

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14-21
Non-Compensatory Consumer
Decision Rules
Conjunctive Decision Rule
Product attributes are identified
a minimally acceptable cutoff point is
established for each attribute
brands that fall below the cutoff point on
any one attribute are eliminated from
further consideration.
continued


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14-22
Non-Compensatory Consumer
Decision Rules
Disjunctive Decision Rule
consumers identify product attributes
establish a minimally acceptable cutoff
point for each attribute
accept the brand that meets or exceeds
the cutoff for any one attribute

continued


Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-23
Non-Compensatory Consumer
Decision Rules
Lexicographic Decision Rule
Product attributes are identified
Product attributes are ranked in terms of
importance
brands are compared in terms of the attribute
considered most important
Brand that scores highest on the first attribute is
chosen
If there is a tie, the scores on the next attribute
are considered
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Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
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Issues in Alternative Evaluation
Lifestyles as a Consumer Decision Strategy
Incomplete Information
Non-comparable Alternatives
Series of Decisions
Consumption Vision
Mental picture of the consequences of using a
particular product

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Coping with Missing Information
Delay decision until missing information is
obtained
Ignore missing information and use
available information
Change the decision strategy to one that
better accommodates for the missing
information
Infer the missing information

Copyright 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
14-27
Information Search and
Marketing Strategy
Get products into consumers evoked set
Limit information search if your brand is
the preferred brand
Increase information search if your
alternative is not the preferred brand
Use point-of-purchase advertising
effectively
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14-28
Alternative Evaluation and
Marketing Strategy
Identify decision rule used by target market and
use suitable promotional messages
Influence the choice of evaluative criteria
Influence the rating of your product on evaluative
criteria used
Use surrogate indicators effectively
Use consumption vision