BB Chapter Two: Situational Influences

Chapter Two:Situational Influences

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Chapter 2: Situational influences

Part 1: Consumer decision process

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The next six chapters discuss theconsumer decision process

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Chapter 2: Situational influences

Objectives – after studying this chapter you should understand:

1. Situations influence decisions2. There are four main types of situations3. The nature of situational influences4. Situational influences can be categorised

into five classes5. Situational influences have implications for

marketing strategy6. The usefulness of the person-situation

segmentation procedure

The Nature of Situational InfluenceThe Nature of Situational Influence

Situational influenceSituational influence includes all those factors particular to a time and place that do not follow from a knowledge of the stable attributes of the consumer and the stimulus and that have an effect on current behavior.

Consumers often behave very differently depending on situation.

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Situational influences

• Situations influence consumer behavior– Four main types of situations– Can be categorized according to five

main dimensions– Implications for marketing strategy

The Nature of Situational InfluenceThe Nature of Situational Influence-- a General Modela General Model

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Four situations• Communication situation

– Where? Alone or with others? Surrounding noise?

• Purchase situation– Where? Alone or with others? In a hurry?

• Usage situation– With guests or alone? For pleasure or for work?

• Disposal situation– Before the next purchase? Trade-ins?– After the purchase, e.g. packaging

The Nature of Situational InfluencesThe Nature of Situational Influences

The situation in which consumers receive information has an impact on their behavior.

The The Communications Communications SituationSituation

Marketers attempt to place ads in appropriate media contexts to enhance effectiveness.

Movie ads are strategically place so that Movie ads are strategically place so that consumers see them on their way to consumers see them on their way to and from workand from work 2-9

The Nature of Situational InfluencesThe Nature of Situational Influences

The situation in which a purchase is made can influence consumer behavior.

The The PurchasePurchase SituationSituation

Marketers must adapt strategies to the purchase situation.

Home purchases occur in a unique social situation.

To succeed, realtors must take the opportunity to develop interpersonal relationships.

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Consumer behaviour isProduct–Person–Situation specific

The Nature of Situational InfluencesThe Nature of Situational Influences

Marketers need to understand the usage situations for which their products are, or may become, appropriate.

The The UsageUsage SituationSituation

�Research indicates that expanded usage situation strategies can produce major sales gains.

�Classic: Arm and Hammer baking soda, where many uses have been found and marketed resulting in increased sales.

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The Nature of Situational InfluencesThe Nature of Situational Influences

Consumers must frequently dispose of products or product packages.

The The DispositionDisposition SituationSituation

Disposal can create significant social problems as well as opportunities for marketers.

Some consumers consider ease of disposition an important product attribute.

Appliances at a dump in the Appliances at a dump in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom

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Role of situation in consumer behaviour

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Five dimensions of situational influence

1. Physical surroundings2. Social surroundings3. Temporal perspectives4. Task definition5. Antecedent states

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Examples of physical surrounds

• Store location

• Interior decor• Music

• Smell/aromas• Temperature (air-conditioning or heating)• Choice provided

(by product category or across the categories)

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Physical SurroundingsPhysical Surroundings

AtmosphericsAtmospherics is the sum of all the physical features of a retail environment.

��AtmosphericsAtmospherics influences consumer judgments of the quality of the store and the store’s image.

��AtmosphereAtmosphere is referred to as servicescapeservicescape when describing a service business such as a hospital, bank or restaurant.

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Typology of service environments

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Physical SurroundingsPhysical Surroundings

ColorsColors

Certain colors and color characteristics create feelings of excitement and arousal which are related to attention.

Brighter colors are more arousing than dull ones.

Warm colors such as reds and yellows are more arousing than cool colors such as blues and grays.

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Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Physical SurroundingsPhysical SurroundingsAromasAromasThere is increasing evidence that odors can affect consumer shopping. Several aroma studies have found the following:

1. A scented environment produced a greater intent to revisit the store, higher purchase intention for some items, and a reduced sense of time spent shopping.

2. A pleasantly scented environment enhanced brand recall and evaluations particularly for unfamiliar brands.

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Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Physical SurroundingsPhysical Surroundings

MusicMusic

Music influences consumers’ moods, and in turn, influences a variety of consumption behaviors.

�Firms exist to develop music programs to meet the unique needs of specific retailers.

�An emerging trend is having music more in the foreground so it becomes part of the shopping experience and drives store image.

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Impact of background music on restaurant patrons

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Physical SurroundingsPhysical Surroundings

CrowdingCrowding

Most consumers find feelings of crowding to be unpleasant resulting in:

•Less time in the store and less buying

•Faster decisions and less use of information

Crowding can lead to less satisfactory purchases, unpleasant shopping, and reduced likelihood of returning to the store.

Marketers need to design outlets to reduce crowding perceptions.

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Impact of physical density (crowding) on shopper perceptions

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Social surroundingsSocial surroundings are the other individuals present in the particular situation.

�Social influence is a significant force.

�Individuals tend to comply with group expectations, particularly when the behavior is visible.

�Shopping is a highly visible activity.

�The use of many publicly consumed brands are subject to social influences.

Social SurroundingsSocial Surroundings

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Examples of social surroundings

• Types of customers in the store

• Queues and crowding• Whether the consumer is likely to be known

by others/recognised

• Whether there are high-profilepeople/celebrities shopping at that store

• Whether the product will be consumed privately or in the presence of others

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Effect of social situation on desired dessert attributes

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

EmbarrassmentEmbarrassment is a negative emotion influenced both by the product and the situation.

Social SurroundingsSocial Surroundings

Certain products are more embarrassing than others, and

Embarrassment is driven by the presence of others.

For extremely sensitive products, strategies include home delivery options.

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Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Temporal PerspectivesTemporal Perspectives

Limited purchase time often limits search

Internet shopping is growing rapidly as a result of the time pressures felt by consumers.

Temporal perspectivesTemporal perspectives deal with the effect of time on consumer behavior.

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Examples of temporal influences

• Whether the product is seasonal

• Whether the product is urgently required (snack between lectures)

• Time available for shopping limited/excess (the product may be an excuse for shopping)

• How long the previous product lasted or was expected to last

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Temporal perspective of purchase decisions

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Task DefinitionTask Definition

Task definitionTask definition is the reason the consumption activity is occurring.

Major distinction between purchases for self versus gift.

Consumers give gifts for many reasons:

•social expectations

•ritualized situations

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Examples of task influences

• Is the product utilitarian or used as a status symbol?

• Is it a gift or for oneself?• Must the product be long-lasting/tough?

(e.g. an everyday watch) or decorative? (e.g. a dress watch)

• Is the product intended for several uses? (e.g. a family computer for study and internet access)

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Buying factors in gift-giving purchase situations

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Antecedent StatesAntecedent States

Antecedent statesAntecedent states are features of the individual person that are not lasting characteristics

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Examples of antecedent states

• Moods– Feeling sad triggers buying sweets or seeing a

funny movie– Feeling rejected triggers buying games’ software

• Momentary conditions– Can’t eat ice cream because teeth hurt– Can’t buy a book because the credit card was left

at home– Buy more groceries because hungry before

shopping

Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

MoodsMoods

Moods Moods tend to be less intense than emotions and may operate without the individual’s awareness.

�Although moodsmoods may affect all aspects of a person’s behavior, they generally do not completely interrupt ongoing behavior as an emotion might.

�Consumers actively manager their moodmood states, often seeking situations, activities, or objects that will alleviate negative moodsmoods or enhance positive ones.

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Situational Characteristics and Situational Characteristics and Consumption BehaviorConsumption Behavior

Momentary ConditionsMomentary Conditions

Thus, a great deal of marketing activity is directed toward momentary conditions.

As with moods, individuals attempt to manage their momentary conditionsmomentary conditions, often through the purchase or consumption of products and services.

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Using positive mood influences in marketing

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Ritual situations

• A ritual situation can be described as a set of interrelated behaviours that occur in a structured format, which have symbolic meaning, and that occur in response to socially-defined occasions

• Important to marketers as they define consumption, e.g. anniversaries, seasonal gifts

• Traditions and rituals being continued and developed, e.g. Valentine's Day

Applications in Consumer BehaviorApplications in Consumer Behavior

Courtesy R.C. Bigelow: Agency: Mason, Inc.Courtesy R.C. Bigelow: Agency: Mason, Inc.

The Bigelow tea ad is a great example of presenting a product as a ritual.

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Situational influences and marketing strategy

• Developing a situational influence matrix

• Positioning the product based on situation• Segmenting the market based on usage

situation– alone– in combination with other segmentation variable– person/situation segmentation

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Situational influence matrix

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Usage situations and product positioning

Situational Influences and Marketing Situational Influences and Marketing StrategyStrategy

Identify the different situations that might involve the consumption of a product

Determine which products or brands are most likely to be purchased or consumed across those situations.

�One method of dealing with this question is to jointly scale situations and products.

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Situational Influences and Marketing Situational Influences and Marketing StrategyStrategy

Five Steps for Developing SituationFive Steps for Developing Situation--Based Marketing StrategiesBased Marketing Strategies

1.1. Use observational studies, focus group discussions, depth Use observational studies, focus group discussions, depth interviews, and secondary data to discover the various usage interviews, and secondary data to discover the various usage satiations that influence the consumption of the product.satiations that influence the consumption of the product.

2.2. Survey a larger sample of consumers to better understand and Survey a larger sample of consumers to better understand and quantify how the product is used and the benefits sought in the quantify how the product is used and the benefits sought in the usage situation by the market segment.usage situation by the market segment.

3.3. Construct a personConstruct a person--situation segmentation matrix.situation segmentation matrix.

4.4. Evaluate each cell in terms of potential.Evaluate each cell in terms of potential.

5.5. Develop and implement a marketing strategy for those cells Develop and implement a marketing strategy for those cells that offer sufficient profit potential given your capabilities.that offer sufficient profit potential given your capabilities.

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Situational Influences and Marketing Situational Influences and Marketing StrategyStrategy

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Topics covered in this chapter

• There are four types of situational influence• The nature of situational influence

• Dimensions of situation– Physical– Social– Time (temporal)– Task– Antecedent

• Situational influences and marketing strategy

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