Consumer AttitudesConsumer Attitudes

Chapter 6

Consumer Attitudes

What Are Attitudes?

In a consumer behavior context, they are learned predispositions to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a given object (e.g., people, places, products, services or events)

Attitudes are not observable; thus attitude research is important for marketers

Attitudes are Learned

We are not born with attitudes Attitudes relative to purchase behavior are

formed as a result of

1. direct experience with the product

2. word-of-mouth

3. exposure to mass media advertising, the internet, and direct marketing

Attitudes are not synonymous with behavior Attitudes may result from behavior

Attitudes Have Consistency

Attitudes are not permanent and can and do change

Once attitudes develop, they are not always easy to change

Often the goal of marketing is to change attitudes about a product or company

Circumstances sometimes preclude consistency between attitudes and behavior

Attitudes Occur Within a Situation How attitudes affect behavior depends on the

situation in which the behavior occurs Thus a specific situation may cause

consumers to behave in ways that are inconsistent with their attitudes

From a marketer’s perspective, it is important to consider the situation in which the behavior takes place, or one might misinterpret the relationship between attitude and behavior

Sources of Attitudes

Three Major Influences on Attitude Formation

1. Personal experience

2. Influence of family and friends

3. Exposure to direct marketing and mass-media

1. Personal Experience

The primary basis on which attitudes towards goods and services are formed

Free products, cents-off promotions, etc. Marketer’s goal is to get consumers to try a

product and, hopefully, develop a positive attitude towards it

2. Influence of Family & Friends Family and friends are a major influence on

our values, beliefs and attitudes We carry over into adulthood many of the

attitudes we developed as children Our peer and social groups also influence our

attitudes

3. Direct Marketing & Mass Media Direct marketers are able to use new

technologies to target smaller and smaller market segments

As a result, many solicitations are highly personalized and have the capacity to create favorable attitudes towards their products

Television, radio, newspapers and magazines provide marketers with unlimited opportunities to create positive attitudes towards their products

The Functions of Attitudes Attitudes can be classified into four

functions:

1. Utilitarian Function

2. Ego-defensive Function

3. Value-expressive Function

4. Knowledge Function

1. Utilitarian Function

We have a favorable attitude towards a product because it has been useful in the past

Marketers may stress the utilitarian feature or may suggest uses of the product that may not be obvious

2. Ego-defensive Function

Products that we purchase to protect our self-images, to replace our sense of insecurity with personal confidence

3. Value-expressive Function

We often express our personal values through the brands we purchase and own

Marketers often attempt to identify their brands with these values

4. Knowledge Function

Consumers generally have a strong need to know and understand the people and things they come in contact with

Many product and brand positioning strategies are based on an attempt to satisfy this “need to know”

Relation Between Attitude and Behavior It is fair to say that attitudes at least

sometimes guide behavior Thus it is important for marketers to

understand the role of attitudes in purchase situations

Structural Models of Attitudes In order to understand the link between attitude and

behavior, psychologists have developed models to help understand attitude

The focus has been on specifying the composition of an attitude to better explain or predict behavior.

They have identified the following attitude models: The traditional/tricomponent model The multi-attribute model The theory of reasoned action (TORA)

Traditional/Tri-Component Model According to this model, attitude consists of

three components:1. Cognitive component

2. Affective component

3. Behavioral/conative component

1. Cognitive Component The knowledge and perceptions we have

about the object Based on personal experience with the object

and information from various sources (e.g., opinions of others, ads, articles, etc.)

This knowledge and perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs

2. Affective Component

A consumer’s emotions or feelings about a particular product or brand

Generally a reaction to the cognitive aspect of the attitude

Our emotional state may amplify positive or negative experiences, which then have an effect on our attitude

3. Behavioral/Conative Component Is concerned with the likelihood or tendency

that a consumer will undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way regarding the attitude object

Frequently treated as a consumer’s intention to buy

Implications for Marketing Strategy When marketers use the traditional model to

create or change attitudes, they use the various components as follows:

1. At the cognitive level with information

2. At the affective level with emotionally toned messages

3. At the behavioral level with incentives (samples, coupons, rebates)

The Multi-Attribute Model of Attitudes There are many variations on this model They include:

1. The attitude toward the object model

2. The attitude toward the behavior model

3. The theory of reasoned action model

1. Attitude toward the object model Model is especially suitable for measuring

attitudes toward a product or service category or specific brands

Holds that a consumer’s attitude towards a product or brands of a product is a function of the presence (or absence), and an evaluation of, certain product-specific beliefs or attributes

Consumers generally have favorable attitudes toward brands they believe have an adequate level of attributes they evaluate as positive

Consumers have negative attitudes toward brands they feel do not have an adequate level of desired attributes or have too many negative or undesired attributes

2. Attitude toward behavior model A person’s attitude toward behaving or acting

with respect to an object, rather than toward the object itself

Not uncommon for consumers to have a positive attitude toward an object but a negative attitude toward purchasing it

3. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) According to this model, behavior is determined by a

person’s intention to behave To understand intention, we also need to measure

the subjective norms that influence an individual’s intention to act

A subjective norm can be measured directly by assessing a consumer’s feelings as to what relevant others (family, friends, co-workers) would think of the action contemplated

Attitude Change

Attitude change is an issue for every marketer

New entrants into the market need to change the attitude of consumers that support purchases from market leaders

Market leaders need to strengthen the positive attitudes of their customers to retain their market share

Attitude change strategies

Competitors can try to change the attitudes of the market leaders’ customers in several ways:

1. Comparative advertising

2. Emphasizing brand attributes

3. Adding new attributes

4. Providing knowledge of alternatives

5. Changing the relative value of attributes

1. Comparative Advertising

Identifying a major competitor and explaining why your product is superior in one or more ways

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2. Emphasizing Brand Attributes Identifies and highlights features of the

product that consumers may not be familiar with or that may be new or innovative

3. Adding attributes

Can involve Stressing an attribute that has been ignored; or Adding an attribute that represents an

improvement or technological innovation

4. Providing knowledge of alternatives or consequences Providing consumers with evidence, facts or

figures enable them to make informed choices between competing brands

5. Changing the relative value of attributes Often a market for a particular type of product

is divided so that different market segments are offered different brands, each with different features or benefits

When this occurs, marketers have an opportunity to persuade consumers to “cross over” to their brand