Consumer Behavior– you are what you buy…
• How do we make decisions about what we buy?• What are stages of the decision process?• What can reduce “buyers remorse”? • How would you prepare a “pitch” for different
audiences?
Song Airlines Commercial
Product Placement
Political audience reaction ratings
Marketing News: Downsizing products
(while keeping the price the same)
• Downsizing packages get sneakier
• Mouseprint.org
Market Research: People are more conscious of changes in pricing than changes in quantity
• Repackaging: Packaging “sleeves” to maintain freshness• Rephrasing: Old packaging was a “limited time offer”• Reframing: “Future Friendly Products…uses 15% less energy,
water or packaging…”
Economy: Commodity costs are rising
How much?!
• Chicken of the Sea tuna in 5oz instead of 6 oz cans
• Doritos, Tostitos & Fritos hold 20% fewer chips (more air)
• Kraft Premium Saltines & Honey Maid Grahams has 15% fewer crackers (sleeves)
• Tropicana orange juice from 64-oz carton to 59 oz.
• Skippy peanut butter indented the container bottom for a reduction of 1.7 oz
• Special K is down 2.4 oz
• Dial soap from .5 oz to 4.5 oz
• Quilted Northern toiler paper lost .5” from width
• Ice cream down from 1.75 to 1.5
• Whole Wheat Pasta from 16 ox to 13.5
• Box of Baby Wipes from 80 to 72
• Mrs. Stauber 16 oz can of corn down to 14.5 oz
Consumer Decision-Making Process
Postpurchase Behavior
Postpurchase Behavior
PurchasePurchase
Evaluation of Alternatives
Evaluation of Alternatives
Information SearchInformation Search
Need RecognitionNeed Recognition
Cultural, Social, Individual and Psychological
Factors affect
all steps
Cultural, Social, Individual and Psychological
Factors affect
all steps
Complete model of consumer behavior
Search
Need recognition
Alternative evaluation
Purchase
Stimuli (marketer dominated, other)
External search
Memory
Internal search
Exposure
Attention
Comprehension
Acceptance
Retention Outcomes
Dissatisfaction Satisfaction
Individual differences• resources• motivation & involvement• knowledge• attitudes• personality, values, lifestyle
Influences• culture• social class• family• situation
Start
• How do you know when to shop? What are the triggers that initiate an awareness & search?
• What are the internal & external sources of these triggers?
Need Recognition (& reminding)
Preferred State
Marketing helps consumers recognize
(or create) an imbalance between present status
and preferred state
• When a current product isn’t
performing properly
• When the consumer is running out of an product
• When another product seems
superior to the one currently used
The information search stage
An internal search involves the scanning of one's memory to recall previous experiences or knowledge concerning solutions to the problem-- often sufficient for frequently purchased products.
An external search may be necessary when past experience or knowledge is insufficient, the risk of making a wrong purchase decision is high, and/or the cost of gathering information is low.
Personal sources (friends and family)
Public sources (rating services like Consumer
Reports)
Marketer-dominated sources (advertising
or sales people)
The evoked set: a group of brands from which the buyer can choose
Determinants of External Search
Buyer Behavior: The Decision Making Unit
• Initiator: the person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service.
• Influencer: a person whose views or advice carry weight in making the final buying decision
• Decider: the person who ultimately makes the final buying decision or any part of it
• Buyer: the person who makes the actual purchase
• User: the person who consumes the product or service
Other people often influence a consumers purchase decision. The marketer needs to know which people are involved in the buying decision and what role each person plays, so that marketing strategies can also be aimed at these people. (Kotler et al, 1994).
Note: teens are increasingly assuming more of these roles
Think about your past purchase– who was in which role?
WifeDominant
HusbandDominant
Joint
100 50 075 25
Women’s clothing
Pots & pans
Child clothing
groceries
vacations
TV sets
Family car Sport equipment
Lawn mower
Paint wallpaper
lamps
Men’s leisure clothing
Men’s business clothing
cameraFinancial planning
furniture
refrigerator
luggage
carpet
NonRx
Toys/games
stereo
hardware
Extent of role specialization
Relative influence of husbands & wives
Informationsearch
Final decision
Davis & Rigaux, 1974
http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=6845
• quickly list 10 items you have purchased in the past month
• reexamine how long it took you to make a decision on each
• why did such a difference in decision occur?
How to make Choosing Easier
Factors affecting Consumer involvement
• Previous experience: low level involvement
• Interest: high involvement
• Perceived risk of negative consequences: high involvement
• Situation: low to high due to risk
• Social visibility: involvement increases with product visibility
• Offer extensive information on high involvement products
• In-store promotion & placement is important for low involvement products
• Linking low-involvement product to high-involvement issue can increase sales
So…
• think of an important purchasing decision you have made
• what are some of the thoughts you have had following your purchase? Any regrets?
• what has influenced those thoughts?
• how have you dealt with the discomfort?
• how has the company anticipated or dealt with your discomfort?
Sour Grapes– a story of cognitive
dissonance
…after being unable to reach the grapes the fox said, “these grapes are probably sour, and if I had them I would not eat them.” --Aesop
Postpurchase Behavior
Can minimize through:Effective Communication
Follow-upGuaranteesWarranties
Underpromise & overdeliver
Cognitive Dissonance
??Did I make a good decision?
Did I buy the right product?
Did I get a good value?
Decision Processing
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) was formulated in 1979 by R.E. Petty & J.T. Cacioppo, & describes how attitudes are formed and changed after a exposure to an important and meaningful message.
John Cacioppo & Richard Petty
ELM: Persuasion & Attitude Change
Persuasive Communication
Nature of Active Cognitive Processing: (initial attitude, argument quality, etc.)
FavorableThoughts
Predominate
UnfavorableThoughts
Predominate
Neither orNeutral
Predominate
Cognitive Structure Change: Are new cognitions adopted and stored in memory? Are different responses made salient than previously?
• personal relevance• personal importance• personal responsibility
Motivated to Process?
• dissonance arousal• need for cognition• repetition
• cognitive complexity• critical thinking• distraction free• low arousal
Ability to Process?
• appropriate schema• message pace• repetition• issue familiarity
Enduring positive or negative attitude change (persuasion)
• greater persistence• resistant to counterattacks & fading• predictive of behavior• > brand memory• > elaboration• >usage intention• > attitude accessibility• > attitude confidence• > attitude-behavior consistency
Peripheral Cues Present?• reciprocity (obligated, did a favor)• consistency (way it’s done, similar to before)• social proof (peer pressure, conformity)• liking (attractiveness, friendliness)• celebrity (identification, prestige)• authority (expertise, experience, credibility)• rapid speech, forceful presentation, charismatic style• scarcity (limited time offer)• tangible rewards• appealing visuals & music (emotional arousal)• fear appeal• weak counter-arguments
Attitude Shift:• short-lived• susceptible to influence• unpredictable
Retain or Regain Initial Attitude
Elaboration Likelihood Method (ELM) of persuasion
Persuasion Word Wall
Argument What the author wants the audience to do or believe.
Issue the topic dispute
Points Reasons to support the
argument
Counter-Argument Arguments for the
opposing side
Call to Action Specific things the author wants the audience to do to make
what the author is arguing a reality
Methods The strategies authors use to develop their arguments in ways that are appropriate
for their audience.
appeals to
emotion appeals to logic / reason
etc.
Evidence something that is used
to demonstrate truth
& Explanation
Rebuttal Evidence & Explanation
used to refute the counter-argument
Types of Evidence • examples
• facts • statistics
• testimony etc.
Audience the person who the author
believes has the power to
make this change
Write in the number that best fits your view:
1 2 3 4 completely mostly mostly completely false false true true
_____1. I would prefer complex to simple problems.
_____2. I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot of thinking.
_____3. Thinking is not my idea of fun. *
_____4. I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities. *
_____5. I try to anticipate and avoid situations where there is likely chance I will have to think in depth about something. *
_____6. I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours.
_____7. I only think as hard as I have to. *
_____8. I prefer to think about small, daily projects to long-term ones. *
_____9. I like tasks that require little thought once I’ve learned them. *
_____10. The idea of relying on thought to make my way to the top appeals to me.
_____11. I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems.
_____12. Learning new ways to think doesn’t excite me very much. *
_____13. I prefer my life to be filled with puzzles that I must solve.
_____14. The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me.
_____15. I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought.
_____16. I feel relief rather than satisfaction after completing a task that required a lot of mental effort. *
_____17. It’s enough for me that something gets the job done; I don’t care how or why it works. *
_____18. I usually end up deliberating about issues even when they do not affect me personally.
Need for Cognition Scale
Items 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16, and 17 are reverse scored
Sleeper Effect:• when secondary source becomes more credible than primary source
over time• persuasion may increase over time with a weak source• forget the source but remember the message• not if source is learned prior to the message (will ignore or bias
processing)
Example: Attack ads during political campaigns
"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteers be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."