Consumer Behavior

1
Learning Objectives
1. Explain why marketing managers should
understand consumer behavior.

2. Analyze the components of the consumer decision-

making process.

3. Explain the consumer’s postpurchase evaluation

process.

2
Learning Objectives (continued)
4. Identify the types of consumer buying decisions
and discuss the significance of consumer
involvement.

5. Identify and understand the cultural factors that

affect consumer buying decisions.

3
Learning Objectives (continued)
6. Identify and understand the social factors that
affect consumer buying decisions.

7. Identify and understand the individual factors

that affect consumer buying decisions.

8. Identify and understand the psychological

factors that affect consumer buying decisions.

4
 Learning Objective

Explain why marketing managers

should understand
consumer behavior.

5
Consumer Behavior

Processes a consumer uses to

make purchase decisions, as
well as to use and dispose of
purchased goods or services;
also includes factors that
influence purchase decisions
and
the product use.
6
 Consumer Behavior
The behavior that consumers display in
searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating,
and disposing of products and services that
they think will satisfy their needs
The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve
their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how

The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select

between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products);

The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her

environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);

The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing

decisions;
 Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing
abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; 

How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ

between products that differ in their level of importance or
interest that they entail for the consumer; and

How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing

campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the
consumer.
Learning Objective

Analyze the components

of the consumer
decision-making process.

10
A Simplified Model of Consumer Decision Making

11
Consumer Decision-Making Process

Need
Need Recognition
Recognition

Information
Information Search
Search
Cultural,
Cultural, Social,
Social,
Individual
Individual andand
Psychological Evaluation
Evaluation
Psychological of
Factors
Factors of Alternatives
Alternatives
affect
affect
all
all steps
steps Purchase
Purchase

Postpurchase
Postpurchase
Behavior
Behavior
12
Need Recognition

Result of an imbalance
between actual and
desired states.

13
 Need Recognition

Marketing helps Internal Stimuli

consumers
and
recognize an
External Stimuli
imbalance between
present status and
preferred state Preferred State

Present Status

14
Stimulus
Any unit of input affecting
one or more of the five
senses:
sight
smell
taste
touch
hearing
15
Want

Recognition of an
unfulfilled need and
a product
(or attribute or feature)
that will satisfy it.

16
 Recognition of Unfulfilled Wants
• 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
17
Information Searches

Internal Process of recalling past

information stored
in the memory.

External Process of seeking information

in the
outside environment.

18
 Information Search
Internal Information Search

 Recall information in memory

External Information search

 Seek information in outside

environment

 Non-marketing controlled
 Marketing controlled
19
External Information Searches
Need Less Need More
Information Information

Less Risk More Risk

More knowledge Less knowledge
More product Less product
experience experience
Low level of interest High level of interest

20
Evoked Set

Group of brands,
resulting from an
information search,
from which a buyer
can choose.

21
 Evaluation of Alternatives
Evoked Set Evaluation of Products

Analyze product attributes

Use cutoff criteria

Rank attributes by
importance

Purchase!
22
 Purchase

To buy
or not to buy... Determines which attributes
are most important
in influencing a
consumer’s choice

23
 Learning Objective

Explain the consumer’s

postpurchase evaluation process.

24
Cognitive Dissonance

Inner tension that a

consumer experiences
after recognizing an
inconsistency between
behavior and values
or opinions.

25
 Postpurchase Behavior

?
Cognitive Dissonance

Can minimize through:

Effective Communication
Did I make a good decision? Follow-up
Guarantees
Did I buy the right product? Warranties

Did I get a good value?

26
Learning Objective

Identify the types of

consumer buying decisions
and discuss the significance
of consumer involvement.

27
Types of Consumer Buying Decisions

Routine
Routine Limited
Limited Extensive
Extensive
Response
Response Decision
Decision Decision
Decision
Behavior
Behavior Making
Making Making
Making

Less More
Involvement Involvement

28
Five Factors influencing Decisions

1.Level of consumer involvement

2.Length of time to make decision
3. Cost of good or service
4. Degree of information search
5. Number of alternatives considered

29
Routine Response Behavior

• Little involvement in selection process

• Frequently purchased low cost goods

• May stick with one brand
• Buy first/evaluate later
• Quick decision

30
 Limited Decision Making
• Low levels of involvement

• Low to moderate cost goods

• Evaluation of a few alternative brands

• Short to moderate time to decide

31
 Extensive Decision Making
 High levels of involvement

 High cost goods

 Evaluation of many brands

 Long time to decide

 May experience cognitive dissonance

32
 Level of Involvement
Previous
Previous
Experience
Experience Interest
Interest

Factors
Factors Perceived
Perceived Risk
Risk of
of
Determining
Determining Negative
Negative
Level
Level of
of Consequences
Consequences
Involvement
Involvement
Situation
Situation
Social
Social Visibility
Visibility
33
Marketing Implications of Involvement

High-involvement Low-involvement
purchases require: purchases require: in-
extensive promotion to store promotion and
target market and eye-catching package
design
good advertisement

34
Factors Influencing Buying Decisions

Cultural Social
Factors Factors CONSUMER BUY /
DECISION-
MAKING DON’T BUY
Psycho- PROCESS
Individual logical
Factors Factors

35
Learning Objective

Identify and understand the

cultural factors that affect
consumer buying decisions.

36
Culture
Set of values norms, attitudes,
and other meaningful symbols
that shape human behavior and
the artifacts, or products, of
that behavior as they are
transmitted from one
generation to the next.

37
Cultural Influences on Buying Decisions

Values
Values

Language
Language

Myths
Myths
Customs
Customs

Components Rituals
Rituals
Components of
of
American
American Laws
Laws
Culture
Culture
Material
Material Artifacts
Artifacts
38
 Culture is...

Pervasive
Pervasive

Functional
Functional

Learned
Learned

Dynamic
Dynamic
39
Value

Enduring belief that a

specific mode of conduct
is personally or socially
preferable to another
mode of conduct.

40
 Global Language Blunders

 Chevrolet’s “Nova” translated to “No Go”

 Coors “Turn it Loose” became

“Suffer from Diarrhea”

 Toyota’s MR2 sounded like a

swearword in French

 Coca-Cola in Chinese means

“bite the wax tadpole”

41
Subculture

A homogeneous group
of people who share
elements of the overall
culture as well as
unique elements of
their own group.

42
Social Class
A group of people in a
society who are considered
nearly equal in status or
community esteem, who
regularly socialize among
themselves both formally
and informally, and who
share behavioral norms.

43
Learning Objective

Identify and understand the

social factors that affect
consumer buying decisions.

44
 Social Influences

Social
Social Influences
Influences on
on
Buying
Buying Decisions
Decisions

Reference
Reference Groups
Groups Family
Family Members
Members

Opinion
Opinion Leaders
Leaders

45
Reference Group

A group in society that

influences an individual’s
purchasing behavior.

46
 Reference Groups
Primary

Direct
Secondary
Types of
Reference
Groups
Aspirational

Indirect

Non-aspirational

47
 Implications of Reference Groups

• They serve as information sources and

influence perceptions

• They affect an individual’s aspiration levels

• Their norms either constrain or stimulate

consumer behavior

48
Opinion Leaders

An individual who
influences the opinion
of others.

49
 Family
 Instigators

 Influencers
Purchase
Purchase Roles
Roles  Decision-Makers
in
in the
the Family
Family
 Purchasers
 Consumers
Children
Influence
Purchase
Decisions
50
Learning Objective

Identify and understand the

individual factors that affect
consumer buying decisions.

51
 Individual Influences

Individual
Individual
Influences
Influences

Personality
Personality
Gender
Gender Self-Concept
Self-Concept
Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Age
Age
Family
Family Life
Life Cycle
Cycle

Chapter 4 Version 3e 52
Psychographics

The analytical technique

used to examine consumer
lifestyles and to categorize
consumers.

53
 Learning Objective

Identify and understand the

psychological factors that affect
consumer buying decisions.

54
 Psychological Influences
Perception
Perception

Motivation
Motivation

Learning
Learning
Psychological
Psychological
Influences
Influences on
on
Buying
Buying Decisions
Decisions Beliefs
Beliefs &
& Attitudes
Attitudes

55
Perception

Process by which people

select, organize, and
interpret stimuli into
a meaningful and
coherent picture.

56
 Perception

Selective
Selective Selective
Selective
Exposure
Exposure Distortion
Distortion

Selective
Selective
Retention
Retention

57
 Perception

Selective
Selective Consumer
Consumer notices
notices certain
certain stimuli
stimuli
Exposure
Exposure and
and ignores
ignores others
others

Consumer
Consumer changes
changes or
or distorts
distorts
Selective
Selective information
information that
that conflicts
conflicts
Distortion
Distortion with
with feelings
feelings or
or beliefs
beliefs
Consumer
Consumer remembers
remembers only
only
Selective
Selective that
that information
information that
that
Retention
Retention supports
supports personal
personal beliefs
beliefs

58
A Consumer’s Selective Exposure
Exposure
Exposure to
to over
over 250
250
advertisement
advertisement messages
messages per
per day
day

Notices only
11 to 20 ads

59
 Marketing Implications of Perception

• Important attributes

• Higher price

• Brand names

• Quality and reliability

• Threshold level of perception

• Product changes

60
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A method of classifying
human needs and
motivations into five
categories in ascending
order of importance.

61
 Motivation
Self-
Maslow’s
Maslow’s Actualization
Hierarchy
Hierarchy of
of
Needs
Needs Esteem

Social

Safety

Physiological
62
Learning

A process that creates

changes in behavior,
immediate or expected,
through experience
and practice.

63
 Types of Learning

Types
Types of
of Description
Description
Learning
Learning

Experiential
Experiential An
An experience
experience changes
changes behavior
behavior

Not
Not learned
learned through
through direct
direct
Conceptual
Conceptual experience
experience

64
Stimulus Generalization

A form of learning that

occurs when one response
is extended to a second
stimulus similar to the first.

65
Beliefs and Attitudes
An organized pattern of
Belief knowledge that an individual
holds as true about his
or her world.

A learned tendency to
Attitude
respond consistently
toward a given object.

66
 Quantitative Research
• Descriptive in nature.
• Enables marketers to “predict” consumer
behavior (positivism).
• Research methods include experiments,
survey techniques, and observation.
• Findings are descriptive, empirical, and can be
generalized to larger populations.
 Attitude Scales
• Likert scales: easy for researchers to prepare and
interpret, and simple for consumers to answer
• Semantic differential scales: relatively easy to
construct and administer
• Behavior intention scales: also easy to construct and
administer
• Rank-order scales: subjects rank items in order of
preference in terms of some criteria
Focus Group Discussion Guide

1. Why did you decide to use your current cellular company?

2. How long have you used your current cellular company?
3. Have you ever switched services? When? What caused the
change?
4. What do you think of the overall quality of your current
service?
5. What are the important criteria in selecting a cellular service?
Examples of Probe questions:
a. Tell me more about that . . .
b. Share your thinking on this . . .
c. Does anyone see it differently . . .
 Qualitative Collection Method Projective Techniques

• Research procedures designed to identify

consumers’ subconscious feelings and
motivations
• Consist of a variety of disguised “tests”
 Qualitative Collection Method Metaphor Analysis

• Based on belief that metaphors are the most

basic method of thought and communication
• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
(ZMET) combines collage research and
metaphor analysis to bring to the surface the
mental models and the major themes or
constructs that drive consumer thinking and
behavior.

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Customer Satisfaction Measurement

• Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• Gap Analysis of Expectations versus
Experience
• Mystery Shoppers
• Customer Complaint Analysis
• Analysis of Customer Defections

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 Qualitative Research
• Consists of depth interviews, focus groups,
metaphor analysis, collage research, and
projective techniques.
• Administered by highly trained interviewer-
analysts.
• Findings tend to be subjective.
• Small sample sizes.
 Quantitative
Qualitative Research
Research
Study • Provide insights • Describe target
Purpose about ideas market
• Exploratory research • Results for
before quantitative strategic
study marketing
decisions
Types of • Open-ended • Close-ended
Questions • Unstructured • Attitude scales
Data • Projective techniques • Observation
Collection • Depth interviews • Experimentation
Methods • Focus groups • Questionnaires
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 Quantitative
Qualitative Research
Research
Sampling • Small • Large
Methods • Nonprobability • Probability
samples samples

Data • Analyzed by • Coded, tabulated,

Analysis researchers who and entered into
collected data database
• Look for “key words” • Use of statistical
• Subjective methods
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The Consumer Research Process

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 Developing Research Objectives
• Defining purposes and objectives helps ensure
an appropriate research design.
• A statement of objectives helps to define the
type and level of information needed.

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 Discussion Questions
Assume you are planning to open a new pizza
restaurant near your campus.
• What might be three objectives of a research
plan for your new business?
• How could you gather these data?

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 Secondary Data
• Data that has been collected for reasons other
than the specific research project at hand
• Includes internal and external data

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 Types of Secondary Data

Internal Data External Data

• Data generated in-house • Data collected by an outside
• May include analysis of organization
customer files • Includes federal
• Useful for calculating government, periodicals,
customer lifetime value newspapers, books, search
engines
• Commercial data is also
available from market
research firms
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 Designing Primary Research
• Quantitative Research Designs
– Include research design, data collection methods,
instruments to be used, and the sample design
• Qualitative Research Designs
– Include depth interviews, focus groups, projective
techniques, and metaphor analysis

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 Data Collection Methods
Observational Research
• Helps marketers gain an in-depth
understanding of the relationship between
people and products by watching them buying
and using products
• Helps researchers gain a better understanding
of what the product symbolizes

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Observational
research is
often used to
design
products to
meet needs.

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Data Collection Methods Mechanical
Observational Research
• Uses mechanical or electronic device to record
consumer behavior or response
• Consumers’ increased use of highly
convenient technologies will create more
records for marketers
• Product audits which monitor sales are heavily
used by companies

Copyright 2007 by Prentice Hall

 Data Collection Methods
Experimentation
• Can be used to test the relative sales appeal of
many types of variables
• An experiment is usually controlled with only
some variables manipulated at a time while
the others are constant
• Can be conducted in laboratories or in the
field

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 Surveys
Data Collection Methods
Personal Interview

Mail

Telephone

Online

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 Table 2.2 Comparative Advantages

PERSONAL
MAIL TELEPHONE ONLINE
INTERVIEW
Cost Low Moderate High Low
Speed Slow Immediate Slow Fast
Response Self-
Low Moderate High
rate selection
Geographic
Excellent Good Difficult Excellent
flexibility
Interviewer
N/A Moderate Problematic N/A
bias
Interviewer
N/A Easy Difficult N/A
supervision
Quality of
Limited Limited Excellent Excellent
response

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 Qualitative Collection Method
Depth Interview
• Usually 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Nonstructured
• Interpreted by trained researcher
• Listen to words as well as “body language”

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 Qualitative Collection Method Focus
Group
• 8-10 participants
• Lasts about 2 hours
• Always taped or videotaped to assist analysis
• Often held in front of two-way mirrors

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 Sampling and Data Collection
• Samples are a subset of the population used
to estimate characteristics of the entire
population.
• A sampling plan addresses:
– Whom to survey
– How many to survey
– How to select them
• Researcher must choose probability or
nonprobabililty sample.
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 Data Analysis and Reporting Findings
• Open-ended questions are coded and
quantified.
• All responses are tabulated and analyzed.
• Final report includes executive summary,
body, tables, and graphs.

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