Chapter 6: Consumer Behavior

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C H A P T E R S I X
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
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The Female Automobile Customer

• Females
• will buy 60 of all new cars in 2001
• spend 81 billion on new used cars
• prefer inexpensive sporty vehicles
• buy American 75 of the time
• often utilize internet-based information
• place a higher value on low price safety than
  men
• 2/3 of whom dislike the car-buying process
• Note - women make 82 of all consumer purchases

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Consumer Purchase Decision Process
Problem recognition Perceiving need
Information searchSeeking value
Alternative evaluation Assessing value
Purchase decision Buying value
Post-purchase behavior Value in consumption of
user
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The Evoked Set

• The evoked set is the group of brands, based on
• ones evaluative criteria, that a consumer would
• consider acceptable from all the brands in the
• product class which he or she is aware of.

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Consumer Purchase Decision Process
Problem recognition Perceiving need
Information searchSeeking value
Alternative evaluation Assessing value
Purchase decision Buying value
Post-purchase behavior Value in consumption of
user
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What New Car Buyers Consider Most Important
in Deciding What New Car To Buy
Factor Percent Saying Factor is Most
Important Warranty/guarantee 64 Ease of
maintenance/repair 61 Quality
compared to other brands 61 Price compared
to other brands 58 High-quality
brand 54 Style/look of brand 46
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Consumer Purchase Decision Process
Problem recognition Perceiving need
Information searchSeeking value
Alternative evaluation Assessing value
Purchase decision Buying value
Post-purchase behavior Value in consumption of
user
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Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive Dissonance is a
• feeling of post-purchase
• psychological tension or
• anxiety. To alleviate
• cognitive dissonance,
• consumers often search for information to
• reinforce their purchase decision.

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High versus Low Involvement

• High Involvement purchase occasions can be
• expensive, have serious personal consequences,
• and/or reflect ones social image. These
• occasions typically involve extensive information
• search, consideration of several product
• attributes and brands, the formation of
• attitudes, and word-of-mouth communication.
• An example would be the purchase of an
• automobile or stereo system.

(continued)
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High versus Low Involvement

• Low Involvement purchase occasions
• typically involve little information search
• or consideration of various brands, except
• on the basis of price. They usually dont
• involve any personal consequences. They
• tend to be privately consumed. An
• example would be the purchase of soap or
• toothpaste.

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Consumer involvement, knowledge
problem-solving variations
Low
Routine problem solving (e.g., milk and bread)
Limited problem solving (e.g., small appliances)
Consumer involvement
Extended problem solving (e.g., stocks and bonds)
Time Increases
High
High
Low
Consumer knowledge
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Comparison of problem-solving variations
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Perceived Risk - A Major Determinant

• Perceived Risk represents anxieties felt because
  the
• consumer cannot anticipate the outcomes of a
  purchase
• but believes that there may be negative
  consequences.
• Perceptions of greater perceived risk are usually
  
• accompanied by a more extensive external
  information
• search concerning a purchase.
• Types of Perceived Risk
• financial
• physical
• psychosocial

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Perceived Risk Is Often Situation Specific

• Financial
• Boom versus uncertain economic conditions
• High dollar purchase relative to income
• Phyosocial
• A socially visible gift
• A birthday card for mom versus a new girl/boy
  friend
• Physical
• Medication with side effects
• Safety of children versus adults
• Products
• Where the purchase is infrequent or new to the
  market

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Influences on the consumer purchase decision
process
Marketing mix influences

• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place

PsychologicalInfluences
SocioculturalInfluences
Consumer Decision Process
Problem recognition Information
search Alternative evaluation Purchase
decision Postpurchase behavior

• Motivation
• Personality
• Perception
• Learning
• Values, beliefsand attitude
• Lifestyle

• Personalinfluence
• Reference groups
• Family
• Social class
• Culture
• Subculture

Promotion Influences

• Purchase task
• Social surroundings
• Physical surroundings
• Temporal effects
• Antecedent states

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PP6-OO Sociocultural Influences

• Sociocultural influences, which evolve from a
• consumers formal and informal relationships with
• other people, can exert significant impact on
  consumer
• behavior. Sociocultural influences include
• 1. Personal influence
• 2. Reference groups
• 3. The Family
• 4. Social Class
• 5. Culture
• 6. Subculture

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PP6-QQ Reference Groups

• Reference groups are people to whom an individual
• looks as a basis for self-appraisal or as a
  source of
• personal standards. Three kinds of reference
  groups
• that have clear marketing implications are
• 1. Membership group
• 2. Aspiration group
• 3. Dissociative group

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PP6-RR The Family Life Cycle

• The family life cycle concept describes
• the distinct phases that a family
• progresses through from formation to
• retirement, each phase bringing with
• it identifiable purchasing behaviors.

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Modern family life cycle
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Social Class

• Social Class may be defined as the relatively
• permanent, homogeneous divisions in a society
• into which people sharing similar values,
• interests, and behavior can be grouped. Social
• class is determined by
• 1. Occupation
• 2. Source of income (not level)
• 3. Educational attainment

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Culture Subculture

• Culture refers to the set of values, ideas,
• and attitudes that are accepted by a
• homogeneous group of people and
• transmitted to the next generation.
• Subcultures are subgroups within a larger,
• or national culture with unique values,
• ideas, and attitudes.

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Ownership of consumer electronics among African-
Americans, Hispanics, and
Asian-Americans
Percent owning among . . . .
Product
African- Americans
Hispanics
Asian- Americans
VCR Answering machine Compact disk player
Personal computer Camcorder Cellular telephone
73.5 47.2
31.9 19.8
15.0 10.3
73.1 27.5
26.7 9.6
17.1 6.7
89.4 50.0
45.5 30.5
35.6 24.4
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Lifestyle VALS

• Lifestyle is a mode of living that is identified
  by how
• people spend their time and resources
  (activities), what
• they consider important in their environment
• (interests), and what they think of themselves
  and the
• world around them (opinions).
• Lifestyle analysis focuses on identifying
  consumer
• profiles. The most prominent example of this
  type of
• analysis is the Values and Lifestyles (VALS)
  Program
• developed by SRI International.

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VALS2 Psychographic Segments
ACTUALIZERS
Most resources
Enjoy the "finer things."
Receptive to new products, technologies,
distribution.
Skeptical of advertising.
Frequent readers of wide variety of publications
Light TV viewers.
Oriented
Principle
Oriented
Status
Oriented
Action
ACHIEVERS
FULFILLEDS
EXPERIENCERS
Follow fashion and fads.
Little interest in image or prestige
Attracted to premium products
Spend much of disposableincome on socializing.
Prime target for variety of products
Above-average consumers of products for the home
Buy on impulse.
Average TV watchers, read business, news, and
self-help publications
Like educational and public affairs programming
Attend to advertising.
Listen to rock music.
Read widely and often
BELIEVERS
MAKERS
STRIVERS
Buy American.
Image conscious.
Shop for comfort,durability, value.
Slow to change habits.
Limited discretionary incomes, but carry credit
balances.
Unimpressed by luxuries.
Look for bargains.
Buy the basics, listen to radio.
Watch TV more than average.
Spend on clothing and personal care products.
Read auto, home mechanics,fishing,
outdoormagazines.
Read retirement, home and garden, and
general interest magazines.
Prefer TV to reading.
Least resources
STRUGGLERS
Brand loyal.
Use coupons and watch for sales.
Trust advertising.
Watch TV often.
Read tabloids and womens magazines.
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PP6-5 Hierarchy of Needs

• 
  Self-Actualization Needs
• 
  Self-Fulfillment

Personal Needs Status,
respect, prestige
Social Needs Friendship,
belonging, love
Safety Needs Freedom
from harm, financial security
Physiological
Needs Food, water, sex,
oxygen
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PP6-GG Psychological Influences on Consumer
Behavior

• motivation and personality
• perception
• learning
• values, beliefs, and attitudes
• lifestyle

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PP6-C Selective perception filters
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PP6-HH Subliminal Perception

• Subliminal perception means that you see or hear
• messages without being aware of them. The
  presence
• and effect of subliminal perception on behavior
  is a
• hotly debated issue, with more popular appeal
  than
• scientific support.
• Evidence suggests that subliminal messages have
  some
• effect on behavior. If so, is their use an
  ethical
• practice? See the accompanying Ethics and
• Responsibility Alert.

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PP6-JJ Learning

• Learning refers to those behaviors that result
  from
• 1. repeated experience
• 2. thinking
• Behavioral Learning is the process of developing
• automatic responses to a situation built up
  through
• repeated exposure to it.
• Cognitive Learning is learning via thinking,
  reasoning,
• and mental problem solving without direct
  experience.

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PP6-KK Brand Loyalty

• Brand Loyalty is a favorable attitude toward and
  consistent
• purchase of a single brand over time.
• It results from positive reinforcement of
  previous actions.
• There is evidence of brand loyalty in many
  commonly purchased products in the U.S. and the
  global marketplace.
• However, the incidence of brand loyalty appears
  to be declining in North American, Mexico,
  European Union nations, and Japan.

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PP6-D Brand loyalty tendency by product
category (Percent of U.S.
consumers with strong brand preference)
70
Mayonnaise Soft drinks Bar soap Canned
soup Cigarettes Baked macaroni cheese Dry
cereals Spaghetti sauce Pain relievers Toilet
paper Facial tissue Cold remedies Dog
food Cake mix Paper towels Frozen
vegetables Frozen entries Cat food
67
66
62
60
59
57
57
56
54
53
51
49
45
43
43
41
41
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
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PP6-LL Attitudes, Values and Beliefs

• An attitude is a learned predisposition to
  respond to an
• object or class of objects in a consistently
  favorable or
• unfavorable way. Attitudes are shaped by our
  values and
• beliefs.
• Beliefs are a consumers subjective perception of
  how well
• a product or brand performs on different
  attributes.
• Beliefs are based on personal experience,
  advertising, and
• discussions with other people.
• Values are deeply held attitudes and beliefs,
  which are
• resistant to change, but which may change over
  time.

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PP6-PP Personal Influence

• Personal Influence includes two aspects
• that are very important to marketers
• 1. Opinion Leadership
• 2. Word of Mouth

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PP6-E Word of mouth influence (Percent of men
and women who seek advice regarding selected
products and services)
Men
35
Where children between the ages of 4 and 12
spend spend their money
11 Other
8 Movies sports
15 Clothes
6 Video arcades
33 Food and beverages
27 Play items