Marketing Exam 2 Study Guide

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 product use

Value

a personal assessment of the net worth one obtains from making a purchase, or the enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable to another mode of conduct.

Perceived value

the value a consumer expects to obtain from a purchase

Utilatarian value

a value derived from a product or service that helps the consumer solve problems and accomplish tasks

Hedonic value

a value that acts as an end in itself rather than as a means to an end

Consumer decision-making process

1. Needs recognition

2. Information search

3. Evaluation of alternatives

4. Purchase

5. Postpurchase behavior

Involvement

The amount of time and effort a buyer invests in the search, evaluation, and decision processes of consumer behavior

Routine response behavior

The type of decision making exhibited by consumers buying frequently purchased, low-cost goods and services; requires little search and decision time

Limited decision making

The type of decision making that requires a moderate amount of time for gathering information and deliberating about an unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category

Extensive decision making

The most complex type of consumer decision making, used when buying an unfamiliar, expensive product or an infrequently bought item; requires use of several criteria for evaluating options and much time for seeking information

High-involvement purchases

Require extensive and informative promotion to the target market

Low-involvement purchases

Require in-store promotion, eye-catching package design, and good displays

Opinion leader

An individual who influences the opinions of others

Separated self-schema

A perspective whereby a consumer perceives themself as distinct and separate from others

Connected self-schema

A perspective whereby a consumer perceives themself as an integral part of a group

Personality

A way of organizing and grouping the consistencies of an individual’s reactions to situations

Self-concept

How consumers perceive themselves in terms of attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and self-evaluations

Separated self-schema

A perspective whereby a consumer perceives themself as distinct and separate from others

Connected self-schema

A perspective whereby a consumer perceives themself as an integral part of a group

Personality

A way of organizing and grouping the consistencies of an individual’s reactions to situations

Self-concept

How consumers perceive themselves in terms of attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and self-evaluations

Perception

the process by which people select, organize, and interpret stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture

Selective exposure

a process whereby a consumer notices certain stimuli and ignores others

Selective distortion

a process whereby a consumer changes or distorts information that conflicts with his or her feelings or beliefs.

Selective retention

a process whereby a consumer remembers only that information that supports his or her personal beliefs

Motive

a driving force that causes a person to take action to satisfy specific needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

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

Market

people or organizations with needs or wants and the ability and willingness to buy.

Market segment

a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs, and you can expect to react similarly to a specific marketing mix.

Market segmentation

the process of dividing a market into meaningful, relatively similar, and identifiable segments or groups

Segmentation bases (variables)

characteristics of individuals, groups, or organizations

Geographic segmentation

segmenting markets by region of a country or the world, market size, market density, or climate

Demographic segmentation

segmenting markets by age, gender, income, ethnic background, and family life cycle

Psychographic segmentation

segmenting markets on the basis of personality, motives, lifestyles, and geodemographics

Benefit segmentation

the process of grouping customers into market segments according to the benefits they seek from the product

Usage-rate segmentation

dividing a market by the amount of product bought or consumed

Position

the place a product, brand, or group of products occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing offerings.

Positioning

developing a specific marketing mix to influence potential customers’ overall perception of a brand, product line, or organization in general.

Price and quality

This positioning base may stress high price as a signal of quality or emphasize low price as an indication of value 

Attribute

A product is associated with an attribute, product feature, or customer benefit

Use or application

Stressing uses or applications can be an effective means of positioning a product with buyers

Product user

This positioning base focuses on a personality or type of user

Product class

The objective here is to position the product as being associated with a particular category of products

Competitor

Positioning against competitors is part of any positioning strategy

Emotion

Positioning which focuses on how the product makes customers fee

Perceptual mapping

a means of displaying or graphing the location of products, brands, or groups of products in customers’ minds

Product differentiation

a positioning strategy that some firms use to distinguish their products from those of competitors

Repositioning

changing consumers’ perceptions of a brand in relation to competing brands.

Management decision problem

a broad-based problem that uses marketing research in order for managers to take proper actions

Marketing research problem

determining what information is needed and how it can be obtained efficiently and effectively

Marketing research objective

the specific information needed to solve a marketing research problem; the objective should be to provide insightful decision-making information.

Research design

specifies which research questions must be answered, how and when to gather data, and how the data will be analyzed

Universe

the population from which a sample will be drawn

Sample

a subset from a larger population

Probability sample

a sample in which every element in the population has a known statistical likelihood of being selected

Nonprobability sample

any sample in which little or no attempt is made to get a representative cross section of the population

Measurement error

an error that occurs when there is a difference between the information desired by the researcher and the information provided by the measurement process

Sampling error

an error that occurs when a sample does not represent the target population

Nonresponse error

occurs when the sample actually interviewed differs from the sample drawn

Frame error

an error that occurs when a sample drawn from a population differs from the target population

Random error

an error that occurs when the selected sample is an imperfect representation of the overall population

Primary data

information collected for the first time; used for solving the particular problem under investigation

Survey research

the most popular technique for gathering primary data, in which a researcher interacts with people to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes

Observation research

a research method that relies on four types of observation:

People watching people

People watching an activity

Machines watching people

Machines watching an activity

Behavioral targeting (BT)

a form of observation marketing research that combines a consumer’s online activity with psychographic and demographic profiles compiled in databases

Ethnographic research

the study of human behavior in its natural context; involves observation of behavior and physical setting

Experiment

a method of gathering primary data in which the researcher alters one or more variables while observing the effects of those alterations on another variable

Competitive intelligence

an intelligence system that helps managers assess their competition and vendors in order to become more efficient and effective competitors

Cognitive dissonance

Guilt or inner tension that a consumer experiences after a purchase