Consumer Behavior Exam 1 SDSU Ehrich

who is a consumer

a person who identifies a need or desire, makes a purchase, and then disposes of the product

Consumer Behavior

applied social science that focuses on how consumers make decisions, interact with and understands products: reflects the totality of the consumer's interaction with the product/service

why do we need consumer behavior

to understand the customer values- to develop prober marketing strategy-- to tailor products to the market

types of marketing research

basic and applied

basic research

research to understand consumer behavior or marketing in general-- academic research

applied research

research directed at a certain problem- corp research

cons to in house marketing research

confirmation biased

primary v. secondary data

Primary: Information that is collected for the first time; used for solving the particular problem under investigation

Secondary: Data previously collected for any purpose other than the one at hand

collect ______ data first

secondary

focus group

seven to ten people who participate in a group discussion led by a moderator-- the beginning point of research-- can fall victim to group think

depth interview

an exploratory research technique in which trained researchers ask questions, listen to and record the answers, and then pose additional questions to clarify or expand on a particular issue

Test Market (Field Experiment)

studies the effectiveness of one or more elements of the marketing mix evaluating sales of the product in an actual market-- a small section of the market is used to test something out

observational research

gathering primary data by observing relevant people, actions, and situations-- watching instead of asking subject questions

three factors necessary for causation

correlation, temporal antecedence, no third factor driving both

spurious correlation

an apparent but false relationship between two (or more) variables that is caused by some other variable

what drives purchases?

consumers don't actually care about products-- they care about the consequences that the products enable which are aligned with specific underlying motivations

laddering exercise

undercovers underlying consumer motivation through a series of increasingly intense questioning

model of the mind

hierarchical knowledge structure that links meanings at different levels of abstractions

means ends chain

means are the product; ends are the needs

levels of model of the mind

3. Motivation (the ends): these are the needs, values, or goals that drive all behavior

2. functional. psychological consequences (the outcome): what does the attribute allow? what does the consumer feel?

1. Attributes (the means): specific characteristics of the product

three categories of motivation

1. Values: a belief that a given behavior or outcome is good

2. Goals: a desired end state

3. Needs: desired physical or psychological outcomes

affect

emotional feeling or mood

the more stress you feel, the more likely you are to use _______

mental shortcuts

mood and helping

pleasant situation and factors increases favorable mood which means more likely to help

mood and judgement

mood affects how you view your present situation

physiological responses to emotions can become

muddy and cause someone to confuse one emotion for another

persuasion and mood

someone in a good mood is more easy to persuade-- when you are in a good mood you don't process much

when in a bad mood you want to

get in a good mood so you try and figure out how

sometimes it is important to bring down the mood of a situation to

make the person process more serious situations

benefits of repetition

Increased Attention -> Rehearsal (Exposure) -> Enhanced Memory/Positive Affect

exposure leads to

attention which leads to perception

exposure

the process by which the consumer comes in physical contact with a stimulus- we have the possibility of noticing it

influencing exposure

1. Select the correct medium

2. Positioning within a medium

3. Choose product distribution and placement

-->marketers can have some control over when and where consumers encounter the brand

selective exposure

marketers control when/where a consumer encounters a brand or product-- think high end stuff

intentional exposure should be

facilitated

accidental exposure should be

maximized

exposure in general should be

maintained

attention

the info has been recorded in some way-- you notice the info- the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus- attention is a gateway

attention can be

selective, divided, and limited

in general, what captures our attention

things that contrast with their surroundings

attention leads to

increased knowledge, positive affect

preattentive processing

the nonconscious processing of stimuli in peripheral vision-- can influence brand liking and choice

left brain

right vision field-- numbers and words

right brain

left vision field- music and pictures

methods for enhancing attention

make stimuli personally relevant, make stimuli pleasant, surprising, and easy to process

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation-- if too familiar, loses attention getting ability

simply getting attention may prove

as detrimental as not being noticed at all

once you gain attention

you must say something substantial

Perception

the process by which sensations are selected, organized and interpreted- registering stimuli with one of the five senses- how we view the world

perception is constructive

people construct interpretations on the fly

meanings are constructed as needed based on

the actual stimulus and prior experience

methods of perception

vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch

taste

clear individual and cultural differences- subjective

vision

size and color

hearing

muzak as a stimulus, jingles

muzak

recorded light background music played through speakers in public places

smell

effects mood- strongest tie to memory and emotion-- creates a lasting impression- simple scents (orange, vanilla) are better than complex scents- consumers spend 20% more in stores with simple scents

touch

can stimulate or relax customers- people want to touch things before they buy them

color

may influence emotions- reactions to color determined culturally- color of mourning is different in different countries- can be symbolic or trademarked (Louis Vuitton red bottoms)

vision- size

We tend to eat more:

-when food container is larger

-when our plate still contains food

-when we see assortment of foods

We focus on height rather than width-- taller packages seem bigger

Perception is crucial in CB because:

-Reality IS perception

-What customers perceive is what affects their actions

-What is perceived is not necessarily what is "true" (ex: instant coffee)

what we perceive depends on

what we expect to hear, see, smell, touch- we expect to see what would fit into with our personal beliefs and stereotypes

if a logo needs to be changed

make it gradual and over time so the change will not be noticed

perceptual expectations can lead to

illusions- don't believe everything you hear and see

What do we perceive?

the stimuli must be at such a level that we can detect them

JND

just noticeable difference; condition in which one stimulus is sufficiently stronger than another so that someone can actually notice that the two are not the same

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

subliminal perception

the processing of information by sensory systems without conscious awareness- stimuli is presented below our threshold of perceptions- lots of controversy on whether or not this is effective in marketing-- most researches say no

people perceive relative differences, not

absolute differences- ex: driving for $15- people perceive money, time, utility, the same way as things like sight and taste- our mental world works the same way as our physical world

loss leader

An item priced at or below cost to draw customers into a store.

expected utility theory

A normative model of decision making in which the decision maker weights the personal importance and the probabilities of different outcomes in choosing among alternatives in order to maximize overall satisfaction of personal goals-- accounts for the law of diminishing returns

law of diminishing returns

the more of something you get, the less valuable a singe unit becomes

normative

Implying or attempting to establish a norm; expressing value judgments or telling people what to do (rather than merely describing that which is happening)

gains v. losses

we like gains but not losses

framing effects

how a situations is set up

people act differently when things are being framed as a

loss rather than a gain

people are risk _____ for losses and risk _____ for gains

seeking; adverse --- when we feel like we already lost something we are more willing to take risks (ya got nothin to lose) and when we feel like we are gaining we become less likely to take risks (quit while ur ahead) --- so separate gains and combine losses

prospect theory

people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains

segregate gains

car descriptions list out attributes separately

integrate losses

-Car dealers list price in one lump sum

-Why we hate phone bills, itemized tuition bills, ticketmaster

-Why we like all inclusive vacations

silver lining effect

separate out small gain from big loss

Cancel losses against larger gains

Paycheck deductions for insurance or investments

high end pricing

no dollar signs- conveys quality-- no nines

Anchoring and Adjustment

putting a high number in the customers mind as the anchor, so they will get less but more than they would without that anchor/ starting price

endowment effect

the tendency of people to be unwilling to sell a good they already own even if they are offered a price that is greater than the price they would be willing to pay to buy the good if they didn't already own it-- product gains more value in your mind when you own it- why we are more likely to buy clothes we try on

extremeness aversion

People tend to avoid choosing extremes-- chose in the middle

price lining

the practice of offering a product line with several items at specific price points

mental accounting

categorizing spending and saving decisions into "accounts" mentally designated for specific consumption transactions, goals, or situations-- frame products to fit peoples budget

gain or a loss is determined by

external reference points

attitude

overall evaluation that express how much we like something- they are learned- they are enduring- you can have them about anything

characteristics of attitudes

Favorability - like/dislike

Accessibility - how easily retrieved from memory; if you know about more you will have a stronger attitude about it

Confidence - strength; do you think your attitude is right

Persistence - endurance; how long have you had this attitude

Resistance - how easily they change

why are attitudes so important

guide our thoughts, influence our feelings, influence what we process, influence our behavior

attitudes and behavior

not always linked

Behavior is a combination of

Dispositional Factors (internal)

-Genetics

-Personality

-Attitudes

Situational Factors (external)

-Sensory stimulation

-Rewards/Punishments

-Actions of Others

Attitudes can effect behavior

directly:

- positive attitudes- approach

- negative attitudes- avoid

indirectly:

- placebo effects

what influences behavior and attitude link?

- accessibility of attitudes-- top of mind-top of mind

- strength of attitudes - stronger link between attitudes and behavior

- situational factors- if you can't perform a behavior due to the situation- it's not gonna happen no matter how much your attitude is positive about it

-normative feelings- you should feeling

-measurement issues: specificity of attitudes, timing of measurement (the attitude is stronger the closer it is to the time of the behavior)

cognitive dissonance

a separation between behavior and attitude- we desire consistency between them and when we don't have that, it's not comfy

Ways to reduce cognitive dissonance

-Change attitude or behavior

-Belittle importance of the inconsistent behavior

-Find consonant elements that outweigh dissonant ones

stored v. constructed attitudes

some attitudes we just have store in our heads, but some we come up with on the spot based on observations-- all attitudes have some on the spot constructing-- why we are happier on sunny days

ELM

`elaboration likelihood model- ranges from low elaboration (low thought) and high elaboration (high thought)