Consumer Behaviour topic 4 - perceptions

what is the process of perception

How information about products and people from the outside world is absorbed and interpreted

Extent of sensitivity to different sensory inputs influences our choices. sensory inputs are sound, colour, smell and touch.

Why marketers use sensations

Consumers often engage in activities that allow them to experience extreme sensations like thrill, shock, fear, and awe. Thus, marketers respond to this sensation seeking

advantages of associating with a sensation

-          It is easier to cut through the clutter.

-          Easier to be thought of.

-          Easier to prime consumers to purchase.

Reaching consumers through Vision

-          marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, packaging, product design etc.

-          visual elements include colour, size, styling.

-          These visual elements may influence consumers emotions and feelings.

Reaching consumers through touch

-          Moods are stimulated or relaxed on the basis of sensations reaching the skin. E.g., luxurious massage, heat of the summer sun, bite of the winter wind.

-          However, little research has been done on the effects of touch on consumer mood.

Reaching consumers through taste

-          Taste receptors contribute to our experience of edible products.

Reaching consumers through sound

-          Jingles help create brand awareness.

-          Background noise sets desired moods.

-          Sound affects feeling and behaviour – functional music.

Reaching consumers through smell

-          links between small, memory, and mood. The right scent in the right place can be very effective.

-          Scent marketing – scented clothes, scented stores, scented household products.

Stages of perception

1. exposure - When stimulus is within the range of one’s sensory receptors. Consumers only notice what is relevant or important to them.

2. attention -  Extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus.

3. interpret action - The meaning we associate to sensory stimuli.

Sensory thresholds (exposure stage)

-          some stimuli cannot be perceived due to sensory channels being impaired by disabilities and age.

Absolute threshold (exposure stage)

minimum amount of stimulation can be detected on a given sensory channel.

Differential threshold (exposure stage)

-          ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli.

Perceptual selection (attention stage)

-          Process by which people pay attention to only a small portion of the stimuli which they are exposed to.

-          Brain’s information processing capacity is limited, thus we use Perception Selection Factors, and Sensory Selection Factors to choose what to pay attention to.

Perception and stimulus selection factors (attention stage)

perception selection: -          Intensity, duration, discrimination, exposure, relevance.

stimulus selection: -          Size, colour, position, novelty.

Automated unconscious (interpret stage)

-          Interpretation is generally an automatic process.

-          Therefore, brand names, slogans, endorsers, pricing, and sales people influence consumers in subtle ways.

stimulus organisation (interpret stage)

-          How a stimulus is interpreted is based on its relationship with other events, sensations or images.

Semiotics (interpret stage)

-          Correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in assigning meaning.

-          Every marketing message has three basic components

Object (product), sign (image), interpretant (meaning).