unit 6: factors affecting consumer decisions & behavior

what is the most important factor in situation analysis?

customers

what should companies know about their customers?

• understand: their tastes, preferences, past purchases

• predict: what customers are likely to buy

• influence: what encourages customers to make a purchase

what is the “stimulus-response paradigm” in marketing?

model showing how environmental inputs (stimuli) → consumer’s mind (black box) → produce specific buying actions (responses)

what are the 4 Ps under marketing stimuli?

product, price, place, promotion

what are examples of “buyer responses”?

• buying attitudes

• purchase behavior (what, when, where, how much)

• brand relationship behavior

what are the factors (stimuli) affecting consumer behavior?

• external

  • cultural

  • social

• internal

  • individual (personal)

  • psychological

define cultural stimuli?

• basic values, beliefs, wants & behaviors people learn from family & society that influence how they buy

• large influence over person’s buying behavior

what is a subculture?

groups of people within a culture who share similar values, beliefs, & traditions

define cultural influences: subculture

• common experiences & situations: geographic regions, political/religious beliefs, cultural background, etc.

• membership influences: groups people belong to can affect what they buy (more likely to buy a product if their friends all have it)

define cultural influences: social class

• groups of people in society who share similar values, interests, & lifestyles

• partially defined by occupation, income, education, wealth

• !! important for marketers: people in same social class consume similar goods & services for similar reasons

define social stimuli

consumers ask surrounding people to obtain product information & decision to

• reduce uncertainty

• reduce risk of making “wrong” decision

• reduce search time

• to follow subculture

what are social influences: reference groups?

an in/formal group of people that influences someone’s attitudes, opinions, & buying behavior

what is direct reference groups & who do they include?

• primary groups: family, friends, coworkers

• secondary groups: clubs, professional groups, religious groups

• !! family: biggest influence on what people buy & how they make purchasing decisions

how is role & social status defined?

by the groups, family, clubs, & organizations that a person belongs to

what are indirect reference groups?

groups you don’t belong to, but still influence your opinions & buying behavior

what are the two types of indirect reference groups?

aspirational reference groups: group a person wants to join or be a part of

• example: i want to be like lebron

non-aspirational/disassociate reference groups: groups a person DOES NOT want to be associated with

• example: “if i buy this shirt, will people think i’m a nerd?”

opinion leaders

• people who try new products first & influence others’ buying decisions

  • if positive reference group: emulate their behavior

• influencer marketing: companies have popular influencers promote their products online (ex: brand ambassador)

what is word of mouth?

• opinion leaders within a reference group → social influence

• marketers pov: brand ambassadors

• online networks: blogs & social media

• buzz marketing: viral marketing using word of mouth

what are individual (personal) influences?

• gender differences

• age, generation, family type

• occupation

• individual economic situation (personal income, savings, interest rates)

what is personality & self-concept within individual influence?

• unique psychological characteristics that lead to consistent & lasting responses to the consumers’ environment

• described in terms of TRAITS

• SELF-CONCEPT: how consumers perceive themselves

what is lifestyle within individual influence?

• a person’s pattern of living shown in psychographics

• measures consumer’s activities, interests, opinions

what are psychological influences?

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

• motivation research: qualitative research designed to probe consumers’ hidden, subconscious motives

what are maslow’s hierarchy needs?

• self-actualization needs: self-development & realization

• esteem needs: self-esteem, recognition, status

• social needs: sense of belonging, love

• safety needs: security, protection

• physiological needs: hunger, thirst 

define perception process

people select, organize, & interpret information to form a meaningful & coherent picture of the world

what are the three perceptual processes?

• selective attention (exposure)

• selective distortion

• selective retention

what is selective attention (exposure)?

• tendency for people to screen out most of the information to which they are exposed

• example: companies advertising their products super well like iPhone duo, even if it’s not exactly the best product. would trust family, friends’ opinions over Apple

what is selective distortion?

• tendency for people to interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe

• example: energizer pink bunny (1989) people associate with duracell (1973)

what is selective retention?

• tendency to remember good points about a brand they favor & forget bad points

• example: drop new information, but remember old information

what is belief in psychological influences?

• an organized pattern of knowledge, opinion, or faith that an individual holds to be true

• may/not carry an emotional charge

• control perception process + attitudes

what is attitude in psychological influences?

• learned tendency to respond toward a given event

• describes a person’s relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, tendencies towards object/idea

• difficult to change if well-formed

how is “learning” defined in consumer behavior?

change in an individual's behavior arising from experience

what are the 5 elements of learning?

• drives

• stimuli

• cues

• responses

• reinforcement

what is drive?

strong internal stimulus that calls for action

what is cue?

subtle external signal that directs the specific time, place, and way a person acts.

what is stumuli?

anything you see, hear, taste touch around you grab your attention to satisfy inner urge (drive)

what is responses?

actual action, decision, or behavior an individual takes in reaction to a drive, stimulus or cue

what is reinforcement?

outcome or consequence that follows a response, which determines whether that behavior will be repeated in the future

what is the information processing paradigm?

shows how consumers go from noticing a marketing stimulus to making a final purchase choice

how is information processed in order?

attention → perception → belief → attitude → preference → behavior intention → behavior choice

define attention & perception

• attention: spotting the message

  • human thresholds: what our senses are able to notice

• perception: figuring out what the message means

what is various integration rules?

• lies between perception & belief

• consumers combine pieces of information to form a belief

define beliefs, attitude, preference, behavior intention

• belief: deciding facts about the product

• attitude: dis/liking it

• preference: choosing it over other options

• behavioral intention: planning to buy it

where do decision rules apply?

• right before behavioral intention

• shows how consumers use rules to make their final choice to buy