Marketing 307 Consumer Behavior

consumer behavior

study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas

social marketing

application of marketing strategies and tactics to alter or create behaviors that have a positive effect on the targeted individuals or society as a whole

customer value

difference between all the benefits derived from a total product and all the costs of acquiring those benefits

total product

product features, price, communications, distribution, and services that will provide customers with superior value

market segment

a portion of a larger market whose needs differ somewhat from the larger market

need set

set of current and potential capabilities i.e. reputation, an existing product, a technology or some other skill set

target market

segment of the larger market on which we focus our marketing effort

marketing strategy

answer to the question: How will we provide superior customer value to our target market?

product

anything a consumer acquires to meet a perceived need

marketing communications

advertising, the sales force, public relations, packaging, and any other signal that the firm provides about itself and its products

distribution

having the product available where target customers can buy it

service

auxiliary activities that are performed to enhance the primary product or primary service

product position

an image of the product or brand in the consumer's mind relative to competing products and brands

injurious consumption

when individuals or groups make consumption decisions that have negative consequences for their long-run well-being

economic outcomes

cumulative impact of consumers' purchase decisions, including the decision to forgo consumption

physical environment outcomes

consumer decisions that impact the environments of their own and other societies

social welfare

consumer decisions that impact the overall quality of life in a society

conceptual model

captures general structure and process of consumer behavior

self concept

the totality of an individual's thoughts and feelings about him or herself

culture

knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, etc. acquired by humans as members of a society

norms

rules that specify or prohibit certain behaviors in specific situations

cultural values

widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable

sanctions

penalties ranging from mild social disapproval to banishment from the group

other-oriented values

a society's view of the appropriate relationships between individuals and groups within that society

environment-oriented values

a society's relationship to its economic and technical as well as its physical environment

self-oriented values

objectives and approaches to life that the individual members of society find desirable

instrumental materialism

the acquisition of things to enable one to do something

terminal materialism

the acquisition of items for the sake of owning the item itself

nonverbal communication systems

the arbitrary meanings a culture assigns actions, events, and things other than words

monochronic time perspective

believing that a person does one thing at a time; having a strong orientation toward the present and the short-term future

polychronic time perspective

viewing simultaneous involvement in many activities as natural; having an orientation toward the present and the past

Demographics

a population in terms of size (number of individuals in the society), structure (age, income, education, occupation), and distribution (geographic region and rural, suburban, and urban location)

purchasing power parity (PPP)

amount of money needed in one country to purchase the same goods and services in another country

glocalization

adapting products and services to local considerations

cultural values

widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable

voluntary simplicity

consumers' efforts to reduce their reliance on consumption and material possessions

enviropreneurial marketing

environmentally friendly marketing practices, strategies, and tactics initiated by a firm to achieve a competitive differentiation

green marketing

developing products whose production, use, or disposal is less harmful to the environment; developing products that have a positive impact on the environment; tying the purchase of a product to an environmental organization or event

greenwashing

a firm promoting environmental benefits that are unsubstantiated and on which they don't deliver

cause-related marketing (CRM)

marketing that ties a company and its products to an issue or cause with the goal of improving sales or corporate image while providing benefits to the cause

gender identity

traits of femininity and masculinity

gender roles

behaviors considered appropriate for males and females in a given society

ascribed role

an attribute over which the individual has little or no control

achievement role

performance criteria over which the individual has some degree of control

Subjective Discretionary Income (SDI)

an estimate by the consumer of how much money he or she has available to spend on nonessentials

age cohort

a group of persons who have experienced a common social, political, historical, and economic environment; generation

cohort analysis

the process of describing and explaining the attitudes, values, and behaviors of an age group as well as predicting its future attitudes, values, and behaviors

gerontographics

segmentation approach to the mature market that incorporates aging processes and life events related to the physical health and mental outlook of older consumers

sandwich generation

group of people who are caring for both their parents and their children

conspicuous consumption

buying expensive services and products in order to demonstrate your wealth

single-item indexes

estimate social status on the basis of a single dimension such as education, income, or occupation

multi-item indexes

take into account numerous variables simultaneously and weight these according to a scheme that reflects societal views

Index of Social Position (ISP)

a two-item index that is well developed and widely used

class to mass

opportunities for less affluent consumers to afford luxury

cognitive age

one's perceived age, a part of one's self-concept

mature market

consumers 55 years of age and over

nouveau riche

group that suddenly acquire substantial wealth but do not command the social respect of the upper-upper class

social class system

a hierarchical division of a society into relatively distinct and homogeneous groups with respect to attitudes, values, and lifestyles

status crystallization

consistency of an individual on all status dimensions

working class aristocrats

individuals who are proud of their ability to do "real work" and see themselves as the often-unappreciated backbone of America; frequently dislike the upper-middle class and prefer products and stores positioned at their social-class level

subculture

a segment of a larger culture whose members share distinguishing values and patterns of behavior

ethnic subculture

those whose members' unique shared behaviors are based on a common racial, language, or national background

secular society

the educational system, government, and political process are not controlled by a religious group, and most people's daily behaviors are not guided by strict religious guidelines

born-again Christian

characterized by a strong belief in the literal truth of the Bible, a very strong commitment to their religious beliefs, having had a "born-again" experience, and encouraging others to believe in Jesus Christ

regional subcultures

distinct groups arising from climatic conditions, the natural environment, characteristics of various immigrant groups that have settled in the region, and significant social and political events

acculturation

the degree to which an immigrant has adapted to his or her new culture

event marketing

creating or sponsoring an event that has a particular appeal to a market segment

consumer skills

capabilities necessary for purchases to occur such as understanding money, budgeting, product evaluation, etc.

consumer socialization

the process by which people acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to function as consumers

consumption related attitudes

cognitive and affective orientations toward marketplace stimuli such as advertisements, salespeople, warranties, etc.

consumption related preferences

the knowledge, attitudes, and values that cause people to attach differential evaluations to products, brands, and retail outlets

household

all the people who occupy a housing unit

family household

at least two members related by birth, marriage, or adoption, one of whom is the householder

nonfamily household

a householder living alone or exclusively with others to whom he or she is not related

household life cycle (HLC)

model of the complex and varied cycles of today's households, based on age and marital status of the adults and presence and age of children in the household

instrumental training

when a parent or sibling specifically and directly attempts to bring about certain responses through reasoning or reinforcement

mediation

when a parent alters a child's initial interpretation of, or response to, a marketing or other stimulus

modeling

when a child learns appropriate, or inappropriate, consumption behaviors by observing others

adopter categories

innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards

adoption process

series of distinct steps a consumer goes through when purchasing an innovation

Asch Phenomenon

the naive subject almost always agrees with the incorrect judgement of others

aspiration reference groups

nonmembership groups with a positive attraction

brand ambassador

a person who is paid or given free products by a company in exchange for wearing or using its products and trying to encourage others to do so

brand community

non-geographically bound community, based on social relationships among owners of a brand and the psychological relationship they have with the brand itself, the product in use, and the firm

buzz

the exponential expansion of word of mouth

community

consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions and a sense of moral responsibility

consumption subculture

a distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity

diffusion process

the manner in which innovations spread throughout a market

dissociative reference groups

groups with negative desirability

enduring involvement

long-term involvement with a product category leading to enhanced knowledge about and experience with the product or activity

group

two or more individuals who share a set of norms, values, or beliefs and have certain defined relationships such that their behaviors are interdependent

identification influence

occurs when individuals have internalized the group's values and norms

influencer marketing

practice of partnering with influencers to promote a product

informational influence

when an individual uses the behaviors and opinions of reference group members as potentially useful bits of information

innovation

an idea, practice, or product perceived to be new by the relevant individual or group

innovators

first to adopt an innovation

early adopters

consumers who adopt an innovation early, but after the innovators; willing to take a risk but concerned about failure

early majority

consumers who tend to be cautious about innovations; adopt sooner than most of their social group but after the innovation has proved successful

late majority

consumers who are skeptical about innovations; adopt more in response to social pressures or decreased availability of the previous product

laggards

the last consumers to adopt an innovation