MKT Ch 5: Consumer Learning

Consumer Learning

Acquiring purchase and consumption knowledge and experience to apply to future behavior (e.g., researching a product before buying).

Elements of Learning Theories

Motivation: An internal trigger or unfilled need that drives a consumer to act (e.g., hunger).

Cues: External stimuli that direct toward a specific action (e.g., ads, sales).

Response: A consumer's reaction to a drive or cue (e.g., buying or not buying).

Reinforcement: An external outcome that increases the likelihood of repeating a behavior in the future (e.g., getting a reward).

• weather its positive or negative it will increase the likelihood

• Punishment is the consequence of not following the reinforcement that discorages

Two Major Learning Theories

Behavioral Learning (Stimulus-Response): Learning based on stimuli exposure

Cognitive Learning: Learning through active mental information processing and internal motivation

Behavioral Learning: Classical Conditioning

Pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus until the conditioned stimulus alone triggers a taught response

In marketing: associating a parent brand with a brand extension

Behavioral Learning: Applications of Classical Conditioning

• Repetition

• Stimulus Generalization: Responding the same way to slightly different stimuli

• Stimulus Discrimination: Selecting a specific stimulus from similar ones; the opposite of generalization

Behavioral Learning: Instrumental Conditioning

Learning through trial-and-error and personal experience

e.g., trying Brands A, B, and C of jeans until Brand D fits perfectly

Negatives:

• Extinction: A learned response is no longer reinforced, breaking the link between stimulus and reward

• Forgetting: The reinforcement is forgotten over time

How to overcome it:

• customer satisfaction

Reinforcement Schedules:

• Total Reinforcement: Always giving a reward every time (e.g., loyalty points on every purchase).

• Systematic Reinforcement: Giving a reward after a fixed number of purchases, n+1 (e.g., buy 5, get 1 free).

• Random Reinforcement: Giving rewards unpredictably (e.g., surprise buy 1 get 1 deals).

Learning Schedules:

• Massed Learning: Bombarding consumers with ads in a short time for rapid learning

Information Storage

Involvement

the degree of involvement and interest in a specific product

How to measure cognitive learning

• Recognition: can you remember something with an aid

• Recall: can you remember from memory

• Brand Loyalty

  • Attitudinal measures

  • Behavioral measures