Marketing & Consumer Behavior Lecture Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing essential marketing and consumer-behavior terms discussed in the lecture notes.

Marketing

The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.

Consumer Behavior

The actions consumers take while searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services they expect will satisfy their needs.

Marketing Concept

A business philosophy that says the key to achieving organizational goals is to be more effective than competitors in creating, delivering and communicating customer value and satisfaction.

Marketing Myopia

A shortsighted focus on selling products rather than fulfilling customer needs and creating value, leading firms to miss broader market opportunities.

Marketing Mix (Four P’s)

The controllable elements of Product, Price, Place and Promotion that marketers coordinate to satisfy target customers.

STP

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning—the process of dividing markets, selecting segments to serve and crafting a unique offering for each.

Societal Marketing Concept

The idea that marketers should fulfill the needs of target markets in ways that preserve or enhance society’s well-being while meeting business objectives.

Customer Value

The ratio between a customer’s perceived benefits (economic, functional, psychological) and the resources used (money, time, effort) to obtain those benefits.

Customer Satisfaction

A customer’s perception of a product’s or service’s performance relative to his or her expectations.

Customer Retention

Turning individual transactions into long-term relationships by making it in customers’ best interests to remain with the company rather than switch.

Emotional Bonds

High levels of personal commitment and attachment that customers feel toward a brand, driving loyalty beyond transactions.

Transactional Bonds

The mechanics and structures (e.g., pricing, convenience) that facilitate exchanges and focus on immediate sales and repeat purchases.

Fans (Customer Category)

Customers with high emotional bonds and high purchase levels who willingly wait, recommend and consistently buy from a seller.

Delighted Customers

Buyers whose expectations have been exceeded; they show strong positive attitudes but make only modest purchases.

Loyals

Frequent purchasers who stay mainly for calculative reasons (e.g., price, switching costs) rather than emotional attachment.

Transactional Customers

Price-sensitive buyers with low bonds and infrequent purchases who switch sellers from one transaction to the next.

Loyalists

Completely satisfied customers who repeatedly purchase and remain faithful to the company.

Apostles

Highly satisfied customers whose experiences exceed expectations and who spread very positive word of mouth.

Defectors

Customers who feel neutral or merely satisfied and are likely to stop doing business with the company.

Terrorists

Customers who have had negative experiences and propagate negative word of mouth about the company.

Hostages

Unhappy customers who stay with a company because they feel they have no real alternative.

Mercenaries

Very satisfied customers who lack real loyalty and may defect despite their satisfaction.

Cross-Screen Marketing

Tracking and targeting consumers across computers, mobile phones and tablets to deliver coordinated messages.

Personalized Products

Offerings tailored to individual consumer preferences, made possible by data collected through interactive technologies.

Psychology (in Consumer Behavior)

The study of the human mind and mental factors that affect consumer actions and decisions.

Sociology (in Consumer Behavior)

The study of the development, structure and functioning of human society and its influence on consumption.

Anthropology (in Consumer Behavior)

The comparative study of human cultures and development to understand consumption patterns.

Communication (Discipline)

The process of imparting or exchanging information; essential for understanding how marketing messages influence consumers.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

A model consisting of input, process and output stages that describes how consumers make purchase decisions.

Input Stage

The phase where marketing efforts and sociocultural influences provide information that reaches consumers.

Process Stage

The internal phase where psychological factors shape need recognition, pre-purchase search and evaluation of alternatives.

Output Stage

The phase that includes purchase behavior (trial or repeat) and post-purchase evaluation of satisfaction.

Need Recognition

The consumer’s realization of a discrepancy between a desired state and their current state, triggering the decision process.

Pre-Purchase Search

Information gathering by consumers to identify options that can satisfy their recognized need.

Evaluation of Alternatives

Assessing the pros and cons of different products or brands identified during the search to make a selection.

Purchase

The act of buying, which may be a first-time trial or a repeat purchase.

Post-Purchase Evaluation

Consumers’ assessment of a product’s performance after use, influencing future purchase behavior and word of mouth.

Two-Way Interactive Communication

Technology-driven shift allowing consumers and marketers to exchange information rather than relying on one-way messages.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Strategies and technologies used to manage interactions with current and potential customers to enhance retention and loyalty.

Social Media

Online platforms that enable users to create, share and exchange information and ideas within virtual communities.