MKT 4340 Chapter 12 Key Terms

Awareness set

the set of alternatives of which a consumer is aware

Behavioral influence decision-making perspective

a perspective that assumes many consumer decisions are actually learned responses to environmental influences

Brand inertia

a buying behavior that occurs when a consumer simply buys a product repeatedly without any real attachment

Brand loyalty

a deeply held commitment to rebuy a product or service regardless of situational influences that could lead to switching behavior

Consideration set

the set of alternatives that are considered acceptable for further consideration in decision making

Consumer search behavior

the set of behaviors that consumers engage in as they seek information that can be used to satisfy needs

Desired state

a perceived state for which a consumer strives

Experiential decision-making perspective

a perspective that assumes consumers often make purchases and reach decisions based on the effect, or feeling, attached to the product or behavior under consideration

Extended decision making

a decision-making approach when consumers move diligently through various problem-solving activities in search of the best information that will help them reach a decision

External search

the gathering of information from sources external to the consumer such as friends, family, salespeople, advertising, independent research reports, and the Internet

Habitual decision making

a decision-making approach when consumers generally do not seek information at all when a problem is recognized and select a product based on habit

Inept set

the alternatives in the awareness set that are deemed to be unacceptable for further consideration

Inert set

the alternatives in the awareness set about which consumers are indifferent or do not hold strong feelings

Information overload

the situation in which consumers are presented with so much information that they cannot assimilate the variety of information presented

Internal search

the retrieval of knowledge stored in memory about products, services, and experiences

Limited decision making

a decision-making approach when consumers search very little for information and often reach decisions based largely on prior beliefs about products and their attributes

Ongoing search

a search effort that is not necessarily focused on an upcoming purchase or decision, but rather on staying up to date on the topic

Perceived risk

the perception of the negative consequences that are likely to result from a course of action and the uncertainty of which course of action is best to take

Prepurchase search

a search effort aimed at finding information to solve an immediate problem

Price

the information that signals the amount of potential value contained in a product

Quality

a perceived overall goodness or badness of some product

Rational decision-making perspective

a perspective that assumes consumers diligently gather information about purchases, carefully compare various brands of products on salient attributes, and make informed decisions regarding what brand to buy

Satisficing

the practice of using decision-making shortcuts to arrive at satisfactory, rather than optimal, decisions

Search regret

the negative emotions that come from failed search processes

Universal set

the total collection of all possible solutions to a consumer problem

Variety-seeking behavior

a behavior that involves seeking new brands or products as a response to boredom or to satisfy a perceived need for change