Tourism and Hospitality Marketing - Customer Market Behavior

Flashcards reviewing customer market behavior, factors influencing decisions, buyer-decision processes, service quality, and organizational buyer behavior.

How is a consumer defined in the context of customer market behavior?

A consumer is any individual who purchases goods and services from the market for his/her end-use.

What is customer behavior?

Customer behavior is the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services to satisfy their needs and desires.

What are the eight factors that influence consumer behavior?

1. Motivations, 2. Culture, 3. Age and Gender, 4. Social Class, 5. Lifestyle, 6. Life Cycle, 7. Reference Groups, and 8. Personality and Self-concepts.

What is motivation, and how is a need defined in marketing?

Motivations are inner drives that make people take a specific plan of action to satisfy their needs. A need is a basic human requirement representing the gap between what customers have and what they would like to have.

What are the five levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs from bottom to top?

1. Physiological needs, 2. Safety needs, 3. Love and belonging, 4. Esteem, and 5. Self-actualization.

How do push and pull factors differ in tourism motivation?

Push factors are internal forces or personal needs that encourage individuals to move away from their home setting. Pull factors are external attributes of a different place that attract or 'pull' them towards it.

How is culture defined and how does it influence consumer behavior?

Culture pertains to the collective mental programming of the human mind which distinguishes one group of people from another. It influences patterns of thinking and dictates how a person will act in a situation to satisfy desires within societal norms.

What factors determine an individual's social class?

Social class is one's position within society and is determined by factors such as income, wealth, education, and occupation.

What is lifestyle, and what example illustrates its fit with product marketing?

Lifestyle is a person's pattern of living as expressed in activities, interests, and opinions. An example is Starbucks products fitting the Filipino lifestyle because Filipinos love to talk over a cup of coffee.

Why are reference groups particularly important in selling tourism products?

Reference groups directly or indirectly influence people's attitudes or behavior. They are crucial in tourism because the product is intangible, making word of mouth play an important role.

What are the five stages of the buyer-decision making process in order?

1. Need recognition, 2. Information search, 3. Evaluation of alternatives, 4. Purchase decision, and 5. Post purchase behavior.

What triggers need recognition in the buyer-decision process?

Need recognition is triggered by internal and external stimuli, which must reach an intensity high enough to become a drive.

Through what sources can consumers obtain information during the information search stage?

Information may be obtained through personal sources, commercial sources, and the internet.

What occurs during the evaluation of alternatives stage of the buyer-decision process?

Prospective customers make detailed comparisons of different product or service providers by choosing attributes and importance weights and comparing alternatives against those criteria.

What degrees of customer satisfaction can occur during post-purchase evaluation?

Customer satisfaction can have many degrees, such as extremely satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfaction, and extremely dissatisfied.

How can marketers proactively reduce post-purchase dissatisfaction?

By keeping in touch after the sale through thank-you letters, small tokens/gifts/souvenirs, or feedback forms soliciting suggestions for improvement.

How is service quality defined in business?

Service quality is defined as an assessment of how well a delivered service conforms to the client's expectations.

How does service quality lead to business benefits through customer satisfaction?

Service Quality leads to Satisfaction, which directly drives Repeat Purchases and Referrals to friends.

What are the four main benefits of service quality mentioned in the lecture?

1. Customer Retention, 2. Avoidance of Price Competition, 3. Retention of Good Employees, and 4. Reduction of Costs.

How does organizational buyer behavior differ from consumer buyer behavior?

Organizational buyer behavior is a more formal version of the buying process, involves more people in decision-making, and usually involves buying in bulk rather than individual retail pieces.

What are the eight steps in the organizational buyer behavior process?

1. Problem recognition, 2. General need specification, 3. Product specification, 4. Supplier search, 5. Proposal solicitation, 6. Supplier selection, 7. Order routine specification, and 8. Performance review.