CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHAPTER 14

Coping with Incomplete Information

-Delay the decision until information is obtained -Ignore missing information -Change the decision strategy to accommodate missing information -"Construct" the missing information

Decision making model Second step: Process: Evaluation of Alternatives: Attributes

-Product attribute examples --Size --Weight --Sweetness --Color --Packaging -Criteria to assess product may be advertised -Price less important when products are "right" -Brand credibility is affected by --Perceived quality --Information costs saved --Perceived risk

evoked set

-The evoked set consists of the small number of brands the consumer is familiar with, remembers, and finds acceptable. -it is essential that a product be part of a consumer's evoked set if it is to be considered at all. Excluded products include : 1. Unknown brands or models because of the consumer's selective exposure to advertising media and selective perception of advertising stimuli. 2. Unacceptable brands of poor quality or attributes or inappropriate positioning in either advertising or product characteristics. 3. Brands that are perceived as not having any special benefits. 4. Overlooked brands that have not been clearly positioned. 5. Brands that are not selected because they do not satisfy perceived needs.

Decision making model Second step: Process: Evaluation of Alternatives: Brand-sets

-the evoked set (consideration set) refers to the specific brands (or models) a consumer considers in making a purchase within a particular product category. -An inept set consists of brands (or models) that the consumer excludes from purchase consideration because they are unacceptable(or they are seen as inferior. -An inert set consists of brands (or models) the consumer is indifferent toward because they are perceived as not having any particular advantages.

The adoption process

1. Awareness: The consumer first becomes aware that an innovation exists. 2. Interest: The consumer becomes interested in the innovative product or service). 3. Evaluation: The consumer undertakes a "mental trial" of the innovation. 4. Trial: The consumer tries the innovation. 5. Adoption: If satisfied, the consumer decides to regularly use the innovation or not use it again.

Decision making model Second step: Process: Informational search: contextual factors

1. Task Complexity - the number of alternatives and amount of information available for each alternative. 2. Information Organization - the presentation, format, and content. 3. Time Constraint - the amount of time the consumer has to decide.

Decision Making model First step: Input

1. The marketing mix consists of strategies designed to reach, inform, and persuade consumers to buy the marketer's products repeatedly. They include the product, advertising and other promotional efforts, pricing policy, and the distribution channels that move the product from the manufacturer to the consumer. 2. The sociocultural influences include the consumer's family, peers, social class, reference groups, culture, and, if applicable, subculture. 3. The input also includes communications, which are the mechanisms that "deliver" the marketing mix and sociocultural influences to consumers

routinized response behavior

A consumer decision-making process used when buying frequently purchased, low-cost items that require very little search-and-decision effort

Innovation adoption process

A micro process that focuses on the stages through which an individual consumer passes when deciding to accept or reject a new product This process includes four elements: 1. The innovation (i.e., new product, model, or service). 2. The channels of communication (informal or formal, impersonal or personal groups). 3. The social system (a market segment). 4. Time.

Diffusion of innvoation

The macro process by which the acceptance of an innovation (i.e., a new product, new service, new idea, or new practice) takes place among members of a social system (or market segments), over time.

Decision making model Second step: Process: Needs recognition

The process component of the model is concerned with how consumers make decisions. The model's psychological field consists of the internal influences (motivation, perception, learning, personality, and attitudes) that affect consumers' decision-making processes (what they need or want, their awareness of various product choices, their information-gathering activities, and their evaluation of alternatives). The first of the three stages in the process part of the model is need recognition. Need recognition occurs when a consumer is faced with a "problem." Some needs are actual state types, who perceive that they have a problem when a product fails to perform satisfactorily (e.g., a cordless telephone that develops constant static). Some needs are desired state types, for whom the desire for something new may trigger the decision process.

decision making model step three: Output

Three types of outputs: --Trial --Repeat purchase/brand loyalty --Post-purchase evaluation ---Positive/negative disconfirmation of expectations ---Cognitive dissonance

brand loyalty

a favorable attitude toward and consistent purchase of a single brand over time

gifting behavior

a gift exchange that takes place between a giver and a recipient

discontinuous innovation

a totally new product that creates major changes in the way we live

noncompensatory decision rule

at work when consumers choose a product or service on the basis of a subset of its characteristics, regardless of the values of its other attributes -Conjunctive: the consumer establishes a separate, minimally acceptable level as a cutoff point for each attribute. If any particular brand or model falls below the cutoff point on any one attribute, that option is eliminated from further consideration -Lexicographic: when the consumer ranks the attributes in terms of perceived relevance or importance. The consumer then compares the various alternatives in terms of the single attribute that is considered most important. -Disjunctive: at least

compensatory decision rule

at work when the consumer is evaluating alternatives and trades off one characteristic against another, such that good characteristics compensate for bad ones

Decision making model Second step: Process: Pre-purchase search

begins when a consumer perceives a need that might be satisfied by the purchase and consumption of a product. Sometimes recalling past purchases provides the consumer with adequate information to make the present choice. However, when the consumer has had no prior experience, he or she may have to engage in an extensive search of the outside environment for useful information on which to base a choice

intragroup gifting

characterized by the sentiment "we gave this to ourselves"; that is, a group gives a gift to itself or its members

continuous innovation

consumers don't need to learn new behaviors

cognitive dissonance

dissonance occurs when tension arises after a purchase decision. Consumers try to reassure themselves that they made wise choices to resolve the tension. In doing so, they may rationalize the decision as being wise; seek advertisements that support their choice and avoid those of competitive brands; attempt to persuade friends or neighbors to buy the same brand (and thereby confirm their own choice); or turn to other satisfied purchasers for reassurance.

limited problem solving

occurs during a purchase decision that calls for, at most, a moderate amount of effort and time

intergroup gifting

occurs whenever one group exchanges gifts with another group (such as one family with another). Similarly, gifts given to families will be different than those given to individual family members.

dynamically continuous innovation

only minor changes in behavior are required

intrapersonal gifting

or a self-gift, occurs when the giver and the receiver are the same individual

intercategory gifting

takes place when either an individual is giving a gift to a group or a group is giving an individual a gift

affect referral

the consumer selects the brand with the highest perceived overall rating. This type of synthesized decision rule may represent the simplest of all rules.

relative advantage

the degree to which a consumer perceives that a new product provides superior benefits

complexity

the degree to which consumers find a new product or its use difficult to understand

compatibility

the degree to which the innovation fits the values and experiences of potential consumers

observability (communicability)

the ease with which a product's benefits or attributes can be observed, imagined, or described to potential consumers

bottom-line price shoppers

those who buy the lowest-priced item with little or no regard for brand

deal hunters

those who look for the best bargain and are not brand loyal

practical loyalists

those who look for ways to save on the brands and products they would buy anyway

opportunistic switchers

those who use coupons or sales to decide among brands and products that fall within their evoked set

extensive problem solving

when consumers put much effort into deciding how to satisfy a need

Trial-ability

refers to the degree to which a new product can be tried on a limited basis. The greater the opportunity to try a new product, the easier it is for consumers to evaluate the product and ultimately adopt it.