Ch 5 Mini Sim

Not every purchase requires consumers to move sequentially through each of the five stages of the buyer decision process. Some purchases are arrived at much more quickly, allowing consumers to pass quickly through some of the stages or even skip a stage entirely. Involvement reflects the amount of importance the consumer feels the product has. Involvement also captures the concept of perceived risk of a negative outcome -- financial, social, or even personal welfare. Is this product expensive? What will my friends think of this product? Could this product hurt me? As the level of perceived risk increases, so does the consumer's level of involvement, resulting in a longer, slower, more methodical decision-making process. Classify the following products as either high involvement or low involvement from the Fitness Fanatic target market's perspective. After you have classified all the products, you can click Submit.

High involvement: running shoes, automobile Low involvement: paper towels, oatmeal

Using what you have learned in your focus group, you begin your analysis of the buyer decision process. In the first stage of the process, you need to show consumers that their existing state does not equal their desired state. Which advertising strategy would be optimal for the need (problem) recognition stage?

Television ad on a fitness training television channel showing a consumer charging their phone using PowerShirt

Given the three potential target markets' different profiles, which target market do you recommend to be PowerShirt's primary target market?

fitness fanatics

Now that you have identified your product's differential advantage and your target market, you need to turn your attention to the buyer decision process. The buyer decision process begins with need recognition and ends with post-purchase behavior. Review each of the following situations from the mobile phone industry and then drag it to the correct stage in the buying process.

NEED RECOGNITION: On her way into work this morning, Jackie dropped her mobile phone and now it will not turn on. INFORMATION SEARCH: Once Jackie gets into the office, she asks her coworkers what they like and dislike about their mobile phones. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES: Using information from her coworkers and manufacturer websites, Jackie creates a spreadsheet that ranks each phone on price, reliability, and camera quality. PURCHASE DECISION: After work, Jackie visits her cellular provider to purchase her new phone and update her mobile contract. POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR: Jackie is thrilled with her new phone, especially the camera quality, and tells everyone at work that they should upgrade, too.

Now that you have been briefed on the PowerShirt's features, you need to identify which attribute of the PowerShirt is its most valuable differential advantage. Keep in mind that the differential advantage is the feature that sets it apart from the competition and makes the product desirable to the target market. VP of Marketing: "The sports apparel market is large and growing -- nearly $100 billion in sales in the United States alone -- and is crowded with big-name competitors with huge product lines offering hundreds of shirt styles and colors. To succeed in the sports apparel market, Powerfully Fit needs to stand out from the rest." Which of the following is the PowerShirt's differential advantage?

Power

In the evaluation of alternatives stage, consumers focus on key product attributes as they review and rank alternative brands, eliminating brands that do not deliver on the most important features. As a marketing manager, you need to ensure that your communication plan focuses the consumer's attention on your product's strengths. Keep your target market's desires and PowerShirt's differential advantage in mind as you consider your messaging strategy for your integrated marketing communication plan.

PowerOn! PowerShirt keeps you charged all day long.

You meet with your boss to discuss your progress: "I am pleased with the progress you have made in your evaluation of the first four steps of the buyer decision process. It is critical that we not only have an understanding of the process from the consumer's perspective, but also use this understanding to guide our marketing strategy and decision making." "Our work does not stop when the consumer purchases the PowerShirt. To reach our goals, we need to make sure we are developing loyal customers who will make purchases in the future. Reducing cognitive dissonance is one strategy for building customer loyalty. Our analysts have recommended three different strategies. Which one do you recommend we implement first?"

Quality product/instructions: Manufacture with superior components, provide sales training to retail associates, and provide detailed use instructions for consumers.

You've selected the advertising program to begin need stimulation for the PowerShirt. Once the target market recognizes a need for the PowerShirt, they will need to gather more information about it. Your responsibility is to make sure that this information is readily available to the potential consumer. You now need to decide on a marketing strategy that will put out information when and where consumers will search for it.

Social media websites PowerfullyFit.com website

After discussions with your boss, you decide to focus your integrated marketing communications around the PowerOn! message. As consumers approach the decision point, you must address those factors that affect purchase intent and ultimately purchase. Given what you know about the target market, which of the following three factors is most likely to increase purchase intent?

Word of mouth: Provide free sample PowerShirts to key opinion leaders in large running clubs and gyms to generate positive word of mouth.