Consumer Behavior Test

What are the major outcomes for the firm of the marketing process and consumers' responses to it?

(1) A product position or image in the minds of the consumers, (2) sales and profits, and (3) satisfied (at some level) customers.

What are the four major uses or applications of an understanding of consumer behavior?

(1) Developing marketing strategy, (2) Developing regulatory policy for marketing actions, (3) Social marketing, and (4) Understanding how societies function.

What are the major outcomes for society of the marketing process and consumers' responses to it?

(1) Economic impacts, (2) environmental impacts, and (3) social impacts.

What is the Asch phenomenon and how do marketers utilize it?

An example of the fact that people will conform to a group opinion even when there is clear, objective evidence that the group is wrong.

What is an innovation? Who determines whether a given product is an innovation?

An innovation is any idea, practice, or material artifact perceived by the potential market to be new.

What is an online social network site? What are the guidelines for marketers operating in online communities and social networking sites?

An online social network site is a web-based service that allows individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. Guidelines for marketers include (1) transparency as it is critical that companies identify themselves and any posted content as such, to avoid the risk of being "found out" and subjected to criticism from the community; (2) to be part of the community, not just market to it; and (3) take advantage of the unique capabilities of each venue.

What is an opinion leader? How does an opinion leader relate to the multistep flow of communication?

An opinion leader is the person who filters, interprets, or provides information on various subjects to the group members. The opinion leader acts as an information middleman between the marketer and the consumer (group member) in the multistep flow of communication.

What are Piaget's stages of cognitive development?

There are four stages: (1) the period of sensori-motor intelligence (ages 0-2) - primarily motor behavior, (2) the period of preoperational thought ages (2-7) - development of language and rapid growth in conceptual capabilities, (3) the period of concrete operations (ages 7-11) - able to apply logical thought to concrete problems, and (4) the period of formal operations (ages 12-15) - able to apply abstract logic.

What is happening to male and female gender roles in America?

They are becoming more similar, with the female role moving closer to the traditional male role.

What are the major outcomes for the individual of the marketing process and consumers' responses to it?

Some level of need satisfaction and, on occasion, injurious consumption (consumption that harms the individual)

) Describe each of the five stages children go through as they learn to shop at stores.

Stage I: Observing. Parents begin taking children to the store with them at a median age of 2 months. During this stage, children make sensory contact with the market place and begin forming mental images of marketplace objects and symbols. In the early months, only sights and sounds are being processed. However, by 12 to 15 months, most children can begin to recall some of these items. This stage ends when children understand that a visit to the market may produce rewards beyond the stimulation caused by the environment. Stage II: Making Requests. At this stage (median age is two years), children begin requesting items in the store from their parents. They use pointing and gesturing as well as statements to indicate that they want an item. Throughout most of this stage, children make requests only when the item is physically present, as they do not yet carry mental images of the products in their minds. In the latter months of stage II, they begin to make requests for items at home, particularly when they are seen on television. Stage III: Making Selections. Actually getting an item off the shelf without assistance is the first act of an independent consumer (median age is three and a half years). At its simplest level, a child's desire is triggered by an item in his or her immediate presence and this item is selected. Soon, however, children begin to remember the store location of desirable items, and they are allowed to go to those areas independently or to lead the parent there. Stage IV: Making Assisted Purchases. Most children learn by observing (modeling) that money needs to be given in order to get things from a store. They learn to value money given to them by their parents and others as a means to acquire things. Soon they are allowed to select and pay for items with their own money. They are now primary consumers (median age is five and a half years). Stage V: Making a purchase without a parent to oversee it requires a fairly sophisticated understanding of value as well as the ability to visit a store, or a section of a store, safely without a parent. Most children remain in stage IV a long time before their parents allow them to move into stage V (median age is eight years).

What conclusions can be drawn from the examples at the beginning of this chapter? (Ch. 1)

Successful marketing decisions require extensive information on consumer behavior theory. Consumer behavior theory provides the manager with the proper questions to ask. Managers, regulators, and others use consumer behavior and knowledge to make decisions.

What is meant by the household life cycle?

The HLC is the classification of a household into stages over time based on adult age, marital status, and the presence and age of children.

What is involved in the company analysis phase of market analysis in Figure 1-1?

The firm must understand its ability to meet evolving customer needs better than the competition. This involves evaluating all aspects of the firm ranging from its financial condition to its general management skills to its reputation. This will generally involve both internal analyses as well outside assessments.

What ethical issues arise in marketing to children?

The major issue focuses on the limited ability of younger children to process information and to make informed purchase decisions. There are also concerns that marketing activities, particularly advertising, produces undesirable values in children, results in inappropriate diets, and causes unhealthy levels of family conflict.

What is a marketing mix?

The marketing mix is the product, price, communications, distribution, and services provided to the target market. An important part of the concept is that these elements are deliberately blended to achieve a defined impact on the target market.

What is involved in the consumer analysis phase of market analysis in Figure 1-1?

The organization must be able to anticipate evolving consumer needs which requires a complete understanding of the product related behaviors of the market segments under consideration. This will often require extensive primary research.

What is required to provide superior customer value?

The organization must do a better job of anticipating and reacting to customer needs than the competition. This requires knowledge of consumer behavior as well as technical and marketing skills.

What is a price? How does the price of a product differ from the cost of the product to the consumer?

The price is the amount of money one must pay to obtain the right to use the product. The cost of the product to the consumer includes the price plus other costs such as time and effort to acquire the product, finance charges, maintenance expenses and so forth.

What is the diffusion process? What pattern does the diffusion process appear to follow over time?

The process by which innovations spread to the members of a social system. Over time, there is a period of relatively slow growth, followed by a period of rapid growth, followed by a final period of slower growth.

How does a market maven differ from an opinion leader?

The term market maven is used to describe individuals who are opinion leaders about the shopping process in general. An opinion leader is a specialist who possesses a high level of knowledge for a given product or class of products

What is a traditional family? Can a single-parent family be a nuclear family?

The traditional family refers to a married couple and their own or adopted children living at home. The singleparent family is a variation of the traditional family.

What determines the likelihood that a consumer will seek information from an opinion leader?

The two factors that influence the likelihood that a consumer will seek information from an opinion leader are product/purchase involvement and product knowledge.

What are the major decisions a firm faces with respect to the gay market?

There are a number of decisions a firms faces with respect to any diverse group of consumers. The gay market is no different. Questions that need to be addressed by a firm include: Does the product need to be modified in any way to meet the needs of this market? Should we advertise in gay-oriented media using our standard ads or gay themes? To what extent should we be involved in gay community activities? Should our major media ads include ads with gay themes?

What is a product?

A product is anything a consumer acquires or could acquire to meet a perceived need. It is useful to think of a product in terms of the benefits it provides. It includes both physical products and primary services such as haircuts.

What is a brand community? What are the characteristics of such a group?

A brand community is a non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among owners of a brand and the psychological relationship they have with the brand itself, the product in use, and the firm. A community is characterized by consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility

How does a nonfamily household differ from a family household?

A family household consists of at least two members related by birth, marriage, or adoption, one of who is the householder (householder owns or rents the residence). A nonfamily household is a householder living alone or exclusively with others to whom he or she is not related.

What is involved in the competitor analysis phase of market analysis in Figure 1-1?

A firm should know its key competitors as well as it knows itself. For particular initiatives, the firm needs to determine which competitors will be harmed and their capability and likely means of responding. The firm's strategy should be evaluated in light of these probable responses.

How does a group differ from a reference group?

A group is two or more individuals who share a set of norms, values, and beliefs and have certain implicitly or explicitly defined relations to one another such that their behavior is interdependent. A reference group is that group whose presumed perspectives or values are being used by an individual as the basis for his or her current behavior.

What is a dissociative reference group? In what way can dissociative reference groups influence consumer behavior?

A group that serves as a negative (unattractive) reference point. The degree of desirability of group membership is negative. They influence behavior by the negative association they give to products and activities they embrace. That is, one tends to avoid products and activities used by dissociative reference groups.

How do family members attempt to resolve conflict over purchase decisions?

A recent study revealed six basic approaches that individuals use to resolve purchase conflicts after they have arisen (most couples generally seek to avoid open conflicts): (1) Bargaining: trying reach a compromise; (2) Impression management: misrepresenting the facts in order to win; (3) Use of authority: claiming superior expertise or role appropriateness (the husband/wife should make such decisions); (4) Reasoning: using logical argument to win; (5) Playing on emotion: using the silent treatment or withdrawing from the discussion; and/or (6) Additional information: getting additional data or a third party opinion. While this study did not include children, it seems likely that they would use the same set of strategies.

How does an ascribed role differ from an achievement role?

A role is a prescribed pattern of behavior expected of a person in a given situation by virtue of the person's position in the situation. Ascribed roles are based on an attribute over which the individual has no control; achievement roles are based on controllable performance criteria.

What is buzz? How can marketers create it?

Buzz can be defined as exponentially expanding WOM. It happens when "word spreads like wild fire" with no or limited mass media advertising supporting it. Marketers create buzz by providing opinion leaders advance information and product samples, by having celebrities use the product, by placing the product in movies, by sponsoring "in" events tied to the product, restricting supply, courting publicity, and otherwise generating excitement and mystic about the brand.

What processes do parents use to teach children to be consumers?

Children learn about becoming consumers from their parents, friends, classmates, and the media. While many parents provide explicit instructions to the children related to consumption (instrumental training and mediation), most learning probably involves observing one's parents and/or siblings behaviors (modeling).

What do we mean when we say that children learn consumer skills, consumption-related attitudes, and consumptions-related preferences?

Consumer skills are those capabilities necessary for purchases to occur such as understanding money, budgeting, product evaluation, etc. Consumption-related preferences are the knowledge, attitudes, and values that cause people to attach differential evaluations to products, brands, and retail outlets. Consumption-related attitudes are cognitive and affective orientations toward marketplace stimuli such as advertisements, salespeople, warranties, etc. So, directly relevant behavior relates to learning necessary skills that involve shopping, buying, budgeting, evaluating, etc. Children also learn indirectly relevant behavior that relates to their attitudes, preferences, and values. This may lead them to prefer a prestigious brand (e.g., Calvin Klein) because it represents a certain status association they have learned.

What is consumer socialization? How is knowledge of it useful to marketing managers?

Consumer socialization is the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace. The role marketing plays in shaping the socialization of young consumers is important to both public officials and marketers. There is a fine line between what is effective marketing and potentially harmful influence on young children during their socialization.

What is meant by injurious consumption?

Consumption that has negative consequences for the long run well being of the consumer.

What are the various categories of innovations? How do they differ?

Continuous, dynamically continuous, and discontinuous. They differ by degree and importance of behavior/attitude change required if they are adopted, with continuous requiring very little change and discontinuous requiring radical change.

What is involved in creating satisfied customers?

Creating satisfied customers requires that customers continue to believe that the brand purchased offers superior value after they have used it. It must deliver as much or more value than customers originally expected.

How is enviropreneurial marketing related to new product success and market share? Link this to the value of green marketing in creating a competitive advantage.

Enviropreneurial marketing is environmentally-friendly marketing practices, strategies, and tactics initiated by a firm to achieve a competitive differentiation. Research shows that such a marketing approach leads to increased new-product success and increased market share. Thus, like green marketing, enviropreneurial marketing taps into the environmentally-conscious consumers' values and can improve firm performance particularly among those segments of consumer concerned with the environment.

What is gender identity?

Gender identity refers to the traits of femininity (expressive traits such as tenderness and compassion) and masculinity (instrumental traits such as aggressiveness and dominance). These traits represent the ends of a continuum and individuals have varying levels of each trait with biological males tending to be toward the masculine end of the continuum and biological females toward the feminine end.

What is a gender role?

Gender roles are ascribed roles based on a person's gender. They are the behaviors considered appropriate for males and females in a given society.

What is green marketing?

Green marketing generally involves one or more strategies: (1) developing products whose consumption, use, or disposition is less harmful to the environment than traditional versions of the product, (2) developing products that have a positive impact on the environment, or (3) tying the purchase of a product to an environmental organization or event.

The household is described as "the basic consumption unit for consumer goods.'' Why?

Household units, not individuals, consume most consumer products. Additionally, the consumption patterns of individual household members are seldom independent of the other household members.

What is meant by gender?

Sex and gender are used interchangeably to refer to whether a person is biologically a male or female.

What factors influence involvement of a household member in a purchase decision?

How family members interact in a purchase decision is largely dependent on the culture and subculture in which the family exists, the role specialization of different family members, the degree of involvement each has in the product area of concern, and the personal characteristics of the family members. Relative income of spouses has emerged as an important determinant of who is the dominant decision maker for major household purchases and finances.

What values underlie green marketing?

Individual and environmental organizations often focus on a subset of five concerns: (1) solid waste disposal, (2) air/ water pollution, (3) resource depletion, (4) chemical additives, or (5) harm to nature. These concerns are primarily based on the environment-oriented value of admiring nature.

What types of group influence exist? Why must a marketing manager be aware of these separate types of group influence?

Informational influence, identification influence, and normative influence. The manager needs to be aware of which conformity type exists because it will affect the marketing strategy required.

What is a total product?

It is all aspects of the product including its price, package, distribution system, image, and so forth.

What is social marketing?

It is the applications of marketing strategies and tactics to alter or create behaviors that have a positive effect on the targeted individual and/or society as a whole.

What is customer value and why is it important to marketers?

It is the difference between all of the benefits derived from a total product and all the costs of acquiring those benefits. It is important because consumers choose those options that they believe will provide them the most value.

How is the field of consumer behavior defined?

It is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.

What is product position?

It is what consumers think of and feel about a brand in relation to competing brands.

) What does an effective communications strategy require?

It requires sound answers to these questions: (1) Who exactly do we want to communicate with? (2) What effect do we want our communication to have on the target audience? (3) What message will achieve the desired effect on our audience? (4) What means and media should we use to reach the target audience? (5) When should we communicate with the target audience?

What is meant by consumer lifestyle?

Lifestyle is how the consumer lives including the products that they purchase, how they use them, and what they think of them. It is the sum of past decisions and future plans.

What are some of the major marketing implications of the changing role of women?

Many products are losing their traditional sex typing. There is an increased importance on convenience, more independence in purchase decisions, increased male involvement in shopping and household duties, increased importance of leisure, and increased affluence of dual-earner households.

What is meant by the following statement: "Each stage in the household life cycle poses a series of problems that household decision makers must solve''?

Marital status and the presence and age of child place requirements on households such as the need for particular types of recreation, shelter, food, and so forth. Many of these problems are resolved by purchasing products and services.

What criteria are used by marketers to classify groups?

Marketers find four criteria useful: (1) membership, (2) strength of social tie, (3) type of contact, and (4) attraction.

What is marketing strategy?

Marketing strategy is the answer to the question: "How will we provide superior customer value to our target market at a profit?" It is deciding how to meet the needs of a defined target segment. It involves structuring the marketing mix.

What is an aspiration reference group? How can an aspiration reference group influence behavior?

Nonmembership groups with a positive attraction. They exert a strong influence on product aspirations because ownership of products used by the aspiration reference group makes one more like that group and may even be a prerequisite for membership.

What characterizes an opinion leader?

Opinion leaders have greater knowledge of and interest in the product category in question. They are exposed to more mass media, and are more gregarious and outgoing. However, they tend to have the same demographic characteristics as their followers

Explain the role of enduring involvement in driving opinion leadership?

Opinion leaders possess the characteristic of having a greater long-term involvement with a given product category than others in the group (known as enduring involvement), which leads to enhanced knowledge about and experience with the product category or activity. This knowledge and experience makes opinion leadership possible

How can a marketer foster a brand community?

Research finds that certain practices or activities can enhance value for members of brand communities. These practices cluster around four categories, namely social networking, community engagement, brand use, and impression management. From the firm's perspective, building a brand community involves establishing relationships with the owner and helping owners establish relationships with each other both online and offline.

How is service defined in the text?

Service is defined not as a primary service such as a haircut, which is treated as product, but as an auxiliary service which is performed to enhance the primary product or service. Thus, we consider car repairs to be a product but free pick-up and delivery to be services.

What is involved in the conditions analysis phase of market analysis in Figure 1-1?

This is an analysis of the state of the relevant economies, government regulations, the physical environment, and technological developments.

What are the differences between a traditional and a modern gender role orientation?

Traditional = a marriage with the husband assuming the responsibility for providing for the family, and the wife running the house and taking care of the children. Modern = a marriage where the husband and wife share responsibilities - each works and shares homemaking and child responsibilities.

Describe the consumer decision process.

Within the context of a situation, it involves some or all of the following sequence: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation and selection, outlet selection and purchase, and postpurchase processes.

Describe the current American culture in terms of each of the 18 values discussed in this chapter.

a. Individual/collective: More collective than in the past but still strongly individualistic. b. Performance/status: Moving back toward a strong performance emphasis. c. Tradition/change: Hesitation to accept all change as positive, but still strongly change-oriented. d. Masculine/feminine: Shifting away from a strongly masculine dominance. e. Competition/cooperation: A reduction in the competitive orientation of the society but still basically competitive. f. Youth/age: Movement away from youth toward more of an older orientation. g. Active/passive: Strong active orientation remains. h. Material/nonmaterial: Indications that some Americans are putting less emphasis on materialism though it is still a dominant value. i. Hard work/leisure: Leisure activities are seen as being somewhat more rewarding and necessary than in the recent past. j. Risk taking/security: Somewhat reduced emphasis on security than in the recent past. k. Problem solving/fatalistic: People basically feel they can affect and, to some extent, control the world around them. l. Admire nature/overcome nature: We are more prone to admire nature, to coexist with it, and to learn from it. m. Diversity/uniformity: The orientation has shifted from uniformity toward diversity. n. Postponed gratification/immediate gratification: Many Americans who postponed gratification during the recent recession are less willing to do so now even if their financial situation would suggest otherwise. o. Sensual gratification/abstinence: Increased tolerance and acceptance of sensual gratification seems to be continuing. p. Religious/secular: Generally, American society is secular though there are strong religious influences. q. Limited/extended family: Americans have a limited family orientation compared to many other cultures. r. Cleanliness: Cleanliness is viewed as being extremely important.

Describe the general characteristics of each of the stages in the household life cycle.

a. Single I: (Under 35) live alone or, more typically, with parents or with others they are not related to. The younger members of this group have limited incomes but limited expenses; those who are older tend to have more disposable income. b. Young Couples, No Children: young couples (under 35) both generally working and are relatively affluent. c. Full Nest I: married couples (under 35) with young children. Wife often does not work resulting in a decrease in family income. d. Single Parent I: single parents (under 35) living with one or more young children. Generally a female head of house hold. Time and finances are scarce. However, as many as 40 percent may be from cohabitating unmarried parents. e. Middle-aged Single: (35-64) live alone or sometimes with others they are not related to, high income to expense ratio. f. Empty Nest I: middle-aged (35-64) couples with no children living at home. Most have dual careers with busy lifestyles, but have free time and the money to spend on expensive vacations, second homes, luxury care, and time-saving services. g. Delayed Full Nest I: middle-aged couples (35-64) with young children living at home. This group has significantly more income than the younger new parents. h. Full Nest II: middle-aged (35-64) parents with children living at home. The children in this group are older and more independent, thus with different consumption needs, such as additional cars and more living space. i. Single Parent II: middle-aged (35-64) single parents with child/children living with them. This group often faces serious financial pressures. However, choosing to have children (adoption or conception) is increasingly viewed as a lifestyle choice for older, more financially secure women. j. Empty Nest II: older couples over 64 without children living in their household. This group has ample time on their hands. k. Older Single: older adults (over 64) living alone or with another person not related to them, creating unique needs for housing, socialization, travel, and recreation.

Describe the process of market segmentation

four steps: (1) identify product-related need sets, (2) group consumers with similar need sets, (3) describe each group (in terms of demographics, media preferences, and lifestyles), and (4) select attractive segments to serve.

What is a cultural value? Do all members of a culture share cultural values?

widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable. They impact our daily activities. They are not shared by all members. However, they are common to the main body of the culture even though there are significant variations between subcultures.