17 hours examination
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
‘Revision’
Revision Consumer Behaviour 1
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Course Overview
Understand consumption as critical to understanding how to become effective marketers and managers.
Consider consumption to be people-centred to help move beyond traditional, product-centred approaches.
Understand consumption as bound up with experience and with the perceived meaning of words.
Frame understanding within different perspectives to offer opportunities and reveal caveats to new understanding.
Note that consumer behaviour exists at the locus of opportunity, resource and response.
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Course Outputs
Candidates should be able to demonstrate
critical understanding of essential,
marketing relevant subjects including
perception,
the self,
attitudes,
referential consumers;
culture and cultural difference;
from within an inclusive frame of contemporary understanding of
theoretical perspectives concerning consumers and their behaviour
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• Consumption, Consumers & Marketing
▪ Understanding Consumers
• Individual Consumer Dynamics
▪ Perception
▪ The Self
▪ Attitudes
• Consumer Contexts
▪ Shopping, Buying and Evaluating
• Social Consumer Dynamics
▪ Referential Consumers
▪ Culture, Consumption and Cultural Difference (Sub-cultures)
Syllabus Completed
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The Exam
Essay questions
choose 2 questions from choice of 5
2 hours (c. 60 minutes each answer)
Exam conditions are subject to change
ALWAYS check with course leader before examination diet begins
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KEY AREAS
1 Understanding Consumers 2 Perception 3 Attitudes 4 The Self 5 Shopping, Buying Evaluating 6 Referential Consumers 7 Culture and Consumption
Feeds into all
What do you need to know?
GROUP
INDIVIDUAL
Contextual
(as basis to discuss cultural
difference & sub-culture)
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Perception
Define and highlight key ideas
Model of key features and links (stimulus-interpretation)
Select individual areas for expansion (e.g. sight/sound; plus more complex issues such as attention)
Useful to consider branding and issues of semiotics
Revision Consumer Behaviour
Attitudes (and Attitude Change)
Definitions and Value
Why do we have them? (functions)
How do they form? (commitments/consistency/judgement)
Why useful? (predict behaviour?)
Marketing outcomes? (e.g. Loyalty/Social Marketing)
How can we change them?
Communicating change (trad vs. Interactionist)
Components (source/message etc.)
Construction (Credibility/effectiveness)
Marketing Outcomes? (Celebrity endorsers?)
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The Self (Identity)
Definitions and Value (internal vs. external?)
(who we are/who we think others think we are)
Key knowledge bases (Self concept/esteem-real/ideal self, etc.)
Marketing Outcomes? (Product/services to support image)
(gender and body image)
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Shopping, Buying, Evaluating
Define and Model (Shopping Process) (Pre/During/Post)
(antecedent/purchase environment/post-purchase)
Explore knowledge bases of each stage (need to be selective on which to expand)
Situation time
mood
In-store decisions
Ideas of quality (& even disposal)
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Referential Consumer (Influences)
Definitions and value
Conformity and social influence (why and how do we conform, etc.)
Marketing Outcomes (Communicate desired behaviours)
Opinion leaders and value to marketers
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Culture and Cultural Difference (Sub-culture)
Definitions and Value (Shared meaning x size x artefact?)
Culture-
Rules of Behaviour Myths and Ritual
Marketing outcomes (Selling myths/
Ritualised gift-giving)
Sub-Culture-
Cohorts (Types and Value)
Marketing Outcomes (appeals/perceived Age/
inclusive vs. exclusive marketing strategy
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Objectives of your answer (shows you understand question)
Description (include MODELS and EXAMPLES)
Marketing Outcomes (how does knowledge translate to practice)
Critique (show how valid/useful you think theories/concepts/ideas are) (for explaining outcomes; for supporting effective practice; for this context))
How might you structure your essay answers?
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Indicative Examination Questions
• Critically discuss how an understanding of perceptual processes may inform
the marketing practice. (Perception)
• Critically discuss attitudinal theory within marketing. (Attitudes)
• Critically discuss how consumer identity can influence the marketing
practices. (The Self)
• Critically evaluate the shopping process as a framework for more effective
marketing. (Shopping, Buying, Evaluating)
• Critically discuss the nature and role of referential influences within
marketing environments (Referential Consumers)
• ‘Sub-cultures are artefacts of marketing’. Critically discuss this statement
with reference to theories of culture and cultural difference. (Culture,
Consumption and Cultural Difference)
Marking Criteria
• Introduction (10%) ▪ Key definitions, starting statements of the topic, how the essay may
follow through in the later sections.
• Key theories and frameworks (25%) ▪ The key related frameworks, the correctness and explanation through
discussion and debate (critique). The key theoretical concepts and the
structure followed form the base of the essay.
• Structure and flow of the essay (25%) ▪ The relay and flow of the content, how critique, examples and
discussion is meshed throughout.
▪ How the sub-sections connect, the transition between the paragraphs
is important.
▪ Aim for high readership, bring in frameworks, diagrams, tabulations
wherever necessary. Revision 15
Marking Criteria
• Examples from marketing practice (10%) ▪ Examples from the area of marketing (media campaigns, guerilla and
viral campaign, eWOM, user generated content related to the area.
• Critique (20%) ▪ Critique by bringing an alternate piece of theory whose beliefs are
proven against the one that you have mentioned.
▪ Can bring in examples from existing marketing practices/ brands/
organizations to prove how exceptions exist within the paradigm being
discussed.
• References (10%) ▪ Include APA format of citation, both in-text and bibliographic
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Summary
• 6 individual topics plus one inclusive topic
• Emphasis of questions is always upon critical discussion/evaluation
• Requires demonstration of:
• Awareness of key concepts
• Knowledge of key characteristics
• Understanding of value/usefulness
• All answers graded within guidelines of the following statement:
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Summary (Grading Criteria)
Answers to the lower end of the available grades will typically be
less successful in answering the question,
omit or incorrectly identify key concepts,
offer inaccurate or inappropriate information,
be less convincing in terms of knowledge of required information.
Answers to the higher end of available marks will typically offer
clear and concise answers to the question,
evidence more complete knowledge,
evidence more comprehensive understanding of key concepts and value,
offer progressive discussion and evaluation of the value of this knowledge,
employ examples to support evidence,
show personal insight (independent thinking) and
convince the reader of the writer’s appreciation of the needs of the question.
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Over to you…
Aim High
Prepare well
Impress us & Impress yourself