Marketing: Consumer Behaviour Assignment

This paper will analyze three competitive brands in the same product category in terms of consumer behaviour decision-making using relevant concepts. The brands which we will be studying are Rolex, Fitbit, and Casio which belong to the same product category of watches. Even though these brands offer the same product which is a wristwatch, all three brands are totally different than one another.

Rolex Fitbit Casio

Rolex

Rolex is the most recognizable luxury watch manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is known for its extremely high-quality products extending over many years of its existence (Bucher, 2021). Not only Rolex manufactures most of its materials in-house, but they also use many expensive materials for their watches (Adams, 2013). For many watches, Rolex uses things like 18k gold, diamonds, pearls and other expensive materials.

Fitbit

Fitbit is an American company based in San Francisco, California which offers smart fitness watches. Fitbit watches includes activity tracking features like steps, heart rate, quality of sleep, and other personal metrics involved in fitness. Fitbit invented the category of fitness watches and it remains the leader in this category, despite the proliferation of smartphone apps and smartwatches encroaching its territory (Marshall & Stables, 2021).

Casio

Casio is an affordable Japanese watch brand which has superior quality as compared to the others in the same price range. Casio watches are known for being affordable, extremely tough and durable (Marsden, 2021). Their watches have electric shock resistance, gravity resistance, low-temperature resistance, and water resistance.

In this section, we will discuss how these brands use sensory marketing to attract their customers and gain a competitive advantage over other brands. Sensory marketing is a way to appeal to all five senses of your audience using sensory appeal (Soloman, 2011). It focuses on creating content that uses the senses of sight, touch, sounds, smell, and taste.

All three brands use the element of sight and touch to create a perception of their brand in the mind of their customers. The brands allow their potential customers to touch and feel their products at their outlets. This allows their customers to experience the quality and features of the watch before making their buying decision. Touching and feeling a product also forms a kind of relationship between the customer and the product (Soloman, 2011).

The other element used by these brands for influencing perception is the sense of sight. This is achieved by posting impressive visuals to highlight its quality and features. Rolex uses the element of sight by sponsoring tennis tournaments, celebrity endorsement, and high-quality visuals on its web which describes its prestige quality. Fitbit uses visuals to highlight its fitness features whereas Casio uses it to highlight its toughness.

According to Soloman (2011), learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that experience causes. Rolex, Fitbit, and Casio use the concept of observational learning which is a cognitive learning theory. Observational learning is the form of learning which requires the observation of other people’s behaviours (Dahl, White, & Solomon, 2015). The customers of these watch brands often observe the behaviour of other individuals who they look up to admire (such as online influencer, celebrities, or friends and family) and imitate their behaviour.

Rolex is considered one of the most prestigious watch brands in the world. It has some legendary men amongst its wearers who influence its customers. Barack Obama, Warren Buffet, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods are some of the users of Rolex who influence the behaviour of other people.

Similarly, Fitbit users include athletes and other fitness influencers which influences peoples learning about Fitbit. 

A motive is why an individual does a thing. Khan (2006) describes motivation as an inner feeling that stimulates the action that is to be taken by an individual. It is important to study the motivation of the people behind buying a product as everyone has different motives. A person can be motivated to buy a product for convenience, for style, for prestige, for self-pride, or for being at par with others.

People choose different watch brands based on their motivation. The motivation behind choosing a brand like Rolex is its prestige value. People who are motivated in buying luxurious watches will choose brands like Rolex.

Similarly, the motive behind buying a Fitbit watch is its fitness features which allows its users to keep a track of their personal fitness. People who are motivated for fitness will decide to buy a watch like a Fitbit rather than a Rolex.

The motivation behind buying a Casio watch is its value for money and durability. People who are looking for a affordable utility watch will be motivated in buying a Casio watch.

It is believed that you are what you consume. This makes it important to understand the relationship between consumption and the self.

According to Malburg (2017), people choose to buy watches that accurately match the wearer’s self-image. Regardless of functions and all the other needs, if its brand name is not of a sufficient perceived value the customer will not decide to buy it.

Brands like Rolex has a perceived value of a prestige watch brand and people buy it as a status symbol and to highlight their achievements.

Simillarly, people who are fitness enthusiastic would like to associate themselves with a fitness watch like Fitbit.

People who like to live a simple lifestyle and believes in value for money will like to wear a Casio watch.

Trait theory

Traits are the features of an individual or tendency of an individual in a particular manner (Solomon, 2011). Traits help in defining the behavior of consumers. Different consumer groups have different traits.

Brand personality

Brand personality is a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name (Tarver, 2021). A brand personality helps consumers to relate with the brand. Brand personality helps the brand to attract consumer segment which has a similar personality. Brand personality adds extra value to the brand in addition to its functional benefits.

The personality of Rolex is competence and sophistication. People who buy Rolex have common traits like ambition, passion, and optimism. Usually, people who are rich and live a luxurious lifestyle will decide to buy a watch like Rolex.

The brand personality of Fitbit is health and fitness conscious. People with traits like active lifestyle, adventurous and nurturing spirit are most likely to buy a Fitbit watch. The lifestyle of Fitbit users will be active and include physical exercise.

Casio has a simple and tough personality. People with traits like simplicity and who believe in price over quality will choose a brand like Casio. People who live a simple lifestyle and focus on the utility of the product are Casio users.

An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150).

The ABC model of attitudes describes the attitude structure in terms of three components: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (Dahl, White, & Solomon, 2015).

According to the ABC model, the attitude of the consumers depends on consumers' motivation towards the product. Consumers of Rolex and Fitbit will be highly involved while buying the product and will focus on its quality and features. The consumers of such brands will have a bond with the brand and its product.

In the contrast, customers of Casio will not be highly involved while buying its watch and will buy a watch that fits their budget. They do not have a strong brand preference.

Business ethics is the study of how a business should act in the face of ethical dilemmas and controversial situations (White, 2019). Many businesses leverage business ethics not only to remain clean but also to boost their public image.

The brands which we have studied are considered ethical brands and they have not been into any controversies in the past. This has enabled them in building trust between their business and its consumers. If consumers feel that a business can be trusted, they will be more likely to choose that business over its competitors.