dISCUSSION 3 (MK)
Kendrick18
Week3OverviewPowerPoint.pptxWeek 3 Overview
Principles of Marketing
MRKT 310
Week 3 brings us to the fascinating subject of consumer behavior. Knowing how a consumer makes decisions is how marketers can communicate with them in a meaningful and hopefully profit-making way. Some have called consumer behavior manipulation, but by the end of the week you should recognize the importance of studying consumer behavior to identify what consumers want and need and then how to deliver and communicate with them.
Consumer Behavior:
How People Make Buying Decisions
Study of the consumer’s ‘black box’
3.1 Model of consumer behavior
3.2 Consumer’s decision-making process
3.3. Situational factors that affect people’s buying behavior
3.4 Personal factors that affect people’s buying behavior
3.5 Psychological factors that affect people’s buying behavior
3.6 Societal factors that affect people’s buying behavior
We have six sections in this week, all of which peel back the onion of the model of consumer behavior introduced in Section 3.1. Sometimes the activities that occur in the person’s mind when they are making a purchase decision is referred to as the ‘black box’ — the place where consumers merge their individual influences with marketing influences to arrive at decisions — a buy decision, a favorable attitude toward the brand for possible future purchase, or a decision not to buy.
3.1 Model of Consumer Behavior
Identifies all the influences (stimuli) that go into the purchase decision process
environmental factors (including marketing stimuli)
consumer factors
The stimuli results in a buyer’s response
attitude or preference
purchase behaviors (buy/no buy)
relationship with brand
This is a simple diagram of the Model of Consumer Behavior that we will cover in each of the subsequent sections. Be sure you understand this model before moving on. A more detailed version of the model can be found in the readings.
Marketing only has one proactive role in consumer behavior — the marketing stimuli
offering
distribution
communication
price
Marketing seeks to influence the other factors, both environmental and consumer
While it may seem that marketers can control all aspects of how a consumer behaves, in fact marketing stimuli in the form of the offering, distribution, communication and price are the only factors under the direct control of the marketer. The marketer can only influence those other consumer stimuli in the Model of Consumer Behavior.
3.2 Consumer’s decision-making process
Stages in the buying process and when marketing can influence the consumer at specific stages
Role of involvement in the decision-making process determines the speed at which consumers make decisions
First to understand is how consumers make decisions, and those methods vary by individual, but in your readings you will see that consumers follow the same basic decision making process. How involved the consumer is with the decision and its outcome drives the speed of the process.
The six stages of the consumer’s purchasing process
Here is a simple diagram of the six stages of consumer purchasing process. Take a few moments to review this overview, which can also be found in the week’s readings.
How involved the consumer is in the outcome of the purchase will determine the type of decision process followed:
Low involvement
Impulse purchase behavior, little though given
Routine purchase behavior, no need to reopen search unless new information presents itself
High involvement
extended problem solving behavior
goal is to reduce post purchase dissonance
The less involved the consumer is in the outcome of the purchase, she can engage in impulse or routine purchase behavior. Low involvement might mean there is little money or time at risk. Most grocery shopping is low involvement resulting in routine and sometimes impulse purchases. The consumer made the purchase decision earlier and there is no information to reopen the decision-making process.
However, when money and time, and perhaps our sense of self-worth or social status, are at risk, and it is possible to lose them, the consumer will engage in the six stages a little more thoughtfully. Here they engage in extended problem solving and consumers will do whatever they feel is necessary to reduce post purchase dissonance — the bad feeling you get in the pit of stomach when you think you may have made a wrong decision. Home buying is generally extended problem solving. A product does not have to be expensive for a consumer to engage in extended problem solving. Consider teenagers who need to have certain backpacks or sneakers to be considered ‘cool’. While the price of those goods is not high, the risk of not being perceived as part of the in crowd is a very real risk to them.
3.3 Situational factors
Temporary conditions affecting how buyers behave
Consumer’s physical situation
Consumer’s social situation
Consumer’s time situation
Reason for the consumer’s purchase
The consumer’s mood
A consumer’s situation can change over time, another reason why it is difficult for marketers to have definitive information on consumer behaviors. Sometimes you have more money to spend and you make different decisions than you would make should you be in ‘savings’ mode. Sometimes marketers can impact decisions with its offerings. For example, time limitations on certain consumers, especially the woman in a family who may be working, that marketers could provide time-saving conveniences such as pre-made foods, housekeeping services and the like.
Also think about how marketers try to engage consumers during tax season when many consumers are looking forward to tax refunds. This event causes many companies to communicate how the consumer can spend that extra cash.
3.4 Personal Factors
Factors unique to each consumer
The consumer’s personality
The consumer’s self-concept
The consumer’s gender
The consumer’s age and stage of life
The consumer’s lifestyle
The personal factors are another strong influence on purchase behavior. The readings will explain these in more depth, and perhaps you can identify your own personal factors and how they have resulted in certain purchase decisions.
3.5 Psychological Factors
Factors Unique to each consumer
Motivation
Consumer’s perception
Learning
Consumer’s attitude
The psychological factors are the most difficult to influence because many of these factors are deep seeded. Some of them do change over time such as motivation as Maslow captured in his Hierarchy of Needs.
A marketer might be able to tap into some of these psychological factors. For example, following September 11th, when many people felt unsafe, some companies produced survival kits and other products which would never fill a need if people weren’t feeling insecure following the tragic events.
3.6 Societal Factors
What is happening in the world and how it works
Consumer’s culture
Consumer’s subculture
Consumer’s social class
Reference groups and opinion leaders
The consumer’s family
Societal factors are also deeply seeded and change only occurs over long periods of time, especially for a factor such as a culture. Check out the week’s readings for more details on each of these. Family is a particularly strong influence. For example, are you using the clothing detergent brand your mother used when you were growing up? Are you a member of a “Ford” family? Do you buy products because your peers have the same thing?
Not all factors affect every consumer equally. You need to understand a little of all of them so that you can understand how to develop marketing strategies.
Week 3
Assessments
Week 3 Discussion Forum participation worth
2. Week 3 Quiz
All due Tuesday
by 11:59 pm!
Some might agree you need wi-fi and a good battery before you can achieve any other level of Maslow’s Hierarchy! Just a sign of the times we are in.
Questions or concerns?
Be sure to take advantage of the General Discussion topic in the Week 1 Discussion Forum to ask any questions, get clarifications, or otherwise seek the advice and assistance of your faculty member.
As always, your faculty is available to help you understand the readings and the learning activities. Take advantage of his or her expertise whenever you need it.
