CONSUMER DECISION MAKING.
Learning Outcomes:
Explain why marketing managers should understand consumer behavior
An understanding of consumer behavior reduces marketing managers’ uncertainty when they are defining a target market and designing a marketing mix.
Analyze the components of the consumer decision-making process
The consumer decision-making process begins with need recognition, when stimuli trigger awareness of an unfulfilled want. If additional information is required to make
a purchase decision, the consumer may engage in an internal or external information search. The consumer then evaluates the additional information and establishes
purchase guidelines. Finally, a purchase decision is made.
Explain the consumer’s postpurchase evaluation process
Consumer postpurchase evaluation is influenced by prepurchase expectations, the prepurchase information search, and the consumer’s general level of self-confidence.
When a purchase creates cognitive dissonance, consumers tend to react by seeking positive reinforcement for the purchase decision, avoiding negative information about
the purchase decision, or revoking the purchase decision by returning the product.
Identify the types of consumer buying decisions and discuss the significance of consumer involvement
Consumer decision making falls into three broad categories: routine response behavior, limited decision making, and extensive decision making. High-involvement
decisions usually include an extensive information search and a thorough evaluation of alternatives. In contrast, low-involvement decisions are characterized by brand
loyalty and a lack of personal identification with the product. The main factors affecting the level of consumer involvement are previous experience, interest,
perceived risk of negative consequences (financial, social, and psychological), and social visibility. A purchase decision can be highly involved due to a wide range
of factors, including product involvement, situational involvement, shopping involvement, enduring involvement, and emotional involvement.
Identify and understand the cultural factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Cultural influences on consumer buying decisions include culture and values, subculture, and social class. Culture is the essential character of a society that
distinguishes it from other cultural groups. The underlying elements of every culture are the values, language, myths, customs, rituals, laws, and the artifacts, or
products that are transmitted from one generation to the next. The most defining element of a culture is its values. A culture can be divided into subcultures on the
basis of demographic characteristics, geographic regions, national and ethnic background, political beliefs, and religious beliefs.
Identify and understand the social factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Social factors include such external influences as reference groups, opinion leaders, and family. Consumers seek out others’ opinions for guidance on new products or
services and products with image-related attributes or because attribute information is lacking or uninformative. Consumers may use products or brands to identify with
or become a member of a reference group, or to follow an opinion leader. Family members also influence purchase decisions; children tend to shop in similar patterns as
their parents.
Identify and understand the individual factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Individual factors that affect consumer buying decisions include gender; age and family life cycle stage; and personality, self-concept, and lifestyle. Beyond obvious
physiological differences, men and women differ in their social and economic roles, and that affects consumer buying decisions. A consumer’s age generally indicates
what products he or she may be interested in purchasing. Marketers often define their target markets in terms of consumers’ life cycle stage, following changes in
consumers’ attitudes and behavioral tendencies as they mature. Finally, certain products and brands reflect consumers’ personality, self-concept, and lifestyle.
Identify and understand the psychological factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Psychological factors include perception, motivation, learning, values, beliefs, and attitudes. These factors allow consumers to interact with the world around them,
recognize their feelings, gather and analyze information, formulate thoughts and opinions, and take action. Perception allows consumers to recognize their consumption
problems. Motivation is what drives consumers to take action to satisfy specific consumption needs. Almost all consumer behavior results from learning, which is the
process that creates changes in behavior through experience. Consumers with similar beliefs and attitudes tend to react alike to marketing-related inducements.
TERMINOLOGY, CONCEPTS AND VOCABULARY
aspirational reference group marketing-controlled information
attitude Routine response behavior secondary membership group
belief Maslow’s hierarchy of needs selective distortion
cognitive dissonance Social class selective exposure
consumer behavior need recognition selective retention
consumer decision-making process
culture nonaspirational reference group self-concept
source
motive nonmarketing-controlled information
evoked set (consideration set) Socialization process
extensive decision making opinion leader
external information search perception
ideal self-image personality
internal information search primary membership group
involvement real self-image
learning reference group
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