consumer behaviour

Question 1

what three factors influence consumer behaviour?

Answer 1

1) psychological factors
2) social factors
3) situational factors

Question 2

what are the psychological factors?

Answer 2

motives, attitude, perception, learning, lifestyle

Question 3

describe motives as a psychological factor

Answer 3

a need or want that is strong enough to cause the person to seek satisfaction

maslow’s hierarchy of needs (bottom to top)
1) Physiological need: basic biological necessities of life - food, water, shelter
2) Safety need: pertain to protection and physical well-being
3) Love (social) needs: relate to our interactions with others
4) Esteem needs: allow people to satisfy their inner desires - being recognized (brands)
5) Self-actualization: when you feel completely satisfied with your life and how you live - making the world a better place beyond yourself

each step must be fulfilled before moving to next

Question 4

describe attitude as a psychological factor

Answer 4

A person’s enduring evaluation of their feelings about and behavioural tendencies toward an object or idea

there are three components
1) cognitive (think): reflects what we believe is true - communicate in a way that gets the consumer to think facts, info, etc

2) affective (feel): how you make them feel, connect to emotions

3) behavioural (do): elicit a response from the consumer

Question 5

describe perception as a psychological factor

Answer 5

The process by which we select, organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world

Question 6

describe learning as a psychological factor

Answer 6

Refers to a change in a person’s thought process or behaviour that arises from experience and takes place throughout the consumer decision process

Question 7

describe lifestyle as a psychological factor

Answer 7

Refers to the way consumers spend their time and money to live

For many consumers, the question of whether the product or service fits their actual lifestyle or their perceived lifestyle

Question 8

what are the 3 social factors?

Answer 8

family

reference groups

culture

Question 9

describe family as a social factor

Answer 9

the entire family consumes the product/ service

Question 10

describe reference groups as a social factor

Answer 10

One or more people an individual uses as a basis for comparison regarding beliefs, feelings, and behaviours

These reference groups affect buying decisions by:
1) Offering information
2) Providing rewards for specific purchasing behaviours
3) Enhancing a consumer’s self-image

Question 11

describe culture as a social factor

Answer 11

The shared meanings, beliefs, morals, values, and customers of a group of people

Question 12

what are situational factors

Answer 12

override psychological and social issues

Related to the purchase and shopping situation, as well as the temporal state

Question 13

describe purchase situation

Answer 13

Customers may be predisposed to purchase certain products or services because of some underlying psychological trait or social factor

Question 14

describe sensory situation

Answer 14

Store atmosphere
Salespeople
Crowding
In-store demonstrations
Promotions
Packaging

Question 15

describe temporal state

Answer 15

A purchase situation may have different appeal levels depending on the time of day and the type of person the consumer is

Mood swings can also alter consumer behaviour

Usually beyond control

Question 16

how does group buying decisions work?

Answer 16

initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, user

Question 17

what is framing in marketing?

Answer 17

how info is described changes the choices/ actions

Question 18

what is anchoring?

Answer 18

when estimating an unknown quantity, we often start with an anchor and adjust up or down

even when we know the number is irrelevant, it can influence our judgement

Question 19

what is default bias?

Answer 19

default is the pre-selected option

people usually stick with the pre-selected option because its faster and easier

ex. in surveys

Question 20

what are the 5 steps in the consumer decision making process?

Answer 20

1) need recognition
2) search for info
3) evaluate alternatives
4) purchase and consumption
5) post-purchase

Question 21

describe step 1 in the consumer decision making process

Answer 21

Consumers recognize they have an unsatisfied need, and they want to go from their needy state to a different, desired state

The greater the discrepancy between the two states, the greater the need recognition will be

can be self-generated or stimuli-promoted

can be function (pertain to the performance of a product or service) or psychological (pertain to the personal gratification consumers associate with a product and/ or service

a marketer must make people dissatisfied to make a gap which they can then fix

Question 22

describe step 2 in the consumer decision making process

Answer 22

information search

Search for information about the various options that exist to satisfy that need

there is internal info (own memory or knowledge) and external info (seek info outside their own to make the decision)

there are different factors that affect the search process

Question 23

what are the factors that affect consumers’ search process

Answer 23

perceived benefits vs. perceived costs of search (ex. time)

Locus of control:
Internal locus of control: these people believe that they have some control over the outcomes of their actions, in which case, they generally engage in more search activities

External locus of control: consumers believe that fate or other external factors control all outcomes; believe it doesn’t matter how much information they gather

Actual or perceived risk:
Performance risk: involves the perceived danger inherent in a poorly performing product or service

Financial risk: risk associated with a monetary outlay and includes the initial cost of the purchase, as well as the costs of using the item or service

Social risk: involves the fears that consumers suffer when they worry that others might not regard their purchases positively

Physiological risk (safety): the fear of actual harm should the product not perform properly

Psychological risk: associated with the way people will feel if the product or service does not convey the right image

level of involvement :
extended problem solving = low knowledge, high involvement

routine problem solving = high knowledge, low involvement

product type
(specialty, shopping, convenience, unsought)

Question 24

what implications does extended problem solving on marketing?

Answer 24

• educate consumers on product and attributes
• demonstrate how company’s brand performs

Question 25

what implications does routine problem solving on marketing?

Answer 25

• use ad repetition to create familiarity
• encourage trial use with sales promotions
• take good shelf space (convenient)

Question 26

what are the four types of products?

Answer 26

specialty: high preference, not willing to substitute, willing to pay premium, limited supply, high price, and exclusive

shopping: have a preference but willing to substitute

convenience: no preference, just convenience

unsought: don’t want to buy, don’t know a lot about, forced to buy

Question 27

describe step 3 in the consumer decision making process

Answer 27

alternative evaluation

Alternative evaluation often occurs when consumers are engaged in the process of information search

Question 28

what are retrieval sets?

Answer 28

brands or stores that can be readily brought forth from memory

Question 29

what are evoked sets?

Answer 29

include only the brands or stores considered when making a purchase decision

Evoked set = increased likelihood of purchase and therefore reduced search time

Question 30

what is evaluative criteria?

Answer 30

consist of a set of important attributes about a particular product that are used to compare alternative products

Question 31

what are determinant attributes?

Answer 31

products or service features that are important to the buyer and on which competing brands or stores are perceived to differ

Question 32

what are the decision rules?

Answer 32

compensatory: has the best balance of features

conjunctive: has no bad features

lexicographic: scores highest on my most important feature

affect referral: i just kind of liked it (gut feeling)

brand loyalty: is my fav brand

Question 33

describe step 4 in the consumer decision making process

Answer 33

purchase decision and consumption

Retailers have to turn to the conversion rate to measure how well they have converted purchase intentions into purchases

once a consumer has decided on a product, make it easy to buy

Situation factors can help facilitate purchases: having merchandise in stock, offering multiple payment options, having many checkout lanes open and placing the checkouts conveniently in the store, installing digital displays to entertain customers waiting in line, and offering tactics such as delivery, price-match, warranty, or a simple return policy

Question 34

describe step 5 in the consumer decision making process

Answer 34

post-purchase

Marketers are particularly interested in postpurchase behaviour because it entails actual, rather than potential, customers

want brand loyalty and good word of mouth

compare actual experience with expectations
satisfaction = performance - expectations

3 possible outcomes:
1) customer satisfaction
2) post-purchase dissonance: Internal conflict that arises from an inconsistency between two beliefs, or between beliefs and behaviour ; Feeling regret or guilt
3) customer loyalty: Develops over time with multiple repeat purchases of the product or brand from the same marketer