Exam Study

Question 1

What is a goal

Answer 1

• how consumers seek to satisfy their unfulfilled needs

Question 2

Explain the difference between generic and product-specific goals. With an example

Answer 2

Generic goals = general class or category of goals that consumers choose to fulfil their needs 
Product-specific goals = the specfically branded products selected to fulfil their needs 

eg. student says they want to become a doctor (generic) but they want to do their MBBS at Deakin University (product-specific)
* marketers need to know how product-specific goals align with generic ones

Question 3

Explain the difference between superordinate, focal and subordinate goals. Including the Schwartz 10 values with examples

Answer 3

Superordinate goals are the reasons why we pursue certain focal goals

• we are sometimes unaware of these
• selected based on our values (relatively enduring beliefs about the appropriateness of certain actions)

Values that determine our superordinate goals are:
Schwartz 10 values
1. Achievement
- strive to be successful or increase sense of self-respect
- success arises from demonstrating competence
(eg. earn a degree)

2. Power
   - look to acquire wealth, status, authority as they represent the ability to control social/physical resources
   (eg. earn a luxury car)
3. Hedonism
   - look for pleasure and indulgence (seek to enjoy life)
   eg. travel
4. Stimulation
   - desire novelty means having a varied life
   eg. participate in adventure sports
5. Self-Direction
   - look for and value freedom, creativity and the choice to be whatever they want
   - value independence and curiosity
   eg. retire early
6. Universalism
   - social justice and equality
   - try to understand, appreciate and protect nature and welfare of all
7. Benevolence
   - enhance the welfare of the people with whom one has frequent contact
   - true friendship and love
8. Tradition
   - respect and accept traditional customs and values
   eg. collect old objects
9. Security
   - look for safety, harmony and stability in society
   eg. buy a house in a safe area
10. Conformity
    - look to restrain actions/ideas that could upset or harm others
    - value self-discipline, obedience and politeness

Focal goals = aim to compensate for unfulfilled needs

• vary from person-to-person and are determined in part by our values
• desire the requirements we lack (results in unfulfilled needs)
• a single focal goal might motivate multiple subordinate goals (eg. want to make money so will save, get a job or invest in bitcoin)
• help fulfil superordinate goals

Subordinate Goals = relate to the actions taken to achieve focal (and superordinate) goals
- for every focal goal, there are usually many potential subordinate goals from which we can choose

Question 4

Explain the ways motives can be aroused

Answer 4

Physiological

• most physiological cues are involuntary but arouse related needs that cause uncomfortable tensions until satisfaction
  eg. stomach grumblings will trigger awareness of hunger needs

Emotional

• thinking/daydreaming result in the arousal or stimulation of latent needs
• people who are bored in attempts to achieve goals often engage in daydreaming where they imagine themselves in desirable situations
• this may arouse dormant needs that produce uncomfortable tensions that push them towards goal-oriented behaviour
  eg. daydreaming of a romance may then spend free-time in internet singles chat rooms

Cognitive

• random thoughts/personal achievement can lead to cognitive awareness of needs
  eg. an ad that provokes memories of a loved one might trigger instant recognition of the need to speak to someone special eg. cheap fees to call international

Environmental

• set of needs activated at a particular time determined by specific environmental cues
• modification of the environment may be necessary in order to reduce arousal of hunger
  eg. sight/smell of freshly baked bread may arouse need for food

Question 5

Define self-concept

Answer 5

= the totality of a persons thoughts and feelings about themselves eg. sister/kind/teacher/animal-lover

• in different contexts (situations/products), consumers might select a different self-image to guide their attitudes/behaviours
• consumers might be guided by their actual self-image for products that are consumed privately (eg, household) but socially enhancing/conspicuous products may be guided by social self-image
• developed through interactions with others, products and brands. All have symbolic value and are evaluated based on their consistency with our self-image
• consumers want to preserve/enhance self-image by selecting products with images/personalities they believe are congruent with self-image and avoid products that are not

Question 6

Define the different kinds of self-image

Answer 6

Core self
= actual self-image
- how consumers see themselves 
= ideal self-image
- how consumers would like to see themselves 
= social self-image
- how consumers feel others see them
= ideal social self-image
- how consumers would like others to see them

Question 7

Define multiple self and explain how marketers can use this information to target consumers

Answer 7

Multiple self = concept that recognises that consumers will vary their behaviour depending on the people they are with and situation they are experiencing

• can segment the consumers on the basis of their self images and position their offerings as symbols of those self-images
• assess discrepancies between ideal and actual self-images and use this information to position their offerings as a way to reduce them

Question 8

Explain the extended self and the downside of this

Answer 8

= the self concept supported through the consumption of particular products

• extended self is not just objects but people, places ideas and experiences that one feels attached to
• we know who we are based on what we have/own/use

We use possessions to:

• remind us of our self-concept (store memories and feelings)
• define and shape self-concept (enlarge sense of self and know who we are by observing what we have)
• communicate self-concept to others

Downside:
- can lead to ‘commodity fetishism’ where products are ‘worshipped’ for their supposed ability to bring us happiness (eg. in our pantry keep more inexpensive things no one sees but leave expensive things out for people to see)

Question 9

Explain the four ways objects can become integrated with our self

Answer 9

1. Controlling
   - the more control we have over an object, the more likely it is that object will become a part of self
   - can arise from owning/overcoming an object
2. Creating
   - invest a part of ourselves in things we create eg. Ikea products
   - invest energy in an object that we have directed effort, time and attention (have emerged from self)
3. Knowing
   - intimately know an object increases our sense of identification with it eg. the hidden restaurant only you know about
4. Contamination
   - attempt to incorporate traits of others through symbolic contamination
   eg. handcrafted objects store more of the original makers sense of self than mass-produced ones

Question 10

How can possessions extend self and what happens when possessions are lost

Answer 10

1. Actually
   - allows the person to do things that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to accomplish (internet search)
2. Symbolically
   - making the person feel better (employee award)
3. Confer status
   - if you own a masterpiece, status among rare art collectors
4. Confer feelings of immortality
   - leaving valued possessions to young family members (has the potential of extending recipients self)

Loss of possession
- receive new members into an institution (eg. prison), aims to systematically deprive people of all personal possessions to eliminate uniqueness and lessen the sense of self (standardise identity)

Question 11

Describe personality

Answer 11

= the inner characteristics that differentiate one person from another, influence behaviour and response to social and physical environment
- whilst consumers often have some awareness of their self-concept , not always aware of their personality

Question 12

Explain trait theory

Answer 12

a personality trait = distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one person differs to another (personality is made up of many traits)

• reflect individual differences, may have a single trait in common but personality is a combination of internal factors
• can group on the basis of single/limited set of traits

IS CONSISTENT & ENDURING

• marketers cannot change consumers’ personalities to conform to their products but can influence specific consumer responses based on personality characteristics and appeal to relevant traits inherent in their target group of consumers
• personalities may be consistent but their consumption behaviour often varies considerably due to psychological, sociocultural or situational factors

CAN CHANGE
- under extreme circumstances (life changing event)

Question 13

Explain the single-trait visualiser vs verbaliser

Answer 13

Visualisers prefer information presented in visual formats
Verbalisers prefer information presented in verbal formats

Can combine the two in marketing but don’t want to lose customers from both segments

Question 14

Explain how marketers can use trait theory to target consumers

Answer 14

• Examining multiple personality dimensions simultaneously allows development of more nuanced consumer segmentation profiles
• Personality traits are relatively stable, and endure across lifespan so marketers cannot change a person’s personality to fit their brands
• BUT can appeal to relevant personality traits in persuasive communications (eg. facebook ad targeting people high in neuroticism “13 of the weirdest ways to get Hepatitis)
  • In academic research, personality is identified through questionnaires
• In industry, can’t usually get customers to complete personality tests but can
  1: Identify behaviours that, if present, may suggest a person possesses a certain personality trait
  2: use market research firms to profile different consumer segments

Question 15

Define social character.
Explain the difference between inner and outer directedness and the kinds of advertising that should be created for each.

Answer 15

= personality trait that ranges on a continuum from inner to outer directedness

Inner-directedness = consumers tend to rely on their own inner values or standards in evaluating new products and are likely to be consumer innovators
- prefer ads that stress product features and personal benefits (enabling them to use their own values and standards in evaluating products)

Outer-directedness = tend to look to others for direction on what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
- prefer keeping with their tendency to look to others for directions and may be more easily influenced because of their natural inclination to go beyond the content of an ad and think in terms of likely social approval of a potential purchase

Question 16

Explain brand personality and how it could be used to improve brand image

Answer 16

• Provides an identity for the brand, and encourages consumers to respond with feelings and emotions towards the brand
• > Eg. see Woolworths to represent ‘freshness’
• Marketers in the car industry have often chosen to market their product by positioning favourable personality traits within an image developed in advertisements
• > Car makers often portray their brands not as cars but as an extension of the personality of the targeted consumer group
• A strong, positive brand personality leads to more favourable attitudes towards the brand, brand preference, higher purchasing intentions and brand loyalty, and is a way for consumers to differentiate among competing brands

Question 17

Define perception

Answer 17

= process of receiving, selecting and interpreting stimuli from the senses to form a meaningful and coherent picture of the world
- How consumers form their own private view of the world around them

Question 18

Explain the absolute and differential thresholds and the just noticeable difference, and how marketers can overcome these

Answer 18

Absolute Threshold = lowest level at which we can experience a sensation

• The point at which we can detect a difference between something and nothing is the absolute threshold for that stimulus
• As exposure to a sensation increases, we experience adaptation (notice the sensation less), our absolute threshold increases (sensations become increasingly dulled) eg. the longer we drive, the less likely we are to notice billboards/New York times: there are so many billboards with advertising that we can’t process each one individually
• > Advertisers may use periods of silence, loud noises or contrasting colours to try and stand out from the rest (attention-seeking devices)
• > Change advertising campaigns regularly because know that consumers will get so used to their current ads that they will no longer see them (provide enough sensory input to be noted so try and vary the execution of their advertising to maintain impact)

Differential Threshold = minimum difference that can be detected between two stimuli (just noticeable difference)
- Stronger the initial stimulus, greater the additional intensity needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as being different = Weber’s Law
- An additional level of stimulus equivalent to the just noticeable difference must be added for the majority of people to perceive a difference between the resulting stimulus and the initial stimulus (for basically all intensities)
o Eg. petrol goes up by a dollar vs a car price going up by $1 because of the significant percentage increase of the overall cost

• When companies change their own logo, often want to do it minimially so we don’t notice difference as are so used to a brand eg. coca cola
• > Negative changes (reducing packaging size or product quality -> should be minor and fall below jnd
• > Positive changes (larger packaging size or better quality) -> should exceed jnd
• > Use jnd to assess how much improvement to make a product
• > If jnd is exceeded by too much: may increase production costs or reduce repeat purchases
• > If jnd is not exceeded: wasted effort because changes won’t be noticed by consumers
• Marketers endeavour to determine the relevant jnd for their products for two very different reasons:
• > So that negative changes (eg. reductions in product size, increases in product price, or reduced quality) are not readily discernible to the public (below jnd)
• > Product improvements (updated packaging, larger size, lower price) are readily discernible to consumes without being wastefully extravagant (at or above jnd)

Question 19

Define positioning, outline six positioning strategies and why a brand would need to reposition

Answer 19

= the image that a brand has in mind of consumers

• Marketers try to position their brands so they are perceived in particular ways
• > Positioned as providing superior value to alternative brands
• > Positioned as being consistent with self-image of target consumer segments

POSITIONING STRATEGIES

1. Umbrella positioning = creating overall image of a company around which many products can be invidually featured
   - Most appropriate for large firms with diversified product lines
   - >Eg. McDonalds or Coca Cola
2. Positioning against competition -> highlight advantages over competitors risky
   - >Eg. Duracell lasting longer than everready super heavy duty
3. Positioning on specific benefit: highlight brand’s core benefit
   - Need to ensure consumers actually want the benefit
   - >Eg. Melt in your mouth not in your hands is something that people want to avoid but Gilettes ‘for oily hair only’ wasn’t as successful because many people didn’t recognise they had oily hair
4. Finding an ‘unowned’ position
   - fill a market niche that hasn’t been filled by other companies eg. Tesla electric cars
5. Filling several positions = protective strategy where marketers create several distinct offerings, often in the form of different brands, to serve different market niches
   - > Toyota vs Lexus - do not want them to be perceived as at all similar to Toyota, far more luxurious
6. Packaging as a positioning element = using elements of product packaging to convey particular image
   - > Eg. Aesop have very distinct, simple packaging to represent their natural ideal

Repositioning

• New competitors
• Current positioning being too close to competitor position
• Changes in market needs
• Poor implementation of original positioning goals

Question 20

Explain the six types of perceived risk

Answer 20

1. Functional risk
   - Risk the product won’t perform as expected
   - > My phone battery won’t last a full day
2. Financial risk
   - Risk the product isn’t worth the cost
   - > Will a better phone come out in a few months
3. Social risk
   - Risk that a poor product choice will result in social embarrassment
   - > My friends will laugh at my phone
4. Physical Risk
   - Risk to self and others that the product may pose
   - > Is a mobile phone safe, or does it emit harmful radiation
5. Psychological risk
   - Risk that a poor product choice will bruise the consumers ego
   - >Will I be embarrassed when I invite friends to listen to music on my five year old stereo
6. Time risk
   - Risk that the time spent in product search may be wasted if the product does not perform as expected
   - >Will I have to go through the shopping effort all over again

Question 21

Explain some strategies consumers use to reduce risk

Answer 21

= Seeking more information
- Talk with friends, ask questions of salespeople, internet search
= Brand loyal
- Avoid risk by remaining loyal to a brand which they have been already satisfied with
= Select by brand image
- Select a well-known brand (particularly if not much known about the category)
- Well-known brands offer a higher assurance of quality, dependability, performance and service
= Buying most expensive model
- Price-quality relationship (equate price with quality)
= Rely on store image
- If no other information about a product, often trust the judgement of the merchandise buyers of a reputable store and depend on them to have made careful decisions in selecting priducts for resale
- Implication of product testing, assurance of service, returns and adjustment policies in case of dissatisfaction
= Reassurance
- If uncertain, seek reassurance through money-back guarantees, government/lab test results, warranties and pre-purchase trials eg. less likely to buy a new model car without test-driving

Question 22

Define learning

Answer 22

= Is the process by which individuals acquire purchase and consumption knowledge

• Allows individuals to apply the knowledge they have previously acquired to future related behaviour
• > Can be intentional or incidental

Question 23

Behavioural Learning Theory includes classical conditioning. Part of classical conditioning involves stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination. Explain these two phenomena and their components.

Answer 23

STIMULUS GENERALISATION = learning to make the same response to slightly different stimuli

• > ‘me too products’ (one has the process of sending the message but then competitors make it hard to distinguish between one to another)
• Product line extension (new sizes, colours and flavours of an existing product
  eg. So good, so good chocolate, coffee etc)
• Product form extension
  eg. omo liquid to omo sensitive liquid
• Product category extensions ->same brand name used in new product category
  eg. Cadbury chocolate bars, chocolate biscuits and ice creams
• > Success of product extensions depends on factors including relevancy of the new product to marketplace image of the brand name; if the image of the parent brand is one of quality and the new item is logically linked to the brand, consumers are more likely to bring positive associations to the new offerings introduced as product line, form or category extensions
• Family branding (one company brand, many products eg. sanitarium weetbix, so good, up and go
• > Consumers generalise favourable brand associations from one product to others
• Licensing (famous personalities endorse a product, the attributes become associated with the product they endorse)
• > Can achieve instant recognition and implied quality

STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION = selection of a specific stimulus from among many stimuli

• Market challengers want consumers to generalise
• Market leaders want consumers to discriminate (trying to distinguish brand from competition)

Question 24

Describe involvement theory

Answer 24

= Amount of effort consumers direct towards information search and processing (learning and decision making) is influenced by their involvement

• Refers to the tendency for individuals to make a personal connection between their own life and stimulus object
• Can differ by
• > Product: low involvement (eg. toothpaste, soft drink) vs high involvement (eg.car, insurance)
• > Context (eg. recently bought car vs need to buy car)
• > Person (eg. buying first car vs salesperson)
• High involvement product for one person may be low involvement for another

Question 25

Explain hemispherical lateralisation

Answer 25

Hemispheral lateralisation = split brain theory

• The right and left hemispheres of the brain ‘specialise’ in the kinds of information they process
• > Left is primarily responsible for cognitive activities (reading, speaking) whereas the right is responsible for non-verbal, timeless and holistic information
• > Products mean different things to different people, and consumers see them as varying in their importance and personal relevance and as such form differing attachments to them

Question 26

Explain the 3 factors affecting level of involvement

Answer 26

1. ANTECEDENT
   - serve to drive a consumers involvement towards an advertisement or advertised product
   -> person component = captures the amount of interest a consumer has in the product category
   …if the product is personally relevant for consumers, they are more likely to become involved in information about that product eg. higher-knowledge consumers generally are more involved in that product category
   ->situation component = captures the importance or personal relevance of the occasion the consumer faces
   ….if the product is to be used as a tool for communicating something about yourself to others, involvement will probably increase eg. if you are presenting a bottle of wine to your boss upon arrival at a dinner party, you will be more likely to involve yourself with product information than if the wine is intended for a casual dinner at home
   -> product/stimulus component = captures the aspects of the product category or advertisement that could potentially encourage or discourage involvement
   …to the degree that there is perceived risk involved in the consumption of the product, involvement is expected to increase eg. more expensive products are suually more involveing because of the financial implications of a wrong decision
   ….if one of the objectives of the ad is to encourage the involvement of relatively uninvolved consumers, the stimulus designed to increase involvement should be included in the tagline or photo (as this is where most time is spent looking)
2. MODERATING FACTORS
   - certain conditions may exist that limit the degree to which consumers become involved in a product category even though they may be predisposed by the antecedents to a high level of involvement
   -> opportunity to process the information: other cognitive demands or distractions in the environment during presentation of the information
   ….other tasks may be of more immediate importance and therefore inhibit a higher level of involvement with the stimulus eg. driving past a billboard during peak hour traffic
   -> ability to process the information: whether the consumer possesses the required knowledge and familiarity with the product category to understand the information presented
3. DEGREE OF INVOLVEMENT
   -characterised by intensity, direction and persistence
   -> involvement intensity = the degree of involvement felt by the consumer (high/low) – continuum
   -> Direction of involvement = target of the involvement intensity level or the stimulus towards which the involvement is channeled, not the cues initially encouraging involvement
   ….Eg. tagline in an advertisement might have been the catalyst for involvement with the information, but then you become involved in the text itself
   ->Involvement persistence = the duration of involvement intensity
   ….Enduring type of persistence usually accompanied by a large body of knowledge about a product category acquired over time
   ….Situational type will be accompanied by a short-term collection of knowledge about the product category, which might quickly fade after the situation abates

Question 27

Explain the Elaboration Likelihood Model including the two routes of problem solving (central and peripheral)

Answer 27

= Shows how involvement can influence information search and processing
- Two routes to problem solving:
->Central: careful evaluation of information and products (high), attitude change depends on quality of argument-> For high involvement purchases
…..Marketers should use arguments stressing the strong, solid, high-quality attributes of their purchases
-> Peripheral: limited info search and evaluation (low), attitude change relies on peripheral cues (eg. celebrity or cartoon used in advertising)
….. Marketers should focus on the method of presentation rather than content of message (eg. use of celebrity, highly visual or symbolic advertisements)
- Level of involvement determines which route is likely to be effective
- Individuals are more likely to weigh information about a product carefully and devote considerable cognitive efforts to evaluating it, when they are highly involved wioth the product category

Question 28

Define attitude and explain the tricomponent attitude model

Answer 28

= learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favourable/unfavourable way with respect to a given object
According to the tricomponent attitude model, attitude is made up of

Cognitive component = thinking, captures the knowledge an individual has acquired through personal experience or observation with the attitude object and realted info from various sources

• Often takes the form of beliefs: positive or negative
• Object possesses certain attributes (eg. Vans don’t provide good arch support)
• Using an object will result in certain outcomes (eg. my feet will feel sore if I wear vans)

Affective component = emotions, captures a consumer’s emotions about an object/behaviour, e evaluative in nature

• Capture an individuals direct or global assessment of the attitude object (the extent to which the individual rates the object as favourable or unfavourable)
• Emotional states may enhance or amplify positive or negative experiences and later recollections of such may affect what comes to mind and how the individual acts eg. I feel happy when I wear my vans
• Contradiction can exist in our attitudes eg. happy when wearing Vans even though make feet hurt

Conative component = behaviour, captures likelihood that an individual will behave in a particular way
- Examined in the context of intention and past behaviour (consumers plan to perform a particular behaviour in future - I will purchase a new pair of Vans next year vs I have purchased a pair of Vans this year)

Question 29

Explain the theory of planned behaviour

Answer 29

= Consumers behaviour is affected by their perceived behavioural control – their skills or resources to achieve the outcome
- May have a positive attitude towards becoming a medical doctor, moreover your friends and family would confer high social status on you if you become a doctor BUT if you are unlikely to become a doctor if you have neither the skills nor financial resources to achieve this outcome

REFER to DIAGRAM

Question 30

Explain the cognitive dissonance theory, Describe some ways consumers reduce dissonance, and marketing strategies for addressing cognitive dissonance.

Answer 30

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• People feel discomfort (dissonance) when their attitudes and/or behaviours are inconsistent
• Dissonance motivates consumers to resolve the inconsistency between attitudes & behaviours
• When dissonance occurs after a purchase = post-purchase dissonance (eg. did I just pay too much for my car?)

Consumer Strategies for reducing dissonance

• Rationalise decision as being wise (post-purchase rationalisation): goal to make themselves feel better about decision (eg. this expensive suit is a good purchase because I can wear it to work and to weddings)
• Try to sell friends or family on positive features (eg. My new phone is amazing, you should get one)
• Look to known satisfied owners for reassurance (eg. after purchasing new Mazda, ring a friend who drives a Mazda)

Marketing Strategies

• Structure ads to contain information about the benefits of a product to reinforce consumer decisions
• Offer strong warranties/guarantees
• Provide detailed instructions or information about how to use a product efficiently (or additional ways to use)
• Emphasise availability of after-sales service (eg free online technical support)

Question 31

Define a group, and a reference group.

Explain some of the marketer-created reference groups.

Answer 31

Groups = two or more people who interact to accomplish individual/mutual goals

Reference groups = any person/group that serves as a point of comparison for an individual forming values, attitudes or behaviours

Marketer-created reference groups (MRG)

• Experts
• > Unique position to help consumers evaluate a product because of their occupation, training or experience
• > Perceived by consumers to be credible and trustworthy
• Celebrity endoresments
• > Assumption: when a celebrity endorses a produt, attributes associated with the celebrity transfer to the product
• Trade characters
• > quasi -celebrity endorsers that present an idealised and exclusive image that is under the complete control of the company
• > Provide product-related information and personality for the brand/product (eg. Louie the Fly, Red&Yellow M&M, Ronald McDonald)
• Common person appeals
• > Focus on ordinary people in everyday situations who are using/endorsing a particular product
• > Perceived by consumers as similar (non-aspirational), can model desired patterns of behaviour
• Third party accreditation
• > For a fee, accredit that a product/service meets certain minimum standards (Heart Foundation, Australian Organic Certified)
• > Provide consumers with some assurance that a claim being made by a brand has been externally verified

Question 32

Define a fear appeal and explain its components

Answer 32

= Fear arises from perceptions of threat, fear appeals should include a threat component (to elicit fear) and a response componenet (demonstrate how to reduce the threat)

• Threat component: severity (is threat serious) and susceptibility (could threat happen to me)
• Response component: response efficacy (does the suggested response work), self efficacy (can I perform the suggested response) and barriers to self-efficacy (what stops me doing the response)
• Potential for collateral damage (distress or stigmatise groups -> people with AIDS following early AIDs campaigns), may be counterproductive for those with low levels of self-efficacy (those who can’t afford to perform recommended response), evoke maladaptive responses (fatalism among smokers, stranger danger

Question 33

Explain social class

Answer 33

-> Society is made up of a hierarchy of distinct social classes
-> Members of each social class have relatively equal status
-> Members of different social classes have more/less status
->Social classes are often measured in terms of social status
-> Usually defined by one or more of the following:
 Family income
 Occupational status
 Educational attainment

Question 34

Explain the subjective and objective measures for measuring social class

Answer 34

Subjective measures => asking individuals to estimate which social class they belong to

• Resulting classification of social class membership is based on the participants self-perceptions or self-images
• > Treated as a personal phenomenon one that reflects an individuals sense of belonging or identification with others (class consciousness)
• Advantages
• > Easy to collect
• > Assess an individuals class consciousness
• Disadvantages
• > Based on self-perception and self-image
• > Tends to result in lots of people classifying themselves as ‘middle class’

Reputational => asking certain members in a community to judge the social class of others in that community eg. ranking people of different occupations

• Advantages
• > Can capture occupational prestige within a comunity
• Disadvantages
• > Has limited ability to predict/explain purchase and consumption behaviours

Objective measures => consists of selected demographic or socioeconomic variables concerning the individuals of the study

• Measured through questionnaires that ask respondants to answer several factual questions about themselves, their families or place of residence
• Can be used to reach or target a desired market segment
• > Occupational => based on demographic and/or socioeconomic variables
• Single variable measures based on one variable (eg. occupation, education, income)
• Composite variable measures combine 2+ variables eg. Index of Status Characteristics

Question 35

Define culture and how values guide culture

Answer 35

= sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs that serve to direct the consumer behaviour of members of a particular society (Schiffman)

Values = also beliefs but (eg. showing love for family is important => Schwartz 10 values)

• Fewer in number
• Guide culturally appropriate behaviour
• Enduring
• Not tied to specific objects/situations
• Widely accepted by society

Question 36

Explain the properties of culture

Answer 36

= Satisfies needs

• Provides individuals with order, direction and guidance about how to best satisfy physiological, personal and social needs
• Cultural beliefs, values and customs continue to be followed as long as they yield satisfaction, however when a specific standard no longer satisfies the members of a society, it is modified or replaced so the resulting standard is more in line with current needs and desires

= Dynamic

• Culture changes when existing cultural beliefs/values/customs no longer satisfy needs
• > Eg. decline in wearing hats once shampoo became more common (cleaner hair)
• In response to other social changes
• > Eg. new technology like mobile phones
• But can be cyclical eg. mullet

= Learned
- From an early stage, we begin to acquire from our social environment a set of beliefs, values and customs that constitutes our culture
- Marketing tends to enhance information learning by providing the audience with a model of behaviour to imitate (particularly for visible or conspicuous prodiucts or language where peer influence is likely to play an important role)
->Repetition of advertising messages both creates and reinforces cultural beliuefs and values eg. learnt to expect unlimited texts
- Culture can be transmitted through
->Formal learning (eg. parents explicitly teaching children how to use chopstickls)
->Informal learning-> learnt from imitating or modelling the behaviour of selected others (eg. watching how one’s parents greet strangers to learn appropriate ways of greeting)
->Technical learning (eg. sex education received at school)
->Enculturation = when we learn our own culture
->Acculturation = when we learn other’s culture
->International firms need to engage in acculturation, otherwise they may expose their brand to ridicule or contempt
- Language and symbols
->To acquire a common culture, the members of a society must be able to communicate with each other through a common language , otherwise shared meaning could not exist and true communication would not take place
->Marketers must use appropriate symbols to convey desired product images or characteristics to communicate effectively with their audiences
-> Can be verbal/non-verbal eg. red and yellow M&M, red Kit Kat, or textures to lend additional meaning to print or broadcast advertisements to trademarks and packaging or product designs
->Symbol is anything that stands for something else eg. word ‘razor’ calls forth a specific image related to an individuals own knowledge and experience
->Humans can understand symbolically ow a product, service or an idea can satisfy their needs makes it easier for marketers to sell the features and benefits of their offerings
->Through a shared language and culture, individuals already know what the image means, thus an association can be made without actively thinking about it
->May have many (or contradictory meanings), so is important that the advertiser ascertains exactly what symbols are communicating to intended audience eg. the stores a product is sold may provide a symbol of quality
- Rituals
->Culture includes various ritualised experiences and behaviours that until recently have been neglected by consumer researchers
= a type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps (multiple behaviours) occurring in a fixed sequence and repeated over time
-> Rituals extend over the human life cycle from birth to death and include a host of intermediate events (eg. 18th birthdays) – can be public, elaborate religious or ceremonies or as mundane as grooming behaviour
->Rituatlised behaviour is typically rather formal and often scripted behaviour and is likely to reoccur repeatedly over time
->Ritualistic behaviour = any behaviour that a person has made into a ritual
->Rituals tend to be replete with ritual artefacts that are associated with or somehow enhance performance of the ritual eg. tree, stocking, lights associated with Christmas

= Shared

• beliefs/values/customs only become cultural characteristics if they are widely held by all members of that culture (group customs that link together the members of a society)
• Various institutions transmit these elements of culture, including
• > Family: serves as the primary agent for enculturation, passing along of basic cultural beliefs, values and customs to societys newest members
• > Educational institutions: specifically charged with imparting basic learning skills, history, patriotism, citizenship and technical training needed to prepare people for significant roles within society
• > Religious bodies: moral leadership for society (reinforce training through the teaching of economic and ethical concepts)
• > Media: extensive exposure of media and easily ingested, entertaining format in which the contens of such are usually presented, important vehicle for imparting, reinforcing and occasionally changing a wide range of cultural values eg. SBS cultural maintenance – helping EAL Australians to celebrate their cultural origins

Question 37

What is a decision

Answer 37

= the selection of an action from two or more alternative choices

• includes decisions about:
• > whether or not to make a purchase
• > which brand to purchase

Question 38

Explain the three levels of conscious decision-making

Answer 38

1. Extensive problem solving
   - No established criteria for evaluating the product
   - Brands to be considered in the evoked set not yet selected
   - Common when buying expensive, important or complicated products for the first time
   - Needs a great deal of information to establish a set of criteria on which to judge specific brands and corresponding large amount of info concerning each of the brands to be considered
2. Limited problem solving
   - Consumers have basic criteria for evaluation product
   - Have not fully established preferences
   - Search for additional info like ‘fine tuning’ – gather additional brand info to discriminate between brands
   - When purchasing a new, updated version of something that they have purchased before (eg. replacing a laptop with faster processor, larger hard-drive)
3. Routinised-response behaviour
   - Consumers have some experience with the product category
   - Have well-established set of criteria with which to evaluate evoked set
   - May search for a small amount of information or purchase out of habit
   - Little need for additional information

• > Infrequent: frequent purchasing
• > Unfamiliar: familiar product class or brand
• > Extensive: little thought, search or time given to purchase

Question 39

Explain the four general models of decision-making

Answer 39

1. Economic model
   - >Assumes that consumers:
   - Always make rational decisions
   - Are aware of all product alternatives, understand pros and cons of these alternatives, can select best alternative
   - > The assumption of the economic model are unrealistic because consumers:
   - Have limited knowledge and information
   - Have existing habits and preferences
   - Are often unwilling to spend the time necessary to make the ‘perfect’ decision
   - > Therefore I soon as too idealistic and simplistic, there may often be another set of motives that could account for a consumers behaviour
2. Passive model
   - Opposite of economic model
   - Assumes consumers do whatever marketers tell them to do
   - Consumers perceived as implusive and irrational purchasers, ready to buy according to marketing efforts (object to be manipulated)
   - Model is unrealistic because consumers can be active and informed in their purchase decisions
3. Cognitive model
   - Falls between extremes of passive and economic models
   - Views consumers as a thinking problem solver
   - >Focuses on the process by which consumers seek and evaluate information about selected brands and retail outlets
   - > Consumers viewed as information processors that leads to formation of preferences and ultimately purchase intentions
   - Embraces the concept of bounded rationality
   - >Consumers are not rational in an economic sense but strive to make the best decisions given their limitations
   - > Consumers develop mental short-cuts (heuristics) to ease the burden of decision-making (unlikely to attempt to obtain all available information about every choice but rather seek sufficient information)
   - May use decision rules to cope with exposure to too much information (information overload)
4. Emotional model
   - Certain feelings may become associated with specific purchases
   - For such purchases, consumers spend less time researching and evaluating alternatives With various levels of automaticity
   - Possessions and beliefs serve to preserve a sense of past or play a meaningful role in the purchasing decision-making so more likely to buy things on an impulse
   - >When making an emotional decision, tend to buy impulsively rather than carefully earching, deliberating and evaluating alternatives
   - > Moods also important to decision making (emotion is a response to a particular environment), mood is an unfocused pre-existing state already present when a consumer experiences an advertisement, brand or product
   - > Influences when consumers shop, where they shop and whether it is alone or with others, also likely to influence how the consumer responds to actual shopping environments (those in a positive mood recall more information about a product than those in a negative mood)
   - >Those in a positive mood typically employ a mood maintenance strategy that avoids investing cognitive effort in any task unless it promises to maintain or enhance positive mood

Question 40

Explain the difference between adoption and diffusion of innovation

Answer 40

Adoption

• Micro process
• Concerned with how individual consumers decide whether to accept or reject a new product

Diffusion

• Macro process
• Concerned with the spread of a new product (innovation) from its source to the consuming public

Ability of marketers to identify and reach this important group of consumers plays a major role in the success or failure of new product introductions

Question 41

Explain the product-oriented way of delivering new product innovations and its continuum

Answer 41

Product-oriented
= focuses on the features inherent in the product itself and on the effects these features are likely to have on consumers’ established usage patterns
** Continuous innovation:
- involves modification or improvement to existing product eg. new microsoft
- Least disruptive
**Dynamically continuous innovation:
- involves new or modified products for established behaviours or needs eg. dvd players, blu-ray
- Mildly disruptive
** Discontinuous innovation:
- requires consumers to adopt new behaviour patterns eg. airplanes, the internet
- Highly disruptive

Question 42

Define consumer innovators

Answer 42

= consumer innovators are the relatively small group of consumers who are the earliest purchasers of a new product but also depends on the status of the new product under investigation eg. if a new product is an innovation for the first three months of its availability, then the consumer who purchases it during this time is an innovator

• Focus on the timing of adoption
• > First 2.5% of social system who adopt
• > Those who adopt in first three months of availability

Innovativeness as personality trait = degree to which an individual makes innovation decisions independently of the communicated experiences of others

• Example of vicarious innovation: necessary but not sufficient, for the early adoption of an innovation (actualised innovation)
• Innovativeness in problem solving = innovativeness occurs through the adaptation of accepted methods to more creative new means of problem solving (accepting an innovation)

Can consist of two dimensions

• Cognitive: deals in part with the need for problem solving
• Sensory: deals with novelty seeking and experimentation

Question 43

Outline the five features of consumer innovators

Answer 43

1. Interested (high involvement) in the product category
   - Innovators are more interested than late or non-adopters
   - > Eg. early adopters of products containing non-fat synthetic oil were found to have a high interest in these because of health and diet concerns compared to late adopters
   - Innovators are morel likely to seek information concerning their specific interests from a varity of informal and mass-media sources
   - More likely to give greater deliberation to purchase of new products in their area of interest
2. Act as opinion leaders
   - Enthusiastic early-adopters will become product/brand evangelists
   - Innovators provide other consumers with information and advice about new products and that those who receive such advice frequently follow it (often influences the acceptance/rejection of new products)
   - Products that dont stimulate much excitement (positive or negative) won’t generate much word of mouth, limiting diffusion
   - Marketer must rely on mass media and personal selling to influence future purchasers – absence of informal influence also likely to result in a slower rate of acceptance of the product and can therefore influence eventual success or failure
3. Personality traits
   - Higher openness to experience
   - > Non innovators find new products threatening to the extent they prefer to delay purchase until its success has been clearly established
   - Higher need for uniqueness
   - > New products (branded and unbranded) that represent a greater change in a persons consumption habits were viewed as superior when it came to satisfying this need
   - Higher extraversion
   - > Seek more variety
   - Inner-directed social character
   - > Rely on their own values or standards when making a decision about a new product
   - > Non-innovators are other-directed, relying on others for guidance on how to respond to a new product rather than trusting their own personal values/standards
4. Perceive less risk with new innovations
   - Using new products involves an element of ‘risk’
   - > Innovators are less likely to perceive new products as risky
   - > More likely to run the risk of a poor product choice in order to increase their exposure to new products that will be satisfying
5. Use innovativeness
   - Innovators will often find unique uses for a product
   - > Eg. aquafaba can be whipped to produce vegan-friendly meringues