influences on marketing Flashcards
‘factors influencing customer choice – psychological’ - case study
A recent trend that came out was the need to reduce the amount of meat sold in products, with many people preferring to go vegan or vegetarian. In response, Mcdonalds started making and advertising its plant-based Beyond Meat burger and as a result, they managed to sell about 70 plant-based burgers per day, which is considerably greater than the normal burgers sold daily.
‘factors influencing customer choice – economic’ - case study
During the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and subsequent years of economic recession, Apple experienced negative growth in iPhone sales in some regions of Europe and the USA. The company has implemented a range of strategies, such as developing the low-cost iPhone SE in 2016, as well as continuing to sell older iPhone models that are more price-competitive, such as the iPhone 7 that is available in selected markets such as India.
‘factors influencing customer choice - government’ - case study
In 2014, the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was delayed for Chinese customers due to government concerns regarding Apple devices. The issues surrounding privacy and accessibility of third parties to iPhone customer accounts (such as iCloud and location tracking features) were the subject of the Chinese government inquiries. Given that China is the largest and fastest growing market for smartphones in the world, the influence of Chinese government policy has several implications for Apple’s competitive position.
‘consumer laws - deceptive and misleading advertising’ - case study
In 2015, action was filed against Apple by more than 100 iPhone 4 and 4s users in the United States who claimed that the company was intentionally rendering their phones unusable via iOS upgrades. The legal action extended to complaints regarding Apple’s advertising campaign, claiming it misled consumers by suggesting the upgrade would increase the performance and battery life of the iPhones.
‘consumer laws - implied conditions’ - case study
Examples of implied conditions in the sale and marketing of the iPhone include
- the smartphones are fit for purpose
- they correspond with their description
- Apple will make available spare parts, repairs, and comply with express warranties
‘consumer laws - warranties’ - case study
For Australian consumers, the Apple iPhone warranty must be compliant with the Competition and Consumer Act and other applicable Australian laws and regulations. Apple’s iPhone (1 year) warranty states that customers are entitled to replacement or refund under reasonable conditions.
‘ethical – truth, accuracy and good taste in advertising’ - case study
In 1997, in court, McDonald’s UK was found guilty of exploiting children with its advertising.
In order to commit to being ethically responsible, in 2009, McDonald’s agreed to abide by an agreement which aimed to reduce the advertising featuring unhealthy products to children and to promote a healthy lifestyle. In 2019 however, McDonald’s failed to comply as they were found handing out $5 vouchers for the “Player of the Match” at local soccer games.
Whilst McDonald’s argued that the voucher could be used for a Happy Meal that met the nutritional guidelines and also was promoting a sporting activity, Ad Standards (industry body in charge of managing compliance with agreement) found that the voucher could be used for any meal, not just those that were nutritious and thus this was a violation of the code.
‘ethical - products that may damage health’ - case study
Fast food has a role to play in the health issue of obesity and McDonald’s has an ethical obligation to ensure the problem does not get worse. McDonald’s Australia voluntarily works with accredited dietitians to improve the quality of its food. Eg. McDonald’s Australia has reduced the sugar content in burger buns to 5%, reduced the sodium content of McDonald’s cheese by 20% and has introduced healthier options
‘factors influencing customer choice – psychological’ - description
- internal personal factors which affect their decisions, preferences and behaviour
relates to the way people think and develop attitudes to certain products e.g. personal values, personality, attitudes and perceptions of the world and products. - Key psychological factors to understand when considering consumer behavior are motivation, perception, attitudes and beliefs, along with lifestyle.
- assist marketers in understanding the behavior of their consumers in order to successfully appeal to them.
‘factors influencing customer choice – economic’ - description
- where a customer’s financial position affects ability or willingness to buy products, e.g. interest rate level or their amount of disposable income.
- impacts marketing as they need to adapt to changing market trends to suit their customer needs eg. economic recession - cuts budget and reduces consumer confidence. An economic boom - calls for high levels of consumer spending and increased business confidence.
‘factors influencing customer choice - government’ - description
Government factors include laws and policies which may make a product illegal, or affect how customers can use it. This affects marketing decisions such as product design, positioning, pricing and advertising. Businesses need to ensure they adhere to the laws and policies placed by the government.
‘consumer laws - deceptive and misleading advertising’ - description
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 prohibits advertising of a misleading or deceptive nature. This affects the marketing aspect of the business as it applies to a business’ advertising, product packaging, and any information provided by the staff or online shopping services of a business.
‘consumer laws - implied conditions’ - description
- Australian Consumer Law requires goods to be of acceptable quality (the product is of a standard a reasonable person would expect for the price)
- Implied conditions are unwritten guarantees that the product or service will do the job that it is intended to do (fit for purpose). These conditions are assumed to exist regardless of whether they are written into a contract.
- Consumers are entitled to refunds or replacements implied conditions aren’t met.
‘consumer laws - warranties’ - description
A warranty is a promise by the business to repair or replace faulty products. These are written guarantees by the seller that imply services, repairs and replacement parts for a certain time period at no cost to the buyer. Warranties serve to promote the reliability and quality of a product and provide assurance to consumers against defective products that fail to perform satisfactorily over the warranty period.
‘ethical – truth, accuracy and good taste in advertising’ - description
Truth and Accuracy
Must avoid:
- Concealed Facts - info purposefully omitted from an ad
- Exaggerated claims
- vague statements
- invasion of privacy
Marketers are expected to engage in fair and honest behavior when developing marketing campaigns.
Failure to do so is a breach of the Competition and Consumer Act.
Good Taste
What is considered good taste varies between consumers so creating general guidelines for good taste in advertising is difficult. Some may see an ad as offensive, others may not.
