Chapter 1: What is CB,
and Why Should I Care?
BABIN / HARRIS
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
Learning Outcomes
LO1
Understand the meaning of consumption and consumer
behavior, and how consumer behavior fits into a firm’s
marketing strategy.
LO2
Explain the role of consumer behavior in business and
society.
LO3
Be familiar with basic approaches to studying consumer
behavior.
LO4
Describe why consumer behavior is so dynamic and how
recent trends affect consumers.
LO1
Understand the meaning of
consumption and consumer
behavior.
LO1
Consumer Behavior as Human
Behavior
Consumer behavior is the
set of value seeking
activities that take place as
people go about addressing
realized needs.
LO1
Exhibit 1.1
The Basic Consumption Process
LO1
Makeup or Hope?
A myopic business view defines the
business in terms of products and not
the value consumers receive.
LO1 Marketing Strategy and Consumer Behavior
Customer value is the
difference between all the
benefits derived from a total
product and all the costs of
acquiring those benefits.
Providing superior
customer value requires the
organization to do a better
job of anticipating and
reacting to customer needs
than the competition does.
LO1
Marketing Strategy and CB
 Marketing Strategy is the answer to the question: How
will we provide superior customer value to our target
market?
 This requires the formulation of a consistent marketing
mix, which includes the
1. Product
2. Price
3. Communications
4. Distribution, and
5. Services
LO1
The Nature of Consumer Behavior
Overall Conceptual Model of Consumer Behavior
LO2
Explain why consumer behavior
is important. What is the role of
CB in business and society?
LO2
Why Study CB?
Input to business/marketing strategy
Force that shapes society
Input to making responsible decisions
as a consumer
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
1-11
LO2
Exhibit 1.4
Different Ways of Doing Business
LO2
CB and Society
Consumption shapes society!
LO2
CB and Personal Growth
Studying CB helps consumers make better
decisions by understanding:
Consequences of
poor budgeting
Role of emotions
Avenues for
redress
Social influences
Environmental
effects
LO3
Be familiar with basic
approaches to studying
consumer behavior.
LO3 Comparing Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
LO4
Describe why consumer behavior
is so dynamic and how recent
trends affect consumers.
LO4
Trends
Internationalization
Technological changes
Changing demographics