Chapter 5
Consumer and Business Buyer Behavior
Previewing the Concepts—Chapter Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Understand the consumer market and the major factors that influence buyer
behavior.
Identify and discuss the stages in the buyer decision process.
Describe the adoption and diffusion process for new products.
Define the business market and identify the major factors that influence business
buyer behavior.
List and define the steps in the business buying decision process.
JUST THE BASICS
Chapter Overview
Buying behavior is at the core of marketing; the knowledge and understanding of why we
buy and how we buy should be the bedrock of every marketing program. This chapter
covers both consumer and business buying behavior.
Consumer behavior incorporates concepts from both sociology and psychology. To
understand consumers and their buying processes, therefore, is to understand the myriad
influences encountered day in and day out. Cultural, social, personal, and psychological
factors affecting buying behavior are explained. These factors clarify the why of buying.
The chapter also details the how of buying, by covering the consumer buying process.
This process includes the stages of need recognition, information search, evaluation of
alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. The buyer decision process
for new products and information on consumer behavior internationally are covered as
well.
Business markets are also defined and analyzed. The differences between the consumer
buying process and the business buying process are highlighted, as is the nature of the
buying unit in business markets. Also discussed is business buying on the Internet.
Chapter Outline
1.
Introduction
a.
Buyers of Harley-Davidson motorcycles are intensely loyal and devoted to
the brand. Because of this, Harley-Davidson is at the top of the
heavyweight motorcycle market.
109
b.
c.
d.
2.
Harley-Davidson’s marketing managers spend a lot of time studying their
buyers—they want to know who their customers are, what they think, how
they feel, and why they buy a Harley rather than another brand.
Their research revealed seven core types: adventure-loving traditionalists,
sensitive pragmatists, stylish status seekers, laid-back campers, classy
capitalists, cool-headed loners, and cocky misfits. Yet all Harley owners
appreciated their bikes for the same basic reasons—independence,
freedom, and power.
The example of Harley-Davidson shows that there are many factors that
affect consumer buying behavior.
Consumer Markets and Consumer Buying Behavior
a.
Consumer buying behavior refers to the buying behavior of final
consumers—individuals and households who buy goods and services for
their own consumption. All of these consumers make up the consumer
market.
b.
The American consumer market consists of more than 296 million people
who consume trillions of dollars’ worth of goods and services each year.
The global market consists of almost 6.4 billion people.
Use Key Terms Consumer Market, Consumer Buyer Behavior here.
Use Chapter Objective 1 here.
Model of Consumer Behavior
c.
Most large companies research consumer buying decisions in great detail
to answer questions about what consumers buy, where they buy, how and
how much they buy, as well as when and why they buy.
d.
Learning what, where, when, and how and how much consumers buy is
easy, but understanding the why of buying is very difficult, because those
reasons are usually locked deep inside the consumer’s mind.
e.
Understanding how consumers respond to varying marketing messages
starts with the stimulus-response model of buyer behavior found in Figure
5-1.
Use Figure 5-1 here.
f.
g.
Marketing stimuli consist of the four Ps of product, place, price, and
promotion.
Other stimuli include major forces and events in the buyer’s environment:
economic, technological, political, and cultural.
110
h.
i.
All these inputs enter the consumer’s black box and are then turned into
responses such as product choice, brand choice, dealer choice, purchase
timing and purchase amount.
The buyer’s characteristics influence how he or she perceives and reacts to
the stimuli, and the buyer’s decision process itself affects the buyer’s
behavior.
Characteristics Affecting Consumer Behavior
j.
Figure 5-2 shows the factors influencing consumer purchases. For the
most part, marketers cannot control these factors, but they must always
keep them in mind.
k.
Cultural factors exert a broad and deep influence. Roles are played by the
buyer’s culture, subculture, and social class.
1.
Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behaviors.
This behavior is largely learned from families and other important
institutions.
Use Key Term Culture here.
Use Figure 5-2 here.
2.
3.
4.
A child born in the United States generally learns the values of
achievement and success; activity and involvement; efficiency and
practicality; progress; material comfort; individualism; freedom;
humanitarianism; youthfulness; and fitness and health.
Marketers try to spot cultural shifts so that they can discover new
wants and desires, and then develop new products to meet the new
wants and desires. An example is the shift toward health and
fitness, which created a huge industry.
Subcultures are groups of people with shared value systems based
on common life experiences and situations. They include
nationalities, religions, racial groups, and geographic regions. Four
important subculture groups in the United States include
Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, and mature consumers.
Use Key Term Subculture here.
a.
The U.S. Hispanic market, which includes Americans of
Cuban, Mexican, Central American, South American, and
Puerto Rican descent, numbers 42 million consumers who
bought more than $686 billion worth of goods and services.
This group is expected to double in size in the next 20
111
5.
years. They tend to buy more branded, higher-quality
products, and are extremely brand loyal.
b.
African Americans number 39 million with a buying power
of $723 billion. This population is growing in affluence and
sophistication. They can be more price-conscious than
other groups, but they are motivated by quality and
selection. Black consumers are also the most fashionconscious of the ethnic groups.
c.
Asian Americans are the fastest growing and most affluent
segment in the Untied States. They number 12.5 million
and have a disposable income of $363 billion annually. The
largest group consists of the Chinese Americans, followed
by Filipinos, Japanese Americans, Asian Indians, and
Korean Americans. Asian Americans are the most techsavvy segment, and they shop frequently and are the most
brand-conscious of all the ethnic groups. But they are also
the least brand loyal.
d.
Mature consumers number 75 million, and this group will
more than double in size in the next 25 years. Mature
consumers are better off financially than are the younger
consumer groups.
Social classes are society’s relatively permanent and ordered
divisions whose members share similar values, interests, and
behaviors. There are seven American social classes, and they are
outlined in Figure 5-3.
Use Key Term Social Class here.
Use Figure 5-3 here.
Use Discussing the Issues 1 here.
6.
7.
8.
Social class is not determined by a single factor; rather, it is
measured by a combination of occupation, income, education,
wealth, and other variables.
Marketers are interested in social class because people within a
given class can exhibit similar buying behavior. Social classes
have distinct product and brand preferences in areas such as
clothing, home furnishings, leisure activity, and cars.
Social Factors
a.
A consumer’s behavior is affected by social factors such as
small groups, family, and social roles and status.
1.
Behavior can be influenced by small groups. These
groups include membership groups to which a
person belongs; reference groups, which are indirect
points of comparison or reference; and aspirational
112
groups, to which an individual would like to belong.
These reference groups expose a person to new
behaviors and lifestyles, influence the person’s
attitudes and self-concept, and create pressures to
conform that may affect a person’s product and
brand choices.
Use Key Term Groups here.
Use Discussing the Issues 2 here.
2.
Opinion leaders are those people within a reference
group who exert influence on others. Buzz
marketing is used by enlisting or even creating
opinion leaders to spread the word about specific
brands.
Use Key Term Opinion Leaders here.
3.
9.
Family members can influence buyer behavior. It is
the most important consumer buying organization in
society, and marketers study the roles of husbands,
wives, and even children on the purchases of
different products and services.
4.
Women make almost 85% of all purchases, totaling
$6 trillion each year. Children also can have strong
influence on family buying decisions.
5.
A person’s position in each group can be defined in
terms of role and status. A role consists of the
activities people are expected to perform according
to the persons around them. Each role carries a
status reflecting the general esteem given to it by
society. People often choose products that show
their status in society.
Personal Factors
a.
Personal characteristics that affect what a consumer buys
include age and life-cycle stage, occupation, economic
situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept.
1.
People change the goods and services they buy over
their lifetimes. The family life cycle consists of the
stages through which families might pass as they
mature over time. Traditional family life cycle
stages include young singles and married couples
113
2.
3.
with children. Other alternative stages include
unmarried couples, singles marrying later in life,
childless couples, same-sex couples, single parents,
those recently divorced, and extended parents (those
with young adult children returning home).
A person’s occupation can also affect what he or
she buys, as will his or her economic situation.
A person’s lifestyle is his or her pattern of living as
expressed in his or her psychographics. It involves
measuring consumers’ major AIO dimensions—
activities, interests, and opinions. Lifestyle profiles
a person’s whole pattern of acting and interacting
with the world.
Use Key Term Lifestyle here.
4.
There are lifestyle classifications, the most popular
of which was developed by SRI Consulting. It is
called the Values and Lifestyles (VALS) typology.
It classifies people according to how they spend
their time and their money. It divides people up into
eight groups based on two major dimensions:
primary motivation and resources. Primary
motivations include ideals, achievement, and selfexpression. Resources are classified as either high
or low, and include income, education, health, selfconfidence, energy, and other factors.
Use Application Questions 1 here.
5.
6.
Forrester research has also developed a
“technographics”
scheme,
which
segments
consumers according to their motivation, desire, and
ability to invest in technology.
Personality refers to the unique psychological
characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and
lasting responses to one’s own environment.
Personality generally covers such traits as selfconfidence, dominance, sociability, autonomy,
defensiveness, adaptability, and aggressiveness.
Personality influences buying behavior.
114
7.
It is posited that brands also have personalities, and
consumers will buy brands whose personality
matches their own. A brand personality is the
specific mix of human traits that may be attributed
to a particular brand.
Use Key Term Personality here.
10.
Psychological Factors
a.
There are four psychological factors that could influence
buyer behavior. They are motivation, perception, learning,
and beliefs and attitudes.
1.
A motive or drive is a need that is sufficiently
pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. A
person has many needs; some are biological, such
as hunger and thirst; some are psychological, such
as the need for recognition and esteem.
Use Key Term Motive (or Drive) here.
2.
There are several theories of human motivation, but
two of the most popular were developed by
Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow.
i.
Freud assumed that people are unconscious
about the real psychological forces shaping
their behavior, and that a person does not
really understand his or her motivation.
ii.
Maslow believed that people are driven by
particular needs at particular times, and that
needs are arranged in a hierarchy (see Figure
5-4). These needs include physiological
needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem
needs, and self-actualization needs. A
person focuses on his or her most important
needs, and as each level of needs ceases to
be a motivator, he or she moves up the
hierarchy.
Use Figure 5-4 here.
115
3.
Perception is the process by which people select,
organize, and interpret information to form a
meaningful picture of the world. How a person acts,
or buys, is influenced by his or her perception of the
situation. There are three perceptual processes
through which people can form different
perceptions of the same stimulus:
Use Key Term Perception here.
i.
4.
Selective attention is the tendency for people
to screen out most of the information to
which they are exposed.
ii.
Selective distortion describes the tendency
of people to interpret information in a way
that will support what they already believe.
iii.
Selective retention shows that people tend to
retain only information that supports their
attitudes and beliefs.
iv.
Subliminal advertising refers to marketing
messages received without consumers
knowing it. Studies find no link between
subliminal
messages
and
consumer
behavior.
Learning describes changes in an individual’s
behavior arising from experience. It occurs through
the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues, responses, and
reinforcement.
Use Key Term Learning here.
Applying the Concept
Video rentals generally include previews of movies that have not yet been released in
theaters. How does this apply to the effect of the learning concept just reviewed on your
own buyer decision process?
5.
A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has
about something. An attitude describes a person’s
relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, and
tendencies toward an object or an idea. Attitudes
put people into a frame of mind of liking or
116
disliking things, and of moving toward or away
from them. Attitudes are difficult to change.
Use Key Terms Belief, Attitude here.
The Buyer Decision Process
l.
There are five stages in the buyer decision process (see Figure 5-5): need
recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase
decision, and post-purchase behavior. In more routine purchases,
consumers can skip or even reverse some of these stages.
Use Chapter Objective 2 here.
Use Figure 5-5 here.
1.
2.
Need recognition is the start of the decision process. The buyer
recognizes that he or she has a problem or need.
a.
The need can come from external stimuli, such as
advertising, or internal stimuli, such as hunger or thirst.
Information search may or may not take place. If it does,
consumers can get their information from many sources.
a.
Personal sources include family, friends, neighbors, and so
forth.
b.
Commercial sources are advertising, salespeople,
packaging, and so forth.
c.
Public sources include the media and consumer-rating
organizations.
d.
Experiential sources include the consumer handling or
examining the product itself.
e.
The relative importance of each of these sources varies by
consumer. The most effective sources tend to be personal;
commercial sources tend to inform the consumer, but
personal sources can legitimize the products.
Use Discussing the Issues 4 here.
3.
Evaluation of alternatives depends on the individual consumer and
the buying situation. In some cases, consumers can evaluate
product alternatives very carefully, using careful calculations and
logical thinking. At other times, very little consideration of
alternatives is done—impulse buying and relying on intuition rule.
117
4.
5.
The purchase decision entails forming the purchase intention.
Typically, consumers will now buy what they have decided on.
However, two factors can come between the purchase intention
and purchase decision.
a.
First, attitudes of others can intervene. If someone close to
the consumer casts doubt on the decision made, the
purchase might not take place.
b.
Second, there could be unexpected situational factors. A
consumer could see a drop in income, or a competitor could
drop their prices.
Post-purchase behavior is also considered part of the buying
process. The difference between the consumer’s expectations and
the perceived performance of the good purchased determines how
satisfied the consumer is. If the product falls short of expectations,
the consumer is disappointed; if it meets expectations, the
consumer is satisfied; if it exceeds expectations, the consumer is
said to be delighted.
a.
Cognitive dissonance generally results from every major
purchase. This is the discomfort caused by post-purchase
conflict. Every purchase involves compromise, through
forgoing benefits of other products.
Use Key Term Cognitive Dissonance here.
Use Marketing at Work 5-1 here.
m.
It always costs more to gain new customers than to retain existing
customers, and the best way to retain those you already have is to satisfy
them. Bad word of mouth travels far more quickly than good.
Let’s Discuss This
Think of the last time you were unhappy with a purchase or with a company. How many
people did you tell? Did you let the company know about it? Why or why not? Have you
ever returned to that store or brand?
The Buyer Decision Process for New Products
n.
A new product is a good, service, or idea that is perceived by some
potential customers as new.
Use Key Term New Product here.
Use Chapter Objective 3 here.
118
o.
The adoption process is the mental process through which an individual
passes from first learning about an innovation to final adoption, and
adoption itself is defined as the decision by a consumer to become a
regular user of the product.
Use Key Term Adoption Process here.
p.
There are five stages in adopting a new product.
1.
Awareness is when the consumer becomes aware of a new product,
but still lacks information about it.
2.
Interest occurs as the consumer seeks information.
3.
Evaluation is the process through which the consumer considers
whether trying the new product makes sense.
4.
Trial of the new product on a small scale improves his or her
estimate of its value.
5.
Adoption occurs when the consumer decides to make full and
regular use of the new product.
Use Figure 5-6 here.
Use Discussing the Issues 3 here.
q.
There are adopter categories into which consumers fall. See Figure 5-6.
1.
Innovators tend to be adventuresome. They will try new ideas at
some risk.
2.
Early adopters are typically guided by respect. They are opinion
leaders and adopt new ideas carefully, although early.
3.
The early majority are rarely leaders, but they do adopt new ideas
before the average person.
4.
The late majority are skeptical; they wait for a majority of people
to adopt something new before they do.
5.
Laggards are tradition-bound. They can be suspicious of changes
and adopt “new” ideas only when they’ve become somewhat of a
tradition themselves.
Use Application Questions 2 here.
r.
The characteristics of a new product affect its rate of adoption. Five
characteristics are especially important in an innovation’s rate of adoption.
1.
Does it have a relative advantage over existing products?
119
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Compatibility with the values and experiences of potential
customers is important.
The degree of complexity is also considered. That is, how difficult
is it to understand or use the product?
Divisibility speaks to how easily the innovation may be tried on a
limited basis.
Communicability is the degree to which the results of using the
innovation can be observed or described to others.
Other characteristics that influence adoption of new products are
the initial and ongoing costs, the risk and uncertainty involved, and
the level of social approval.
Consumer Behavior Across International Borders
s.
Understanding the needs of consumers across borders is a daunting task.
Consumers in other countries may have many of the same things, but their
values, attitudes, and behaviors often vary greatly.
t.
Marketers must decide the degree to which they will adapt their products
and marketing programs to meet unique cultures and needs in various
markets. Standardizing offerings simplifies operations and allows
companies to take advantage of cost economies. But adapting marketing
efforts within each country results in products and programs that better
satisfy the needs of local consumers.
Use Linking the Concepts here.
3.
Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior
a.
Most large companies sell to other organizations. Even large consumerproducts companies must first sell their products to other businesses
before consumers can buy them.
b.
Business buyer behavior refers to the buying behavior of the organizations
that buy goods and services for use in the production of other products and
services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others. It includes the behavior
of retailing and wholesaling firms that acquire goods for the purpose of
reselling or renting them to others at a profit.
Use Key Term Business Buyer Behavior here.
Use Chapter Objective 4 here.
Use Figure 5-7 here.
Use Discussing the Issues 5 here.
120
c.
In the business buying process, business buyers determine which products
and services their organizations need to purchase, and then find, evaluate,
and choose among alternative suppliers and brands.
Business Markets
d.
The business market is huge. Business markets involve more dollars and
items than do consumer markets. There are many sets of business
purchases for each set of consumer purchases.
e.
Business markets differ in many ways from consumer markets. The main
differences are in market structure and demand; the nature of the buying
unit; and the types of decisions and the decision process involved.
1.
Market structure and demand
a.
The business marketer generally deals with far fewer but
far larger buyers than the consumer marketer does. Even in
large business markets, a few buyers often account for most
of the purchasing.
b.
Business markets are more geographically concentrated.
Eight states account for more than half the nation’s
business buyers: California, New York, Ohio, Illinois,
Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
c.
Business demand is derived demand—it ultimately derives
from the demand for consumer goods. Because of this,
business marketers may promote their products directly to
final consumers to increase business demand.
Use Key Term Derived Demand here.
Use Focus on Ethics here.
2.
3.
Nature of the buying unit
a.
A business purchase usually involves more decision
participants and a more professional purchasing effort.
Business buying is often done by professional purchasing
agents.
b.
The more complex the purchase, the more likely that
several people will participate in the process. Buying
committees made up of technical experts and top
management are common in buying major goods.
Types of decisions and the decision process
a.
Purchases often involve large sums of money, complex
technical and economic considerations, and interactions
among many people at many levels of the buyer’s
organization. Because of the complexity, business buying
decisions can take longer than consumer decisions.
121
b.
c.
The business buying process is generally more formalized
than the consumer process. Detailed product specifications,
written purchase orders, careful supplier searches, and
formal approval are usually required.
In business buying situations, buyer and seller are often
much more dependent on one another. They may work
closely together, partnering to jointly create solutions to the
customer’s problems.
Business Buyer Behavior
f.
The business buyer behavior model, shown in Figure 5-7, shows how
marketing and other stimuli affect the buying organization and produce
certain buyer responses. As in consumer buying, the marketing stimuli for
business consists of the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion.
Other stimuli include environmental forces such as economic,
technological, political, cultural, and competitive forces. The stimuli are
turned into buyer responses, such as product or service choice, supplier
choice, order quantities, and delivery, service, and payment terms.
g.
There are three major types of buying situations.
1.
In a straight rebuy, the buyer reorders something without any
modifications. It is generally handled on a routine basis by the
purchasing department.
2.
In a modified rebuy, the buyer wants to modify product
specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers. The modified rebuy
usually involves more decision participants than does the straight
rebuy.
3.
A new task situation is encountered when a company is buying a
product or service for the first time.
4.
The buyer makes the fewest decisions in the straight rebuy and the
most in the new task situation.
Use Key Terms Straight Rebuy, Modified Rebuy, New Task here.
h.
Systems selling is often a key business marketing strategy because many
business buyers prefer to buy a packaged solution to a problem from a
single seller. In this situation, a buyer may ask sellers to supply the
components and assemble the package or system.
Use Key Term Systems Selling here.
Use Application Questions 3 here.
i.
The decision-making unit of a buying organization is called the buying
center. It is comprised of all the individuals and units that participate in
the process. It is not a fixed and formally identified unit within the buying
122
organization. Different people assume different roles for different
purchases. For some purchases, only one person will participate; for more
complex purchases, the buying center could include 20 or 30 people.
Use Key Term Buying Center here.
j.
k.
Business buyers are subject to many influences when they make their
buying decisions. They respond to both economic and personal factors.
The various influences on buyers are shown in Figure 5-8. They include
environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and individual influences.
Use Figure 5-8 here.
Use Marketing at Work 5-2 here.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Environmental factors can include the current and expected
economic environment, as well as shortages of key materials.
Technological, political, and competitive developments can also
affect business buyers. Culture and customs can also influence
buyer reactions to the marketer’s behavior and strategies.
Organizational factors are important because each buying
organization has its own objectives, policies, procedures, structure,
and systems.
Interpersonal factors also influence the business buying process.
These can be very difficult to ascertain.
Individual factors are involved as well. Each participant in the
business buying process brings in personal motives, perceptions,
and preferences. These are, in turn, influenced by personal
characteristics such as age, income, education, professional
identification, personality, and attitudes toward risk.
Let’s Discuss This
Business people are supposed to make decisions on a rational basis, using the facts of the
situation to make a final determination. That’s where environmental and organizational
factors come into play. What about interpersonal and individual factors? Why are these
important in a business buying process? How does a marketer take these factors into
account when developing marketing messages for business audiences?
123
l.
There are eight stages to the business buying process, which are shown in
Figure 5-9. Buyers who are facing a new-task situation will usually go
through all stages of the buying process. Those going through modified or
straight rebuys may skip some of the stages.
Use Chapter Objective 5 here.
Use Figure 5-9 here.
1.
2.
3.
Problem recognition: The buying process begins when someone in
the company recognizes a problem or need that can be met by
acquiring a specific product or service.
A general need description is generated to describe the
characteristics and quantity needed of an item. For complex items,
buyers may need to work with others, such as engineers, users, and
consultants, to define the item.
The product specification includes the technical product
specifications. Value analysis is an approach to cost reduction in
which components are studied carefully to determine if they can be
redesigned, standardized, or made by less costly methods of
production.
Use Key Term Value Analysis here.
4.
5.
6.
7.
A supplier search is conducted to find the best vendors. The newer
the buying task, and the more complex and costly the item, the
greater the amount of time the buyer will spend searching for
suppliers.
The proposal solicitation is the stage in which the buyer invites
qualified suppliers to submit proposals. When the item is complex
or expensive, the buyer will usually require detailed written
proposals or formal presentations from each potential supplier.
Supplier selection occurs after the buying center reviews the
proposals. During the selection process, the buying center may
draw up a list of desired supplier attributes and their relative
importance. Buyers may also attempt to negotiate with preferred
suppliers for better prices and terms before making final selections.
An order-routine specification is now prepared that includes the
final order with the chosen supplier or suppliers. It lists items such
as technical specifications, quantity needed, expected time of
delivery, return policies, and warranties. Buyers may use blanket
contracts for routine items; this creates a long-term relationship in
124
8.
which the supplier promises to resupply the buyer as needed at
agreed prices for a set period of time.
Finally, buyers conduct a performance review. In this stage, the
buyer may contact users and ask them to rate their satisfaction.
This review may lead the buyer to continue, modify, or drop the
arrangement with the seller.
Use Under the Hood/Focus on Technology here.
E-Procurement: Buying Electronically and on the Internet
m.
Online purchase, sometimes called e-procurement, is growing rapidly.
Companies can set up their own company buying sites, create extranet
links with key suppliers, or create well-designed, easy-to-use Web sites.
n.
E-procurement gives buyers access to new suppliers, lowers purchasing
costs, and hastens order processing and delivery.
o.
Business marketers can connect with customers online to share marketing
information, sell products and services, provide customer support services,
and maintain ongoing customer relationships.
Use Key Term e-Procurement here.
Use Discussing the Issues 6 here.
p.
q.
r.
Most products bought online are MRO materials—maintenance, repair,
and operating items. MRO materials account for up to 80% of all business
orders, and the transaction costs for order processing are very high.
Online procurement in the business-to-business environment shaves
transaction costs and results in more efficient purchasing for both buyers
and suppliers. E-procurement reduces the time between order and delivery
and frees purchasing people to focus on more strategic issues.
There are some problems with e-procurement, however. There is the
potential for security disasters; the secure environment that businesses
need to carry out confidential interactions is still lacking.
Travel Log
Discussing the Issues
1. Describe how sub-culture and social class can influence a consumer’s choice of
an automobile. Which of these two influences is likely to have the largest
influence? Select three personal factors from those discussed in the chapter. How
might each of these factors influence the same decision?
Subcultures are groups of people with shared value systems based on common life
experiences and situations. They include nationalities, religions, racial groups, and
125
geographic regions. Social classes are society’s relatively permanent and ordered
divisions whose members share similar values, interests, and behaviors. The shared
values of a social class or subculture may impact perceived value of various automobiles.
Financial constraints common across the group may also play a role. Student responses
to the final question will vary.
2. Name and describe an opinion leader, either in the public eye or someone you
know personally. How has that person affected your decisions to buy products or
services?
Student responses will vary.
3. Think about a new type of product you have recently purchased. Discuss how
you proceeded through the 5 stages of the product adoption process. Did you skip
any stages? Were any of the stages in a different order from that presented in the
text? How could the manufacturer have managed the decision process to build a
stronger relationship with you?
Student responses will vary.
4. How might a marketer influence a consumer’s information search through each of
the four sources discussed in the chapter? Which source do you think marketers
should focus on to build long-term relationships with customers?
The four sources include personal sources (family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances),
commercial sources (advertising, salespeople, Web sites, dealers, packaging, displays,
public sources (mass media, consumer-rating organizations, Internet searches), and
experiential sources (handling, examining, using the product). A marketer might
influence consumers by encouraging opinion leaders to share their thoughts about the
product, targeting advertising to select groups of consumers, encouraging media stories
about products and services, and giving consumers free samples or trial offers. It might
be that personal sources offer the most influence and will help in building long-term
relationships.
5. Discuss how business buyer behavior is different from consumer buyer behavior.
What does this mean for a company attempting to sell goods to other
organizations?
In some ways, business markets are similar to consumer markets. Both involve people
who assume buying roles and make purchase decisions to satisfy needs. However,
business markets differ in many ways from consumer markets. The main differences are
in market structure and demand, the nature of the buying unit, and the types of decisions
and the decision process involved. The business marketer normally deals with far fewer
but far larger buyers than the consumer marketer does. Compared with consumer
purchases, a business purchase usually involves more decision participants and a more
professional purchasing effort. Business buyers usually face more complex buying
decisions than do consumer buyers.
6. List and explain three benefits and three drawbacks of e-procurement.
E-procurement gives buyers access to new suppliers, lowers purchasing costs, and
126
hastens order processing and delivery. However, it can also erode decades-old
customer-supplier relationships, create potential security disasters, and increase short
term costs.
Application Questions
1. Go to SRI Consulting’s Web site (http://www.sricbi.com/VALS/presurvey.shtml) and complete the VALS survey online. How
accurately are you described by your primary and secondary VALS types? Do
you think you will be in a different VALS category in 5 to 10 years? How could a
realtor use your VALS classification build a stronger relationship with you and to
sell or rent you a home?
Student responses will vary.
2. Review the five adopter categories discussed in the chapter. How might Apple
position its iPod Shuffle differently to appeal to consumers in each of the five
adopter categories? Which group do you think would be the most interested?
Which group might be the most profitable?
Student responses will vary. Innovators are venturesome—they try new ideas at some
risk. Early adopters are guided by respect—they are opinion leaders in their
communities and adopt new ideas early but carefully. Apple might position the iPod as
cutting edge technology to appeal to this group. The early majority are deliberate—
although they rarely are leaders, they adopt new ideas before the average person. Apple
might appeal to this group by focusing on attributes of the new technology. The late
majority are skeptical—they adopt an innovation only after a majority of people have
tried it. Apple might appeal to this group by highlighting the iPod’s widespread use.
Finally, laggards are tradition bound—they are suspicious of changes and adopt the
innovation only when it has become something of a tradition itself. Apple might target
this group by demonstrating the iPod’s ease of use.
3. Suppose that you own a small business that provides PC repair services to local
businesses. In addition to the basic fix-it services you now provide, you are
thinking about offering new services. Applying the “systems-selling” concept,
what additional services could you offer that would make a complete package or
systems solution for your customers?
Student responses will vary. The business owner may consider selling upgrades for
software and components or buying and selling used systems. Encourage students to
think creatively.
Under the Hood
This chapter discusses consumer and business buyer behavior—how they are similar and
how they differ. Although those similarities and differences may be noticeable across the
marketplace, they are, perhaps, most noticeable on the Web. Visit and investigate the
127
corporate Web sites for Dow Chemical (www.dow.com) and for Kellogg’s
(www.kelloggs.com).
1. How are the Web sites different? How are they similar? What types of
information are present on both Web sites?
Both sites contain product information, company contact information, and company
history. However, each is geared toward different consumers. The Kellogg’s site is
considerably more colorful and focused on brand icons. The Dow site offers more
information on product specifications and is clearly trying to shape corporate image.
2. Who is each Web site designed for?
The list of consumers and businesses that could be targeted is endless. At base,
Kellogg’s appears to be targeting the average home consumer. Dow is targeting only
those in the chemical industry. Student responses will vary, but all should offer support
for their selections.
3. Is it clear which buyers each targets? How well does each Web site communicate
with its intended audience? Which site most appeals to you?
Student responses will vary. Again, the Kellogg’s site appears to target the end
consumer. The Dow site targets business buyers. Encourage students to consider how
the sites could better communicate with their target audiences.
Focus on Ethics
For many marketers, winning over opinion leaders—people within a reference group
who exert influence on others—is the key to creating buzz about their products.
According to one recent study, “one American in ten tells the other nine how to vote,
where to eat, and what to buy. They are the influentials. They drive trends, influence
mass opinion, and most importantly, sell a great many products.” As discussed in the
chapter, some marketers leave nothing to chance. They employ opinion leaders to tout
the benefits of their products, chatting with consumers at bars, ball games, and
laundromats across the country.*
1. Is it ethical for marketers to create opinion leaders by paying them to act as
impartial consumers? How might doing so impact the relationships a
company builds with its customers?
Student responses will vary. Paying opinion leaders may alienate customers who
feel they are being deceived, ruining relationships with consumers. Or, by
building positive word-of-mouth buzz, creating opinion leaders may help build
relationships with interested consumers.
2. Would you consider working for BzzAgent? Does their approach differ from
that of firms like Big Fat Promotions? Is the approach more or less ethical?
Student responses will vary.
128
*See Edward Keller and Jonathan Berry, The Influentials (New York, NY: The Free
Press, 2003); and information found at www.amazon.com, July 2005.
GREAT IDEAS
Barriers to Effective Learning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
By and large, students have not been exposed to the consumer behavior concepts
in this chapter before. If they have taken a sociology or human behavior course,
chances are very high that the concepts were not presented in a way that allowed
the students to understand them as they apply to business in general and
marketing in particular. After presenting the concepts of consumer behavior,
have the students discuss the concepts in terms of their own buying habits, their
backgrounds, and how they differ from others in the class.
There is a lot of material in this chapter; although it hits only the high points of
consumer behavior, the authors have done a good job of summarizing the
constructs in a way that allows students to comprehend, albeit in a basic way, why
these concepts are important to marketing managers. Explaining that consumer
behavior is usually offered as a course unto itself can actually relieve some of
their anxiety. Also helpful is continually reminding them of how they can apply
this material to more fully appreciating their own motivations for their purchases.
This can then lead them to understand how a marketer could approach
understanding consumers’ motives in general.
Understanding business buyer behavior and the business buying process can be
especially difficult for students. Very few have ever had any experience with
business purchasing decisions. This requires thorough explanation; the strategic
use of personal experience in this regard is particularly helpful. If the instructor
has no personal experience in business buying situations, it could be very helpful
to bring in a guest speaker for this topic.
Business buying centers can be a very nebulous topic for students, particularly
their dynamic nature. Business students typically learn about “the real world” in
courses that present topics in a more-siloed nature than even the most functionally
organized business are run. Discussing the importance and uses of interdepartmental teamwork in this section can be highly enlightening. This can then
lead to a discussion of the different types of influencers, users, and so forth that
could be found in a business buying center, and what their functions could be in
the buying decision–making process.
Students may actually be surprised that business buying on the Internet is a
separate topic in the text. Explaining the history and use (and expense) of EDI
could be helpful, as well as the security concerns when posting critical technical
specifications on the Internet. A discussion of the complex nature of many
business purchases also helps students to understand why the majority of online
business buying still centers around MRO items.
129
Student Projects
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Pick five products of your choice and show how culture, subculture, social class,
and lifestyle might alter the way that you should market the product. Be sure to
detail which groups or specific segments you are discussing. Write up your
findings, ideas, and differences.
Assume you need an airline ticket to go to Boston on the 18th of next month. Go
to a travel Web site, such as www.orbitz.com, and specify your travel
requirements, initiate the search for your options, and print out the search results.
Use those results to list your criteria for your evaluation of alternatives. Then
identify the option you would choose if you did, in fact, need this airline ticket.
Finally, summarize how you felt about using an explicit purchase process for this
exercise.
Investigate the qualifications needed to be a purchasing manager for your
university. Discuss these qualifications in class. What general statements can you
make?
Discuss the culture and subculture in which you were raised. What sorts of goods
and services do you buy that someone raised in a different culture, or even in a
different subculture within the United States, might not have purchased.
The textbook states that more than half the nation’s business buyers are
concentrated in eight states. Go to a source that lists statistics that describe U.S.
businesses, such as FedStats, to see if you can determine why that is so. Look at
statistics such as total number of firms, total employment, and so on, but don’t
ignore the population statistics. What makes these states so attractive to
businesses? Why would businesses concentrate in these areas?
Mature consumers have become increasingly important in the U.S. economy. And
both the perception and the reality of the interests of mature consumers is
changing rapidly as the baby boomers reach that age group. AARP, the American
Association of Retired Persons, promotes the organization as the voice of this
audience, both for marketers and for our government leaders. Visit their Web site
at www.aarp.org and review their offerings and the information they provide their
own customers. How do they market the organization? How do they use
psychological factors to influence this age group? Are they effective?
Interview a purchasing agent from a company. Detail what they do, how they buy
(do they follow the model that is presented in the text?), does a buying center exit,
and what are their toughest problems as a purchasing agent. Also ask them how
their job has changed, if at all, over the last 10 years. Present your findings to the
class.
Take the buyer decision process presented in Figure 5.7 and interview five
students about how they purchased a common product (such as an automobile or a
computer) and compare how they went through the buyer behavior model. How
did they acquire information, pick alternatives, make choices, and evaluate the
success of their purchase? Be creative in how you compare the subjects.
As discussed in the text, people differ greatly in their readiness to try new
products. Using the descriptions from the chapter (specifically from Figure 5-8,
130
match the categories to each of the following products: a) a hybrid car; b) Ivory
soap; c) satellite television; d) Microsoft’s Xbox; and e) Johnson & Johnson’s
Baby Shampoo.
Interactive Assignments
Small Group Assignment
1. Form students into groups of three to five. Each group should read the opening
vignette to the chapter on Harley-Davidson. Each group should then answer the
following questions:
a. What was Harley-Davidson’s old strategy?
b. Who rides a Harley? Were you surprised?
c. Who is Harley-Davidson’s new market?
d. How has Harley changed its media strategy?
e. What psychological feelings does Harley-Davidson wish to tap in a
potential owner? In an existing owner?
f. Evaluate Harley-Davidson’s strategy.
Share your findings with the class.
Individual Assignment
1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the
following questions:
a. What was Harley-Davidson’s old strategy?
b. Who is Harley-Davidson’s new market?
c. How has Harley changed its media strategy?
d. What psychological feelings does Harley-Davidson wish to tap in a
potential owner? In an existing owner? How do these feelings match you
or your situation?
e. Evaluate Harley-Davidson’s strategy.
Think-Pair-Share
1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on
your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to the questions
from the instructor.
a. As briefly as possible, explain the “black box” concept of buyer behavior.
b. What are the most important “cultural” influences on consumer behavior?
c. What are the most important “social” influences on consumer behavior?
d. How is lifestyle used in marketing products?
e. How can a marketer shape your beliefs and attitudes? How can this be
done over the Internet?
f. What is cognitive dissonance? How do marketers attempt to reduce it?
131
2. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on
your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to the questions
from the instructor.
a. What are the primary differences between the consumer market and the
business market?
b. List four primary characteristics of the business market.
c. What are the similarities and differences between the business model of
buyer behavior and the consumer buying model? Be specific.
d. What are the differences between the straight rebuy, the modified rebuy,
and the new task buy?
e. What is systems buying?
f. What is the key to supplier selection?
g. What are the advantages to business buying on the Internet?
h. Why is the government market an important one?
Outside Example
When asked about their least favorite aspect of TV viewing, most people say it’s the
commercials. Although most consumers understand that commercials support free
programming, they are bothered by the growing number of commercial interruptions.
One way to avoid all the clutter is to channel surf and bypass commercials. But digital
video recorders (DVRs) offer another solution—skip commercials altogether while still
watching your favorite show on your own schedule.
Consumers are discovering DVRs and love the freedom they find through services like
TiVo. The service allows consumers to automatically record shows and skip commercials
during playback. Statistics show that DVR users watch more TV, channel surf less, enjoy
their DVR almost as much as their cell phone, and move many prime-time weekday
shows to the weekend, when they have more leisure time. Many advertising agencies
believe that DVRs will be the end to commercial dominance and put the consumer in the
driver’s seat as never before.
Now that satellite TV companies and cable companies alike have joined in by offering
DVRs as part of their service, market penetration should be rapid.
1. How would the elimination of traditional television advertising affect the Buyer
Decision Process?
2. What social and personal factors might influence you to buy this product? How
might they keep a consumer from buying this product?
3. Describe the buyer decision process for this new product. Who might have
adopted this technology 3 years ago? What group of buyers will be purchasing it
now?
4. How would you market this product so that you created a need in the consumer’s
mind? How would you aid in the consumer’s information search and evaluation of
alternatives?
132
Classroom Exercise/Homework Assignment
Mattel, Inc. is best known for its Barbie® dolls. Developed in the 1950s, Barbie has been
extremely successful and extremely long-lived. She has evolved over the decades to
reflect the changing American culture, yet she is still an icon of the dominant American
culture, that of Caucasians. Mattel has not, however, forgotten that there are other
cultures and subcultures in the United States. Go to the Mattel Web site,
www.mattel.com, and browse through the site before answering the following questions:
1.
How has Barbie evolved over the last five decades?
While the vast majority of Barbie dolls still reflect white culture, the dolls have evolved to
show other cultures. In looking at the Barbie Collectibles pages, for example, you will
immediately see an Asian Barbie, and you will see a section entitled “World Culture”
that highlights Barbies from around the world.
Barbie has also evolved over the years to hold many occupations, reflecting the fact that
American women now work in all fields, including those once considered “for men only.”
Barbie does, then, show that cultures, subcultures, and lifestyles do change over the
years, and marketers are wise to follow those changes.
2.
What has Mattel done to try to expand its marketing to subcultures that might not
appreciate the value of Barbie?
Mattel has developed “Flavas,” a hip-hop-themed fashion-doll brand that “celebrates
today’s teen culture through authentic style, attitude, and value.” First, by targeting
teens, Mattel is marketing to an age group that in the past was not noted for wanting
dolls. And by adding in a hip-hop flavor (or flava, in teen lexicon), they are reaching out
for girls who might have felt disenfranchised by their previous offerings. In their
marketing of the new line, they use terms such as attitude, fearless self-expression,
personality, and mood. This is clearly aimed at reaching teen girls’ deepest motivations
as reflected in their purchasing.
Mattel also lists their toys in the categories of “Infants and Preschool,” “Girls,”
“Boys,” and “Grown-ups and Parents.” This listing can be seen as just a simplified tool
for searching for your desired product, but it can also be seen as appealing to age and
lifestyle differences.
Classroom Management Strategies
This chapter has a tremendous amount of material. Consumer buying behavior, in
particular, presents an incredible amount of information, and all of this information is key
to understanding marketing. As in Chapter 3, it is helpful to tie in both sociological and
psychological principles in discussing this chapter.
133
1. More than half the class should be spent on Consumer Markets and Consumer
Buyer Behavior. A thorough understanding of this section will make the
business part of this chapter that much easier to comprehend. It is divided up
into first the “why” of buying and second the “how” of buying. The former is
guaranteed to never have crossed the students’ mind prior to this, so lots of
examples will help drive home the importance of understanding why people
buy what they do. Using their own buying history helps, particularly when
really drilling down into why they really choose the school they are attending,
the clothes they are wearing, etc. The actual buying process can be illustrated
through examples of buying something very complex, such as a computer or a
car, and then something very simple, such as salt. The new product buying
decision process is also covered, and several minutes should be spent on this
topic.
2. The remaining third or so of this class will then be spent on Business Markets
and Business Buyer Behavior. Again, the section is divided into the “why” of
buying, and then the “how”. There is also a discussion of the different market
structure and demand characteristics of business markets. The terminology of
business buying is different, and you should be certain the students understand
the differences between straight rebuy, modified rebuy and new tasks. Also,
the buying process is more complex and more likely to be followed in
practice, particularly for very expensive or very large purchases. Students
will need to be aware of the eight steps in the business buying process as well
as all of the participants in this process and the roles they play.
134