CHAPTER
CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior - the actions a person takes
in purchasing and using products and services,
including the mental and social processes
that come before and after these actions.
Purchase Decision Process
Need Recognition
Perceiving a value
Information Search
Cultural, Social,
Individual and
Psychological
Factors
affect
all steps
Seeking a value
Evaluation of Alternatives
Assessing value
Purchase
Buying value
Post-purchase Behavior
Assess value in consumption
Need Recognition
Marketing helps
consumers
recognize an
imbalance between
present status and
preferred state
Internal Stimuli
and
External Stimuli
Preferred
State
Present
Status
Information Search: Seeking Value
 Internal SearchRecall information from memory
 External Search
information from outside environment
Non-marketing controlled
Marketing controlled
FIGURE 5-2 Consumer Report’s evaluation
of portable MP3-capable CD players
Alternative Evaluation
Consideration Set
Analyze product attributes
Use cutoff criteria
Rank attributes by
importance
Purchase!
Post-purchase BehaviorCognitive Dissonance
Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing
an inconsistency between behavior and values or opinions.
Cognitive
Dissonance
?
Did I make a good decision?
Did I buy the right product?
Did I get a good value?
Can minimize through:
Effective Communication
Follow-up
Guarantees
Warranties
Involvement and Problem-Solving Variations
Routine
Response
Behavior
Less
Involvement
Limited
Decision
Making
Extensive
Decision
Making
More
Involvement
Comparison of problem-solving variations
When to use Routine Response Behavior
 Little involvement in selection
process
 Frequently purchased low cost
goods
 May stick with one brand
 Buy first/evaluate later
 Quick decision
When to use Limited Decision Making
 Low levels of involvement
 Low to moderate cost goods
 Evaluation of a few alternative brands
 Short to moderate time to decide
When to use Extensive Decision Making
 High levels of involvement
 High cost goods
 Evaluation of many brands
 Long time to decide
 May experience cognitive
dissonance
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
 Motivation – what stimulates behavior to satisfy a need
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
• Perception
Selective
Exposure
Consumer pays attention to certain
stimuli and ignores others
Selective
Comprehension
Consumer interprets info so that is is
consistent with his beliefs
Selective
Retention
Average consumer only remembers
30% of information heard
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
 Perceived Risk
• Obtain Seals of Approval
• Secure Endorsements from Influential People
• Provide Free Trials of the Product
• Give Extensive Usage Instructions
• Provide Warranties and Guarantees
How do consumers make purchase decisions?
 Psychographics – the analysis of people’s lifestyles
VALS™
Consumer
Segments
Sociocultural Influences on Consumer Behavior
Social Influences on
Buying Decisions
Reference
Groups
Opinion
Leaders
Family
Members
SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Reference groups are people to whom an individual looks as a
basis for self-appraisal or as a source of personal standards.
Direct – Face
to face
Reference
Groups
Primary
Secondary
Indirect- –
No Personal
Contact
Aspirational
Dissociative
Why use celebrity spokespersons?
Opinion Leaders
SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
 Family Life Cycle
SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES
ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
 Family Decision Making
• Information Gatherer
• Purchaser
• Influencer
• User
• Decision Maker
Members assume different roles for different products
Men’s clothes?
Breakfast cereal?
Computer?
Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior consists of the
actions a person takes in purchasing and
using products and services, including the
mental and social processes that come
before and after these actions.
Purchase Decision Process
The purchase decision process is the
stages a buyer passes through in making
choices about which products and
services to buy.
Involvement
Involvement consists of the personal,
social, and economic significance of the
purchase to the consumer.
Motivation
Motivation is the energizing force that
stimulates behavior to satisfy a need.
Perception
Perception is the process by which an
individual selects, organizes, and
interprets information to create a
meaningful picture of the world.
Perceived Risk
Perceived risk represents the anxieties
felt because the consumer cannot
anticipate the outcomes of a purchase but
believes that there may be negative
consequences.
Learning
Learning refers to those behaviors that
result from (1) repeated experience and
(2) reasoning.
Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty is a favorable attitude
toward and consistent purchase of a single
brand over time.
Attitude
An attitude is a “learned predisposition
to respond to an object or class of objects
in a consistently favorable or unfavorable
way.”
Beliefs
Beliefs are a consumer’s subjective
perception of how a product or brand
performs on different attributes based on
personal experience, advertising, and
discussions with other people.
Opinion Leaders
Opinion leaders are individuals who
exert direct or indirect social influence
over others.
Family Life Cycle
The family life cycle describes the
distinct phases that a family progresses
through from formation to retirement,
each phase bringing with it identifiable
purchasing behaviors.