The Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
M&L 7202 - Consumer Behavior
* DRAFT SYLLABUS *
Autumn 2012
M 6:00 – 9:15 PM
Gerlach Hall 265
Professor:
Dr. Patricia West
Email:
west@fisher.osu.edu
Office:
544 Fisher Hall
Phone:
(614) 292 – 0568 (office); (614) 949 – 7564 (cell)
Office hours:
Mondays and Wednesdays 4:30 – 5:45 PM and by appointment
Course Objectives
Contemporary approaches to business emphasize the importance of adopting a consumer focus.
Marketing, in particular, is a customer-driven function that begins and ends with the consumer—from
recognizing his or her needs to ensuring post-purchase satisfaction and loyalty. This is the first of two
courses designed to enhance your understanding of how and why people choose, use, and evaluate
goods and services the way they do.
While all of us are consumers, our intuitions about our own behavior as well as that of others are often
inaccurate. In this class we will use theories developed in marketing, psychology, and other behavioral
sciences to better predict how consumers will respond to different marketing activities.
This course will primarily focus on the process of consumer decision-making and outcomes associated
with those decisions. The follow-up course, “Consumer Psychology,” will deeper into core
psychological processes such as perception, inference, categorization, attitudes and memory as they
relate to consumer behavior.
Course Format
We will use several different kinds of materials and approaches in this course to illustrate consumer
behavior phenomena and to get us thinking about the managerial implications of those findings. The
material will be presented using lectures, discussions, articles, videos, guest speakers, etc. We will
apply relevant theories and research to real-world consumer behavior problems. In addition, you will
be part of a team that will conduct a three-stage field project, allowing you to draw upon the
knowledge you gain during class in order to gain greater insight into consumer behavior.
Learning Objectives
The primary objective of this course is to provide key tools and frameworks for analyzing consumer
behavior in order to solve marketing problems and define effective marketing strategies.
Specifically, you will:
• Appreciate the importance of consumer analyses to the design, implementation, and evaluation
of successful marketing strategies and programs.
• Learn about relevant theories and research from the behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology,
sociology, economics) that can help marketers understand and influence consumer behavior.
• Apply consumer behavior research when developing and evaluating marketing strategies.
• Understand the strengths and limitations of specific, often competing theories for interpreting
particular consumer issues.
• Improve your abilities to discover original consumer insights that go beyond surface-level
intuitions.
Course Policies
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Attendance is expected. Your ability to benefit from the course and contribute to the class is
largely dependent upon your attendance during class meetings. Notify me in advance if you
cannot attend class. You will be responsible for everything covered, discussed or announced in
class. If you are absent I encourage you to make arrangements with a fellow student to update
you on what you missed.
The classroom is a professional learning environment, and students’ in-class behaviors should
reflect this. Intrusive classroom exits and entrances, systematic tardiness, use of laptop
computers for email correspondence, and text messaging are rude, disruptive, and discouraged.
You should come to class ready to discuss the assignment for the day, be it a reading, an
assignment you are turning in, a case, etc.
We should all try to make the classroom atmosphere as congenial as possible to allow
everybody to contribute to the class. This does not, however, mean that you must agree with
every comment offered by your classmates (i.e., it’s ok to disagree with me and your
classmates as long as it’s done in a civil and constructive manner).
Late assignments will not be accepted. The only exceptions are for documented emergencies.
Communication
The best way to reach me outside class is via email. I access my email many times a day – much more
often than I check my phone messages. If you cannot attend my officially scheduled office hours, you
can also always email me to set up an appointment at a different time that works with your schedule. I
will use Carmen’s email system to contact you individually or as a group about the class (e.g., changes
in the syllabus, assignments, etc.). It is your responsibility to make sure that emails sent, via Carmen,
reach you at an email address you check on a regular basis.
Course Materials
Course Pack (Required)
The course pack is available through XanEdu (www.xanedu.com). This website allows you to
purchase a digital copy OR a hard copy. It is your choice, but you are required to buy one or the other
for this course.
Additional Readings (Recommended based on interest)
There are many textbooks and popular press book titles that cover issues related to our class
discussions. We will be reading excerpts from a number of these during the quarter (listed below). I am
also happy to recommend additional books beyond the ones listed.
My first recommendation is a comprehensive consumer behavior textbook that you may wish to
purchase as a supplement to your course pack:
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Hoyer, Wayne D. and MacInnis, Deborah J. (2010), Consumer Behavior, 5th edition. New
York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
I also highly recommend these books that we will be reading excerpts from during the quarter (you are
not required to purchase these, but you may wish to for your own, independent reading):
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Ariely, Dan (2008), Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions,
Harper Collins.
Belsky, Gary and Thomas Gilovich (2000), Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and
How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics, Simon and
Shuster.
Gilbert, Dan (2006), Stumbling on Happiness, Random House.
Iyenger, Sheena (2010), The Art of Choosing, Twelve.
Kahneman, Daniel (2011), Thinking, Fast and Slow, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Schwartz, Barry (2004), The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Harper Collins.
Thaler, Richard H. and Cass Sunstein (2009), Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health,
Wealth, and Happiness, Penguin.
Underhill, Paco (1999), Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Simon & Schuster.
Zaltman, Gerald (2003), How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market,
Harvard Business School Press.
Assessment
As required by school policy, grading will be based on relative rather than absolute standards. The
average grade in this course will be a 3.5 or lower. A “B” (3.00) average in core courses and overall is
required to earn a Fisher MBA degree from The Ohio State University.
Each student’s grade will be determined as follows:
Exam
Team Field Project I – Depth Interviews
Team Field Project II – Customer Journey
25%
25%
25%
Individual Participation
25%
100%
I will grade each assignment out of 100 points. These assignment grades will then be weighted using
the percentages above to calculate final grades.
For example, a student who received a 90 on their exam, an 85 on their team field project, an 84 on
their individual application paper, and a 95 for their individual participation grade would have their
grade calculated as follows:
90*.25 + 85*.25 + 84*.25 + 95*.25 = 88.50 (B+)
Exam
One in-class exam will be held during the term (see course calendar for date). It will be an essay-based
cumulative exam over all material covered during the quarter. The exam will be open book/open notes,
and you not will be allowed to use your laptop. See the exam review sheet on Carmen for more details
(including sample questions).
Consumer Behavior Team Field Project
This project will provide a hands-on opportunity to understand consumer behavior. In teams comprised
of 4-5 members, students will investigate a consumer issue using a three-step process involving: (1)
qualitative depth interviews, (2) survey design & fielding, and (3) development of a “customer journey
map” that provides recommendations for addressing identified “pain points” and capitalizing on
“moments of truth” that directly impact engagement, experience, satisfaction and referral rate. You
will form your own teams. I will provide a client for you to work with and a description of the problem
your team is asked to resolve. If your team would prefer to work with a different client you are
welcome to do so. Projects can focus on any product or service category that is suited for developing a
customer journey map. The scope and sample size for the project make it similar to typical, exploratory
consumer research projects that marketing departments regularly commission and field. You will
summarize your interview insights and survey questions in a first report and your survey results,
customer journey map, and recommendations in a second report. All teams will present their findings
in class. More details will be announced in class (and presented in a separate document).
Individual Participation
Your participation grade will be determined by three components: (1) in-class contribution, (2) quality
of non-graded assignments/activities collected during class, and (3) contribution to your team’s field
project.
In-Class Contribution. In-class contribution will be assessed based on the quality and consistency of
your contributions to the in-class discussions. You are neither expected to have all the right answers in
every class, nor to dominate every in-class discussion. However, you are required to be prepared and
contribute regularly. The quality of our class discussions depends on how well prepared you are and
your willingness to share the results of your preparation with the class. This means that the quality of
your contributions is a lot more important than the quantity. It is entirely possible that you can talk a
lot and receive a low grade for in-class contribution. When evaluating your contribution to the class
discussions, factors such as the following are considered:
• Does the participant attend class regularly and come to class on time? Is the participant
prepared?
• Do comments add insight to our understanding of the marketing concept, the problem or
situation; or are others left with a “so what” feeling?
• Do comments generate discussion by yielding a new perspective?
• Is the participant a good listener? Are comments timely and do they advance the comments
recently made by others? Are they linked to the comments of others? Is there a willingness to
interact with other class members?
Quality of non-graded Assignments/Activities. I will periodically collect written exercises/ activities
that you complete in class. These will be factored into your participation grade as follows:
• Does participant turn in all non-graded activities collected during class time?
• Are non-graded activities high quality?
Field Project Contributions. Your contributions with respect to the field project will also be a factor in
assessing participation, including:
• Meeting all milestones on field project by the specified dates
• Peer evaluations on field project (i.e., how did your team members rate your contribution to the
team)?
• Turning in evaluations of all field project presentations (i.e., your ratings of other teams’
presentations).
Honor Code
Academic integrity is essential to maintaining an environment that fosters excellence in teaching,
research, and other educational and scholarly activities. Thus, The Ohio State University and the
Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) expect that all students have read and understand the
University’s Code of Student Conduct and that all students will complete all academic and scholarly
assignments with fairness and honesty. Students must recognize that failure to follow the rules and
guidelines established in the University’s Code of Student Conduct and this syllabus may constitute
“Academic Misconduct.”
The Ohio State University’s Code of Student Conduct (Section 3335-23-04) defines academic
misconduct as: “Any activity that tends to compromise the academic integrity of the University, or
subvert the educational process.” Examples of academic misconduct include (but are not limited to)
plagiarism, collusion (unauthorized collaboration), copying the work of another student, and
possession of unauthorized materials during an examination. Ignorance of the University’s Code of
Student Conduct is never considered an “excuse” for academic misconduct, so I recommend that you
review the Code of Student Conduct, specifically, the sections dealing with academic misconduct.
If I suspect that a student has committed academic misconduct in this course, I am obligated by
University Rules to report my suspicions to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. If COAM
determines that you have violated the University’s Code of Student Conduct (i.e., committed academic
misconduct), the sanctions for the misconduct could include a failing grade in this course and
suspension or dismissal from the University.
In this course, it is also expected that each student will behave in a manner that is consistent with
the Fisher Honor Statement, which reads as follows:
“As a member of the Fisher College of Business Community, I am personally committed to the highest
standards of behavior. Honesty and integrity are the foundations from which I will measure my
actions. I will hold myself accountable to adhere to these standards. As a future leader in the
community and business environment, I pledge to live by these principles and celebrate those who
share these ideals.”
If you have any questions about the above policy or what constitutes academic misconduct in this
course, please contact me.
Students with Disabilities
Any student who feels she/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should
contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Office for Disability Services at
614-292-3307 in room 150 Pomerene Hall to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with
documented disabilities. It is your responsibility to discuss this with me well in advance of any
assignments/exams, not, for example, the day before or day of an exam.
COURSE CALENDAR*
*Calendar is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. All changes will be discussed in advance of the day affected.
Day/Session
Date
M
8/27
W
M
M
M
1/2
3/4
5/6
7/8
9 / 10
9/5
9/10
9/17
9/24
Topic
Assignment Due
Overview of Consumer Behavior
Video
Motivation, Ability and Opportunity I
MAO Readings & Video
Photo & Background Assignment due
Motivation, Ability and Opportunity II
Guest Speaker: Alida Smith, GPO
Prepare Boston Beer Company case
Sign-up for Field Project
Consumer Decision Making I
CDM Readings & Decision Rules Exercise
Consumer Decision Making II
Prepare Lowe’s Company, Inc. case
Heuristics, Biases, and Context Effects
HBC Readings
Field Project Proposal due today.
Each team that is working on a project
other than the GPO will have at least one
meeting with me outside of class by 5:00
pm Wednesday, 9/12.
Situational Influence
Situational Influence Readings
Post-Decision Processes
Post-Decision Processes Readings
Team Interview & Survey Report Due
Happiness & Designing Experiences
Prepare elBulli: A Taste of Innovation case
Interpersonal Influence
Interpersonal Influence Readings
M
11 / 12
10/1
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Salem Baskin
Field Project Presentations for Teams 1 - 3
Telling the Truth
Turn in audience feedback forms on all
presentations at end of both presentation
days.
NOTE: These forms are not anonymous or
confidential, so be constructive in the
feedback you give your classmates.
M
13 / 14
10/8
Field Project Presentations for Teams 4 - 8
Turn in audience feedback forms on all
presentations.
Field Project Final Reports due on Wed,
10/10
Field Project Team Peer Evaluations due
for all Team Members
Turn in hard copies of Final Reports (one
per team) and Team Peer Evaluations (not
necessarily together) to my office (Fisher
544) by 6 PM on Wednesday 10/10
NOTE: Team peer evaluations are
confidential and will NOT be shared with
your team members.
Th
10/11
Final Exam
Syllabus Supplement I
Required Readings and Discussion Questions
Class Procedure on Non-case Days:
With the exception of the first lecture and case days, for each lecture you will have two types of
readings and two types of discussion questions to prepare. I will not ask you to turn in written answers
to these questions, but it is in your best interest to have prepared good answers, as these questions will
be used to guide our discussion of the topic for the day. Both types of questions will also assist you in
studying for the exam at the end of the quarter.
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Lecture. These are readings that will introduce the key
topics/concepts for the lecture and that will help you answer the general “Discussion Questions” for
the lecture. Please note that while these readings should help guide you in answering the Discussion
Questions, I also encourage you to use your own experience, both your past work experience and your
experience as a consumer, in answering these questions.
Focal Readings. These are readings that we will spend time in class specifically discussing; depending
on the reading, these discussions will typically be 15 – 20 minutes long and will be guided by the
“Focal Reading Questions,” which relate directly to the focal article/book chapter/video. In most cases,
these readings/video deal with a specific company, brand, or marketing decision and can be thought of
as “mini-cases.”
Case Days:
Your primary reading for a case day will obviously be the case (and potentially another supplementary
reading). “Case Study Questions” are provided instead of discussion questions. These questions are
provided to help you prepare the case. Like the discussion and focal reading questions, I will not ask
you to turn these in, but it is in your best interest to prepare good answers to these questions, as they
will help guide the case discussion.
Lecture 1: Overview of Consumer Behavior
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
• Overly, Stephen (2011), “To Alter Consumer Behavior, Some Companies Reach out to Academics,”
The Washington Post, April 3:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/to-alter-consumer-behavior-somecompanies-reach-out-to-academics/2011/03/30/AFR81vWC_story.html
• Anderson, Eric and Duncan Simester (March, 2011), “A Step-by-Step Guide to Smart Business
Experiments,” Harvard Business Review [R1103H].
Focal Viewing for Today:
• Watch the following video of a lecture given by Daniel Kahneman titled “The Trap of Thinking
That We Know”:
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/daniel-kahneman-on-the-trap-of-thinking-thatwe-know/
Focal Questions/Activities:
• What are the primary characteristics of “System 1” and “System 2”?
• What are three implications of Kahneman’s work for marketers and for consumers?
Lecture 2: Motivation, Ability and Opportunity I
Discussion Questions for Today:
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Why do some consumers find an ad interesting and engaging while others completely ignore the
same ad?
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Even if consumers are extremely motivated to process information about a product/brand and/or
are motivated to buy that product/brand, what factors might prevent them from doing so?
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What can marketers do to help consumers achieve their goals, or derail their efforts?
Readings and Video to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
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Reynolds, Thomas J. and Jonathan Gutman (1988), “Laddering Theory, Method, Analysis, and
Interpretation,” Journal of Advertising Research, 23 (1), 11-31.
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Catchings-Castello, Gwendoyln (2000), “The ZMET Alternative,” Marketing Research, 12 (2), 6-12.
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Iyengar, Sheena (2010), “Lord of the Things,” The Art of Choosing, p. 177 – 215.
Focal Reading & Video for Today:
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Dan Ariely (2011) “Self Control,” TEDx Duke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPQhj6ktYSo&feature=related
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“An Idea for Lent: Carrot and stickK” The Economist, February 7, 2008:
http://www.economist.com/node/10661442
Focal Reading & Video Questions:
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What are alternative ways, other than the pricing mechanism used by StickK.com, that one could
use to increase consumers’ attention to their long-term intentions, and/or reduce the pull of shortterm desires?
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How would you apply Dan Ariely’s observations regarding for self-control to solve a problem you
are currently facing? How about a problem society is facing? What can a marketer learn from this?
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Dan’s questions: How do we design the world to help us overcome our temptations? How do we
accomplish this without obstructing our human freedom?
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What do the observations on self-control presented from both these authors reveal about
Kahneman’s two-system theory?
Lecture 3: Motivation, Ability and Opportunity II
Case: Boston Beer Company
Case Study Questions:
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How would core Sam Adams customers respond to a light beer push?
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Should Boston Beer attack the light beer market? If yes, why and how? If no, why and what
should they do instead?
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What is the specific contribution of each form of market research to your recommendation in
the question above (i.e., specifically, what did you take away from the taste tests, ZMETs,
consumption data, etc.)?
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If we were to enter to enter the market, what proposal would you make (name, label, bottle
color, taste, target customer, target competitor, etc.)?
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What questions would you need answered in order to decide whether to move forward with
your recommendations?
Case: Cyr, Linda A., Joseph B. Lassiter, and Michael J. Roberts (1998; revised 2001), “Boston
Beer Co: Light Beer Decision,” Harvard Business School Publishing [9-899-058].
Supplemental Material: Zaltman, Gerald (1998), “The ZMET Research Process,” Harvard
Business School Publishing [9-599-056].
Guest Speaker: Alida Smith, GPO
Food for Thought:
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What is the core problem that needs to be addressed?
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How would your team approach this problem?
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What information do you need, from whom, how will that information help you proceed?
Lecture 4: The Consumer Decision Making Process I
Discussion Questions for Today:
• How are needs activated?
• Where do consumers search for information about products/brands? What type of information do
consumers search for?
• What biases can affect consumers’ information search?
• Do you think consumers really use the decision rules you read about? Why or why not? If so, what
does it look like in the “real world?”
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
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Kahneman, Daniel (2011), Chapter 25 and 26 in Thinking, Fast and Slow, Harper Collins.
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Thaler, Richard (1999) “Mental Accounting Matters,” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12:
183 – 206.
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Schwartz, Barry (2004), Chapter 3 in The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Chapter 3,
“Deciding and Choosing,” pp. 52-61.
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Graham, Judy (2010), Section IX in Critical Thinking in Consumer Behavior: Cases and
Experimental Exercises, 2nd edition, “Decision Rules I and II” pp. 132-138.
*This is a mini-case that provides exercises for you to work through – please actually work through these
exercises. If you have questions on them, we can go over them in class.
Focal Reading for Today:
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Lehrer, Jonah (2011) “The Curse of Mental Accounting,” Wired:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/the-curse-of-mental-accounting/
Focal Reading Questions for Today:
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What does it mean for marketers (consumers) if a dollar isn’t always worth a dollar?
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How can a marketer apply Kahneman & Tversky’s “Prospect Theory” and Richard Thaler’s
“Mental Accounting” to their pricing, communications, and product assortment decisions?
Lecture 4: The Consumer Decision Making Process II
Case: Lowe’s Company, Inc.
Case Study Questions:
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What are some of the key challenges Lowe’s faces in successfully deploying NGIS?
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What are the primary factors that influence customers to pursue a kitchen remodel project?
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Describe the major steps involved in their buying cycle and identify the top three “pain points”
involved and their order of importance.
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How did the customer experience mapping exercise benefit Lowe’s? What additional data
would you collect?
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Carefully analyze the effectiveness numbers presented in Exhibit 8. Do they make sense?
What do they tell you about the customer buying process? What changes would you
recommend in response, and why?
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How would the marketing plan differ if the client were Home Depot instead of Lowe’s?
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Using this case as an example, how do you plan to approach developing a customer journey
map for your client?
Case: Sawhney, Mohanbir (2011), “Lowe’s Companies, Inc.: Optimizing the Marketing
Communication Mix,” Kellogg School of Management [KEL563].
Supplemental Materials:
Court, David, Elzinga, Dave, Mulder, Susan and Ole Jorgen Vetvik (2009), “The Consumer
Decision Journey,” McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 3, 96-107.
Richardson, Adam (Fall, 2010), Harvard Business School Blogs.
Understanding Customer Experience:
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/10/understanding_customer_experie.html
Using Customer Journey Maps to Improve a Customer Experience:
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/using_customer_journey_maps_to.html
Touchpoints Bring the Customer Experience to Life:
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/12/touchpoints_bring_the_customer.html
Lecture 6: Heuristics, Biases, and the Context of Judgments
Discussion Questions for Today:
• Why do consumers use “rules of thumb” to make decisions?
• Anchoring, which you’ll read about in more than one of today’s readings, is one of the three original
heuristics identified in the heuristics and biases approach to studying human decision making explain the other two.
• After reading about prospect theory and reading the excerpts from Predictably Irrational, one can
easily argue that most consumers don’t always make rational decisions. As a marketer, how do you
feel about using this knowledge of how consumers make decisions to sell products? Is it
exploitative? Are you “tricking” the consumer? Or is it just good business?
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
• Belsky, Gary and Thomas Gilovich (2000), Chapter 2 in Why Smart People Make Big Money
Mistakes and How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics,
“When Six of One Isn’t Half a Dozen of the Other,” pp. 51-59.
• Thaler, Richard H. and Cass Sunstein (2009), Chapter 1 in Nudge: Improving Decisions about
Health, Wealth, and Happiness, “Biases and Blunders,” pp. 17-31.
Focal Reading for Today: Ariely, Dan (2008), Chapters 1 and 2 in Predictably Irrational: The
Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions, “The Truth About Relativity,” pp. 1-8 and “The Fallacy of
Supply and Demand,” pp. 25-33.
Focal Reading Questions for Today:
• What does Dan Ariely mean when he says “most people don’t know what they want unless they see
it in context”?
• About 10 years ago, when Williams Sonoma first introduced a home “bread bakery” machine for
$275, most consumers were not interested. How could you use a decoy option to increase sales of
this bread unit? (I will tell you in class what William Sonoma actually did, but try to figure this out
without browsing their website).
• How would you use the concept of anchoring when pricing a new product?
Lecture 7: Situational Influences on Purchase Decisions
Discussion Questions for Today:
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What is the transition zone? What can you do with it? What shouldn’t you do with it?
•
What is the lesson for marketers from the chapter “You Need Hands?”
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Have you had any retail experiences where it was clear the retailer didn’t understand this lesson?
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What is “scent marketing?”
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What are some of the benefits marketers hope to obtain by using scents in a retail environment?
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What are some of the difficulties with doing so?
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Are there ethical issues with using scent marketing?
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
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Underhill, Paco (1999), Chapters 3 and 4 in Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping,
“The Twilight Zone” and “You Need Hands,” pp. 45-59.
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Vlahos, James (2007), “Scent and Sensibility,” New York Times, September 9.
Focal Readings for Today:
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Harvard Business Review (December, 2011), “Spotlight on Reinventing Retail”
o “The Future of Shopping” [R1112C].
o “Retailing Isn’t Broken, Stores Are” [R1112D].
o “Knowing What Your Customers Want Before They Do” [R1112E].
Focal Reading Questions for Today:
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Can you think of three things you would you recommend a retailer that you frequent do to improve
their current practices based on the focal readings?
•
How would you apply the principles described in this Spotlight on Retail to other businesses/
organizations?
Lecture 8: Post-Decision Processes
Discussion Questions for Today:
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Why do marketers care what happens after the sale?
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Why is customer satisfaction important?
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Why are “too many choices” potentially problematic for (1) consumers and (2) marketers?
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What can marketers do to minimize both anticipated and post-purchase regret?
•
What can we learn from the “Julie Dilemma?”
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Today:
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Tugend, Alina (2010), “Too Many Choices: A Problem That Can Paralyze,” New York Times,
February 26.
•
Schwartz, Barry (2004), Chapter 4 in The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Chapter 3, “When
Only the Best Will Do,” pp. 77-96.
•
Iyenger, Sheena (2010), Chapter 7 in The Art of Choosing, pp. 216 – 255.
Focal Reading for Today:
•
Freeman, Karen (May, 2012), “To Keep Your Customers, Keep it Simple,” Harvard Business
Review [R1205G].
Focal Reading Questions:
•
Considering your client, what can you recommend to:
o Help build trust
o Navigate the options
o Make it easier to choose
o Enhance confidence and commitment in choice
Lesson 9: Happiness & Designing Experiences
Case: elBulli
Case Study Questions:
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Before class, try to make one of the recipes in Exhibit 8 of the case, or one that appears online.
What factors made elBulli the best restaurant in the world? Which elements of the experience
create value for customers?
What are the most salient features of the creative process at elBulli?
Are there weaknesses in the operations? How would you fix them?
What should Chef Ferran Adrià do next?
Case: Norton, Michael (2009), elBulli: The Taste of Innovation, Harvard Business School [9-509015].
Supplementary Materials:
•
Dunn, Elizabeth, Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson (2011), “If Money Doesn’t Make You
Happy You Probably Aren’t Spending it Right, Journal of Consumer Psychology, pp. 115 125.
•
Michael Norton: How to Buy Happiness (April, 2012), TEDx
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness.html
Lecture 10: Social and Interpersonal Influences on Consumer Decision Making
Discussion Questions for Lecture:
•
Why do people “follow the herd”? That is, why do they conform to what others do and/or to
society’s expectations?
•
How can marketers use the principles of persuasion you read about to persuade consumers to
comply with their requests (which are typically to buy their product/service, but you can also
think about other requests a retailer or marketing manager might make of current or potential
customers)?
Readings to Illustrate Key Concepts for Lecture:
•
Thaler, Richard H. and Cass Sunstein (2009), Chapter 3 in Nudge: Improving Decisions about
Health, Wealth, and Happiness, “Following the Herd,” pp. 53-73.
•
Cialdini, Robert B. (2001), “Harness the Science of Persuasion,” (HBR OnPoint Enhanced
Edition), Harvard Business Review, 79 (9), 27-29.
Focal Reading for Lecture: Bughin, Jacques, Jonathan Doogan, and Ole Jorgen Vetvik (2010),
“A New Way to Measure Word of Mouth Marketing,” McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 2, pp. 113-116.
Focal Reading Questions:
•
What is word-of-mouth? What forms can it take?
•
When (i.e., for what types of purchases and in what types of situations) is word-of-mouth most
important to consumers?
•
How can marketers encourage the three types of word-of-mouth described in the article: (1)
experiential, (2) consequential, and (3) intentional?
•
Word-of-mouth is often perceived by consumers as more reliable/trustworthy than traditional
marketing. Do you think this is objectively the case?
Lecture 11: Telling the Truth
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Salem Baskin, Author & Consultant
Jonathan Salem Baskin is a thought-leader on brands and
marketing, and has nearly 30 years of experience putting his
ideas into practice for clients around the world. He has led
communications for such brands as Limited Brands, Nissan, and
Blockbuster, and led the PR agency on Apple’s launch of its first
iMac. He has published four books, writes a regular column for
Advertising Age, and pens regular blog posts at BaskinBrand and
at Histories of Social Media.
Syllabus Supplement II
Consumer Behavior Field Project
This project will provide a hands-on opportunity to understand consumer behavior. In teams comprised
of 4-5 members, students will investigate a consumer issue using a three-step process involving: (1)
qualitative depth interviews, (2) survey design & fielding, and (3) development of a “customer journey
map” that provides recommendations for addressing identified “pain points” and capitalizing on
“moments of truth” that directly impact engagement, experience, satisfaction and referral rate.
You will form your own teams. I will provide a client for you to work with and a description of the
problem your team is asked to resolve. If your team would prefer to work with a different client you
are welcome to do so. Projects can focus on any product or service category that is suited for
developing a customer journey map. The scope and sample size for the project make it similar to
typical, exploratory consumer research projects that marketing departments regularly commission and
field. You will summarize your interview insights and survey questions in a first report and your
survey results, customer journey map, and recommendations in a second report. All teams will present
their findings in class.
Topic
The topic should meet a number of requirements:
1. It should be a consumer decision-making phenomenon (i.e., it should be related to the purchase
or consumption of products or services). It can be a pre-purchase phenomenon, a purchase
phenomenon, a post-purchase phenomenon, or a combination of these.
2. It should be of managerial and/or public policy relevance.
3. It should be feasible. You should be able to examine the issue within the timeframe provided
and using the advised methodology.
Process
The project will proceed in several steps:
1. Select a team.
Please start talking to people in class right away about project ideas and team composition. I have
also enabled a discussion forum on Carmen for you to propose ideas you are interested in and to
find like-minded people to work with on a specific topic. You will sign up for teams (including a
team number, which determines when you present) in class on Wednesday, September 5th. Each
team should plan on being 5 members. This will be your team for the entire quarter – you may not
get a divorce!
2. Submit research proposal
By Wednesday, September 12th, submit a short research proposal. Your proposal should include:
• A description of your client and the problem/opportunity you intend to address.
• An explanation of how you intend to recruit target consumers to interview/survey.
• A discussion of how you think the customer journey mapping process will help this client.
Address these issues, using no more than two pages. The more precise you can be in organizing
your thinking and explaining your intentions, the easier it is for me to give you feedback and help
you with the project. But, remember, it’s only a proposal, and significant details will emerge and
evolve over time.
3. Feedback
I will email feedback to your team after reading your proposal. However, there will probably be
many more questions you want to discuss. I expect you to set up a time with me to meet outside
class to discuss your project. All teams must have had at least one in-person meeting with me
(outside of class) about their field project by 5 PM on Wednesday, September 12th. You are
welcome to meet with me at any time, though: how much feedback you want throughout the
quarter is up to you. I am happy to make myself available to you at all stages of the project, from
the proposal through final report. It is up you how much you choose to take advantage of me as a
resource.
4. Field work
I highly recommend that all projects include an initial qualitative phase (e.g., depth interviews)
followed by a quantitative phase that allows you to test the insights you’ve uncovered. The
timeframe for the course will require a very quick turnaround between your qualitative and
quantitative research. Your team should plan to conduct 4 to 6 depth interviews and to survey a
minimum 25 people.
5. Data analysis and Development of Customer Journey Map
After you collect your survey data, you must analyze it, develop your customer journey map
reflecting your results, and incorporate implications of your findings. This is not a trivial phase, so
make sure your data collection is complete in time to allow for analysis and application of your
results.
6. Presentations
You will present your research project to the class on Monday, 10/1 and Monday, 10/8 (which date
your team will present will be determined based on the in-class team sign-ups). The presentation
should be clear and concise (about 15 minutes). The presentation will be followed by an
approximately 5 minute Q&A session. The entire class (i.e., not just me) will rate your presentation
along the following dimensions:
a. Situation analysis
b. Research insights / survey findings
c. Customer Journey Map
d. Recommendations for the client
You should prepare a handout for your classmates that illustrates your Customer Journey
Map and Recommendations. Please email me that handout by the Sunday night prior to Monday
presentations so I can get copies made. Alternatively, you can make your own copies. This is up to
you, but copies should be ready for everyone in class when you present.
Note that part of your individual class participation grade is determined by whether you are there as
an audience member for all presentations besides your own. I will pass out a rating sheet for each
presentation that you will put your name on and turn in at the end of each class in which
presentations are given (you do not need to print these yourself, but they are on Carmen if you
would like to see how the class will be evaluating you). These evaluations will be shared with the
presenting team (with your name still on it – much like evaluations in a corporate setting, these
evaluations will not be anonymous), so please be constructive.
7. Final Report
The final report is due on Wednesday, October 10th. It must be turned into my office by 5 PM.
The written report should include the following elements (the page numbers are not strict
requirements, but guidelines to give you a better idea of what I expect. I am assuming that the
document is double-spaced with 1” margins). The total report should be between 15 and 20 pages,
not including cover page, appendices, and task division list.
1. Executive Summary (1 page)
2. Problem Description
− Identification of client with clear discussion of the problem/opportunity you are
studying (1 – 2 pages).
3. Qualitative Research
− Discuss who your informants were and why they were selected. Describe the process
used in developing your interview guide and the insights you uncovered through the
interview process (3 – 4 pages)
4. Quantitative Research
− Describe how you built on the insights uncovered in your qualitative research using a
survey. In describing your quantitative research be sure to include a description of your
sample and a justification for why they were selected. In addition, provide an organized
presentation of your main findings. This should be a written discussion of your findings,
but you can also supplement it with tables, figures, appendices, etc. You don’t have to
report everything you find. Report only the results that are most interesting/most
relevant to your client. The results should tell a story that leads directly to your
recommendations/implications. (3 – 4 pages)
5. Customer Journey Map
− Use the procedures described in the readings from September 10th to develop a
“Customer Journey Map” that summarizes your research and recommendations for your
client. (3 – 4 pages)
6. Summary
− A discussion of the key recommendations / implications of your findings for your client
that clearly stem from the results of your research (2 – 3 pages)
7. Appendices and exhibits
− Interview guide & Survey instrument
− Figures, graphs tables, etc. that help the reader understand your findings
8. Team Evaluations
You will be asked to evaluate the contribution of the other members of your team. This
evaluation will be confidential (only I will see what you write). Each team member will hand
this in to me separately on the same day your final reports are due, Monday, October 8th.
Copies of the evaluation sheet will be available on Carmen for you to download and fill out.
Please print and fill out one form for each of your team members, including yourself.
Evaluation Criteria
The field project is worth 25% of your final grade and will be evaluated using these criteria:
1. Client selection and problem / opportunity identification
2. Data quality (depth, extensiveness)
3. Analytic soundness (logic and support for findings and interpretations)
4. Quality of report and recommendations
5. Quality of in-class presentation
A few additional comments
Qualtrics Survey Software
− If you elect to conduct an online survey, Fisher students have access to a very useful survey
creation tool (which is much better than the free accounts available at many websites – in my
experience, the free accounts from Survey Monkey, Zoomerang, etc. do not always let people
access their full data, only summary statistics).
Information from ITS about how to create a Qualtrics account so that you can use
Qualtrics to create online surveys and view full response data:
Fisher students can create their own Qualtrics account by going to https://osu.qualtrics.com and
clicking on “Please click here to create an account.” You will be prompted for your email
address, which must be either a Fisher or an OSU email address. We require that students using
Qualtrics complete the Qualtrics Usage Policy, which can be found online at
https://fisher.osu.edu/kb/qualtrics in the “Resources” box in the upper right-hand corner of the
screen. Once we receive a signed Qualtrics Usage Policy we will upgrade the account, giving
the student full permission to create and distribute surveys.
− If you have other questions or concerns with Qualtrics, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at
helpdesk@fisher.osu.edu or 614-292-8976.
Exploratory Methods:
o Depth interviews - Talk to people
• Construct interview questions based on client input and your own insight into the
problem.
• Conduct detailed interviews with a limited number of representative consumers. Ask
predetermined questions, but allow participants to bring up new issues themselves
(remain open to perspectives that have not been considered earlier).
• Can also conduct ZMET or laddering interviews or incorporate these methods into a
longer depth interview.
• Summarize findings, draw conclusions.
o Focus Groups – Have people talk to each other
• Select discussion points based on client input and your own insight into the problem.
• Bring together 5 to 10 representative and relevant consumers.
• Moderate the discussion: make sure that the discussion points you have identified
earlier are all covered, but stay open to alternative perspectives you had not considered
earlier.
• Summarize findings, draw conclusions.
o Observation – Observe consumers in the marketplace or in their homes
• Select observation locations, observation times, and relevant consumer behavior
discussion points based on the literature review and your own insight into the problem.
• If you wish to conduct in-store observations, it is very important that you get
permission to do so from the store manager first. I am happy to assist with this if
you run into difficulties.
• Observe as many consumers as you judge necessary to be able to generalize your
findings.
• Make sure you carefully note the behaviors you had judged relevant in advance, but
stay open to other relevant behaviors that you hadn’t considered earlier.
• Interpret results using relevant literature as well as your own common sense.
• Summarize findings, draw conclusions.
Quantitative Descriptive and Causal Methods:
o Survey – Administer a questionnaire (on-line or via paper and pencil)
• Identify relevant concepts⎯consumer knowledge, motivations, attitudes, beliefs,
intentions, or behaviors⎯based on client input and your own insight into the problem,
as well as the results of the exploratory phase of your research.
• Construct a questionnaire in which you measure these concepts.
• Administer this questionnaire to a representative and relevant group of consumers.
• Analyze your findings.
• Interpret results typically using descriptive statistics (means, frequencies, etc.) and
correlations.
• Summarize findings, draw conclusions.