Consumer
Decision Making
Key Concepts
Consumer Behavior
Consumer
Behavior
Processes a consumer uses to
make purchase decisions, as
well as to use and dispose of
purchased goods or services;
also includes factors that
influence purchase decisions
and the product use.
Part One: Understanding the Cultural
Influences on
Consumer Buying Decisions
Identify and understand the cultural
factors that affect consumer
buying decisions
Factors Influencing Buying Decisions
Cultural
Factors
Individual
Factors
Social
Factors
Psychological
Factors
CONSUMER
DECISIONMAKING
PROCESS
BUY /
DON’T BUY
Culture
Culture
Set of values, norms,
attitudes, and other
meaningful symbols that
shape human behavior and
the artifacts, or products, of
that behavior as they are
transmitted from one
generation to the next.
Components of Culture
Values
Language
Myths
Customs
Rituals
Laws
Material artifacts
Culture is. . .
Pervasive
Functional
Learned
Dynamic
Value
Value
Enduring belief that a
specific mode of conduct is
personally or socially
preferable to another
mode of conduct.
Core American Values
Success
Materialism
Freedom
Progress
Youth
Capitalism
Subculture
Subculture
A homogeneous group
of people who share
elements of the overall
culture as well as unique
elements of their own
group.
Social Class
Social Class
A group of people in a society
who are considered nearly
equal in status or
community esteem, who
regularly socialize among
themselves both formally and
informally, and who share
behavioral norms.
Social Class Measurements
Occupation
Income
Education
Wealth
Other Variables
Social Class and Education
The Impact of Social Class
on Marketing
•
Indicates which
medium to use for
communication
•
Helps determine the
best distribution for
products
Cultural Factors
Social Influences on
Consumer Buying Decisions
Identify and understand the
social factors that affect consumer buying
decisions
Social Influences
Reference
Groups
Opinion
Leaders
Family
Members
Reference Group
Reference Group
A group in society that
influences an individual’s
purchasing behavior.
Reference Groups
Primary
Direct
Secondary
Reference
Groups
Aspirational
Indirect
Nonaspirational
Influences of Reference Groups
 They serve as information sources and
influence perceptions.
 They affect an individual’s aspiration levels.
 Their norms either constrain
or stimulate consumer behavior.
Opinion Leaders
Opinion Leaders
An individual who influences
the opinion of others.
Opinion Leaders
Marketers are looking to Web logs, or blogs, to find
opinion leaders
 Teenagers
 Movie stars
 Sports figures
 Celebrities
Family
Purchase Process Roles in the Family
 Initiators
 Influencers
 Decision Makers
 Purchasers
 Consumers
Relationships among Purchasers and
Consumers in the Family
Social Factors – Re-cap
Reference
Groups
Opinion
Leaders
Affect aspiration
levels
Information sources
Constrain or
stimulate
consumer behavior
Celebrities
People You Know
Socialization Process
Family
Initiators
Decision Makers
Influencers
Consumers
Purchasers
Individual Influences on
Consumer Buying Decisions
Identify and understand the individual
factors that affect consumer buying
decisions
Individual Influences
Gender
Age
Life Cycle
Personality
Self-Concept
Lifestyle
Psychological Influences on
Consumer Buying Decisions
Identify and understand the psychological
factors that affect consumer buying
decisions
Psychological Influences
Perception
Motivation
Learning
Beliefs & Attitudes
Perception
Perception
Process by which people select,
organize, and interpret stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture.
Perception
Selective
Exposure
Selective
Retention
Selective
Distortion
Perception
Selective
Exposure
Consumer notices certain stimuli
and ignores others
Selective
Distortion
Consumer changes or distorts
information that conflicts
with feelings or beliefs
Selective
Retention
Consumer remembers only
that information that
supports personal beliefs
Marketing Implications
of Perception







Important attributes
Price
Brand names
Quality and reliability
Threshold level of perception
Product or repositioning changes
Foreign consumer perception
Motivation
Maslow’s
Hierarchy
of Needs
A method of classifying human
needs and motivations into five
categories in ascending order of
importance.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Types of Learning
Experiential An experience changes behavior
Conceptual
Not learned through direct
experience
Beliefs and Attitudes
Belief
Attitude
LO7
An organized pattern of
knowledge that an individual
holds as true about his or her
world.
A learned tendency to
respond consistently toward a
given object.
Changing Attitudes
 Change beliefs about the brand’s attributes
 Change the relative importance of these beliefs
 Add new beliefs
Psychological Factors – Re-cap
Selective Exposure
Perception
Selective Retention
Selective Exposure
Needs
Motivation
Learning
Beliefs &
Attitudes
Psychological
Safety
Social
Esteem
Experiential
Changing
Beliefs about
Attributes
Esteem
Conceptual
Changing
Importance of
Beliefs
Adding
New Beliefs
Part Two: Understanding
Consumer Behavior
consumers make
purchase decisions
Consumer
behavior
= HOW
consumers use and
dispose of product
The Consumer
Decision-Making Process
The components
of the consumer decision-making
process
Consumer
Decision-Making Process
Consumer
Decision-Making
Process
A five-step process used
by consumers when
buying goods or services.
Consumer
Decision-Making Process
Need Recognition
Cultural, Social,
Individual and
Psychological
Factors
affect
all steps
Information Search
Evaluation
of Alternatives
Purchase
Postpurchase
Behavior
Need Recognition
Need
Recognition
Result of an imbalance between
actual and desired states.
Need Recognition
Present
Status
Preferre
d State
Marketing helps consumers recognize
an imbalance between
present status and preferred state.
Stimulus
Stimulus
Any unit of input affecting
one or more of the five senses:
sight
smell
taste
touch
hearing
Recognition of
Unfulfilled Wants
 When a current product
isn’t performing properly
 When the consumer is
running out of a product
 When another product seems
superior to the one currently used
Information Search
Internal Information Search
 Recall information in memory
External Information search
 Seek information in outside
environment


Nonmarketing controlled
Marketing controlled
External Information
Searches
Need Less
Information
Less Risk
More knowledge
More product experience
Low level of interest
Confidence in decision
Need More
Information
More Risk
Less knowledge
Less product experience
High level of interest
Lack of confidence
Evaluation of Alternatives
and Purchase
Evoked Set
Analyze product
attributes
Use cutoff criteria
Rank attributes by
importance
Purchase!
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive
Dissonance
Inner tension that a
consumer experiences after
recognizing an
inconsistency between
behavior and values or
opinions.
Postpurchase Behavior
Consumers can reduce dissonance by:
 Seeking information that reinforces positive
ideas about the purchase
 Avoiding information that contradicts the
purchase decision
 Revoking the original decision by returning
the product
Marketing can minimize through:
Effective Communication
Follow-up
Guarantees
Warranties
Consumer Buying Decisions
and Consumer Involvement
Identify the types of consumer buying
decisions and discuss the significance
a of consumer involvement
Consumer Buying Decisions
and Consumer Involvement
Routine
Response
Behavior
Less
Involvement
Limited
Decision
Making
Extensive
Decision
Making
More
Involvement
Five Factors
Influencing Decisions
1. Level of consumer involvement
2. Length of time to make decision
3. Cost of good or service
4. Degree of information search
5. Number of alternatives considered
Continuum of Consumer
Buying Decisions
Routine Response Behavior
 Little involvement in selection process
 Frequently purchased low cost goods
 May stick with one brand
 Buy first/evaluate later
 Quick decision
Limited Decision Making
 Low levels of
involvement
 Low to moderate cost
goods
 Evaluation of a few
alternative brands
 Short to moderate time
Extensive Decision Making
 High levels of involvement
 High cost goods
 Evaluation of many brands
 Long time to decide
 May experience cognitive
dissonance
Factors Determining the Level
of Consumer Involvement
Previous Experience
Interest
Perceived Risk of
Negative Consequences
Situation
Social Visibility
Marketing Implications
of Involvement
High-involvement
purchases require:
Extensive and informative
promotion to target market
Low-involvement
purchases require:
In-store promotion,
eye-catching package
design, and good displays.
Coupons, cents-off,
2-for-1 offers