Consumer Behavior Study Notes free essay sample

Consumer Behaviour: the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires. Consumer behaviour is a process Buyer behaviour: the interaction between consumers and producers at the time of purchase. * Exchange (two or more organizations or people give and receive something of value) is an integral part of marketing Consumer behaviour involves many different actors Purchaser and the user of a product may not necessarily be the same person * Another person can also act as an influencer when providing recommendations for or against certain products without actually buying or using them Segmenting Consumers Market Segmentation: process of identifying groups of consumers who are similar to one another in one or more ways and devising marketing strategies that appeal to one or more groups Demographics: statistics that measure observable aspects of a population (i. e. birth rate, age distribution, income, etc. * Changes and trends revealed in demographic studies are of great interest to marketers since it can be used to locate and predict the sizes of markets * Markets can usually be segmented by age, gender, family structure, social class and income, ethnicity, geography, and lifestyles Chapter 2: Perception Exposure Exposure: the degree to which people notice a stimulus that is within range of their sensory receptors Sensory Thresholds Psychophysics: the science that focuses on how the physical environment is integrated into our personal, subjective world The absolute threshold Absolute threshold: the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a sensory channel The differential threshold Differential threshold: the ability of a sensory system to detect changes in a stimulus or differences between the two stimuli Just noticeable difference (JND): the minimum change in a stimulus that can be detected * The ability to detect a difference between two stimuli is the relative difference between the decibel level of the message and its surroundings Weber’s Law The stronger the initial stimulus, the greater its change must be for it to be noticed K= ? II where: K = the constant increase or decrease necessary for the stimulus to be noticed (this varies across the senses) ?I = the minimal change in intensity of the stimulus required to be just noticeable to the person (JND) I = the intensity of the stimulus before the change occurs * Retailers generally use a markdown rule of at least 20% to make an impact on shoppers Subliminal Perception * Another word for â€Å"threshold† is limen and stimuli that fall below the limen are called subliminal Subliminal perception: occurs when the stimulus is below the level of the consumer’s awareness Subliminal techniques Embeds: tiny figures that are inserted into magazine advertising by using high speed photography or airbrushing (supposedly exert strong but unconscious influences on innocent readers) Does subliminal perception work? Evaluating the evidence Factors why subliminal messages do not work: 1. There are wide individual differences in threshold levels. For a subliminal message to affect all individuals, it must be able to target ALL thresholds (which is impossible) 2. Advertisers cannot control the consumer’s position and distance from the screen (not everyone will have the same amount of exposure) 3. Consumers must pay absolute attention to the stimulus (not everyone does, most people are distracted) 4. Even if there is an effect, it only operates on a general level (can’t get a specific message out) Attention Attention: the extent in which the brain’s processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus Multitask: the ability to process information from more than one medium at a time Perceptual sensitivity: process in which people attend to only a small portion of the stimuli to which they are exposed Personal selection factors Perceptual vigilance: consumers are more likely to be aware of stimuli that relate to their current needs (i. e. if you are hungry†¦ you will notice more food signs) Perceptual defence: people see what they want to see – and don’t see what they don’t want to see. If a stimulus is threatening to us in some way, we may not process it or we may distort its meaning so that it is more acceptable (i. e. smokers ignoring the warning on the cigarette package) Adaptation: the degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over time (the more exposed to are, the less sensitive you are to it) Factors leading to adaptation: * Intensity (less intense stimuli habituate because they have less of a sensory impact) * Duration (stimuli that require lengthy exposure to be processed tend to habituate because they require a long attention span) * Discrimination (simple stimuli tend to habituate because they do not require attention to detail) * Exposure (frequently encountered stimuli tend to habituate as the rate of exposure increases) * Relevance (stimuli that are irrelevant or unimportant will habituate because they fail to attract attention) Stimulus selection factors Factors that allow stimuli to be noticed: * Size * Colour * Position * Novelty (stimuli that appear in unexpected ways or places tend to grab attention) Chapter 3: Learning Memory Learning: relatively permanent change in behavior that is caused by experience. Incidental learning: unintentional acquisition of knowledge. Behavioural Learning Theories Behavioral Learning Theories: assume learning takes place because of responses to external events. Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning: when a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own. Over time this 2nd stimulus (UCS) causes a similar response because it is associated with the first stimulus (CS). Unconditional stimulus (UCS): a stimulus naturally capable of causing a response (i. e. flavouring) Conditioned stimulus (CS): a stimulus that causes a response because of a learned association (i. e. bell) Conditioned response (CR): a new or modified response elicited by a stimulus after conditioning (i. . drool) Repetition * Repeated exposures increase the strength of stimulus-response associations and prevent the decay of these associations in memory * Most effective repetition strategy seems to be a combination of spaced exposures that alternate in terms of media that are more or less involving * Lack of association can be due to extinction (when the effects of a prior conditioning are reduced and finally disappear) Adv ertising wearout: repeated similar advertisements will lead to consumers tuning out Stimulus generalization Stimulus Generalization: tendency of stimuli similar to CS to evoke similar conditioned responses Masked branding: strategy used to deliberately hide a product’s true origin Applications: * Family branding (capitalize on the repetition of a company name) * Product line extensions (related products are added to an established brand) * Licensing (well-known names are rented by others) * Look-alike packaging (distinctive packaging designs create strong associations with a particular brand) Stimulus discrimination Stimulus Discrimination: stimulus similar to CS is not followed by a UCS -gt; causes weakened reactions Instrumental Conditioning Instrumental Conditioning: known as operant conditioning, individual learns to perform behaviors that produce positive outcomes and avoids negative ones. There are 4 types: positive/negative reinforcement, punishment, extinction Shaping: process of rewarding intermediate actions (i. e. customers are rewarded with discounts in hopes of them coming for a second visit)