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Education
- 309 Sem-III
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Q.1:- Explain the meaning of Consumer Behaviour. Why should a marketer study the hierarchy of
needs model under this are of marketing?
Ans:- Consumer behaviour:-
A Consumer is an individual of a set of individuals who have an actual or potential interest in the
purchase of usage of any Product. Idea or a Service. The study of the behavioural aspects of a consumer:-
Purchase –intention
Purchase- decision
Product usage
Product disposition is called Consumer Behaviour.
Thus consumer behaviour is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select purchase,
use or dispose off products to satisfy their needs of wants.
Earlier the emphasis was on Buyer Behaviour. This means on attempt was made to study the
behaviour of an individual at the time of purchase of a product, service, idea, and experience etc. however it
has been realized that consumer behaviour is an on-going decision is important, but also the using &
disposing off the product gives a lot of insight into a customer’s future purchases.
The marketer is interested in understanding the entire consumption process:-
How does a customer decide which product to purchase?
Before
From which sources does he collects information about a product and
Purchasing
its alternative Brands?
Thus the concept of consumer behaviour entails all above mentioned stages and the issues involved in all the
stages. The study involves the in-depth analysis of what a customer buys why he buys, what influences his
choice and how does a customer disposes off a product? This study discusses the psychological, economic,
social and demographic aspects of a customer, which is turn affects the environmental variables.
Economics Psychology
Sociology
Interdisciplinary
approach to C.B
Demography Anthropology
History
Roles of a consumer:- A marketer studies the various roles a consumer play in the decision making process:-
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(who actually purchase a product in may circumstances, user or purchaser may be the same. For eg. When
a doctor purchases a B.P. Apparatus for himself, he is a purchaser as well as a user.
The two may be different, when an individual gives the Apparatus as a gift to a friend who is a medical
student.
Influencer is the person providing information or recommendations for or against a particular Product or
Brand without actually buying or using the same e.g. the shop owner may guide the purchaser on which brand
of apparatus to buy. Before taking a decision on which product, which brand , from where, in what quantity &
at what price to buy a product, a consumer goes through a number of steps:-
STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
Stage- I
Marketer Family Awareness
This is a stage from being ignorant about a
Friends Reference product. The customer becomes aware of the
4P’s of an offering.
Thus above mentioned are the stages through which a consumer goes through before deciding upon which
product to buy. The duration and the sequence of stages may differ from consumer to consumer and from
products to product.
The study of the above mentioned process of consumer behaviour helps the marketer in choosing a right
appeal to influence a customer.
Hierarchy-of needs:-
The study of consumer behaviour entails the hierarchy of needs as discussed by A.H. Maslow. This
model of need divides the needs of an individual in various levels. Depending upon which level of need is
more dominating at a given point of time, the marketer can design the promotional campaign accordingly.
a) Physiological Needs:-
The physiological needs are the first and the most basic level of human needs. These needs which are
required to sustain biological life, include food, water, air, shelter, clothing, sex etc. the marketers may appeal
to the physiological needs of a customer by:-
Promoting physical health
Appealing to taste buds etc.
b) Safety & Security Needs:-
These are the second level of needs which arise in a customer and may be tapped by a marketer.
These needs are concerned with physical safety, order, stability, routine, familiarly and control over ones life
and environment. For example:-
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Insurance policies
Savings accounts
Education &
Vocational training etc. are some products which generally use the appeals to the safety & security needs of a
cunsumer.
c) Social Needs
These are the needs for love, warmth, affection, belongingness and acceptance. People seek warm
and satisfying human relationships with other people and are motivated by love for their families and friend.
Toothpaste, Deodorants etc.
Are some products, which appeal to the social need of the customer.
d) Logistic needs
Inward-Self acceptance
Self esteem Success
Independence
Logistic orientation
Outward-Prestige reputation
Status & recognitions
These needs presume the desire to show off one’s success and achievement through material possessions
eg. Car, Suiting & Shirting’s, Jewellary etc.
e) Self-actualization Needs
This set of needs refers to an individual’s desire to fulfill his or her potential to become everything he or
she is capable of becoming. Many large companies use this level of needs to appeal to a customer.
Suiting & shirting
Holiday Package
Residential place in a peaceful area etc.
Therefore a study of any of the above mentioned needs may help a marketer to customise his offerings
or appeals to suit the customer.
The concept of hierarchy of needs may also be used by a marketer for the purpose of Segmentation,
Positioning & designing Promotional programme.
a) Segmentation:-
Segmentation is the process of dividing the market into various categories. By identifying the various
level of needs the marketer can divide the market on the basis of needs for example for a soap the needs may
be hygiene, clearness, fairness, softness, moisturizer etc,
Segments
Total Marks
b) Positioning: - Positioning is the process of creating an image in the mind of the customer about a
brand. The need, which is aroused in a customer, may be used as a platform to position a product.
For example, The need market for fairness was more in numbers & not being satisfied by any marketer, HLL
launched its ‘Fair & Lovely fairness soap’ which has been positioned as a soap to cater to the need of fair skin.
Following its success a number of brands have now positioned their product in the same category.
Therefore, various types of needs if identified well in advance by a marketer may be useful in designing
its promotional strategies etc.
Conclusion:-
The field of study of consumer behaviour is very vast.
- It includes the understanding of a customers personality, perception, motivation, attitudes & values.
- The sequential decision-making of a consumer
- The various levels of needs present in a consumer which affects his purchase decision etc.
All these area help the marketer in understanding the consumer better and serving him better by
customizing his offering accordingly.
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Q.2:- ANS: PERSONALITY
Personality may be defined as those inner characteristics which helps psychological in nature that both
determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment. Thus personality comprises of inner
characteristics, which are the specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors and mannerisms that distinguish one
individual from other individuals.
The concept of personality has the following:
Characteristics :-
a) Personality reflects individual differences
b) Personality is consistent and enduring
c) Certain circumstances may force personality in change.
These deeply engrained characteristics of an individual called personality traits, are very likely to influence the
product choice of an individual as well as the store choice.
It affect the way consumers respond to marketer’s promotional efforts.
The concept of personality is highly useful for marketers for the segmentation strategies.
Many marketers use the concept of personality for the purpose of Positioning of a product.
Freudian Theory
THEORIES OF PERSONALITIES
a) Freudian Theory:-
- Sigmund Freud
- Psychoanalytical theory
This theory was build on the premise that unconscious needs or drives, especially biological drives, are at the
heart of human motivation and personality.
Social code of conduct
Super Ego
Ego Individual’s conscious control
Researchers believe that it is these basic, biological, unconscious needs of the customers, which
shape their personality and guide their product choice. Thus a consumer’s appearance and possessions are
the reflections of the individual’s personality.
Eg. The promotional campaign of Denim products also appeal to the hidden biological needs “Id”
though subtle sexual appeals.
b) Neo-Freudian Theory:-
- Alfred Adler
- Harry Stack
This theory believes that social relationships are fundamental to the formation & development of personality.
Acc. To Karen Horney- three personality groups are:-
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Compliant individuals- Those who want to adjust themselves to the society at large.
Aggressive individuals- Those who move against people & stress the need for power, strength & the ability
to manipulate others.
Detached Individuals:- Those who are indifferent and want to stay away from the social norms.
Many marketers position their product in relation to how an individual relates himself to the other
people in the society. For example:- The advertisement campaign designed for Rexona Deodorant targets the
compliant personality.
e.g. Elle 18 colour cosmetics targets the aggressive personality.
c) Trait Theory:-
A trait is any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from others. The
orientation of trait theory is primarily quantitative or empirical. It focuses on the measurement of personality in
terms of specific psychological characteristics called –traits.
Traits may be:-
Self confidence
Risk-taking
Consumer materialism
Ethnocentrisms etc.
Traits researchers have found that it is generally more realistic to expect personality to be linked to how
consumers make their choices. For example, a consumer with a high risk taking trait may be more receptive to
new innovations and new brand launches in the market.
A consumer with low ethnocentrisms is more likely to buy foreign-made products as against buying
their own country-of-origin made product.
Consumer Innovators
Need for Uniqueness
Traits
Thus a marketer tries to identify specific traits in the target customers to be able to appeal to them. The
Personality of individuals is one of the most significant factor affecting the choice of the type of product and the
brand chosen.
Conclusion:-
It is very popularly believed that:-
- What product or brands consumers purchase
- When & how they consume the products or brands
- From where they buy them
- How they dispose off.
Is very likely to be influenced by the personality factors.
For this reason, several advertising and marketing people have depicted and then incorporated specific
personality traits or characteristics in their marketing and advertising programme.
For example the purchase of ‘Ray Ban’ sun glasses targets the studies of the individual as one of the
personality attribute to position its brands.
Thus the concept of Personality has a very wide application, in helping the marketers to build a brand
image of the product. The marketers try to build an image which may be consistent with the personality of the
target customers so that the customers are able to relate themselves to the brand and therefore purchase the
same.
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Q. 3:- What are reference groups? What influences do reference groups have over the purchase
decision of the customer?
Informational
Influence
Value expressive Utilitarian
Although two or more people are normally required to form a group, the term reference group is often used a
bit more loosely to describe any external influence that provides social cues.
The referent may be a cultural figure and have an impact on many people. It may on the other hand, be
a person or group whose influence is confined to the consumers’ immediate environment.
Some Reference group exerts more influence over a consumer, while others may simply have an
informative influence on the group.
The influence of a reference group may not be equally powerful for all types of products and
consumption activities.
Types of Reference Groups
Formal &
Informal Groups
Membership &
Aspirational Reference
Groups
Virtual/on-line
Reference Groups
For example, Products that are not very complex, that are low in perceived risk and that can be tried prior to
the purchase instance are less likely to be influenced by a Referent. On the other hand highly complex or
ambiguous features, which may be
expensive or crucial to the customer, are more likely to be influenced by the information made available by the
Reference groups.
The specific impact of reference groups may vary. At times may determine the use of certain products
rather than others. For example, owing a computer or not owning a computer.
At other times it may have specific effects on Brand choice decisions within a product category. For
example the Brand of jeans or jackets to be worn, the brand of mobile hand set to be used etc.
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Two dimensions that influence the degree to which reference groups are important are whether the
purchase is to be consumed publicly or privately and whether it’s a luxury or necessity.
As a rule Reference Groups effect is more the products, which are Luxuries rather than necessities. It
is so because the products that are purchased with discretionary income are subject to individual tastes and
preferences. Whereas necessities do nto offer this range of choices, it is so because the products, which will
not be visible to others do not matter much whether they are National Brands or not.
For example the coir mattresses purchased generally will be of any local or unheard of manufactures.
This will be in contrast to the brand of Television owned.
Acc. To Soloman
PRODUCT
Weak Reference group Strong reference group
influence (-) on product influence(-) on product
purchase purchase
Public Luxuries
Public Necessities Influence: Strong for Product & for brand
Strong Reference Influence: Weak for e.g. Holiday destination, expensive models
group influence (+) product & strong for of Automobiles
on brand selected Brand e.g. Wrist Watch,
Automobile
Different Reference groups may have different power. Influence power is the capacity to alter the actions of
others.
Referent Power
Coercive Power
Factor affecting reference group influence
a) Information influence:-
The individual seeks information about various brands from an association of professionals or
independent group of experts.
The individual seeks information from those who work with the product as a professional.
The Brand, the individual selects, is influenced by observing a seal of approval of an independent
testing agency e.g. ISI/agmark.
The individual’s observation of what experts do influences his or her choice of a brand.
b) Utilitarian Influence:-
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The individuals’ decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by the preferences of people with
whom he or she has social interaction.
The individual’s decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by the preferences of family
members.
The desire to satisfy the expectations that others have of him has an impact on the individuals brand
choice.
c) Value Expressive influence:-
The individual feels that the purchase or use of a particular brand will enhance the image others have
of him or her.
The individual feels that those who purchase or use a particular brand posses the characteristics that
he or she would like to have.
The individual sometimes feels that it would be nice to be like the type of person that advertisement
show, using a particular Brand.
The individuals feel that the people who purchase a particular brand are admired or respected by
others.
The individual feels that the purchase of a particular brand would help show others, what he or she is
or would like to be e.g. model/athlete. Etc.
CONCLUSION:-
Thus the reference group inlfluences the purchase decision of the customer to a great extent. The
influence of Reference group is more on the luxury products as compared to the products of necessity.
Marketers have increasingly used the concept of Reference groups to promote their Brands. For example
Mayur Suitings, Dabur Amla Hair Oil, Lux soap, Santro etc are highly advertised brands showing celebrities- a
reference group to promote themselves and build a rapport with the prospective customers.
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Q. 4:- Recall the most recent relatively expensive purchase you have made. Who was more influential
in the purchase? Opinion leader or advertisement?
ANS:- ROLE OF OPINION LEADER
Here we are assuming the purchase process undertaken to purchase a family car for a joint family of
five individuals i.e. Me, my father, my mother, my brother and my bhabhi. In this answer we shall be discussing
the various influences exerted on the purchase decision.
Generally in a family, different members may have different priorities and different agendas. In this
purchase for e.g. Husband may be more concerned with economy, resale value, fuel efficiency etc, the wife
may be concerned with the latest brand on the streets. Thus the final decision made reflects a combined
decision influenced by a number of roles.
For relatively expensive purchases like a car the opinion leaders also play an important role in the
process of decision-making. Opinion leader is an individual who may be knowledgeable about products,
socially active & highly inter-connected & whose advice is seriously taken by his community members.
Opinion Leader
Generalised
Opinion leader (all
types of purchase)
Monomorphic Opinion Leader
(Expert in a limited field) Polymorphic Opinion Leader
(Expert in several fields)
An opinion leader may or may not be a purchaser of a product, which they recommend. But they are
innovative communicators. They are generally more involved in a product category and activity search for
information. Because of this interest, an opinion leader is more likely to talk about products with others and to
solicit other opinions as well.
An important factor in the influence of an opinion leader is that the conversation of an opinion leader
over the influenced is not a formal conversation. But it is a very informal conversation carried on between tow
socially interlinked individuals.
In the purchase decision, which we took, i.e. of buying a family car there were a number of factors
influencing our choice. These factors were within our family, related to our family, as well as, the factors
controllable by the marketers of the various Brands.
Purchase Friends/Relatives
Parents decision
Brother/Sister Peers
Awareness
Information Search
Evaluation
Trial
Adoption
13.5% Early
innovators
Dynamically Continuous
Pronounced change in an Types of Discontinuous- major
existing product innovations changes in the way we live
CONCLUSION:-
Some Innovations like mobile phones etc. to diffuse itself took vary less time. It took Radio 30 years to
reach 60 million users and TV 15 years to reach this number. In contrast, within 3 years 90 million were surfing
the web. Today with the development of technology, innovations are diffused at a faster rate, yet as in India,
Rural India is not very quick to adopt the Innovations at the same pace.
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Q.6:- Explain in detail the Organizational Decision Making.
Ans:- ORGANISATIONAL DECISION MAKING:
Customers
Organisational Purchase
Situation
Organisational Climate Assessment of his own
performance
Like other consumers,organisational buyers engage in a learning process in which members of the firm share
information with one another and develop an organisational memory which guides the purchase decision in
future.
Consumer Decision Making
Organisational Decision Making
1) Consumer decisions may be made by
1) Purchase decisions involve many
individuals alone & may be by the whole
people including those who directly or
family.
indirectly influence, the decider, purchaser
and user.
2) Products are purchased on both
2) Products are bought according to
emotional and bounded rationality factor.
precise, technical specifications the
3) Many low-involvement products may be
require knowledge.
purchased on impulse
3) Impulse buying is rare
4) Decisions may not put career on stake.
5) Volumes are not too large.
4) Decisions often are risky, sometimes
staking even careers,
6) Number of buyers is large
5) The rupee volume of purchases is often
7) More emphasis on Advertising or other
substantial.
forms of promotion.
6) Number of buyers are small.
8) They are too geographically spread over.
7) More emphasis on personal setting
9) Higher emotional or status oriented
.
purchase decision.
8) They tend to be geographically
concentrated.
9) Higher economic or functional
component in the organisational
purchase.
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Hence consumer buying differs widely from industrial buying. The motive of purchase,
the purchase influences, the purchase process etc. all is different in the two forms of decision-making.
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL BUYING DECISIONS
The organisation decision-making may be of three different types
Whenever the organisation purchases a product or a component for the first time or from a new vendor it is a
new task. If satisfied the similar order is put again a making the purchase decision as a straight Rebuy.
However if any changes are made in the order, keeping the vendor as the same it is called as a modified
Rebuy.
DECISION ROLES:-
When a collective decision must be made a number of specific, roles are played by individuals.
Who conducts the The person who brings up the idea
information search &
controls the flow of info Initiator
Gatekeeper Influencer Who tries to sway the
outcome of the
Decision Roles
decision?
Buyer Users
Who actually uses the
product
Who actually makes the
purchase
The more complex, novel or risky the decision, the greater the amount of information search and effort
will be devoted to evaluating alternatives.
On the other hand, reliance on a fixed set of suppliers for routine purchases is one strategy that greatly
reduces the information search and effort in evaluating competing alternatives that would otherwise be
required.
Factors affecting Organisational Buyers.
The organisational buyers are influenced by various variables both internal, as well as, external in making the
purchase decision.
Internal Stimuli.
Buyer’s unique psychological
Characteristics e.g. Job experience.
The External factors are macro and common to all the organisations operating in the Industry. For example the
general economic scenario of the country, the overall level of country’s technological development, Cultural
variables etc.
On the other hand, the Internal factors are organisational specific & relate only to an Individual
organisation. For example the experience in purchasing, attitude towards risk, locus of control, domination of
technical or financial variables etc.
Conclusion:-
Organisational Decision making requires extensive information search which must be gathered prior to
making a decision. The buyer should have sufficient knowledge of the reason of purchase, a high degree of
seriousness and ample knowledge of the working of the product. The quality & efficiency of the production
process & the final product depends upon the raw material or component. Therefore an organisational buyer
should be more careful in taking a purchase decision.
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Q.7:- Is it possible to change Attitudes? How? (With reference to ELM)
Ans:- ATTITUDE:-
Attitude is a lasting, general evaluation of people, objects, advertisement or issues either favourable or
unfavourable, which is enduring.
An attitude performs the following functions:-
a) Utilitarian function
b) Value-expressive function
c) Ego-defensive function
d) Knowledge function
An attitude can serve more that one functions, but in many cases a particular one will be dominant. By
identifying the dominant function a product serves for consumers what benefits its provides- marketers can
emphasise these benefits in their communication and packaging.
As discussed, an attitude is a predisposition to evaluate an object or product positively or negatively.
Every marketer wants its target segment to have a positive attitude towards its brand of offering. Though
attitudes are enduring, every marketer attempts to change a negative attitude into a positive one. One of the
most important methods of converting a negative attitude into positive is communication.
I THE SOURCE:-
Source of a message is the person or authority promoting an offering. It is very understandable that the
same words uttered or written by different people can have very different effects. Under most conditions the
source of a message can have a big impact on the likelihood that the message will be accepted. The source
can be chosen because he or she is an expert, attractive, famous or even a typical consumer who is both
likeable & trustworthy.
Source
Thus we have reviewed the two major components of the communication model-the source and the
message. Depending upon the consumer’s level of involvement either of the two components will be more
influential in the process of attitude change.
Research indicates that this level of involvement determines which aspects- the Source (endorser
Celebrity) or the message shall be processed. This concept can be understood with the
ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL (ELM)
It assumes that once a consumer receives a message, he or she begins to process it. Depending on
the personal relevance of this information, the receiver will follow one of two routes to persuasion.
Under conditions of high involvement, the consumer takes the central route to persuasion. Under conditions of
low involvement a peripheral is taken instead.
Behaviour
Change
Attitude
Change
Belief & Attitude
Behavioural
change
change
Belief change
Peripheral Route
Responses
Central Route
Cognitive
(Message)
(Source)
Comprehensive
Attention &
High-Involvement
Low-Involvement
Processing
processing
Message
Communication
channel)
(Source,
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Q.8:- “Do consumers form strong relationship with products and service?” How can the marketer
increase the customer’s level of involvement with a product?
When a student is purchasing a book for preparing for a competitive examination, the book to be
purchased may not be as expensive as a car, yet the customer gets highly involved in the process of
evaluation of alternatives & making a final purchase decision.
This is because for the student the purchase decision may affect his career objectives & the efficiency
with which he achieves it.
Therefore, in such circumstances, the consumer involvement is high, as the relevance of the product to
be purchased is perceived to be very high.
A similar situation may occur when a medicine is being purchased, which may not be very expensive,
yet the consumer may be highly involved in checking that it shouldn’t react him.
Broadly, speaking consumer involvement may be considered as the motivation to process the
information related to the product. The level of involvement may be influenced by”-
LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT
The degree to which an individual is involved in the processing of information about any product or a
specific brand ranges from simple processing to elaboration.
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I Level Low involvement
Inertia Habitual decisions
Lack of motivation to evaluate alternative e.g. Tea, Tooth brush,
Washing powder, cigarettes. Etc.
The level of consumer involvement broadly speaking depends upon the following components.
Hence, any of the above mentioned characteristics may decide, how much will a consumer be involved in the
process of purchasing a product.
For a marketing manager, it is important to understand that what creates or affect the involvement of a
consumer in a product category. This is so, because if the marketers have something different to offer to the
consumer, he would influence the customers cognitive involvement to get a sale.
Further, a marketing manager must also analysis the level to which the consumer is involved in the
product category, so that a communication strategy may be designed accordingly.
For products falling in low involvement category:
Attractive celebrity
Musical message
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Emotional appeal
Humour etc. may be used
e.g. Kurkure, pepsi etc
High Involvement Category:
Logical Reasoning
Arguments & counter arguments
USP
e.g. Automobiles, Real Estate etc.
Although consumers differ in their level of involvement with respect to a product, marketers try to be aware of
those factors that increase or decrease attention. With this they can take steps to increase the likelihood that
product information will get through.
A consumer’s motivation to process relevant information can be enhanced fairly by the marketer who uses any
of the following techniques:-
a) An appeal to the consumer hedonic needs generally generate higher levels of attention e.g.
Denim, Tale, LML Motorcycles.
b) Use of new stimuli, tends to catch the attention of the audience e.g. Onida Television shows a
‘devil’ in the advertisement.
c) Highly popular or sought-after celebrities may be used as endorsers in a product advertisement
e.g. Amitabh Bachchan for Nerolac, Cadbury’s , Parker.
d) Customer Relationship Management techniques may be an individual to the company with an
ongoing relationship & in turn loyality.
CONCLUSION:-
From the above discussion, it is clear that generally people get attached to products. Though not
everyone is motivated to the same extent and in the same form.
But a marketing manager can study the level, type & form of a consumer’s involvement and aim to
increase the same with a view to improve the bond between the consumer and the product.
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Q.9:- Discuss the stages in Consumer Decision Making. Do all Consumers pass through the same
stage?
Ans:- CONSUMER DECISION- MAKING:-
Generally speaking, the decision of a consumer to purchase a product is a response to a problem
realized by him traditionally, consumer researches have approached decision-making from a rational
perspective. It was viewed that consumers pass through a series of stages to finally arrive at a purchase
decision. This implies that these steps in the decision-making process should be carefully studied by
marketing managers to understand how consumers obtain information, how beliefs are formed and what
product choice criteria are specified by consumers.
Before we discuss the stages involved in the consumer decision-making process, let us look at the types of
consumer decisions.
Problem Recognition
Information Search
Evaluation of Alternatives
Product choice
Outcomes
Stage I:- PROBLEM RECOGNITION:-
This is the first stage in the consumer decision-making and occurs whenever the consumer sees a
difference between his current state of affairs and some desired state.
Ideal
According to the Economics- of information approach to the search process, consumers gather only as much
data as needed to make an informed decision. Consumers form expectation of the value of additional
information & continue to search to the extent that the rewards of doing so exceed the costs. This also implies
that the most valuable units of information will be collected first. The amount of external search for most
roducts is generally very small, but is more for expensive products.
However, consumers differ in the amount of search they tend to undertake. All things being equal
- Younger, better-educated to search people tend to collect more information.
- Women are inclined to search than men.
- Those who place greater value on style and image do more search
- Search is more for products with high perceived risk.
STAGE III:- EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
In this stage of information search, a consumer may come across various alternatives to solve a
problem. A consumer engaged in extended problem solving may be fully evaluate several Brands, whereas
someone making habitual decision may not consider any alternatives to their normal brand.
All the alternatives may be categorized as under:-
Brands already
Retrieval Prominent
in memory
set products in retail
Environment
Generally the consumer evaluates the brand from his evoked set i.e. the brands about which a
consumer is aware and would like to take a decision to purchase.
Conclusion:-
Thus, a decision of purchase is made using several short cuts. Consumers are faced the need to make
decision about products almost all the time. Some of these decisions are very important & entail great effort
and an elaborate decision-making process, as described above. However, other habitual or routine decisions
which are virtually automatically made , may not pass through a detailed & time consuming process.
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Q.10:- (a) What is subliminal perception? Is it effective?
Ans:- Percetpion:-
Perception is the process by which the sensory organs of an individual selects, organizes & interprets
the stimuli from the environment. Perception is an intellectual process and is different from sensation.
Sensation refers to the immediate response of our sensory receptors ie. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth etc.
perception focuses on what we add to the raw sensations in order to give a meaning to the stimuli.
Perceptual process
Sensory Stimuli Sensory Receptors
Sight Eyes
Sound Ears
Exposur Attention Interpretatio
Smell Nose
e n
Taste Mouth
Textures Skin
SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION
Most marketers are concerned with creating messages about consumer’s thresholds so that it ma get
noticed by the audience. At the same time, there are advertisements whose messages have been deliberately
designed to be perceived below the conscious level.
The concept of subliminal perception is based on twin concepts of
Threshold refers to the lowest level of sensory reception at which a stimuli can be noticed by an
individual absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a given sensory
channel. e.g. There may be very creatively designed message on a banner on the road. But if its font size is
small enough to be visible, it is not noticed. Thus it is below the absolute threshold.
DIFFERENTIAL THRESHOLD
It refers to the ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli. The
minimum difference that can be detected between two stimuli is known as the Just Noticeable Difference.
Many times if any marketer has made some negative changes in the product quality is reduced product
price is increased etc. he doesn’t want the customer to notice the same. Therefore he keeps these changes
below the just noticeable difference level.
In the other hand any positive changes made by a marketer, however small it may be is preferred to be
kept above the Just Noticeable Difference.
Thus the changes which a marketer wants to be observed by the customers are deliberately made
known to the audience by making them notice the same.
The concept of the threshold helps in the subliminal Perception. Another word for threshold is ‘limen’,
stimuli that fall below the limen are termed subliminal. Subliminal perception occurs when the stimulus is
below the level of the consumers conscious or awareness.
The topic of subliminal perception has been debated for over 40 years. some believe that it is not
ethical to use it because by this you are exploiting the sub-conscious level of a consumer. Research has
shown that many consumers believe that subliminal advertising actually made them buy things that they do
not really want.
Subliminal advertising makes use of hidden messages and images which are not consciously
perceived. Subliminal messages can be sent on both visual and oral channels.
Subliminal Techniques
Visual Oral
25 O.D.M Computer & Mgt. Education
- 309 Sem-III
EMBEDS:- These are tiny figures inserted into print advertisements, by use of high-speed photography or
airbrushing. These hidden figures, usually of a sexual nature, supposedly exert strong but unconscious
influence on innocent readers.
B) SOUND RECORDING: Generally used in self-help cassettes the audio message contains sound of
waves crashing or some other natural sound. These tapes are mean to help the listener stop smoking, lose
weight, gain confidence etc.
As on the debate on the use of the technique of subliminal perception, so does a debate exist on the
effectiveness of this technique? Some research on clinical psychologist suggests that people can be
influenced by subliminal messages under very specific conditions. However it is doubtful that these techniques
would be of much use in most marketing contexts.
Effective subliminal perceptions must be very specifically tailored to individuals, rather than the mass
messages required by advertising. Also these messages should be close to ‘liminal’ messages. For example in
PVR multiplex cinema halls during intervals, a slide shows the message’ Mac Donal Burger Ndn Coke”.
Though there is nothing written on the slide to the effect of purchasing the same. Yet the audience may times
are induced to buy the Burger& the Cold drink.
LML, when first introduced its motorcycles in India, used a subliminal perception message of
comparing the body of the motorcycles with a female body. There are consumer groups who consider
subliminal advertising as unethical and discourage marketers to use it.
At the same time there are many advertisers who have questioned the very usefulness of these
messages on the following issues.
a) The individuals differ widely on threshold levels. Some people have a low threshold as compared to
others. To target such people, the message has to be so weak that it would not reach those who
have a high threshold.
b) Advertisers lack control over consumers distance & position from a screen. In a big cinema hall,
only a small portion of the audience would be in exactly the right seats to be exposed to a
subliminal message.
c) At home people may not be watching the TV commercial with such a great attention that they may
catch a subliminal message.
CONCLUSION:-
There is not much proof on the effectiveness of subliminal messages on the buying behaviour of the
audience. Further even if the desired effect is induced it operates at a very general level. For example, a
message for a specific drink. Because basic drives are affected, if affected at all and it helps the competitors
equally.