Whatyouwilllearn

Session 1:
Consumer behaviour and Marketing strategy

Session 2:
Cross-Cultural Variations, and Group Influence
on Consumer Behavior
Session 3:
Customer Perception

Session 8:
Article presentation
Session 9:
The Process and Problem Recognition
Session 10:
Information search
Session 11:
Alternative Evaluation, and Selection

Session 4:
Consumer learning, memory,
and product positioning

Session 12:
Post-purchase processes, customer satisfaction,
and customer commitment

Session 5:
Motivation, Personality, Emotion

Session 13:
Organizations as consumers

Session 6:
Attitudes and Influencing Attitudes

Session 14:
Group Project presentation

Session 7:
Self-concept and lifestyle

Session 15: Final exam

CHAPTER

16

Alternative
Evaluation
and
Selection

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

16-3

Learning Objectives
Discuss how actual consumer choice often differs
from rational choice theory
Summarize the types of choice processes consumers
engage in
Explain evaluative criteria and their measurement
Describe the role of evaluative criteria in consumer
judgment and marketing strategy
Summarize the five decision rules for attribute-based
choice and their strategic relevance

16-4

ConsumerBehaviorInTheNews
Amazon is coming up with simpler packaging that
uses less plastic and wire.
This makes it cheaper for Amazon, better for the
environment, and easier for consumers to open.
Which are the features and which are the benefits?
Features:
Benefits:
Which will sell better?

Source: T. Iezzi, Amazon One-Ups Santa Claus with Frustration-Free Packaging, Advertising Age, November 17, 2008, p. 17

16-5

ConsumerBehaviorInTheNews
Which are the features and which are the benefits?
Features: less plastic and wire
Benefits: cheaper, green, easier to open
Which will sell better?
If you said Benefits you are correct!
Direct consumer benefits keygreen is indirect
and many dont care.
Has been labeled Frustration-Free Packaging
to emphasize the direct consumer benefit.
Source: T. Iezzi, Amazon One-Ups Santa Claus with Frustration-Free Packaging, Advertising Age, November 17, 2008, p. 17

16-6

Consumer Choice and Types of Choice

Processes

16-7

Consumer Choice and Types of Choice

Processes
An Examination of Rational Choice Theory
1. Assumption: Consumers seek one optimal solution to a
problem and choose on that basis
Reality: Consumers have all sorts of metagoals that
are different from this
2. Assumption: Consumers have the skill and motivation to
find the optimal solution
Reality: Consumers often lack both the skill or
motivation to do so
3. Assumption: The optimal solution does not change as a
function of situational factors such as time pressure, task
definition, or competitive context
Reality: Context effects are common
16-8

Consumer Choice and Types of Choice

Processes
Three types of consumer choice processes:
1. Affective Choice
2. Attitude-Based Choice
3. Attribute-Based Choice

16-9

Consumer Choice and Types of Choice

Processes
Affective Choice
Affective choices tend to be more holistic. Brand not
decomposed into distinct components for separate evaluation.
Evaluations generally focus on how they will make the user feel
as they are used.
Choices are often based
primarily on the immediate
emotional response to the
product or service.

16-10

Consumer Choice and Types of Choice

Processes
Attitude- versus Attribute-Based Choice Processes

16-11

Applications in Consumer Behavior

The Eton Radio ad
provides consumers
all the great features of
its radio and uses the
tag line Tune in: to
independence.
This is an example of
attribute-based
decision making.

2008 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

16-12

Evaluative Criteria
Nature of Evaluative Criteria
Evaluative criteria are typically associated with desired
benefits and can differ in
type
number, and
importance

Bissell ProHeat 2X We Mean Clean Commercial

YouTube Spotlight
16-13

Evaluative Criteria
Measurement of Evaluative Criteria
Involves a determination of:
The Evaluative Criteria Used
Judgments of Brand Performance on Specific Criteria
The Relative Importance of Evaluative Criteria

16-14

Evaluative Criteria
Determination of Which Evaluative Criteria Are Used
1. Direct methods include asking consumers what criteria
they use in a particular purchase.
2. Indirect techniques assume consumers will not or cannot
state their evaluative criteria.

Projective techniques - allow the respondent to

indicate the criteria someone else might use.

Perceptual mapping - researcher uses judgment to

determine dimensions underlying consumer
evaluations of brand similarity.

16-15

Evaluative Criteria
Perceptual Mapping of Beer Brand Perception

16-16

Evaluative Criteria
Determination of Consumers Judgments of Brand
Performance on Specific Evaluative Criteria
Measuring consumer judgments of brand performance on
specific attributes can include:
Rank ordering scales
Semantic Differential Scales
Likert Scales

16-17

Evaluative Criteria
Determination of the Relative Importance of
Evaluative Criteria
The importance assigned to evaluative criteria can be
measured either by direct or by indirect methods.
The constant sum scale is the most common direct
method.
Conjoint Analysis is the most common indirect
method.

16-18

Individual Judgment and

Evaluative Criteria
Accuracy of Individual Judgments
Use of Surrogate Indicators
The Relative Importance and Influence of
Evaluative Criteria
Evaluative Criteria, Individual Judgments, and
Marketing Strategy

16-19

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Conjunctive Rule
Disjunctive Rule

Non-compensatory

Elimination-by-Aspects Rule
Lexicographic Rule
Compensatory Rule

16-20

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Conjunctive Rule:
Rule
Establishes minimum required
performance for each evaluative
criterion.
Selects the first (or all) brand(s)
that meet or exceed these
minimum standards. If minimum
performance was:

Price

Weight

Processor

Battery life

After-sale support

Display quality

16-21

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Conjunctive Rule
Lenovo, Acer, Dell, and Toshiba are eliminated
because they fail to meet all the minimum standards.
Minimum

3
4
3
1
2
3

16-22

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Disjunctive Rule:
Rule

Price

Establishes a minimum required

performance for each important
attribute (often a high level).

Weight

Processor

Not critical

Battery life

Not critical

All brands that meet or exceed

the performance level for any
key attribute are acceptable. If
minimum performance was:

After-sale support

Not critical

Display quality

16-23

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Disjunctive Rule
Acer, Compaq, and Dell meet minimum for at least
one important criterion and thus are acceptable.
Minimum

5
5
5

16-24

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Elimination-by-Aspects Rule

Rank

Cutoff

First, evaluative criteria ranked

in terms of importance

Price

Weight

Second, cutoff point for each

criterion is established.

Display quality

Processor

After-sale support

Battery life

Finally (in order of attribute

importance) brands are
eliminated if they fail to meet or
exceed the cutoff. If rank and
cutoff were:

16-25

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Elimination-by-Aspects Rule
Step 1: Price eliminates Lenovo and Toshiba
Step 2: Weight eliminates Acer
Step 3: Of remaining brands (HP, Compaq, Dell), only Dell meets
or exceeds display quality minimum.
Minimum

3
4
4
3
3
3

16-26

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Lexicographic Decision Rule
Consumer ranks the criteria in order of importance.
Then selects brand that performs best on the most important
attribute.
If two or more brands tie, they are evaluated on the second
most important attribute. This continues through the attributes
until one brand outperforms the others.
Acer would be chosen because it performs best on Price, our
consumers most important attribute.

16-27

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Compensatory Decision Rule
The compensatory decision rule states that the brand that
rates highest on the sum of the consumers judgments of the
relevant evaluative criteria will be chosen.

16-28

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Compensatory Decision Rule
Assume the following
importance weights:
Using this rule, Dell has the
highest preference and
would be chosen.
The calculation for Dell is:

ImportanceScore
Price

30

Weight

25

Processor
Battery life

10
05

After-sale support

10

Display quality

20

Total

100

16-29

Decision Rules for Attribute-Based

Choices
Summary of Resulting Choices from Different
Decision Rules

16-30

Situational Influences on Consumer

Choice
Choices are not independent of the competitive situation,
an effect sometimes called context effects
One such effect is when an additional competitor makes
an existing competitor appear to be the compromise
option
Choice of the compromise brand increases even though:
a) Consumers are still using the same decision rule
(compensatory)
b) The compromise brands attribute levels have not
changed
16-31

Situational Influences on Consumer

Choice
Compromise Effect

16-32