MARKETING Real People Real Choices Fourth Edition CHAPTER

MARKETING Real People, Real Choices Fourth Edition CHAPTER 5 Consumer Behavior: How and Why People Buy Michael R. Solomon Greg W. Marshall Elnora W. Stuart

Chapter Objectives_1 • Define consumer behavior and explain the reasons why consumers buy what they buy • Explain the prepurchase, and postpurchase activities consumers engage in when making decisions • Describe how internal factors influence consumers’ decision-making processes 2

Chapter Objectives _2 • Understand how situational factors at the time and place of purchase may influence consumer behavior • Describe how consumers’ relationships with other people influence their decision-making process • Understand how the Internet offers consumers opportunities for consumerto-consumer marketing 3

Consumer Behavior The process individuals and groups go through to select, purchase, or use goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and desires 4

Consumer Decision-Making Process • • • Problem recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Product choice Postpurchase evaluation 5

Problem Recognition • Occurs whenever a consumer recognizes a difference between the current state and the ideal or desired state • Internal cues - consumers recognize state of discomfort • External cues - marketers may stimulate consumers to recognize problem 6

Information Search • Consumer checks memory and surveys environment to identify what options are available • Sources might include personal experience and knowledge, friends, advertising, websites, and magazines 7

Evaluation of Alternatives • Identify consideration set • Narrow list and compare pros and cons • Use evaluative criteria to decide among remaining choices 8

Product Choice • People may ultimately make the choice based on heuristics • Heuristics represent rules of thumb – brand loyalty – country of origin – liking 9

Postpurchase Evaluation • How good a choice was it? • Customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction • Ultimately affects future decisions and word-of-mouth communication 10

Internal Influences • • Perception Motivation Learning Attitudes Personality Age Lifestyle 11

Perception • Process by which people select, organize, and interpret information – Exposure: stimulus must be within sensory receptors to be noticed – Attention: consumers will pay attention to some stimuli and not to others – Interpretation: consumers assign meaning to stimuli 12

Motivation • Motivation is an internal state that drives us to satisfy needs • Once we activate a need, a state of tension exists that drives the consumer to some goal that will reduce this tension and eliminate the need • Consequently, only unmet needs motivate 13

Learning • Learning is a change in behavior caused by information or experience • Behavior learning theories – learning takes place as the result of connections formed between events • Cognitive learning theories – learning occurs when consumers make a connection between ideas or by observing things in the environment 14

Attitudes • An attitude is a lasting evaluation of a person, object, or issue • 3 components of attitudes – affect – cognition – behavior 15

Personality • Personality is the set of unique psychological characteristics that consistently influences the way a person responds to situations in the environment – Innovativeness – Self-confidence – Sociability – Materialism – Need for cognition 16

Age Group • Products and services often appeal to a specific age group – Children – Teens – Young Adults – Middle-aged – Elderly 17

Family Life Cycle • Related to age groups, our purchases also depend on our current position in the family life cycle – stages through which family members pass as they grow older 18

Lifestyles • A pattern of living that determines how people choose to spend their time, money, and energy and reflects their values, tastes, and preferences • Expressed through preferences for sports activities, music interests, and political opinions • Psychographics is the segmentation tool used to group consumers according to AIOs 19

Situational Influences • Physical Environment – arousal – pleasure • Time – time poverty 20

Social Influences • • Culture and Subcultures Social Class Group Behavior and Reference Groups Opinion Leaders 21

Cultures and Subcultures • Culture is the values, beliefs, customs, and tastes produced and valued by a group of people • A subculture is a group coexisting with other groups in a larger culture whose members share a distinctive set of beliefs or characteristics 22

Social Class • Social class is the overall rank of people in a society • People in the same class tend to have similar occupations, similar income levels, share common tastes in clothes, decorating styles, and leisure activities. They may share political and religious beliefs. 23

Group Memberships • A reference group is a set of people a consumer wants to please or imitate • The “group” can be composed of one person, a few people, or many people. They may be people you know or don’t know. – Conformity is at work when people change as a reaction to real or imagined group pressure 24

Opinion Leaders • An opinion leader is a person who influences others’ attitudes or behaviors because they are perceived as possessing expertise about the product 25

C 2 C E-Commerce • Communications and purchases that occur among individuals without directly involving the manufacturer or retailer • Virtual Communities – Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) – Rooms, Rings, Lists – Boards – Auction sites – Product Rating sites – Protest sites 26

Issues for Discussion_1 • What are some big cultural or demographic trends that may affect marketing for the following products? – Housing – Magazines – Education – Telecommunications – Travel and tourism – Automobiles 27

Issues for Discussion_2 • What are the core values of your culture? What subcultures are you a member of? What distinctive beliefs, characteristics, or experiences are a part of the subcultures? • Does conformity from reference groups exert a positive or negative influence on consumers? With what types of products is conformity more likely to occur? 28

Issues for Discussion_3 • What do you think the future of C 2 C ecommerce is? How will it affect traditional marketing firms? • How would you describe the decision process for impulse products placed near a store’s check-out area? • What are some ways you think sex roles differ in different countries? What are the implications for marketers? 29