Consumer Behavior

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Consumer Behavior

• Professor Lawrence Feick
• University of Pittsburgh

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Outline

• Consumer decision process
• Interpersonal influences on consumer behavior
• Personal influences on consumer behavior
• Organizational buying

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Consumer decision process
Personal Influences on Buyer Behavior
Personal Influences on Buyer Behavior
Purchase decision action
Evaluation of alternatives
Problem recognition
Information search
Post purchase
Interpersonal Influences on Buyer Behavior
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Problem recognition

• Triggered by
• external inputs car breaks down, pass a bakery,
  see an ad for a computer
• internal inputs hunger, thirst, etc..

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Information search

• Internal information sources memory for brands,
  attributes, importance weights
• External information sources
• company sponsored sources ads, brochures, direct
  mail, salesperson, etc.
• experiential sources in-store trial
• independent sources evaluation and enthusiast
  magazines
• personal sources Uncle Bob

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Evaluation of alternatives

• Needed to evaluate
• set of brands and attributes
• brand performance on attributes
• attribute importances
• process for combining brand and attribute
  information

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Consider choice of a car
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Car choice often a staged process

• Stage 1 Narrow the set of all alternatives (in
  US, hundreds of brands) to a smaller
  consideration (also called evoked) set
• often done on basis of meeting the threshold on
  one or a few attributes (noncompensatory)
• Stage 2 Choose the best alternative from the
  consideration set
• often done comparing the weighted average
  scores across cars (linear-compensatory)

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Example stage 1

• Individual narrows choice to (forms consideration
  set that includes) small sedans based on
  objectives, price range, operating costs, etc

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Example stage 2

• Choosing a best alternative from the
  consideration set
• Formation of a brand by attribute matrix

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Brand by attribute matrix cars
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Bob Marys attribute weights for cars
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Marys total scores for cars
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Bobs total scores for cars
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Purchase decision (choice)

• Outcome of evaluation
• preferred brand or brands

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Question What do you do

• ...if you are Hyundai and a segment that you want
  to attract thinks like Mary?

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Purchase action

• Impact of budget constraints
• Impact of availability of product
• Impact of immediacy of need
• Impact of point of purchase
• presentation on shelf, displays, packaging,
  salesperson, price specials

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Postpurchase

• Does the product meet expectations?
• Does the product perform satisfactorily?
• Dissatisfaction if either is no

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Some thoughts on consumer thinking how much
thought?
Extended Problem Solving
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Some thoughts on consumer thinking where
decisions occur

• Planned decisions (the brand-level decision is
  made prior to store visit)
• specifically planned purchases
• In-store decisions
• generally planned purchases
• substituted purchases
• unplanned (impulse) purchases

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Planned and in-store purchases
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Influences on the decision making process

• Personal influence
• Interpersonal influence

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Personal influences

• Needs and Maslows hierarchy
• Perception
• Attitudes
• Learning
• Self concept

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A focus onneeds

• Needs an imbalance between desired and actual
  states
• Maslows hierarchy of needs

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Maslows hierarchy of needs
Self Actualization
Esteem
Social/belongingness
Safety
Physiological needs
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Marketing implications of Maslow

• For a brand to be considered it must satisfy some
  need
• Hierarchical lower needs met before upper needs
• Countries, cultures, segments can differ in focus
  on needs

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Marketing implications of Maslows
hierarchy(text Table 8.1)
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
Products
Vitamins, herbal supplements, medicines, low-fat
foods, exercise equipment, fitness clubs
Marketing approaches
Quaker Oatmeal--Oh, what those oats can
do! Boost nutritional drink--Your body will
thank you. Kaiser-Permanente--More people turn
to us for good health. Ginkoba ginseng--The
thinking persons supplement. Advil--Advanced
medicine for pain.
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SAFETY NEEDS
Products
Car accessories, burglar alarm systems,
retirement investments, insurance, smoke and
carbon monoxide detectors
Marketing approaches
Allstate Insurance--Youre in good hands with
Allstate. Ford Motor Company--Only your mother
is more obsessed with your safety. Lysol Basin
Tub Tile Cleaner--This is no place for
germs. Merrill Lynch--A tradition of trust.
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BELONGINGNESS NEEDS
Products
Beauty aids, entertainment, clothing
Marketing approaches
Carnival Cruise Lines--The most popular cruise
line in the world. Sears Mainframe Junior
Dept.--Got to have the clothes. Lady Foot
Locker--One store. Every woman.
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ESTEEM NEEDS
Products
Clothing, cars, jewelry, liquors, hobbies, beauty
spa services
Marketing approaches
Jeep--Theres only one. Movado Museum
Watch--The making of a legendary
classic. Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin--Pour
something priceless. BMW--The ultimate driving
machine.
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SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS
Products
Education, cultural events, sports, hobbies
Marketing approaches
Nike--If you let me play, I will like myself
more. Outward Bound Schools--The adventure
lasts a lifetime. Danskin--Not just for
dancing.
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Interpersonal influence

• Culture
• Reference groups
• Opinion leaders
• Family

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Reference groups

• Groups whose values affect individuals behavior
• Membership
• Aspirational
• Disassociative
• Examples? Implications?

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Opinion leaders

• Individuals who
• know about a product category
• learn about new products earlier
• provide information and influence decisions
• Examples? Implications?

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Family

• Key influence
• Family lifecycle
• incorporates age, marital status, presence of
  children
• Key trends
• increase in sharing of decision rights
• changes in family structure
• influence of children

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Family life cycle
Young single
Newly Married
Full Nest
Empty Nest
Solitary Survivor
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Summary what do we know?

• Purchase decision process
• Influences on the process
• personal influences
• interpersonal influences