Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior Professor Lawrence Feick University of Pittsburgh

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

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

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

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

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

Consider: choice of a car

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)

Example: stage 1 • Individual narrows choice to (forms consideration set that includes) small sedans based on objectives, price range, operating costs, etc

Example: stage 2 • Choosing a best alternative from the consideration set • Formation of a brand by attribute matrix

Brand by attribute matrix: cars

Bob & Mary’s attribute weights for cars

Mary’s total scores for cars

Bob’s total scores for cars

Purchase decision (choice) • Outcome of evaluation: • preferred brand or brands

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

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

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

Limited Problem Solving Cola Routinized Response Behavior Some thoughts on consumer thinking: how much thought? Extended Problem Solving

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

Planned and in-store purchases

Influences on the decision making process • Personal influence • Interpersonal influence

Personal influences • Needs and Maslow’s hierarchy • Perception • Attitudes • Learning • Self concept

A focus on…needs • Needs: an imbalance between desired and actual states • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Self Actualization Esteem Social/belongingness Safety Physiological needs

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

Marketing implications of Maslow’s 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 person’s supplement.” Advil--”Advanced medicine for pain.”

SAFETY NEEDS Products Car accessories, burglar alarm systems, retirement investments, insurance, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors Marketing approaches Allstate Insurance--”You’re 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.”

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.”

ESTEEM NEEDS Products Clothing, cars, jewelry, liquors, hobbies, beauty spa services Marketing approaches Jeep--”There’s only one.” Movado Museum Watch--”The making of a legendary classic.” Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin--”Pour something priceless.” BMW--”The ultimate driving machine.”

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.”

Interpersonal influence • Culture • Reference groups • Opinion leaders • Family

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

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

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

Family life cycle Young single Full Nest Empty Nest Solitary Survivor Newly Married

Summary: what do we know? • Purchase decision process • Influences on the process • personal influences • interpersonal influences

Consumer Behavior