📣Marketing Strategy Unit 3 – Consumer Behavior and Decision Making

Key Concepts in Consumer Behavior

• Consumer behavior focuses on how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants
• Involves studying the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups such as families or organizations
• Encompasses the study of what, why, when, where, and how often consumers buy, as well as how they use and dispose of purchased goods or services
• Considers the influence of factors such as demographics, psychographics, personality, attitudes, and lifestyle on consumer decisions
• Recognizes that consumer behavior is dynamic, involving interactions between thoughts, feelings, actions, and the environment
• Draws from various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and economics to understand consumer motivations and actions
• Helps marketers tailor products, services, and promotional strategies to meet the needs and preferences of specific consumer segments (market segmentation)

Psychological Factors Influencing Decisions

• Motivation drives individuals to take action to satisfy their needs, which can be classified as biogenic (physiological) or psychogenic (psychological)
• Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret information from their environment
  • Selective attention: Consumers focus on stimuli that are relevant to their current needs or interests
  • Selective distortion: Consumers interpret information in a way that supports their preconceptions or beliefs
  • Selective retention: Consumers remember information that aligns with their attitudes and beliefs
• Learning refers to changes in an individual's behavior arising from experience, which can occur through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning
• Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond consistently favorably or unfavorably to a given object or class of objects
  • Cognitive component: An individual's beliefs or knowledge about an object
  • Affective component: An individual's feelings or emotions towards an object
  • Conative component: An individual's behavioral intentions or actions taken with respect to an object
• Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that distinguish an individual, influencing how they respond to their environment
• Emotions are intense, relatively uncontrolled feelings that affect behavior and serve as a major motivation for consumption

Sociocultural Influences on Consumer Choices

• Culture, the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors of a group or society, significantly shapes consumer preferences and decision-making
• Subcultures, groups within a culture that share distinct values or behaviors (ethnic, religious, geographic), often require tailored marketing strategies
• Social class, determined by factors such as income, education, and occupation, influences consumer behavior through shared values, lifestyles, and consumption patterns
• Reference groups, people who serve as a point of comparison or influence an individual's behavior, can be aspirational (desired membership) or dissociative (avoided association)
• Family, as a primary reference group, plays a crucial role in shaping an individual's consumption habits, with family life cycle stages (bachelor, newlywed, full nest) affecting spending patterns
• Opinion leaders, individuals who informally influence others' attitudes or behaviors, can be powerful advocates for products or brands
• Social media and online communities have become increasingly influential in shaping consumer opinions and purchase decisions through user-generated content and peer recommendations

The Consumer Decision-Making Process

• Problem recognition occurs when a consumer perceives a discrepancy between their current state and desired state, triggering a decision process
• Information search involves gathering data about potential solutions to the recognized problem, which can be internal (memory) or external (friends, media)
  • Evaluative criteria are the standards or specifications used to compare different products or brands
• Evaluation of alternatives is the process of assessing options based on evaluative criteria, which may involve compensatory (balancing positive and negative attributes) or non-compensatory (eliminating options based on a minimum threshold) decision rules
• Purchase decision is the selection of a product or brand, influenced by factors such as perceived risk, time pressure, and situational context
  • Perceived risk can be functional (performance), financial (monetary loss), social (disapproval), psychological (self-image), or physical (safety)
• Post-purchase behavior involves the consumer's satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the chosen product or brand, which can lead to loyalty, repeat purchases, or negative word-of-mouth
• Cognitive dissonance, the mental discomfort experienced when a consumer's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors are inconsistent, can occur post-purchase and may require marketers to provide reassurance or support

Market Segmentation and Target Marketing

• Market segmentation divides a heterogeneous market into distinct subsets of consumers with similar needs, characteristics, or behaviors, allowing for targeted marketing strategies
• Demographic segmentation categorizes consumers based on variables such as age, gender, income, education, occupation, and family life cycle stage
• Geographic segmentation divides markets based on location, such as region, city size, population density, or climate
• Psychographic segmentation groups consumers according to their personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles (AIOs)
• Behavioral segmentation classifies consumers based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, or responses to a product, such as usage rate, loyalty status, or benefits sought
• Target marketing involves evaluating and selecting one or more market segments to focus on, considering factors such as segment size, growth potential, competition, and company resources
  • Undifferentiated (mass) marketing: Ignoring segment differences and targeting the entire market with a single offer
  • Differentiated (segmented) marketing: Targeting multiple segments with tailored offers for each
  • Concentrated (niche) marketing: Focusing on a single, well-defined segment with a specialized offer
• Positioning refers to the act of designing a company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market, often communicated through a perceptual map

Consumer Research Methods and Techniques

• Primary research involves collecting new data specifically for the purpose at hand, through methods such as surveys, experiments, or observations
  • Surveys gather information from a sample of respondents through questionnaires or interviews, which can be conducted in person, by phone, mail, or online
  • Experiments manipulate one or more independent variables to measure their effect on a dependent variable, allowing for causal inferences
  • Observations record consumer behavior in natural or contrived settings, either openly or disguisedly
• Secondary research utilizes existing data that was originally collected for another purpose, such as government statistics, industry reports, or academic publications
• Qualitative research aims to gain a deep understanding of consumer motivations, attitudes, and behaviors through methods such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, or projective techniques
  • Focus groups bring together a small group of consumers (6-10) to discuss a topic under the guidance of a moderator
  • In-depth interviews are one-on-one, unstructured conversations that explore a consumer's thoughts, feelings, and experiences in detail
  • Projective techniques (word association, sentence completion) use ambiguous stimuli to uncover hidden or subconscious consumer attitudes or beliefs
• Quantitative research seeks to quantify data and generalize results from a sample to the population of interest, often through structured surveys or experiments
• Big data analytics leverages large, complex datasets from various sources (social media, loyalty programs) to uncover patterns, trends, and associations in consumer behavior
• Neuromarketing applies neuroscience techniques (EEG, fMRI) to measure consumers' physiological responses to marketing stimuli, providing insights into subconscious reactions and decision-making processes

Applying Consumer Behavior to Marketing Strategies

• Product strategies consider consumer needs, wants, and preferences when designing product features, packaging, branding, and product line extensions
  • Maslow's hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualization) can guide product development to address different levels of consumer motivation
• Pricing strategies account for consumer perceptions of value, price sensitivity, and reference prices when setting and adjusting prices
  • Odd-even pricing ($9.99) can create the perception of a lower price or bargain
  • Prestige pricing (high prices for luxury goods) can signal exclusivity and quality to status-seeking consumers
• Promotion strategies tailor messages and communication channels to the target audience's preferences, media habits, and decision-making stages
  • Emotional appeals (humor, fear, warmth) can be effective for low-involvement products or when brand differentiation is minimal
  • Informational appeals (product features, benefits) are more persuasive for high-involvement products or when consumers are motivated to process the message
• Distribution strategies consider consumer shopping preferences, convenience, and channel usage when selecting and managing distribution channels
  • Omnichannel retailing integrates online and offline channels to provide a seamless, consistent consumer experience across touchpoints
• Relationship marketing focuses on building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with customers through personalized interactions, loyalty programs, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Social media marketing leverages platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to engage with consumers, build brand communities, and drive word-of-mouth referrals
• Experiential marketing creates immersive, memorable experiences that engage consumers emotionally and sensorially, fostering brand affinity and loyalty

Ethical Considerations in Consumer Marketing

• Privacy concerns arise from the collection, use, and protection of consumer data, particularly with the growth of digital marketing and data-driven personalization
  • Opt-in consent requires consumers to explicitly agree to have their data collected and used for marketing purposes
  • Data security measures (encryption, access controls) are essential to safeguard consumer information from breaches or unauthorized access
• Deceptive advertising misleads consumers through false claims, exaggerations, or omissions, eroding trust and damaging brand reputation
  • Puffery (subjective, unverifiable claims) is legal but can still be perceived as misleading by consumers
  • Substantiation requires advertisers to have a reasonable basis for objective claims made in their marketing communications
• Targeting vulnerable populations (children, elderly, low-income) raises ethical concerns about exploiting their vulnerabilities or lack of knowledge
  • Children's advertising is regulated to protect them from deceptive or inappropriate marketing messages
  • Predatory lending targets low-income consumers with high-interest loans or credit offers that can lead to debt traps
• Stereotyping in advertising perpetuates oversimplified, often negative portrayals of certain groups (gender, race, age), reinforcing biases and limiting aspirations
• Greenwashing misleads consumers about a company's environmental practices or a product's ecological benefits, capitalizing on growing consumer interest in sustainability
• Social responsibility initiatives (cause-related marketing, corporate philanthropy) can be seen as authentic efforts to address societal issues or as cynical attempts to boost brand image
• Transparency and accountability are essential for building consumer trust, requiring honest, open communication and a willingness to address concerns or complaints promptly and fairly