1. Understanding consumer behaviour

Consumer behaviour = totality of consumer decisions in acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services, time and ideas by human-decision making units over time.

Offering = product/service/activity/experience/idea offered by marketing to consumers.

Acquisition = process by which consumers comes to own an offering. 8 ways to acquire an offering: buy, trade, rent/lease, barter/exchange, gift, find, steal or share.

Usage = process of using an offering

Disposition = process of discarding an offering. Several options to dispose a tangible product: find a new use for it, get rid of it temporarily, get rid of it permanently.

Consumer behaviour is a dynamic process, which involves many people. Markets are designed around consumers disposition decision to other consumers acquisition decisions. Broader changes in consumer behaviour change over time. Decisions consumer behaviour involves are: whether to acquire/use/dispose an offering, what offering to acquire/use/dispose of, why acquire/use/dispose of an offering, why an offering is no acquire/use/dispose of, and how to acquire/use/dispose of an offering. Consumer behaviour also involves emotions and coping.

Model of consumer behaviour = 4 domains, 1. Consumers culture, 2. Psychological core, 3. Process of making decisions, 4. Consumer behaviour outcomes and issues. Model is shown at the beginning of each chapter.

Consumer culture (1) = culture is typical or expected behaviours, norms and ideas that characterize a group of people. Consists of 4 subjects, 1. Reference groups and other social influences, 2. Diversity influence, 3. Household and social class influences, 4. Values, personality and lifestyles.

Psychological core (2) = consists of 4 subjects, 1. Motivation,ability and opportunity (MAO), 2. Exposure, attention, perception and comprehension , 3. Memort and knowledge, 4. Attitude formation and change.

Process of making decisions (3) = consists of 3 subjects, 1. Problem recognition and search for information, 2. Making judgements and decisions, 3. Making postdecision evaluation.

Consumer behaviour outcomes and issues (4) = consist of 3 subjects, 1. Symbols, 2. Innovation adoption and diffusion, 3. Behaviour, ethics and social responsibility.

Benefitting from consumer behaviour research = marketing managers (marketing is activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large), ethicists and advocacy groups, public policy makers and regulators, academics, and consumers and society. In general it helps to develop product-specific plans, broader strategies for market segmentation, targeting and positions, and making decisions about the marketing mix.

Developing and implementing consumer-oriented strategy = to create a value for customers. Think about how the market is segmented, how profitable each segment is, what the characteristics of consumers in each segment are and if consumers are satisfied with the existing offerings. Selecting the target market by determining which group they want to target and identify who is likely to be involved in the acquisition, usage and disposition.

Developing products = think about what ideas consumers have for new products, what attributes can be added/changed in existing offerings, how the offering should be branded and what the package/logo should look like.

Positioning = think about how competitive are the offerings positions, how should the offering be positioned and should the offering be repositioned.

Marketing promotion and communication decisions = Think about what the advertising objectives are, what the advertisement should look like, where and when the advertising should be placed, if the advertisement was effective, sales promotion objective and tactics, have the sales promotions been effective and how can salespeople best serve customers.

Making price decisions = think about what price should be charged (too low is cheap, your product will be compared with other brands and think about choice overload/default option), about sensitivity for price and price changes and when certain price tactics should be used

Making distribution decisions = think about when and where the target consumer is likely to shop, what customers want to see in the store and how stores should be designed (such as stock products that are often used together near each other, and are the customers shopping for fun or seeking quickly).

2. Consumer behavior

Consumer motivation and its effects

Motivation = an inner state of arousal that provides energy needed to achieve a goal. A motivated person is willing to engage in a goal-relevant activity, e.g., buying a new product. A result of motivation is effortful behavior, like researching product information online and asking for advice in a store. If there has to be put too much effort into a purchase, the consumer may choose to delay it or buy the product somewhere else (e.g. in case of a long waiting line). The higher the motivation, the more the consumer takes effort in paying attention, thinking about the offer, attempting to understand and evaluate information, and to remember that later on.

Motivated reasoning = processing information in a way that allows consumers to reach the conclusion that they want to reach. Example: people that are on a diet, believe more in the benefits of diet products than people who are not dieting.

Felt involvement = self-reported arousal or interest in an offering, activity, or decision. It is the psychological experience of the motivated consumer, and can be:

Enduring: when a person shows interest in an offering over a long period of time (e.g. car enthusiasts);

Situational (temporary): when a person shows more interest during a limited period of time (e.g. when looking for a new car);

Cognitive: when a person is interested in thinking about and processing information related to his goal (where the goal is learning about the offer, e.g., a football fan wanting to know everything about the tactics of the game);

Affective: when a person is willing to expend emotional energy in/has deep feelings about an offering (e.g., listening to music in order to feel better).

Response involvement = interest in certain decisions and behaviors, for example being highly involved in the process of choosing between brands. It is important to specify the object of involvement: consumers may only buy a certain brand because they are a fan, but if they are only fan of a certain commercial, they may still not buy the brand that is the object of that commercial because they are loyal to another brand.

What affects motivation?

Motivation is affected when consumers regard something as:

Personally relevant;

Consistent with their values, needs, goals, emotions, and self-control processes;

Risky;

Moderately inconsistent with their prior attitudes.

Personal relevance = the extent to which something has a direct bearing on and significant implications for your life. Every offering may be relevant to the extent that it bears on a person’s self-concept = our mental view of who we are and the way we think others see us. This can influence buying behaviors, e.g., when using clothes to communicate our personal style.

Values = abstract, enduring beliefs about what is right or wrong, important, or good or bad.

Needs = internal states of tension caused by disequilibrium from an ideal/desired physical or psychological state. Example: feeling that your stomach is empty and has the need for food, and eating to resolve this problem.

Maslow identifies five need levels. In general, lower leveled needs (1, 2, 3, 4) should be satisfied before higher level needs (5, 4, 3, 2) can be activated:

Physiological (food, water, and sleep);

Safety (shelter, protection, and security);

Social (affection, friendship, and to belong);

Egoistic (prestige, success, accomplishment, and self-esteem);

Self-actualization (self-fulfillment and enriching experiences).

Another categorization of needs:

Social needs = externally directed and relate to other individuals (e.g., needs for status and affiliation). Fulfilling them requires other people to be around. Antisocial needs exist as well, e.g., the needs for space and distance from other people.

Nonsocial needs = those for which achievement is not based on other people (e.g., sleep, control, understanding, and consistency).

Functional needs = motivate the search for offerings that solve consumption-related problems.

Symbolic needs = how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us, how we relate to others, and the esteem in which we are held by others (e.g., achievement, independence, and self-control).

Hedonic needs = needs for sensory/cognitive stimulation, novelty (non-social), and reinforcement, sex, and play (social).

Needs for cognition and stimulation = the higher the needs for understanding and sensory stimulation, the more involved a consumer is.

All the needs above have various characteristics. They are dynamic in that they are never fully satisfied, and satisfaction is only temporary. They exist in a hierarchy: some are more important at a time than others (e.g., when you have to pee, all other things can wait),

but they can also be combined (e.g., eating with friends satisfies both social and non-social needs). Some can be internally activated, why others are externally cued. Conflicts:

Approach-avoidance conflict = an inner struggle about acquiring/consuming an offering that fulfills one need but fails to fulfill another.

Approach-approach conflict = an inner struggle about which offering to acquire when each can satisfy an important, but different, need.

Avoidance-avoidance conflict = an inner struggle about which offering to acquire when neither can satisfy an important but different need.

Consumers may find it hard to define their needs, and because they often satisfy a certain need in various ways, they are also hard to observe. To uncover needs, marketers use indirect research techniques.

Goal = a particular outcome that a person would like to achieve. Goals are more specific than needs. Goal setting includes what to pursue (e.g. saving money), and at what level (e.g. 500 Euros). Consumers are constantly setting goals, pursuing them, determining success and failure, and adapting their goals. The easier a goal can be visualized, the easier it is to pursue. Certain goals can be more abstract than others. ‘Being on time tomorrow’ is concrete, while ‘being a good person’ is rather abstract.

A promotion-focused goal motivates consumers to act in ways to achieve positive outcomes. With prevention-focused goals, they are motivated to avoid negative outcomes.

Appraisal theory = a theory of emotion that proposes that emotions are based on an individual’s assessment of a situation or an outcome and its relevance to his goals. A person feels positive emotions when an outcome is consistent with his goals. A person might feel proud when a good outcome happens, when he is the cause of that outcome, and when it is consistent with what he should have done.

Benign envy = paying more for a product because others, who are socially admired, have it. Malicious envy = paying more because others, who are socially admired, do not have it.

Self-control = a process consumers use to regulate feelings, thoughts, and behavior in line with long-term goals. The mental effort in decision making may result in ego depletion = mental resources being exhausted. This reduces decision quality. People seeking to exert self-control are in a conflict between short-term desire (hedonic) and long-term will-power (utilitarian). Goals can thus be used to regulate how you feel (e.g., eating ice cream to feel better) or to regulate what you do. Embodiment = connection between mind and body that influences consumer self-control and behavior.

Marketers can enhance consumers’ motivation to process and act on advertisements by making the information personally relevant for them and by appealing to consumers’ self-concepts, values, needs, or goals. New products/services are often better suited to consumers’ needs when consumers are involved in their development (co-creation).

Perceived risk = the extent to which the consumer is uncertain about the consequences of an action. The more likely a negative outcome will result, the higher the risk. Perceived risk is higher when:

Little information is available,

The offering is new, expensive, or technologically complex,

Brands differ fairly substantially in quality and may lead to the consumer making a non-optimal choice,

The consumer has little experience in evaluating the offer;

The opinions of others are important, and the consumer is likely to be judged based on his decisions.

Types of risk are:

Performance risk = the possibility that the offering will perform less than expected;

Physical risk = the extent to which buying, using, or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to create physical harm or harm one’s safety;

Psychological risk = the extent to which buying, using, or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to harm one’s sense of self and thus create negative emotions;

Financial risk = the extent to which buying, using, or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to create financial harm;

Social risk = the extent to which buying, using, or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to do harm to one’s social standing;

Time risk = the extent to which buying, using, or disposing of an offering is perceived to have the potential to lead to loss of time.

Consumers reduce risk and uncertainty by collecting information online, reading news articles, engaging in comparative shopping, talking to friends or experts, and by being brand loyal. They can also use simple decisions rules like buying the most expensive product or a well-known brand.

Consistency with attitudes = the extent to which new information is consistent with previously acquired knowledge/attitudes. Messages that are perceived to be uncomfortable or threatening because they are inconsistent with our prior beliefs, get more attention than consistent ones. Highly inconsistent information is often ignored, because consumers don’t believe it can be true (e.g., a negative review of their favorite brand).

Consumer ability: resources to act

Ability = the extent to which consumers have the necessary resources to make the outcome happen.

The higher the ability to process information, the higher the engagement in active decision making. Various resources can affect consumers’ abilities:

Financial resources: money can be used to hire experts to do the things for you that you can’t do by yourself.

Cognitive resources: knowledgeable consumers are better able to think thoroughly than are equally motivated, but less knowledgeable consumers. Experts look at the attributes, while novices look at the benefits. When a person isn’t knowledgeable about a certain object, he may use heuristics (simple decision cues) to make his decision. Some people are more visually oriented, while others like information to be verbally presented to them.

Emotional resources: consumers’ ability to experience empathy and sympathy affects their information processing and decisions. It also affects the actions they take to engage in charitable events and the likelihood they will donate to good causes.

Physical resources: body power can affect decisions, for example when fit people decide to go for a challenging hike.

Social and cultural resources: these can affect acquisition, consumption, and disposition behavior. They also affect the degree to which strong word of mouth will be supported by a person’s social network.

Education and age: better-educated people will have more cognitive resources to use. Older people take more time to process information and to make decisions.

Marketers should make sure that consumers have enough prior knowledge about an advertised product and appeal to different processing styles, education levels, and ages.

Consumer opportunity

The final factor affecting whether motivation results in action is consumers’ opportunity to engage in a behavior. A person may not take an action because of lack of time, distraction, or the complexity, amount, repetition, and control of information.

Time affects the consumer’s opportunity to process information, make decisions, and perform behaviors. The higher the time pressure, the more consumers will engage in limited information processing. Such consumers are also likely to put more weight on negative information and thus quickly reject brands with negative features.

Distraction = any aspect of a situation that diverts consumers’ attention. It influences the effect of consumers’ thoughts on their choices, not the effect of their emotions on choices.

Technical, quantitative information is harder to process (complexity). Information may also be perceived as complex if there is a lot of it (amount). When repeatedly exposed to the same information, consumers find the information easier to process (repetition). Consumers also find information easier to process when they can control what is presented to them, for how long, and in what order.

Marketers can take various actions to make information processing more convenient for consumers:

Repeating marketing communications (through different media channels) increases the chance that consumers will notice and process information.

Reducing time pressure can lessen distractions, e.g., extending opening hours.

Reducing the time needed to buy, use, and learn about a product/service allows for more chances to process information and act on decisions, e.g., clear signage in a store.

Offering information when and where consumers choose to access it will provide more opportunities for processing and acting on information.

3. Exposure to messages and understanding

Exposure and consumer behavior

Exposure = coming into physical contact with a stimulus.

Marketing stimuli = contain information about products/brands/other offerings communicated by either the marketer or by non-marketing sources like consumer reviews. The position of an advertisement is important (e.g., TV commercials shown during primetime). Also product distribution and shelf placement affect how, when, and where consumers are exposed to brands. Consumers can choose to search for certain advertisements, while they avoid being confronted with other stimuli.

Zipping = fast-forwarding through commercials on a program recorded earlier. Zapping = use of a remote control to switch channels during commercial breaks.

Marketers choose the channels through which consumers are exposed (e.g., using Facebook to target students, while using TV commercials to target families). New channels include advertising in sports stadia, on supermarket floors and on airport jet ways. Consumers must be exposed without being bombarded with stimuli, because then they will get irritated and try to ignore marketing messages.

Attention and consumer behavior

Attention = how much mental activity a consumer devotes to a stimulus. It enables consumers to learn efficiently from their exposure to stimuli and to make the right decisions. Key characteristics of attention are:

That it is limited: consumers cannot attend to all stimuli in their environment.

That it is selective: because attention is limited, consumers must select the stimuli they want to focus on.

That it can be divided: it is possible to allocate some attention to one task and some to another task.

Focal attention = when focusing on a stimulus. Non-focal attention = when being exposed to various stimuli at the same time.

Preattentive processing = the non-conscious processing of stimuli in peripheral vision.

There is only enough attention paid to an object to process something about it, but the consumer is not aware of this process. Consumers will like a brand more if they have been preattentively exposed to it, because they like familiar things in general.

Hemispheric lateralization = the right brain is best at processing music, visual and spatial information, forming inferences, and drawing conclusions why the left brain is best at processing units that can be combined, performing tasks like counting, processing unfamiliar words and forming sentences.

In order to compete with other stimuli, marketers must make sure that their stimuli are:

Personally relevant: appealing to the consumer’s needs, values, emotions, or goals.

Pleasant: by using attractive people, music, or humor.

Surprising: by using novelty, unexpectedness and puzzles.

Easy to process: stimuli must stand out (be prominent) so they are more likely to be noticed. They must also be concrete = easy to imagine. Lastly, they must be surrounded by as few things as possible or in contrast with other stimuli.

Habituation = the process by which a stimulus loses its attention-getting abilities by virtue of its familiarity.

Perception and consumer behavior

Perception = the process of determining the properties of stimuli using vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Consumers constantly and automatically make inferences about products using their knowledge and senses.

Visual perception is aroused by the size and shape of the product, size and style of the lettering, image location on the package, and color.

Sound perception depends on the intensity (loudness) of the sound. Brands often use jingles to be more recognizable.

Taste perception may differ per customer/culture.

Smell perception has various effects on consumer responses, product trial, liking and buying. Smell can induce physiological and emotional responses, entice consumers to try/buy a product, attract consumers, and have a positive effect on their shopping behavior.

Touch perception is often important. Consumers often prefer goods that they can touch in the store. Also, when they are touched by a sales person, they may like this person better and evaluate the store more positively. However, this differs per culture.

Sensory marketing = the process of systematically managing consumers’ perception and experiences of marketing stimuli. For consumers to perceive something, the smell/sound/taste/etc. must be considerably intense. Absolute threshold = the minimal level of stimulus intensity needed to detect a stimulus. Differential threshold/just noticeable difference (j.n.d.) = the intensity difference needed between two stimuli before they are perceived to be different.

Weber’s law = the stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the additional intensity needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different.

Subliminal perception = the activation of sensory receptors by stimuli presented below the perceptual threshold. Subliminal stimuli are presented so quickly that consciously processing is impossible. This is a controversial advertising tool, because it is believed that this kind of advertising influences people against their will.

Perceptual organization = the process by which stimuli are organized into meaningful units. Four basic principles related to this are:

Figure and ground = the principle that people interpret stimuli in the context of a background.

Closure = the principle that individuals have a need to organize perceptions so that they form a meaningful whole.

Grouping = the tendency to group stimuli to form a unified picture or impression.

Bias for the whole = the tendency to perceive more value in a whole than in the combined parts that make up a whole.

Comprehension and consumer behavior

Comprehension = the process of extracting higher-order meaning from what we have perceived in the context of what we already know. Message comprehension (if the message is clear) and source identification (where it comes from) are critical elements of comprehension.

Source identification = the process of determining what the perceived stimulus actually is. Is it an ad or something else? What product/brand is it about?

The lines between informational messages and advertisements are blurred by product placement, advertorials, and infomercials. Once the source has been identified, people start to understand the message. There are various levels of message comprehension:

Objective comprehension = the extent to which consumers accurately understand the message a sender intended to communicate. Subjective comprehension = what the consumer understands from the message, regardless of whether this understanding is right.

Miscomprehension = when consumers inaccurately interpret the meaning contained in a message.

Effect of motivation, attitude, and opportunity on comprehension: a message may not be well understood when the receiver is not motivated and has low opportunity to process it. Comprehension may improve with expertise and ability.

Effect of the culture: in low-context cultures (e.g., North-America), consumers separate the words and meanings from the context of the message and pay more attention to what is said than on the surrounding visuals, why in high-context cultures (e.g., Asia) the reverse is true.

Marketers can improve comprehension by keeping the message simple, by giving people the opportunity to access their prior knowledge, and by presenting information in different (visual and verbal) forms. Perceptual fluency = the ease with which information is processed. This is high for well-known, established brands.

Inferences = the conclusions that consumers draw or interpretations that they form based on the message. Example: if brand A contains attribute 1, it will also contain attribute 2 (congruent), or if it contains attribute 3, it won’t contain attribute 4 (incongruent).

Real life examples are relating healthy to bad taste, and expensive to high-quality. Brand names, symbols, product features and packaging, price, and retail atmospherics, displays, and distribution can induce consumers to make certain inferences.

4. Consumer memory and expertise

What is memory?

Consumer memory = the persistence of learning over time, through the storage and retrieval of information, either consciously or unconsciously. Retrieval = the process of remembering/accessing what was previously stored in memory.

Sensory memory = input from the five senses stored temporarily and briefly in memory.

Echoic memory = sensory memory of things that are heard, while iconic memory applies to things that are seen. Olfactory memory = when for example the smell of baked bread still lingers in your mind after you have left the bakery.

Working memory (WM) = the part of memory where incoming information is encoded/interpreted in the context of existing knowledge, and kept available for more processing. In this memory, most of the conscious information processing takes place.

Discursive processing = when thinking about an object and representing it with a word. Imagery processing = thinking about an object and visualizing it. Key implications for marketers:

The more imagery is stimulated, the more information can be processed and retained.

Stimulating imagery helps consumers imagining the (use of the) product, which results in more positive attitudes towards it.

Realistic imagery can improve consumer satisfaction.

Long-term memory (LTM) = the part of memory where information is permanently stored for later use. There are two types:

Episodic (autobiographical) memory = knowledge people have about themselves and their personal, past experiences, including emotions and sensations tied to them. This memory is very personal and can influence the evaluation of products and services. Operant conditioning = where one vivid event produces strong lasting memory.

Semantic memory = general knowledge about an entity, detached from specific episodes from our history. Example: people know coffee is warm, dark, and liquid, but this knowledge is not tied to a certain time they drank it.

The power of episodic memory can be influenced by marketing in the following ways:

By promoting empathy and identification;

By providing cues and possibilities to preserve memories;

By affecting memories about past experiences consumers have had with certain products through advertising.

Implicit memory = memory without any conscious attempt at remembering something. This makes it easier to recall information that has been encountered before, which leads to familiarity and more positive attitudes.

Explicit memory = when consumers are consciously aware that they remember something. This is expressed in two forms:

Recognition = the process of identifying whether we have previously encountered a stimulus when being re-exposed to it.

Recall = the ability to retrieve information from memory without being re-exposed to it.

Various techniques can help to improve the working memory:

Chunking = grouping items and processing them as a unit (e.g,. telephone numbers). Marketers can help with this by providing consumers with chunks (e.g,. 0900-EXPERT).

Rehearsal = silently repeating the idea or actively thinking about it. Marketers can help with this by using jingles, sounds, and slogans to motivate rehearsal.

Recirculation = repeating the information. Marketers can help with this by creating different advertisements that communicate the same message.

Elaboration = transferring information into long-term memory by processing it at deeper levels. Marketers can help with this by using unexpected stimuli that motivate the consumer to think deeper.

Knowledge content, structure, and flexibility

Knowledge content = the information we have already learned and stored in memory about brands, companies, stores, people, how to shop, etc. It is stored in memory as facts, but consist of schemas or scripts.

Schema = knowledge about what objects and people are. It is the set of associations linked to a concept (e.g. banana script: yellow, snack, Chiquita, food, sweet, healthy, soft, etc.). Script = a special type of schema that represents knowledge of a sequence of actions involved in performing an activity, e.g. how to arrange tulips in a vase: you look for scissors, cut open the plastic wrapping, etc. etc.

Associative network = a set of concepts connected by links. When one concept is activated, others may become active as well through the links. Concepts connected by strong links are more likely to activate each other than those connected by weak links. Attributes that are linked in the consumer’s mind, are correlated. Negative correlation = e.g. when consumers believe that the bigger the car, the more fuel it uses.

Spreading of activation = the process by which retrieving a concept or association spreads to the retrieval of a related concept or association. This may occur consciously, but can also take place outside of conscious awareness. This is priming = the increased sensitivity to certain concepts and associations due to prior experience based on implicit memory.

The associations in schemas differ in three dimensions:

Favorability: e.g., associating a biscuit with only 30 calories, which results in a favorable association.

Uniqueness: e.g., the Whopper of the Burger King.

Salience: how easily associations come to mind.

Brand image = a specific type of schema that captures what a brand stands for and how favorably it is viewed.

Brand personality = the set of associations included in a schema that reflects a brand’s personification (how a consumer would describe the brand if it were a person). Because such a personality has cultural meaning, global brands may differ per country. When consumers are able to imagine a brand/product to be ‘alive’, they will be less willing to replace it. Also, the better they can identify themselves with the brand, they more they will like it. Brands with favorable, unique, and salient associate have high brand equity and are thus valuable and meaningful. This results in more loyal customers and acceptance of a higher price.

Brand extension = using the brand name of a product with a well-developed image on a product in a different category.

Then the associations of the original brand schema are transferred to the new one and vice versa. Therefore there should be a good fit between original and new.

Knowledge structure = how we organize knowledge in memory. Consumers often group objects together in categories. Taxonomic category = how consumers classify a group of objects in memory in an orderly, often hierarchical way, based on their similarity to one another (e.g., put all colas in the ‘soft drinks’ category). Objects within the same taxonomic category thus share various attributes and similar features, which differ from those shared within other categories.

Graded structure = category members varying in how well they are perceived to represent the category better than others. Prototype = the best example of a cognitive category. Prototypicality = when an object is representative of its category. The prototype shares the most features with products in its category, and the fewest with other categories. It is often the most often encountered as a category member, and/or a pioneer brand. Consumers use it as a main point of comparison for the categorization of new brands, so therefore it is safe to position a new brand close to the prototype.

Taxonomic categories can be hierarchically structured:

Superordinate level = broadest level of categorization. Objects share a few associations and have many different ones (e.g. beverages).

Basic level = finer discriminations (e.g. tea, coffee, soft drinks).

Subordinate level = finest level (e.g. herbal and non-herbal tea).

The content and structure of a consumer’s associative networks and categorizations adapt to the tasks that he faces. This adaptability depends on the consumer’s specific goals and his time to implement them. Goal-derived category = things viewed as belonging to the same category because they serve the same goals.

Example: suitcase, toothbrush and bottle of water may all fall in the category ‘things to take with you when traveling’. Goal-derived categories are much more flexible than taxonomic categories.

Construal level theory = describes the different levels of abstractness in the associations that a consumer has about concepts and how his psychological distance from these concepts influences his or her behavior.

Example: months before your holidays you think of ‘spending time as a family’ and ‘relieving stress’, while days before you may be occupied with thinking about what to take with you and at what time to leave for the airport.

Goals and timing affect the knowledge content and structure within consumers’ minds. Consumers’ culture and level of expertise affect the knowledge structure and content between consumers. E.g., in the Netherlands ‘breakfast products’ are considered bread and yoghurt, while in Japan they may include rice and fish.

Expert consumers have a richer associative network with more associations, and more concrete and abstract associations linked to a concept than novices have. Also, they have more graded and refined taxonomic structure of categories. Third, they exhibit more flexibility in activating suitable associations and categories than novices. Therefore they learn better which brands might be appropriate for different usage situations, organize such information by specific subcategories, and are less motivated than novices to learn about a new product.

Memory and retrieval

Information becomes salient in consumers’ minds over time through experience, and between consumers due to culture and expertise. Marketers want them to retrieve this information from their memories when making purchase decisions. Marketing communication aims to increase the memorability of various brand elements and attributes. Retrieval failures and errors must be avoided.

Three elements contribute to retrieval failures:

Decay = the weakening of memory strength over time.

Interference = when the strength of a memory deteriorates over time because of competing memories. These can include competing advertisements, changes of the product and its positioning, etc. Also, one salient memory can interfere with weaker ones, for example when you do remember the most important things on your grocery list, but cannot recall the other ones because you keep remembering the most important ones.

Serial-position effects: primacy and recency = the tendency to show greater memory for information that comes first or last in a sequence.

Source confusion = when you accurately remember a story, but confuse who told you. Memory can also be selective (when you for example only remember the good parts of a past relationship) and distorted (when you remember events that actually didn’t happen).

Retrieval is affected by:

the characteristics of the stimulus

what the stimulus is linked to

the way the stimulus is processed

the consumer’s characteristics.

Stimulus key characteristics:

Salience: salient objects attract attention and induce greater elaboration, which results in stronger memories.

Prototypicality: consumers can recognize and recall prototypes better because they have been confronted with them more often and are linked to many concepts in memory.

Redundant cues: memory is enhanced when the information items to be learned seem to go together in a natural way (e.g., complementary products).

The medium in which the stimulus is processed: TV commercials may be more effective than magazine advertisements because they appeal to vision and hearing.

The link to memory: retrieval cue = a stimulus that facilitates the activation of memory. If a brand must be recognized on a shelve, high-frequency words/(brand) names should be clear on the package. If consumers must recall the brand, marketers must choose brand names that evoke rich imagery, are novel/unexpected, or suggest the offering and the benefits.

Processing of the stimulus: messages processed through imagery are better remembered than those processed discursively. This is because images are processed as pictures and words (dual coding), thereby creating extra associations in memory.

Consumer characteristics: a positive mood can enhance recall (of positive information). Also, consumers in a positive mood are more likely to readily learn brand names and engage in brand rehearsal.

5. Central-route processing

Attitude = a relatively global and enduring evaluation of an object, issue, person, or action. It is learned and persists over time. People have attitudes towards brands, products, ads, people etc. Attitudes reflect their overall evaluation of something. Attitude functions:

Cognitive function = how attitudes influence thoughts.

Affective function = how attitudes influence feelings.

Conative function = how attitudes influence behavior.

Attitudes have five main characteristics:

Favorability = the degree to which the attitude object is (dis)liked.

Accessibility = how easily the attitude can be remembered.

Confidence = how strongly the attitude is held.

Persistence = how long the attitude lasts.

Resistance = how difficult it is to change the attitude.

Ambivalence = when the evaluations regarding a brand are both positive and negative. When someone’s attitude is ambivalent, he will more likely be influenced by others’ opinions.

In order to plan strategies for changing consumer attitudes, marketers must understand how attitudes are formed: (please see page 129)

Approach 1 (cognitions) = attitudes can be based on thoughts we have about information from internal memory or information received from an external source.

Approach 2 (emotions) = people may have a positive attitude towards something because it feels good or seems right. Emotions of others may influence one’s attitudes.

Approach 3 (high MAO) = consumers are more likely to devote a lot of effort toward and become quite involved in forming/changing attitudes and making decisions. Central-route processing = the attitude formation and change process when effort is high. Strong attitudes are formed which are resistant to change (focus of this chapter).

Approach 4 (low MAO) = attitudes are based on a more superficial analysis of the message instead of an elaboration. Peripheral-route processing = the attitude formation and change process when effort is low (focus of the next chapter).

The cognitive foundations of attitudes

Various theories explain the relation between thoughts and attitudes when consumers spend a lot of energy in processing information and decision making:

Direct or imagined experience: elaborating on actual product experience helps consumers to form attitudes. When imagery is used to elaborate on the positive aspects of buying and using a product, the consumer will have a more favorable attitude towards it.

Reasoning by analogy or category: people form attitudes based on the similarities to other product(s) (categories). Exampling: thinking you will like Starbucks ice coffee because you also like the hot coffees they offer.

Value-driven attitudes: a consumer’s personal values can shape his attitude towards brands. Example: an environmental conscious person having a favorable attitude towards Kuyichi jeans.

Social identity-based attitude generation: people thinking of themselves as adventurous may tend to form positive attitudes toward adventurous brands.

Analytical processes of attitude formation: when consumers form attitudes based on their cognitive responses to marketing stimuli and other information.

Cognitive response = thought we have in response to a communication. The cognitive response model states that people exert a lot of effort in responding to the message to generate:

Counterarguments (CAs) = thoughts that disagree with the message.

Support arguments (SAs) = thoughts that agree with the message.

Source derogations (SDs) = thoughts that discount or attack the source of the message.

Belief discrepancy = when a message is different from what consumers believe. This creates more counterarguments because people want to maintain their own beliefs. When the message is weak, consumers will tend to formulate more counterarguments. When they are in a good mood, they will not spend effort in thinking of counterarguments because they prefer to stay in that mood.

Expectancy-value model = a widely used model that explains how attitudes form and change, based on the beliefs/knowledge consumers have about an object/action and their evaluation of those beliefs.

Theory of reasoned action (TORA) = an expectancy-value model that provides an explanation of how, when, and why attitudes predict behavior. Behavior (B) = a function of a person’s behavioral intention (BI), which is determined by:

The person’s attitude towards the act (A_act) = determined by the consumer’s beliefs (b_i) about the consequences of the behavior and his evaluation (e_i) of these consequences.

The subjective norms (SN) = determined by the consumer’s normative beliefs (NB_j) and his motivation to comply (MC_j).

Normative influence = how other people influence our behavior through social pressure. The TORA model assumes that attitudes are accessible since they can only guide behavior if consumers can retrieve them.

Theory of planned behavior = an extension of the TORA model that predicts behavior over which consumers have incomplete control by examining their perceived behavioral control.

Models like the TORA model can guide marketers in changing attitudes, intentions and behavior through various strategies:

Change beliefs: strengthen those that the offering has positive consequences and lessen those that it has negative consequences.

Change evaluations: people’s attitudes get more positive if their beliefs are more positive or less negative.

Add a new belief: this will make the attitude more positive. Effective when a brand has features that are perceived as inferior, when the price is higher than competitors, or when the quality is perceived lower.

Encourage attitude formation based on imagined experience: communicate information through visuals, vivid language, instructions, etc. to help consumers imagine the positive attributes better.

Target normative beliefs: target strong normative beliefs in order to influence behavior. This may have more effect in collectivistic cultures, compared to individualistic ones.

How cognitively based attitudes are influenced

Consumers with attitudes based on cognitions will probably be affected by believable information. Marketing messages must thus be credible, and the company must have a good reputation. Credibility = the extent to which the source is trustworthy, expert, or has status. Consumers evaluate information more extensively when credibility is low.

A credible source (endorser) is trustworthy, expert, and/or had status. Such sources have a significant impact on acceptance of a message when a consumer’s prior attitude is negative, when the message differs from his prior beliefs, when the message is complex, and when there is a good ‘match’ between product and endorser.

Credible sources have less impact when consumers are confident regarding their existing attitudes and are highly able to generate their own conclusions.

Sleeper effect = consumers forget the source of a message more quickly than they forget the message.

When a marketing message does not feature an endorser, consumers look at the company behind it to judge credibility. A brand’s perceived trustworthiness exerts more influence on consumers’ consideration and behavior than its expertise.

Factors that affect the credibility of a message:

Argument quality: strong arguments present the best features of an offering in a persuasive way. They are mainly effective when consumers think primarily about the process of using a product and not about the consequences, and when they are thinking what they should’ve done differently to avoid a certain experience.

One-sided messages = marketing messages that present only positive information, while two-sided messages present both positive and negative information. In the latter case, consumers perceive the message as more honest. Two-sided messages are particularly effective when consumers are opposed to the offering, or when they will be exposed to strong counter messages from competitors.

Comparative messages = messages that make direct comparisons with competitors. There are two types: indirect comparative message = the offering is compared with those of unnamed competitors. Direct comparative message = a competitor is explicitly mentioned and attacked on the basis of a certain attribute. Negative direct comparative messages are effective in getting attention, but are not very credible. Positively framed comparative messages encourage more elaborative processing and induce consumers to consider other brand information.

When MAO is high, consumers exert more effort in processing direct comparative messages. With analytical processing, comparative ads will have a larger influence than non-comparative ones, which are more useful with imagery processing.

The affective (emotional) foundations of attitudes

Emotional reactions may function as a powerful way of creating favorable and enduring attitudes that are resistant to change. When consumer’s affective involvement is high, they can experience fairly strong emotional reactions to or engagement with a stimulus.

Engagement = the extent to which consumers are emotionally connected to a product or ad. When highly involved, a consumer will rely on his feelings as a source of information to evaluate the stimulus.

People tend to like a product/brand when their emotional receptivity matches the emotional intensity expressed in an ad or by a sales person.

Attitudes can also be formed through regulatory fit = consumers with promotion-focused goals are motivated to act in ways to achieve positive outcomes, focusing on hopes, wants, and accomplishments.

On the contrary, consumers with prevention-focused goals try to avoid negative outcomes. When the ad fits the consumer’s attitude, he becomes more confident about his attitude and regards it as valuable.

If a consumer is emotionally engaged in a message, he processes it rather on an emotional, than on an analytical level. Affective response = when consumers generate feelings and images in response to a message.

Such responses are especially important when an ad builds toward a peak emotional experience, which consumers should be able to associate with.

Promotion-focused consumers rely on their affective responses, while prevention-focused people rely on message content.

Emotional appeal = a message design to elicit an emotional response. This can be influenced by cultural differences. At all times, cognitions can influence whether experienced feelings will have an influence on consumer attitudes, because consumers must actively link their feelings to the offering. In order to motivate consumers to do this, marketers can try to influence their emotions in a positive way or focus attention on the emotional experience of product use.

How affectively based attitudes are influenced

When MAO and effort are high and attitudes are affectively/emotionally based, marketers can use characteristics of the source and the message to change people’s attitudes by influencing their emotions.

Attractiveness = source characteristics that evoke favorable attitudes can be that the source is physically attractive, likable, familiar, or similar to ourselves. When MAO and effort are high, attractive sources lead to favorable attitudes if the sources are appropriate for the product category.

Match-up hypothesis = the idea that the source must be appropriate for the product/service. An irrelevant source that is attractive, may distract the consumer from the message. Consumers tend to prefer attractive sales people, or people that are similar to them.

Emotional appeals and fear appeals are important characteristics of messages. Positive emotions mean to attract consumers to the offering, while negative ones try to create the fear about what might happen when the product is not bought. Because consumers may be thinking more about their feelings and less about the offering’s attributes, cognition may be inhibited. Therefore emotional appeals are most effective when hedonic/symbolic motivations are important.

Emotional contagion = a message designed to induce consumers to vicariously experience a presented emotion instead of their actual emotions. The more consumers are emotionally involved in the story of an ad, the less the focus on the costs and the more they focus on positive usage outcomes. Example: focusing on the chance that you win the lottery, instead of thinking about the much larger chance you don’t, simply because you feel ‘lucky’ today.

Fear appeal = a message that stresses negative consequences of, for example, not buying/using a certain product. By arousing fear, marketers hope to motivate consumers to engage in a particular behavior (e.g., buying the product).

Terror management theory (TMT) = a theory which deals with how we cope with the threat of death by defending our world view of values and beliefs. To avoid freaking out, consumers respond to messages that highlight the threat of death by more strongly defending their world view. They elaborate so much on the threat that they cannot process the message’s suggested change in behavior, thereby making the message ineffective.

Fear appeals can be effective if:

The appeal suggests an immediate action that will reduce the consumer’s fear.

The level of fear is moderate (so not too weak, but also not too intense).

The consumer has a higher motivation to process the information (at higher levels of involvement).

The information source is credible.

Attitude toward the ad

Attitude toward the ad (A_ad) = whether the consumer likes or dislikes the ad. Three factors lead to a positive attitude in the context of high effort:

Utilitarian/function dimension = when an ad provides information. Informative ads are better liked. This positively affects brand attitudes.

Hedonic dimension = when an ad creates positive or negative feelings. Consumers like an ad if it creates positive feelings/emotions.

Consumers can like an ad because is it interesting/attracts attention and when it motivates them to elaborate on the message.

When do attitudes predict behavior?

Besides looking at how attitudes are formed and can be changed, marketers need to consider which factors affect the attitude-behavior relationship. some of those are:

Level of involvement/elaboration: when involvement is high and consumers think extensively about the message, attitudes are more likely to predict behavior. Attitudes are strong, enduring, and more predictive when affective involvement is high.

Knowledge and experience: attitudes are strong en predictive when the consumer is knowledgeable about the attitude object.

Analysis of reasons: when consumers analyze their reasons for brand preference, the link between attitude and behavior increases.

Accessibility of attitudes: attitudes are more predictive of behavior when they are top of mind.

Attitude confidence: confidence tends to be stronger when the attitude is based on a lot of information, or on trustworthy information. If consumers are confident about their attitudes, those attitudes are good predictors of behavior.

Specificity of attitudes: the more specific the attitude, the better it is a predictor of behavior.

Attitude-behavior relationship over time: when people are exposed to a message but do not try the product, their attitude confidence declines over time.

Emotional attachment: the more attached a consumer is, the more likely he will become a repeat buyer.

6. The peripheral route

Consumers often do not spend much effort in processing message arguments. Marketers can, however, still influence them by using cues like sex, humor, attractive sources and emotion.

High-effort versus low-effort routes to persuasion

Low-effort situation = when consumers are not willing or able to spend much effort in processing messages. They are passive receivers of the message and do not actively develop attitudes and beliefs. Marketers can approach consumers in such a situation by taking the peripheral route to persuasion = aspects other than key message arguments that are used to influence attitudes. Peripheral cues like visuals, music, and attractive sources that are easy to process, are used to help consumers processing the message.

Unconscious influences on attitudes when consumer effort is low

Much processing in low-effort situations occurs below conscious awareness. Two unconscious influences are:

Thin-slice judgments = evaluations made after very brief observations. Consumers unconsciously make assessments based on minimal information input.

Body feedback can also influence consumer attitudes and behavior.

Marketers can attempt to enhance thin-slice judgments and positive body feedback, even when consumers are not consciously aware of them. Various body movements (like nodding) may positively influence the consumer’s perception of a product.

Cognitive bases of attitudes when consumer effort is low

In low-effort situations, consumers base their attitudes and beliefs on simple inferences (= beliefs based on peripheral cues like a celebrity endorser, a brand, the country of origin, etc.) and heuristics (simple rules of thumb that are used to make judgments like ‘if it is a famous brand, it must be good’).

Truth effect = when consumers believe a statement simply because it has been repeated various times. Frequency heuristic = belief based on the number of supporting arguments or amount of repetition.

How cognitive attitudes are influenced

When trying to influence cognitive attitudes, besides the strength and importance of consumers’ beliefs, the likelihood that they will form positive beliefs must be considered. Three major characteristics of a communication must be considered:

Communication source: credible sources (with expertise) can serve as peripheral cues. The less products an endorser advertisers, the more credible he/she is perceived.

Message:

Immediate associations consumers have about the presented cues must be consistent with category and schema information;

Consumers base their beliefs on the number of supporting arguments for the message and on how easily those can be remembered;

Simple messages are easier to process;

Self-referencing = relating a message to one’s own experience or self-image. Self-referencing must be increased in order to ensure that the information is received. This can be done by:

Directly instructing consumers to self-reference (‘think of the last time you …’;

Using the word you in the ad;

Asking rhetorical questions;

Showing visuals of situations to which consumers can easily relate.

Using mystery ads = ads in which the brand is not identified until the end of the message. This is a way to arouse curiosity/engagement.

Message context and repetition: incidental learning = occurs from repetition rather than from conscious processing. With repetition, brand awareness and familiarity increase, leading to more favorable attitudes and consumer confidence in the brand.

Affective bases of attitudes when consumer effort is low

Besides basing attitudes on peripheral cues, consumers can also base their attitudes on their reactions to those cues. Such low-effort affective processes may be due to:

The mere exposure effect;

Classical and evaluative conditioning;

Attitude toward the ad;

Consumer mood.

Mere exposure effect = when familiarity leads to a consumer liking an object (preferring familiar objects to unfamiliar ones). Mere exposure can help an unknown product competing with well-known ones when other characteristics are similar and consumers spend little effort in processing information when choosing a brand.

If a consumer can easily process information from a stimulus which he has been exposed to previously, he incorrectly assumes that the ease of processing is due to liking, truth, or acceptability.

Wearout = when consumers get bored with a stimulus because they have been exposed to it too often. At the point of wearout, positive mere exposure effects turn into negative attitudes. Wearout can be overcome by bringing the same message in different ways.

Classical and evaluative conditioning

In classical conditioning (Pavlov), an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) (e.g. food) automatically produces an unconditioned physiological response (UCR) (e.g. salivation). By repeatedly pairing the UCS with a conditioned stimulus (CS) (e.g. bell), the CS can be conditioned to produce the same response, a conditional response (CR) (e.g. salivation).

A stimulus is unconditioned (UCS) when it automatically elicits an involuntary response.

A conditioned stimulus is something that does not automatically elicit an involuntary response by itself.

Evaluative conditioning = a special case of classical conditioning, producing an affective response by repeatedly pairing a neutral conditioned stimulus with an emotionally-charged unconditioned stimulus (e.g., linking a beautiful celebrity (UCS) to a brand, which may lead to a positive feelings toward the brand).

Conditioning will most likely occur when:

The conditioned stimuli-unconditioned stimuli link is novel/unknown.

The CS precedes the unconditioned stimulus (forward conditioning). Conditioning is weaker when the UCS is presented first (backward conditioning) or at the same time as the conditioned stimulus (concurrent conditioning).

The CS is paired constantly with the UCS.

The consumer is aware of the link between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.

There is a logical fit between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (e.g., a football player endorsing a sports brand).

Attitude toward the ad: sometimes, consumers like an ad so much, that they transfer their positive attitudes towards the ad to the brand. Dual-mediation hypothesis = explains how attitudes toward the ad influence brand attitudes. When you read an ad, you can have responses that are cognitive and affective. These may cause you to like the ad, a reaction that can then either:

make you more accepting of brand beliefs, leading to a more positive brand attitude;

or induce positive feelings that transfer over to the brand.

Both increase purchase intentions.

Mood: consumers are more likely to like something when they are in a good mood and vice versa. Mood differs from classical conditioning because it does not require a repeated association between two stimuli, and can affect consumers’ evaluations of any object, not just the stimulus. A good mood can help consumers to see congruity between parent brands and brand extensions and act as a resource by increasing elaboration. Three categories of affective responses are:

SEVA = surgency, elation, vigor, and activation - present when the consumer is in a happy mood.

Deactivation feelings = soothing, relaxing, quiet, or pleasant responses.

Social affection = feelings of warmth, tenderness, and caring.

Retailers can try to put consumers in a good mood by using various cues, colors, music, etc. The mood of sales people plays a role as well.

How affective attitudes are influenced

Communication source, message, and context also influence affective attitudes in low-effort processes like mere exposure, classical conditioning, and mood.

Attractive sources enhance the favorability of consumers’ attitudes towards the brand, regardless of how strong the arguments are. Ads with attractive models are perceived as more appealing and interesting. In the context of high affective involvement, attractive sources directly affect brand-based attitudes since they are directly relevant to the product being considered (perfume, fashion, etc.) and are thus a central part of the message. With low-effort processing, attractive sources serve as cues. The more consumers like an endorser (because he/she is famous, or because he/she is similar to the consumers), the more favorable attitudes they have towards the endorsed brand/product.

Message characteristics that can influence consumers’ moods and feelings, are pleasant pictures, music, humor, sex, emotional content, and context. Music can put consumers in various moods, or function as cues for retrieval. It can also be effective in generating positive feelings and stimulate memories. Humor may also induce positive attitudes, but in low-involvement settings the advertised product might be forgotten, while only the ad is remembered. The effects of humor vary per consumer group and/or culture.

Sexual suggestiveness = situations that portray/imply sexual themes or romance. (partial) nudity can also be used to generate positive attitudes, mainly among male consumers. Sexual messages can attract attention and evoke emotional responses like arousal and excitement.

Emotional appeals can be both concrete (linked to a specific experience/emotion) or abstract (e.g., feeling hopeful). Concrete emotional appeals are more useful in stimulating short-term intentions, abstract appeals are more effective in the longer term.

Transformational advertising = ads that try to increase emotional involvement with the product or service. Dramas = ads with characters, a plot, and a story about product use, aiming to involve consumers emotionally and influence positive attitudes through sympathy and empathy.

When a commercial is shown during the break of a happy TV show, it may be perceived more favorably. This is because programs influence consumers to process information in a way consistent with their mood. They transfer their positive attitudes of the TV show to the commercial shown.

7. Needs and search for problem solutions

Problem recognition = the perceived difference between an actual and an ideal state. This stage in the decision process motivates the consumer to take action. Ideal state = the way we want things to be, while actual state = the way things actually are. The greater the gap between actual and ideal state, and the higher the motivation, ability, and opportunity, the more likely it is that the consumer will take action.

A consumer’s ideal state is often based on his personal motivations, self-image, reference groups, and culture. Some cultures are more materialistic and focused on status than others. Changing personal circumstances, like getting promoted, may result in new ideal states.

Consumers’ perceptions of their actual states depend often on physical factors (e.g. being hungry). Also malfunctioning products (I need a new oven), products that are not sufficient anymore (I need a larger fridge) and unexpectedly needing services (I broke my leg, so I need to go to the hospital) lead to perceptions of actual states.

In order to stimulate problem recognition, marketers can do two things:

Attempt to create a new ideal state. Example: nowadays, you need to have a smart phone to keep up.

Try to encourage consumer’s dissatisfaction with their actual state. Example: giving customers a luxury bag with their purchases, instead of a simple plastic one. From then on, they will prefer receiving a luxury bag.

Internal search: searching for information from memory

Problem recognition is the first step in the decision process. Step 2 is the internal source = the process of recalling stored information from memory. Consumers will only remember some things, since they are unable to store everything they experience in memory.

The degree of internal search varies from simple recall to extensively searching through memory for useful information. The higher a consumer’s MAO and knowledge, the more energy spent in the internal search.

Four different types of information can be retrieved from the internal search:

Brands: consideration/evoked set = the subset of top-of-mind brands evaluated when making a choice.

The smaller this set, the more easily a consumer can recall a brand from it. If a consumer is not able to recall a brand from memory to form a consideration set, his decisions will depend on external factors like the display of products on a shelve. Various factors increase the possibility of recall during internal search:

Prototypicality: it is easy to recall brands that are similar to the prototype. Such brands are more likely to be part of the consideration set.

Brand familiarity: familiar brands are easier to recall.

Goals and usage situations: consumers link various goals and uses with certain products. Marketers should aim to link their products to these goals.

Brand preference: the more a consumer likes a product, the easier he finds it to recall that product/brand.

Retrieval cues: products/brands can be linked to certain cues, e.g., you need to drink Red bull when you’re tired.

Attributes: consumers often only remember simplified forms of cues: e.g., ‘I know this car doesn’t use much fuel, but I don’t know exactly how much it uses’. Various factors influence whether details are remembered:

Accessibility/availability: the stronger the associative links with the product, the more likely it will be recalled. Information can be made more accessible by repeating it/drawing attention to it.

Diagnosticity: diagnostic information = that which helps us discriminate among objects, for example a different price or design. Negative information is more easily used as diagnostic information and given more weight.

Salience: salient attribute = attribute that is top of mind or more important than other attributes. Attribute determinance = attribute that is both salient and diagnostic. For information to be recalled and used in the decision, it must have attribute determinance.

Vividness: dramatic information is easy to recall, but only tends to affect attitudes when consumers have not formed an opinion yet, and when the consumer is willing to put effort in processing the information.

Goals: the consumer’s goal determines which attribute is recalled from memory.

Evaluations: evaluations are easier to remember than attributes and strongly linked to brands. Therefore, marketers put a lot of effort in motivating consumers to develop positive evaluations and attitudes towards their brands. Online processing = when a consumer is actively evaluating a brand as he views an ad for it. Example: when you want to buy a new car and suddenly see a car commercial, you will determine whether you like the car brand or not. However, when you are not looking for a car, you will engage less in processing the ad.

Experiences: experiences are vivid and salient and therefore likely to be recalled, especially when you frequently have a positive experience with a certain product.

Consumers are not only affected by factors influencing what they recall, but also processing biases alter the nature of their internal source. Three of them are:

Confirmation bias = tendency to recall information that reinforces/confirms our overall beliefs rather than contradicting them, thereby making our judgment or decision more positive than it should be. This is related to selective perception = seeing what we want to see. Consumers prefer to maintain consistency in their views and therefore tend to recall information that strengthens their overall beliefs. Marketers can cope with this by emphasizing negative attributes of competitors in ads.

Inhibition = the recall of one attribute inhibiting the recall of another. Example: when buying a car, remembering the color and power, but not the type of lights. Because consumers then ignore important information, their decisions may be biased. Marketers can cope with this by highlighting important attributes in their marketing communications.

Mood: consumers recall information that matches their mood.

External search: searching for information from the environment

External search = the process of collecting information from outside sources like magazines, dealers, and ads. Consumers search for this information in order to find out which brands are available and what attributes/benefits those brands have. Types:

Pre-purchase search = a search for information that aids a specific acquisition decision. Example: visiting an electronics store and reading online reviews when thinking of buying a new TV.

Ongoing search = a search that occurs regularly, regardless of whether the consumer is making a choice. Example: regularly visiting automotive events or reading magazines about cars.

Pre-purchase search occurs because there is a need to solve a problem (“I need …”), while ongoing search results from enduring involvement: consumers enjoy processing new information about the product.

Key aspects of the external search process are the source of information, the extent of external search, the content of the search, search typologies, and the process/order of the search.

Sources of information: where can information be found?

Consumers can find information at retailers, media, and get it from other people, but also from independent sources like books and magazines, and from experiences like usage of samples. The higher consumer involvement and knowledge, the more frequently retailer, media, and experiential search are used. As knowledge decreases, consumers often seek the opinions of others, especially when they believe they will be judged by the kind of products they buy/use. Experiential search is important for hedonic products, since people like to get a ‘feel’ for the offering.

Extent of external search: how much do consumers engage in search?

The extent to which a consumer actively searches is limited, even for important purchases. The more motivated a consumer is to process information, the more extensive the search will be. Various factors increase this motivation:

Involvement and perceived risk: higher involved consumers who perceive higher risk, are more motivated to engage in external search.

Perceived costs and benefits: when the perceived benefits are high relative to the search costs, external search activity is greater. Consumers will continue to search until they perceive that the costs outweigh the benefits.

Consideration set: if there are various attractive options in the consideration set, the consumer will engage in external search in order to make a good decision.

Relative brand uncertainty: when consumers are uncertain about which brand to choose, they will be motivated to engage in external search.

Attitudes toward search: some consumers just like to engage in the search process, and think that decisions that are made too quickly, will be regretted later.

Discrepancy of information: if new information does not fit with a consumer’s current beliefs, he will engage in external search in order to resolve this incongruity.

Various variables affect the extent of external information search:

Consumer knowledge: consumers with moderate knowledge levels search the most, since they have a higher level of motivation and a basic level of knowledge, which helps them to interpret new information. Subjective knowledge = the perception about what you know relative to others. Objective knowledge = the actual information stored in memory that can be measured.

Cognitive abilities (e.g. IQ, ability to process information): the higher the cognitive abilities, the more likely you are to acquire more information and the more likely you will be able to process this information.

Demographics: consumers with higher education levels tend to search more.

Factors that might affect the search process are:

Amount of available information: as the amount of available information increases, consumers do more research.

Information format: some information can be easily found, while other information is less accessible. Easily accessible information can enhance search.

Time availability: the more time, the more extensive the search.

Number of items being chosen: when making a decision about multiple items, the consumer will conduct in more extensive search.

3. Content of the search: what kind of information is acquired?

When searching externally, consumers often acquire information about brand name, price, and other attributes. Brand names are often linked to other relevant product information. Price is used to make inferences about quality and value. Other attributes must be salient and relevant for the consumer’s goals.

4. Search typologies: is external search always accurate?

Like with internal search, with external search consumers look for information that fits their current beliefs. Confirmation bias can lead them to ignore important information, which results in a less-than-optimal decision.

5. The search process: how do consumers engage in external search?

The process consists of several steps:

Orientation: getting an overview of the product display;

Evaluation: comparing options on key attributes;

Verification: confirming of the choice.

In the early stages, mass media sources are used, while personal sources are more important when the consumer is close to making a decision. The search becomes more detailed as the consumer gets closer to making a decision. Two major types of processes are:

Searching by brand: acquiring all the necessary information on one brand before moving on to the next;

Searching by attribute: comparing brands in terms of one attribute at a time (e.g. by price). Marketers should therefore make sure that their products perform well on the attributes that are most heavily used to compare offers.

8. Judgement and decision making based on high effort

Judgement = evaluation of an object/estimate of likelihood of an outcome/event. Judgement is critical in decision making. Decision making = making a selection among option/courses of action. But judgement and decision making is not the same, as judgement do not require a decision. They also involve different processes. For example, research on the positive or negative effect on a brand by recalling information differed between judgements and decisions.

Estimation of likelihood = judging how likely it is that something will occur. Can be affected by marketers, for example by letting the consumer think about their family (more financial risk, less social risk).

Judgement of goodness/badness = evaluating desirability of something. This judgement is affected by attributes of the product and our own affective response/mood. Implication: let the consumer remember all the benefits of the product or prime the consumer with happy emotions

Anchoring and adjustment process = starting with an initial evaluation and adjusting it with additional information. Implications: focus on attributes that make the brand the best, or try to affect a set of other products to adjust. Country of origin can create an anchor for new products.

Imagery = imagining an event to make a judgement. Visualizing also makes it seem more likely to occur, including the feeling of how satisfied the consumer will be.

Mental accounting = categorizing spending and saving decisions into mentally designated ‘accounts’ for specific consumption transactions, goals or situations.

Conformation bias = more focus on judgements that confirm what is already believed. Thus they believe they already know everything, this can set up consumers for making less-than-optimal decisions.

Self-positivity bias = judgement about the extent that they are less vulnerable for bad things to happen to them compared to others. Can be reduced by showing that similar others are at risk.

Negativity bias = negative information feels as more important than positive information. If consumers are already committed to the brand, they do not engage in negativity bias.

Mood and bias = mood can serve as initial anchor, can reduce search/attention for negative information (to avoid feeling negative) and it can make consumers overconfident about their judgement.

Prior brand evaluations = may fail to learn informational about the brand and its actual quality. Thus the favourable brand names blocks learning about the new product

Prior experience = can help, but also bias judgements.

Difficulty of mental calculation = when comparing prices or discounts, the ease/difficulty of calculating the differences affects the judgement of the size of difference. With little difficulty calculating, the differences appear bigger.

MAO = motivation, ability and opportunity. Sometimes the consumer first makes the choice to buy or not, then focuses of the selection. The selection decision can involve more decisions, such as what offerings to consider, what factors are important for choice, what choice to make, when to make this decision and how to make choices if there is no comparison. When making a decision is important, consumers put effort into making it.

Consumer face so many option, they first divide it into 3 sets:

1. Inept set = options that are unacceptable when making a decision.

2. Inert set = option towards consumers are indifferent

3. Consideration set = options they want to choose from.

Attraction effect = addition of an inferior brand to the consideration set increases the attractiveness of the dominant brand.

Goals = drive a consumers choice. Goals can be to make a decision or can be more flexible. It may change during the decision making process.

Promotion focused goal = maximise gains and positive outcomes, emphasising on whether the consumer has the skill and capacity to reach this and lessens the focus on the product.

Prevention focused goal = more risk-averse, emphasize on product quality.

Time = construal level theory relates to how we think about an offering, with high (abstract) or low (concrete) level construals. If we make the decision now, it is more low levelled. If it is very abstract, consumers may consider the hedonic aspects as more important than rational aspects.

Framing = initial reference point or anchor for decision process, affecting how important a criterion is. For example framing gains of losses, or making health problems more concretely. Framing a product negatively or positively influences the evaluation.

Usage context = simulate purchase by relating to consumer values and targeting consumer who already now the brand/product.

Implications for goals, timing and framing can be offering consistent with consumers goal related or usage categories, influencing the frame and making it more likely to consider the brand and related information. You can also (re)frame the decision, vb by emphasising on the emotional aspect instead of functional aspect (placing wine near the gourmet foods).

Cognitive decision making model = systematical use of information about attributes to reach a decision. Affective decision making model = making a decision based on emotions. There are cross-cultural differences.

Cognitive models = describe processes of combining information about attributes to reach a decision. Two types of models:

1. Compensatory model = mental cost-benefit analysis model in which negative features can be compensated for by positive ones. Noncompensatory model = simple decision in which negative information leads to rejection. They can require less cognitive levels, as consumers set up cutoff levels for each attribute/brand

2. Brand vs attribute

Brand processing = evaluating one brand at a time. It occurs frequently, because the environment is often organized by brands.

Multiattribute expectancy-value model = research on brand-based compensatory models. Consumers give more weight to attributes in line with their goal. These models can be taxing both cognitive as emotional when consumer are facing tradeoffs between the attributes (vb price vs quality). TORA was already discussed in chapter E.

Conjunctive model = noncompensatory model that sets minimum cutoffs for each attribute to reject ‘bad’ options.

Disjunctive model = noncompensatory model that sets acceptable cutoffs to find ‘good’ options. Difference with the conjunctive norm is 1. Setting up acceptable (more desirable) cutoff levels, and 2. Evaluation is based on most important attributes. The consumer can decide which brand to choose first using the multiattribute expectancy-value model, than the conjunctive model and lastly the disjunctive model. When the consideration set is large, consumers might use the conjunctive or disjunctive to eliminate brands, than the multriattribute model. If consumer are not sure about the positive outcomes or attributes associated with the product, marketers should stress these outcomes and attributes to strengthen the belief of the consumer. To address shortcomings by communicating the improvements to consumers. Consider the long term effects, because changing can lead consumers away from competitive offering and reduce differentiation.

Attribute processing = comparing brands, 1 attribute at a time. This is often preferred by consumers, but they cannot always find the information they need.

Additive difference model = compensatory model in which brands are compared by attribute, two brands at a time, combining into overall preference. This process allows tradeoffs between attributes.

Lexicographic model = non-compensatory model that compares brands by attributes, one at a time by importance, starting with the most important.

Elimination-by-aspects model = similar to lexicographic, adding a acceptable cut off and thus less strict, comparing multiple attributes. It can be useful to know these cut off points as marketer, and improve the beliefs about the attribute if necessary.

Prospect theory = losses are seen as larger than gains by consumers. Also consumers react stronger on price increases than decreases. The consumers promotion/prevention focus goals can also impact (prevent wants to avoid losses, promote wants to try something new). Thus try to frame everything to reduce risks and potential losses.

Endowment effect = when ownership increases the value (WTP is lower).

Affective decision making = high-effort feeling-based decisions, which often makes the consumer feel more satisfied than decision based on product attributes. Affective processing can play a central role in decision making and is frequently experience based. Feelings are especially critical for hedonic, symbolic or aesthetic aspects. Appraisal theory (how we appraise the situation) explains why some emotions influence future decisions. Even though consumers would like a hedonic experience to be uninterrupted, interruption can heighten the pleasure.

Benign envy = buying to keep up with higher-status consumers, and malicious envy = buying to set them apart from the higher-status consumers.

Affective forecasting = prediction how you will feel in the future. Try to predict what will I feel, the intensity and duration. We’re not always right about our forecast.

Decision delay = when the decision is too risky, an unpleasant task, choice overload or when uncertain about how to get information. Delay makes shared features of products easier to recall. Sales promotion techniques focus on selling right now, but you can also give more time and offer additional information.

Non-comparable decisions = decision about products/services from different categories. Consumers adopt an alternative-based strategy (top down processing) = choice based on overall evaluation, used more often when alternatives are less comparable and it is difficult to create attribute abstractions. Or attribute-based strategy (bottom-up)= choice by making abstract representations of comparable attributes, such as ‘fun’. Used more often when consumer has well defined goals.

Both strategies can be employed in different circumstances. Consumers often screen prices for their consideration set, rather than the main basis of their comparison.

Consumer characteristics influence the decision making. Characteristics mentioned are:

Expertise = know your preferences and have consumption vocabulary for more attributes and information

Mood = good mood is more willingness to process information and take their time. It also influences the recall of information.

Time pressure = not enough time to process, thus base decision on fewer attributes and place more weight on negative information, using noncompensatory decision strategy. Divided into present-oriented (improve current well-being) and future-oriented (develop themselves).

Extremeness aversion = options that are extreme on some attributes are less attractive than those that are moderate at those levels. Vb moderate prices are more attractive than very inexpensive or expensive. Compromise effect = brand will gain share when it is seen as intermediate or compromise choice rather than extreme choice. Attribute balancing = consumer prefers brand with attributes that score equally well on certain criteria than faring unequally on these attributes.

Metacognitive experiences = how information process beyond content of the decision, such as how easy is it to recall from memory or process new info. Pleasant experience of easy processing a brand can lead to favourable attitudes, but also more negative as they may attribute the easiness to the persuasiveness instead of the brand.

Characteristics of the decision:

Information availability = amount, quality and format. With more info, it will lead to more complex processing (such as multiattribute choice strategy), but will lead to a better choice. If the info is relevant, decision making is less taxing. If the info is ambigious, the consumer will stay with their current brand. Sometimes decision is affected by previous choices.

Information format = if organized by brand, consumer will use brand-based decision-making strategy (compensatory, conjunctive or disjunctive model). Consumer is less likely to pick the cheapest brand if offerings are organized by model rather than by brand. Narrative message can also impact choice, often use more holistic processing (easy processing, not considering individual features).

Trivial attributes = sometimes used to finalize the decision.

Group context = decision affected by presence of a group. Consumers face 3 types of individual-group goals, which we try to balance with our individual-alone goals:

Self-presentation = want to be unique in their decision, but often concerned about the social norms.

Minimizing regret = risk aversion, leading to uniformity in the group to avoid disappointment

Information gathering = when members share their choices, there is more variety in choices.

9. The decision making process based on the peripheral route

Low-effort judgment process

When consumers make a lot of effort, they can process complex information. When MAO is low, they try to simplify the decision process by using heuristics. Two types are:

Representativeness heuristic = making a judgment by simply comparing a stimulus with the category prototype. Marketers often position new products close to the category leader because of this.

Availability heuristic = basing judgments on events that are easier to recall, like vivid and accessible experiences. Such judgments are biased because consumers tend to ignore base-rate information = how often an event really occurs on average. Law of small numbers = the expectation that information obtained from a small number of people represents the larger population. Marketers try to motivate consumers to imagine certain situations, and provide them with base-rate information to overcome bias.

Low-effort decision-making processes

Because most purchases are not very important in consumers’ lives, they don’t want to spend a lot of effort in cognitively processing the possible purchases. In low-effort situations, they may make decisions unconsciously and spontaneously. Such decisions are often influenced by environmental cues. Another way of making decisions is consciously, through the traditional hierarchy of effects = sequential steps used in decision making involving thinking, then feeling, then behavior.

The low-effort hierarchy of effects = a sequence of think-do-feel. The existing beliefs of the consumer serve as the foundation for his behavior. After purchase and during use, the consumer evaluates the brand and may form an attitude about it.

In low-effort situations there still is some kind of decision process, but it is simpler, involves less effort, and is qualitatively different from high MAO processes. Two other factors influence the low-MAO decision process:

The goal is not necessarily to find the best possible brand (optimizing). Instead, consumers are willing to satisfice = finding a brand that satisfies a need even if it may not be the best brand.

In low-elaboration decisions, consumers may rely on previous information and judgments from (dis)satisfaction from past consumption. In repeat-purchase situations, they develop choice tactics = simple rules of thumb used to make low-effort decisions. Example: price tactics: “I bought it because it was the cheapest”.

Learning choice tactics

Operant conditioning = the view that behavior is a function of reinforcements and punishments received in the past. E.g., when you have previously received compliments for cleaning up your room, you may have learned that cleaning your room is a good thing, and you will be likely to do it again.

Reinforcement often comes from satisfaction that occurs as a person’s needs have been sufficiently met. This reinforcement increases the chance that he will buy the brand again. When a consumer has a bad experience with a product, he will consider this punishment. He will then choose to buy another brand next time.

Low-effort thought-based decision making

Strategies consumers use for making low-effort decisions can be divided into two categories: thought-based and feeling-based decision making. Cognitive-based decision making includes performance-related tactics, habit, brand loyalty, price-related tactics, and normative influences.

Performance as a simplifying strategy

Performance-related tactics = tactics based on benefits, features, or evaluations of the brand. Consumers use these to make their choices (e.g., buying a certain toothpaste because it promises you the ‘whitest teeth’).

Habit as a simplifying strategy

Habit = doing the same thing time after time, thereby making life less complex and easier to manage. It requires little to no information seeking, and little or no evaluation of alternatives. Also, it reduces risk, because consumers already know what to expect from a certain purchase.

Consumers who buy out of habit, are not brand loyal. Shaping = leading consumers through a series of steps to create a desired response.

This can be used to (re)shape repeat-purchasing. Also, sales promotions can be used to break the consumer’s habits and make him switch to another brand. This can also be done by offering new and unique benefits.

By making sure that the product is never out of stock and by keeping the brand top of mind by advertising frequently, marketers can keep consumers buying their brand out of habit from switching to another brand.

Brand loyalty as a simplifying strategy

Brand loyalty = buying the same brand repeatedly because of a strong preference for it. This is a result from very positive reinforcement of a performance-related choice tactic. When a consumer gets experienced with using a complex product, he might be loyal because of cognitive lock-in (he doesn’t want to spend effort in learning how another product works). Brand loyalty results in low-effort decisions because the consumer simply buys the same brand all the time. However, there is a high involvement with the brand.

Multibrand loyalty = buying two or more brands repeatedly because of a strong preference for them (e.g. buying Fanta & Pepsi).

When measuring brand loyalty, marketers should look at both purchase patterns and preference, because brand loyalty includes both repeat purchases and commitment.

Consumers may become more loyal to brands that offer special benefits or exquisite quality. Frequent-buyer programs are a way of motivating consumers to become loyal. It is very hard to make loyal customers switch to another brand.

Price as a simplifying strategy

Price-related tactics = simplifying decision heuristics that are based on price. When consumers perceive little differences between products, they will base their decisions on price comparisons. Zone of acceptance = the acceptable range of prices for any purchase decision. As long as a brand falls in this range, it may be considered for purchase.

Deal-prone consumer = a consumer who is more likely to be influenced by price.

Consumers often look for special deals online, but are also willing to pay extra if they believe a product provides a certain benefit. They tend to be more price-conscious in bad economic times.

Sometimes, consumers’ purchases are influenced by others. Normative choice tactics = low-elaboration decision making that is based on others’ opinions (e.g., a daughter buying the same detergents as her mother). These are especially common among consumers with a low level of knowledge and experience and can result from:

Direct influence = when other try to manipulate you;

Vicarious observation = when we observe others to guide our behavior;

Indirect influence = when we are concerned about others’ opinions.

Low-effort feeling-based decision making

Strategies that cover feeling-based decisions are affective tactics, brand familiarity, variety seeking, and impulse purchasing.

Feelings as a simplifying strategy (affective tactics)

Affect = low-level feelings: consumers buying a brand because they like it, even if they don’t know why they like it. Affect does not necessarily result from conscious recognition of need satisfaction. It is often part of the decision making process when the product is hedonic in nature, and when other factors are not in operation.

Affect-based tactics = tactics based on feelings. Affect referral = a simple type of affective tactic whereby we simply remember our feelings for the product or service. Example: feeling happy when thinking of McDonald’s and deciding to go eat there based on that happiness. By creating positive affect, marketers can increase the chance that their brand is chosen from a variety of similar offers.

Brand familiarity

Brand familiarity = easy recognition of a well-known brand. Co-branding = an arrangement by which two brands form a partnership to benefit from the power of both (e.g. McFlurry KitKat).

Decision making based on variety-seeking needs

Variety seeking = trying something different. Consumers seek variety because of boredom and satiation/saturation. This is most likely to occur in low-involvement situations, when products are quite similar, and hedonic in nature.

Optimal stimulation level (OSL) = an internal ideal level of stimulation. Repeat-buying eventually leads the internal level of stimulation below the OSL, motivating the consumer to make a change. Sensation seekers = consumers who actively look for variety. Vicarious exploration = seeking information simply for stimulation. Marketers adjust to this for example by offering different tastes or colors (e.g. Coca Cola light, cherry, etc.).

Buying on impulse

Impulse purchase = an unplanned purchase based on a strong feeling. Characterized by:

An intense feeling of having to buy a product immediately;

A disregard for possible negative consequences;

Feelings of excitement;

A conflict between control and indulgence.

It is often triggered by external stimuli, and depends on the consumer’s personal level of self-control.

10. Satisfaction

Post-decision dissonance = anxiety whether the right decision was made, most likely to occur when more than 1 alternative is attractive and the decision is important.

Post-decision regret = feeling that one should have purchased another option, as consumer sees an unfavourable comparison between the performance of the chosen en alternative option. Regret goes away over time. Switching to the alternative gives less regret, because the consumer wants to believe this was the better choice. Breaking a major decision into smaller parts reduces the regret overall.

Model of learning from experience = (prior beliefs -) hypothesis generation - exposure to evidence - encoding evidence - integration evidence and previous beliefs (- revised beliefs). Using feedback from repeated hypothesis tests, the agent/site learns what the consumer likes and can propose suggestions. The hypothesis and experience of brand personality can also influence learning, vb if a ‘sincere’ brand has a crisis, it may be more difficult to reconnect with the consumer than if it was a ‘exciting’ brand.

Learning is affected by:

4. Motivation= when motivation is high, people will generate more hypothesis

5. Prior knowledge/ability = when knowledge is high, consumer has more well-defined beliefs and expectations, therefore unlikely to generate new hypotheses. This inhibits learning. Moderately knowledgeable consumers are the most likely to generate hypotheses and learn from it.

6. Ambiguity of information environment / lack of opportunity = ambiguity when there is not enough info to confirm or disprove the hypothesis. This can affect the learning from experience. When consumers have difficulty determining the quality of the product, they tend to support their hypothesis with advertisements or word of mouth. And because they cannot disprove their hypothesis, they assume the product is consistent with previous expectations. But when the product is good/bad, consumers can change their perceptions on actual experience.

7. Processing biases = confirmation bias and overconfidence inhibit learning, especially when the evidence is ambiguous. These biases avoid learning negative and highly diagnostic information.

Top dog strategy = market leader or brand with a large market share. Limitations on learning are advantageous for the top dog. Highly motivated consumers can switch to another brand, but this can be avoided by blocking exposure to evidence (encourage consumers not to acquire new info) or explaining the evidence (if product is unambiguous, the consumer needs reinforcement of why the brand is good).

Underdog strategy = lower-share brand want to encourage consumers to learn, because they might switch brands. If the consumer is not motivated, use comparison of their brand with the top dog, with a strong and distinct advantage.

Or create expectations and use promotions for actual experiences, if the evidence is ambiguous is it unlikely to disconfirm hypotheses. Also facilitating a product trial is usefull when motivation is low and evidence is ambiguous.

Satisfaction = feeling when consumers have made a positive evaluation or feel happy with their decision. Most research has focused on utilitarian and hedonic dimensions. All aspects of an experience (sensory, affective, behavioural, cognitive) can influence satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction also differs in consumer involvement, consumer characteristics and time. When consumers make their own choice in hedonic products, they are more satisfied when there is a small delay. If someone else makes this choice, satisfaction will decrease with delay. Higher involvement is more satisfaction at first, but lower involvement has higher satisfaction later on. The ACSI (American Consumer Satisfaction Index) measures customer satisfaction across a variety of different industries. Also important to understand the roots of dissatisfaction.

Thought-based judgements of (dis)satisfaction = relate to whether consumers thoughts and expectations about the offering are confirmed or disconfirmed by its actual performance, thoughts about causality and blame, and thoughts about fairness and equity.

Disconfirmation paradigm = disconfirmation is the discrepancy between expectations and performance. The disconfirmation paradigm combines expectations and performance to disconfirmation. If this is positive, it will lead to satisfaction, and if it is negative, it will lead to dissatisfaction. The (dis)satisfaction is also influenced by feelings. Better-than-expected leads to positive disconfirmation and to satisfaction. If performance is as good as expected, its a simple confirmation and also to satisfaction. Negative disconfirmation leads to dissatisfaction.

Consumers who focus on the service provider’s obligation are more dissatisfied with service failure if they are on friendly terms with the provider, but they are less dissatisfied if they focus on their own obligations. Difference between the disconfirmation paradigm and learning process, is that (dis)satisfaction are based on formal evaluation, whereas learning is not. Also satisfaction is subject to change, due to social influence. Distrust has a spill-over effect on other products of the brand. Also if the customer paid the discount price, they feel less benefit from the product than when paying the full price, affecting the price-quality relationship and thus their experience of the product performance. Performance, expectations and feelings can affect satisfaction independent of disconfirmation. Raising consumers expectations can increase rating of product performance, but this can also lead to a negative disconfirmation and dissatisfaction. Guarantees can create a positive expectations leading to satisfaction, or offering test rides.

Attribution theory = how individuals explain events. Explanation based on 3 factors, namely stability (event permanent or temporary), focus (problem consumer or marketer related) and controllability (under customers or marketers control). More dissatisfied if event is permanent, marketer related and not under consumers control.

Equity theory = focus on the fairness of exchange between individual.

Fairness in exchange = perception that input is equal to output in an exchange. Exchange is seen as more equitable when they have high expectation or when the performance exceeds their normative expectations. The equity theory complements the disconfirmation paradigm by specifying another way for dissatisfaction. However the paradigm focuses more on expectations and performance, while the equity theory looks at general interpersonal norms governing right/wrong, considering both outcomes.

Experienced emotions and coping = post-decision feelings help to explain satisfaction judgement (independent of disconfirmation). Consumers who are dissatisfied need to cope with the stress. How they cope depends on feeling threatened/challenged, motivation, ability and opportunity. 3 sorts of coping: active coping, expressive support seeking and avoidance. Satisfaction evaluation is often tied to specific situations, usage at a current time. Thus satisfaction differs from attitude, which is more enduring. Feelings have more influence at the beginning, thoughts more later on.

Affective forecasting = prediction on how we think a product will make us feel. This leads to dissatisfaction if the product fails to perform as thought. We are very wary of anticipated regret.

Responses to dissatisfaction = consumers can undertake 4 actions: 1. No action, 2. Discontinue purchasing the product/service, 3. Complain to the company or third party, 4. Engage in negative word of mouth communication. 3 and 4 are interesting for research.

Complaints = the majority of consumers do not complain, but those that do might indicate a marketing-related problem. Marketers need to focus on all locations the consumer might complain (retailer, websites, media, etc). High motivation, ability, opportunity and inequity lead to complaints, but also perceived effect, time and effort of complaining. More likely to complain when they perceive the cause as permanent, marketer related and volitional, and when the consumer feels like taking ‘revenge’. There are 4 types of complain consumers: 1. Passives (least likely to complain), 2. Voicers (complain directly to retailer), 3. Irates (angry consumer who engage in negative word of mouth, stop buying and complain to the provider), 4. Activists (engage heavily in all types of complaining, including to a third party).

Consumer characteristics can give insight in how to handle a complain. 1. Perception of the problem (how severe is it), 2. Customer-company relationship (how often and how long has the consumer bought this brand), 3. Customer psychographics (Aggression, self-confidence and experience), 4. Personal characteristics (age customer, gender). Consumer more concerned with fairness of resolution of the complaint than the procedure of handling the complaint of fairness interactions with representatives.

Responding to service recovery = consumer reaction depends on their expectations. For example, when the consumer expects to maintain a good relationship, the company should apologize and promise to prevent any mishaps.

Negative word of mouth communication = consumers saying negative things about a product/service to other consumers. More likely when the problem is severe, unhappy with company’s responsiveness and perceived as companies fault. Troublesome because it is highly persuasive, very vivid (easily remembered) and has great influence on decisions. Word of mouth can go global very quickly, thus try to rectify of eliminate the problem at the beginning.

Customer retention = practice of keeping customers by building long-term relationships, by continuously pay attention to all aspects of the customer interaction. Thus satisfaction alone is not enough to keep customers loyal. It is costly to acquire new customers, so keep in mind: care about customers, remember customers between sales, build trusting relationships, monitor the service-delivery process (vb with mystery shoppers) and provide extra effort.

Dispostion = throwing away meaningless or used-up items without giving the action thought, it can be temporary or involuntary, and personal, interpersonal or societal focus (see page 285). Consumers often have a logical and reasonable motive for disposition. Often seen as physical detachment, but it can also be an emotional detachment with a more painful, longing process. The disposition of shared possession (during divorce) has 2 types: 1. Disposition to break free (free onself from former relationship), 2. Disposition to hold on (cling to possession in the hope to restore the relationship). Disposition decisions can influence later acquisition decisions. Also marketers are more interested in the trade, sell or give away items for secondhand purchases, with consumers search for bargains and social opportunity. Product disposition can also have a general influence on society (vb recycling). And studying disposition patterns, marketers can get insight in clusters.

Recycling = more consumers are recycling than ever before, partly because they are more informed, and partly because it gives them a good feeling. More likely to recycle when benefits outweigh the costs (money, time, effort for immediate/long term goals). Consumers also need the ability and opportunity to recycle. Recycling can be facilitated by increasing the consumers MAO for recycling. Also, you can make marketing products more environmentally friendly and promote the benefits (convenience of not having to recycle).

11. Influences on behavior

Social influence = information by and implicit or explicit pressures from individuals, groups, and the mass media that affects how a person behaves.

Source of influence

Consumers can be influenced through mass media or other consumers, and this influence can come from marketing and non-marketing sources:

Marketing sources via mass media = influence delivered by a marketing agent, e.g. through advertising or personal selling.

Marketing sources delivered personally: salespeople and service representatives can personally provide information to consumers and assist them in making the right purchase decisions.

Non-marketing sources via mass media = influence by an entity outside a marketing organization, e.g. by friends, family, or media. Non-marketing mass media include news items, blogs, communities, etc.

Non-marketing sources delivered personally: word of mouth = influence delivered verbally from one person to another person/group of people.

(Non-)marketing sources delivered via social media: social media have a large reach, but a personal feel.

Mass media sources like TV and internet have the largest reach, but personal influence sources allow for a two-way flow of information, thereby making them valuable as well. Because personal sources are more interactive and vivid, they tend to be more persuasive. Non-commercial sources are perceived as more credible, and less biased and manipulative than commercial sources. Marketers should therefore try to use non-marketing sources and personal sources to influence consumers to a greater extent. Because the impact of non-marketing and marketing sources differ, it is best to use a mix to enhance impact.

Opinion leader = an individual who acts as an information broker between the mass media and the opinions and behaviors of an individual or group. He/she often has important knowledge, is a first mover, or heavy user of mass media, and is regarded a credible, non-marketing source.

Gatekeeper = a source that controls the flow of information; he has a special influence in deciding if a product/information will be spread to a market. Market maven = a consumer on whom others rely for information about the marketplace in general: he knows all about the best products and stores for example.

Reference groups as sources of influence

Reference group = a set of people with whom individuals compare themselves for guidance in developing their attitudes, knowledge, and/or behaviors.

Aspirational reference group = a group individuals admire and desire to be like.

Associative reference group = the group an individual currently belongs to.

Brand community = a specialized consumer group with a structured set of relationships involving a particular brand, fellow, committed customers of that brand, and the product in use (e.g. the Harley Owners Group).

Dissociative reference group = the group we do not want to belong to and which we disapprove of (e.g. neo-Nazis).

Marketers use their knowledge of consumers’ reference groups in various ways. They use representative consumers which are easy to relate to (associative reference group) and celebrities (aspirational reference group) in their advertisements. Also, they create dedicated websites and communities in order to facilitate brand communities. Besides that, they try to refrain from dissociative reference groups, for example by firing celebrity endorsers that behave inappropriately.

Reference groups vary in:

Degree of contact: consumers have direct and extensive contact with their primary reference group, often their immediate circle of friends and family. Secondary reference group = the group with whom they do not have direct contact (e.g., other members of a fan club).

Formality: sports teams are, for example, more bound to rules than groups of friends.

Homophily = the overall similarity among members in the social system. Influence of the reference group is strong, since members are similar and strongly tied.

Group attractiveness: when group members are perceived as attractive, more consumers will want to conform to the group.

Density: the more group members know one another, the less opportunity they have to influence each other.

Degree of identification: the more a group member can identify with the group, the more his behavior is influenced by other group members.

Tie strength = the extent to which a close, intimate relationship connects people. Strong ties have close relationships and are likely to influence each other, while the reverse is true for weak ties.

When a marketer wants a message to be transmitted quickly, he should focus on individuals in dense groups that contact their strong ties frequently. Because weak ties often serve as bridges between several strong networks, they are very valuable. Word of mouth even spreads more quickly through weak ties than through strong ones.

Embedded market = market in which the social relationships among buyers and sellers change the way the market operates. Example: you are more willing to buy cookies from your niece than from a random girl scout you have never met before.

Consumer socialization = the process by which consumers learn to become consumers and come to know the value of money, the appropriateness of saving versus spending, and how, when, and where products should be bought/used. Consumers can thus learn consumption values and gain knowledge and consumption skills through socialization.

Socialization occurs in various ways. Reference groups like parents may teach children how to behave by teaching and observing them (intergenerational influence). Parents’ influence on their children decreases as the children age. The media act as socializing agents as well. Boys are, for example, more depicted as tough and active than girls, resulting in them playing with different kinds of toys. Charities can use media to convince consumers that donating money is the right thing to do.

Normative influence

Normative influence = social pressure designed to encourage conformity to the expectations of others. Norm = collective decision about what appropriate behavior should be. Normative influence can have various effects on consumption behavior:

Brand-choice congruence = the purchase of the same brand as members of a group. A consumer may have the same clothing style as his friends for example.

Conformity = the tendency to behave in an expected way, e.g., buying a certain brand because your friends use it too.

Compliance = doing what the group or social influencer asks, e.g,. purchasing products sold at a Tupperware party. Reactance = doing the opposite of what the group wants you to do. This can happen if a person experiences too much group pressure.

Social-relational theory: consumers conduct their social interactions according to:

the rights and responsibilities of their relationships with group members;

a balance of reciprocal (two-way) interactions with group members;

their relative status/authority;

the value placed on different objects/activities.

Normative influence varies in strength. This strength depends on:

Product characteristics: if we buy a product within a certain category, and what brand we buy. Both these decisions are influenced by reference groups. This influence will be stronger with publicly consumed products that are luxury goods. If a product plays a significant role in group membership, normative influence is strong.

Consumer characteristics: consumers who are susceptible to interpersonal influence try to enhance their self-image by buying products they think others will approve of. When ties are strong and individuals strongly identify with the group, normative influence is high.

Group characteristics: coercive power = the extent to which the group has the capacity to deliver rewards and sanctions. Example: the chance that your best friend has an influence on your clothing style is higher than the chance that your uncle does. The more cohesive, collective and similar the group, the higher normative influence.

Marketers can take various actions based on normative influence. They can show ads with social settings wherein groups of friends, for example, drink a certain brand of beer; facilitate group discussions; encourage referrals; or strongly link their brand to a certain group, so it becomes a group symbol. Another way of profiting from normative influence can be the use of compliance techniques:

Foot-in-the-door technique = designed to induce compliance by getting an individual to agree first to a small favor, then to a larger one, and then to an even larger one.

Door-in-the-face technique = first asking a person to comply with a very large and outrageous request, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

Even-a-penny-will-help technique = asking individuals to do a very small favor that is so small that it almost does not qualify as a favor.

Also, when motivating consumers to predict their behavior, they are more likely to really act the way they predicted. Lastly, consumers should be provided with sufficient choice options and are more likely to comply when salespersons have similar attitudes and are perceived as experts.

Informational influence

Informational influence = the extent to which sources influence consumers simply by providing information. Example: a travel site providing useful tips for travelers. Various factors influence the strength of informational influence:

Product characteristics: when products are complicated and their use is risky, or when consumers cannot tell the difference between brands themselves, they are more susceptible to informational influence.

Consumer and influencer characteristics: when the information source is considered an expert or a strong tie, consumers are more susceptible to his informational influence.

Group characteristics: cohesive group members are more likely to be motivated to share information, and are more likely to be susceptible to informational influence.

Informational influence can be applied by marketers in various ways. They can use experts to communicate marketing messages and create environments in which consumers can interact like forums or social media platforms.

Marketers’ efforts are most successful when both normative and informational influence are applied. In order to do this, marketers should use sources that are similar to the target group, and use clues to imply scarcity (people will want to buy the product before it is out of stock because if they don’t get it, they will be left out of the group).

Information can be described in two ways:

Valence = whether the information is positive or negative. Dissatisfied consumers talk more about products than satisfied ones. Also, consumers are more likely to react on negative reviews, and consider them more important than positive ones. A reason for this may be that there is already an overload of positive information: negative information thus receives more attention because it is surprising and different.

Modality = whether the information is verbal or non-verbal (observation).

Word of mouth information is considered more credible and trustworthy than marketer-initiated messages, and therefore it is more persuasive. Positive reviews motivate consumers more to try new things more than commercial messages do. Online, word of mouth occurs through review websites, blogs, social media, etc.

Viral marketing = rapid spread of brand/product information among a population of people stimulated by brands.

Marketers can try to increase positive word of mouth by targeting opinion leaders and by making use of networking opportunities. The higher the consumer’s product familiarity, the more likely he is to be influenced by positive WOM, and vice versa. The higher the originality and usefulness of the product, the more likely it is to be talked about. When receiving a bad review, marketers should empathize with consumers and look for solutions to their problems.

Various ways of reacting to scandals are:

Do nothing: by not reacting to complaints, companies can avoid increased attention for the problem. This strategy can, however, also backfire (then the company gets accused of being negligent for example).

Do something locally: e.g., only reacting to the people who actually called customer service with a complaint.

Do something discreetly: e.g., using PR to emphasize the social responsibilities of a company when it is accused of harming the environment, without mentioning the actual accusation.

Do something big: use advertising to respond to the scandal, hire opinion leaders to provide information, conduct media interviews, etc.

12. Cultural influence on consumer behaviour

Age segments = four major groups are targeted. 1. Teens and millennials (generation Y), 2. Generation X, 3. Baby boomers, 4. Seniors. 76% of the Americans is olders than 18, and the median is 37 years.

Teens en millennials = teens have a good deal of financial independence. Also they have a lot of friends, including social media, which can influence. It is important not to forget the localized culture next to the common teen ‘culture’. Millennial is born between 1980 and 1994, also known as generation Y. They are media and tech heavy. For economic reasons, these consumers have been delaying or boomeranging their independence. Boomerangers settle down later and have more discretionary income to spend on entertainment (their parents pay the basics). People develop brand loyalty in their teens, so it is important to create brand awareness early on. Also positioning is very important if you’re selling to teens, as they are trendsetting, rebelling and wanting to be accepted by peers. Also use both traditional and social media to reach them. Other marketing activities can be used, such as through recreation or special events (think Red Bull).

Generation X = born between 1965 and 1979. Gen Xers who did not pass or equal their parents level of success feel a bit disillusioned and less materialistic than other age groups. But Gen Xers are doing well at balancing work and personal lives. This markets represents more than $120 billion in spending power. This groups takes its time to research to personal needs and tastes. Gen Xers tend to be cynical about obvious marketing techniques, but do react positive when messages clever tune in with their values, attitudes and interests. They can be reached through media vehicles, such as popular/alternative music radio stations or TV (they watch less tv than the other groups).

Boomers = born between 1946 and 1964. Are a large and influential buying group. They grew up with TV and increasingly spend time on the internet and social media. There are subgroups in the boomers, but boomers around the world share certain attitudes and values. Boomer parents and children share some common characteristics, such as shopping at the same store.

Seniors = 65+. In the ‘gray market’ women outnumber men. As their information-processing skills and memory deteriorate, they do more simple and schematic processing (making them susceptible for the truth effect). Younger seniors tend to be healthier and more active than the previous generation. Seniors are a critical an growing market for health-related products and retirement communities. They are brand loyal and less motivated to deal with new brands. They can by reached by media geared to this groups interest. Seniors should be used more in ads, showing an active lifestyle. Retailers can design their outlets to be more age-friendly (wider aisles, well-lit)

Sex roles = traditionally men had agentic goals (stresses mastery, self assertiveness, self-efficacy, strength and no emotions) and women had communcal goals (stress affiliation, fostering harmonious relationships, submissiveness, emotional and home orientation). However female and male roles have been changing, however the stereotype is still prevalent in many ads. Men and women still have differences in their consumption behaviour. Women are likely to have high motivation, ability and opportunity (MAO) in decision making, while men have low MAO. Men are likely to use specific hemispheres, while women tend to use both. Some products are becoming less sex-typed. Women tend to be more loyal to individuals, and men tend to be more loyal to groups. Women tend to be more influenced by online reviews. Marketers often target a particular gender. Studies show than men and women react differently on emotional advertising, in which both traditional roles and non-traditional roles influence the reaction. There is also a difference on where to reach men/women, vb via tv shows or social media.

Sexual orientation =. can influence consumer preferences and behaviour. Gay and lesbian consumers tend to dislike and distrust ad messages more than heterosexuals, but are likely to response to sexual orientations symbols and ads that ‘reflect their lives and culture’.

Regional influences = regions with distinctive identities apart from the overall (American) culture. Clustering is grouping of consumers according to common characteristics used in statistical techniques. Systems such as Mozaic and PRIZM group areas and neighbourhoods into more precise clusters based in similarities on demographics and consumption. Marketers can develop offering/communication that appeals to different regions. Also with clustering the marketer can find new customers and learn what they like.

Regions across the world = such as ‘the western world’ or ‘muslim countries’. The way cultures differ can affect how consumers think and behave. This can be divided into 3 groups. 1. Individualism vs collectivism, 2. Horizontal (equality) vs vertical (hierarchical) orientation, 3. Masculine vs feminine. It is important to understand and adjust to global differences.

Ethnic groups = subculture with a similar heritage and values. These groups are bound together by cultural ties. Through acculturation members of a subculture must learn the host culture. Acculturation is strongly influenced by the social environment and media. Multicultural marketing uses strategies that simultaneously appeal to several cultures. In the US the biggest ethnic group are the Hispanics. They are in 3 groups, 1. Acculturated (speaks mostly English, high assimilation), 2. Bicultural (both Spanish and English), 3. Traditional (mostly Spanish). The intensity of ethnic identification is how strongly people identify with their ethnic group. Strong identifiers are more likely to be influenced by family, radio ads and billboards, and less likely than weak identifiers to use coupons. More marketers are tailoring distribution to the Hispanic Americans. As they tend to live in certain areas and share a common language, they can be targeted with Spanish-language media. Advertising is important in this segment as many Hispanics prefer prestigious or nationally advertised brands.

Ethnic spokespersons are seen as more trustworthy, leading to more positive attitudes towards the brand. Most effective in regions were the ethnicity is more salient. Accomodation theory stated that the more effort one puts in trying to communicate with an ethnic group, the more positive the reaction. However, using only Spanish messages can lead to negative ad perception. Most influential is using both English and Spanish.

African American consumers are also a large and diverse group. They have a strong desire to keep their culture. Consumption patterns are related to desires to be recognized and show status. Some marketers that are designing for the general US public also design product especially for African Americans. African Americans have more positive attitudes towards ads than Anglo consumers. Also here, more positive attitudes if the source is the same as the ethnic group.

Asian American consumers are the third group, coming from 29 countries. The common denominator is the strong emphasis on family, tradition and cooperation. They want brand names and are willing to spend, but also react positively to bargains. They also tend to save money, higher education, higher computer literacy and higher percentage professional jobs than the general population.

Next to ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs also influence the consumer. They are clearly present all over the world. Marketers should show understanding and respect for the targeted groups beliefs and customs.

13. Influence based on type of household and social class

Households are often seen as the most important unit of analysis for consumer behavior since households buy more than individuals do.

Household = a single person living alone or a group of individuals who live together in a common residence, regardless of whether they are related.

Nuclear family = father, mother, and children.

Extended family = nuclear family plus grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The family life cycle includes different stages of family life, depending on the age of the parents and how many children live at home. Marketers must take this variation in households into account.

Campaigns should also adapt to trends, because they are changing the basic structure of households. In Western countries, many people delay their marriage or don’t get married at all. Single people have different spending patterns than married people or people that are living together. Dual-career families are an interesting type of household since they spend more on childcare, housekeeping, etc., and have less time to shop. When people divorce, they change their consumption patterns, and of course also their household structure changes. Overall, households are getting smaller. Also, the number of same-sex couples increases.

Roles that household members play

Household roles = roles that different members play in a household decision. In a household, more than one person is involved in decision making, and thus in purchase and consumption. Various roles are:

Gatekeeper = collects and controls information important to the decision.

Influencer = tries to express his opinion and influence the decision.

Decider = actually determines which product/service will be chosen.

Buyer = physically acquires the product/service.

User = consumes the product.

Various persons within a household can have the same role and have multiple roles. Instrumental roles relate to tasks affecting the buying decision, while expressive roles involve an indication of family norms. Role conflicts can occur when there is disagreement about the reasons for buying, who should make the decision, which option to choose, and who gets to consume the product.

In a relationship, the spouse that brings the most money into the household, often has the most influence. Also demographic factors like family income and education play a role. Roles can be divided as follows:

Husband- (wife-)dominant decision = made primarily by the male (female) head-of-household;

Autonomic decision = equally likely to be made by husband or wife, but not by both;

Syncratic decision = made jointly by husband and wife (mostly important decisions).

The more involved parents are, the less influence children have on household decisions. When parents face time pressure, they are more likely to give in to their children. As children age, their influence increases. Also, their influence is strongest at the beginning of the decision-making process.

Social class

Social class hierarchy = the grouping of members of society according to status, high to low. Members of the same class often share values and behave in the same way. Most societies have three classes (upper, middle, and low). Upper classes from various cultures share many characteristics, while there are large cultural differences in lower classes. Families with incomes higher than the average of their social class are over privileged. Those with an average income are class average, while those with an income below average are considered underprivileged.

People are more likely to be influenced by members of their own social class. Trickle-down effect = when a trend starts in upper classes and is then copied by lower ones. The reverse is called status float.

It is hard to classify individuals into social classes. Income levels, for example, can overlap social classes. Dual-career families may earn more money than other families, but this does not necessarily give them a higher status. Social class is a better predictor of consumer behavior than income, because it often can explain how income is used.

However, both are needed to predict behavior. Social class helps to understand how consumers behave, and it is determined by various factors, including income.

Some occupations have a higher status than others (e.g. surgeons vs. nurses). People with the same occupation tend to share the same lifestyles and habits. Well-educated consumers often earn more, spend more, travel more, are healthier, and more receptive to innovations.

Also the neighborhood you live in or the family you are part of can have an influence on social status. Inherited status = derived from the parents at birth, while earned status = acquired later in life through achievements.

Status crystallization = when consumers are consistent across indicators of social class income, education, occupation, etc. Individuals may be low on certain factors but high on others.

How social class changes over time

Social class structures may change because of three factors:

Upward mobility = raising one’s status level, often by educational/occupational achievements. This is often not possible for consumers in lower classes because they don’t have the resources to become well-educated or to get a good job.

Downward mobility = losing your social standing because it is difficult to maintain your lifestyle. Many children are not able to reproduce their parents’ lifestyle for themselves.

Social class fragmentation = the disappearance of class distinctions. This may be caused by upward and downward mobility. Also, since consumers are provided with many norms and behaviors through mass media, they may adopt some elements of another class. Since it is nowadays very easy to communicate with others, there is increased interaction between various classes.

How does social class affect consumption?

Conspicuous consumption = the acquisition and display of goods and services to show off your status. Conspicuous waste = visibly buying products that you never use (e.g., a wealthy person buying a car he never drives). Voluntary simplicity = when consumers consciously limit their acquisition and consumption and choose to live a less material lifestyle.

Status symbol = product/service that tells others something about a person’s social class standing. Consumers buy such products because they believe they are judged by others based on what they have. Parody display = status symbols that start in the lower-social classes and move upward. When many people acquire a status symbol, it may lose its status and become fraudulent.

Compensatory consumption = the consumer behavior of buying products/services to offset frustrations in life.

Money is not only seen as a utilitarian product, but as something that brings happiness, fulfillment, and status. It can be seen as useful to improve a consumer’s life and those of others, but possession can also lead to greed, dishonesty, and harmful practices like gambling.

The consumption patterns of specific social classes

The upper class consists of people that inherited wealth, the social elite, and upper-middle class professionals. It is a small group that often finds quality more important than price. Most of them are intellectual, political, and socially conscious, and thus like to spend money on activities like visiting theaters and investing in art. They like to express themselves through buying prestige brands.

The middle class consists of white-collar workers. They look at the upper class for guidance of their behavior.

The working class depends heavily on family members for support. They have a local orientation and spend more than they save. Also, they judge products based on price.

The homeless are struggling for survival and have a hard time acquiring daily necessities. They try to find used goods that others have discarded in order to survive (scavenging).

Some marketers develop several product lines in order to be appealing to various classes. Message content can be changed to address different classes.

Different media and channels are used to reach different classes (e.g., selling a product in luxury boutiques in order to reach the upper class).

14. Psychographics

Psychographics = a description of consumers based on their psychological and behavioral characteristics. Basic components are values, personality, and lifestyles. Also behaviors like emotions, usage patterns, and attitudes can be used to gain understanding of consumer behavior.

Values = abstract, enduring beliefs about what is right/wrong, important, or good/bad. Values may determine your behavior. Example: when you value the environment, you will behave in an environmentally conscious way. Value system = the total set of values and their relative importance. Value conflict = when a person does something that is consistent with one value but inconsistent with an equally important value.

Values are learned through exposure to socialization through reference groups and other influence sources. Acculturation = the process by which individuals learn the values and behaviors of a new culture (e.g. in case of immigration).

Global values = a person’s most enduring, strongly held, and abstract values that hold in many situations. E.g., valuing your freedom to speak, to go where you want, etc. Seven main categories are:

Maturity;

Security;

Pro-social behavior (doing nice things for others);

Restrictive conformity (being responsible, polite, clean, etc.);

Enjoyment;

Achievement;

Self-direction (independent, intellectual, logical, self-respect, etc.).

Two types of global values are:

Terminal values = highly desired end states such as social recognition and pleasure. Examples: wisdom, freedom, self-respect, pleasure, comfortable life, equality.

Instrumental values = the values needed to achieve the desired end states such as ambition and cheerfulness. Examples: courageous, imaginative, logical, ambitious, capable, responsible, helpful, cheerful.

Domain-specific values = values that may only apply to a particular area of activities, like religion, family, or consumption.

Various values are important in Western cultures:

Materialism = placing importance on money and material goods. People believe they will be happier when they acquire more/better things. Because of the recession, many people have shifted their interests towards experiences instead of objects.

Home: the home must be as attractive and comfortable as possible, serving as a ‘safe haven’ from the increasingly complex outside world.

Work and play: work is seen as a tool for achieving other values. Leisure time is more valued because people work more.

Individualism: individual’s needs are perceived as more important than group’s needs and rights. Allocentric consumers prefer interdependence and social relationships, while idiocentric ones focus on individual freedom and assertiveness.

Family and children: education of children is seen as utterly important and people are receptive to child-related products.

Health: people want to have a high self-esteem and live long, and in order to reach those goals, they need to stay healthy. The more important a consumer finds his health, the less price-conscious he will be.

Hedonism = the principle of pleasure seeking. Consumers increasingly search for ways to feel good, which can be the purchase of products, but also pleasure seeking.

Youth: people want to stay young, and therefore buy many products that promise to make them look youthful.

Authenticity: original products are preferred above cheap knockoffs. Sipping coffee in a real Italian coffee bar is more valued than in the Starbucks, for example.

The environment: consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious.

Technology: people are interested in technological products like smart phones and tablets. They especially value technological products that can make their lives easier.

Values can vary across different consumer groups. Hofstede proposed four dimensions on which cultures can vary:

Individualism versus collectivism = the extent to which a culture focuses on the individual rather than the group;

Uncertainty avoidance = the degree to which structured situations are preferred to unstructured ones;

Masculinity versus femininity = the extent to which masculine values (like assertiveness and competition) are stressed over feminine values like caring.

Power distance = the degree to which society members are equal in terms of status.

Ethnic groups within a society can have different values from the larger part of the population. There are also differences between social classes. Lastly, values differ between various age groups.

Consumers behave according to their values. Therefore it is useful for marketers to know these values. Value segmentation = the grouping of consumers by common values. Values can often be related to certain product attributes. Consumers who value luxury, may be likely to buy high-quality products.

Also, consumers that like new things, might be more receptive to innovations. The better the fit between the consumers’ values and the values communicated in an ad, the more likely it is that the consumer will buy the advertised product. When there are inconsistencies, consumers may boycott the product.

It is hard to measure values, since people often do not think about them and thus cannot explicitly say what they are. However, values can be inferred from the cultural milieu or by looking at product names (e.g. Obsession perfume – hedonic versus Grand Hyatt – materialism). When looking at the milieu, it is not clear whether culture reflects values or if it creates them.

Means-end chain analysis = a technique that can help explain how values link to attributes in products and services. Value laddering = determining the root values related to product attributes that are important to consumers. Example: a consumer drinks cola light  because of less calories (attribute)  because he doesn’t want to become fat (benefit)  because he wants to be healthy (instrumental value) - because he wants to feel good about himself (the terminal value).

Values can also be addressed by specialized questionnaires:

Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) = a survey that measures instrumental and terminal values by asking respondents how important certain values are.

List of Values (LOV) = a survey that measures nine principal values in consumer behavior: self-respect, warm relationships with others, sense of accomplishment, self-fulfillment, fun and enjoyment in life, excitement, sense of belonging, being well respected, and security.

Personality

Personality = an internal characteristic that determines how individuals behave in various situations. Various approaches are used to study personality:

Psychoanalytic approach = personality arises from a set of dynamic, unconscious internal struggles within the mind. According to Freud, a person’s personality is formed in three stages:

Oral stage: a child is entirely dependent on others for need satisfaction and receives oral gratification from sucking, eating, and biting.

Anal stage: the child is confronted with the problem of toilet training.

Phallic stage: he becomes aware of his genitals and must deal with desires for the opposite-sex.

Trait theory = personality is composed of characteristics that describe and differentiate individuals. Carl Jung: individuals can be segmented according to their levels of introversion and extroversion. Five personality traits account for the most differences in personality: agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness, and extraversion.

Phenomenological approach = personality is largely shaped by an individual’s interpretations of life events. Locus of control = people’s interpretations of why certain things occur. People with an internal locus of control blame themselves, while those with an external locus of control blame others.

Socio-psychological theory = proposes that individuals act in social situations to meet their needs. Karen Horney: behavior can be characterized by three orientations:

Compliant individuals are dependent on others and are humble and trusting;

Aggressive individuals move away from others and are outgoing and self-confident;

Detached individuals are independent and self-sufficient but suspicious and introverted.

State-oriented people rely on subjective norms, while action-oriented ones base their behavior on their own attitudes.

Behavioral approach: differences in personality are a function of how individuals have been rewarded/punished in the past.

Personality is not always a good predictor of behavior and may be a better predictor for some types of behavior than for others. Some types of personality traits may be more related to behavior than others:

Optimal stimulation level: people prefer things that are moderately arousing, but differ in the level of arousal they regard as moderate. The lower a person’s optimal stimulation level, the less he prefers arousing activities. Persons with a high OSL are more likely to buy innovative products.

Dogmatism = a tendency to be resistant to change or new ideas.

Need for uniqueness (NFU) = the desire for novelty through the purchase, use, and disposition of products and services. This covers:

Creative choice counterconformity = the person’s choice reflects social distinctiveness yet is one that others will approve of.

Unpopular choice counterconformity = choice of products that do not conform to establish distinctiveness despite of social disapproval.

Avoidance of similarity = losing interest in possessions that become commonplace to avoid the norm and thus reestablish distinctiveness.

Creativity = a departure from conventional consumption practice in a novel and functional way.

Need for cognition (NFC) = a trait that describes how much people like to think. People with a high NFC like searching for and discovering new product features and like long, elaborative messages.

Susceptibility to influence: people with lower social and information processing confidence are more affected by ads than those with higher self-confidence.

Frugality = the degree to which consumers take a disciplined approach to short-term acquisitions and are resourceful in using products and services to achieve longer-term

goals. People who are high on frugality are less materialistic, less susceptible to influence of others, and more price-conscious.

Self-monitoring behavior = the degree to which a person looks to others for cues on how to behave. High self-monitors are likely to be influenced by others, while low self-monitors rely more on their selves.

National character = the personality of a country. Germans are, for example, perceived as ‘tighter’ than Dutch people.

Competitiveness = the desire to outdo others through conspicuous consumption of material items.

Lifestyles

Lifestyles = people’s behavioral patterns. Activities, interests, and opinions (AIOs) = the three components of lifestyles.

Voluntary simplicity = consciously limiting acquisition and consumption for a less materialistic, more eco-friendly lifestyle. Voluntary simplicity is a lifestyle choice, while frugality is a personality trait reflecting disciplined spending and consumption.

Marketers can use lifestyles to identify consumer segments for their offerings, but also to identify new opportunities. They can use various ads and promotions to appeal to consumers with various lifestyles.

Psychographics: combining values, personality, and lifestyles

People that are motivated by ideals are guided by intellectual aspects. Those who are motivated by achievement, base their view on others’ actions and opinions. People who are motivated by self-expression desire social/physical action, variety, and personal challenge. According to the VALS tool, there are eight consumer segments:

Survivors: lowest incomes, focus on meeting needs.

Believers: conservative and motivated by ideals, do not switch brands easily. Are ideal motivated.

Thinkers: mature and well educated. Actively search for information when considering a purchase. Have more resources than believers. Are ideal motivated.

Strivers: have limited income yet strive to pursue more successful people. Are achievement motivated.

Achievers: higher resources, focused on work and families, prefer status symbols. Are achievement motivated.

Makers: value self-sufficiency, buy basic products, focused on family, work, and constructive activities. Are self-expression motivated.

Experiencers: have more resources than makers, are active, seek stimulation and novelty, spend money on entertainment. Are self-expression motivated.

Innovators: have most resources, self-confidence, high income and education. Like upscale offerings.

15. Innovation

Innovation = offering that is perceived as by customers within a market segment and that has effect on the existing consumption patterns. Marketers classify innovation in 3 ways, 1. Innovations type, 2. Type of benefits it offers, 3. Its breadth. In addition, there is more and more co-creation.

Degree of novelty (1) = 3 patterns, 1. Continuous innovation (has a limited effect on existing consumption patterns, used in the same way as the previous), 2. Dynamically continuous innovation (pronounced effect on consumption practices, often involves a new technology), 3. Discontinuous innovation (so new that we have never known anything like it before).

Benefits offered (2) = 3 types, 1. Functional innovation, 2. Hedonic or aesthetic innovation, 3. Symbolic innovation

By breadth (3) = range of new and different use for a particular product, such as baking soda.

Co-creation (4) = internet and social media have accelerated co creation. Potential benefits from co-creation are: innovation is likely to fit the consumers needs, its relatively fast and inexpensive using social media, it strengthen the relationship with the company, and consumer who are involved exhibit higher demand in the product (feel ‘ownership’).

Adoption = purchase of innovation by individual consumer or household. Resistance can be high if consumer feels that new product involves some risk. Consumers have 8 paradoxes in technical products. If the negative is more salient, consumer will resist the innovation. The way consumer adopt an innovation can vary in high or low effort. High-effort hierarchy of effects is when a purchase of innovation is based on high decision making effort. MAO determines whether high effort processing will occur. When the risk is low and fewer people are part of the buying process, low processing is used. Trials can be very effective for low-effort decision making, as trials raise the chances of adoption. If it is high-effort, the marketer should make the risk look as low as possible.

There are 5 adopter groups, namly innovators (venturesome), early adopters (respectable), early majority (deliberate), late majority (traditional) and laggards (sceptical). The early adopters are visionaries in the product category, and are interested in the features and abilities to create a break through. They are also called ‘technologically advanced families’. The early majority are pragmatists, they care for the brand of the innovation, as they do not like risks. The late majority relies on tradition and is fearful of new high-tech products. However, there might be more or less adoption-groups depending on the product, also it might not be in a perfect bell-shape. It can be useful to examine how the market is for your product. Adoption is also linked to cultural influences.

Diffusion = % of population that has adopted the innovation at a certain time point, thus it reflects the behaviour as a group instead of individual. Marketers have to understand 2 important issues: 1. How an offering diffuses through the market, 2. How quickly it does so.

S-shaped diffusion curve (1) = characterized by slow initial growth followed by a rapid increase. The exponential diffusion curve = starts out quicker, with a larger % adopting as soon as possible. Many factors influence the curve of diffusion. When innovation involves low risk and low costs, beliefs and values are the same and/or when people often talk about the product (quickly disseminated knowledge via social system), the product is more likely to be exponential.

Product life cycle (2) = suggests that product go through an initial introductory period, followed by growth, maturity and decline. Diffusion and life cycle are linked, but are different: product diffusion is the percentage of the market that adopted, and the life cycle deals with sales of the product over time.

Fads = successful innovation with a very short life cycle

Fashion = successful innovation with moderately long and potential cyclical life cycle

Classic = successful innovation with a lengthy life cycle.

Innovation characteristics = can affect resistence, adoption and diffusion. High perceived valued products might be earlier adopted. Relative advantage is the benefits in an innovation that are superior to the existing products.

It is something the product does for the consumer, not something that exists in the product. If there is no relative advantage, there will be resistance. Consumers who are able to visual and see the benefits as more valuable is more likely to adopt. Use innovativeness is finding a use for a product that differs from the products original intended usage. Perceived costs (time, money and effort) are also influential. Switching costs (the costs of changing to a new product) are also costs. Thus promote the relative advantage, reduce the perceived costs and provide incentives for switching.

Uncertainty = Aspects of uncertainty are: 1. Doubt about what will become the standard, 2. Uncertainty about the relative advantage (especially when it involves a significant behavioural change), 3. Length of the product life cycle (more likely to resist buying fad than fashion or classic), 4. More concerned with switching costs in near future, compared to distant future. Thus to make consumers adopt sooner, show how adaptable the product is and therefore how long the life cycle is.

Consumer learning requirements:

Compatibility (1)= extent to which innovation is consistent with needs, values, norms or behaviours. The more compatible is the less resistance and greater product diffusion. Companies can use promotions to show the compatibility. Also the marketer can use change agents, who are influential and highly respected people who are confinced and spread positive word of mouth.

Some marketers address incompatibility by designing the innovation to fit with a system of existing products (offer as complementary product). Sometimes innovation can be the industries standard, by working the regulators (government).

Trialability (2)= extent to which innovation can be tried on limited basis before its adopted. Often important for innovators and early adopters who have little else to base their value of innovation on. Use promotions to enhance trialability.

Complexity (3)= extent to which innovation is complicated and difficult to understand/use. Too much features can lead to cognitive overload, and lead to a lower evaluation of the product. Live demonstrations can reduce the fear of complexity and simultaneously show compatibility.

Social relevance = extent to which innovation can be observed or to which having others observe it has social cachet (socially desirable).

The more consumers can observe others, the more likely they will adopt. Thus diffusion is also affected by public or private nature of the products use.

Legitimacy = extent to which innovation follows established guideline for what seems appropriate in this category. Innovations that are too radical or do not derive from a legitimate precursor lacks legitimacy. Demonstrate by showing how the innovation came to being or market appropriately to the product category.

Adaptability = potential to fit with existing products, also affects adoption and diffusion. Show the uses beyond the original function.

Characteristics of the social system: 1. Modernity is extent to which consumers have positive attitudes to change in the social circle, 2. Physical distance, diffusion is quicker when members of the social environment are close, 3. Homophily, diffusion is faster when consumers are similar in education, values, needs, income, etc. 4. Opinion leadership/experts, which are people with credibility.

Nonadopters = 3 types, 1. Passive consumers, 2. Active rejection, 3. Potential adopters.

16. Symbols

Cultural categories = natural grouping of object that reflect culture, such as time, space and occasions.

Cultural principles = ideas/values that specify how aspects of our culture are organized and/or how they should be perceived/evaluated. Have principles associated with work time, social status, gender, age, ethnicity, etc. Many agents can play a role in these associations. Journalist can also shape these principles with their associations.

Emblematic function = use of products to symbolize membership of a social group. Can be geographic, ethnic (this can also be food), social class, gender (vb ‘man’ foods) and reference group (vb clothing). Marketers can play different roles, 1. Symbol development (linking a product to culture), 2. Symbol communication (advertising), 3. Symbol reinforcement (vb pricing, product strategy), 4. Symbol removal (helping consumers remove symbols associated with a certain group they don’t want to belong to anymore).

Role acquisition function = products a symbols to help us feel more comfortable in a new role. There are 3 fases, first separation (from your old role), second transition and thirdly incorporation. There are several transitions, for instance marital (from single to married, or from married to divorced), cultural (moving to a new culture, abandoning the old customs), social status (shows the importance of social feedback). Consumers in transition form an important target market for many firms and can be used to target the consumer for developing inventory or product promotion.

Connectedness function = products as symbols of personal connection to significant people, events or experiences, thus expresses our group membership. Each family maintains its own traditions that foster connectedness. Marketers can use this by evoking nostalgia and connecting it to their product.

Expressiveness function = symbols that demonstrate our uniqueness.

Actual identity schema = set of multiple salient identities that reflect our self-concept. Identities may be driven by the roles that we fulfil. Our actual identity schema is driven by our ideal identity schema = set of ideas about the ideal form of identity.

Posession help to shape our identity, which can explain why people feel identity loss after losing possessions after natural disasters. Products define who we are, and we also buy products that are consistent with our identity image. Products are most successful when they fit the consumers self concept. Self-images are multifaced, thus marketers have to consider that one part might be consistent with the consumers self concept while other parts are not.

Frame switching = frame to activate the self concept that relates to that cultural background.

Special brands = sometimes consumer emotionally attached. If emotional connection is strengthened, the brand will be bought over and over again. There are 4 types of special possession: 1. Pets, 2. Memory-laden objects (evoke memories), 3. Achievement symbols, 4. Collections (felt as extension of themselves, urge to complete the collection)

Characteristics of special possession = 1. Possession have few or no substitutes according to their owner, 2. Consumer will not sell at market prices, thus have an unusually low price elasticity, 3. Experience reluctance to discard the possessions, even when it loses its functional value (however some possessions are not used for their original purpose), 4. Consumers frequently personalize possessions. There are 3 reasons why products can be special: 1. Symbolic value, .2. mood-altering properties, 3. Instrumental importance. The consumer characteristics affect what is special: 1. Social class, 2. Gender, 3. Age.

Possession ritual = ritual engaged in to help make a product ‘ ours’, including whipping away traces of former owners.

Grooming ritual = ritual to bring out the best/maintain the best in special products.

Divestment ritual = enacted at the disposition stage that is designed to wipe away all traces of our personal meaning in a products.

Sacred entities = people, things, and places that are set apart, revered, worshiped and treated with great respect. In contrast, profane things = ordinary things, no special power. The sacred entities can evoke a feeling of power, emotion, fascination and feeling of mystery or connection to a certain time or event.

Sacred object possess a strong approach-avoidance characteristic, creating an overwhelming feeling of power and fascination. Sacredness can be maintened by scarcity and exclusivity. Marketers can use a famous movie star and highten is sacred status, or maintain sacredness (high prices, scarce). Sometimes marketers unintentially profance sacred objects by commercializing.

Three stages of gift timing. Gifts are culturally prescribed, but also individual:

(1) Gestation stage = first stage of gift giving, considering what to give someone, with motives and emotions (sometimes compensatory), nature (appropriateness depending on the relationship and situation) and value (influenced by culture) of the gift and search time (symbolises nature and intensity of relationship). .

(2) Presentation stage = second, actually giving the gift. Ritual/ceremonial aspects important, with timing and surprise, attention to recipient and recipient reaction.

(3) reformulation stage= final stage, reevaluate the relationship based on the gift-giving experience. Important is the relationship bonding/connection (strengthen, affirmation, negligible effect, negative confirmation, weakening or severing) and reciprocation (sometimes recipient exempt from reciprocation, and expectation of reciprocation depends on culture).

Marketers can use gift giving to market their product as gifts. Technology already had a major influence in gift giving process with online shopping.

Also sometimes charities use alternatives to traditional gifts, for example give gifts to families in need around Christmas.

17. The link between marketing and social responsibility

Social dilemma = deciding whether to put self-interest or the interests of others first. Temporal dilemma = deciding whether to put immediate interests or long-term interests first.

Me versus we: when a person focuses concretely on people close to him.

Me versus them: when a person focuses more on strangers or society at large.

Companies often strive for long-term profitability, better balance, and a broad focus on ‘we’ to achieve sustainable results for people and the planet. Although this costs money, such aims can shape positive brand attitudes, strengthen brand loyalty, reduce costs, and lead to higher profits and new customers. Also, it is good for the reputation of the company.

Marketing ethics, consumer ethics, and deviant consumer behavior

Marketing ethics = rules of acceptable conduct that guide individuals and organizations in making honest, fair, and respectful decisions about marketing activities. These ethics apply to all stakeholders.

Consumer ethics = rules of acceptable conduct that apply to the range of consumer behaviors.

Deviant consumer behavior = behavior is regarded as deviant if it is unexpected or not sanctioned by society members.

Several key controversies in terms of acquisition are:

Materialistic behavior: consumers may buy products they don’t even need, want, or can afford.

Addictive and compulsive behavior: addiction = excessive behavior typically brought on by a chemical dependency. It often involves repeated acquisition/use of a product, even if this is dangerous. Compulsive behavior = an irresistible urge to perform an irrational act. Compulsive buyers often have low self-esteem and believe they feel better if they make a purchase. This can have serious financial, emotional, and interpersonal consequences.

Consumer theft = a desire to steal things. This can be explained by the temptation to steal (arises when consumers want something they cannot afford, because they are too ashamed to buy it, or because they cannot legally acquire it (e.g. underage alcohol buyers)) and the ability to rationalize theft behavior.

Black markets = illegal markets in which consumers pay often exorbitant amounts for items not readily available.

Targeting vulnerable segments: seniors have a hard time processing some messages and consumers in developing markets tend to believe everything marketers say. The same counts for children.

There are various ethical controversies when it comes to consumption:

Underage drinking and smoking

Idealized self-images: ads often make use of models with bodies that many people do not and will never have. This can result in eating disorders, consumer dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem. Social comparison theory = proposes that individuals have a drive to compare themselves with others.

Compulsive gambling

Overeating and obesity

Privacy controversies: many people believe that companies gather too much of their personal information, which is a threat to their privacy.

The more frequent young people are confronted with alcohol ads or alcohol use in movies, the more likely they will turn into drinking it. The same amounts for tobacco ads. Marketers are becoming more aware of the effects of advertising on consumers’ self-image. An example of this in practice is the use of plus size models. Various governments fund consumer education and treatment concerning gambling. Besides that, the number of restrictions placed on unhealthy food is increasing, and marketing is used to encourage healthy behavior. Online privacy is a big issue that gains attention. Many companies try to make their customers aware of the need for their personal data, but also of the risks associated with it.

Besides consumption controversies, there are several conflicts regarding the disposal of products:

Disposal of products that still function: although there often is the possibility of recycling, many consumers just throw their still functioning products away, which has harmful consequences for the environment.

Disposal of broken products: products with defects can be disposed of in a proper way (e.g., throwing plastic in a plastic container or selling the product because some parts are still useful), but often consumers are too lazy to do this the right way.

Various companies ask consumers to hand in their used products (e.g. batteries at the supermarket or clothes at H&M). Also, many are trying to use less packaging materials for their products and/or build environmentally friendly packages.

Social responsibility issues in marketing

Nowadays, most business are pursuing the goals of making profit and being environmentally conscious in parallel. Social responsibility is often an important part of their overall strategy. Three CSR issues relate to marketing:

Environmentally conscious behavior:

Conservation behavior = limiting the use of scarce natural resources for the purposes of environmental preservation. When consumers are aware that a resource is scarce, they are often willing to do something about it.

Conservation programs aim to make them aware, and to motivate them to act (e.g., by telling them they should better cut their electrical usage, because that will benefit the environment). Such programs are most successful when consumers believe that there behavior will really make a difference.

Also, normative influence plays an important role. Example: people are more willing to use less towels if a hotel states that “other guests often use their towels twice” then when it is just stated that it would be better for the environment to use towels several times. Besides that, informing consumers well about why they should behave in an environmentally conscious way, and giving them incentives if they do so, are good ways to induce conservation behavior.

Greenwashing = the misleading use of environmental claims for marketing purposes. Some companies claim that they are operating in a socially responsible way, just to boost their image. To avoid this, there are many certificates that may only be used after several demands are met.

Charitable behavior:

Charitable behavior can be induced by the foot-in-the-door technique (leading to self-depletion and thus less resistance), but also by simply asking people to volunteer time - leading to an emotional, positive reaction - leading to more money contribution. This type of behavior varies per culture.

Community involvement:

Many companies have policies that encourage their employees to get involved in the community company is situated. This can increase employee satisfaction, goodwill, and word-of-mouth.

How consumers can resist marketing practices

Unsatisfied consumers can decide to spread negative word-of-mouth, boycott the company, or complain to the marketer. Sometimes, consumers even form groups against certain companies. Boycott = an organized activity in which consumers avoid purchasing products/services from a company whose policies or practices are seen as unfair.