an introduction to consumer behaviour chapter 1 copyright 2008 pearson education canada

An Introduction toConsumer Behaviour

Chapter 1

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada 1-2

Factors in Consumer Behaviour• The story of Gail in the marketplace…

– Demographics– Psychographics– Opinions and behaviours of others

• Market segmentation– Targeting a brand only to specific groups

of consumers rather than to everybody


What is Consumer Behaviour?

• The study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires


Consumer Behaviour is a “Process”

Figure 1.1 (Abridged)

CONSUMER’S PERSPECTIVE

MARKETER’S PERSPECTIVE

PREPURCHASE ISSUES

How does a consumer decide about needing

a product?

How are consumer attitudes

formed/changed?

PURCHASE ISSUES

Is product acquisition a stressful or pleasant

experience?

How do situational factors affect

purchase decision?

POSTPURCHASE ISSUES

Does product provide pleasure or perform

function? How is product disposed of?

What determines customer satisfaction

and repurchase?


Actors in Consumer Behaviour

• Consumer: A person who identifies a need or desire, makes a purchase, and then disposes of the product– Purchaser vs. user vs. influencer– Organization/group as consumer


Discussion

• People play different roles and their consumption behaviors may differ, depending on the particular role they are playing. State whether you agree or disagree with this perspective, giving examples from your personal life.– Try to construct a “stage set” for a role you play –

specify the props, costumes, and script that you use to play a role (e.g., job interviewee, conscientious student, party animal)


Consumers’ Impact

• Understanding consumer behaviour is good business– Understanding people/organizations to satisfy

consumers’ needs– Knowledge and data about customers…

• …help to define the market• …identify threats/opportunities to a brand


Segmenting Consumers

• Market Segmentation– Similar consumers

• Example: “Heavy Users” of fast-food industry or similar ethnic backgrounds


Segmenting Consumers: Demographics

• Age

• Gender

• Family Structure and Marital Status

• Social Class and Income

• Ethnicity

• Geography


Discussion

• Name some products or services that are widely used by your social group.– State whether you agree or disagree with the

notion that these products help to form group bonds, supporting your argument with examples from your list of products used by the group.


Segmenting Consumers: Lifestyles

• Psychographics– The way we feel about ourselves– The things we value– The things we do in our spare time


Relationship Marketing

• Success = building lifetime relationships between brands and customers– Regular interaction with customers– Database Marketing


Marketing’s Impact on Consumers

• Marketers significantly influence the world and the information we learn!– Advertisements, stores, and products

communicate and persuade

TOYMUSEUM.COM


The Meaningof Consumption

• People often buy products not for what they do, but for what they mean– Brands…

• …convey image/personality• …define our place in modern society• …help us to form bonds with others who share

similar preferences


Brand Relationship Types

• Self-Concept Attachment

• Nostalgic Attachment

• Interdependence

• Love


The Global Consumer

• Global Consumer Culture– People united by common devotion to:

• Brand name consumer goods• Movie stars• Celebrities• Leisure activities

– Pressure to understand similarities and differences of customers in various countries


Virtual Consumption

• Impact of the Web on consumer behaviour– 24/7 shopping without leaving home– Instantaneous access to news– Handheld devices and wireless

communications

• C2C e-commerce– Virtual brand communities.– Consumer chat rooms AMAZON.COM


Virtual Consumption (Cont’d)

• “Wired” Canadians spend…– …less time with friends/family– …less time shopping in stores– …more time working at home after hours

• But, many report that e-mail strengthens family ties


Marketing and Reality

• “Blurred boundaries” between marketing efforts and “the real world”– Popular culture shaped by marketers


Marketing Ethics and Public Policy

• Business Ethics: rules of conduct that guide actions in the marketplace– What is “Right vs.

Wrong”• Differs among

people, organizations, and cultures


Discussion

• Coca-Cola’s 600 ml bottles are sold exclusively in vending machines at educational sites. Each bottle contains more than 15 tsp of sugar.– Knowing that over-consumption of sugar

leads to poorer grades for students, obesity and diabetes, is Coca-Cola acting in the best interest of the child?


Marketing Ethicsand Public Policy (cont’d)

• Consumers think better of products made by firms they feel behave ethically– Marketing “violators”

• Mislabeling package contents• “Bait-and-switch” selling strategy• Availability of ‘pour-your-own’ in lounges rather

than promoting responsible drinking

www.ama.org


Manipulating Needs and Wants

• Marketers tell people what they should want– Marketerspace vs. Consumerspace– Response: Marketers recommend ways to

satisfy basic biological needs


• Marketers foster materialism– Response: Products are designed to meet existing

needs• Economics of Information Perspective

• Discussion: do marketers have the ability to control our desires or the power to create needs?– Is this situation changing as the Internet creates new

ways to interact with companies? If so, how?

Are Advertising andMarketing Necessary?


Do Marketers Promise Miracles?

• Advertising promises “magical” products– Response: Advertisers simply do not know

enough about people to manipulate them• Failure rate for new products = 40% to 80%


Public Policy and Consumerism

• Consumer welfare is protected at the Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels

• Main area of focus:– Protection from unfair business practices– Protect broad interest of society

• Consumers depend on their government to regulate and police standards

• Supervision may depend on political climate in a country


Consumer Activism

• Adbusters– Non-Profit advocates “for the new social

activist movement of the information age”– Buy Nothing Day and TV Turnoff Week

• Culture Jamming– Aims to disrupt corporate efforts to dominate

our cultural landscape


What is Social Marketing?

• Focus that uses marketing techniques to encourage positive behaviours (increase literacy) and discourages negative activities (drunk driving).– United Way Campaigns


The Consumer “Dark Side”

Addictive Consumption

• Compulsive Consumption

• Consumed Consumers

• Illegal Activities– Theft– Anti-consumption


Study of Consumer Behaviour

• Interdisciplinary Influences– Many different perspectives/fields

• Consumer Behaviour Employers– Universities, manufacturers, museums,

advertising agencies, and governments


Macro (Social Focus)

Pyramid of Consumer Behaviour

Experimental PsychologyClinical Psychology

Developmental PsychologyHuman EcologyMicroeconomics

Social PsychologySociology

MacroeconomicsSemiotics/Literary Criticism

DemographyHistory

Cultural Anthropology

Micro (Individual-Focus)Figure 1-2


Strategic Focus

• The field of consumer behaviour…– …as an applied social science– …to understand consumption for its own sake


Perspectives on Consumer Research

• Positivism– Stress the function of objects/products– Celebrate technology, science– World as an objective, rational, ordered place

• Interpretivism– Stress importance of sympolism– We each construct our own meanings– Consumption of products = diverse experiences


Wheel of Consumer Behaviour

Figure 1-3

an introduction to consumer behaviour chapter 1 copyright 2008 pearson education canada

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