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Contents

Module Overview------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

Consumer Behavior---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

Roles in Decision Making--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5Initiator-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5Influencer:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5Decider-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5Buyer--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5User----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

Selective Attention-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

Adoption Process-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Stages in Adoption Process-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6Product Awareness--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6Product Interest-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6Product Evaluation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7Product Trial----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7Product Adoption----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

Diffusion Process-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

Stages in Diffusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Branding, Pricing and Promotion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Pricing Strategies and Brand Value Fundamentals-------------------------------------------------------------------------------11Developing a promotional strategy-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Segmentation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12Targeting-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12Positioning-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12Messaging------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Online Consumer Behavior---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

Social Currency-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17

Classical conditioning-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18

Social Group Behavior---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

Story Making----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21

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Word Of Mouth-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21

Viral Marketing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21

Links---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24

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Module Overview

This module will cover the different behavioral aspects of consumer, how they make decision,

how the innovations are diffused in the market. It will also cover aspects of social media

perspective influencing the consumer perception of using social media for selecting, evaluating

and buying certain product. This module will cover roles that influence the decision making

process of the consumer. It also encapsulates the selective attention that how we as organization

attract the attention of the consumer and retain the attention, how the innovations are diffused in

the market and how the branding, its pricing and promotion impact the consumer.

This module moves from conventional understanding of the consumer behavior to the online

consumer behavior where it will touch the aspects of social currency, classical conditioning,

triggers, consumers social group, story making, word of mouth and viral marketing so that

student get the understanding of online perspective of consumer behavior and can effectively

utilize the lucrative options of social media for the promotion of the products, services and above

all organization.

Consumer Behavior

Consumer buyer behavior is considered to be an inseparable part of marketing and Kotler and

Keller (2011) state that consumer buying behavior is the study of the ways of buying and

disposing of goods, services, ideas or experiences by the individuals, groups and organizations in

order to satisfy their needs and wants.

Buyer behavior has been defined as “a process, which through inputs and their use though

process and actions leads to satisfaction of needs and wants”. Consumer buying behavior has

numerous factors as a part of it which are believed to have some level of effect on the purchasing

decisions of the customers.

Alternatively, consumer buying behavior “refers to the buying behavior of final consumers, both

individuals and households, who buy goods and services for personal consumption”. From

marketers’ point of view issues specific aspects of consumer behavior that need to be studied

include the reasons behind consumers making purchases, specific factors influencing the patterns

of consumer purchases, analysis of changing factors within the society and others.

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Roles in Decision Making

Consider the selection of a family automobile. The teenage son may have suggested buying a

new car. A friend might advise the family on the kind of car to buy. The husband might choose

the make. The wife might have definite desires regarding the car’s size and interior. The husband

might make the financial offer. The wife might use the car more often than her husband.

Thus we can distinguish five roles people might play in a buying decision:

Initiator

A person who first suggests the idea of buying the particular product or service.

Influencer:

A person whose view or advice influences the decision.

Decider

A person who decides on any component of a buying decision; whether to buy, what to buy, how

to buy, or where to buy

Buyer

The person who makes the actual purchase.

User

A person who consumes or uses the product or service.

A company needs to identify these roles because they have implications for designing the

product, determining messages, arid allocating the promotional budget. If the husband decides on

the car make then the auto company will direct advertising to reach husbands. The auto company

might design certain car features to please the wife. Knowing the main participants and their

roles helps the marketer fine-tune the marketing program.

Selective Attention

It has been estimated that the average person may be exposed to over 1,500 ads or brand

communications a day. Because a person cannot possibly attend to all of these stimuli will be

screened out-a process called selective attention. Selective attention means that marketers have

to work hard to attract consumers notice. The real challenge is to explain which stimuli people

will notice.

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Adoption Process

The consumer adoption process is constant. Marketing tools may change, the way consumers

discover products may change, and consumer behaviors may change, but the 5 stages that make

up the consumer adoption process will always remain the same.

In my years of business, my days in business school, and my experience at We Link and AT&T,

I have learned about numerous companies and how they market their products. I have witnessed

many failures and witness many successes. What is interesting to me is how important it is for

businesses to truly understand the 5 stages of the consumer adoption process and the important

role this process plays to the success of the business. The 5 stages are: product awareness,

product interest, product evaluation, product trial, and product adoption. Companies work

hard to create a product, but in order to sustain and succeed in the market, organizations also

need  to create a process that successfully walks their consumers through the stages of the

consumer adoption process.

Stages in Adoption Process

Product Awareness

This first stage is about creating awareness that your product is in the market.  It is important that

your company develops a successful avenue for your consumers to become aware of your

product. If consumers do not know your product exists, than it might as well not exist!  Create

marketing material.  These can be one-sheets, video teasers, images, and landing pages.  Make

these marketing materials easily accessible.  Utilizing creativity and wit is a great way to engage

consumers in this awareness stage.  I recommend creating a strong social presence for said

product. In the era of social media, many tools are available in the market that provide

companies with the techniques and methods to increase product awareness through social

channels – enabling them to reach a large number of customers at a low cost!

Product Interest

In this stage consumers are ready to learn more about your companies product and / or service.

Your organization must guide the consumer through the interest stage by providing easily

accessible information on your product. Among the methods used in the todays business

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landscape include a website describing the product, blog posts, tutorial or instructional videos,

white papers, and other sources of info that the potential consumer can discover and review.

Product Evaluation

Prior to purchasing, consumers examine, compare and evaluate the product. Such behavior

increases in intensity and need once the item in question is more expensive, sophisticated and

complex, or critical. Consumers are searching for information. We are now finding that

consumers go online and utilize social media channels to ask other individuals about your

product or service. In addition, they find online reviews and recommendations. In order to

simplify a customer’s search and evaluation of your product, I suggest creating information that

outlines the difference between your product and other similar products, or differences within the

different products and services you sell. Outline what separates your product from others, and

emphasize on strength. Another great system to utilize is the webinar. This platform allows you

to communicate with potential customer in depth information about your product and provides

time for Q&A.

Product Trial

This is the stage where the consumer “kicks the tires”.  Nothing helps a consumer make a

decision about your product more than actually trying your product out! There are many ways

this is accomplished. For example, your company can provide your consumer with a free trial or

a proof of concept campaign. In this stage it is very important to set the customer expectations

correctly and deliver on said expectations.

Product Adoption

When the consumer enters the product adoption phase, he/she is ready to purchase your

company’s product. This is the critical stage that businesses need to get their consumers

to. When the customer is here, you need to make the payment process simple, intuitive, and pain

free. In addition, you need to ensure that the consumer can easily obtain the product. If you make

it to and through this last phase successfully, than you can take money to the bank – A job well

done!

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Diffusion Process

The concept of diffusion of innovation refers to the spreading of consumption of an innovation,

through communication channels in a social system. An innovation is a product, service, idea,

process, behavior, or any other object which is considered new by consumers. Innovations

require acceptance from consumers to be successful, but they also require them to change their

existing behavioral pattern and habits.

Based on change required and frequency of occurrence, innovations can be discontinuous

(maximum change and rare), dynamically continuous (moderate change and infrequent), or

continuous (least change and frequent) in nature. Innovations are sometimes resisted by

consumers because of barriers such as value, risk, image, etc. In such a case, some modification

can facilitate its acceptance.

Communication channels are the tools which help the marketer reach the consumer, and the

consumer to reach out to other consumers in a social network. Information can flow through

impersonal (mass media), interpersonal (salespeople), and personal channels (word-of-mouth) of

communication.

A social system is a social environment in which consumers with similar beliefs co-exist. A

social system has a social hierarchy and a communication network which decide the flow and

speed of adoption through the social system. Time is the factor which connects the adoption

process, the consumers' innovativeness, and the rate of adoption.

The adoption process consists of five stages of consumer decision making - awareness, interest,

evaluation, trial, and adoption/rejection. The longer the process and larger the number of

decision makers, the longer the time taken to adopt. The innovativeness of the consumer depends

on the adoption stage at which he/she is, as compared to other consumers. Based on these

criteria, consumers have been classified as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late

majority, and laggards. The rate of adoption is the speed with which the innovation is being

adopted by consumers. It can be slow, moderate, or fast.

Consumer innovators are identified on the basis of time elapsed after the launch or as a specific

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Percentage of people out of total purchasers who buy early. Consumer innovators are

venturesome, young, highly educated, high status and income individuals, who have an interest

in new products and seek variety in life. They have low risk perception and have a positive

attitude towards change. They are very sociable and in the role of opinion leaders and market

mavens, they can be quite influential.

Stages in DiffusionAdoption of a new idea, behavior, or product (i.e., "innovation") does not happen simultaneously

in a social system; rather it is a process whereby some people are more apt to adopt the

innovation than others.   Researchers have found that people who adopt an innovation early have

different characteristics than people who adopt an innovation later. When promoting an

innovation to a target population, it is important to understand the characteristics of the target

population that will help or hinder adoption of the innovation. There are five established

adopter categories, and while the majority of the general population tends to fall in the middle

categories, it is still necessary to understand the characteristics of the target population. When

promoting an innovation, there are different strategies used to appeal to the different adopter

categories.

Innovators - These are people who want to be the first to try the innovation. They are

venturesome and interested in new ideas. These people are very willing to take risks, and are

often the first to develop new ideas. Very little, if anything, needs to be done to appeal to this

population.

Early Adopters - These are people who represent opinion leaders. They enjoy leadership roles,

and embrace change opportunities. They are already aware of the need to change and so are very

comfortable adopting new ideas. Strategies to appeal to this population include how-to manuals

and information sheets on implementation. They do not need information to convince them to

change.

Early Majority - These people are rarely leaders, but they do adopt new ideas before the

average person. That said, they typically need to see evidence that the innovation works before

they are willing to adopt it. Strategies to appeal to this population include success stories and

evidence of the innovation's effectiveness.

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Late Majority - These people are skeptical of change, and will only adopt an innovation after it

has been tried by the majority. Strategies to appeal to this population include information on how

many other people have tried the innovation and have adopted it successfully.

Laggards - These people are bound by tradition and very conservative. They are very skeptical

of change and are the hardest group to bring on board. Strategies to appeal to this population

include statistics, fear appeals, and pressure from people in the other adopter groups.

Figure 1: Diffusion Symmetry

The stages by which a person adopts an innovation, and whereby diffusion is accomplished,

include awareness of the need for an innovation, decision to adopt (or reject) the

innovation, initial use of the innovation to test it, and continued use of the innovation. There

are five main factors that influence adoption of an innovation, and each of these factors is at

play to a different extent in the five adopter categories.

Relative Advantage - The degree to which an innovation is seen as better than the idea, program,

or product it replaces.

Compatibility - How consistent the innovation is with the values, experiences, and needs of the

potential adopters.

Complexity - How difficult the innovation is to understand and/or use.

Triability - The extent to which the innovation can be tested or experimented with before a

commitment to adopt is made.

Observability - The extent to which the innovation provides tangible results.

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Branding, Pricing and PromotionBranding is process in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind,

mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.

Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and

retain loyal customers.

Pricing Strategies and Brand Value Fundamentals One of the quickest, easiest, and most popular ways for brands to compete is price. However,

price competition is a recipe for problems. Short-term pricing promotions deliver short-term

results, but over time, those pricing promotions could drive sales down. There are many reasons

for this phenomenon.

The fundamental rule of pricing tells us that the price charged for a product must match the value

consumers perceive that they get when they purchase that product. That’s where effective

branding can allow “premium” branded products to sell at a premium price. The market will bear

that price and consumers willingly pay it because they perceive the value the high-end brand

delivers to be worth the high price tag.

In other words, if all brands were new and they all launched new products on the same day, all of

those products would have the same value perception in consumers’ minds. There hasn’t been

time to build brand value perceptions. Of course, each brand has its own unique tangible

differentiators, but the intangible differentiators that lead consumers to become emotionally

connected to brands take time to communicate and demonstrate consistently and persistently.

Promotion

Promotion is one of the key elements of the marketing mix, and deals with any one or two-way

communication that takes place with the consumer. This article concentrates is a high level

introduction to developing a promotional strategy for your business focusing on advertising and

other 'pull' tactics.

Developing a promotional strategyDeciding on a marketing communications strategy is one of the primary roles of the marketing

manager and this process involves some key decisions about who the customer is, how to contact

them, and what the message should be. These questions can be answered using a three stage

process, which is equally relevant for all elements of the marketing mix:

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Segmentation

Dividing the marketing into distinct groups

Targeting

Deciding which of these groups to communicate with, and how to talk to them

Positioning

How the product or brand should be perceived by the target groups

Messaging

delivering a specific message in order to influence the target groups

1. Segmentation

Dividing potential customers into discrete groups is vital if you want to increase the success rate

of any communications message. If you don't know who you are talking to, it's unlikely you will

get much of a response. Who are the potential customers? How many sub-groups should you

divide them into? How do these groups differ? Hopefully, most of this information will be

readily available from your market research.

Once you have an idea of the customer, you should further drill down to explore them in more

detail. 

What are their media consumption habits? What are their expectations and aspirations? What are

their priorities? How much disposable income do they have? What are their buying habits? Are

they likely to have children? How many holidays do they take a year? How much money do they

give to charity? How can you help them?

This information can be obtained in a variety of ways, from commissioning a specialist market

research agency, to examining sales patterns or social media interactions.

Commonly used market research methods include:

Sales analysis and buying patterns

Questionnaires

Desk research

Website statistics, especially social media

Focus groups

Face-to-face interviews

Specialist market research companies

Once you have built up an accurate picture of your customer, it's time to get their attention…

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2: Targeting

For the purposes of advertising, targeting is the process of communicating with the right

segment(s) and ensuring the best possible response rate. The methods you use to target your

audience must relate to your marketing plan objectives - are you trying to generate awareness of

a new product, or attract business away from a competitor?

Methods of marketing communications

Advertising is just one element of the marketing communication arsenal, which can be divided

into the following areas:

Advertising – a mass media approach to promotion

Outdoor

Business directories

Magazines / newspapers

TV / cinema

Radio

Newsagent windows

Sales promotion - price / money related communications

Coupons

Discounts

Competitions

Loyalty incentives

Public relations - using the press to your advantage

Press launches

PR events

Press releases

Personal selling – one to one communication with a potential buyer

Salesmen

Experiential marketing

Dealer or showroom sales activities

Exhibitions

Trade shows

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Direct marketing - taking the message directly to the consumer

Mail order catalogues

Bulk mail

Personalised letters

Email

Telemarketing

Point of sale displays

Packaging design

Digital marketing – new channels are emerging constantly

Company websites

Social media applications such as Face book or Twitter

Blogging

Mobile phone promotions using technology such as Bluetooth

YouTube

E-commerce

Deciding which media channel to use

In nature, evolution occurs most rapidly when competition for resources is intense. The same

process is now occurring with promotional media. All traditional media channels are now

saturated, and competition for consumer attention is intense. At the same time, the impact of any

one medium is becoming diluted. There are many more TV and radio channels, consumer have

the ability to skip adverts and free information is now much more accessible. As a result,

companies are becoming increasingly innovative in their approach to communications and a host

of new media channels have emerged. As a result, media choice is becoming a tricky task, which

is why detailed segmentation is so important - it's no use starting a Twitter campaign if none of

your target market are regular users of the site.

Highly targeted communications often lead to better results. You can usually expect a response

rate of under 1% for a relatively generic mass mailing. However, personal letters to a handful of

your most loyal customers would lead to a dramatically increased rate of return. When deciding

which media to use consider the reach, frequency, media impact and what you can expect for

your budget but most of all, ensure your target customer will see the message in the first place.

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Media choice is a matter of compromise between volume of people versus the personalization of

the message.

Ensuring your message reflects the stages of the purchasing funnel

Once you have made the audience aware of your brand, work doesn't stop there. The customer

needs to be guided through the purchasing process. This means identifying the key stages in the

customer journey and ensuring communications messages are personalized and relevant.

Integrated marketing communications

Once you have decided which media channel to concentrate on, the next step is to ensure an

integrated approach is taken. Regardless of whether you are promoting a new product or raising

awareness, it's important that all ads across all media work together towards a common goal by

using similar messaging and 'look and feel'. An integrated approach can dramatically increase the

effectiveness of any campaign and will help create your brand image.

Getting the best response

To get the best response from your target market, you need ensuring the message is relevant and

clear – once you've managed to gain the valuable attention of your customer the last thing you

want is for them to be confused about what you're saying. Determine the objectives of the advert

and ensure these aims are addressed clearly. Think about the next steps you would like the

audience to take, whether this is visiting a website, ringing a number, or being able to recall your

brand when they are next in the shops.

3. Positioning

Positioning is the process of developing an image for your company or product. This can be

achieved partially through branding, but it's important to realize that all elements of the

marketing mix combine to provide the full picture. You must ensure that all areas of your

business live up to expectations in order to successfully position yourself in the way you hope.

Positioning also considers the competition, and you need to explain why you are unique in the

marketplace and better than the other products on the shelf.

Branding and messaging

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Branding is a powerful tool for positioning your product. Branding is used on almost all

customer facing elements of a product, from the packaging design to the style of writing used on

posters. Every communication a customer received ads up to form a mental picture of your brand

and can influence the price they are willing to pay for your products. This ability to charge more

due to the positioning of your product is known as 'brand equity'. Your branding also needs to

consider your unique selling points (USPs) and ensure these are easily recognized through your

messaging – is your product the best value, longest lasting, sweetest smelling or fastest?

Corporate identity

A corporate identity is a useful tool to ensure that your branding is used in a consistent way

throughout the company. This detailed document runs through almost every conceivable

customer touch point and provides guidance on the presentation and style which should be used.

This could include use of logos, colors, tag lines, uniform and the type of coffee to serve guests.

A CI guide is particularly useful if any creative work it outsourced to agencies or freelancers or

if you have many offices worldwide. The most powerful brands can be identified by many

elements of their communications material, not just a by their logo or slogan and this is due to

successful implementation of a recognizable corporate identity. Recognition is a key part of any

purchase decision so a corporate identity should for a core element of your advertising strategy.

4. Development of the advertising message

Once you have determined the positioning for your brand, it's time to develop the message in

order to influence your target groups. Advertising objectives should be directly linked to your

marketing plan, and tend to fit into the following generic categories:

Inform - raising awareness of your brand & products, establishing a competitive advantage

Persuade - generating an instant response (usually driving sales)

Remind - to maintain interest and enthusiasm for a product or service

It's a documented fact that creative, well branded, distinctive advertising generates the best

results so ensure you use the best possible creative team you can get your hands on, and give

them a detailed brief. Remember that a message will only be successful if it appeals to the target

audience, so constantly refer back to the customer and tailor the ads to them.

Final words

Almost every business in the world will deal in advertising at some point, whether it is a listing

in the Yellow Pages, or a billboard in Times Square. Whatever you're planning, the strategic

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thinking behind all advertising is essentially the same – get to know your audience, target them

efficiently and position your brand in the way that will benefit your business.

Online Consumer Behavior

Social CurrencySocial currency is a common term that can be understood as the entirety of actual and potential

resources which arise from the presence in social networks and communities, may they be digital

or off line. It derives from Pierre Bourdieu’s social capital theory and is about increasing one’s

sense of community, granting access to information and knowledge, helping to form one’s

identity, and providing status and recognition.

Social currency in Marketing and Management

In their study on social currency, the consulting company Vivaldi Partners defined social

currency as the extent to which people share the brand or information about the brand as part of

their everyday social lives at work or at home. This sharing helps companies to create unique

brand identities and earn permission to interact with consumers or customers. In today’s age,

building social currency is an important investment companies can make to create value for

themselves. Social Currency moves social initiatives and campaigns beyond marketing and

communications efforts to impacting and changing entire industries and categories. Consumers

and customers will benefit as well as they increasingly participate in social platforms, and use

social technologies.

Social currency can be divided into six dimensions or levers:

It is about creating a sense of community and by that a strong affiliation between customers,

consumers and users of a brand. Having social currency increases a brand’s engagement with

consumers and interaction with customers, and by that adding to the

customer conversation around the brand, it grants access to information and knowledge, which

is being shared within the customer base. Belonging to a group also helps users of a brand to

grow personally by accessing new utility and also developing their own identity in the

respective peer group. A strong attachment to a brand will also be a core driver for an

active advocacy recommending or even defending the brand.

Affiliation

Conversation

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Information

Utility

Identity

Advocacy

The Social Currency Wheel is an alternative to the traditional brand funnel or customer decision

journey. The Social Currency Wheel evaluates the impact of social behaviors of customers on

social currency and three outcomes: consideration, purchase, and loyalty.[2] The goal of the

Social Currency Wheel is to explain how customers’ social processes and behaviors drive each

of the conversions. Marketers can engage with customers during these social processes and

behaviors, and influence the outcomes.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a learning

process in which an innate response to a potent stimulus comes to be elicited in response to a

previously neutral stimulus; this is achieved by repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus with the

potent stimulus.

Two behavioral theories with great relevance to marketing are classical conditioning and

instrumental conditioning.

In every day speech, the word conditioning has come to mean a kind of “knee-jerk” (or

automatic) response to a situation built up through repeated exposure.

Classical conditioning is a reflexive or automatic type of learning in which a stimulus acquires

the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

According to Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist conditioned learning results when a stimulus

that is paired with another stimulus that elicits a known response serves to produce the same

response when used alone.

Pavlov referred to this as a conditioned stimulus (CS). Conversely, presentation of the significant

stimulus necessarily evokes an innate, often reflexive, response. Pavlov called these the

unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR), respectively. If the CS and the

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US are repeatedly paired, eventually the two stimuli become associated and the organism begins

to produce a behavioral response to the CS. Pavlov called this the conditioned response (CR).

Pavlov’s Experiment:

Pavlov did famous experiments with dogs, ringing a bell and then feeding them. After a while,

he could ring the bell and their mouths would salivate.

He demonstrated what he meant by conditioned learning in this studies with dogs. In his

experiments, Pavlov sounded a bell and then immediately applied a meat paste to the dogs’

tongue, which caused then to salivate.

Learning (conditioning) occurred when after a sufficient number of repetitions of the bell sound

followed almost immediately by food; the bell sound alone caused the dogs to salivate.

The dog associated the bell sound (the conditioned stimulus) with the meat paste (the

unconditioned stimulus) and after a number of pairings, gave the same conditioned response

(salivation) to the bell alone as they did to the meat paste. The unconditioned responses to the

meat paste become the conditioned response to the bell.

Triggers

To initiate or precipitate (a chain of events, scientific reaction, psychological process, etc.):

Their small protest triggered a mass demonstration.

Five Triggers of Social Media Engagement

TRIGGER 01: WIN

The Win trigger activates our natural, built-in mechanism for competition. Stemming back to

natural selection, the lizard brain, we developed certain impulses which unconsciously drive the

way we feel, think and behave. Given the right incentive (a mate, promotion at work…

refrigerator?) and the right challenge, we automatically zone into this state of mind. Harnessed

with care, the WIN trigger can foster engagement and deepen relationships with your customers.

TRIGGER 02: GIVE

To paraphrase one of Scott Stratton’s arguments, think of a bank account. You would get

laughed out of the bank if you were to open a brand new account with no money and then

request to withdraw $10,000. Before you can withdraw, you must first invest and the GIVE

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trigger allows you to do just that. Another feature of our natural programming is that we tend to

respond in kind. (If your neighbor shovels your driveway out of his own goodwill every winter,

you would be much more inclined to help them with their lawn in the summer). This fluid

relationship is at the core of this engagement trigger.

TRIGGER 03: TRANSFORM

Originally Vote, this trigger stems back to the birth of decision making and has evolved into a

multitude of variations over the years, spanning from Democracy to.. American Idol. The key

idea with the transform trigger is to invite your audience into a decision making process. We (the

audience) want to feel that we are heard, our voice counts for something and that it will make a

difference in an outcome we are emotionally invested in. This emotional drive is why there are

die-hard fans of sport clubs, specific UFC fighters or competing American Idols.

TRIGGER 04: SHARE

Sharing comes down to our deep, innate desires to be perceived a certain way and to live in line

with our identity. For example, if you wish to be perceived as highly successful, you may be

inclined to buy a luxury car. As much as we may think we have control over those drives… they

really have a deeply rooted influence over us. This same drive entices us to share certain things

with our friends and social networks. We want to share the things (information, pictures, links, e-

mails, etc) that are in line with the way we wish to be seen by our friends and social circles.

TRIGGER 05: CO-CREATE

Co-Creation is the ultimate test of brand integrity in the eyes of your audience. In a sense, you

are opening the doors to the very inner workings of your business to your best customers and in

turn inviting them in to help you create. This state of full transparency is rarely achieved, but

when it is… the results can be astounding. This trigger attracts brand zealots and evangelists to a

common cause like moths to a lamp. Great examples span from a band opening up a video shoot

to its fans to Doritos playing a customer-created commercial at the Super Bowl. Done poorly, it

can create a terrible PR disaster

Social Group BehaviorGroup Dynamics

Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social

group (intragroup dynamics), or between social groups (intergroup dynamics).

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Story Making Storytelling is a verb, and many brands believe that means they should be telling

stories about their brand, which was just another method of spinning one-way advertising. True,

a brand’s origin story (think of Apple, HP) can be useful, but the true power in storytelling is

when brands create products and content that motivates audiences to talk about the brand and

keep them top of mind in ways far less intrusive than traditional advertising.

Word Of MouthWord-of-mouth is not new. People have always talked about their experiences, emotions, needs

and also products, services and brands. With the arrival of interactive and social media the

patterns, role and impact of word-of-mouth have evolved and new, forms of online

communities were shaped. These changes affected the ways businesses can leverage the power

of word-of-mouth for marketing purposes and, vice versa, the impact of word-of-mouth on

businesses.

This brief offers an introduction to word-of-mouth, analyzes what it is, how it works, why it

works, how it is linked with social (media) and what are the main benefits to get started with the

most effective form of marketing a customer-centric and participative business has: word-of-

mouth marketing. 

Word-of-mouth occurs everywhere people get together: at the local pub, at home, in the sports

club and increasingly online and on social media. And there are many reasons why people like to

talk about their experiences with products and brands. These experiences, brand experiences and

individual customer experiences, as well as overall opinions regarding perceived levels of overall

customer, customer service, satisfaction, etc. are shared and often have a very personal and

subjective nature. But they increasingly happen in a very public space: the social Web. They

occur, whether we like it or not. They can have a positive impact on our brand or hurt it.

MODULE: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Viral MarketingViral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring

to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networking services and other technologies

to try to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as

product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of

viruses or computer viruses. It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network

effects of the Internet and mobile networks.[1] Viral advertising is personal and, while coming

from an identified sponsor, it does not mean businesses pay for its distribution.[2] Most of the

well-known viral ads circulating online are ads paid by a sponsor company, launched either on

their own platform (company webpage or social media profile) or on social media websites such

as YouTube. Consumers receive the page link from a social media network or copy the entire ad

from a website and pass it along through e-mail or posting it on a blog, webpage or social media

profile. Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, interactive

games, eBooks, brand able, images, text messages, email messages, or web pages. The most

commonly utilized transmission vehicles for viral messages include: pass-along based, incentive

based, trendy based, and undercover based. However, the creative nature of viral marketing

enables an "endless amount of potential forms and vehicles the messages can utilize for

transmission", including mobile devices.[4]

The ultimate goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to

create viral messages that appeal to individuals with high social networking potential (SNP) and

that have a high probability of being presented and spread by these individuals and their

competitors in their communications with others in a short period of time.[5]

According to marketing professors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, to make viral

marketing work, three basic criteria must be met, i.e., giving the right message to the right

messengers in the right environment:[14]

Messenger: Three specific types of messengers are required to ensure the transformation of an

ordinary message into a viral one: market mavens, social hubs, and salespeople. Market mavens

are individuals who are continuously ‘on the pulse’ of things (information specialists); they are

usually among the first to get exposed to the message and who transmit it to their immediate

MODULE: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

social network. Social hubs are people with an exceptionally large number of social connections;

they often know hundreds of different people and have the ability to serve as connectors or

bridges between different subcultures. Salespeople might be needed who receive the message

from the market maven, amplify it by making it more relevant and persuasive, and then transmit

it to the social hub for further distribution. Market mavens may not be particularly convincing in

transmitting the information.

Message: Only messages that are both memorable and sufficiently interesting to be passed on to

others have the potential to spur a viral marketing phenomenon. Making a message more

memorable and interesting or simply more infectious, is often not a matter of major changes but

minor adjustments. It should be unique and engaging with a main idea that motivates the

recipient to share it widely with friends - a "must-see" element.

Environment: The environment is crucial in the rise of successful viral marketing – small

changes in the environment lead to huge results, and people are much more sensitive to

environment. The timing and context of the campaign launch must be right.

MODULE: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Links

LINK CONSUMER BEHVIOR

http://research-methodology.net/consumer-buyer-behaviour-definition/

LINK CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ROLES

http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/decision-making/5-roles-played-by-a-buyer-while-making-a-

buying-decision/22159/

LINK SELECTIVE ATTENTION

http://www.citeman.com/696-selective-attention-distortion-and-retention.html

LINK ADOPTION PROCESS

https://welink.com/blog/2014/10/27/the-consumer-adoption-process-never-changes/

LINK DIFFUSION

http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Consumer%20Behavior/CBC12.htm

LINK STAGES IN DIFFUSION

http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/SB721-Models/SB721-Models4.html

LINK BRANDING

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/branding.html

https://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/pricing-strategies-and-brand-value-fundamentals-part-1/

LINK PROMOTION

http://marketing-made-simple.com/articles/promotional-strategy.htm

MODULE: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

LINK SOCIAL CURRENCY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_currency

LINK CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

http://conveylive.com/a/Classical_Conditioning_In_Consumer_Behavior

LINK STORY MAKING

http://www.saydaily.com/2014/10/storymaking

LINK WORD OF MOUTH

http://www.i-scoop.eu/understanding-word-mouth-social-media-age/

LINK VIRAL MARKETING

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing