CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 9e Michael R. Solomon Chapter 2 Perception CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 9e Michael R. Solomon

Sensation and Perception Sensation is the immediate response of our sensory receptors to basic stimuli. Like computers we undergo stages of information processing in which we input and store stimuli. We receive external stimuli or sensory inputs on a number of channels. The inputs our five senses detect are the raw data that begin in the perceptional process.

Sensation and Perception Perception is the process by which sensations are selected, organized, and interpreted. Assigning meaning to a sensation Like computers we undergo stages of information processing in which we input and store stimuli. We receive external stimuli or sensory inputs on a number of channels. The inputs our five senses detect are the raw data that begin in the perceptional process.

Figure 2.1 Perceptual Process We receive external stimuli through our five senses Figure 2.1 shows that there are three stages that make up the process of perception. These are exposure, attention, and interpretation.

Hedonic Consumption Hedonic consumption: multisensory, fantasy, and emotional aspects of consumers’ interactions with products Marketers use impact of sensations on consumers’ product experiences Target is an example of a retail store that has done very well using sensation to relate to consumers.

Hedonic Consumption

Sensory Systems Our world is a symphony of colors, sounds, odors, tastes Advertisements, product packages, radio and TV commercials, billboards provide sensations Sensory marketing means that companies pay extra attention to how our sensations affect our product experiences. Marketers recognize that our senses help us to decide which products appeal to us.

Vision

Vision

World on red background useful to remember the details Vision World on red background useful to remember the details While they excel imaginative response when they are displayed on blue background

Vision

Vision Color provokes emotion Reactions to color are biological and cultural Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. They communicate meanings on the visual channel through a product’s color, size, and styling. Color can also be part of a brand’s sensory signature.

Vision Trade dress: colors associated with specific companies Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. They communicate meanings on the visual channel through a product’s color, size, and styling. Color can also be part of a brand’s sensory signature.

Vision Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. They communicate meanings on the visual channel through a product’s color, size, and styling. Color can also be part of a brand’s sensory signature.

Scents Odors create mood and promote memories: Coffee = childhood, home Marketers use scents: Inside products In promotions (e.g., scratch ‘n sniff) Odor can affect our moods and emotions. They can invoke memories or relieve or create stress. An interest in scent has spawned new products. Some brands utilize scent easily. For instance, Starbucks requires baristas to grind a batch of coffee each time they brew a post instead of just once each morning to ensure customers have that intense smell during their Starbucks’ experience. Ad companies spend about $80 million per year on scent marketing. For example, Burger King offered Flame, a body spray that smelled like flame broiled meat.

Scents Odor can affect our moods and emotions. They can invoke memories or relieve or create stress. An interest in scent has spawned new products. Some brands utilize scent easily. For instance, Starbucks requires baristas to grind a batch of coffee each time they brew a post instead of just once each morning to ensure customers have that intense smell during their Starbucks’ experience. Ad companies spend about $80 million per year on scent marketing. For example, Burger King offered Flame, a body spray that smelled like flame broiled meat.

Sound Sound affects people’s feelings and behaviors Phonemes: individual sounds that might be more or less preferred by consumers Muzak uses sound and music to create mood High tempo = more stimulation Slower tempo = more relaxing Stores and restaurants often play certain kinds of music to create a certain mood.

Touch Haptic senses—or “touch”—is the most basic of senses; we learn this before vision and smell Haptic senses affect product experience and judgment Kinsei engineering is a Japanese philosophy that translates customers’ feelings into design elements Recent research found that participants who simply touch an item for 30 seconds or less had a greater level of attachment with the product. This connection in turn boosted what they were willing to pay for it. Some anthropologists view touch like a primal language. Researchers are starting to identify the role haptic sense plays in consumer behavior. Haptic senses appear to moderate the relationship between product experience and judgment confidence. Kinsei engineering helps marketers to understand how to design products to follow a consumer sense of touch. For instance, the Mazda Miata was designed to emulate the feeling of a horse and rider as one.

Create a greater level of emotional attachment Touching products at store is fun Recent research found that participants who simply touch an item for 30 seconds or less had a greater level of attachment with the product. This connection in turn boosted what they were willing to pay for it. Some anthropologists view touch like a primal language. Researchers are starting to identify the role haptic sense plays in consumer behavior. Haptic senses appear to moderate the relationship between product experience and judgment confidence. Kinsei engineering helps marketers to understand how to design products to follow a consumer sense of touch. For instance, the Mazda Miata was designed to emulate the feeling of a horse and rider as one. Perceive different quality

Table 2.1 Tactile-Quality Associations Perception Male Female Fine High class Wool Silk Low class Denim Cotton We link the perceived richness or quality of material to its feel. Table 2.1 summarizes some of these tactile-quality associations. Men and women do tend to differ on our preferences. Coarse Heavy Light 4/28/2017 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Taste Flavor houses develop new concoctions for consumer palates Cultural changes determine desirable tastes The more respect we have for ethnic dishes, the more spicy food we desire Our taste receptors contribute to our experience of many products. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo use the tongue to test the quality of corn syrups. A food item’s image and the values we attach to it influence how we experience the actual taste. For instance, as consumer appreciation for ethnic foods increases, our desire for spicy food increases.

Taste Our taste receptors contribute to our experience of many products. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo use the tongue to test the quality of corn syrups. A food item’s image and the values we attach to it influence how we experience the actual taste. For instance, as consumer appreciation for ethnic foods increases, our desire for spicy food increases.

Exposure Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of someone’s sensory receptors We can concentrate, ignore, or completely miss stimuli Cadillac’s 5 second ad We notice stimuli that come within range for even a very short time if we choose. That’s why Cadillac developed a 5-second commercial to illustrate that Cadillac’s can go from zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds.

Sensory Thresholds Psychophysics: science that focuses on how the physical environment is integrated into our personal, subjective world Absolute threshold: the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a given sensory channel. For example: content of billboard in a highway. There are some stimuli that people cannot perceive. The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation to be noticed. For example, the sound of a dog whistle is too high for human ears to detect – it is beyond our auditory absolute threshold. The absolute threshold is an important consideration in designing marketing stimuli.

Differential Threshold The ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli Minimum difference between two stimuli is the j.n.d. (just noticeable difference) Example: packaging updates must be subtle enough over time to keep current customers The differential threshold is the ability of a sensory system to detect changes of differences between two stimuli. The minimum difference we can detect between two is the just noticeable difference of j.n.d. For instance, if we made a package smaller to cut our costs, we would want to make the change under the j.n.d. so that customers did not notice that they were getting less product for the price.

Subliminal Perception Subliminal perception occurs when stimulus is below the level of the consumer’s awareness. Rumors of subliminal advertising are rampant—though there’s little proof that it occurs. Most researchers believe that subliminal techniques are not of much use in marketing.

Subliminal Techniques Embeds: figures that are inserted into magazine advertising by using high-speed photography or airbrushing. Subliminal auditory perception: sounds, music, or voice text inserted into advertising. Marketers can use both visual and aural channels to send subliminal messages, supposedly. Embeds are tiny figures that are inserted into magazine advertising via high-speed photography or airbrushing. These hidden figures supposedly exert a strong but unconscious influence on the reader. We can do something similar for auditory messages. However, there is no evidence to support that subliminal stimuli can bring about desired changes in behavior.

Perception Subliminal perception

Perception Subliminal perception

Attention Attention is the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus Consumers are often in a state of sensory overload Attention refers to the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus. The allocation of processing activity can vary depending on the characteristics of the stimulus and the recipient. Although we live in an information society, consumers are often in a state of sensory overload. Sensory overload means consumers are exposed to far more information than they can process. Much of this comes from commercial sources. We are exposed to thousands of advertising messages each day in addition to the other types of stimuli we sense. This camera ad from Singapore reminds us that consumers do tune out stimuli.

Clutter

Attention Marketers need to break through the clutter Attention refers to the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus. The allocation of processing activity can vary depending on the characteristics of the stimulus and the recipient. Although we live in an information society, consumers are often in a state of sensory overload. Sensory overload means consumers are exposed to far more information than they can process. Much of this comes from commercial sources. We are exposed to thousands of advertising messages each day in addition to the other types of stimuli we sense. This camera ad from Singapore reminds us that consumers do tune out stimuli.

Perception Selective Attention

Stimulus Selection Factors Intensity Duration Discrimination Exposure Relevance Several factors can lead to adaptation. Less intense stimuli have less sensory impact. Stimuli that require relatively lengthy exposure in order to be processed habituate because they require a long attention span. Simple stimuli habituate because they do not require attention to detail. Frequently encountered stimuli habituate as the rate of exposure increases. Stimuli that are irrelevant or unimportant habituate because they fail to attract attention. Size Color Position Novelty

Intensity

Duration

Discrimination

Exposure

Size

Color

Position

Novelty

Perception Selective Retention

Perception Selective Distortion

Interpretation Interpretation refers to the meaning we assign to sensory stimuli, which is based on a schema The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the schema, or set of beliefs, to which we assign it. In a process called priming, certain properties of a stimulus evoke a schema. This leads us to compare the stimulus to other similar ones. In this ad for Toyota, the living room evokes an image of a car because of the seat arrangement.

Interpretation The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the schema, or set of beliefs, to which we assign it. In a process called priming, certain properties of a stimulus evoke a schema. This leads us to compare the stimulus to other similar ones. In this ad for Toyota, the living room evokes an image of a car because of the seat arrangement.

Stimulus Organization Gestalt: central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms a global whole with self organizing tendencies. Closure: people perceive an incomplete picture as complete Similarity: consumers group together objects that share similar physical characteristics Figure-ground: one part of the stimulus will dominate (the figure) while the other parts recede into the background (ground) One factor that determines how we will interpret a stimulus is the relationship we assume it has with other events, sensations, or images in memory. Our brains tend to relate incoming sensations to others already in memory based on some fundamental organizational principles. These principles derive from Gestalt psychology, a school of thought that maintains that people interpret meaning from the totality of a set of stimuli rather than from an individual stimulus. The German word Gestalt roughly means whole, pattern, or configuration, and we summarize this term as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Gestalt perspective provides several principles that relate to the way our brains organize stimuli including the closure principle, the principle of similarity, and the figure-ground principle.

Stimulus Organization One factor that determines how we will interpret a stimulus is the relationship we assume it has with other events, sensations, or images in memory. Our brains tend to relate incoming sensations to others already in memory based on some fundamental organizational principles. These principles derive from Gestalt psychology, a school of thought that maintains that people interpret meaning from the totality of a set of stimuli rather than from an individual stimulus. The German word Gestalt roughly means whole, pattern, or configuration, and we summarize this term as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Gestalt perspective provides several principles that relate to the way our brains organize stimuli including the closure principle, the principle of similarity, and the figure-ground principle.

Application of the Closure Principle

Application of the Similarity Principle

Application of the Figure-Ground Principle This ad for the Australian postal service uses an application of the figure-ground principle.

Semiotics Semiotics: correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in the assignment of meaning Marketing messages have three basic components: Object: product that is the focus of the message Sign: sensory image that represents the intended meanings of the object Interpretant: meaning derived To help them understand how consumers interpret the meanings of symbols, some marketers turn to semiotics. Semiotics is the study of correspondence between signs and symbols and their roles in how we assign meanings.

Figure 2.3 Semiotic Relationships This figure illustrates the meaning of the three semiotic parts of a marketing message. For Marlboro cigarettes, the cigarettes are the product. The symbol is the cowboy which can be interpreted to mean rugged American. 4/28/2017 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Perceptual Positioning Brand perceptions = functional attributes + symbolic attributes Perceptual map: map of where brands are perceived in consumers’ minds Used to determine how brands are currently perceived to determine future positioning How does a marketer determine where a product actually stands in the minds of consumers? One technique is to ask them what attributes are important to them and how they feel competitors rate on these attributes. This information is then used to construct a perceptual map.

Examples Colgate is Protection Lux is Glamour Pond’s DFT is Confidence Axe is Sexual Attraction Gillette is Quality

Food for Thought-Next class Get exposed through different communication, suggest one of which that was able to draw your attention and justify.