Consumer Behavior and Product Strategy Chapter 16 Consumer Behavior and Product Strategy

Product Affect and Cognition Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction Consumer satisfaction is a critical concept in marketing thought and consumer research The most current formulation to studying satisfaction is the expectancy disconfirmation with performance approach The degree to which a product’s performance exceeds the consumers’ expectations

Product Affect and Cognition cont.

Product Affect and Cognition cont. Prepurchase expectations Postpurchase expectations Disconfirmation Positive Negative Dissatisfaction Neutral Balancing paradigm alternative

Product Behavior Product contact Brand loyalty/variety seeking Types of occurrences Brand loyalty/variety seeking Four categories of consumer purchasing patterns based on the degree of cognitive commitment and number of brands purchased in a particular period

Product Behavior cont.

Product Behavior cont. Brand loyalty is an intrinsic commitment to repeatedly purchase a particular brand Distinguished from repeat purchase behavior Variety seeking is a cognitive commitment to purchase different brands because of such things as Stimulation involved in trying different things Curiosity Novelty Overcoming boredom with the same old thing

Product Behavior cont. Differentiating variety seeking from derived varied behavior The degree to which consumers are brand loyal or seek variety can be viewed as a continuum Marketers need to be concerned with the usage rate of particular products by various target markets and consumers

Product Behavior cont. Attracting brand-loyal customers is most valuable when the consumers are also heavy users

The Product Environment Product-related stimuli that are attended to and comprehended by consumers Product attributes Major stimuli that influence consumer affect, cognition, and behavior Packaging Should protect the product as it moves through the channel to the consumer

The Product Environment cont. Should be economical and not add undue cost to the product Should allow convenient storage and use of the product by the consumer Can be used effectively to promote the product to the consumer In some cases, packaging can obtain a relative advantage for a product

The Product Environment cont. Package sizes Can influence not only which brands are chosen, but also how much of a product is used on particular occasions Package colors Has been argued that colors have an important impact on consumers’ affect, cognition, and behavior Has been argued that colors connote meanings to consumers and can be used strategically Reported that consumer perceptions of products may change with a change in package color

The Product Environment cont. Brand identification and label information Simplifies purchase and makes the loyalty development process possible For some products, label information can strongly influence purchase

Product Strategy In the short run, new-product strategies are designed to influence consumers to try the product In the long run, product strategies are designed to develop brand loyalty and obtain large market shares

Product Strategy cont. A critical aspect of designing product strategies involves analyzing consumer-product relationships Characteristics of consumers Vary in their willingness to try new products Different types of consumers may adopt a new product at different times

Product Strategy cont.

Product Strategy cont. Five categories of adopters Innovators Early adopters Early majority Late majority Laggards Major focus of consumer research has been to identify the characteristics of innovators and their differences from other consumers

Product Strategy cont. Characteristics of products Innovators tend to be heavy users of other products within a product class Characteristics of products Compatibility Degree to which a product is consistent with consumers’ current affect, cognition, and behavior

Product Strategy cont. Trialability Observability Speed Degree to which a product can be tried on a limited basis or divided into small quantities for an inexpensive trial Observability Degree to which products or their effects can be sensed by other consumers Speed How fast the benefits of the product are experienced

Product Strategy cont. Simplicity Competitive advantage Degree to which a product is easy for a consumer to understand and use Competitive advantage Degree to which an item has a sustainable competitive advantage over other product classes, product forms, and brands

Product Strategy cont. Relative advantage is a most important product characteristic not only for obtaining trial, but also for continued purchase and development of brand loyalty In some cases, a relative advantage may be obtained through technological developments At the brand level it is often difficult to maintain a technological relative advantage

Product Strategy cont. Product symbolism Marketing strategy What the product or brand means to the consumer and what the consumer experiences in purchasing and using it Marketing strategy Quality Promotion Price Distribution

Summary Investigated some product-related affect, cognition, behavior, and environmental factors Explored several aspect of product strategy Product affect and cognition were discussed in terms of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Summary cont. Discussed the analysis of behavior in looking at product contact and brand loyalty Emphasized several strategies based on relationships between brand loyalty and usage rates Product attributes and packing were among environmental factors examined Discussed product strategy