1. Why People Buy: Consumer Behavior

2. Consumer Behavior
The process individuals and groups go through to select, purchase, or use goods, services, ideas, or experiences

3. The Consumer Decision Process
Problem Recognition
Information Search
Alternative Evaluation
Product Choice
Post purchase Evaluation

4. Problem Recognition
Occurs whenever a consumer recognizes a difference between the current state and the ideal or desired state
Internal cues - consumers recognize state of discomfort
External cues - marketers may stimulate consumers to recognize problem

5. Information Search
Consumer checks memory and surveys environment to identify what options are available
Sources might include personal experience and knowledge, friends, advertising, web sites, and magazines.

6. Evaluation of Alternatives
Identify consideration set
Narrow list and compare pros and cons
Use evaluative criteria to decide among remaining choices

7. Product Choice
People may ultimately make the choice based on heuristics
Heuristics represent rules of thumb
brand loyalty
country of origin
liking

8. Post purchase Evaluation
How good a choice was it?
Customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction – “buyer’s remorse”
Ultimately affects future decisions and word of mouth communication

9. Consumer Decision Making Influences
Internal Influences:
Perception
Motivation
Learning
Attitudes
Personality
Age groups
Lifestyle
Situational Influences:
Physical Environment
Time
Decision
Process
Social Influences:
Culture, Social class
Group memberships
PURCHASE

10. Internal Influences Perception Motivation Learning Attitudes
Personality
Age
Lifestyle

11. Perception
Process by which people select, organize, and interpret information
Exposure: stimulus must be within sensory receptors to be noticed
Perceptual Selection: consumers will pay attention to some stimuli and not to others
Interpretation: consumers assign meaning to stimuli

12. Motivation An internal state that drives us to satisfy needs
Once we activate a need, a state of tension exists that drives the consumer to some goal that will reduce this tension and eliminate the need
Consequently, only unmet needs motivate

13. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-
Actualization
Ego Needs
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological

14. Learning A change in behavior caused by information or experience
Behavior learning theories assume learning takes place as the result of connections formed between events
Cognitive learning occurs when consumers make a connection between ideas or by observing things in their environment

15. Attitudes A lasting evaluation of a person, object, or issue
3 components of attitudes
affect
cognition
behavior

16. Personality
The set of unique psychological characteristics that consistently influences the way a person responds to situations in the environment
Innovativeness
Self-confidence
Sociability

17. Family Life Cycle
Related to age groups, our purchases also depend on our current position in the family life cycle
stages through which family members pass as they grow older

18. Lifestyles
Pattern of living that determines how people choose to spend their time, money, energy and reflects their values, tastes, and preferences
Expressed through preferences for sports activities, music interests, and political opinions
Psychographics is the segmentation tool used to group consumers according to AIOs

19. SRI’s VALS Descriptions

20. Situational Influences
Physical Environment
arousal
pleasure
Time
time poverty

21. Social Influences Culture and Subcultures Social Class
Group Behavior and Reference Groups
Opinion Leaders

22. Cultures and Subcultures
Culture is the values, beliefs, customs, and tastes produced and valued by a group of people
A subculture is a group coexisting with other groups in a larger culture whose members share a distinctive set of beliefs or characteristics

23. Social Class Social class is the overall rank of people in a society
People in the same class tend to have similar occupations, similar income levels, share common tastes in clothes, decorating styles, and leisure activities. They may share political and religious beliefs.

24. Reference Groups
A reference group is a set of people a consumer wants to please or imitate
The “group” can be composed of one person, a few people, or many people. They may be people you know or don’t know
Conformity is at work when people change as a reaction to real or imagined group pressure
Sex roles are society’s expectations regarding appropriate attitudes, behaviors, and appearances for men and women

25. Opinion Leaders
A person who influences others’ attitudes or behaviors because they are perceived as possessing expertise about the product