Chapter 4: Consumer Decision Making

Question 1

What is the process of decision making?

Answer 1

1. Need Recognition
2. Information Search (external/internal)
3. Evaluate info & set purchase guidelines
4. purchase decision

Question 2

process of decision making: need recognition

Answer 2

Occurs when consumers are faced with an imbalance between actual and desired stats that arouses and activates the consumer decision-making process

Question 3

process of decision making : information search

Answer 3

○ Consumers search for information about the various alternatives available to satisfy it
§ Internal information search - the person recalls information stored in his or her memory
§ External information search- seeks information in the outside environment . There are two kinds
1. Non-marketing controlled information source- not associated with marketers promoting product( personal experience, personal sources, public sources)
2.Marketing-controlled information source - is biased toward a specific product because it originates with marketers promoting that product

Question 4

process of decision making: evaluate info & set purchase guildlines

Answer 4

○ Made list of alternatives, ready to make a decision– consumer will use the information stored in memory and obtained for outside sources to develop a set of criteria.
§ Pick a attribute- evoke all alternatives that do no have that attribute
§ Set cutoffs - minimum or maximum levels of an attribute that an alternative must pass to be considered.
§ Categorization - basing you decision on a certain category (could be general- motorized vehicle, or specific like FORD)
-Brand extensions - useful if there is brand loyalty- could choose product based on the ties to another brand that the consumer likes (neslte chocolate bars)

Question 5

process of decision making: purchase decision

Answer 5

○ Consumer has to decide :
			§ Whether to buy
			§ When to buy
			§ What to buy (Product or brand)
			§ Where to buy (retailer, online)
                          -How to pay

Question 6

What can happen post purchase?

Answer 6

• Cognitive Dissonance

Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behaviour and values or opinions

Question 7

Consumers and reduce dissonance by

Answer 7

§ Seeking information that reinforces positive idea about the purchase
§ Avoiding information that contradicts the purchase decision
Revoking the original decision by returning product

Question 8

Marketers can minimize cognitive dissonance through

Answer 8

§ Effective communication
			§ Guarantees
			§ Follow-up
			§ Warranties
                      -Service during and after the sale

Question 9

What are the types of buying decisions?

Answer 9

Routine, Limited & Extensive

Question 10

What are the types of buying decisions? Routine Response Behaviour

Answer 10

§ Little involvement in selection process
§ Frequently puchased low cost goods
§ May stick with one brand (brand loyalty)
§ Buy/first evaluate later -Quick decision
-Cognitive dissonance not likely because it is low cost and you can go get another.

Question 11

What are the types of buying decisions? Limited Decision Making

Answer 11

§ Low levels of involvement
§ Low to moderate cost goods
§ Evaluation of a few alternative brands
§ Short to moderate time to decide

Question 12

What are the types of buying decisions? Extensive Decision Making

Answer 12

§ High levels of involvement 
			§ High cost goods
			§ Evaluation of many brands 
			§ Long time to decide
                         -May experience cognitive dissonance

Question 13

Influences on behaviour and decision making

Answer 13

1. Cultural
2. Social
3. Individual
4. Psychological

Question 14

Influences on behaviour and decision making:. Cultural

Answer 14

Culture– the essential character of society that distinguishes it from other groups. Underlying elements are the values, language, myths, customs, rituals, and laws that shape the behaviour of people.

(culture, values, subcultures, social class)

Question 15

Influences on behaviour and decision making:2. Social

Answer 15

(reference groups, opinion leaders, family - roles)

Question 16

Influences on behaviour and decision making:3. Individual

Answer 16

○ Influence by personal characteristics that are unique to each individual

(gender, age, personality, self-concept, lifestyle)

Question 17

Influences on behaviour and decision making4. Psychological

Answer 17

(perception, motivation, learning, values, beliefs, attitudes)

Question 18

Values

Answer 18

most defining element of culture–> enduring beliefs share by society that a specific mode of conduct is personally and societally preferable to another mode of conduct. Values affect how we are affected by marketing, how we consume, and what we consume.

Question 19

Subcultures

Answer 19

homogenous group o people who share elements of the overall culture, as well as cultural elements that are unique to their own group ( geophraphicsal regions, national and ethnic background, political or religious beliefs.)

Question 20

Social class-

Answer 20

is a group of people who are considered nearly equal in status or community esteem, who regularly socialize among themselves both formally and informally and who share behavioural norms (occupation, income, education, wealth)

Question 21

Reference groups

Answer 21

formal or informal groups that influence the buying behaviour of an individual.

		§ Direct reference group --> face to face that touch individuals life directly
			□ Primary membership groups--> direct reference group- include all groups with which people interact regularly in an informal, face to face manner (family and friend)
			□ Secondary membership groups- less consistently and more formally ( clubs, professional groups, religious groups )
		§ Indirect reference group-->  nonmembership groups to which they do not belong
			□ Aspirational reference groups-- those that a person would like to join. To join the group the individual must conform with the norms of the group.  Nonaspiration reference groups-- influence our behaviour when we try to maintain a distance from them .

Question 22

Opinion leaders-

Answer 22

§ Those who influence others . First to try new product – teenagers, celebrities, sports figures
-Usually casual face to face phenomenon and usually inconspicuous

Question 23

Family-roles

Answer 23

§ Most important social institution for many consumers
□ Influences values attitude , self-concept and buying behaviour
□ Socialization process–> the passing down of cultural values an norms to children.
§ Family roles
□ Initiators
□ Influencers
□ Decision makers
□ Purchases
-consumers

Question 24

Gender

Answer 24

□ Men and women have different needs, decision making processes, and hsip differently

Question 25

Age/life-cycle

Answer 25

Can change interests, need (family? Divorced?, single? Older people may need health stuff, younger people may purchase more booze) , attitudes,

Question 26

Personality

Answer 26

A way of organizing and grouping how an individual will react to situations – this could affect someone reaction to good or bad experience with a product

Question 27

Self-concept

Answer 27

□ How people see themselves (or how they wish to be seen )

Consumers will not buy things that they believe will jeopardize their self image or concept

Question 28

Perception

Answer 28

How we see the world around us and how we recognize that we need some help in making a purchase decision.

• selective retention
• selective exposure

Question 29

Selective retention

Answer 29

Remembering only information that supports personal feelings or beliefs

Question 30

Selective exposure

Answer 30

Decide which stimuli to notice and which to ignore

Question 31

Motivation

Answer 31

§ Driving forces that cause a person to take action to satisfy specific needs

			1. psychological (hunger, thirst)
			2. Security ( protection)
			3. Social (sense of belonging, love)
			4. Esteem needs (self-esteem)
                             5. Self-actualization needs ( self- development, self- realization )

Question 32

learning

Answer 32

§ All consumer behaviour results from learning– process that creates changes in behaviour, immediate or expects, through experience or practice.
§ Stimulus generalization - if a brand can create a good product, than a similar product in the same market must be good (microsoft-xbox, computer)
=Stimulus diffentiation – learning to differentiate among similar products ( pepsi vs. coca-cola)

Question 33

Beliefs

Answer 33

an organized pattern of knowledge that an individual holds as true abut his or her world.

Question 34

Attitudes

Answer 34

learned tendency to respond consistently toward a given product.