Professional Documents
Culture Documents
How many times throughout the day do people make product decisions? If you stop to think
about it, many product decisions are made every day, some without much thought. What should I
wear? What should I eat? What am I going to do today? Many product decisions are answered
routinely every day and they help move the economy of cities, countries and ultimately the
world. Product decisions also shape life for the consumer. How can simple decisions be so
important? Why do marketers spend millions of dollars to uncover the reasons behind these
decisions?
To define consumer behavior: it is the study of consumers and the processes they use to choose,
use (consume), and dispose of products and services. A more in depth definition will also include
how that process impacts the world. Consumer behavior incorporates ideas from several sciences
including psychology, biology, chemistry and economics.
"All marketing decisions are based on assumptions and knowledge of consumer behavior,"
(Hawkins and Mothersbaugh, 2007). Researching consumer behavior is a complex process, but
understanding consumer behavior is critical to marketers-they can use it to:
Understand how customers view their products versus their competitors' products.
1
Why People Buy
Marketers spend millions of dollars trying to understand why people buy products and services.
Sometimes it seems that there is no reason for a purchase, but in reality there is always a reason.
Many factors are involved in a customers' buying decision, any one of which can become the
deciding factor, such as:
Snob effect: Desire to buy something nobody else has; preference for buying increases
with rarity or scarcity.
Bandwagon effect: Desire to buy something everybody else is buying; preference for
buying increases with perceived popularity.
Psychological-This is the study of how people interact with their environment, products
are consumed to enhance their well being, for example air fresheners, furniture and
convection ovens.
Practical-Consumers purchase products because they need them to survive, such as shoes
and medicine.
Impractical-is the opposite of practical, purchasing products that are not necessary.
2
Consumers Also Buy: Money To Reduce
Employees Performance
Property
3
Segmentation, Demographics and Behavior
Segmentation is the process of breaking down the intended product market into manageable groups; it can
be broken down by:
• Relationship
• Customer Type
• Product Use
• Buying Situation
• Purchasing Method
• Behavior
• Geographic Location
• Demographics
• Psychographics
Relationship
Kind of relationship— weak, strong, “arm’s length” dealing, close partnership.
Customer Type
Type of customer— manufacturer, service, government, military, non profit, wholesaler, retailer, end
user.
Product Use
How customer’s use product— installation, components, accessories, raw material, eaten, professional
service.
4
Buying Situation
Buying situation— rebuy, modified rebuy, new purchase.
Purchasing Method
Purchasing methods— Internet, long term contract, warranty, financing, cash on demand.
Behavior
Needs—economic, functional, psychological, social.
User status--Nonuser, ex user, potential user, first time user, regular user.
Geographic Location
Region of world, country— North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe.
Regions within that country— (For Example USA) Pacific Northwest, South, Midwest, New England.
Urban vs. rural— country, city, large city = more resources, more independence; country=more
dependence on neighbors and pooling resources.
Demographics
Income— under $5,000 to $250,000+ a year.
5
Age— Infant, toddler, preschool, tween (age 8 to 12), teen, college age, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70-90.
Family life cycle— young, single, engaged, DINKS (double income no kids), SINKS (single income
no kids), married with kids (babies, toddler, elementary school age, teen, older), recently divorced,
empty nester (children have moved out), same-sex couples, single parents, extended parents
(grandparents raising their grandchildren), retired (either wealthy or Medicare dependent/poor). There
are also Boomerang Kids (adult children have moved back home), Cougar/Silver Fox (Cougar is a 40-
60 year old wealthy, single, career driven woman seeking a younger man; Silver Fox is a 40-60 year
old wealthy, single, career driven man seeking a younger woman).
Job— unemployed, housewife, part-time, full-time, student, professional, craftsperson, farmer, retired.
Education— grade school or less, some high school, high school graduate, some college, college
graduate, graduate degrees.
Race— White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, mixed race, etc.
Generation— (For Example USA) GI Generation, Silent, Matures, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y,
Boomlets.
Psychographics
6
Lifestyle— interests, hobbies, activities, interests, opinions, values, media preferences. Everyone has
two lifestyles, the one they are in now, and the one they desire to be in, which is usually better than
the current one. Almost all decisions are influenced by the buyer’s current and desired lifestyle.
Personality traits
Sincerity.
Excitement.
Competence.
Sophistication.
Ruggedness.
Social class— Lower, middle-low, middle, middle-upper, upper, upper-upper, working class, blue
collar.
7
Internal Influences - Learning
Consumer behavior is largely learned behavior. Learning is a change of behavior following an interaction
between a person and their environment. A person touches a hot stove and then gets hurt, because of that
interaction they learn not to touch the hot stove again. Most attitudes, values, tastes, behaviors,
preferences, symbolic meanings and feelings are acquired through learning. People buy things and then
make decisions for future purchases based on if they liked the product, quality, service, and price. Social
organizations help people learn "appropriate" beliefs about issues like drinking and driving, proper
nutrition, etc. Companies that help their customers learn about their products and create positive feelings
with their product, service, brand name, and employees-have a competitive advantage
Exposure - the customer becomes aware of product, service or advertisement through at least one of
their five senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing). When a customer walks into a store, goes onto a
website, drives by a billboard, reads a magazine or tries a free food sample, the learning process
begins.
Understanding - the customer interprets the information and acts on it either by purchasing the
product or service, dismissing the information, seeking more information (asking family and friends,
going on the Internet) or remembering it for future information.
Marketing messages can be effective only if the consumer correctly understands the messages, and
remembers them when needed. Memory refers to a consumer's ability to understand the marketing
messages and assign them value and meaning. Value and meaning always together. The value and
meaning assigned is largely determined by internal factors, (thoughts, feelings, emotion, attitude,
perception, motivation, personality, lifestyle) which are different for each consumer.
For example, a consumer who drinks lots of milk, sees an advertisement that says "Got Milk?" and since
they already have positive feelings for the product they will purchase more milk, whereas a consumer
who does not enjoy drinking milk and sees the same ad, may dismiss the ad or may try drinking more
milk for a short period of time and then decrease consumption again.
• Imagery: When the brand name, words, and slogan work together to create an image in the mind
of the consumer, it will invoke ideas, feelings and objects, and a direct recovery of past
experiences. Disney is big on evoking nostalgia and past experiences, they want adult customers to
remember being taken to the Disney parks as a child and then repeat the experiences with their
own children. Much of their advertisement depicts families having wonderful experiences
together, while the adults are remembering being there as children.
8
• Color: Colors have an enormous impact on marketing messages, and color affects consumers in a
subjective manner, so that most of the time consumers don’t even know they are being affected!
For example, in the US, the color red makes people eat 25% more, therefore most restaurants use
red as their main color. The meaning and value assigned to colors changes with the culture, so
marketers need to be fully aware of how color is interpreted by different groups of people. For
example, the Starbucks Coffee Company logo is green, but when they opened shops in Malaysia,
they had to change the logo to brown because in that culture green is associated with sickness.
• Font: The presentation of words and how they are shaped will also enhance the marketing
message and contribute to the value and meaning. For example, these two different fonts for a
cigarette company will convey entirely different meanings, and may attract two different
customers.
Caribou Cigarettes
Caribou Cigarettes
The first logo is block style, bold and more intense and may be more masculine. The second is a script
font, with more curls, softer lines and may be more feminine. So which is better? Well, that depends on
the product and the target market you are trying to attract.
• Simplicity of the message: A simple message is generally easier to understand. Using short phrases
and easy to read terminology, such as “heart healthy” will quickly and easily convey the message
that the product is good for your heart.
• Consistency of the message: The message needs to fit in with the surrounding information—style,
color, text, photographs, music—all have to work together. For example, showing a television ad
for travel to the Caribbean will have soft, flowing fonts, bright colors, and reggae music. It can
sometimes be an advantage to have inconsistent messages, some consumers may remember the ad
more if some of the elements don’t make sense.
• Source of the message: Consumers will be more likely to remember and purchase products
endorsed by credible sources, animated characters or celebrities. They have to be likeable, have
some expertise or at least pretend that they have expertise), be trustworthy, and attractive.
9
• Expectations: If the customer doesn’t know what to expect from the product or service, then they
are not going to purchase it. This explains why familiar brand names like Campbell’s Soup, Coca-
Cola and Disney do not change their logos—customers are familiar with them, have positive
thoughts about them and know what to expect.
• Physical limits: Marketers need to remember that some consumers have limitations such as
hearing impairment or color blindness and this needs to be taken into consideration when creating
marketing messages.
Emotion is difficult to define, and even more difficult to predict. However, they are important to
marketers because consumers tend to react to marketing messages and make purchases based on feelings
and emotions. Emotion can be used to create product benefits. Such as with Tide detergent and Cheerios
cereal; their commercials feature families having wonderful moments together, that couldn't have
happened without those products. Emotion in advertising enhances attention, attraction, and is processed
more thoroughly by the consumer and may be remembered better.
These are the elements of the relationship between emotion and understanding:
B. Perception
10
Perception is the process by which people select, organize, and interpret information Perception has four
major steps:
1. Exposure - When a stimulus (like a billboard) comes within range of your senses (vision)
2. Attention - Determined by the individual and the situation; Nerves pass the information onto the brain
for processing
4. Memory
1. Exposure
2. Attention
3. Interpretation
4. Memory
According to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, for each need there are positives gained and negatives
that are avoided by meeting that particular set of needs. Products that are purchased because of a need will
satisfy a goal and avoid unwanted consequences. For example, people need to feel secure so they
purchase smoke detectors, therefore gaining protection and avoiding loss and fear of fire.
11
Need Gained Avoided
Security Safety, protection Loss, danger, fear
Physiological Health, comfort Sickness, discomfort
Positives and Negatives for Each Need (Based on Maslow)
According to McGuire, there are 12 psychological motives, 12 reasons why consumers are motivated to
make purchases.
• People have a basic desire to have all parts of themselves consistent and they purchase products
that fulfill this need. People that listen to country music will purchase products like cowboy boots,
heavy duty trucks and pets.
• People have the need to determine who or what causes things to happen to them. For example,
some people choose to attribute it to themselves, fate or an outside force like God.
3. Need to categorize
• Categories allow people to process a large amount of information. Vehicles are categorized into
cars, SUV's, light trucks, heavy duty trucks, van, sporty, mid-size, hybrid, electric and so on. This
helps consumers quickly narrow down their choices when purchasing a vehicle.
• Most people will view others' behavior and infer what they feel and think. Clothing plays an
important role in presenting image of a person. People quickly judge others by the clothing they
are wearing and the vehicle they drive.
• Americans strive for individuality and self-expression and many products are marketed as "limited
edition" or being different and unique
12
• The Japanese culture discourages individuality and focuses on affiliation, and behavior that
enhances family and culture.
• Americans are known for letting others know who and what they are by their extravagant
purchases, especially clothing and cars. Who really needs a $1,200 pen? What is that saying about
that person?
• The need to defend your identity. An insecure customer will purchase well-known brand names
for fear of being labeled socially incorrect.
• People are motivated to act because they are rewarded for doing it. For example, showing off a
new diamond ring to your friends creates acceptance and approval.
• Affiliation is the need to develop mutually helpful and satisfying relationships with others, which
is a critical part of all people's lives.
• Conformity and the need to base behavior on that of others. This is the major motivation of
children, tweens (8-12 year olds), and especially teenagers-and in their social world conformity
mean acceptance.
• People have variety seeking-behavior and this may be a reason for brand switching and impulse
buys, but that depends on the person. People experiencing rapid life changes will seek stability,
while people in stable life situations will seek change. The travel industry uses this by changing up
their ads and showing adventure vacations where people are actively having fun and some ads
showing relaxing vacations where people are swinging in a hammock.
• Customer's need to engage in activities that will increase self-esteem and self-esteem in the eyes of
others. Most consumers respond positively to ads that appeal to this need. In an advertisement for
a ladies razor, it will say "show off your beautiful legs to your man," this will appeal to women by
showing that the product increases your self-esteem.
13
Lifestyle is a common word to explain complicated consumer behaviors. Lifestyle is a way to segment
people into groups based on three things: opinions, attitudes and activities. Lifestyle means the ways
groups of consumers spend time and money. Lifestyle can include things like bowling, cooking, car
racing, kayaking, attending charity events, having pets, interest in politics, watching sporting events
and so on
Everyone has two lifestyles-the one they are currently in and the one they want to be in, which is
always better than the current one. Marketers exploit this desire to move into a better lifestyle by
showcasing people who are better off than the intended target market in their ads. For example most
ads targeting children show children that are almost too old for the product, this appeals to younger
children who desire to be like them.
B. Attitude
An attitude is an internal evaluation, expressed outwardly about a person, object or issue. There are
three components of attitude - affect, behavior and cognition. This sis sometimes called the ABC's of
attitude. These three components work together to form a hierarchy of effects:
In a purchase that requires a high level of involvement, such as a car, consumers will consider various
choices and develop beliefs about each choice; then they develop feelings about the products (affect);
and finally they act on the behavior and decide to purchase, or not. Whereas with a behavioral
influence, the customer will act first (purchase), then develop beliefs about their purchase and that
leads to developing feelings about the product or service.
ELM Model
One theory about attitude change is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). This model shows
how attitudes are changed based on the level of involvement in the purchase. As soon as a message is
received a consumer begins to process it, depending on the level of involvement and motivation it will
then follow one of two routes—the central route or the peripheral route. See Petty and Cacioppo
(1981) and Petty, Ostrom and Brock (1981).(
The central route: If the consumer is highly involved in the purchase, then they will put forth
considerable effort toward understanding the marketing messages. They will look for cues in the
message that pertain to the product, its attributes, and advantages.
The peripheral route: If the consumer is not highly involved in the purchase, or lacks the motivation
to process information, they are more likely to pay attention to the attractiveness of the people in the
advertisement, images and music, which are all non-product related information. These cues play a
major role in persuading consumers to purchase. This usually leads to a product attitude change that
doesn’t last.
14
Social Judgment Theory Another theory for explaining attitude changes, this theory states that
consumers compare incoming information to a frame of reference previously formed; The incoming
messages are then filtered down two paths—latitudes of acceptance and latitudes of rejection. If a
message is accepted then the filtered information has to be close to the original attitude. This is when
messages are considered favorable and consumers agree with the message. A message is rejected
when it is seen as too far from, or opposed to the original attitude.
a. What a consumer eats, wears, and believes are all learned and influenced by the culture they live in,
their family, childhood and social environment. All of these are external factors that affect purchases.
Age
Race
Gender
Education level
Cross-cultural influences
Sub-cultures (Hispanic-American)
Reference groups are groups that have shared beliefs, interests and behaviors and influence a
consumer’s behavior:
Examples include: Religious, Political, Family, Friends, Co-workers, Clubs and Associations.
People are social and they want to belong to special groups. Group members share common interests,
influence each other, and share rules and values. Primary groups are those with the most influence,
such as family members; secondary groups have less interaction than the primary group, such as clubs
and organizations. As children grow into teenagers, their parents become less of an influence and peer
groups become more of an influence. All groups exert what is called social power; some groups have
more power than others over consumers’ decisions.
Values
Community
15
Power
Referent A person likes a group and acts like A teenager wants to join a popular group, so they
them so the group will accept them begin to dress like them and listen to their groups’
chosen music
Legitimate Membership comes with agreements A boss has authority over his employees and can
and there will be consequences for fire them if they don’t do an adequate job
nonconformity
Expert Groups have knowledge that others Consumers who want to be members of The
want to gain American Medical Association seek to gain their
knowledge of health and wellness
Reward Groups with power to give rewards to A school soccer team can give trophies to their best
members players (members)
Coercive A group can penalize members for not In the army, soldiers who do not report for duty on
following the rules time can be forced to do manual labor or even get
kicked out of the army
c. External influences can also include situational influences, sometimes called atmospherics—sensory
items in an environment that may change buying patterns, such as music, color, smell, and lighting. If a
store plays loud rock music, they may attract young adults, but drive away older consumers. Color is a
huge influence on behavior, but is also dependent on culture, since different cultures perceive colors
differently. In the US white is a color worn at weddings, and in China, red is the color of choice for
weddings. Many bakeries will pump the smell of their treats outside the store, so that passersby will be
more likely to want to come in.
d. Before making a purchase, consumers will go through an external information search. They will go
through this search in order to evaluate the alternatives and narrow down their list of choices. It includes:
• Personal experience—have they purchased this product before? How do they feel about it?
• Websites/Internet search—researching the quality of the product
• Knowledge—someone with little or no knowledge of the product will need lots of information!
• Friends/reference groups—consumers ask friends, family and coworkers about their experiences
with the product.
• Advertising and promotions
e. A purchase may be ultimately made due to Heuristics. This is a personal set of values that everyone has
and it causes consumers to buy what they are comfortable buying, such as purchasing from specific
countries of origin, or products that they are brand loyal to.
Family life cycle is defined as what type of family the target market consumer is in. DINKS are “double
income no kids” and SINKS are “single income no kids”. Marketers love to target the DINKS and SINKS
because they have lots of discretionary income and no children to spend it on, so they spend their extra
money on themselves, their house, their pets and vacations.
16
• Engaged couples
• DINKS (Double Income No Kids)
• SINKS (Single Income No Kids)
• Married with children: Babies, Toddlers, Elementary School Age (5-7), Tweens (8-12), Teens (13-
17), Older
• Single parents
• Empty nester
• Boomerang Kids (adult children who have moved back in with their parents)
• Extended parents (grandparents raising their grandchildren)
• Blended Families (stepchildren)
• Cougar and Silver Fox
• Recently divorced
• Same-sex singles/couples
• Retired - Wealthy or Medicare dependent
The engaged couples and the recently divorced spend money on similar products, although for different
reasons. Engaged couples are buying products to begin a life together and the recently divorced are
buying products that they already had and now need to replace. Extended parents are grandparents taking
care of their grandchildren. Same sex couples and singles are grouped together whether they have children
or not, because of their lifestyle and interests. An empty nester is someone whose children are now grown
adults and have moved out of the house. Boomerang kids are adult children who are living with their
parents.
b. How does culture affect consumer behavior? Whatever a person consumes will determine their level of
acceptance in their society. If someone does not act consistently with cultural expectations, they risk not
being accepted in society.
17
number 7
ii. Extended/Limited Family: In the US, families move away from each other and generally don’t live
together in the same house; In many Asian and European countries, parents, kids, grandparents and
even aunts and uncles live together in the same house.
iii. Adult/Child: Different cultures will define when someone is an adult. In the US it is 18 years old,
but in some South American countries it is 14 or 15 years old. In the Hebrew culture a boy becomes a
man at 13 during his Bar Mitzvah ceremony. In the Hispanic culture a girl becomes an adult at 15th
birthday party.
iv. Masculine/Feminine: Cultures define the roles of men and women differently, including their rank,
and prestige in society.
vi. Cleanliness: In the US, cleanliness is very important, in fact most of the products advertised on
American TV claim to improve cleaning; In other cultures showering on a daily basis is unnecessary.
viii. Hard work/Leisure: In some cultures hard work is valued over leisure time.
x. Sensual gratification/Abstinence: The Netherlands is a society that openly talks about and
advertises sexual activity; in Muslim societies those topics are taboo, and women who get pregnant
before marriage are often shunned.
Social Environment
Reference groups have an influence on purchasing behavior, but the level of influence will depend on
where the product will be consumed—in public or in private—and whether the product is a want or a
need.
18
weak group influence for product selection, strong strong group influence for product selection,
group influence for brand selection strong group influence for brand selection
Private Example: bed sheets Example: hot tub
A product used in private that you need A product used in private that you want
weak group influence for product selection, weak strong group influence for product selection,
group influence for brand selection weak group influence for brand selection
Social Class
Populations can be subdivided into groups who members share similar hobbies, opinions, and activities.
Americans have two lifestyles—the one they are in and the one they strive to be in, which is usually better
than their current situation. It is important for a marketer to understand the subdivisions of society in
order to better choose target markets for their products and services.
Where a child places in the birth order can have an effect on how they see themselves, and therefore
affects their consumer behavior. The middle child often seems to have the most negative impressions of
his lot in life. Younger children always want to be able to do the things older siblings are allowed to do.
And older siblings may feel that the younger siblings get away with things they were not able to when
they were the same age. Here are the levels of birth order:
• Only Child
• Oldest Child
• Second Oldest Sibling
• Middle Child of Three Siblings
• Youngest Sibling
19
Only Child
Confident.
Good in School.
Overly Critical.
Oldest Child
Strives to keep or regain parents' attention through conformity. If this failed, chooses to misbehave.
Confident.
Determined.
Born Leader.
Organized.
Eager to Please.
20
Never has parents' undivided attention.
Acts as if in race, trying to catch up or overtake first child. If first child is "good," second may become
"bad." Develops abilities first child doesn't exhibit. If first child successful, may feel uncertain of self
and abilities.
May be rebel.
Becomes discouraged and "problem child" or elevates self by pushing down other siblings.
Is adaptable.
Youngest Sibling
If youngest of three, often allies with oldest child against middle child.
Persistent
Affectionate
21