Consumer Behaviour

Perception and Information Processing

Perception and iinformation processing

At the end of this session, you should understand:

The nature of perception and its role in consumer behaviour
The concepts of exposure, attention, interpretation, memory and their role
in the interpretation of marketing information
The information processing process as it relates to consumer behaviour
The communication processes involved in perception
The relevance of gestalt theory to consumer theory
The concept of semiotics and its relevance to consumer perception
The role of risk and risk reduction strategies
The nature of positioning and consumer behaviour
The importance of brands in consumer marketing
What colour comes to mind?
Perception vs. Reality
So.what then is perception?
How we interpret stimuli from the
environment

Perception is how we organise and give

meaning to new information from the
environment

A sensation is the immediate experience

generated by an incoming stimulus from our
sensory receptors
Information processing
 Exposure

Exposure occurs when our sensory receptors

detect a stimulus
Implication for marketers:
Consumers must be exposed to your marketing
efforts
for them to perceive anything
Ad placement - being in the right place at the right
time!!
Road blocking - catch them at every corner:
Ads on competing channels
Use multiple media
Attention

Attention occurs when

information is transferred from
the sensory receptors to the
brain for further processing
Attention-getting techniques
could include the use of:
Colour, size, intensity, contract,
novelty, humour
Salience - we tend to pay
attention to things that we think
are important to us - make the
ad seem important!
Repetition
 Interpretation
Interpretation occurs when consumers give meaning to
the incoming stimulus information
Information is subject to:
Cognitive interpretation - the process of adding meaning
from existing knowledge
Affective interpretation - the processing of information
and adding meaning based on feelings
Influences on interpretation:
Individual characteristics
Stimulus factors
Situational factors
The way the information is presented
How does
perception play a
part in this
advertisement ?
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
Absolute threshold

Lowest point that we perceive stimuli

Adaption - the process of flipping through the

pages and ignoring the advertisements

Marketers need to break through the clutter

Absolute threshold
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
Webers concept of Just Noticeable Difference
(JND)
Just Noticeable Difference - the minimum level of
change to a stimulus that is required in order for the
change
to be noticed
Webers law states: the stronger the initial stimulus,
the greater the change required for the stimulus to be
seen as different
Some things you want your customers to notice -
e.g. specials, improvements
Others you dont - changes in packaging, size
 Subliminal Perception
perception of or reaction to a stimulus that
occurs without awareness or consciousness
A subliminal message is a signal
or message designed to pass below (sub) the
normal limits of perception. For example it might
be inaudible to the conscious mind (but audible
to the unconscious or deeper mind) or might be
an image transmitted briefly and unperceived
consciously and yet perceived unconsciously.
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
Selective exposure
We dont notice everything!
We filter out unwanted information

Selective distortion
We add preconceived ideas or attitudes to interpret new information that
enters the sensory store of the memory

Selective retention
We remember information that we find meaningful and interesting

Selective attention
We dont take in all the information around us
Marketers need to identify what their customers will notice
and pay attention to
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
Stimulus generalisation
When a conditioned response occurs to stimuli that
are similar to the conditioned stimulus
When you find it hard to tell the difference between
two stimuli - e.g. me-too products

Stimulus discrimination
Ability to see a distinct difference between stimuli
What marketers want to achieve from their products
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
The influence of colour on perception
Colours have different meanings, which can vary from culture
to culture
What do these colours mean to you?
Blue
Red
White
Green
Choose colours carefully for advertising, signage and packaging as it can
influence what they mean to your target audience

The influence of semantics on perception

Words can have double meanings - choose them carefully
 Perception theories that guide
marketing decisions
Perceptual categorisation
Personal constructs - we categorise related
information into sets in our mind

Applications for marketers

Family branding
Communication process
 Gestalt theory
Gestalt is about patterns or configurations

Individuals categorise incoming stimuli into

patterns that are meaningful to them
e.g. a setting with two adults and children picnicking
in the park may be perceived as a traditional family
The view is of the whole rather than the parts of
a message

Categorisation occurs at the interpretation stage

of information processing
Gestalt theory
Positioning
Example: Positioning
Example: Positioning
Perceptual Map
Perceptual mapping. Perceptual
mapping is a diagrammatic technique
used by asset marketers that attempts to
visually display the perceptions of
customers or potential customers. Typically
the position of a company's product,
product line, or brand is displayed relative
to their competition.