Week 2 Lecture Flashcards
The consumer decision process
- Problem recognition
- Information search
- Evaluation of alternatives
- Product choice/purchase decision
- Outcomes/post-purchase behavior
Cognitive dissonance
buyer’s remorse
can be reduced when marketers engage (send thank you notes)
- Problem recognition
Occurs when a customer sees a significant difference between their current state and a desired state/ideal state –> there is some type of tension
2 types of problem recognition
Opportunity recognition: ideal state moves upward (when you want a new car)
Need recognition: actual state moves downward (when you run out of gas)
- Information search
identify possible solutions to our problem (surf the web)
(Info search) Reduces risks of decision-making
- Financial –> lose money
- Functional –> alternatives that solve the problem
- Physical –> harm
- Social –> social status
- Psychological –>self-esteem, confidence
Categorization of information search
- Prepurchase vs Ongoing search
Prepurchase –> consumers recognise a need and search the marketplace for specific info
Ongoing search –> browsing for fun (intrinsic enjoyment of the search process) or staying up to date on what’s happening in the market - Internal vs External search
Internal search –> scanning our own mind for info about product alternatives (past experience, knowledge)
External search –> obtaining product info from the environment (ads, friends, consumer reports) - Deliberate vs Accidental search
Deliberate search –> our knowledge may be result of directed learning (when you bought a birthday cake last month, you will probably know where to buy the best one)
Accidental search –> when info is acquired in a more passive manner
E.g. mere exposure to ads, packaging, sales promotion (creates an association with products)
Brand switching
Changing brands even if the current brand satisfied the customer’s needs
When in a good mood or little stimulation elsewhere (sensory-specific satiety)
Sensory-specific Satiety
a cause of variety seeking when there is relatively little stimulation in the environment of a consumer
and/or desire to choose new alternatives over familiar ones
How many info is searched for?
When it involves an important purchase
When there is a need to learn about the purchase
When info is easily obtained
Depends on prior knowledge
When do we stop searching?
We continue to search until the costs exceed the utility of information search (as long as the process is not too time-consuming)
- Evaluation of alternatives
important to understand product categorization
(comparing several models)
Evaluation of alternatives: Product categorization
Evoked set –> products already in memory
products are comparable to each other (they belong to the same product category; different types of cola)
Consideration set (part of the evoked set) –> the products that are considered for purchase
The success of brands depends on whether they belong to the evoked set of consumers (position the brand in a way that a consumer is able to add the brand to the evoked set)
Products in the evoked set share similar features
When faced with a new product, consumers refer to already existing knowledge in familiar product categories to form new knowledge
Important to understand how knowledge is represented in the consumer’s cognitive structure
Product positioning
The way a product is grouped with other products has implications of who the competitors are and on what criteria consumers make their choice
Product positioning –> success depends on convincing the consumer that the product should be considered in the category
Example: the orange juice industry repositioned orange juice as a drink that could be enjoyed all day, not just as a breakfast drink
Levels of set elements
- Superordinate level (cola)
- Basic level (diet cola vs non-diet cola)
- Subordinate level (diet cola vs diet pepsi; cola zero vs pepsi vs coca cola)
