Chapter 8

Question 1

Motivation

Answer 1

Motivation is the driving force (motive) within the individual that moves him or her to act.

It starts with stimulated needs that lead to aroused attention and result in goal- directed actions.

Needs are the basic sources of buyer behaviour, but have to be stimulated before the consumer is driven into action.

Question 2

Attitude

Answer 2

Attitude refers to what people like or dislike, favour or oppose.

• If we were asked whether we like or dislike a product (eg SAB non-alcoholic beer), the service at a restaurant (eg Spur) or a particular retailer (eg Shoprite-Checkers, PicknPay) or an advertising theme (eg Nissan’s “shift expectation”), we are in fact asked to express our attitude.

Question 3

Nature of Motivation

Answer 3

All behaviour starts with needs and wants.

A motive is a need or a want that is sufficiently stimulated to move an individual to seek satisfaction.

For any given need, there are many different and appropriate goals to be achieved by consumers.

Marketers must understand these needs in order to stimulate the consumers.

Question 4

The three most common classifications of motives are:

Answer 4

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
2. McGuire’s psychological motives
3. Economic and emotional classification

Question 5

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 5

Maslow recognised that at any given time, most people are working towards satisfying needs at different levels of the hierarchy and that the needs at various levels can never be completely satisfied.

Psychological, Safety, Social, Esteem , Actualisation

Question 6

McGuire’s psychological motives

Answer 6

McGuire’s motive classification is more specific than Maslow’s, as McGuire distinguishes between internal and external non-social motives.

Consistency: The need for internal equilibrium or balance

Causation: The need to know who or what causes the things that happen to us.

Categorisation: The need to establish categories or mental partitions that provide frames of refrences.

Cues: The nned to observable cues or symbols that enable us to infer what we feel and know.

Independence: The need or feeling of self-governance or self-control

Novelty: The need for variety and differences

Question 7

Economic and emotional classification

Answer 7

Economic motives are rational by nature, for example they deal with the technical functions and performance of a product, and are usually expressed in quantitative terms.

• For example, when a consumer buys a new car, he or she may be concerned about economy (eg petrol consumption), reliability, durability and quality, which are functional motives.

The satisfaction of emotional needs is not a non-rational act – it is almost impossible to make any decision on a purely rational basis as emotional motives invariably influence the consumer’s buying decision.

However, people are usually reluctant to admit that their buying behaviour is influenced by emotional motives.

• For example, if a consumer buys a luxury car he or she will not easily concede that the underlying motive was his or her need for recognition (esteem motive). The consumer rationalises his or her motive by alleging that the reason for the purchase is in fact the durability (economic motive) of the product. In the next section we look at psychographics, which is an important facet or aspect of motivation

Question 8

Aspects of psychographics:

Answer 8

• psychographics and lifestyle
• values determine lifestyle
• psychographic profiles
• uses of psychographics

Question 9

The aim of psychographics

Answer 9

The aim of psychographics is to classify individuals on the basis of psychological dimensions, such as personality, motives and lifestyles.

Question 10

Nature of Attitudes

Answer 10

A consumer attitude can be described as a learnt predisposition to behave in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way towards market-related objects, events or situations.

This shows that attitudes towards certain products or services may be positive, negative or neutral.

One of the marketer’s greatest challenges is to influence consumers to such an extent that they have a favourable attitude towards the product or service a particular organisation offers.

• For example, if you say you like Coca-Cola, it means that you have a positive attitude towards it. If you say you do not like smoking, you are in fact saying that you have a negative attitude towards it.

Question 11

According to the ABC model of attitude,

attitude consists of the following three main components:

Answer 11

Cognitive component (c)

Affective component (a)

Behavioural component (B)

Question 12

Affective Component

Answer 12

The affective component of an attitude involves a consumer’s emotions or feelings about a particular product, brand or retail store.

• The statement, “Coffee X is overpriced”, therefore, implies a negative affective reaction to a specific aspect of the product, which combined with feelings about other attributes, will determine the overall reaction to this brand of coffee.

Question 13

Cognitive component

Answer 13

The total configuration of beliefs about any product or retail store.

Customers’ beliefs about a brand are, therefore, the characteristics they ascribe to it.

• for example, represents the cognitive component of the consumer’s attitude towards the particular product or store.

Question 14

Behavioural Component

Answer 14

This represents the outcome of the cognitive and affective components – to buy or not to buy a product or patronise a particular store.

What consumers do with their knowledge of, and feelings towards, a product is very important to a company.

The customer may have positive information about a product and may like it, but may not actually buy it for a variety of reasons. (Habit in respect of another brand may be strong, there may be other brands that the customer likes better or the preferred brand may be unaffordable.)

Question 15

Functions of Attituteds

Answer 15

• utilitarian function
• ego-defensive function
• value expressive function
• knowledge function

Question 16

• utilitarian function

Answer 16

The utilitarian function of attitudes refers to the idea that people express feelings to maximise the rewards and minimise the punishments they receive from others.

Customers develope positive attitudes towards those products that have satisfied them, and negtive attitudes towards those that fail to satisfy.

In this way our attitudes becomes guides to behaviour that will satisfy our needs.

Question 17

• ego-defensive function

Answer 17

The function of the ego-defensive attitudes is to protect people from basic truths about themselves, or harsh realities of the external world.

It’s also called the self-esteem maintanance function.

Most people want to protect their self image from feelings of doubt.

Supports and reinforces the customers sense of self worth.

Question 18

• value expressive function

Answer 18

This refers to how people express their central values to others.

This function allows the customer to demonstrate their basic values positively.

Value expressive function gives customers the oppertunity to show how they feel about the world around them.

By knowing their target audiences attitude, marketers can anticipate their values, lifestyle and outlooks more skillfully and reflect these characteristics in their advertisements.

Question 19

• knowledge function

Answer 19

Attitudes may also serve as standards that help people to understand their environment, and so give oder and meaning to it.

• For example a customer may develope a certain attitude towards a store playing soft classical music, or a bright colored uni form. Whenever a customer comes in contact with such a situation, the customer interpret the encouter according to established attitudes.

The attitude simplifies the encounter for them, allowing them to focus on matters they think are more important.

Question 20

The following are the different ways in which attitudes are formed:

Answer 20

• classical conditioning
• instrumental conditioning
• cognitive learning theory
• experience
• external authorities
• marketing communication

Question 21

• classical conditioning

Answer 21

Classical conditioning can be defined as a process through which a previosly neutral stimulus, by being paired with a conditioned stiimulus, elictics a response similiar to that originally elicted by the unconditioned stimulus.

Using classical conditioning terms, the brand name is the unconditioned stimulus that, through repitition and positive reinforcement, results in a favorable attitude- the conditioned response.

The idea on family branding is based on classical conditioning as a form of attitude learning.

• Marketers associate celebraties ( positive bond) with their new products (neutral). The recognition and goodwill that the celebrity enjoy is trensferred to the product in oder for consumers to quickly form a positive attitude towards the new product

Question 22

• instrumental conditioning

Answer 22

Sometimes attitudes are only formed after the buying and consumption of a new product.

Customers also make trail purchases of new brands from product categories iin which they have little personal involvement.If they then find the brand satisfactory, they are likely to develop a favourable attitude.

Question 23

• cognitive learning theory

Answer 23

In situations where customers seeks information about a product in order to solve a problem or to satisfy a need, they are likely to form a positive or a negative attitude about the product on the basis of the information search and their own cognitions, or knowlege and beliefs.

In general the more information customers ahve about a product or service, the mor elikely they are to form attitudes about it.

Regardless of available information customers are not always ready or willing to process product-related information.

Question 24

• experience

Answer 24

The primary means by which attitudes towards goods and services are formed is through the consumers direct experience in trailing and evaluating them.

Recognising the importance of direct experience, marketers frequently attempt to encourage consumers to try out new products by offering coupons or samples.

Question 25

• external authorities

Answer 25

As we come in contact with people we admire, we aquire attitudes that influence our lives.

The extent in which a customer believe one authority over another depends on the feeling of trust and respect they have for that authority.

Customers tend to rather identify and trust with people like themselves instead of celebrities or public figures; they believe that someone more like themselves can better appreciate their problems and concerns.

Question 26

• marketing communication

Answer 26

Our attitudes are influenced most strongly when the brand has something unique to offer and its unique benefits are the focus point of the advertisement.

The source of the message is important since customers respond differntly to the same message delivered by different sources.

It’s easier to influence target market when they percieve the source as credible.

Marketing communications are an important part of influencing, building and maintaing positive consumer attitudes towards a company and its products.

The degree of persuasiveness will depend on the target market’s existing level of knowledge and brand loyalty.

Question 27

Attitude formation

Answer 27

All individuals and groups develop beliefs (or attitudes), which help them make everyday sense of their particular inhabited world.

Not all beliefs are based on facts and will vary from nation to nation and culture to culture.

Some attitudes and beliefs are based on localised day-to-day experiences, some are based on learning and copying others and others can be passed down within the family from generation to generation.

Attitudes may be based on religion and received wisdom and have little or no scientific substantiation.

Attitudes can also develop by reading, watching TV, listening to the radio, or through discussions and arguments with people, using the internet, as well as by investigation and through cognitive processes.

As marketers are interested in predicting consumer behaviour, they are extremely interested to know how attitudes are formed about their product and services, and the other elements of the marketing mix.

Question 28

Attitudes Change

Answer 28

Although consumer attitudes are relatively stable in the short run, changes do occur.

In fact, some consumer attitudes are always changing.

There have been an enormous number of changes in society over the last 50 years. This has caused people to evaluate, adapt and change attitudes about the way they think on a whole range of issues from marriage, eating and drinking to communication and leisure activities.

• *In many countries 50 years ago, more than 95% of all couples would not have contemplated living together before marriage; now more than 75% say they would live together before marriage.
• *Fifty years ago most adults smoked and it was a central part of everyone’s life; smoking in the cinema, the theatre, on public transport and at work was commonly done. Now, the figure is down to less than 25%.
• *Self-service supermarkets and frozen food were still a futuristic concept and the nearest thing to a ready meal was buying take-away fish and chips.

Much of this attitude change has happened gradually while other changes, especially over the last 10 to 15 years, have taken place much faster. These changes have been easier for younger people to accommodate than for older ones.

Marketing has played an enormous part in the process of changing people’s attitudes, both as a leading player and as a mirror that follows and reflects change as it happens.

It has been a leading player in educating and changing people’s attitudes across a wide range of markets and products. This includes attitude changes to things such as computers, the internet and cell phones, as well as lifestyle changes related to the family, travel, holidays, 24-hour shopping and so on.

Question 29

It is important for marketers to develop strategies to change attitudes, especially the following components of attitudes:

Answer 29

• affective component
• behavioural component
• cognitive component

Question 30

Factors that influence attitude change

Answer 30

Attitudes that are strongly held are more difficult to change that those that are held weakly.

A great deal of marketing effort is aimed at persuasion, which could be defines as a change in attitude and behaviour.

Because attitudes are stable structures, marketers know that changing attitudes are an expensive and difficult excersise. Attitude change is more likely to happen if it has been adopted because of a knowledge function.

The source of the message is important. By matching the image of celebrity with the personality of the product and the actual or desired self concept of the target market, could lead to improved endoresement. Celebrity sources may enhance attitude changes for a variety of reasons.

• More credible
• Attract more attention
• Customers tend to identify with or emulate a celebrity.

The appeal used in advertisements is also a factor in influencing attitudes.

Question 31

Advertising Appeals

Answer 31

Fears Appeal:

• Use the threat of negative consequences if attitudes or behaviour are not altered. (dissaprovel of peers for wearing the clothing.)

Humorous Appeal:

• Are built around the product.

Emotional Appeals:

• Designed to create positive affective response rather than to provide information or state a argument. Emotional advertisements such as those that arouse feelings and warmth trigger a phsysiological reaction.