What are the two information search methods?
Internal and external
What is an internal information search? What can effect it?
Searching stored information in your head that you know from memory, those with a wider knowledge will be able to explore more internal information (Hoyer 2013)
Time pressures and distractions can effect internal search
What is an external information search?
Information search that is conduct using secondary resources (Hoyer 2013)
What sources are available for an external information search?
(Hoyer 2013)
Social media / media - Twitter, corporate websites, ads
Interpersonal - wom, reviews by text, phone etc..
Independent - books, government websites, external non-branded sites
Experiential - trials, in person / online
Why do consumers seek information?
Consumers seek info to solve an issue / fulfil a need / want
- Consumers will engage with an internal / external search
Soloman 2016
What are the 5 memory systems?
Soloman 2016
- Sensory = retain for around a second, can be a smell, noise or visual
- Attention = info transferred to short term memory
- Short term = 20 seconds of brief storage
- Elaborative rehearsal = info transferred to long term memory
- Long term = Relatively permanent storage
What are the implications of info-processing for marketers?
- Understand how consumers process information helps markets strategically design messages
- Use repetition to keep messages in a consumers mind e.g Go Compare opera man
- Draw on negative aspects of competitors e.g Aldi vs Tesco, Tesco products shown as expensive despite same offering (comparative advertising)
- Internal bias search, choose one product attribute to focus on + use humour / attract visuals
- Brand consistency across all sources + create relevant messages for each segment
What are the types of external search?
(Hoyer 2013)
- Repurchase search = aids a specific acquisition decision
- Ongoing search = occurs regularly even when not searching for a product
What are the types of information available when conducting internal searches?
(Hoyer 2013)
- Brands = 2-8 brands can be stored, due to brand familiarity, usage, preference
- Attributes = summarised / simplified, due to accessibility, availability
- Evaluations = overall attitude, easier to recall than attributes
- Experiences = vivid experiences, usually positive / negative, due to repetition
What are the internal search biases?
(Hoyer 2013)
- Confirmation bias = Selective perception, recall information that enforces your own beliefs
- Inhibition = recalling X, makes you recall Y
- Mood = recall information, feelings, experiences to match mood
What are the types of information available when conducting an external search?
(Hoyer 2013)
- Brand information = is it frequently accessed?
- Price information = infers attributes, e.g price communicates value vs quality
- Attributes = consumers access information relevant to their goals
What effects external search?
(Hoyer 2013)
Consumer knowledge = consumers with moderate knowledge search the most
Cognitive abilities = higher cognitive abilities allow complex info processing
Demographic = higher education student will search frequently
Information Availability = lots of available info = more searches
Info format = easy to read
Time availability = time pressure reduces search from several sources
No of items = more decisions, less variability in search patterns
