Consumer Decision-Making; Theories and Models of Information Processing and Advertising Effects; Conscious and Subconscious Processes
Belch, G. E., & Belch M. A. (2021/2022). Chapter 4: Perspectives on consumer behavior.
Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bou...
Belch, G. E., & Belch M. A. (2021/2022). Chapter 4: Perspectives on consumer
behavior.
IS SUCCESSFUL BRANDING JUST ABOUT EMOTIONS, COLOR, AND EMOJIS?
For years, marketers have been conducting research studies to determine what
makes a brand successful. Physiological research, attitude studies, along with
sociology and cultural anthropology are just a few of the myriad approaches that
have been explored to gain insights. The one thing these studies have concluded
is that there is no one thing that guarantees a brand will be successful. Is it
possible that it’s just about emotions, color, and emojis? Probably not, but it does
appear that these factors certainly contribute to successful branding.
Emotions: “Some people feel more warmly to their favorite brands than they do
toward their close friends.” He concludes that brands are replacing real-life
networks of close friends, while sharing their values and never dis- agreeing with
them. Emotional bonding with brands?
Color: In other words, while we all believe that color has an impact on the
perceptions of brands, per- sonal experiences hinder our ability to translate this
impact into specific feelings. These studies have concluded that (1) for some
products, 90 percent of snap judgments made about products can be based on
color alone; (2) color and brand “fit” (e.g., appropriateness) is important; (3)
colors influence the perceived “personality” of the brand; and (4) consumers pre-
fer recognizable brands, which makes color very important in creating a brand
identity, among other viable conclusions. While this research does not prescribe
how to choose a color for a brand, it does clearly indicate that the feelings, mood,
and image created by the color–brand interaction will have an impact on its
persuasive capabilities. Some additional studies on color have concluded that (1)
gender impacts color preferences, (2) there is no single best color for impacting
con- version rates on websites, and (3) the name of the color matters—fancy
names are more liked (mocha was preferred to brown) and unusual and unique
names can increase the intent to purchase.
Emojis: Thus, as you might expect, companies are constantly trying to connect
with consumers on an emotional level through advertising. The problem is that
they only have a few seconds to do so. Could emojis be the answer? Including
emojis in brand communications can deliver up to 10 times the average response
rate and engagement up to six times while doubling the dwell rate. The belief is
that advertising drives emotions, and emotions drive purchasing behavior. Emojis
allow the advertiser to connect in the precious few seconds it has.
AN OVERVIEW OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
While their ultimate goal is to influence consumers’ purchase behavior, most
marketers understand that the actual purchase is only part of an overall process.
Consumer behavior can be defined as the process and activities people engage
in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of
products and services to satisfy their needs and desires. For many products and
services, purchase deci- sions are the result of a long, detailed process that may
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include an extensive information search, brand comparisons and evaluations, and
other activities. Other purchase decisions are more incidental and may result
from little more than seeing a product prominently displayed at a discount price
in a store.
As shown in Figure 4–1, the consumer’s purchase decision process is generally
viewed as consisting of stages through which the buyer passes in purchasing a
product or service. This model shows that decision making involves a number of
internal psychological processes.
PROBLEM RECOGNITION
Figure 4–1 shows that the first stage in the consumer decision-making process is
problem recognition, which occurs when the consumer perceives a need and
becomes motivated to solve the problem. The problem recognition stage initiates
the subsequent decision processes.
Problem recognition is caused by a difference between the consumer’s ideal
state and actual state. A discrepancy exists between what the consumer wants
the situation to be like and what the situation is really like. (Note that problem
does not always imply a negative state. A goal exists for the consumer, and this
goal may be the attainment of a more positive situation.)
SOURCES OF PROBLEM RECOGNITION
Out of Stock
Dissatisfaction
New Needs/Wants: not all product purchases are based on needs. Some
products or services sought by consumers are not essential but are nonetheless
desired. A want is a desire for some- thing one does not have.
Related Products/Purchases
Marketer-Induced Problem Recognition: another source of problem
recognition is marketers’ actions that encourage consumers not to be content
with their cur- rent state or situation. Novelty-seeking behavior, which leads them
to try different brands. Consumers often try new products or brands even when
they are basically satisfied with their regular brand.
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New Products
EXAMINING CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS
Marketers recognize that while problem recognition is often a basic, simple
process, the way a consumer perceives a problem and becomes motivated to
solve it will influence the remainder of the decision process.
To better understand the reasons underlying consumer purchases, marketers
devote considerable attention to examining motives—that is, those fac- tors that
compel a consumer to take a particular action.
Hierarchy of Needs
As shown in Figure 4–2, the five needs are (1) physiological—the basic level of
primary needs for things required to sustain life, such as food, shelter, clothing,
and sex; (2) safety—the need for security and safety from physical harm; (3)
social/love and belonging— the desire to have satisfying relationships with others
and feel a sense of love, affection, belonging, and acceptance; (4) esteem—the
need to feel a sense of accomplishment and gain recognition, status, and respect
from others; and (5) self-actualization—the need for self-fulfillment and a desire
to realize one’s own potential.
According to Maslow’s theory, the lower-level physiological and safety needs
must be satisfied before the higher-order needs become meaningful.
However, since basic physiological needs are met in most developed countries,
marketers often sell products that fill basic physiological needs by appealing to
consumers’ higher-level needs.
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
The psychoanalytic theory pioneered by Sigmund Freud. Those who attempt to
relate psychoanalytic theory to consumer behavior believe consumers’
motivations for purchasing are often very complex and unclear to the casual
observer—and to the consumers themselves. Many motives for purchase and/ or
consumption may be driven by deep motives one can determine only by probing
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the subconscious. The work of these researchers and others who continue to use
this approach assumed the title of motivation research.
MOTIVATION RESEARCH IN MARKETING
PROBLEMS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY AND
MOTIVATION RESEARCH Psychoanalytic theory has been criticized as being too
vague, unresponsive to the external environment, and too reliant on the early
development of the individual. It also uses a small sample for drawing
conclusions. Because of the emphasis on the unconscious, results are difficult if
not impossible to verify, leading motivation research to be criticized for both the
conclusions drawn and its lack of experimental validation. Since motivation
research studies typically use so few participants, there is also concern that it
really discovers the idiosyncrasies of a few individuals and its findings are not
generalizable to the whole population.
INFORMATION SEARCH
Once consumers perceive a problem or need that can be satisfied by the
purchase of a product or service, they begin to search for information needed to
make a purchase decision. The initial search effort often consists of an attempt to
scan information stored in memory to recall past experiences and/or knowledge
regarding various purchase alternatives. This information retrieval is referred to
as internal search.
If the internal search does not yield enough information, the consumer will seek
additional information by engaging in external search
External sources of information include:
- Internet sources,
- Personal sources,
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