MCB30306 Summarized Lectures
Consumer behaviour is determined by processes operating between consumer, product and situation characteristics.
Theory of Planned Behaviour: people’s behaviour is based on their intentions; attitudes, norm and perceived
behavioural control all play a role in planning consumer behaviour.
Elaboration Likelihood Model: How could you convince people into particular ideas (through advertising)? Central
route: content of the message. Peripheral route: the outside of the message; are the colours nice, message friendly.
Peripheral is more focused on outward characteristics instead of the willingness to process actual content in the ad.
Marketing management = the art/science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers
through creating, delivering and communicating customer value (Kotler & Keller, 2006). consumer takes a central
place: meeting/knowing how to meet consumer needs.
Marketing concept involves a consumer orientation/market focus; requires consumer understanding. Three levels:
1. Strategic understanding (what): what should we make, what are needs and wants?
2. Tactical understanding (how): how potential buyers make decisions; how they react to different instruments.
3. Effectiveness of marketing mix (4 P’s: price, product, place, promotion): does the mix convince people to
buy?
Goal: serve target customers (centre) through 4P’s to deliver substantial value, by taking controllable and
uncontrollable environment into account.
Product differentiation positioning:
Objective: form particular brand image in the mind of consumers, relative to competing products, through marketing
mix elements Differentiation/positioning ways:
1. Existing or new attribute: more powerful attributes than any other existing product, e.g. optic zoom
2. Use or application: communicate situational context, e.g. cup a soup
3. Product user: make product compare to a lifestyle, e.g. Harley Davidson
4. Product class: position it relative to a product class, e.g. Breezer vs. beer or soft drinks
5. Competitor: position yourself relative to existing competition, e.g. Tesla and electric cars
Core 1B: van Kleef, et al:
A) Starting point for needs/wants elicitation: familiar/unfamiliar product to consumer
B) Task format: what do we present (products); what do we measure (perceptions/preferences/associations); self-
administered elicitation or indirectly derived. Do people understand their own needs/wants and can they express it.
C) Actionability: what do the results tell us: characteristics (wants), benefits or values the product should
deliver/meet. Want formation = individual
Inference formation/trade-offs: how the brain reacts to exposures; you make inferences about information in your
brain either through perceptions (expectations) or motivations (emotions). Inference formation is about a perceptual
world: how brands/packaging trigger benefits. We want consumers to recognize the aspects of the product and to
trigger them.
Want formation: what people want differs. Consumers have different values. Situations also affect goals and trigger
desired benefits (e.g. treat after accomplishment).
Formation of trial and repeat intentions = behavioural
,Theory 1: Quality perception through Conjoint Analysis
Quality perception:
People only react to their perception, not to reality; consumers act on what they perceive, not on what is really
there. Valid perception requires observational reliability; if we can reliably observe what’s going on in reality, we can
perceive it as valid. Though observational reliability never guarantees validity; physical objects can also be seen
differently.
Inter-observer reliability: between people: if different people see something as the same, it’s probably true.
Intra-observer reliability: when over time people recognize/perceive things as similar, it’s probably the same thing.
Perception more difficult for abstract objects, e.g. taste or positive/negative experiences with people. Very personal.
Correct perception can be ‘defined’ as appropriate reaction. Perception involves:
1. External stimuli 3. Mental processes
2. Sensory receptors 4. Reactions to stimuli
Pragmatism in perception: what is seen is how one acts upon it. Pragmatic perception = each individual perceived
the world from the perspective of their previous experiences. The relation between a phenomenon and perceptual
cues allows you to perceive something a certain way.
Brunswik’s Lens Model of probabilistic functional perception:
Perception is an active ‘belief formation’ process: one is prepared to act upon beliefs. Perception imposes meaning
and structure on the world; we recognize opportunities and utilize them, which gives it meaning.
Ecological validity = the relation between quality attribute and quality cues. The true state of a quality attribute is
reflected in quality cues. Some cues can be highly valid predictors of a phenomenon (qual. attribute), some
meaningless, some ambiguous. Cue perceptions helps you form a judgement.
Cue utilisation = perceive and weigh cues based on personal inference. Utilisation coefficient = relation between
available cues and perceived quality. With highly valid cues, the coefficient will be high; ambiguous cues it will be
low.
The inferential perceived quality/decision making is based on a subset of cues; what you perceive depends on the
cues selected: functional valid perception when useful cues are taken. Functional invalid perception when the
meaningless cues are used to perceive; not valid.
Functional validity/reliability: relation between true quality and perceived quality. To what degree does the
perceptual response match the distal variable: how well did we succeed?
Creation of mental image: we act/react upon the world as we see it, not to as the world is. Valid actions require valid
perception: we’re told there’s climate change, but we can’t see it so we don’t act. Products are actually ‘bundles of
need satisfaction’: we only see it when we need it. What do we see and what do we look for?
Low functional reliability/achievement index = misperception. Misperception can be separated in ecological validity
of cues (meaningless cues used to predict true state of attribute) and utilisation of cues (meaningless cues are used
to determine perceived quality). NOTE: true and perceived quality cannot be observed, but are predicted with the
matching index (functional validity) (best approx. of achievement index).
Steenkamp (1990):
There’s a quality perception gap between managers and consumers; moving in other directions through different
beliefs which are acted upon differently. Perceived/value based quality depends on e.g. evaluative judgement of the
quality cues and attributes and the consumption context.
Quality cues: observed prior to consumption
- Informational stimuli/search attributes (first perceive, then act) - Intrinsic (physically part of product)
- Observable means in MEC - Extrinsic (related to product, not part of it)
, Quality attributes: determined after consumption (e.g. taste) = utility generating consequences = benefits
- Experience attribute (based on actual consumer experience) - Credence attribute (expert opinion)
- Psychosocial consequences and benefits for that person - Goals of consumer
Formation of (quality) attribute beliefs:
1. Descriptive belief formation: based on cues, search attributes, experience attributes (can be observed and
used to determine quality). Mostly trial and error to see what works; e.g. test-driving a car
2. Informational belief formation: based on source/sender, receiver and message effects (rely on experts)
3. Inferential belief formation: based on prior beliefs. expectation experience feedback updated expect.
Inferential belief formation is based on principle of
covariation (cause/effect): if some products with high
quality always has certain characteristics, apparently
the characteristics predict quality. Extremely hard to
change prior beliefs: linked to important values;
confirming evidence is more relevant than
disconfirming.
Quality perception is a three step procedure:
1. Cue acquisition and cue categorisation
2. Inferential attribute belief formation
3. Integration of beliefs into overall quality judgement
Conjoint analysis:
Conjoint analysis: used to measure the contribution of product characteristics to consumers’ overall preferences/
perception/intention to buy. What kind of impact do characteristics have on overall perception?
Conjoint is measured through stated preference for hypothetical products: profiles: defined on attribute level.
People buy products for the benefits/attributes it brings to them. With the profile ratings we determine the
contribution of the attribute level/characteristics to overall preference. Products are bundles of attributes (Lancaster,
1966).
In Conjoint, each attribute level has a dummy each dummy has a part-worth (predictors) multiple linear
regression determines the contributions of the attribute levels to overall preference.
Take into account:
1. We decompose overall ratings of preference into separate contributions of the attribute level (links with
CPM)
2. Only main effects assumed, no interaction effects
3. Part-worths are estimated per respondent everyone has own set of part worths (contribution to attr.
level)
Individual-level part-worths determine which attributes are preferred for an individual respondent, also shows which
attributes have the largest difference (hence are more important to them). Part-worths standardly add up to 0.
From results we may conclude: brand with lowest value is preferred less than other brands, but we cannot say it’s
preferred.
Intercept gives the average preference of this person for the whole set of profiles, though we’re not interested in the
average; we want to know the differences between the profiles.
Predicted preference can be done by adding relevant part-worths together to get predictive profiles we didn’t ask.
Predicted preference shows trade-offs consumers make in attribute levels: which differences compensate others?
Full profiles: hypothetical (unfamiliar) products specified in terms of all attributes in the study. All profiles possible
Calibration profiles: profiles used for estimating part worths: contributions to product attributes.
Warming-up profiles: warm-up task for people to get used to the task. Results are thrown away.
