CHAPTER 1: An Introduction to Consumer Behavior
1-1 Defining Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior reflects the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to the
acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, activities, experiences,
people, and ideas by (human) decision-making units over time. (See picture below).
1-1a Consumer Behavior Involves Goods, Services, Activities, Experiences, People,
Places, and Ideas
Consumer behavior means more than just the way that a person buys tangible products such
as bath soap and automobiles. It also includes consumers’ use of services, activities,
experiences, and ideas. In addition, consumers make decisions about people, such as voting for
politicians, reading books by certain authors, streaming movies or TV shows starring certain
actors, and attending concerts featuring favorite bands. Consumers can even become attached
to commercial spaces such as stores, hotels, restaurants, and so on.
Because consumer behavior includes the consumption of so many things, we use the simple
term offering to encompass these entities.
1-1b Consumer Behavior Involves More than Buying
Acquiring an Offering:
Buying represents one type of acquisition behavior. Acquisition includes other ways of
obtaining goods and services, such as renting, leasing, trading, and sharing.
Using an Offering: After consumers acquire an offering, they use or consume it, which is why
usage is at the very core of consumer behavior (as reflected in the word consumer). The
products we use on Thanksgiving (e.g., making desserts from scratch or buying them from a
bakery) may symbolize the event’s significance and how we feel about our guests.
,Disposing of an Offering: Disposition refers to how consumers get rid of an offering they
have previously acquired and can have important implications for marketers. Consumers can
give away their used possessions, recycle them, sell them on eBay or on consignment to
vintage stores, rent them via sharing websites, or lend them to others. Marketers see profit
opportunities in addressing disposition concerns.
Managing Money and Making Financial Decisions: One study found that there are four
segments of consumers in terms of financial well-being:
- stretched spenders (live paycheck to paycheck and feel anxious about their financial
situation)
- carefree spenders (live paycheck to paycheck and do not feel anxious about their
financial situation)
- security seekers (don’t live paycheck to paycheck, yet feel anxious about their financial
situation)
- cushioned savers (don’t live paycheck to paycheck and do not feel anxious about their
financial situation)
Each of these represents a different segment for financial services
1-1c Consumer Behavior Is a Dynamic Process
The sequence of acquisition, consumption, and disposition can occur over time in a dynamic
order—hours, days, weeks, months, or years. Entire markets are designed around linking one
consumer’s disposition decision to other consumers’ acquisition decisions. When consumers
buy used cars, they are buying cars that others have disposed of. Or, for example, someone
might dispose of an item right after buying it (like a return), or they may hold onto a product for
years before disposing of it. (When you dispose of a product someone can acquire a product.)
1-1d Consumer Behavior Can Involve Many People
Consumer behavior does not necessarily reflect the action of a
single individual. There are more people involved before making a
purchase. A group of friends, a few coworkers, or an entire family
may plan a birthday party or decide where to have lunch,
exchanging ideas in person, on the phone, via social media, or by
e-mail.
1-1e Consumer Behavior Involves Many Decisions
Consumer behavior also involves understanding whether, why,
when, where, how, how much, how often, and for how long
consumers will buy, use, or dispose of an offering.
- Whether to Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
- What Offering to Acquire/Use/Dispose Of
- Why Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
- Why an Offering Is Not Acquired/ Used/Disposed Of
- How to Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
- Ways of Acquiring an Offering → see picture
, - Ways of Using an Offering: Using an offering can include what we use with the
offering (e.g., chips with salsa) as well as how we store and organize the items in
our home.
- Ways of Disposing of an Offering
- Find a new use for it. (Recycling)
- Get rid of it temporarily. (Renting)
- Get rid of it permanently.
- When to Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
- Where to Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
- How Much, How Often, and How Long to Acquire/Use/Dispose of an Offering
1-2 What Affects Consumer Behavior?
(1) the psychological core
(2) the process of making decisions
(3) the consumer’s culture
(4) consumer behavior outcomes
1-2a The Psychological Core: Internal Consumer Processes
Before consumers can make decisions, they must have some source of knowledge or
information upon which to base their decisions. This source—the psychological core— covers
motivation, ability, and opportunity; exposure, attention, perception, and comprehension;
memory and knowledge; and attitudes about an offering.
- Motivation, Ability, and Opportunity
- Exposure, Attention, Perception, and Comprehension
- Memory and Knowledge
- Forming and Changing Attitudes
1-2b The Process of Making Decisions
- Problem Recognition and the Search for Information → Problem recognition occurs
when we realize that we have an unfulfilled need.
- Making Judgments and Decisions → “a high-effort decision, meaning that she is willing
to invest a lot of time and to exert mental and emotional energy in making it”
- Making Postdecision Evaluations → This step allows the consumer to judge, after the
fact, whether the decision made was the correct one.
1-2c The Consumer’s Culture: External Processes
- Reference Groups and Other Social Influences → word of mouth
- Diversity Influences
- Household and Social Class Influences
- Values, Personality, and Lifestyle
, 1-2d Consumer Behavior Outcomes and Issues
- Consumer Behaviors Can Symbolize Who We Are → symbols
- Consumer Behaviors Can Diffuse Through a Market
- Consumer Behavior, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
1-3 Who Benefits from the Study of Consumer Behavior?
- Marketing Managers → for developing marketing strategies and tactics.
- Ethicists and Advocacy Groups → Marketers’ actions sometimes raise important ethical
questions.
- Academics → teaching courses.
- Consumers and Society → consumer reports, that information helps consumers make
decisions.
1-4 Making Business Decisions Based on the Marketing Implications of
Consumer Behavior
1-4a Developing and Implementing Customer-Oriented Strategy
Marketing is designed to provide value to customers. Thus, marketers must conduct research
to understand the various groups of consumers within the marketplace so that they can develop
a strategy and specific offerings that will provide such value.
- How Is the Market Segmented?
- How Profitable Is Each Segment?
- What Are the Characteristics of Consumers in Each Segment?
- Are Customers Satisfied with Existing Offerings?
1-4b Developing Products
Developing goods and services that satisfy consumers’ wants and needs is a critical marketing
activity.
- What Ideas Do Consumers Have for New Products?
- What Attributes Can Be Added to or Changed in an Existing Offering?
- How Should the Offering Be Branded?
- What Should the Package and Logo Look Like?
1-4c Positioning
Another strategic choice is deciding how an offering should be positioned in consumers’ minds.
- How Are Competitive Offerings Positioned?
- Should Our Offerings Be Repositioned?
1-4d Making Promotion and Marketing Communications Decisions
Research can help companies make decisions about promotional/marketing communications
tools, including advertising, sales promotions (premiums, contests, sweepstakes, free samples,
coupons, and rebates), personal selling, and public relations.
- What Are Our Communication Objectives?
