Unit-2

Consumer Perception

Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das

Copyright © 2006
Pearson Education Canada Inc.
 Opening Vignette
 Good Carbs, Bad Carbs
– Pasta, white bread, beer are ‘bad carbs’
 Beer is perceived as high in bad carbs
– Only 11 to 17 gms per bottle
– Consumers overestimate carbs in beer
– Perceptions have to change
– Labatt’s campaign
– http://www.labatt.ca
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 Perception
The process by which an
individual selects, organizes, and
interprets stimuli into a meaningful
and coherent picture of the world

How we see the world around us

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 Elements of Perception

 Elements of Perception
 Absolute threshold
 Differential threshold
 Differential threshold

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 Sensation

 The immediate and direct response

of the sensory organs to stimuli.
 A perfectly unchanging
environment provides little to no
sensation at all!

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Differential Threshold or j.n.d

 Theminimal difference that can be

detected between two similar
stimuli

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 Weber’s Law

 thestronger the initial stimulus, the

greater the additional intensity
needed for the second stimulus to
be perceived as different

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 Marketing Applications
of the JND
 Need to determine the relevant
j.n.d. for their products
– so that negative changes are not
readily discernible to the public
– so that product improvements are
very apparent to consumers

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 Subliminal Perception

 Perception of very weak or rapid

stimuli received below the level of
conscious awareness
http://www.thoughtscan.com/

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 Subliminal Perception

 1957: Drive-In Movie Theater

 1974: Publication of Subliminal
Seduction
 1990s: Allegations against Disney
http://www.snopes.com/business/hid
den/popcorn.htm
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 Is Subliminal Persuasion
Effective?
 Extensive research has shown no
evidence that subliminal
advertising can cause behaviour
changes
 Some evidence that subliminal
stimuli may influence affective
reactions
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 Aspects of Perception

Selection

Organization

Interpretation

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 Perceptual Selection
 Conscious and unconscious
screening of stimuli

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 Perceptual Selection

 Dependson three major factors

–Consumer’s previous experience
–Consumer’s motives
–Nature of the stimulus

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Concepts Concerning Selective
Perception

 Selective Exposure
 Selective Attention
Gestalt  Perceptual Defense
Psychology  Perceptual Blocking

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 Perceptual Selection – Cont’d

 Selective exposure
– Consumers actively choose stimuli
that they want to see
 Selective attention
– Consumers decide how much
attention they will pay to a stimulus
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Perceptual Selection – Cont’d

 Perceptual defence
– Consumers screen out
psychologically threatening stimuli
 Perceptual blocking
– ‘tuning out’ of stimuli

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Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 5-18
 Principles of Perceptual
Organization
 Figure and ground
– Definition of figure depends on the
background
 Grouping
– Information is organized into chunks
 Closure
– Incomplete stimuli create tension
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Influences of Perceptual Distortion

 Physical Appearances
 Stereotypes
 First Impressions
 Jumping to Conclusions
 Halo Effect

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Issues In Consumer Imagery
 Product Positioning and
Repositioning
 Perceived Price
 Perceived Quality
 Price-Quality Relationship
 Perceived Risk

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 Positioning

 Establishinga specific image for a

brand in relation to competing brands

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 Positioning Techniques

 Umbrella Positioning
 Positioning Against Competition
 Positioning Based on a Specific Benefit
 Conveying a Product Benefit
 Taking an Un-owned Position
 Positioning for Several Positions
 Repositioning
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Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 5-24
 Perceptual Mapping

 A research technique that enables marketers

to plot graphically consumers’ perceptions
concerning product attributes of specific
brands.

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 Research Insight

 Attribute-based approach
– Identify attributes that consumers
use
– Rate brands on these attributes
– Identify ideal level of these attributes

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 Research Insight

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 Internet Insight

 Non-attribute-based approach
– List all brands; identify all pairs
– Arrange pairs in order of similarity
– Identify underlying dimensions

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 Research Insight

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 Pricing Strategies Focused on
Perceived Value
Satisfaction-based Pricing
Relationship Pricing
Efficiency Pricing

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 Issues in Perceived Price

 Reference prices
– Internal
– External
 Tensile and objective price claims

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 Tensile and Objective
Price Claims
 Evaluations least
favorable for ads stating
the minimum discount
level
 Ads stating maximum
discount levels are
better than stating a
range

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 Perceived Quality

 Perceived Quality of Products

– Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Cues
 Perceived Quality of Services
 Price/Quality Relationship

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 Price/Quality Relationship

The perception of price as an indicator of

product quality (e.g., the higher the price,
the higher the perceived quality of the
product).

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 (continued)

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Figure 5-9 (continued)

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 Perceived Risk
 The degree of uncertainty perceived by the
consumer as to the consequences
(outcomes) of a specific purchase decision
 High-risk perceivers are narrow
categorizers
 Limit their choices to safe alternatives
 Low-risk perceivers are broad categorizers
 Wide range of alternatives preferred

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 Types of Risk

 Functional Risk
 Physical Risk
 Financial Risk
 Psychological Risk
 Time Risk

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 How Consumers Handle Risk
 Seek Information
 Stay Brand Loyal
 Select by Brand Image
 Rely on Store Image
 Buy the Most Expensive Model
 Seek Reassurance

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 Perception and Marketing
Strategy
 Make perceptual selection work in
your favour
– Increase accidental exposure
– Use the j.n.d
– Draw attention to your ad using contrast and
other principles
– Find creative ways to reduce blocking
» continued

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 Perception and Marketing
Strategy
 Ensure that consumers organize and
interpret messages correctly
 Develop suitable consumer imagery
 Find ways to reduce perceived risk

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