CONSUMER BEHAVIOR- 105761 FALL 2020

MID EXAM
SECTION B
STUDENT NAME: Muhammad Rauf Mughal. STUDENT ID: 9428.
TOTAL MARKS: 15

Q1) (5 Marks)
Among marketers who target consumers in more than one social class, a favorite strategy is
developing different product lines or brands within a product category to appeal to consumers in
each targeted class. Choice Hotels International offers travelers a variety of lodgings suitable not
only to a broad range of incomes but also to several different social classes. Go to the company’s
site at www.choicehotels.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the link for each
lodging subsidiary (Clarion, Quality, Comfort, Sleep, etc.). Examine each hotel’s page for cues
that appeal to consumers in a particular social class. Which lodgings appeal to upper-class
consumers? Which lodgings appeal to middle-class consumers? Which lodgings appeal to
working-class consumers? What other cues and information can Choice Hotels provide at its
website to steer consumers toward the lodging subsidiary that best meets their needs?

Q2) (5 Marks)

Not many years ago, if you said the words “Sun City” and, for many adults, the image that came
to mind was one of seniors living in cookie-cutter homes in a retirement community. Del Webb
Inc. revamped its marketing strategy years ago to broaden the appeal of its communities beyond
this stereotype of Sun City. Visit the company’s website at www.delwebb.com
How does Del Webb Inc. use age, family life cycle stage, and lifestyle to segment the market for
its communities and homes? Describe some of the products targeted to various segments. How
can Del Webb Inc. improve its marketing strategy to target consumers in the Baby Boomer
generation?

Q3) (5 marks)
a) Using either your product or service, describe how each of the following would influence
the nature of the consideration set a consumer might use in making a purchase decision:
(a) prototypicality, (b) brand familiarity, (c) goals and usage situations, (d) brand
preference, and (e) retrieval cues.
 b) Locate ten social media ads (on Facebook, etc.) that you think will elicit elaborative
processing. Analyze these ads for the types of source and message factors discussed in
the chapter. Based on this analysis, answer the following questions: (a) Which types of
source and message factors are most frequently used?

ANSWER OF QUESTION#1
Choice Hotels for Working Class Customers:
Choice Hotels provides many lodging subsidiary options for each customer class worldwide. For
working class, they have following options:
 Ascend Hotel Collection.
 Cambria Hotels.
 Quality Inn.
 MainStay Suits.
 Suburban Extended Stay.
 Woodspring Suits.
However, upon providing such excellent services globally, the company can expand their
horizons of customer extensions if they make their website more attractive by providing visuals
or short clips regarding their market offerings i.e. Hotels. If the Luxuries offered there can be
attractively represented, then the company is sure to grab more customer engagement because
some things are better seen than read and when it comes to marketing, transparency, clarity and
graphics count the most. Hence, the company would be able to gain more customers if it shows
off what it provides.

ANSWER OF QUESTION#2
Del Webb Inc. Segmentation:
Del Webb Inc. uses age, family lifecycle stage & lifecycle to segment the market for its
communities and homes as the company believes that it provides facilities to the customer’s
preferences so that, they could offer more than just merely a home – they offer a place to belong.
This would create a psychological bonding to their offerings for all the ages and hence, they
build communities and each community has a different lifecycle and lifestyle so, they keep their
set of offerings different to each of the age group and that too, according to what their customers
want. When you choose to build in a Del Webb 55+ age-restricted community, you get the
benefit of more than six decades of homebuilding experience. With homes designed for how the
customers live with the features that matter most to them and backed by a warranty they can rely
on so that those customers would feel secure now and in the future as well. The company has
streamlined the process to make it easy for its customers to build the home that they want in the
vibrant community which would suit best to their own likings. The company’s dedication to
quality is such a strong one that it strives to exceed homeowner expectations every step of the
way.
Del Webb has following offering categories:
 Smart Home Communities for Young ones and Adults.
 Professional Communities for Workforce.
 Generally customized Homes for the Old-aged People.

Improvement in Marketing Strategy for Baby Boomers:

Baby Boomer Community has become an old-aged community now as their generation span was
1946 to 1964. The Marketing Strategy should be advertising in Newspapers and Magazines and
they can also opt for TVCs made in a way that’d showcase multiple benefits for them. The
Company should provide ease and comfort to the maximum extent so that it can generate heavy
revenues from Baby Boomers Class.

ANSWER OF QUESTION#3(a)
Prototyicality:
While talking about Nike, Prototypicality can influence the consumer purchase decision because
many consumers rely on product feedbacks and similar kind of product opinions. On this very
basis, they would presume that if, for example, if the shoes are good, then prototypically, their
other sports goods would be satisfactory too and hence, they make the purchase decision,
thereby, generating positive customer equity with the brand.

Brand Familiarity:
If the user has intended to switch for a change is coming to Nike’s Brands from Adidas, he is
most likely to think that Adidas is amazing with the sports goods and so, Nike being their main
direct competitor, offers the similar kind of products so the quality would be more or equally
excellent and hence, that particular consumer will make the purchase decision from Nike Brand.

Goals & Usage Situation:

This can also influence customer purchase decision. In Nike’s case, the consumers would be
focusing on the goals he can meet in his career by using Nike’s sports Goods and if the usage
situation would be appropriate for the use of Nike’s products, then that particular customer is
sure to go for the purchase of it. For example, some people believe that they are more
comfortable with Nike Joggers in a jogging situation and only by that product, they can meet
their daily calorie burn goals that they have set for themselves.
Brand Preference:
It can also impact on Customer’s Purchase Decision in such a way that if that customer is brand-
loyal to Nike then he would always prefer to purchase Nike Products for any occasion that he
desires and such preferences are most of the time long-lasting and constant.

Retrieval Cues:
Some retrieval cues for example memorable Ads of Slogans also help making a purchase
decision. In Nike’s case, if a customer is out shopping and then he sees many choices in front of
him, if he would retrieve a cue regarding Nike, then that certain flash into his memory would
automatically trigger the response to his purchase intentions, hence resulting in him making a
purchase decision for Nike’s Products in any context on any occasion.

ANSWER OF QUESTION#3(b)
Source & Message Factors in Ads on Social Media:
I have analyzed some Social Media Ads on YouTube & Facebook and found the following
Source & Message Factors:
 Daraz’s New Ad persuades the customers by using its acquisition by the market giant Ali
Baba Group and tries to gain customer trust.
 Jazz 4G induces celebrity endorsement to capture customer’s attention and delivers a
message that they must always use fastest available network for better life experience.
 Latest TVC of Candi Biscuits New Season introduces their title song which focuses on
building communities with friendships and it does so by celebrity endorsements.
 Vivo Mobile Ads focus more towards importance technological enhancements being
important in our daily lives.
 Toyota Yaris New Ad focuses on making their customers’ journeys more comfortable
and enjoyable thereby creating brand awareness about their product’s excellent features.