C JHAPTER 3

Consumer Buying Behaviour

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you will
INTRODUCTION
be able to understand The marketing concept holds that the key to achieving organizational goals
the need to study consumer is through the satisfaction of consumers' needs and wants. It is imperative
buying behaviour for marketers to generate sales
revenue that is in excess of costs to earn
different perspectives of profits. It is
important that
to note source of revenue is not located within
consumer buying behaviour a business system, rather it is the consumers who are the
source of revenue.
the consumer decision-
Organizations generate revenue when consumers spend their money on the
making process marketed products and services.
Buying is a physical act of consumers that
the factors that influence can be observed in
any shopping environment. An act of
consumer buying behaviour service
buying a product
or
implies that a choice has been made. It is this set of choices made
different types of consumer by diverse consumers that determines
the success or failure of a firm. A
buying behaviour favourable decision means opening up the revenue
stream. At the same time,
a choice is also an act of
elimination. An organization wins when
consumers
choose to buy its products or services.The
essential questions that need to be
answered are how consumers make choices about
which product or service
to buy, where to buy from, how much
quantity to buy, and how frequently to
buy.Understanding how consumers behave is fundamental to the development
of an effective marketing strategy.

CONSUMER BUYING
At the heart of understanding consumer behaviour rests
the question,
why do consumers behave the way they do'. Consumer behaviour
can be observed when
people buy various products and services such
as hiring cabs, buying cigarcttes, buying groceries, ordering things
on phone and on Internet, shopping lor appares, and refuelling
cars. It is obvious that ditllerent consumers buy ditferent products
and services, diflerent brands, at varying imes, and in dissimilar
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 53

Marketing
stimulus
Product, price, Consumer
place, and response
Consumer Positive or
promotion
negative
Fig. 3.1 Stimulus-response model

quantities.
However, what goes on behind the visible act
of buying remains a ridklle to marketers.
Consunmer buyung behaviour is an
important arca of concern for marketers because
marketing
involkes Crcating a mix of
ingredicnts with an cxpectation that the consumer would respond to it
favourably. MMarketing faiure occurs when consumers do not
package. One of the ways to understand how marketing cxchanges respond favourably to a marketung
occur is to visualize them in
tems of a stimulus
response model (see Fig. 3.1).
Marketer mixes various
ingredients, often called marketing mix clemcnts, to combine into a
package that is oflered to consumers. This
asscmbly of ingredicnts includes decisions regarding
product name, label, quality, ingredients, price, advertising message, appeal, endorsement,
display, distribution, sales people skills, sales promotion schemes, and after-sales carc. A
consumer is exposed to this potential
package andevery marketer hopes to cxtract a positive consumer
response from him/her. When a consumer responds favourably by
the marketer succeeds, whereas he fails when the consumer
buying the product or service,
refuses to buy. Given the high rate
of marketing failures it is obvious that marketers often
go wrong in what thcy consider right in
assembly of their ingredients. Failures are costly in marketing and often cost nillions rupees.
One of the ways to avoid costly failures is to of
develop a marketing mix that is based on consumer
insights so that any stimuli will lead to positive behaviour outcomes. As shown in Fig. 3.1, the
consumer is at the centre. The question that arises is what role does a consumer play between
marketing stimuli and consumer response?

Marketing Practice Product or Brand Failures

in
marketing, failures implyclash between what is right
a Coke's first flavour extension, Vanilla Coke was launched
according to the marketer and the consumer. The following
examples illustrate that consumers react unfavourably to
prodiucts and ideas that are inconsistent with their mind-set.
Pond's toothpaste is one of the classic examples of brand
extension failure. The product could not get acceptance as
Consumers associated Pond's with fragrance and thereby
cOsmetic products. There was a mismatch between the
product attributes of Pond's earlier products like cold
with that of toothpaste and thus the product
Creams
failure in the market.
was a
in India in 2004. Apart from being priced higher than
regular Coke and not too good to taste, the product
failed miserably due to ineffective campaigning. The ad
commercial was based on a retro theme of 1960's to
which the targeted teenagers could not relate to. The
advertisenment was unrelated to the context and the brand
Coke
Harley Davidson, a well-known brand for bikes tried to
reap the benefits of its loyal customer base and added a
range of aftershave and perfume products to its offerings.
Harley, which had a huge market share for large bikes,

(Contc)
54 MARKETING

Marketing Practice (Contd)

highly criticized for adding unrelated products to its
Was
3-4 weeks was a problem. Therefore, the product failed
portfolio. Even the loyal customers openly expressed their on quality parameters.
disappointment with the brand. The strong, masculine, Cosmopolitan yoghurt, a brand extension
and rugged values of the brand did not
match with the of the Cosmo-
softer attributes of perfumes. politan, the world's largest selling women's
Therefore, Harley Davidson could not strike a chord with the market as the magazine
perfumes were a huge failure in the market. was unrelated to the main brand and did
extension
Rasna, one of the leading soft drink companies in India, the identity of the magazine for modern and
not fit well with
launched a fizzy fruit drink called sophisticated
contained carbonation
Oranjolt. The product women.
in the form of
The product failed
a
preservative. McDonald's, known for its burgers worldwide is
even before being visible in the
popular brand among children. The brand introduced quite a
market. Indian
shopkeepers tend to switch off their sophisticated burger, McArch Deluxe for the grown-ups.
a
refrigerators at night whereas the product needed The product added confusion to a brand
refrigeration. Also, the product had a shelf life of 3-4 known for
weeks as compared to soft drinks that simple and child friendly. The product could not leveragebeing
the
have a shelf benefits of a well-established brand as it was not
life of 5 months and thus,
replacement intervals of
at
by adequate research and thus failed in the market.supported

The role of a consumer in the

economic, passive, emotional, andstimulus-response
model is explained four
by
cognitive system'. These perspectives seek to perspectives, namely
question as to why do consumers behave the way they do? explain the important
consumer behaviour and They make different assumptions about
accordingly guide marketers in their marketing mix decisions.
Economic Perspective
This view of consumer behaviour
assumes that consumers are
rational and
information about alternatives utility maximizers. It
assumes that consumers tend to have
assess each alternative on the basis
perfect and they can correctly
of their
able to rank the available alternatives on theadvantages and
disadvantages. The consumer is also
basis of costs and benefits
alternative. In this way a consumer can make the and thus identify the best
consumers select from the given altermatives within
pertect decision. Utility theory
their budget proposes that
goods and service that would provide him the constraints a
combination of
rupee spent for all goods.
maXimum utilhty by equating marginal utilities per
This perspective of consumer behavi1our is criticized on
many grounds. First, consurmers are
not always rational.
They are limited by their skills, reflexes, and habits. Second, this model fails
to take into consideration the role of emotions.
Third, intormation
and consumers work on the basis of limited intormation. availability is never perfect
Fourth, consumers are not always
maximizers; they often take decisions that deliver good enough satistaction. Economic utility
decision-
making is said to be a vain exercise in rationality. Il a decision is made based on detailed analvsis it
will be immensely complex. It is practically not possible for people to have
complete information.
The assumption of perfect rationality is therefore unrealistic ancd far from the truth. Consuner
behaviour is guided by other non-rational considerations. Complete rationality is imposible:

Passive Perspective
As the title suggests, this consumer perspective assumes that consumer Is a passive or an inert

being. This school goes against the rational and active assumption of the economic view. It holds
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 55
oaiommw

can be
that consumers are play no role in stimuli mediation. Accordingly, they
submissive and
manipulated into behaving the way marketers want them to. Consumers are submissive, impulsive,
with the
and irrational, and therefore easily be exploited. This idea of consumer is consistent
can

selling concept that assumes consunmers can be 'sold' anything by persuasion or aggression.
This is an extreme view of consumers and completely undermines the role of cognition. Sonme
consumers can be manipulated sometimes but not always. It is based on a radical assumption
that consumers are dictated by others and they do not govern themselves. These ideas may
make sense in situations of less risky buying situations when consumers do fall prey to marketing
manipulation. However, in situations of high risk such as buying a computer or a resicdential Hat,
consumers do make use of their rationality and try to make informed choices.

Emotional Perspective
This perspective seeks to explain consumer buying with the help of emotions. If consumers are
assumed to have reason, they also have emotions. In many cases, emotions seize and overpower
consumers into making choices that are difficult to explain with reason. For instance, spending
more than a million rupecs on a timekeeping device like Rolex is completely out of sync with
rationality. The consumer in this situation possessed by deep feelings and emotions. In a
situation like this, consumers do not focus on information and evaluation; instead the choice
is governed by emotions and feelings. Emotional perspective recognizes the role of emotions
and secks to explain consumer behaviour. Products such as perfumes, designer clothes, designer
watches, jewellery, diamonds, and greeting cards exploit this emotional angle in their marketing
An emotion distracts a consumer from being rational. Use of emotions in advertising such as
Johnson& Johnson (J&JD, Amul, and Durex is aimed to transform consumer attitude towards
the brands in question.
The emotional school does reveal an important side of consumer psychology but it fails to
give a complete picture. Emotions are an important part of consumers but they are not the
only part. iThere are situations in which emotions play a minimum role. This is particularly
true in situations where the consumer neither has interest nor stakes such as socks and

inexpensive pens.

Marketing Practice Brands Use Marketing Appeals to Lure Customers

Humour Appeal accolades at the Cannes Awards. The advertisement featured

Amul With its tagline Bade aaram se', Amul Macho hints
out at the ease and comfort offered by the brand. Along
with Saif Ali Khan endorses the product portraying a nice,
COol, and funny guy, the brand showcases comfort and
effortlessness in everything including encountering a bunch
of criminals, fighting a thief, or doing vigorous exercise. The
brand personality combines the elements of manliness and
humour.
Fevicol A brand of Pidilite industries, Fevicol, with their
efective marketing campaign showing a hen and egg won
a cook who could not break an egg while making an omelette.
They show that the reason behind this is that the hen ate
food from a Fevicol container. The advertisement based on
humour was able to communicate the efficiency of the product
blazingly.
Love and Affection' Appeal
Johnson & Johnson The brand's marketing campaigns calls
upon the attention of people who believe in caring for their loved
ones. Specially, baby products offered by the brand are based
on the theme of display of love, care, and affection for the kids by

(Conto)
56 MARKETING
www

Marketing Practice (Contd)

the experience
commercials beautifully depict
the parents. The
specially designed for
a
of nurturing a child with the products
sense of assurance
for the parents.
baby's skin leading to a
act of taking care of a
child by
The ads positively reinforce the
of a
process and the development
illustrating it as an enjoyable
child and the parent.
special bond between the as a
has been well established
Pears An HUL product, Pears,
commercial featuring a mother
gentle' brand. The Pears soap each
hummable tunes and praising
and a daughter singing that
theme by emphasizing
other reflect the love and affection
it look pristine and
the brand helps pamper your skin, making
the purity of
pretty.The transparency of the soap symbolizes
the product.
Sex Appeal
West Bengal advertises
Wild Stone McNroe Chemicals Ltd of
that 'sex sells'. The
their deodorants based on the principle
make a place in the
has been able to
not so familiar company the Wild Stone
controversies generated by
market due to the
ads (censored version
is shown in the ads now).
of men,
on with the fantasies
Set Wet This brand plays
in for the guy after being
with a group of women falling
The brand's latest ad campaign
attracted by the deodorant.
has applied
Call of the cool'
showcases how one man, who
women effortlessly as opposed
Set Wet, is able to captivate
fail in all their attempts trying to
to a bunch of guys who
Woo them.
Ranveer Singh uses
Durex The ad campaign featuring
amateurish in their approach. The
sex appeal without being
does not exploit women
commercial promotes safe sex and
brand has proposed an open way of
as a sex symbol. The
of sex in lIndia. The brand
thinking and overcomes the taboo
the ad as a condom
has been touted as a game changer and
revolutionin India.

Cognitive Perspective
and reasoning in
This model takes into account the role of perception, learning, thinking,
Consumers are endowed with mental faculties that they
use
explaining consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour is
in information acquisition, evaluation, and judging before behaving.
or thinking activity. Applying this perspective
to buying behaviour
preceded by some cognitive
implies that consumer act of buying is preceded by some cognitive proceses understanding
which would help in making informed marketing decisions.
is assumed to be
This is aso referred to as problem-solving perspective in which consumer

an active information processor. It is believed that needs and wants are akin to problems that
require solutions. The consumer uses his thinking or cognitive abilities to solve these problens.

Marketing Practice Brands Appeal to Cognitive Mind

Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil Proposition No 4 Balanced fatty acids: Balanced nutrition,
balanced health
Headline Make a healthy choice for your family
Tagline Physically Refined Rice Bran Ooil
Body The advertisement proposes four things to the
customers. LG Refrigerator
Proposition No 1 Cholesterol lowering oil:Heart friendly Headline Before you buy any refrigerator, take the LG
Proposition No 2 Oryzanol: Improves HDLLDL ratio, health Challenge
ier heart Body The advertisement proposes four things to thecustomers
Proposition No 3 Balanced PUFAMUFA ratio: Cleaner Proposition No 1 Power cut ever cool: Longer cooling9
blood vessels retention
(Contd)
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 57

Marketing Practice (Contd)

Proposition No 2 New smart inverter

compressor: More
energy saving9 Proposition No 4 Comparison between LG and other refrig-
erators is shown in table below.
Proposition No 3 Green ion door cooling: More freshness
Tagline When it's all possible, life's good
LG refrigerator vs others
Consumer problem areas LG challenge Other refrigerators
Frost free Food gets spoiled in the refrigerator Longest cooling retention
Cooling retention only in
refrigerators during long power cuts up to 7 hours in entire the freezer section
refrigerator
More power consumption Up to 36% energy saving Up to 20% energy saving
Low freshness 2.5 times more freshness due
to unique GilDC technology
Direct cool Food gets
spoiled in the refrigerator Longest cooling retention up Cooling retention up to 4
refrigerators during long power cuts to 9 hours hours
Takes time in making ice India's fastest, makes ice in Makes ice in 118-185
110 mins only (without extra mins
load on compressor)
Moisture imbalance Moist balance crisper

This process involves information search, evaluation, and selection from available brands
that
are marketed as solutions of consumer problems. This perspective stresses on the fact that an
act of purchase is preceded
by some cognitive activity. On the first this impression, perspective
appears to resemble the economic concept but it is ditferent. The economic perspective assumes
that consumer has all the information and he makes a perfect decision, which is an unrealistice
assumption. The cognitive perspective more realistically considers consumers as seekers and
processors of information only to the extent that a satisfactory decision is made. They often use
shortcut rules or heuristics, especially when confronted with information overload. The focus
here is not on taking perfect but satisfactory decisions.

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

The consumer behaviour perspectives discussed previously make different assumptions about the
consumer. The cognitive perspective is comparatively better in explaining consumer behaviour
because it is based on a realistic assumption that consumer has a capacity to perceive, learn, and
judge what is in their interest. The consumer does not sit inert in between the marketing stimuli
on the one hand and response on the other. Rather, a consumer processes the information
contained in the external environment in order to decide an appropriate course of action. In the
cognitive perspective consumer is seen as a decision maker. An act of buying a brand in most
situations is nothing but the execution of a decision that buyer has taken after considering the
available information and evaluating a set of brands. Consumer actions such as buying or not
 58 MARKETING

are externally observable phenomena

a brand, buying more, or postponing purchase na
buying
but all these are preceded by some kind of cognitive activity that has taken place in consumers
minds. Most marketing efforts depend upon a positive consumer response. However, it must be
borne in mind that a consumer response is preceded by a decision that is produced by a decision.
making process. The following instances are the outcomes of consumer decision-making:

consumer choosing to buy more quantity of something in response to a price deal

consumer postponing to buy warm clothes till a sale is announced

consumer willing to buy a brand of clothing advertised by a celebrity
consumer substituting a competitor brand in case of non-availability of preferred brand
consumer willing to pay huge premium for a brand originating from a particular country

The belief that consumers use their cognitive processes to arrive at decisions naturally shifts
focus of attention on understanding how decisions are made. The study of consumer behaviour
therefore centres on getting a firm hold on what transpires in a consumer's mind or
cognitive
system. Consumer decisions are outcomes of the decision-making process, which are arrived
at through a
multi-stage process. Understanding consumer
decision-making process and its
infuencing factors is essential for development of an informed marketing strategy.

Decision-Making Process
To put simply, a decision is an outcome of evaluation of alternatives based on
making judgement about an option that is most suitable from a given set of alternatives based
a
choice criteria. Two of types
Forced decision In a forced situation the
alternative and is forced into
making choice. A decision may be forced on account of structural
restrictions. For instance, in a
enjoy freedom to make choice for themselves; insteadplanned
situation also exists in case of
decision taken by the doctor.
Need recognition
Information search
Alternative evaluation
Purchase decision
Post-purchase evaluation
Fia. 3.2 Consumer decsion-making process
information. It is
about
on
decision situations may exist for
a consumer,
namely forced and free.
consumer does not
enjoy free will to choose an
a
monopoly market or
economies, the consumers do not
it is thrust
upon them. A forced decision
prescribed medicines. The consumer
simply has to abide by the
Free decision A situation
when consumer is free to make
decisions at will is the focus of
consumer behaviour
competitive markets in capitalist societies analysis. The
to choose empower consumers
products and services freely. The study of consumer
decision-making is of interest to marketers because consumers
cannot be forced into
choosing what is offered. Rather the
marketer's products and services
must become the chosen
in the exercise of
free will. opthons
Consumer decisions are not
stand alone
decision is usually a
part of a
happenings. A
is process. Just focusing on a
unlikely to be insightful. There
are
decision
succeed the decision processes that precede ana
a marketer
stage. It, therefore, becomes
to
explore the stages that important for
their consumers pass through
m
way to
making
a
buying decision.
The generic
decision-making process consists of five consume
recognition, information search, alternativestages, namely need
and
post-purchase evaluation (see Fig. 3.2). evaluation, purchase,
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 59

Need Recognition Consumer behaviour is directed at solving problems. Existence of a problem

and ts perception is necessary tor a consumer to look out for solutions. Products and services are

marketed as solutions to consumer problems. Problem recognition or

need recognition is a state when a discrepancy is felt between existing
Desired state or actual state and desired state. To put it simply, it refers to when a
consumer feels the need for something. Need is recognized when the
difference between the existing state and desired state is big cnough to

Existing or be perceived by a consumer and activates his decision-making process

Current state for finding solution to it (see Fig. 3-3). Three things are
a
important
here discrepancy between the existing state and desired state, size of
Fig. 3.3 Need recognition discrepancy, and activation of decision-making process.
The consumer is unlikely to move into the problem solution mode unless a problem is felt or a
need is recognized. The absence of perceived discrepancy implies consumer is in a state of balance.
For instance, a consumer's motorcycle gives a fuel economy of 50 kmpl of petrol (current state) and
he expects the motorcycle to give the same mileage (desired state). In this situation no discrepancy is
felt and no need is recognize hence it would not activate the consumer's decision-making process.
A perceived discrepancy between existing state (50 kmpl) and desired state (70 kmpl) is
essential for need recognition to occur. However, this discrepancy may not be sufficient for
need to be recognized for a new motorcycle. In this situation, marketer can activate problem
recognition by influencing the importance and magnitude of discrepancy.
Importance of discrepancy The amount of discrepancy alone may not trigger need

recognitionunless its importance is realized. For instance, a difference of 10 kmpl may not
be considered important to spring a consumer into need recognition. However, this 10 kmpl
difference can be raised in importance by linking this small discrepancy with an issue that is
considered important by the consumer. For instance, the 10 kmpl mileage can be multiplied with
daily fuel consumption multiplied by 30 days to arrive at a monthly difference, which in turn can
be multiplied by 12 months to demonstrate how significant the 10 kmpl difference is. In a similar
vein, Closeup toothpaste seeks consumers to attach importance to bad breath by highlighting
how it can lead to social rejection.

Magnitude of discrepancy In our earlier example, the 10 kmpl discrepancy between the
current mileage and desired mileage is not suficient for need recognition to occur. In this situation,
marketer can attempt to infuence the perception of desired state or current state to enlarge the
magnitude of discrepancy. For instance, a rival motorcycle brand can advertise higher mileage
75 kmpl) of its bike with an objective of that it would influence the consumer to revise his
desired state from 50 kmpl to 75 kmpl. This is one of the most common strategies used by brands
when they promote their performance levels to subdy shift consumer's desired state upward to
increase perceived magnitude between current state and desired state. The other strategy is to
reduce the perception of current state further down. For instance, Closeup advertisements show
people smelling their own breath and point out that their breath does not smell good. Rexona
deodorant alsofollowed a similar strategy in which people who found nothing wrong with their
body odour actually smelled foul.
There can be two types of need recogmition styles among consumers. The 'actual state' type
need recognition happens when consumer recognizes that the problem's current state falls below
desired state (e.g, my shoe is hurting me'). The other 'desired state' need recognition happens
when consumer's desire for something new triggers decision-making (e.g., 'I ought to be looking
60 MARKETING

like that model in the ad'). Problem recognition may be

simple or complex. A simple proble
recognition is the
frequent arousal of needs (e.g., hunger) that are automatically dealt wi
On the other hand,
complex problem recognition is the development of a problem over ith.
as actual state and
derived state move apart (e.g., Overtime tin
usage ot computer may leave.
desiring a system of higher configuration). one

Search for Information

Thesecondstage in the decision-makingprocess
is
search
Once need has been
recognized, the consumer moves on the next forinformation,
For instance, stage of intormation scarch
suppose a person discovers bleeding
different from desired state of gums-current state of bleeding gums beino
of action that the healthy gums and thus a need is
recognized. "The next
ing
is
person likely to take is to search for course
bleed, who can cure information on issues such as
bleeding gums, should one why gums
provide relief, are bleeding gums a common consult a doctor, are there any products that can
previous incidence of such a problem problem, do toothpastes help, and does he recall
suggest his quest for taking an happening with any of his acquaintances. These any

is a appropriate decision to solve his gum problem. questions

necessary condition for Information search
There
decision-making.
are various aspects related
and intenal search, and amount information search
to
of search. behaviour, namely external search
decision-making Information search is an
a consumer is
process. In situations when a
problem is important stage in the
solved for the first
the consumer
buying his first
dishwasher, information search is time, for example.
about the
requires information to form his evaluative necessary for two reasons. First,
product criteria. This requires
Once the desired category
and
characteristics
discovering and learning what
attributes
getting informed
or benefits
order to match their are
identified, information about available
features against the desired
to look
for
helps consumer become aware of brands is
required in
a
characteristics. Therefore,
brands in the awareness set particular brands from the other information search
different brand sets such as
are measured
against the evaluative criteria available brands. Then
evoked, inert, and inept sets. that lead to
formation of
Internal search and external
their menmory. A lot of search Consumer
information is may seek to retrieve
information processing going on in our accumulated in our information stored in
brain. Past memory as a
result of the
active and passive continuous
stored in our
experiences
reception of information that floats in the in
solving problems as well as
memory. This proves a useful source
However, the quality of information of
communication environment
stored intormation to solve gets
For instance, a
consumer's
in
memory may difter across buying problems.
Consumers are likely to be information adequacy 1s likely to ditfer acrosssubjects and consumers.
some consumers qualitatively better informed about products and brands.
may be more informed than
other'S procducts of their interest. Similarl
Capability. When internal information does depending upon their
infomation from external sources. not enable
eltective information retention
decision, consumer looks
In the
out for
previous example, a
person sullering rom
friends, magazines, and experts to
bleeding gums may refer to
get the relevant miormation. All Internet
information search behaviour. The external inlormauon these efforts fall
in
desire to make better search is external
consumption decisions. Tlwo types of external motivated by consumer's
distinguished, namely ongong external scarch and incident search behaviour
can he
external scarch is motivated by consumer interest and specific external search. Ongoino
desire to become
particular area likc some people are nterested in
gadgets. Incident knowledgeable in a
specific
aimed at making informed deIs1ons regarding particular products or services. external search is
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 61
All brands

Awareness set
|Unawareness set

Consideration set Inept set

Brands that are Inert set
Brands that are Brands to which
considered avoided or disliked consuner is indifferent
Fig. 3.4 Different sets of brands
Amount ofsearch The amount of
information a consumer is likely to search for
making a purchase decision is ditficult to arrive at. before
The amount of nformation However, some generalizations can be made.
searched depends upon a number of
very infrequently purchased, greater quantity of information is factors. For products that are
purchasing house. Risky purchases also push consumers into likely
a
to be sought, for example
amount of information searched can heavy information search. The
also be explained with the
approach. People are likely to engage in heavy information search application of cost benefit
if perceived benefit of
additional information outweighs the cost of its any
The information acquisition.
search activity at the end culminates into the
formation of different
of brands (see Fig. 3.4). The consumer is unlikely to be familiar with all the brands that setsare
available in the market. The brands would
get divided into two sets, namely awareness set and
unawareness set. Awareness set consists of those brands that a consumer is
aware of and the
rest
go n the unawareness set. The brands that form awareness set get further divided
three sets, namely evoked set, inert set, and
int
inept set. The evoked set is made up by brands
that consumer considers or evaluates to find the solution of
problem. This set of brands is also
called consideration set or relevant set. The unconsidered brands get divided into inept set and
nert set. The inept set consists of brands that the consumer does not consider appropriate and
nence are avoided. I is a case of negative predisposition towards some brands. For instance,
SOme customers may be negatively inclined towards Chinese brands. The brands in the inert
Set are relatively better placed in comparison to inept set because of the consumer's attitude of
indifference. The information search implication for inept brands is that the consumer is unlikel
and unwilling to entertain information about brands in this set. However, no such aversion is
exhibited to information about brands in the inert set. Consumer Is ikely to receive positive
information about brands in the inert set whereas it is going to be resistecd tor brands in inept set.
t 1s for thhis reason brands in the inept set face tough marketing challenge.
Alternative Evaluation The choice among altermatives is a focal Pomt in consumer decision
making process. A brand's fate is decided at his stage. The brands in consicleration or evoked
r e a c h this stage and are subjected to evaluation. lt i l l hot be aPproprate to scquentially
il is a sunultancous process that
evaluation after infornation search because in cases
many
put
gins even before information gathering begns and goes on alongsicde as mtoration is gathered,
is a process in which cousidered alternatives
ccepted, and discarded. Alternative evaluation
are

criteria. The question then arises as to how a choice

Onpared or matched against the evaluation
62 MARKETINGa
Table 3.1 Brands' focus on different evaluative criteria
Samsung Galaxy S5 Apple iPhone 5S

OS Android (TouchWiz) iOS

Display Size 5.1" 4"

Display Type Super AMOLED IPS LCD

Display Resolution Full HD (1920 x 1080) "Retina"(1136 x 640)
Processor 2.5GHz quad-core 64-bit Apple A7
RAM 2GB 1GB
Rear Camera 16MP; 4K video 8MP; 1080p video
Front Camera 2.1MP 1.2MP; 720p video
Storage 16, 32GB; External SD up to 64GB 16, 32, 64GB
Battery 21 hours talk time, 390 standby 10 hours talk time, 250 standby
Weight 145g 1129
Size 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm

15 made firom brands or alternatives present in consideration set. To put it simplistically a choice
involves rejection of those alternatives that do not serve the purpose well. Consumers are guidedby
certain goals that could be linked with benefits and product attributes. For instance, a car consumer
may be motivated by a goal of personal safety that can be connected with safety features of a
car such as brakes, anti-skid mechanism, and reinforced body. Therefore, brake feature, anti-skid
mechanism, and reinforced body form the evaluative criteria for this customer. The evaluative
criterion consists of those attributes, features, benefits, or dimensions that consumers looks for.
In other words, the evaluative criteria are a set of standards that consumers employ to compare
products and brands. The following are important aspects related to evaluative criteria. (Table 3.
Few dimensions or many dimensions The number of dimensions that would form an
evaluative criteria depends upon the importance attached to the purchase. For instance, the
number of dimensions in the evaluative criteria of
buying of a car is likely to be more as compared
to
buying socks. Product knowledge also influences the number of dimensions
in the evaluauve
criteria. Product
experts are likely to use more dimensions in evaluation as compared to noviees.
Tangible and intangible dimensions Consumer evaluative criteria
may consist of tangible
or
intangible dimensions. Tangible dimensions are objective and measurable considerations
such as fuel economy and speed of a car, while intangible dimensions consist of factors that are
judgemental and abstract such as style or image of a car.
Relative importance Marketers can go
wrong if they do not have proper understanding
relative importance of evaluative criteria dimensions.
Winning during the evaluation proces
requires identification dimensions that are considered most inmportant by the
The distribution of evaluative dimensions in terms of their consunet
relative importance
varies acros
consumers, products, and situations.

Attribute-based or affect-based choice Atribute-based choice assumes that the consun"

er has information about product attributes and choice is made
by attribute-to-attribute compar
ison. For instance, a car buyer compares alternatives on attributes such as transmission,
engine displacement, max power, max torque, mileage, fuel type, tank capacity, and seating
engne
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 63

capacity. This process is

objective but complex and time
affect-based choice is dependent on feelings and holistic consuming. On the other hand, the
is based on global impressions and perception options. Here the choice
of
global attitude toward brand. Affect-based choices consider
a
tohow abrand would make the consumer feel.
this understanding in their promotion
Apparel brands such as
Mango and Zara exploit
strategy.
Consumer evaluation involves two
hemispheres of the brain. The left hemisphere
deals with
logic, language, intelligence, and reasoning, while the
right side controls
creativity, humour, and emotions*, Therefore, a marketer has to choose whether feelings, intuition,
his brand is
going to connect rationally (i.c., left brain) or emotionally (i.e., right brain) with consumers. A
brand that communicates only at the
product level and does not engage customers at emotional
level is like to stay a product. It will not
go on to become a strong brand. A brand operates at a
higher level of utility spectrum. By pressing emotional buttons, a brand forges relationships and
transcends the functionality barrier. Consider
diamonds that have become associated with
products such as greeting cards, chocolates, and
strong emotions. Many coveted brands draw their
consumer pull on the basis of an emotional connection. Brand
names such as Rolex, Montblanc,
Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana (D&G), and Tiffany are not as much about the product as they are
about an imagined halo that connects
directly with human emotions and makes consumers act
in a so called non-rational manner. It is for this reason their
consumers go out of their way to
these brands and care little about the buy
monetary sacrifice that they have to make in the process.
These brands succeed by subversion of thinking by unleashing an emotional outburst.
Purchase Decision Final selection of an option involves use of rules of elimination. The
previously discussed consumer decision processes equip a consumer to develop evaluative criteria
and be knowledgeable about brands in terms of their attributes or features. The consumer now
faces a challenge of picking out a brand, which is most suited to his needs, using some calculation. A
mental map of brands could be made (see Fig. 3.5) in terms of their attributes against the evaluative

Evaluative Apple Samsung Nokia Lenovo

criteria

Processor

Battery life

Storage
space

Camera

Screen

Price

Total
score

Fig. 3.5 Brand atributes and evaluative criteria

64 MARKETING

criteria. Then brands could be rejected by applying some rules of elimination. Brand selosti.
decision is guided by a principal that the consumer is interested in
sclecting the best option, This
consistent with the assumption of a consumer being an information
processor. Information aboua
each of the considered alternatives is ut
processcd
to arrive at a best
perceived
choice.
Broadly there are three rules of climination.
Compensatory rule This rule implies that
higher level of delivery on one attribute cann
compensate for low performance of another attribute. For instance,
high price of diesel cars is
compensated by their better mileage. The compensatory rules allow trade-offs between positives
and negatives. Onc of the
simplest compensatory formulas is to add up all scores of
on each of the
evaluative dimensions and choose the performance
the row option that has the highest score. In
Fig. 35
indicating the total score can reveal the brand with the best overall
score.
Non-compensatory rule This rule means that low
by higher delivery on the other. For performance delivery on one attribute
cannot be ofset or

not
compensate for its taste. For instance, a consumer instance,a high health value of snacks may
to trade-off
battery life for a better buying mobile phone may not be willing
processor.
Decision heuristics Often
consumers do notuse elaborate
decision-making; instead they use simple rules of thumb and systematic processes in
shortcuts that accelerate decisions. to guide them. The rules of thumb are
After the decision has been
made the consumer moves into
requires making purchase.
a
This
phase decision-execution stage. This
is crucial for the
intention to buy chosen brand may
a marketer because the
consumer's end. For instance, an get disrupted by situational factors. This consumer's
medical illness. Outside emergency may erupt to upset the may happen at the
situational factors may also buying
purchase of a chosen brand. For instance, situations contribute to disruptionplans
like a sudden
of stock-out, sales and prevent the
money, store ambience, store
disrupt plans to buy the chosenpolicies,
brand.
of other customers atperson's
and attitude behaviour, theft of
the point
may win consumers
through
Management of influences inside the store is of purchase can
effective communication but
distance between intention and it may not crucial. Brands
actual
purchase could
be filled with
ensure
because the victory
Post-purchase Behaviour Decision-making does not end with
disruptive influences.
after the purchase the act of
go through the
involves comparison between the post-purchase evaluation stage. purchase. Consumers,
Often consumers, who have expectations and actual pertormancePost-purchase
of the
evaluation
dissonance. The
bought brand, experience a
a
product or brand.
term
cognitive dissonance implies psychological state called
presence of conflicting beliefs and
behaviours. For
situation of
a
cognitive
discomfort arising out the
works for an instance, suppose a
environmentally
with his behaviour. Take another irresponsible company. Here his valueshighly eco-sensitive person
or beliefs
example
discovers that the fries were laced with
of a
vegetarian consumer of French
are in
conflict
beef tallow. fries who later
Cognitive dissonance1 is a state of
discomBort, where the customer
of mind with experiences a tensed state
conflicting thoughts, after the customer has made the
every individual strives for pcace of mind. In case of purchase. Psychologically,
to reduce this tension cognitive clashes, the
by either reducing or erasing the dissonant beliets consumer attempts
importance of the dissonant belief or attitude. Theretore, it induces or
by reducing the
eliminate the same. For instance, it is people to
adopt strategies to
extremely important for marketers to communicate
their current customers (positive behaviour) so that with
they continue to think favourably about their
brand (positive belief) and do not develop negative
thoughts (negative belief).
 CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR 65
At
post-purchase level three possibilities exist.
Satisfaction This is when a
consumer's expectations
between are met or when there is
expectations and discrepancy
delivery. Satisfaction inmplies absence of dissatisfaction. It isnoneutral a state.
Dissatisfaction This is when the consumer
fecls dissatisfied when
It is a
negatively-charged
situation and the consumer fecls delivery is short ofexpectations.
displeasure and disappointment.
Delight This is when the consumer feels
Customer delight is caused when customer is delighted as actual delivery exceeds expectations.
Customer satisfaction is a
pleasantly surprised.
necessary condition but not sufficient to survive in an
of intense competition. There is no environment
guarantee that satisfied customers would
keep coming back.
Satisfaction does not ensure consumer
loyalty because now most marketers offer satistactory
products and services. Satisfied consumers are
retention has become the key to open to switching. The strategy of customer
higher profits due to saturation of markets and difficulty in
attracting customers. Therefore, it is essential to make
Loyalty is different from
a
greater proportion of customers loyal.
repeat buying because loyalty refers to
brand commitment. Emotional
commitment is the essence of
buying coupled
repeat with
consumer loyalty.

TYPES OF DECISIONS
A variety of products and services such as safety pin, toothpaste, ketchup, toilet
soap, aftershave
lotion, television, chewing gum, microwave, shirt, car, and
computer are used in a typical day
Participation of consumers in these different product categories raises a natural
decisions to buy in these categories made in a similar manner? On question-are
the first impression, it is
obvious that decision-making is not the same in
buying a car and a chewing gum. This difference
makes it necessary understand if there are different types of decisions. It is
to
easy to understand
that significantly less effort goes into
decision-making of buying a chewing in gum comparison to
a car. The question is why is it so?
Consumer's level of involvement differs in case of buying a chewing gum firom a car in terms
of importance and
significance because of the cost involved, personal connection, social visibility,
and brand differences. The obvious consequence of this is that car buying becomes a serious
decision involving greater complexity and rigour. The consumers in a state of high involvement
Tesort to solving their buying problem extensively. The guicding idea behind extensive problem-
solving is to arrive at a 'correct choice'. A consumer in a low involvement state would alter
decision-making and move to limited problem-solving. Broadly, three types of decision-making
can be distinguished, namely extensive decision-making, limited decision-making, and routine
or habitual decision-making.

Extensive decision-making This kind of decision-making is extended or elaborate and is

prompted when a decision about something important or significant is to be made. The significance
may stem from high financial or social risk. Extensive decision-making is a consumer's response to
high purchase involvenment in which emphasis is on makinga correct choice because implications
ofa wrong decision can be grave. Car buying would lead to extensive decision-making or problem-
solving. It is characterized by extensive infornmation search, especially external. This is done in
order to develop beliefs about the brands available in the market. Thereafter, the consumer
applies elaborate multidimensional criteria to evaluate the alternatives. This is done to select an
alternative hat would deliver the maximum value or satisfaction. This does not mean that only
66 MARKETING

rational products
involve extensive
significance may lead to extensive
decision-making process. Even products of high emotio
made such as decision-making where in substantial cognitive effort ional
apparels and perfumes.
Therefore, extensive decision-making is may
risk and involvement. It
involves extensive search for information prompted by hioi
and personal from external sources
sources), rigorous and multidimensional evolution, (multinl
and active
post-purchase evaluation. shopping at multiple outlet
Limited
solving as
decision-making This form of
decision-making replaces extensive problem-
consumers become
aremade using limited knowledgeable and
expcrienced. A large number of decisions
makin process that is decision-making process. Consider the difference between
undergone when a product like a the
time and its
subsequent smartphone is purchased fordecision-
because the consumer is buys.
The process is the first
likely to be less shortened or
able to use his rigorous and
making characterized by reduced
is learningacquired during first purchase. This intense
his
information search, evaluation,
post-purchase evaluation. Products that decision-
require only limited involve extensive shopping behaviour, and
problem-solving
for a problem-solving in time move
consumer. on to
Habitual or nominal or routine
situation in which a
consumer is decision-making Habit is
behaviour and it
such salt, soap, and chewing nominally
as involved in
decision-making. signifies
Consider how products
a

the consumer gum are bought. As the need for these

directly buys them, almost
the information products recognized,
is
stage. Decisions are routinized skipping
because additional search and evaluation
contribute to superior information search and
bought products. The decision-making. This kind of evaluation does not
decision-making usually for frequentdy
the nature of frequency decision-making allows
of
available brands in the evoked
is
customer to
First, consumer may
develop
or
consideration set.
Herein,
completely understand
connection and develop routine topreference for a brand
based on rational
two situations
may exist.
buy the same brand
decision-making process. Second, consumer superiority or
again and again emotional
similar, therefore any one may conclude that brands in
without engaging
in
can be
stands out of the bought. In routine buying, the evoked set are
and decision-making process. Therefore, information
post-purchase evaluation is almost
consumer more or less
completely
search,
non-existent. evaluation, shopping,

Extensive decision-
making
Limited decision-making
Nominal
decision-making
Type of decision

Fig. 3.6 Decision-making and effect of consumer

learning