Perceptual Interpretation:

Stereotyping
Lecture Notes: Dr. Rand Irshaidat
Refernece:Schiffman,L.G, & Wisenblit,J.L (2014), Consumer Behavior, 11ed, Pearson

Pride, W., & Ferrell, O. C. (2012). Foundations of Marketing. 5th Edition. Cengage
Learning
 Just as selection of stimuli is personal, interpretation is also
uniquely individual, because it depends on what the individuals
expect to see in light of:
 their previous experiences,
 the number of plausible explanations they can envision,
 their motives,
 their interests at the time of perception.

When stimuli are highly ambiguous, individuals will interpret

them as they wish in a way that serves their personal needs.
(filling incomplete sentences or continuing unfinished paintings,
etc)
 How a person interpret a vague stimuli is a reflection not of the
stimuli itself, but of the subject’s own needs, wants, and desires.

Through the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli, respondents

reveal a great deal about themselves.

Individuals carry biased pictures in their minds of the meanings of

various stimuli, which are stereotypes.

Sometimes, when presented with sensory stimuli, people add these

biases to what they see or hear and thus from distorted impressions.
 Example, an ad for United Colors of Benetton
portrayed racial harmony. Public observed it as a white
man arresting a black man handcuffed together. There
was no indication of the white man arresting the black
man whatsoever. But this interpretation was a reflection
of stereotypes.

It is observed that people resort to stereotyping

because it makes the processing of sensory inputs quick
and easy.
Consumer Imagery

Consumer imagery refers to consumer’s perceptions

of all the components of products, services, and brands,
and how consumers evaluate the quality of marketer’s
offerings.

Products and brand have images and symbolic values

for consumers based on the unique benefits that these
products claim they provide.
Brand image:
 The desired outcome of effective positioning is a

distinct position (or image) that a brand occupies in

consumers’ minds.

- This mental image must be unique and represent the

core benefit the brand provides.
 Most new products fail because they are perceived as “me
too” offerings that do not offer consumers any advantages
or unique benefits.

 For example, Benetton positions itself as the “ United colors

of Benetton” as a brand concerned with the unity of
humankind.

- It is argued however; in today’s highly competitive world it

is difficult to maintain a unique image. This is why
marketers attempt to constantly reposition their image.
 Package Image

- Packaging is the activity of designing and producing

containers or wrappers for a product.
- Packaging must achieve a number of objectives:
- identify the brand
- Convey descriptive and persuasive information
 Facilitate product transportation and protection

 Packaging conveys the brand image through fonts,

colors, and information.

- Example: Tide detergent version that promises stain

removes comes in an orange plastic container with a
large handle on its side and conveys the heaviness of
the product. Consumers associate heaviness with
strength of removing stains.
 Service Image

 Service marketers face several problems in positioning and

promoting their products.

 Services are intangible; image becomes a key factor in

differentiation. Thus, the objective is to enable the consumer to link
a specific image with the brand.

- Here comes the importance of physical evidence to associate the

brand with positive images. Also post purchase services are highly
recommended in the service sector to generate positive perception.
 Perceived Price

 Is the customer’s view of the value that he or she

receives from the purchase positive?

- How a consumer perceives a price as low or fair

influences purchase intentions and post purchase
satisfaction.
 Products advertised “on sale” tend to create enhanced
customer perceptions of savings and value.

 Different formats used in sales advertisements have

differing impacts, based on consumer’s reference
prices.

- A reference price is any price that a consumer uses as a

basis for comparison in judging another price.
 Sometimes, an advertiser may use external reference
prices “sold elsewhere at…” for the sake of persuasion.

- Internal reference prices are retrieved within the

memory of the consumer. They are a major role in
determining price perception.
 Perceived Quality
 “Quality can be defined as a dynamic state associated with
products, services, people, processes, and environments that
meets or exceeds expectations and helps produce superior
value.”

 The perception of quality depends on intrinsic and

extrinsic cues of the products.

- Such cues can provide the basis for perceptions of goods

and service quality.
 Product quality:
 Intrinsic cues are physical attributes of the product
itself such as size, color, texture, material, etc.

 Consumers believe that intrinsic cues are the major

judgment for product objective or reasonable evaluation

- Extrinsic cues: are characteristics that are not inherent

in the product, for instance cues such as brand image and
personality. i.e. elegant
 Service Quality
 Services are intangible,
 variable,
 perishable,
 consumed instantly.
 These factors make it harder to evaluate the quality of
service.

- Consumers rely on extrinsic cues to evaluate service

quality. (people, processes, physical evidence)
 - The actual quality can vary from day to day, from service
employee to another, and from customer to customer.

Marketers try to standardize their services in order to provide

consistency of quality. The downside of this standardization is
the loss of customized service.

- Unlike products, services are produced and consumed,

which gives little opportunity to correct the mistakes.

A defected product however can be inspected by the factory before

distribution.
 During peak hours, the interactive quality of
services often declines, because the service providers
are hurried and under stress.

Without special efforts by the service provider to ensure

consistency of service, the image is likely to decline.

Many try to change demand patterns to reduce pressure

and distribute the service fairly. i.e. happy hours in
resultants.
Gap Model

- GAP 1: Gap between consumer expectation and management

perception: arises when the management or service provider does not
correctly perceive what the customers wants or needs.

 GAP 2 : Gap between management perception and service quality

specification: this is when the management or service provider might
correctly perceive what the customer wants, but may not set a
performance standard.

- GAP 3: Gap between service quality specification and service

delivery: may arise pertaining to the service personnel. This could
arise due to there being poor training, incapability or unwillingness to
meet the set service standard.
 GAP 4 : Gap between service delivery and external
communication: consumer expectations are highly
influenced by statements made by company
representatives and advertisements. The gap arises
when these assumed expectations are not fulfilled at the
time of service delivery.

- GAP 5: Gap between expected service and

experienced service: this gap arises when the
consumer misinterprets the service quality.
SERVQUAL is a multi-item scale developed to assess
customer perceptions of service quality in service
and retail businesses.

The scale decomposes the notion of service quality into

five constructs as follows:
 SERVQUAL represents service quality as the
discrepancy between a customer's
expectations for a service offering and the
customer's perceptions of the service
received, requiring respondents to answer
questions about both their expectations and
their perceptions.
 Tangibles - physical facilities, equipment, staff appearance, etc.

Reliability - ability to perform service dependably and accurately

Responsiveness - willingness to help and respond to customer

need

Assurance - ability of staff to inspire confidence and trust

Empathy - the extent to which caring individualized service is

given
 Perceived Risk:

 Consumer's level of uncertainty regarding the outcome

of a purchase decision, especially in case of high priced
item such as a car, or a complex item like a computer.

- Consumers attempt to reduce their anxiety by collecting

more information and by seeking the recommendations
of a peer group or an expert on the subject matter.
 Manufacturers and marketers try to reduce this risk with
reassuring guaranties, by obtaining the backing or recognized
groups or opinion leaders, or by hiring a well-known and
respected spokesperson.

 Classifying customers in the context of risk:

 Narrow categorizers: high risk perceivers who limit their choices

to a few safe alternatives.

- Broad categorizers: low risk perceivers who make their choices

from a broad set of alternatives.