Lamb, Hair, McDaniel

CHAPTER 6

Consumer Decision Making

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The Importance of Understanding
Consumer Behavior

Explain why
marketing managers
should understand
consumer behavior
Understanding Consumer
Behavior
consumers
consumers make
make
purchase
purchase decisions
decisions

Consumer
Consumer
behavior = HOW
behavior

consumers
consumers useuse and
and
dispose
dispose of
of product
product
 The Consumer
Decision-Making Process

Analyze the
components
of the consumer
decision-making
process
 Consumer
Decision-Making Process

Consumer
Consumer
Decision-Making
Decision-Making
Process
Process A five-step process used
by consumers when
buying goods or services.
 Exhibit 6.1
Consumer Decision-
Making Process
Need Recognition
Need
Need
Recognition
Recognition

Result of an imbalance between

actual and desired states.
 Need Recognition

Int
e
Sti rnal
mu
li

Preferred
Preferred
Present
Present State
State
Status
Status
n al
t e r li
Ex timu
S Marketing helps consumers recognize
an imbalance between present status
and preferred state.
 Stimulus
Stimulus
Stimulus

Any unit of input affecting

one or more of the five senses:
•sight
•smell
•taste
•touch
•hearing
 Recognition of
Unfulfilled Wants
• When a current product isn’t performing
properly

• When the consumer is running out of a

product

• When another product seems superior to the

one currently used
 Information Search

Internal Information Search

• Recall information in memory

External Information search

• Seek information in outside environment

• Nonmarketing controlled
• Marketing controlled
 External
Information Searches
Need Less Need More
Information Information

Less Risk More Risk

More knowledge Less knowledge
More product experience Less product experience
Low level of interest High level of interest
Confidence in decision Lack of confidence
Nature of Information Search

Consumers continually recognize problems and opportunities,

so internal and external searches for information to solve these
problems are ongoing processes.

Internal Search External Search

Search of long-term memory to If a resolution is not reached

determine if a satisfactory through internal search, then
solution is known. the search process is
focused on relevant external
information.

4-4
Information search in consumer decisions

4-8
Brands in initial awareness set

4-10
Types of Information Sought
Appropriate Alternatives
The Awareness set is composed of three subcategories of
considerable importance to marketers:
1. The evoked set or consideration set contains brands or
products one will evaluate.

2. The inept set consists of brands found to be completely

unworthy of further consideration.

3. The inert set contains brands for which the consumer is

aware of but basically indifferent toward.

4-11
Categories of decision alternatives

4-12
Types of Information Sought
Alternative Characteristics

To choose among the brands in the evoked set, the

consumer compares them on the relevant evaluative
criteria.

This process requires the consumer to gather

information about each brand on each pertinent
evaluative criterion.

4-13
Sources of Information

Five primary sources of information available to consumers:

Memory of past searches, personal experiences

Personal sources, such as friends, family, and others.

Independent sources, such as magazines, consumer
groups, and government agencies
Marketing sources, such as sales personnel, websites, and
advertising
Experiential sources, such as product trial

4-14
Awareness and evoked sets for various
products

4-15
 Information sources

Impersonal Personal

advertising,
Commercial salespeople
information

Non- general purpose

social others(friends
commercial media (Experts and
Families)
Critcs

4-16
Information sources for a purchase
decision

4-17
 Evoked Set

Evoked
Evoked Set
Set

Group of brands, resulting from an

information search, from which a
buyer can choose
Evaluation of Alternatives
and Purchase
Evoked Set Analyze
Analyze product
product
attributes
attributes

Use
Use cutoff
cutoff criteria
criteria

Rank
Rank attributes
attributes by
by
importance
importance
Purchase!
 Purchase

To buy
or not to buy...

Determines which attributes

are most important
in influencing a
consumer’s choice
Postpurchase Behavior

Explain the consumer’s

postpurchase
evaluation process
Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive
Cognitive Inner tension that a
Dissonance
Dissonance consumer experiences
after recognizing an
inconsistency between
behavior and values or
opinions.
Types of Consumer Buying Decisions
and Consumer Involvement

Identify the types of

consumer buying
decisions and discuss
the significance of
consumer involvement
Consumer Buying Decisions
and Consumer Involvement

Routine
Routine Limited
Limited Extensive
Extensive
Response
Response Decision
Decision Decision
Decision
Behavior
Behavior Making
Making Making
Making

Less More
Involvement Involvement
 Involvement

Involvement is…
the amount of time and effort a buyer invests in the
search, evaluation, and decision processes of
consumer behavior.
Exhibit 6.2
Continuum of
Consumer Buying
Decisions
 Routine
Response Behavior
 Little involvement in selection process

 Frequently purchased low cost goods

 May stick with one brand

 Buy first/evaluate later

 Quick decision
Limited Decision Making
 Low levels of involvement

 Low to moderate cost goods

 Evaluation of a few alternative

brands

 Short to moderate time to decide

Extensive Decision Making
 High levels of involvement

 High cost goods

 Evaluation of many brands

 Long time to decide

 May experience cognitive dissonance

Factors Determining the Level
of Consumer Involvement
Previous
Previous Experience
Experience

Interest
Interest

Perceived
Perceived Risk
Risk of
of
Negative
Negative Consequences
Consequences

Situation
Situation

Social
Social Visibility
Visibility
Marketing Implications
of Involvement

High-involvement
High-involvement Extensive
Extensive and
andinformative
informative
purchases
purchases require:
require: promotion
promotion to
to target
target market
market

In-store
In-storepromotion,
promotion,
eye-catching
eye-catchingpackage
package
Low-involvement
Low-involvement design,
design,and
andgood
gooddisplays.
displays.
purchases
purchases require:
require: Coupons,
Coupons,
2-for-1
2-for-1offers
offers
 Perception

Selective
Selective Consumer
Consumer notices
notices certain
certain stimuli
stimuli
Exposure
Exposure and
and ignores
ignores others
others

Consumer
Consumer changes
changes oror distorts
distorts
Selective
Selective information
information that
that conflicts
conflicts
Distortion
Distortion with
with feelings
feelings or
or beliefs
beliefs
Consumer
Consumer remembers
remembers only
only
Selective
Selective that
that information
information that
that
Retention
Retention supports
supports personal
personal beliefs
beliefs
 Motivation

Maslow’s
Maslow’s
Hierarchy
Hierarchy
of
of Needs
Needs
A method of classifying human
needs and motivations into five
categories in ascending order of
importance.
 Types of Learning

An
An experience
experience changes
changes
Experiential
Experiential behavior
behavior

Not
Not learned
learned through
through direct
direct
Conceptual
Conceptual experience
experience
Beliefs and Attitudes

An organized pattern of
Belief knowledge that an individual
Belief
holds as true about his or her
world.

A learned tendency to respond

Attitude consistently toward a given
Attitude
object.