CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Consumer Decision Making and Beyond

WHAT IS A DECISION?
1. In the most general terms, a decision is the selection of an option from two or more

alternative choices.
2. If the consumer has no alternatives from which to choose and is literally forced to make a

particular purchase or take a particular action (e.g., use a prescribed medication), then this
does not constitute a decision and is commonly referred to as a Hobsons choice.
b) In actuality, no-choice purchase or consumption situations are fairly rare.
LEVELS OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING
1. Not all consumer decisions receive or require the same amount of effort in the information

search.
2. Researchers have identified three specific levels of consumer decision making: extensive
problem solving, limited problem solving, and reutilized response behavior.
Extensive Problem Solving
1. When consumers have no established criteria for evaluating a product, or have not narrowed

their choices, then they are in extensive problem solving.

2. At this level, the consumer needs a great deal of information to establish a set of criteria on
which to judge specific brands and a correspondingly large amount of information
concerning each of the brands to be considered.
Limited Problem Solving
1. At this level consumers have already established the basic criteria for evaluating the product

category but havent established preferred categories.

2. Their search for additional information is more like fine-tuning; they must gather

additional brand information to discriminate among the various brands.

Routinized Response Behavior
1. At this level, consumers have some experience with the product category and a well-

established set of criteria with which to evaluate the brands they are considering.
a) They may search for a small amount of additional information.
2. Just how extensive a consumers problem-solving task is depends on how well established
his or her criteria for selection are, how much information he or she has about each brand
being considered, and how narrow the set of brands is from which the choice will be made.
3. Routinized response behavior implies little need for additional information.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODELS OF CONSUMERS: FOUR VIEWS OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING
1. The term models of consumers refer to a general view or perspective as to how and why

individuals behave as they do.

2. Four views will be examined:

a)
b)
c)
d)

An economic view.
A passive view.
A cognitive view.
An emotional view.

An Economic View
1. The consumer has often been characterized as making rational decisions.

a)

This model, called the economic man theory, has been criticized by consumer
researchers for a number of reasons.
b) To behave rationally in the economic sense, a consumer would have to:
i) Be aware of all available product alternatives.
ii) Be capable of correctly ranking each alternative in terms of its benefits and its
disadvantages.
iii) Be able to identify the one best alternative.
c) This perspective is unrealistic because:
i) People are limited by their existing skills, habits, and reflexes.
ii) People are limited by their existing values and goals.
iii) People are limited by the extent of their knowledge.
2. Consumers operate in an imperfect world; therefore the economic view is often rejected as
too idealistic and simplistic.
A Passive View
1. The opposite of the economic view is the view of the consumer as basically submissive to the

self-serving interests and promotional efforts of marketers (i.e., the passive view).
2. Consumers are perceived as impulsive and irrational purchasers, ready to yield to the arms

and aims of marketers.

3. The principal limitation of this model is that it fails to recognize that the consumer plays an

equal, if not dominant, role in many buying situations by seeking information about product
alternatives and selecting the product that appears to offer the greatest satisfaction.
4. This view is largely unrealistic.
A Cognitive View
1. This view portrays the consumer as a thinking problem solver.
2. The cognitive model focuses on the processes by which consumers seek and evaluate

information about selected brands and retail outlets.

3. Consumers are viewed as information processors, and this leads to the formulation of
preferences, and ultimately, purchase intentions.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
4. In contrast to the economic view, this view recognizes that the consumer is unlikely to seek

all possible information, but will only seek information until he/she has what is perceived as
sufficient information to make a satisfactory decision.
5. Consumers are presumed to use heuristicsshort-cut decision rules to facilitate decision
making.
a) They also use decision rules when exposed to too much informationinformation
overload.
6. This model depicts a consumer who does not have complete knowledge, and therefore cannot
make perfect decisions, but who actively seeks information and attempts to make satisfactory
decisions.
An Emotional View
1. Although aware of the emotional or impulsive side of consumer decision making, marketers

have preferred the economic or passive models.

2. In reality, when is comes to certain purchases or possessions, deep feelings or emotions are

likely to be highly involved.

3. Possessions may also serve to preserve a sense of the past and help with transitions in times

of change.
4. When a consumer makes what is basically an emotional purchase decision, less emphasis

tends to be placed on searching for prepurchase information and more on the current mood or
feelings.
5. Unlike an emotion, which is a response to a particular environment, a mood is more typically
an unfocused, pre-existing statealready present at the time a consumer experiences an
advertisement, a retail environment, a brand, or a product.
6. Mood is important to consumer decision making in that it impacts when consumers shop,
where they shop, and whether they shop alone or with others.
a) Some retailers attempt to create a mood for shoppers.
b) Individuals in a positive mood recall more information about a product than those in a
negative mood.
A MODEL OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING
1. The model looks at cognitive processes, problem solving, and to some degree, the emotional

aspects of consumer decision making as well.

2. This is not an exhaustive review but a synthesis and coordination of relevant concepts into a
whole.
Input
1. The input component draws on external influences that provide information or influence a

consumers product-related values, attitudes, and behavior.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Marketing Inputs
1. The firms marketing activities are a direct attempt to reach, inform, and persuade consumers

to buy and use its products.

2. The impact of a firms marketing efforts is governed by the consumers perception of these

efforts.
3. Marketers should be alert to consumer perceptions by sponsoring consumer research, rather

than to rely on the intended impact of their marketing messages.

Sociocultural Inputs
1. Sociocultural inputs consist of a wide range of noncommercial influencescomments of a

friend, an editorial in the newspaper, a family member, and direct noncommercial sources of
information.
2. The unwritten codes of conduct communicated by culture indicate right and wrong
consumption behavior.
3. The cumulative impact of each firms marketing efforts, the influence of family, friends, and
neighbors, and societys existing code of behavior are all likely to affect the how and what of
consumer purchases.
Process
1. The process component of the model is concerned with how consumers make decisions.
2. Psychological fieldrepresents the internal influencesmotivation, perception, learning,

personality, and attitudesthat affect consumers decision-making processes.

3. The consumer decision consists of three states: need recognition, prepurchase search, and
evaluation of alternatives.
Need Recognition
1. Recognition of a need occurs when a consumer is faced with a problem.
2. Among consumers there seem to be two different problem recognition styles.

a)

Actual state typesconsumers who perceive that they have a problem when a product
fails to perform satisfactorily.
b) Desired state typesthe desire for something new may trigger the decision process.
Prepurchase Search
1. Prepurchase search begins when a consumer perceives a need that might be satisfied by the

purchase and consumption of a product.

a) The consumer usually searches his or her memory first.
b) If no experience is present then he/she may engage in an extensive search of the outside
environment.
Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
c)

2.

3.

4.

5.

Past experience is considered an internal source of information.

i) The greater the relevance of past experience, the less of an external search.
ii) The degree of perceived risk can also influence this stage.
iii) High risk situations will lead to complex information gathering, low-risk, simple
search and evaluation.
The act of shopping is an important form of external information.
a) According to a recent consumer study there is a big difference between men and women
in terms of their response to shopping.
b) In addition to gender differences, research reveals that price considerations can also
play a role in determining the extent of the search process.
An examination of the external search effort associated with the purchase of different product
categories (e.g., TVs, VCRs, or personal computers) found that, as the amount of total search
effort increased, consumer attitudes toward shopping became more positive, and more time
was made available for shopping.
a) The less consumers know about a product category and the more important the purchase
is to them, the more time they will make available and the more extensive their
prepurchase search activity is likely to be.
The Internet has had a great impact on prepurchase search.
a) Web sites can provide consumers with much of the information they need about the
products and services they are considering.
How much information a consumer will gather also depends on various situational factors.

Evaluation of Alternatives
1. When evaluating potential alternatives, consumers tend to use two types of information:

a) A list of brands (the evoked set).

b) The criteria they will use to evaluate each brand.
2. Evoked setevoked set refers to the specific brands the consumer considers in making a
purchase in a particular product category.
a) The inept set consists of brands the consumer excludes from purchase consideration as
unacceptable.
b) The inert set is those brands to which the consumer is indifferent because they are
perceived as having no advantage.
c) The evoked set consists of the small number of brands the consumer is familiar with,
remembers, and finds acceptable.
3. The five terminal positions in the model that do not end in purchase would appear to have
perceptual problems. For example:
a) Brands may be unknown because of the consumers selective exposure to advertising
media and selective perception of advertising stimuli.
b) Brands may be unacceptable because of poor qualities or attributes or inappropriate
positioning in either advertising or product characteristics.
c) Brands may be perceived as not having any special benefits and are regarded
indifferently by the consumer.
d) Brands may be overlooked because they have not been clearly positioned or sharply
targeted at the consumer market segment under study.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
e)

Brands may not be selected because they are perceived by consumers as unable to
satisfy perceived needs as fully as the brand that is chosen.
4. The implication for marketers is that promotional techniques should be designed to impart a
more favorable, perhaps more relevant product image to the target consumer.
5. Criteria used for evaluation brandsthe criteria consumers use for evaluating brands are

usually expressed in terms of important product attributes.

a) When a company knows that consumers will be evaluating alternatives, they sometimes
advertise in a way that recommends the criteria that consumers should use in assessing
product or service options.
b) Research shows that when consumers discuss such right products, there is little or no
mention of price; brand names are not often top-of-mind; items often reflect personality
characteristics or childhood experiences; and it is often love at first sight.
6. Consumer decision rulesconsumer decision rules are referred to as heuristics, decision

strategies, and information-processing strategies, and are procedures used by consumers to

facilitate brand choices.
a) These rules reduce the burden of decision making.
b) Compensatory decision rulesa consumer evaluates brand options in terms of each
relevant attribute and computes a weighted or summated score for each brand.
i) The computed score reflects the brands relative merit as a potential purchase
choice.
ii) The assumption is that the consumer will choose the brand with the highest score.
iii) A unique feature of a compensatory decision rule is that it allows a positive
evaluation of a brand on one attribute to balance out a negative evaluation on some
other attribute.
c) Noncompensatory decision rules do not allow consumers to balance positive
evaluations of a brand on one attribute against a negative evaluation on some other
attribute. Forms include:
i) Conjunctive decision rulethe consumer establishes a minimally acceptable level
that is established as a cutoff point for each attribute.
a)
If any particular brand falls below the cutoff point on any one attribute, the
brand is eliminated from consideration.
ii) Disjunctive rulethis rule mirrors the conjunctive rule.
a)
The consumer establishes a minimally acceptable level as a cutoff point for
each attribute.
b)
In this case if a brand alternative meets or exceeds the cutoff established for
any one attribute, however, it is accepted.
iii) Lexicographic decision rulethe consumer first ranks the attributes in terms of
perceived relevance or importance.
a)
The consumer then compares the various brand alternatives in terms of the
single attribute that is considered most important.
b)
If one brand scores sufficiently high on this top-ranked attribute, it is
selected, and the process ends.
c)
The highest-ranked attribute may reveal something about the individuals
consumer orientation.
Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
7. A variety of decision rules appear common. Nine out of ten shoppers who go to the store for

frequently purchased items have a specific shopping strategy for saving money.
a) Practical loyalistslook for ways to save on those brands and products that they would
buy anyway.
b) Bottom-Line Price Shoppersbuy the lowest-priced item, with little or no regard for
brand.
c) Opportunistic Switchersuse coupons or sales to decide among brands and products
that fall within their evoked set.
d) Deal Hunterslook for the best bargain and are not brand-loyal.
8. A synthesized decision rule, the affect referral decision rule, is the simplest, and is the
consumer remembering past evaluations from his/her evoked set and selecting the brand with
the highest perceived overall rating.
9. Going online to secure assistance in decision makingfor the past several years researchers

have been examining how using the Internet has impacted the way consumers make
decisions.
a) Three factors that have been researched are:
i) Task complexity (number of alternatives and amount of information available for
each alternative).
ii) Information organization (presentation, format, and content).
iii) Time constraint (more or less time to decide).
10. Lifestyles as a consumer decision strategyan individuals or familys decisions to be

11.

12.
13.

14.

committed to a particular lifestyle impacts their consumer behavior.

a) Research suggests that 15 percent of Baby Boomers will be seeking a simpler lifestyle.
Incomplete information and noncomparable alternativesin many situations consumers face
incomplete information. They cope with this missing information in a number of ways.
a) They may delay decision making until the missing information is available.
b) They may ignore the missing information and work with available information.
c) Consumers may change their decision-making strategy to accommodate the missing
information.
d) Consumers may infer or construct the missing information.
e) Consumers may conclude that none of their choices offer sufficient benefits to warrant
purchase.
f) Sometimes consumers use decision rules to compare dissimilar alternatives.
A series of decisionsa purchase can involve a number of decisions rather than a single
decision.
Decision rules and marketing strategyan understanding of which decision rules consumers
apply in selecting a particular product or service is useful to marketers concerned with
formulating a promotional program.
Consumption visiona study found the attitudes and search behavior of a vision, a mental
picture or visual image of specific usage outcomes and/or consumption consequences.
a) Such visions allow consumers to imagine or vicariously participate in the consumption
of the product or service prior to making an actual decision.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
OUTPUT
1. The output portion of the consumer decision-making model concerns two closely associated

kinds of postdecision activity: purchase behavior and postpurchase evaluation.

2. The objective of both activities is to increase the consumers satisfaction with his or her

purchase.
Purchase Behavior
1. Consumers make three types of purchases: trial purchases, repeat purchases, and long-term

commitment purchases.
a) Trial is the exploratory phase of purchase behavior in which consumers attempt to
evaluate a product through direct use.
i) When a trial is satisfactory, consumers are likely to repeat the purchase.
b) Repeat purchase behavior is similar to brand loyalty.
i) A repeat purchase usually signifies that the product meets with the consumers
approval and that the consumer is willing to use it again and in larger quantities.
ii) This form is closely related to brand loyalty.
c) Trial is not always feasible, such as with big-ticket items and durable goods. In that case
the consumer moves from evaluation directly to long-term commitment.
Postpurchase Evaluation
1. As consumers use a product, they evaluate its performance in light of their own expectations.
2. There are three possible outcomes of such evaluation.

a) Actual performance matches the standard, leading to a neutral feeling.

b) Positive disconfirmation when the performance exceeds the standard.
c) Negative disconfirmation when the performance is below the standard.
3. An important aspect of the purchase process is reducing postpurchase cognitive dissonance,
when consumers try to reassure themselves that their choice was a wise one.
4. The degree of postpurchase analysis relates to the importance of the product decision and the
experience acquired in using the product.
5. The consumers postpurchase evaluation feeds back as experience to the consumers
psychological field and serves to influence future related decisions.
CONSUMER GIFTING BEHAVIOR
1. The amount of money spent and feelings generated by gifts make them an interesting part of

consumer behavior.
2. Gifting behavior is the process of gift exchange that takes place between a giver and

receiver.
a) It includes gifts given to (and received from) others and gifts to oneself, or self-gifts.
3. Gifting is symbolic communication with implicit and explicit meanings.
4. One of the models of gifting reveals the following five gifting subdivisions:
Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

a) Intergroup gifting.
b) Intercategory gifting.
c) Intragroup gifting.
d) Interpersonal gifting.
e) Intrapersonal gifting.
Intergroup gifting occurs when one group exchanges gifts with another.
Intercategory gifting is an individual giving a group a gift, or a group giving an individual a
gift.
An intragroup gift is a gift that a group gives itself.
Interpersonal gifts occur between two individuals.
An intrapersonal gift is a self-gift.

BEYOND THE DECISION: CONSUMING AND POSSESSING

1. Historically consumer behavior studies have focused on the product, service, or brand

choices.
2. We now see that the experience of possessing, collecting, or consuming things contributes to

consumer satisfaction and overall quality of life.

3. Consumer choices might be viewed at the beginning of the consumption process rather than

at the end.
a) The choice or purchase decision is the input of the process.
b) The input stage includes a consumption set and a consumption style.
c) The process stage consists of using, possessing, collecting, and disposing of things and
experiences.
d) The output stage would include changes in feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as
reinforcement of a lifestyle.
Products Have Special Meaning and Memories
1. Consuming is a diverse and complex process.
2. It includes utility of a product, the psychological use of the product, memories, etc.
3. As a consequence, some possessions create personal meaning for consumers and/or help

them maintain a sense of the past.

4. Some people maintain their identity after major changes in their life by linking to their past.
Relationship Marketing
1. Many firms are pursuing relationship marketing in order to build loyal usage and a

commitment to their companys products and services.

a) It is built on trust that grows from keeping promises.
2. The goal of relationship marketing is to build strong, lasting relationships with a core group
of customers.
3. The emphasis is on developing long-term bonds, making consumers feel good about the
company, and giving the consumer some kind of personal connection to the business.

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
4. A review of the composition of 66 consumer relationship marketing programs revealed three

5.

6.

7.

8.

elements shared by more than 50 percent of the programs.

a) Fostering ongoing communication with customers (73 percent of the programs).
b) Furnishing loyalty by building extras like upgrades and other perks (68 percent of the
programs).
c) Stimulating a sense of belonging by providing a club membership format (50 percent
of the programs).
Like personal relationships between individuals who are willing to do favors for each other,
relationship marketers offer loyal customers special services, discounts, increased
communications, and attention beyond the core product or service, without expecting an
immediate payback.
a) A new form of relationship marketing has resulted as Internet usage has increased. The
term used on the Internet is permission marketing.
Although direct marketing, sales promotion, and general advertising may be used as part of a
relationship marketing strategy, relationship marketing stresses long-term commitment to the
individual customer.
Ultimately, it is to a firm's advantage to develop long-term relationships with existing
customers, because it is easier and less expensive to make an additional sale to an existing
customer than to make a new sale to a new consumer.
Research indicates that consumers today are less loyal than in the past, due to six major
forces:
a) The abundance of choice.
b) Availability of information.
c) Entitlement (consumers repeatedly ask What have you done for me lately?).
d) Commoditization (most products/services appear to be similarnothing stands out).
e) Insecurity (consumer financial problems reduce loyalty).
f) Time scarcity (not enough time to be loyal).

Mahesh Gowda S DEPT OF MBA, SJ B IT, Bangalore

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