The document summarizes key aspects of consumer behavior from Chapter 4, including the five stages of the consumer purchase decision process and influences on consumer behavior from psychological and sociocultural factors. It provides learning objectives, definitions of important terms, and examples to illustrate influences on consumer decisions.

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Understanding
Consumer Behavior Roger A. Kerin
Steven W. H artley
MARKETING
THE CORE
Eighth Edition
CHAPTER
4

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES (LO)
After reading Chapter 4, you should be able to:
1. Describe the stages in the consumer purchase
decision process.
2. Distinguish among three variations of the consumer
purchase decision process: extended, limited, and
routine problem solving.
3. Identify the major psychological influences on
consumer behavior.
4. Identify the major sociocultural influences on
consumer behavior.
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ENLIGHTENED CARMAKERS KNOW
WHAT CUSTOM(H)ERS VALUE
Women:
• Make 60% of new car buying
decisions
• Influence 87% of decisions
Key elements of their decisions:
• The sense of styling
• The need for speed
• The substance of safety
• The shopping experience
Women-Drivers.com
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©Whisson/Jordan/Corbis/Getty Images

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FIGURE 4-1 The purchase decision
process consists of five stages.
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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Step 1: Problem Recognition
Purchase decision process
Problem recognition starts with the
difference between:
• Consumer’s ideal situation
• Consumer’s actual situation
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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Step 2: Information Search
Information search: Seeking value
• Internal search
• External search
• Personal sources
• Public sources
• Marketer-dominated sources
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FIGURE 4-2 Common consumer selection
criteria for evaluation of smartphones.
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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Step 3: Alternative Evaluation
Alternative evaluation stage:
1. Suggests criteria for purchase
2. Yields brands that meet criteria
3. Develops value perception
Evaluative criteria
Consideration set
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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Step 4: Purchase Decision
Purchase decision: Buying value
Make the purchase decision by:
1. Decide from whom to buy
2. Decide when to buy
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©Seb Oliver/Cultura/Getty Images

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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Step 5: Postpurchase Behavior
Postpurchase behavior: Realizing value
Customer satisfaction studies:
• Satisfied customers tell 3 people
• Dissatisfied customers will not buy
product again and will tell 9 people!
Cognitive dissonance
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MARKETING MATTERS
How Much Is a Satisfied Customer Worth?
How much is customer satisfaction
worth?
• Frito-Lay: Average consumer spends
$52.50/year.
• Exxon: $500/year for gas.
• Kleenex: $994 over 60 years.
• GM: Increasing customer retention
from 60% to 80% is worth $100
million in profit per %.
• Research shows a 5% increase in
retention can increase profits by 70-
80%.
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©Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS:
Consumer Involvement And Problem Solving
Consumer involvement affects problem
solving.
Involvement
• Extended problem solving (high
involvement)
• Limited problem solving (medium
involvement)
• Routine problem solving (low involvement)
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FIGURE 4-3 Comparison of problem-solving
variations: extended, limited, and routine.
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SHREDDED WHEAT
What Strategy Is Used to Reduce Perceived Risk?
Why do Post cereals display heart-
healthy claims on packaging?
For example: 9 out of 10 doctors
recommend Post Shredded Wheat to
help reduce the risk of heart disease.
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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS:
Consumer Involvement & Marketing Strategy
Low involvement
• Common products
• Maintain product quality
• Avoid stockouts
• Reduce cognitive dissonance with ads
High involvement
• Consumers seek information
• Use comparative ads
• Use personal selling

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CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS
Situational Influences
Consumer journey map is a visual of
touchpoints between consumer and company.
Situational influences
1. Purchase task
2. Social surroundings
3. Physical surroundings
4. Temporal effects
5. Antecedent states

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FIGURE 4-4 Apple consumer journey map and
consumer touchpoints for electronic devices sold in
Apple Stores.
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these images.

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FIGURE 4-5 Influences on the consumer purchase
decision process from both internal and external
sources.
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these images.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Motivation and Personality
Motivation
Hierarchy of needs
• Physiological needs
• Safety needs
• Social needs
• Personal needs
• Self-actualization needs Match.com

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FIGURE 4-6 Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs.
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these images.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Personality
Personality
Self-concept
Key traits – Enduring characteristics of a
person:
• Assertiveness
• Extroversion
• Compliance
• Dominance
• And others

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (1 of 2)
Consumer Perception
Perception
• Selective perception
• Selective exposure
• Selective comprehension
• Selective retention
Subliminal Perception

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (2 of 2)
Consumer Perception
Strategies to reduce perceived risk:
• Obtain seals of approval
• Secure endorsements
• Provide free trials/samples
• Give extensive instructions
• Provide warranties/guarantees
©Whitebox Media/Alamy Stock Photo

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MAKING RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS
The Ethics of Subliminal Messages
FTC – “Subliminal messages are deceptive,”
but they are not illegal.
• 2/3 of U.S. consumers think subliminal
messages are in commercials.
• 50% think this causes them to buy.
Are subliminal messages unethical?
©2004 by August Bullock. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. The SecretSalesPitch.com

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (1 of 2)
Consumer Learning
Learning
Behavioral learning develops automatic
responses to situations:
• Drive (need)
• Cue (symbol)
• Response (action)
• Reinforcement (reward)

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (2 of 2)
Consumer Learning
Behavioral learning concepts:
1. Stimulus generalization
2. Stimulus discrimination
Cognitive learning – Makes
connections between ideas
Brand loyalty – Favorable attitude

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (1 of 2)
Consumer Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes
Attitude formation – A learned response
to objects in consistent way (favorable or
unfavorable)
• Attitude
• Values affect attitudes
• Beliefs

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (2 of 2)
Consumer Values, Beliefs, and Attitudes
Three approaches to changing
attitudes:
1. Change beliefs about a brand’s
attributes.
2. Change perceived importance of
attributes.
3. Add new product attributes.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Lifestyle
Lifestyle
• How people spend their time and
resources.
• Lifestyle analysis is useful for targeting
consumers.

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FIGURE 4-7 VALS™ identifies 8 consumer
segments.
1. Consumers with abundant resources
are near top of framework.
2. Consumers with minimal resources are
at the bottom of framework.
3. Consumer groups within a motivation
can be targeted together.
Ideals-motivated groups:
• Thinkers, Believers
Achievement-motivated groups:
• Achievers, Strivers
Self-expression–motivated groups:
• Experiencers, Makers
High- and low-resource groups:
• Innovators, Survivors
VALS Types
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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Personal Influence
Consumer’s purchases are often
influenced by others.
Opinion leaders.
Word of mouth.
Buzz can be either positive or negative.
Dove Video

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MARKETING MATTERS
BzzAgent—The Buzz Experience
• Word-of-mouth experiences are
powerful.
• Worldwide volunteer army of talkers.
• Captures honest word of mouth.
• “Agent” database of customers
receive sample product and manual
for creating buzz.
• Agents keep products and earn points.
BzzAgent
Website
©BzzAgent

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Reference Groups
Reference groups
Associative group
(belonging)
Brand community
Aspiration group (join)
Dissociative group (avoid)
©Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Family Influence (1 of 2)
Consumer socialization:
• Children learn to purchase by interacting
with adults and through their own purchase
experience.
Family life cycle:
• Traditional families are only 20% of all U.S.
households.
• Remaining 80% include single parents,
unmarried couples, divorced, etc.
• Buying preferences for each are different.

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FIGURE 4-8 Modern family life cycle
stages and flows.
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these images.

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
FAMILY INFLUENCE (2 of 2)
Family decision making has two styles:
1. Spouse-dominant
2. Joint
Family member roles:
1. Information gatherer
2. Influencer
3. Decision maker
4. Purchaser
5. User
©Jochen Sand/Getty Images

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE INFLUENCES (1 of 3)
Culture and subcultures
Hispanic buying patterns:
1. Quality and brand conscious.
2. Prefer American-made products.
3. Influenced by family and peers.
4. Advertising is credible product
information source.
5. Convenience is not important.
Nissan Ad

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE INFLUENCES (2 of 3)
African-American buying patterns:
1. Spend more on boys’ clothing, rental
goods, smartphones, audio equipment.
2. Women spend more on health and
beauty products.
3. Income disparities.
4. Price conscious.
5. Motivated by quality and choice.

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SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE INFLUENCES (3 of 3)
Asian-American buying patterns:
1. 66% are immigrants.
2. Most under 30 years old.
3. Multigenerational households.
4. Diversity in language,
customs, tastes.
5. Hard work, family ties,
education.

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Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior consists of the actions
a person takes in purchasing and using
products and services, including the mental
and social processes that come before and
after these actions.

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Purchase Decision Process
The purchase decision process consists
of the five stages a buyer passes through in
making choices about which products and
services to buy: (1) problem recognition, (2)
information search, (3) alternative
evaluation, (4) purchase decision, and (5)
postpurchase behavior.

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Evaluative Criteria
Evaluative criteria are the factors that
represent both the objective attributes of a
brand and the subjective ones a consumer
uses to compare different products and
brands.

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Consideration Set
A consideration set is the group of brands
that a consumer would consider acceptable
from among all the brands in the product
class of which he or she is aware.

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Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the feeling of
postpurchase psychological tension or
anxiety consumers may experience when
faced with two or more highly attractive
alternatives.

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Involvement
Involvement is the personal, social, and
economic significance of the purchase to the
consumer.

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Situational Influences
Situational influences are the five aspects
of the purchase situation that impact the
consumer’s purchase decision process: (1)
the purchase task, (2) social surroundings,
(3) physical surroundings, (4) temporal
effects, and (5) antecedent states.

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Consumer Touchpoints
Consumer touchpoints are a marketer’s
product, service, or brand points of contact
with a consumer from start-to-finish in the
purchase decision process.

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Motivation
Motivation is the energizing force that
stimulates behavior to satisfy a need.

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Personality
Personality is a person’s consistent
behaviors or responses to recurring
situations.

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Self-Concept
Self-concept is the way people see
themselves and the way they believe others
see them.

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Perception
Perception is the process by which an
individual selects, organizes, and interprets
information to create a meaningful picture of
the world.

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Subliminal Perception
Subliminal perception involves seeing or
hearing messages without being aware of
them.

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Perceived Risk
Perceived risk is the anxiety felt because
the consumer cannot anticipate the
outcomes of a purchase but believes that
there may be negative consequences.

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Learning
Learning consists of those behaviors that
result from (1) repeated experience and (2)
reasoning.

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Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty is a favorable attitude toward
and consistent purchase of a single brand
over time.

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Attitude
An attitude is a learned predisposition to
respond to an object or class of objects in a
consistently favorable or unfavorable way.

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Beliefs
Beliefs are a consumer’s subjective
perception of how a product or brand
performs on different attributes based on
personal experience, advertising, and
discussions with other people.

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Lifestyle
Lifestyle is a mode of living that is identified
by how people spend their time and
resources, what they consider important in
their environment, and what they think of
themselves and the world around them.

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Opinion Leaders
Opinion leaders are individuals who exert
direct or indirect social influence over others.

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Word of Mouth
Word of mouth involves the influencing of
people during conversations.

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Reference Groups
Reference groups are people to whom an
individual looks as a basis for self-appraisal
or as a source of personal standards.

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Brand Community
A brand community is a specialized group
of consumers with a structured set of
relationships involving a particular brand,
fellow customers of that brand, and the
product in use.

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Consumer Socialization
Consumer socialization is the process by
which people acquire the skills, knowledge,
and attitudes necessary to function as
consumers.

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Family Life Cycle
A family life cycle consists of the distinct
phases that a family progresses through
from formation to retirement, each phase
bringing with it identifiable purchasing
behaviors.

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Social Class
Social class is the relatively permanent,
homogeneous divisions in a society into
which people sharing similar values,
interests, and behavior can be grouped.

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Subcultures
Subcultures are the subgroups within the
larger, or national, culture with unique
values, ideas, and attitudes.