Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize and interpret stimuli to form a meaningful understanding of the world. Marketers must understand perception and related concepts like sensory systems in order to determine what factors influence consumer purchasing decisions. Consumers rely on their senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste to perceive products and make judgments. Interpretation of sensory inputs is based on schemas and can be influenced by stimulus factors, individual characteristics and situational context. Perceptual positioning involves mapping how brands are perceived along attributes to guide future marketing strategies.

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
1

2. 2

3. Perception is defined as the process by which an individual
selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and
coherent picture of the world.
Because individuals make decisions and take actions based on what
they perceive to be reality, it is important that marketers
understand the whole notion of perception and its related concepts,
so they can more readily determine what factors influence
consumers to buy.
3

4. Perception is a biological process
 Each of us lives within the prison of his own brain , According to
biologists, the process begins with stimuli, usually in the form of
photons, vibrations or chemical reactions from the outside world .
 This chemical reactions that happen
With the sensory system transfer into
Perception about a particular product
4

5. Perceptual process
We receive external
stimuli through
our five senses
5

6. 6

7. Sensory systems Series 3
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Sight Hearing Touch Smell Taste
7

8. UNDERSTANDING SENSORY SYSTEMS
Vision
Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in
advertising, store design, and packaging.
Meanings are communicated on the visual channel
through a product’s color, size, and styling.
Colors may influence our emotions more directly.
Some reactions to color are due to biological (men
and women) and cultural differences.
•Saturated colors (green, yellow, orange) are
considered the best to capture attention.
•Trade dress: Colors that are strongly associated
with a corporation
8

9. Market researchers say colour affects shopping habits. Impulse
shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue.
Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to
pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels -
pink, rose, sky blue.
9

10. Cont. Understanding Sensory Systems
Sound Sound affects people’s feelings and
behaviors
Advertising jingles create brand awareness.
Background music creates desired moods.
High tempo = more stimulation
Slower tempo = more relaxing
10

11. Cont. Understanding Sensory Systems
Smell
Odors can stir emotions or create a calming
feeling.
Some responses to scents result from early
associations that call up good or bad feelings
and tat explains why businesses are exploring
connections among smell, memory and mood.
• Scented clothes
•Scented stores
•Scented cars and planes;
•Scented household products;
•Scented advertisements
11

12. Cont. Understanding Sensory Systems
Smell
To some extent reaction to odours is dependent on
culture (many large companies adjust the smell
of their products from country to country)
 Peppermint: You pay better attention to dull-but-
must-do jobs when this scent is in the air. When
a peppermint scent was wafting, workers made
fewer typing mistakes and alphabetized faster.
 Cinnamon: In simulated driving tests, a whiff of
cinnamon every 15 minutes decreased fatigue.
When an endless ribbon of highway stretches
ahead, consider popping cinnamon gum.
 Grapefruit: It makes you skinny! Researchers
speculate that grapefruit the oil's smell has an
effect on liver enzymes that might help nix
cravings and spur weight loss.
12

13. Cont. Understanding Sensory Systems
Taste
Taste receptors contribute to our experience of
many products.
Specialized companies called “flavor houses”
are constantly developing new concoctions to
please the changing palates of consumers.
Changes in culture also determine the tastes
we find desirable.
13

14. Cont. Understanding Sensory Systems
Touch
•Relatively little research has been done on
the effects of tactile stimulation on the
consumer, but common observation tells
us that this sensory
•People associate textures of fabrics and
other surfaces with product quality.
•Perceived richness or quality of the material
in clothing is linked to its “feel,” whether
rough or smooth.
14

15. Exposure
 Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of someone’s sensory
receptors
 We can concentrate, ignore, or completely miss stimuli
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-15

16. Sensory Thresholds
 The Absolute Threshold
 The Differential Threshold

17. Sensory Thresholds
 Psychophysics: science that focuses on how the physical environment is integrated
into our personal, subjective world
 Absolute threshold: the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a
given sensory channel
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-17

18. Differential Threshold
 The ability of a sensory system to detect changes
or differences between two stimuli
 Minimum difference between two stimuli is
the j.n.d. (just noticeable difference)
 Example: packaging updates must be subtle
enough over time to keep current customers
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
publishing as Prentice Hall
2-18

19. Subliminal Perception
 Subliminal Techniques
 Does Subliminal Perception work?
 Limitations

20. Subliminal Perception
 Subliminal perception occurs when stimulus is below the level of the consumer’s
awareness.
 Rumors of subliminal advertising are rampant—though there’s little proof that it
occurs.
 Most researchers believe that subliminal techniques are not of much use in
marketing.
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-20

21. Subliminal Techniques
 Embeds: figures that are inserted into magazine advertising by using high-speed
photography or airbrushing.
 Subliminal auditory perception: sounds, music, or voice text inserted into
advertising.
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-21

22. Attentions
• Size
• Intensity
• Attractive visuals
Stimulus • Color
factors • Position
• Isolation and contrast
• Format
• Interestingness
Individual • motivation
factors • ability
Attentions
Situational • clutter
factors • Program involvement
Daniel M. Zhou Consumer Behavior 22

23. Attentions - Stimulus Factors
Size:
Larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed than smaller ones.
Size also affects attention to advertising.
The Impact of Size on Advertising Readership
Intensity:
The intensity (e.g., loudness, brightness, length) of a stimulus can
increase attention.
•In online contexts, one aspect of intensity is intrusiveness
•Repetition is related to intensity. Consumers may shift the
focus of their attention from one part of the ad to another
across repetitions, resulting in attention reallocation.
Daniel M. Zhou Consumer Behavior 23

24. Attentions - Stimulus Factors
Attractive Visuals:
•Individuals are attracted to pleasant stimuli and repelled by
unpleasant stimuli.
•Any factor that draws attention to itself and away from the brand
has to be used with caution.
Color:
A brightly colored package or display is more likely to received
attention.
Color and Size Impact on Attention
Daniel M. Zhou Consumer Behavior 24

25. Attentions - Individual Factors
Motivation:
Motivation is a drive state created by consumer interest and needs.
Product involvement indicates motivation or interest in a specific
product category. Product involvement can be temporary or enduring.
Ability:
Ability refers to the capacity of individuals to attend to and process
information. Ability is related to knowledge and familiarity with the
product, brand, or promotion.
Daniel M. Zhou Consumer Behavior 26

26. Attentions - Situational Factors
Clutter:
Clutter represents the density of stimuli in the environment.
Research suggests cluttering of the in-store environment with too many
point-of-purchase displays decreases the attention consumers pay to a
given display.
Program involvement:
Program involvement refers to interest
in the program or editorial content
surrounding the ads.
Program involvement has a positive
influence on attention (see graph).
Daniel M. Zhou Consumer Behavior 27

27. Interpretation
 Interpretation refers to the meaning we assign to
sensory stimuli, which is based on a schema
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-27

28. Stimulus Organization
 Gestalt: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
 Closure: people perceive an incomplete picture as
complete
 Similarity: consumers group together objects that share
similar physical characteristics
 Figure-ground: one part of the stimulus will dominate
(the figure) while the other parts recede into the
background (ground)
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-28

29. Application of the
Figure-Ground Principle
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
publishing as Prentice Hall
2-29

30. Semiotics
 Semiotics: correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in the
assignment of meaning
 Marketing messages have three basic components:
 Object: product that is the focus of the message
 Sign: sensory image that represents the intended meanings of the object
 Interpretant: meaning derived
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-30

31. Perceptual Positioning
 Brand perceptions = functional attributes + symbolic attributes
 Perceptual map: map of where brands are perceived in consumers’ minds
 Used to determine how brands are currently perceived to determine future
positioning
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-31

32. Positioning Strategy
 Examples of brand positioning
Lifestyle Grey Poupon is “high class”
Price leadership Southwest Airlines is “no frills”
Attributes Bounty is “quicker picker upper”
Product class Mazda Miata is sporty convertible
Competitors Northwestern Insurance is the “quiet
company
Occasions Wrigley’s gum used when smoking not
permitted
Users Levi’s Dockers targeted to men in 20s
and 30s
Quality At Ford, “Quality is Job 1”
3/28/2013
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-32

33. Consumers seek information
Consumers are brand loyal
Consumers select by brand image
Consumers rely on store image
Consumers buy the most expensive model when in
doubt
Consumers seek reassurance
33

34. Brand perceptions = functional attributes +
symbolic attributes
Perceptual map: map of where brands are
perceived in consumers’ minds
Used to determine how brands are currently
perceived to determine future positioning
34

35. :
Application on consumer perception
 Consumers seem to think that cartons with out-of-the-ordinary functionality
or a special shape make the products worth as much as 30% more than a
straightforward, traditional shape. This was revealed by a consumer
perception study conducted by Metsä Board in spring 2009.
35

36. In the first test, a supermarket shelf was filled with genuine but
foreign confectionery brands and seeded with three differently
shaped packages in a mock chocolate brand design. The
participants, who wore special glasses that automatically track
eye movement, were asked first to look at the shelves and then
to pick out the best and worst designs.
36

37. According to the test, packages with unique shapes, fit-to-
product colors and large front faces with a window, where the
product is visible, receive the most attention on the shop shelf.
Participants felt that chocolate packed in unusual cartons would
be more tempting and extraordinary. They also paid high
attention to the negative aspects of the packages, especially
when the design didn’t complement the product.
Many comments by the participants concerned the
product, even though it was only the package that they were
asked to evaluate. The outcome of the consumer perception test
was clear: as an integral part of the product, the package is
expected to complement what’s inside and reflect the brand
values. With as many as 70% of purchase decisions made at the
point-
of-sale, the package has to look, feel and function just right.
37

38. Thank you
38