Chapter 5:

UNDERSTANDING
the
BUYER BEHAVIOR
and
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
5.1

2.1
Household Consumer Behavior

Complex Process through which Individuals Acquire, Use and

Dispose of Products or Services to Satisfy Their Needs and Desires

THE CONSUMER AS A DECISION MAKER - 4 STAGES

 Need Recognition: Functional or Emotional Benefits
 Information Search & Alternative Evaluation
 Internal Information Search
 External Information Search
 Consideration Set
 Evaluation Criteria

5.2
Is this a Functional or
Emotional Appeal for
Foster Grant Sunglasses?

5.3
Household Consumer Behavior (con’t)

THE CONSUMER AS A DECISION MAKER - 4 STAGES (con’t)

 Purchase -Consumer Commits to a Brand with Purchase
Decision
 Post Purchase Use & Evaluation
 Consumer Satisfaction
 Cognitive Dissonance

5.4
Household Consumer Behavior (con’t)
FOUR MODES OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING
EMERGING FROM:
 Sources of Involvement & Prior Experience Create:
 Extended Problem Solving

 Limited Problem Solving

 Habit or Variety Seeking

 Brand Loyalty

5.5
How Does This Ad Comply
with the Conditions of
Extended Problem Solving?

5.6
Household Consumer Behavior (con’t)
THE CONSUMER AS A DECISION MAKER: Key
Psychological Processes
Attitudes and Beliefs
 Brand Attitudes
 Beliefs
 Salient Beliefs
 Multiattribute Attitude Models
 Evaluative Criteria
 Importance Weight
 The Consideration
 Beliefs
5.7
Household Consumer Behavior (con’t)
THE CONSUMER AS A DECISION MAKER :Key
Psychological Processes (con’t)
 Perception
 We Use it to Create a Reality
 Creates an Orientation to the World
 Has Specific Implications for Each Consumer
 Experimental-Hedonic Influences
 Emphasis on Pleasure & Personal Enhancement
 Consumers Buy & Consume to Feel Good
 In Contrast to Rigorous Cognitive Evaluation
of Other Factors
5.8
This Ad Would Seem to Be
Appealing to Experiential-
Hedonic Motives

5.9
The Consumer in a Sociocultural
Consumption Context
CULTURE
 Total Life Ways of a People
 The Way People Eat, Groom, Celebrate & Mark Their Space/Position
 Cultures are Small
VALUES
 Express in Words & Deeds
 Examples - Individual Freedom, Propriety & Restrained,
Behavior, etc.
RITUALS
 Cultures Affirm, Express & Maintain Values
 Ritual-laden Holidays Perpetuate American Culture

5.10
Culture is the “Total Life
Ways of People.” How is
Life in Singapore Different
From the U.S.?

5.11
The Consumer in a Sociocultural
Consumption Context (con’t)

SOCIETY
 Social Class
 Family
 Reference Groups
 Race & Ethnicity
 Gender
 Community

5.12
Is this Ad Using a
Reference Group Appeal?

5.13
Business Buyer Behavior

STAGES IN BUYING PROCESS

 Need Recognition
 Product & Scheduling Specifications
 Evaluation of Products
 Product & Supplier Choice
 Product & Supplier Evaluation

5.14
Business Buyer Behavior
NATURE OF DECISION MAKING IN BUSINESS MARKET
 Styles
 Rational
 Conservative
 Type of Decision
 Straight Rebuy
 Modified Rebuy
 New Task Buying

5.15
What Type of Decision is a Zip Drive?
 Business Buyer Behavior (con’t)
NATURE OF DECISION MAKING IN BUSINESS MARKET (con’t)
 Buying Center
 Several Different People Involved in a Single Decision
 May Require Different Promotional Tools

 Business Buyer Behavior on the Internet

 Internet Buying is Efficient
 Sites Offer Product & Pricing Information from Many Sources
Simultaneously

5.17
Evaluation Criteria Used in Business
Decision Making
 Efficiency of Product Supplied
 Certainty of Supply
 Dependability in Meeting Schedules
 Technical Assistance From the Seller
 Product Features
 Supplier Loyalty/Patronage

5.18
The Communication Process
COMPONENTS IN A MODEL OF COMMUNICATIONS
 Intentions
 Source
 Message
 Medium
 Receivers
 Effects
 Noise & Feedback

5.19
Issues in Communication
and Information Processing
INFORMATION PROCESSING & PERPETUAL DEFENSES
 Two Major Obstacles to Overcome for a Message
to Have an Effect: Cognitive Consistency Impetus and
Information Overload
 Cognitive Consistency Impetus
 Mental State

 New Information

 Cognitive Consistency

5.20
 Issues in Communication
and Information Processing (con’t)
INFORMATION PROCESSING & PERPETUAL DEFENSE (con’t)
 Information Overload
 Consumers Employ Perceptual Defenses to Simplify &
Control Information Processing
 Selective Exposure

 Selective Attention

 Selective Comprehension

 Selective Retention

5.21
Issues in Communication
and Information Processing (con’t)
INFORMATION PROCESSING & PERPETUAL DEFENSE (con’t)
 Information Overload (con’t)
 Shaping Attitudes via Perceptual Route
 Low-Involvement Products

 Attitude Formation

 Peripheral Cues

– Any Feature of a Promotion that Prompts a

Pleasant Emotional Response

5.22