Download Learning Objectives – Chapter 5

Learning Objectives – Chapter 5
1 Describe the four basic stages of consumer decision making.
Advertisers need a keen understanding of their consumers as a basis for
developing effective advertising. This understanding begins with a view of
consumers as systematic decision makers who follow a predictable process in
making their choices among products and brands. The process begins when
consumers perceive a need, and it proceeds with a search for information that
will help in making an informed choice. The search-and-evaluation stage is
followed by purchase. Postpurchase use and evaluation then become critical as
the stage in which customer satisfaction is ultimately determined.
2 Explain how consumers adapt their decision-making processes as a
function of involvement and experience.
Some purchases are more important to people than others, and this fact adds
complexity to any analysis of consumer behavior. To accommodate this
complexity, advertisers often think about the level of involvement that attends any
given purchase. Involvement and prior experience with a product or service
category can lead to four diverse modes of consumer decision making. These
modes are extended problem solving, limited problem solving, habit or variety
seeking, and brand loyalty.
3 Discuss how advertising may influence consumer behavior through its
effects on various psychological states.
Advertisements are developed to influence the way people think about products
and brands. More specifically, advertising is designed to affect consumers'
beliefs and brand attitudes. Advertisers use multi-attribute attitude models to help
them ascertain the beliefs and attitudes of target consumers. However,
consumers have perceptual defenses that allow them to ignore or distort most of
the commercial messages to which they are exposed. When consumers are not
motivated to thoughtfully process an advertiser's message, it may be in that
advertiser's best interest to feature one or more peripheral cues as part of the
message.
4 Discuss the interaction of culture and advertising.
Advertisements are cultural products, and culture provides the context in which
an ad will be interpreted. Advertisers who overlook the influence of culture are
bound to struggle in their attempt to communicate with the target audience. Two
key concepts in managing the impact of culture are values and rituals. Values are
enduring beliefs that provide a foundation for more-transitory psychological
states, such as brand attitudes. Rituals are patterns of behavior shared by
individuals from a common culture. Violating cultural values and rituals is a sure
way to squander advertising dollars.
5 Discuss the role of sociological factors in consumer behavior and
advertising response.
Consumer behavior is an activity that each of us undertakes before a broad
audience of other consumers. Advertising helps the transfer of meaning.
Reference groups of various types have a dramatic influence on the consumption
behavior of their individual members. Reference groups can be either groups we
merely aspire to be part of, or groups, such as our families, that count us as
members.