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Management Notes Consumer Behaviour Notes

Consumer Behaviour Perception Notes

Updated Consumer Behaviour Perception Notes

Consumer Behaviour Notes

Consumer Behaviour

Approximately 88 pages

Extensive notes on all aspects of Consumer Behaviour covered in this module.

Also includes a helpful glossary as well as fully documented theories of Consumer Behaviour.

I received a 1st in this module based on these notes....

The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our Consumer Behaviour Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

Perception

The Perceptual Process

  • People undergo stages of information processing in which stimuli are input and stored. However, we do not passively process whatever information happens to be present.

  • Only a very small number of the stimuli in our environment are ever noticed. Of these, an even smaller number are attended to.

  • The stimuli that do enter our consciousness are not processed objectively. The meaning of a stimulus is interpreted by the individual who is influenced by their unique basis, needs and experiences.

  • These three stages of exposure, attention and interpretation make up the process of perception.

From Sensation to Perception

  • Sensation refers to the immediate response of our sensory receptors to such basic stimuli as light, colour and sound.

  • Perception is the process by which these stimuli are selected, organised and interpreted.

  • We process raw data; however the study of perception focuses on what we add to or take away from these sensations as we assign meaning to them.

  • Interpretations or assumptions stem from schemas, o organised collections of beliefs and feelings. That is we tend to group the objects we see as having similar characteristics and the schema to which an object is assigned is a crucial determinant of how we choose to evaluate this object at a later time.

  • A perceptual process can be broken down into the following stages;

    • Primitive categorisation – in which the basic characteristics of a stimulus are isolated

    • Cue check – in which the characteristics are analysed in preparation for the selection of a schema.

    • Confirmation check – in which the schema is selected.

    • Confirmation completion – in which a decision is made as to what the stimulus is.

  • In many cases, consumers use a few basic dimensions to categorise competing products or services and then evaluate each alternative in terms of its relative standing of these dimensions.

  • This tendency has led to a very useful positioning tool – a perceptual map.

Sensory Systems

  • External stimuli or sensory inputs can be received on a number of channels.

  • The inputs picked up by our five senses constitute the raw data that generate many types of responses.

  • Sensory inputs evoke historical imagery, in which events that actually occurred are recalled. Fantasy imagery results when an entirely new, imaginary experience is the response to sensory data. These responses are an important part of hedonic consumption or the multi-sensory, fantasy and emotional aspects of consumers interactions with products. The data that we receive from our sensory systems determine how we respond to products.

  • Although we usually trust our sensory receptors to give us an accurate account of the external environment, new technology is making the linkage between our sense and reality more questionable.

Vision

  • Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design and packaging.

  • Meanings are communicated on the visual channel through a products size, styling. Brightness and distinctiveness compared with competitors.

Colour in the Marketplace

  • Colours are rich in symbolic value and cultural meanings. Such powerful cultural meanings make colour a central aspect of many marketing strategies.

  • Colour choices are made with regard to packaging, advertising and even shop fittings.

  • There is some evidence to suggest that some colours are arousing while others are relaxing. The power of colours to evoke positive and negative feelings makes this an important consideration in advertising design.

  • The ability to colour our expectations is frequently exploited by marketers.

Smell

  • Odours can stir emotions or create a calming feeling. They can invoke memories or relieve stress.

Sound

  • Music and sound are also important to marketers.

  • There is also evidence that the literal sound that one makes when pronouncing a brands name can influence perceptions of the products attributes.

  • Many aspects of sound affect people’s feelings and behaviours,

  • Muzak is heard by millions of people every day. This so called functional music is played in stores, shopping centres and offices either to relax or stimulate customers.

  • There is general agreement that muzak contributes to the wellbeing and buying activities of customers, but no scientific proof exists.

  • Time compression is a technique used by broadcasters to manipulate perceptions of sound. It is a way to pack in more information into a limited time by speeding up an announcer’s voice in commercials.

  • The evidence for the effectiveness of time compression is mixed. It has been shown to increase persuasion in some situations but to reduce it in others. One explanation for a positive effect is that the listener uses a person’s speaking rate to infer whether the speaker is confident. People seem to think that fast talkers must know what they are talking about. Another explanation is that the listener is given less time to elaborate on the assertions made in the commercial.

Touch

  • Researchers have shown that touch can influence sales reactions and that tactile cues have symbolic meaning.

Taste

  • Our taste receptors contribute to our experience of many products.

  • Food companies go to great lengths to ensure their products taste as they should. Companies may use a group of sensory panellists as tasters. Theses consumers are recruited because they have superior sensory abilities and are then given six months training.

  • In a blind taste test panellists rate the products of a company on a number of dimensions.

Sensory Thresholds

  • There are sine stimuli that people simply are not capable of perceiving and of course, some people are better able to pick up sensory information than others.

  • The science that focuses on how the physical environment is integrated into our personal, subjective world is known as psychophysics.

  • By understanding some of the physical laws that govern what we are capable of responding to, this knowledge can be translated into marketing strategies.

The Absolute Threshold

  • When we define the...

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