The Behavior Theory - Essay Example

Question Define ‘learning’ from the perspective of consumer behaviour theory. Can you provide two examples of how marketing communication is used by your brand to promote ‘learning’ [as defined by the theory]? Learning is the process when buyers obtain the purchase and consumption behaviour, and gain experience that is useful to their future related behavior. It involves the acquisition and refinement of memories and actions, that are determined by the skills, knowledge, wisdom and understanding of values by the buyer. Learning is defined by two theories that explain how this happens. Behavior theory This theory purports that learning is based on observable behaviors or responses that happen due to external stimuli (Evans, Jamal, & Foxall, 2006). The proponents of this theory do not focus on the learning process but on the response of individuals to external stimuli.) this theory is also referred to as the stimulus response or vicarious theory. The classical and operant conditioning approaches try to explain this theory. According to classical conditioning, the stimulus is responsible for the response observed while for instrumental conditioning, the converse is true. When the classical conditioning is applied to consumer theory, the product brand triggers a response from the consumers that is desirable and enforces the desire to buy. This theory tries to achieve a particular response from unrelated stimuli, thus forming the basis of branding. The operant conditioning asserts that individuals will always act with reward in mind and avoid stimuli that result in punishment. This means that every behavior with pleasant results has a very high change to be repeated. Cognitive theory This theory explains learning based on the information gathered and mentally processed in response to an actual problem. Even though there is no universally agreed theory on learning, the process is clear: learning happens, either intentionally or accidentally. For intentional acquisition of knowledge, the individual must have clearly sought the information through objective research. However, accidental learning just happens to find the individual. This is where advertising is most efficient in achieving (Evans, Jamal, & Foxall, 2006). The marketer is always interested in how the buyers learn as this information gives them an advantage in how they handle them. They always want to influence customer behaviour and this stems from the ability to teach the buyer their responsibility as consumers, the product of choice and its attributes. This is made effective through marketing and advertising (Lantos, 2010). The product of National museums of Australia is information. Its role is clearly defined and serves to inform the public on the Australian heritage and culture (National Museum of Australia, 2003-2010a). The first marketing communication strategy employed is that of accelerated information. The brand utilises its website as its online tool for advertising its activities and products. Its main product is information where it sells the Australian history and lifestyle. This is conducted through seminars, exhibitions and publications. The use of images of traditional Australians is an application of behavioural theory learning where the images invoke a conditioning of ‘our heritage’. Art galleries and buildings of national relevance derive the same effect. The individual is drawn to the article by the image and can open the article to acquire the information on the artifact or the classic architectures. The brand has journals, periodicals and e-news releases to ensure their position is maintained to be the first to point the consumer to the right direction. The brand shapes the perception of the consumer on what forms part of the Australian culture and where they should visit (National Museum of Australia, 2003-2010a). Market target and segmentation is the other tool observed on the website. The aspect on segmentation is shown in this site that segments article to suite different markets. The brand is enhanced by use of graphic images of animations that are designed to lure the young kids. Four of the sections on the websites have cover articles that have animated pictures. Once young consumers visit the site, the animations condition their responses. They read ‘kid fun’ with the image. The brand is aware that majority of its visitors are children and luring them is luring the parents. The information provided is simplistic for the target individuals to learn. These examples enforce the cognitive theory by the creating material that educates the site visitors (Lantos, 2010). Question 2: Define social media. Does your brand use social media to communicate with its target market/potentials? Can you describe what kinds of messages it delivers via this format, and what marketing communication purpose you think these messages serve? Social media are the forms of e-communication through which users can create online communities for the purpose of sharing processed data in the form of ideas, audio and videos, personal messages, software and other applications. The electronic communication is usually through social networking website or blogs. Media links are common in most websites and help redirect to the one browsing to related sites. This is a common practice and our brand utilises it for artifacts, museums and independently hosted events whose information is obtained from a secondary site. An example is an event organised by ICOM, the international museums body. National Museum of Australia utilises the social media forms of marketing to increase its business. It utilises the on-line booking feature where they provide an email address where reservations can be placed. This enhances their business as customers do not need to avail themselves physically in order to do bookings (Falls & Deckers, 2011). Another media for revenue generation is the online shop. This being hosted on the website gives it a global market reach that can be utilised to promote its activities. The Royal Daimler blog is a forum where those participating in the project is able to share the ideas on how to conserve the landaulette used by the queen in the 50’s in the Royal Australia Tour. They also share their love for classics and other car-like artifacts. Consumer satisfaction is achieved as they feel heard by the organising team who periodically join the chat (Brogan, 2010). Our brand has a dedicated section for interactive features and applications. Articles that have interactive features allow for gaming and artistry where one can play the game onsite without leaving or downloading it. These games and applications are designed not only for fun but for education. For example, the Oscar sketchbook and Cricket journey to and from Australia. These are fun applications to the content checkers as they help to instill the Australian heritage and culture as they are built to depict the history and the generational milestones (National Museum of Australia, 2003-2010a). Social network plugins are on the site where one can share an art piece or their information of the site, like Facebook, twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. E-news is available on reference list that is held by the organisation. These Tagging and sharing features increase the rate at which information flows as more people are accessible through these sites compared to conventional ways. NMA uses the social sites to share pictures and articles of its exhibitions. Flickr, for example, has the Raymond Morris collection and the Hebert Basedow gallery. It also has past events pictures and the museum’s program information. On Facebook, NMA has a group where it shares its events and also serves as a platform for its customers to interact and share experiences and knowledge. (Falls & Deckers, 2011). Question 3: Define quantitative analysis and outline its uses for companies. Provide one or two examples of the ways in which your brand has used quantitative data [e.g. statistics] as support for its activities. Quantitative analysis is the utilisation of mathematical formulas and models to solve business problems. This analysis can be deterministic, stochastic, or probabilistic depending on the factor in question. The process involves determining a value that is a factor, usually independent of the company’s control, from known variables that can be regulated by the company. Deterministic models work when there are relationships known between the independent and dependent variables. Stochastic models, on the other hand, are applied in cases where an array of variable exists. Probability models are applied where the outcomes are more than one and the normal practice is the use of decision trees to find the answers (Brandimarte, 2011). Qualitative analysis is used in companies for various reasons. Among the reasons for its application is to provide objective support for a decision in a place where the management is not in agreement. Secondly, it is in the case where the situation has too many variables that cannot be intuitively analysed. This means that without quantitative analysis, the probability of a wrong decision is high and the company may incur losses as a result. The third reason is to pick a tradeoff between two competing variables of production. For example, a decision involving customer service vs. inventory holding cost may not be judged otherwise without bias, unless the two are weighed against each other. The fourth is the case where the decision requires explicit documentations (Brandimarte, 2011). Quantitative analysis provides the facts required to make a decision by taking all the descriptive and predictive models into consideration. Finally, quantitative analysis helps the stakeholders judge the management performance. Financial and accounting analysis gives the true picture of a business enterprise and the investor is able to rationalise their investment choice (Brandimate, 2011). The National Museums of Australia use quantitative analysis to woo its visitors as well as marketing. It publishes research and analytical papers like “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander”, and the works of famous anthropologists like Dr Peter Stanley on birds and billabongs capture the Australia culture help to bring the brand concept as its focus and activities target to bring about culture awareness. Descriptive analysis is used to generalise the opinions of visitors to the museums and their preferences noted. Selected opinions are published (can you give one specific example of this publishing) that give the general feel of the public. The opinions range from the amount of visits to the park to the frequency that was published in making sense of visitors. These were given as percentages. For example, the most popular sites, according to museum visitors, are architectural types, with 26% of those interviewed agreeing to this. (National Museum of Australia, 2003-2010b). Another publication by the organisation uses descriptive statistics to measure the performance level of employees, their balance and the injuries incurred in the museum in the period of 2003-2008. This means the organisation is able to substantiate its management decisions and take the necessary steps to reduce accident incidences, balance staff, and boost their image (National Museum of Australia, 2003-2010c). References Lantos, Geoffrey Paul. (2010). Consumer Behavior in Action: Real-Life Applications for Marketing Managers. M.E. Sharpe. Falls Jason, & Deckers Erik. (2011). No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing. Que Publishing. Evans, Jamal, & Foxall. (2006). Consumer Behavior theory. John Wiley and sons Brandimarte, Paolo. (2011). Quantitative Methods: An Introduction for Business Management. NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Brogan, Chris. (2010). Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. National Museum of Australia. (2003-2010a). Retrieved on 15 May 2012.from http://www.nma.gov.au/ National Museum of Australia. (2003-2010b). Making Sense of Visitors. Retrieved on 15 May 2012 from http://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3645/FriendsDec05-making-sense-visitor.pdf National Museum of Australia. (2003-2010c). National Museum of Australia Annual Report 07-08, Part three: Accountability and management. Retrieved on 15 May 2012 from http://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/71930/NMAAnnualReport08_PT3.pdf Read More