Marketing In Harvard Style - Essay Example

Running Head: MARKETING Marketing In Harvard Style By Question Individuals are exposed to tens of thousands of advertisements in a single day which marketers put up with the hope of catching consumers' attention and generate sales. With all these numerous advertisements being bombarded at a single buyer, marketers craftily design their campaigns in consideration to the consumer's processing of these stimuli in order to make a purchase decision. In doing so, they keep in mind what is called consumer perception or "the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world" (Kotler 2005). It is irrefutable that each individual processes stimuli differently because of personal differences. Thus, perception varies among individuals who perceive the same thing. This is due to three perceptual processes known as selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention. Selective attention refers to the ability of the consumers to notice and to be attracted only be advertisements which appeal to them. With all massive amount of advertisement each day, customers are only captivated by those which are relevant to them. It is found out that the advertisement which catches customers' attention are those stimuli which represents their current need, those which they anticipate, and those whose deviation are large in relation to the normal size of stimuli (Kotler and Armstrong 2001). For example, an ad which features beauty products which inhibits oil production will irrefutably attract one who is searching for one. Likely, if the ad is placed in a health and beauty specialist, the customers are expected to notice. And lastly, bigger discounts are more likely to be taken note of than smaller ones. The next process is called selective distortion which refers to "the tendency of customers to twist information into personal meanings" (Kotler 2005) and interpret them according to their needs. It should be noted that the different background of the consumers enables them to interpret advertisements in their individual ways which is influenced by their social class, employment, and others. Lastly, selective retention refers to the customers' remembering of their selected products' good points while forgetting that of the competitors' products advantages (Lynch 2003). As a marketer, advertisements are usually designed according to their intended market. Companies make advertisements which appeal to a specific target market by using celebrities, colors, and dramatic effects which will likely attract them. Offering huge discounts are also other ways of capturing their attention. However, in selective distortion, there is nothing much that a marketer can do in order to influence buyers. Selective retention is facilitated by repeating the messages that they intend the buyer to learn. The key in advertising still, is the marketers' understanding of customers which will perceive and experience them. Question 2. 1. A reference group "consists of all groups with a direct (face-to face) or indirect effect on all people's attitudes or behaviors" (Kotler 2005). 2. The four types of reference groups include primary groups, secondary groups, aspirational groups, and disassociative groups. Primary groups which are those which have a direct influence on the person because of his continuous and informal interaction with them including his family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. On the other hand, more formal relations which require less continuous interaction like religious groups, trade associations, and professional are called secondary groups. Aspirational groups are those which the individuals aspires to have membership of while disassociative ones represents those which have values or beliefs that a customer finds unacceptable (Kotler and Armstrong 2005). 3. Customers associate themselves with reference groups because of their want to be acceptable to the people within the group, they want to be identified with the people they want to become, as well that some groups give them the prestige that they desire. Reference groups often define what the individual is by highlighting his talents and abilities. For example, belonging to the Circle of Music stresses a person's musical background, inclination, and dexterity. As men are social beings, they also seek belongingness and acceptance from groups which they look up to. In a circle of friends, being identified as a member of the peer becomes one of the ultimate goal of an individual. It should be noted that a lot of people are often modifying their physical appearance, behavior, and language in order for them to be accepted and identified with a certain group. Lastly, having a definite identity separates an individual from groups that he detests. For example, being identified as a devote Catholic will set a person apart from the atheist that he detests. 4. The effect of reference groups in purchase decision making is strongly related to the perception of customers in the credibility of reference groups in suggesting and recommending a decision. For example, it is found out that primary groups are only important in the purchases of durables like automobiles and appliances. On the other hand, purchases of beauty products are influenced by aspirational groups. On the other hand, even if the user of the product is a teenager, the decision of what to buy is still on the hands of the parents who will pay for the purchase. 5. Aspirational groups can strongly influence the purchase decision of an individual. For example, in the sales of beauty products, marketers use the reference group celebrities in order to promote their products and generate sales from them. Since celebrities portray the physical appearance that the customers want to have, they become very eager to try the product themselves. They believe that in using the sad product, they will be able to have the skin and beauty of the celebrities. Furthermore, celebrities promoting the product can also easily sway his or her fans in their purchase decision simply because of his or her popularity. Question 3. The decision making of a customer is influenced by various factors. In order to recognize this, we will discuss how a customer makes a purchase decision through the model of consumer buying process. It should be noted that the buying process involves a series of important activities where the customer is influenced by both internal and external factors. Marketers are trying their best to participate in each of the processes while influencing the customers to choose the products that they offer (Kotler 2005). Suppose for instance that a student wants to purchase a laptop. First, he recognizes the need for having this product. The purchase might be because of the tons of paper that he needs to finish during the semester, his need to check his mails from his distant parents and friends online, his requirement to download all the class' assignments from the university's web portal, and for streaming his favorite songs. As these needs become pressing, he realizes that he needs to purchase a laptop which will serve the purposes enumerated above. After recognizing his need, he now turns to the available information on laptops. These might be the advertisements that he sees on billboards, the commercials screened on television, or even the product reviews in the internet. This could also be from his immediate relationship like family and friends who have laptops. After searching for information, he then chooses among the available alternatives in the distribution channels. He might consider the features of the laptops for sale as the sole basis of his purchase decision. He might want to compare their prices, weight, and sellers in order to find one which suit his needs. However, he can simply choose the one which is recommended by most of the people that he talked to without really considering price and features. Or, if he is swayed by the celebrities who are promoting the laptop, he simply chooses one which is advertised by the celebrity he really likes. After evaluating, he then makes a purchase decision. He chooses the product which appeals to him the most and is most suited to his need (Kotler 2005). However, the process does not end here. After the customer has made the purchase, he also evaluates the product according to its performance and his expectation. It should be noted that a customer often communicates satisfaction not when the product is purchased but when he is able to use it for the purpose it is intended to. Post-purchase dissonance happens when a customer is not satisfied with the product and intends not to purchase the same product again (Wells 2006). What is worse is that, when customers are dissatisfied with the products, they tend to tell their bad experience to ten or more of their friends. If this happens, word of mouth will be used against the business organization and can significantly fail because of the bad customer feedback. In order to eliminate this post-purchase action, manufacturers and marketers should be honest in their advertisement and be able to deliver all the features which are advertised. The problem with most companies is their use of advertisements which exaggerates the quality of their products. Thus, when a customer purchases from them, they become disappointed upon learning that their expectations are not met by manufacturers. The inconsistency between advertisements and actual product performance is often impossible to reconcile to customers. Thus, companies should be able to provide a security to customers by giving a warranty in case the product is defective. Business organizations like Dell, HP, and Toshiba set up customer support offices where customers can report encountered problems with the products. Post-purchase support could be provided by companies in order to convey assurance to buyers. In extreme cases, when a customer is dissatisfied, no question is asked and he is automatically given a reimbursement or a new product. References Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G 2001, Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education, Inc., New Jersey Kotler, P. 2005, Marketing Management. Prentice-Hall: New York Lynch, R. 2003, Corporate Strategy, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall Financial Times Wells, W. et al., 2006, Advertising: Principles and Practice, New York: Prentice Hall Read More