Shaping Marketing Decisions Based on Consumer Behavior - Essay Example

Consumer behavior Relationship of evoked set, consideration set, and heuristics to consumer behavior Introduction Consumer behavior is central to all the marketing decisions that are made by companies that deal with good and services. As such, all the assumptions that are there in the study of consumer behavior shall have an impact of the marketing decision that a company could execute (Baker 2001). Consumer behavior could be viewed at as that process that a customer goes through, right from the time they decide to make a purchase, and includes the evaluation of alternative products or services, the decision to make a purchase, the acquiring of goods and services, the after purchase evaluation by a customer, utilization or consumption of the goods and services, and the eventual disposal. It is important to note here that the buying process originates in the mind long before a customer has made a conscious effort to make a purchase, and such a decision shall be affected by personality and social-cultural factors (McKenna 2000). Consumer behavior thus is a study that attempt to assess why consumers buy where they buy, the influence that affects their purchase decision, how they view your products or services relative to those of your competitors, and most importantly, why they should stick to your products in the face of a market awash with similar products and services from your competition. It also involves an assessment of the attitudes that consumers have towards a service or a product, and the role that they play in their households, as this shall affect their purchase decisions (Lele 1002). Consumer behavior is both a dynamic and complex process. It is also multidimensional and tends to greatly impact on all the marketing decisions of a firm. Evoked sets An evoked set is that subset of brands within a product category that are often considered by individuals when they wish to make a purchase (Campbell, 1969). Given that there is a large number of brands that are contained in each of the individual product categories, consumers thus resorts to the use of evoked sets with a view to making their purchase decisions easier. From a consumer’s perspective, an evoked set could as well be regarded as an awareness set made up of particular brands within a product category that a given set of consumers are aware of (Narayana & Markin 1975). In other words, an evoked set could be viewed at as those handful choices that will often pass through our minds when we are just about to arrive at a buying decision. For instance, when someone is purchasing say, a personal computer, such brands as either Sony or Dell may come to mind. In this case, this is an evoked set. For a marketer, it is crucial that his/her products be aligned so as to constitute a valid evoked set in the minds of customers. This is all about creating a brand image of your products and services that appeal to the market. According to Lele (1992), only those brands that form an evoked set within the consumers’ minds get to be purchased. Lele Further opines that if a brand or supplier is not part of an evoked set, then such a brand will either be rarely purchased by a consumer, or be ignored altogether. A majority of consumers’ evoked sets have at most five differing brands. Consequently, it often becomes quite tricky to have more that a similar number of firms having a widespread acceptance as being distinguished and exceptional. Owing to the multiplicity of opinions, it would not be easy to have say, three firms or brands being a part of the perception of quite a sizable proportion of the consumer market. Due to this, most of the marketers for packaged goods often fight viciously to obtain a share of the consumers’ mind, and hence their attention. When a firm fails to familiarize itself with a buyer groups’ evolved set, then the achievement of its overall strategy through the use of differentiation is jeopardized (Lele 1992). Consideration set Within any one given set of product categories, different individuals shall have the knowledge of a wide range of products (Lele 1992). Nevertheless, it is not automatic that all the brands that a certain consumer has the knowledge of shall be considered fro a possible purchase. As such, the consideration set consists of those brands that are normally taken seriously by different consumers as they assess their purchase decisions. With usually an average of between three to five brands, a consideration set tends to be small in terms of size (Lele 1992). However, there are still other consumers who may only have a consideration set with a single brand, though these tend to be quite rare. There is a very strong relationship between a consideration set, and an evoked set. Where as an evoked set (also known as mind-share) is about those brands that are usually the first to pop into the mind of a consumer as they make their purchase decisions, the consideration set will usually have lingered in the mind of a buyer longer, and hence will have a closer association than an evoked set. An evoked set has more to do with memorability, while a consideration set is a measure of credibility (Baker 2001). It takes a lot of time and effort on the part of a marketer to convince consumers to seriously consider your brand, much more than one would need to create awareness to the same consumers about the existence of your brand. One of the reasons why consumers may fail to seriously consider your brand could be a lack of awareness about your marketing mix (Baker 2001). In addition, it could as well be due to misconceptions regarding the brand. The reason why a majority of the products fail is that whereas it is easier to attain product awareness, the achievement of the credibility of the same proves futile. Before a marketer even embarks on a consumer consideration set, there is a need to have a detailed analysis and understanding of the market one intends to venture into. The problem shall not be solved by merely advertising for the brand. Heuristics Heuristic could be viewed at as an informal method that aids in problem solving. The method is especially utilized in a case where a rapid and optimal solution is needed. Also called an intuitive judgments or rules of thumb, heuristics represents those strategies that make use of applicable and accessible information geared towards having a control over problems in both humans and machines (Judea 1983). From a consumer behavior perspective, heuristics, as an intuitive judgment is utilized by individuals in arriving at decisions. For example, an individual’s decision not to purchase a car while it is still in its first model year constitutes a choice heuristic. On the other hand, a customer who wishes to purchase a computer might decide to go to a store that offers the best deal in town. This is a form of search heuristic. Such rules of the thumb come in handy, especially in a situation whereby we would wish to arrive at a conclusive decision without as much as making further comprehensive research. Use of heuristics in the purchase of a product one has no prior experience on To a large extent, heuristics aids in the reduction possible solutions to a given problem into proportions that are quite manageable. This then enables a decision maker to sift through such manageable proportion, and hence arrive at a conclusive decision (Simon & Newel 1971). Through the use of intuition, a buyer could as well enrich their decision making about the purchase of a given product. This is especially true in a case where by one lacks and experience with the brand in question, and hence the uncertainty. The use of cues and attention blocking has been associated with heuristics by several researchers of consumer behavior. In this case, a marketer tends to utilize cues in advertisements that block other messages about a brand, except that which a consumer wishes to hear. In the same vein, a novice customer of a brand may also make use of cues and attention blockers to call onto their evoked sets as regards the brand in question. Through the use of a search heuristic, an individual may also decide to go to that store that offers a decent guarantee for the service in question. Conclusion Consumer behavior is a collection of the process that a buyer goes through in their attempt to either purchase of a product or a service. It starts as a concept in the mind of a customer, and extends to the evaluation of alternative products, the actual acquisition of such a product, the use and disposal of the product, and the post purchase behavior of a consumer (cognitive dissonance). Consumer behavior is both a dynamic and multidimensional process that impacts on all facets of the marketing processes in a firm. With regard to consumers’ behavior, there has to be an association of the perceived brands of product in the minds of the consumer, and this is how the evolved set comes about. This refers to those brands that immediately come to the mind of a consumer when they want to make a purchase decision. Whenever a customer wishes to make a purchase decision of fro example a personal computer, such brands as Apple Macintosh will often immediately pop into the customer’s mind. This is an example of an evoked set. An evoked set does not however guarantee that a given brand will be purchased. On the other hand, a consideration set, though similar to an evoked set in a lot of ways, differs slightly. An evoked set is about memorability, while a consideration set is more involved with the credibility of a brand. The use of heuristics in consumer behavior is also now a common occurrence. Also referred to as the rules of the thumb, heuristics helps a consumer dissects the purchase decision to manageable proportion, thus making the purchase decision process easier. Furthermore, a novice customer could utilize heuristics to make a purchase of a product they have no prior experience with through the use of perceived cues. Bibliography Campbell, B.M, 1969, "The existence of evoked set and determinants of its magnitude in brand choice behavior," dissertation, Columbia university. Judea, P, 1983, Heuristics: intelligent search strategies for computer solving. Addison- Wesley, New York: Baker, M, 2001, Marketing: critical perspectives on business and management. Taylor & Francis, London. Available at: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id= Retrieved November 26, 2008. Lele, M, 1992, creating strategic leverage: matching company strength with market Opportunities, John Wily & sons New York. Available at: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id= retrieved November 26, 2008. Narayama, C L. & Markin, R J 1975 “Consumer behavior and product performance: an alternative conceptualization”, Journal of marketing, vol.39, pp.1-6. McKenna, E, 2000, Business psychology and organizational behavior. Psychology press, London. Available at: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id= Retrieved November 26, 2008. Read More