Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behaviour - Coursework Example

Marketing: Consumer psychology and buyer behaviour Consumer psychology and behaviour The notion of involvement in marketing to the consumer deals with their own, individual views regarding the perceived importance of the particular product to their own values, beliefs or lifestyle preferences. Generally, high-involvement purchases are those which carry a high price tag or might somehow enhance their own self-concept of prestige (i.e. diamond ring, high fashion clothing, automobiles, etc.). At the same time, low-involvement purchases might include a generic grocery store item (bubble gum, paper towels, etc.) in which the consumer is more prone to make a rapid decision due to personal need or low pricing on the product. Marketers must come to recognise whether their product would be perceived as a high-involvement purchase or a low-involvement purchase and take adequate steps to create a marketing strategy, for the specific product, which would best appeal to the consumer propensity to buy quickly or mull over the decision for an elongated period of time. As the majority of product-oriented companies market their products in the pursuit of achieving profitability, and since the consumer is generally the largest external factor determining whether product sales rise or fall, involvement is likely a paramount objective when building a sound marketing strategy. One marketing professional offers that many consumers, when deciding whether or not to buy what would be considered a high-involvement purchase, will often remain loyal to a favourite brand name and remain somewhat reluctant to try an unknown branded product as an alternative (Cohen, 2000). This would pose a significant challenge for marketers today, especially if their company’s specific product is undifferentiated from other competing products or is relatively new on the market. In fact, it has been offered that many companies will attempt to exploit this aspect of consumer behaviour in decision-making by simply raising the price on the specific brand which has been found to achieve consumer brand loyalty (Cohen). However, is this a sound strategy in the long-term? If the competing product recognises that the pricing model for the competing, loyal brand is being exploited, this can potentially give the new on-the-market product an opportunity to utilise creative and innovative marketing efforts to differentiate the product and ultimately seize market share from their competition which has enjoyed high sales volume and profit due to exploiting consumer behaviour patterns. Jaben (2009) offers a unique portrait of contemporary consumer lifestyles by segregating different consumer segments into specific lifestyle and values categories under the VALS 2 model of marketing. Under this model, there are eight identified consumer segments, such as those who seek action-orientation (thrills and sports), those who are highly concerned with image and prosperity (attracted to premium products), or those who are family-oriented (slow to change life-long habits of buying behaviour); amongst many other segments. Assuming that the VALS 2 model is accurate and appropriate for different consumer segments, this would be highly relevant to marketing strategists when determining what variety of marketing function should be attached to their own unique product varieties. For instance, would the action-oriented consumer consider a football to be a high-involvement purchase? Probably so, considering that sports and sporting events are a crucial activity in their lives. For the family-oriented consumer, purchasing a football is likely a low-involvement purchase considered solely to satisfy a family game of sports in their own backyard on a lazy, casual Sunday afternoon. Why mention the VALS 2 model? Because it appears that marketers must identify which specific segment is most likely to purchase their products, determine the best way to market to these groups, and create a strategy which will attempt to take a high-involvement purchase and transform it into a low-involvement purchase by creating brand loyalty. If, for example, a company was marketing an alarm clock with a vast array of product features and benefits, a status-oriented consumer would likely consider this a low-involvement purchase whilst an action-oriented person, who might rely on accurate time-keeping in order to schedule their busy, active lives, might explore various alternative products over a day’s or even a week’s time period to ensure that they are receiving a quality product for the price. It is highly important to discuss the different values and lifestyle preferences of different consumer segments as it appears that buying behaviour is largely proportional to whether a company utilises niche marketing efforts or mass-marketing efforts, and sets an appropriate price tag based on who the marketer believes will be their highest demographic buying segment. It seems that failure to recognise different lifestyle elements and preferences, as well as being able to differentiate products from other competing products, is the key to successful marketing especially when there are multiple, competing products in similar marketplaces. Research history In order to explore the notion of involvement further, it is important to recognise a variety of existing theoretical positions on the subject. Richins, Bloch and McQuarrie (1992) describe the phenomenon of SI purchases versus EI purchases and how these factor into modern marketing strategies. Under the authors’ theory, SI purchases (situational involvement) are generally short-term feelings regarding the risk of a product purchase whilst EI purchases (enduring involvement) involve longer-term consequences to the consumer and are generally higher-involvement regarding whether or not to make a product purchase. The authors theorise that different situations and product varieties will evoke either SI responses or EI responses, or a combination of both, which largely impacts whether or not the consumer makes a decision rapidly or with thorough research and exploration of alternative products prior to making a product purchase. The authors randomly sampled 1,000 general consumers and 800 new automobile buyers in the form of a questionnaire as well as a second data collection series involving 950 random consumers which inquired about new clothing and grocery item purchases. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not higher-involvement purchases, such as a new car, evoked different SI and EI responses compared to clothing and grocery purchases (which are generally not high-involvement to most consumers). The results of the study indicated that many low-involvement purchases tend to elicit larger SI responses, this being situational and temporary, whilst larger-ticket items tended to have a larger combination of both SI and EI responses. Essentially, this fits within the existing literature regarding consumer behaviour patterns and purchasing decisions where perceived consumer risk is generally associated with higher-priced products, such as automobiles over that of clothing and grocery items. A second study conducted by Quester and Smart (1998) aimed to determine whether or not three specific marketing situations, the communication situation, the purchase situation and the consumption situation, affected the level to which a consumer perceived a specific product to be high-involvement or low-involvement. To test involvement, the authors chose red wine varieties to determine these factors. Factors were taken into consideration including pricing, the tangible wine bottle label itself, grape variety and location of origin for the wine as factors in the study. In total, 303 consumers responded to survey instruments which identified a combination of features, pricing, and benefits for each wine variety and consumers were asked to respond, in order, to their preferences based on what type of wine they would buy first, second and so on. Results of the study indicated that the origin of the wine maintained little significance in whether or not the wine should be purchased, thus this is a low-involvement factor in wine selection. Pricing, however, was determined to be highly significant, which might suggest that consumers consider pricing and explore alternatives. Hence, a £20 bottle of wine might elicit a higher-involvement response than a competing £9 bottle. Though there were additional results for each element of the potential wine selections, pricing appears to be one of the highest-involvement factors for each type of consumer segment, regardless of whether or not each group generically considered wine to be high or low involvement overall. This is significant from a marketing standpoint as it stands to justify the basic premise that pricing is a considerable factor in whether or not a consumer considers alternatives or simply makes a purchase based on whether or not the marketing messages (the communication situation) are effective or low in SI (situational involvement). Discussion of described marketing concepts It is already a well-established theory that pricing maintains a significant factor in whether or not a consumer explores alternative product options prior to making a purchase. Likely, a vehicle costing 20,000 pounds would not be purchased lightly without some form of exploration of key benefits, competing products or alternative buying solutions. In opposite accord, depending on individual lifestyle and value systems, a competing car which only cost 9,000 pounds might delight some consumer lifestyle groups whilst making others believe they are going to be given an inferior product (such as the more image-conscious consumer). This speaks highly to the importance of having marketing professionals who understand their likely consumer demographic buyers, work diligently to differentiate their unique products, and set an appropriate price which does not simply take into consideration profitability expectations but also consider the impact of consumer involvement in all marketing strategies. To illustrate the importance of differentiation as a tool to reduce the likelihood of a typically-low-involvement product from becoming a high-involvement situation, it is important to identify one company which has found success in differentiating a product (even when it is not really all that different from other competing brands). Chelsea House Furniture Company, an international marketer of fine and upscale furniture, utilised a marketing positioning strategy which focused on quality. Their slogan: “Reflecting a graceful way of living” (Kurtz, 2006). Generally, an expensive piece of furniture would be a high-involvement purchase for most consumer groups, however this company understands that its most likely buying demographic is the more affluent customer (image-conscious), thus they focus on quality and pricing as a means to appeal to their unique preferences for self-image and luxury. Through this positioning and differentiation strategy, Chelsea House Furniture discovered that their furniture line was much less a high-involvement purchase as they found the most appropriate message to appeal to unique desires in this demographic group. Had the company chosen a different tactic, perhaps focusing on simply product attributes, this marketing communication may have made sceptical consumers in the affluent category disbelieve the product claims and search for alternative products on the market. Though there are likely other companies which have found success through positioning and differentiation strategies to avoid the processes involved with high-involvement consumer searches and explorations, it highly reinforces that marketing strategy and the marketing message are highly critical in both combating and predicting consumer behaviour patterns. Failure to create a sound marketing strategy which understands the lifestyle needs and values of consumers appears to be able to take a low-involvement purchase and make it a high-involvement one, which is of considerable risk to today’s marketers. When profitability is at stake, marketing tactics must connect with consumer values or other companies will be given an opportunity to utilise innovation and creativity in marketing to undercut even the most quality or high-price competing products. An affluent consumer, as one example, who has both the means and the desire to buy a high-priced diamond (who might consider this low-involvement over other consumer groups) might be tempted to explore alternative products if the message delivered by the diamond marketer is ineffective or does not meet with their values on self-image. This is a lesson which would serve many companies well today and into the future. Bibliography Cohen, Marcel. (2000). ‘Consumer involvement—driving up the cost’. Consumer Policy Review. http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/932480-1.html. (accessed 7 Mar 2009). Jaben, Jan. (2009). ‘Redefining the consumer: Updated VALS 2 system improves publishers’ ability to market readers’, Folio: The magazine for magazine management. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7954969.html (accessed 7 Mar 2009). Kurtz, David. (2006). Contemporary Marketing, 12th ed. Thomson South-Western, United Kingdom: 309. Quester, P. and Smart, J. (1998). ‘The influence of consumption situation and product involvement over consumers’ use of product attribute’, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 15(3), MCB UP, Ltd. Richins, M.L., Bloch, P.H. and McQuarrie, E. (1992). ‘How Enduring and Situational Involvement Combine to Create Involvement Responses’, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1(2), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.: 143-153. Read More