Consumer Behavior: Attitudes, Decision-Making, & Relationships
Brand Personality and Brand Equity
Brand personality is the set of human-like traits that people associate with a product. These perceptions play a crucial role in building brand equity, which is the overall value and strength of a brand in the market.
Lifestyle Marketing Perspective
Lifestyle marketing recognizes that consumers often form groups based on shared activities, leisure preferences, and spending habits. Marketers can target these groups by aligning their products with specific lifestyles.
Functional Theory of Attitudes
Daniel Katz’s functional theory of attitudes explains how attitudes influence social behavior. Attitudes exist because they serve specific purposes for individuals, driven by their motives. Katz identified four key functions:
Utilitarian Function
This function relates to the principle of reward and punishment. We develop attitudes towards products based on whether they provide pleasure or pain. Advertisements highlighting product benefits appeal to this function.
Value-Expressive Function
Attitudes with a value-expressive function are integral to a person’s self-concept and values. Ads emphasizing how a product reflects the user’s identity appeal to this function.
Ego-Defensive Function
This function protects individuals from perceived threats, whether real or imagined. Ads highlighting how a product helps avoid threats appeal to this function.
Knowledge Function
Attitudes fulfilling the knowledge function address the need for order, structure, and understanding. Ads emphasizing product information, especially for new or complex products, appeal to this function.
ABC Model of Attitudes
Most researchers agree that attitudes have three components, often referred to as the ABC model:
Affect
Refers to the consumer’s emotional response towards an attitude object.
Behavior
Represents the consumer’s intention to act concerning an attitude object.
Cognition
Encompasses the consumer’s beliefs about an attitude object.
Consumer Decision-Making Process
The consumer decision-making process involves five stages:
1. Problem Recognition
Occurs when a consumer perceives a significant difference between their current state and a desired state.
2. Information Search
The process of gathering information to make an informed decision.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
Consumers assess and compare products in their consideration set.
4. Product Choice
The consumer selects a product to address their need or solves their problem.
5. Outcomes
The consumer experiences satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the chosen product. If no product is chosen, the process may restart later.
Problem Recognition in Detail
Problem recognition happens when a consumer identifies a discrepancy between their actual and desired states. This can occur in two ways:
- A decline in the actual state (e.g., running out of gas).
- An increase in the ideal state (e.g., craving a specific food item).
Hedonic Shopping Motives
People often engage in shopping for pleasure, even without the intention to purchase. Hedonic shopping motives include:
- Social experiences
- Sharing common interests with others
- Interpersonal attraction
- The feeling of instant status
Information Search and Knowledge Levels
Consumers with moderate product knowledge tend to seek more information than those with either no knowledge or extensive knowledge. This is because:
- Individuals with limited knowledge may lack the confidence or skills for extensive searching.
- Individuals with extensive knowledge likely already possess the necessary information or have mastered the search process.
Types of Product Relationships
Consumers can develop various relationships with products, including:
- Self-Concept Attachment: The product contributes to the user’s identity.
- Nostalgic Attachment: The product connects the user to their past.
- Interdependence: The product is integrated into the user’s daily routine.
- Love: The product evokes strong emotional bonds, such as warmth or passion.