SUMMARY
In this chapter, the
of buyer behavior were presented. The chapter is divided into two parts:
consumer behavior and organizational behavior. In the case of consumer behavior, the discussion began with six stages in the consumer decision-making process. These stages include need identification, information search and processing, evaluation of alternatives, product/service/outlet selection, purchase. and postpurchase behavior.
Following the material was a discussion of the factors that influence this decision-making process.
The situational influences consist of the complexity, market offerings, and demographics. External influences include the culture, social class, reference groups, and the family. Finally, the internal influ -
ences identified were
motivation, pcrsonality, lifestyles , and attitudes.
The final section of the chapter dealt with issues germane to how organizations make buying
decisions compared to how consumers make buying decisions.
began with a description
of the characteristics of organizational buying. The section concluded with a description or the stages followed in organizational buying. These stages were problem recognition, general need description, product specification, supplier's search, proposal solicitation, supplier selection, order-routine specification, and performance review.
MARKETER'S VOCABULARY
Market
A group of potential buyers with needs and wants and the purchasing power to sati sfy them.
Need
A basic deficiency given a particular situation.
Want
Placing certain personal criteria as to how a need should be fulfilled.
Information search
Involves the mental as well as physical activities that consumers mu st per-
form in order to make decisions and accomplish desired goals in the marketplace.
Attitude
An opinion we hold toward a person, idea, place,
thing.
Cognitive dissonance
Negative feeling s the consumer has after purchase.
High-involvement decisions
Decisions that are important to the buyer because they are closely
tied to self-image and have an inherent risk.
Low-involvement decisions
Decisions that are not very important to the buyer because ego is
not involved and risk is low.
Culture
A large group of people with a simi lar heritage.
Social class
People grouped together because of similar occupation, wealth, income, education,
power, and prestige.
Reference groups
Individual s who share common attitudes and behavior.
Family Iifecycle
Predictable stages experienced by families.
Learning
Changes in behavior resulting from previous experiences.
Socialization
The process by which persons acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that
make them more or less able members of their society.
Motivation
An inner drive or pressure to take action to satisfy a need.
Personality
A term used to summarize all the traits of a person
makes himlher unique.
Lifestyle
A profile of an individual as reflected in their attitudes, interests . and opinions.
CASE APPLICATION
9 9
DISCUSSION QU ESTIONS
1. Discuss
reasons why marketers continue to have a hard time understanding, predicting,
and explaining consumer behavior.
2. Based on your understanding of motives, develop some general guidelines or directives for practicing marketing.
3. How can marketers influence a person's motivation to take action? How can they facilitate learning?
4. Define an attitude. Discuss the components of an attitude. What are the implications for marketing?
S. Distinguish between high-involvement and low-involvement decision making .
6. Present a diagram of the consumer decision process . What is the role of marketing in each stage of this process')
What are the differences between the consumer decision-making process and organizational deci-
sion-making process?
8. Assume that you are training a salesperson to sell industrial products. Although this salesperson has a
track record, she has been selling consumer products. What would you emphasize
during training?
Explain how complexity of the product influences the buying decision process.
10. Why are opinion leaders so important to marketers') Discuss how marketers could use this type of individual in prompting a decision.
PROJECT
Locate an individual who has purchased a new automobile during the last year. Using the six-step decision-making process, ask this person to indicate how he or she accomplished each step.
CA SE A PPLICATION
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STILL M ATTERS
To many American travelers, airline quality is an oxymoron. Ted J. Kredir, director of hobby sales for Dallas-based trading card company, Pinnacle Brands, Inc., complains of frequent flight cancellations, late arrivals, and lousy food. To the surprise of skeptical passengers, the gripes aren't falling on deaf ears. After years of focusing on paring expenses, such major airlines as American, Delta, and Continental are stepping up their quality efforts. Cost-cutting "diverted our attention from the nuts and bolts of out business ," concedes American Airlines
Executive Robert L. Crandall. "Our
customers have noticed."
A.merican, wh.ich once dubbed itself the "on-time machine;' placed a dismal ninth among 10
carriers in on-time rankings for the third quarter of 1996. So Crandall told managers at the next meeting that leading all industry-quality ratings is their top job for 1997. An American spokesperson won ' t provide specifics, but says: "We're talking about a lot of operational things like customer comfort onboard airplanes."
At Delta Air Lines, Inc., customer complaints have nearly doubled since 1994; CEO Ronald
W. Allen blames the pursuit of lower costs. "In some cases
did cut too deeply," he says. Trans
World Airlines, Inc., now in the cellar for on-time and customer complaint rankings by the Transportation
100