Chapter 11 – Consumer Behavior

Chapter 11 – Consumer Behavior
SCENARIO:
For this scenario you are going to consider the consumer behavior model that looks at the five influences said to lead to consumption: 1) Problem/need recognition; 2) Information seeking; 3) Evaluation of alternatives; 4) Purchase decision; and 5) Post-purchase evaluations.
You have just graduated with your four-year degree in business.  As you will see, car companies often send graduating students discount certificates for new vehicles (you will likely receive one).  CONGRATULATIONS on your graduation!!! And you are now going to purchase your new vehicle.

GOAL:
The goal of this assignment is to assist you in understanding the process of consumer behavior.  We are all consumers and we are constantly making purchases.  Do you think that we purchase a product by accident?  Did you know that we actually go through a process of determining what brand and flavor of chewing gum we will purchase?  It may not seem like we do, but we do!
Learning Objectives:
1.    To understand consumer behavior that leads marketers to draw on fields such as psychology and sociology.
2.    To identify and discuss the four key personal and environmental factors influencing the consumer buying process.
3.    To be able to identify and discuss the stages of the consumer buying process.
4.    To be able to differentiate between features and benefits, discuss both and determine what role they play in our decisions to make a purchase.
5.    To understand the marketing factors and the role they each play in the purchase process.
PREPARATION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT: Read Chapter 11; Marketing Processes and Consumer Behavior. You will then want to read this assignment thoroughly before you begin.
STEP 1: In chapter 11 we discuss target marketing and market segmentation.  The fact is that members of a market segment must share some common traits that affect their purchasing decisions thus, as business professionals we need to be aware of how we can select a target market for our product or service.  Identification is important as we need to be able to look at the different influences on consumer behavior and then understand the buying process if we are to be successful business professionals.

Additionally, we need to understand the marketing factors or marketing mix that marketing managers utilize in their process of developing activities that result in the marketing plan.  As discussed in chapter 11 the marketing strategy blends the Four Ps together so that they are compatible with one another and so that they result in the transfer of goods or services to the firms customers.
WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER FOR INCLUSION IN MY ASSIGNMENT?
Personal and Environmental Factors:
1.    Psychological influences include an individual’s motivations, perceptions, ability to learn and attitudes.  What psychological influences have guided you in choosing this particular vehicle?
2.    Personal influences include lifestyle, personality, and economic status.  What personal influences have directed you in your decision?
3.    Social influences include family, option leaders, (people whose opinions are sought by others), and such reference groups as friends, coworkers, and professional associates. Considering social influences what has steered you to purchase this particular vehicle?
4.    Cultural influences include culture (the way of living that distinguishes one large group from another), subculture (smaller groups with shared values), and social class (the cultural ranking of groups according to such criteria as background, occupation, and income).  These cultural influences guide us in our everyday decisions but especially in our decision to make a particular purchase. What cultural influences have guided you in your decision to choose this specific vehicle to purchase?
Stages of the Consumer Buying Process:
1.    Problem Need Recognition begins when the consumer recognizes a problem or need.  Need recognition also occurs when you have a chance to change your buying habits. For instance if you graduate from college with your four-year degree and you want a new car. Think about the fact that you have just graduated and you want/need a new vehicle. One of the factors that can occur in this stage is that the consumer has a chance to change their buying habits.
2.    Information Seeking is the portion of the process that begins when the consumer recognizes a need.  Before making a purchase decision most people seek information from personal sources, public sources, and experience.  For this assignment who did you seek information from and in what forms (include the research you did on the Internet)?
3.    Evaluation of Alternatives for your assignment will consist of you analyzing price, prestige and quality of the compared products.  I am sure that once I said you could buy a new vehicle of your choice you had an immediate vision of what you want but you need to include in your paper information about compared products.  For example: you may determine you need a van rather than that snazzy little sports car because you will be getting married right after college and want to start a family immediately (do you see where I am going with this?).  Why have you decided to purchase a Toyota rather than a GM product or a Ford product?  Include your inner dialogue about why you are choosing one product but not another.
4.    Purchase Decision simply means that you are now ready to purchase that new vehicle.   For this assignment you will need to list both your rational motives and your emotional motives.  Your rational motives will include the logical evaluation of the attributes of the vehicle.  Cost, quality and usefulness should be included.  Your emotional motives are the nonobjective factors such as sociability, imitation of others and aesthetics.  For example, you might purchase the same kind of vehicle  as your friend or perhaps you are buying that pick-up truck because your older brother bought one and not wanting to look like you are copying him you choose a different product (he drives GM and you decide to purchase a Ford product).  Maybe you love the color of his pick-up so you want that color.  Maybe your family has always driven Chevys.  Why are you making the decision to purchase this particular pick-up truck?
5.    Post-purchase Evaluation is the continuation of the marketing process.  Consumers do not want to go through the complex decision process every time they purchase a product so they often purchase a product they know about that they have used and liked in the past.  Because marketers want consumers to be happy after buying a product the marketing process must continue after the sale.  For your assignment you need to tell me how you will broadcast your satisfactory experience with the vehicle you purchased.
Marketing Factors affect the evaluation of alternatives.  Thus, you will want to include information about these factors in your evaluation of alternatives.
1.    Product is where marketing begins.  A product is a good, a service, or an idea designed to fill a customer’s need or want.  Is the vehicle you want to purchase a need or a want?
2.    Pricing is selecting the best price at which to sell the product. In your process of determining which vehicle you were choosing to purchase was price a factor in the process of evaluating your alternatives?  Did you “settle” for an inferior vehicle compared to the one you decided to purchase due to the cost (price)?
3.    Promotion is the most visible component of the marketing mix. Promotion refers to the techniques for communicating information to potential buyers about product.  For this portion of the assignment you need to look at some YouTube video concerning commercials for your vehicle.  What commercials did you see that might influence your decision about one vehicle and its features over the purchase of any other vehicle? Can you find additional advertisements about the vehicle you want to purchase?
4.    Place refers to distribution.  Placing the product in the outlet so that consumers have easy access is a decision about activities.  All of these activities are concerned with getting the product from the producer to the consumer.  When you decided on the vehicle you wanted was it on the lot? Did you want a number of special features so that it was necessary to order your vehicle and have it delivered?  Did you have to wait for the delivery?
STEP 2: You will need to answer some very basic questions before you begin your research for your new vehicle:
•    What kind of vehicle will you buy (will it be a car, a truck, a van)?
•    Will color be a factor?
•    Will gas mileage be a factor?
•     What kind of features do you want your new vehicle to have?
Go to the Internet and find the vehicle of your dreams (one that you know you will be able to afford). Most of these websites have check lists for you to check off what features you desire and provide you with a means of determining the cost of the vehicle based on the features you choose. Once you “build” your vehicle in the color you want you need to print a copy (in color) for this assignment.  Please include a copy of the features that you have determined you want to have included.
As a consumer we do not always consider the step by step method of making a large purchase such as a new vehicle.  As part of this assignment you will consider the five influences and how they each will impact you and your decision.
As professional business people we utilize the four Ps and as consumers we are impacted by them as the marketing factors affect our evaluation of alternatives.  Thus, you will want to include information about these factors in your evaluation of your vehicle alternatives.
Finally, as consumers we are part of a market segment and we each share some common traits that affect our purchasing decisions. Remember that segmentation is a strategy for analyzing consumers, not products.  In your paper you will want to include an analysis of yourself based on the five most important variables.
STEP 3: Below is the list of questions that you will use to complete this assignment.  Each question should be numbered and be in bold font.  The answer to each question should appear below the question and should be in regular font.  The questions should be single spaced and the answers should be double spaced.  I have placed the full assignment in outline format below so that you can cut and paste it into your assignment document for your convenience.  Please be sure that you have fully answered each of the questions and that you have included references to all of the:
•    Five influences and how they impacted your decision,
•    The four Ps as you have evaluated your vehicle alternatives, and
•    Information about the market segment to which you belong and how that impacted your purchase decision.

Outline for your assignment:
Title – your paper should have a title and it should be bold, centered on the page and a larger font
I.    Your paper should have an opening statement that appears directly after the title in this position, but you will write it last after you have answered the questions.  The opening statement should be left-justified, double spaced and use regular font.
II.    The next section of your assignment should contain all of the questions followed by each individual answer using key business terms from this chapter (page 294):

1.    What psychological influences have guided you in choosing this particular vehicle?
The answer to question 1 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

2.    What personal influences have directed you in your decision?
The answer to question 2 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

3.    Considering social influences what has steered you to purchase this particular vehicle?
The answer to question 3 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

4.    What cultural influences have guided you in your decision to choose this specific vehicle to purchase?
The answer to question 4 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

5.    According to the scenario how have your buying habits changed and why?
The answer to question 5 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

6.    From whom did you seek information and in what forms (include the research you did on the Internet)?
The answer to question 6 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

7.    Why have you decided to purchase a one vehicle (product) but not another?  Include your inner dialogue about why you are choosing one product but not another.
The answer to question 7 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

8.    Why are you making the decision to purchase this particular vehicle? Don’t worry about alternatives (or the ones you did not decide to purchase).
The answer to question 8 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

9.    Are you happy after buying your vehicle?  How you will broadcast your satisfactory experience with the vehicle you purchased?
The answer to question 9 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

10.    Is the vehicle you want to purchase a need or a want?
The answer to question 10 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

11.    In your process of determining which vehicle you were choosing to purchase was price a factor in the process of evaluating your alternatives?  Did you “settle” for an inferior vehicle compared to the one you decided to purchase due to the cost (price)?
The answer to question 11 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

12.    What commercials did you see that might influence your decision about one vehicle and its features over the purchase of any other vehicle? Can you find additional advertisements about the vehicle you want to purchase?
The answer to question 12 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

13.    When you decided on the vehicle you wanted was it on the lot? Did you want a number of special features so that it was necessary to order your vehicle and have it delivered?  Did you have to wait for the delivery?
The answer to question 13 should be placed directly after the question, should use regular font and should be double spaced.

III.    The final portion of the body of your assignment should be your closing paragraph which sums up all of your answers.
IV.    Your assignment should contain a bibliography citing all of your sources including your Internet search.  For this assignment you should have no less than 5 sources – one of which will need to be your textbook. Remember that the “Bibliography” or “Works Cited” is never ‘tacked’ on to the end of your closing but is on a separate page and is titled.  The title is centered on the page, usually bold and can be either “Works Cited” or “Bibliography.”
V.    Attach a copy of your internet search including the color photo of the vehicle you have decided to purchase.
VI.    Attach a copy of the list of features you desire for your vehicle.  You may simple print out a copy of the list you made on the manufacturer’s website.
VII.    Attach a copy of the Rubric so that your assignment can be properly graded.
CHECKLIST:
What will you turn in on (DAY, MONTH, this is the DATE the assignment is due)?
?    A Cover page
o    Your name,
o    The date,
o    BUS 100- the section number, and
o    Assignment #11 in the upper left hand corner (the remainder of the cover page should be blank).  I will use this packet to provide you with the grade you earn.
?    Your “MY VEHICLE DOCUMENT” that will include
o    A Title (the best titles are written last),
o    Your opening paragraph that sets up the answers to the questions,
o    The list of questions with each individual answer (see STEP 3),
o    A closing paragraph that sums up what you have said in your answers,
?    Your list of sources that you used:
o    Your textbook that you used for definitions (remember we define the business terms that we use),
o    Your Internet sources (this include the source you used to research your vehicle and any additional research you used for your assignment),
?    One copy of a photo of the actual vehicle (in color) get this from the Internet,
?    One copy of your list of features for your vehicle, and
?    A copy of the rubric that can be found on the last page of this assignment.

REMEMBER: HAVE FUN!!!!  THIS IS ONE OF YOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS AS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL and MARKETER.
Writing in BUS 100: This is a class clearly focused on business.  The writing that is done by students is done so in the context of business.  Your writing should reflect a professional level which includes proper use of the English language (grammar, punctuation, spelling, verb and subject agreement, etc.) and demonstrates your ability to write an organized, well-developed paper that conforms to the guidelines of the assignment.  If you have concerns about your writing, ISU has a writing center located in Cunningham Library both are available to you for assistance.  Papers that are not well written will receive no more than a “C” grade and due to the content may receive a lesser grade should they not meet the guidelines of the assignment.
WARNING: Do not come to class with the idea that you will print your assignment and turn it in at the beginning of class.  I promise you that you will most likely be standing in line at the beginning of class and one of two things will have occurred; either the printer will have broken down, or the line will be long with your classmates standing in line in front of you. At that point class will have started; you will be considered late for class and counted as tardy and your work will be considered late and may not be accepted.

RUBRIC:

Assignments that do not meet the “threshold requirements” listed below will earn no more than a “C” grade and may earn an even lower grade considering the contents of the paper:
1.    The paper has a cover page that contains the required information: name, date, class with section number and title of the assignment.
2.    The paper has clearly been edited for grammar, spelling and does not have any typos.
3.    The paper meets the mechanical requirements spacing, margins etc.
4.    All of the questions have been answered and are properly cited with references where appropriate.
5.    In the process of answering the questions “key business terms” are used (page 294).
6.    This rubric is attached behind the bibliography or works cited page.

This paper is worth 60 points total.  Your paper will be graded on the following criteria:
Points
5    The paper clearly has an opening statement.
20    Each question is fully answered using key business terms from the chapter and provides clear in text references to the source of the definition.
5    Answers to the questions clearly reference target marketing, marketing segmentations and the marketing factors or marketing mix using key business terms from the chapter providing a clear in text reference to the source of the definition from the chapter.
5    Answers to the questions clearly reflect a reference to features and benefits using key business terms from the chapter and provides a clear in text reference to the source of the definition from the chapter.
5    The paper contains a clear closing statement that sums up the information that is part of the answers to the questions.
10    The paper contains a “Work Cited” page that includes the textbook, any websites that were used including any print materials that were used for the purpose of researching this paper.  Additionally, the “Works Cited” page provides evidence that research was done.  For this assignment no less than 5 sources were required.  This work is cited in MLA format.
5    Both a color photo of the vehicle and a list of the desired features are attached following the “Work Cited” page.
5    A copy of the rubric is attached as the last page of the assignment.

Is this question part of your Assignment?

We can help

Our aim is to help you get A+ grades on your Coursework.

We handle assignments in a multiplicity of subject areas including Admission Essays, General Essays, Case Studies, Coursework, Dissertations, Editing, Research Papers, and Research proposals

Header Button Label: Get Started NowGet Started Header Button Label: View writing samplesView writing samples