Behavior Buyer Chapter 14

Front 1

What is meant by purchase involvement?

Back 1

the level of concern for, or interest in, a particular purchase.

Front 2

How does purchase involvement differ from product involvement?

Back 2

Purchase involvement is not the same as product involvement. A person may be very involved with a brand and have a very low level of involvement with the purchase process because of brand loyalty. Or a person could have a rather low level of involvement with a product but have a high level of purchase involvement because of a desire to set an example for a child or impress a friend who is on the shopping trip (situational factors). There are individual differences in general involvement level and in the involvement response to particular situations.

Front 3

How does consumer decision making change as purchase involvement increases?

Back 3

As purchase involvement increases, decision making becomes increasingly complex: more and different sources and types of information are used, more alternatives are evaluated on more dimensions using more complex decision rules, and a more thorough postpurchase evaluation occurs.

Front 4

What is the role of emotion in the consumer decision process?

Back 4

Emotions can influence both desired and actual states of problem recognition. People attend sports events in anticipation (desired state) of positive emotional responses (cheering, winning, having fun). Consumers may seek alternative products or services (sell your season tickets until the college gets a new coach) when the emotional response they hope to achieve does not occur (actual state.) Desired and actual emotional experiences can be tied to many products, which can in turn lead to different states of problem recognition.

Front 5

How do nominal, limited, and extended decision making differ?

Back 5

Nominal decision making, in effect, involves no decision per se. That is, a problem is recognized, internal search (memory) provides a single preferred solution (brand), that brand is purchased, and an evaluation occurs only if the brand fails to perform as expected. Limited decision making covers the middle ground between habitual decision making and extensive decision making. In its simplest form (lowest level of purchase involvement) it is very similar to nominal decision making. Extended decision making is the response to a very high level of purchase involvement.

Front 6

How do the two types of nominal decision making differ?

Back 6

Extensive internal and external information search is followed by a complex evaluation of multiple alternatives. After the purchase, doubt as to its correctness is likely, and a thorough evaluation of the purchase takes place.

Front 7

What is problem recognition?

Back 7

occurs when the consumer perceives a discrepancy between a desired state and the actual state that is sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process.

Front 8

What influences the motivation to resolve a recognized problem?

Back 8

The degree of discrepancy between the existing (actual) solution and desired solution to a problem, and the relative importance of the problem, both contribute to a motivation to resolve that problem. A large discrepancy for a very important problem would have the greatest motivation for resolution, while a small discrepancy for a very unimportant problem would have a low motivation for resolution.

Front 9

What is the difference between an active and an inactive problem?

Back 9

An inactive problem is one of which the consumer is not aware. An active problem is one of which the consumer is aware.

Front 10

Why is this distinction important?

Back 10

Marketers who have a solution to a specific consumer problem of which the consumer may not be aware (i.e., an inactive problem) must both stimulate awareness of the problem (recognition) and guide the consumer decision process to the purchase of this product as a solution. For an active problem, the marketer need only demonstrate that the brand will solve the problem.

Front 11

How can a firm cause problem recognition? Give examples.

Back 11

Problem recognition is a function of the (1) importance and (2) magnitude of a discrepancy between the desired state and an existing state. Thus, the firm can attempt to influence the size of the discrepancy by altering the desired state or the perceptions of the existing state. Or, the firm can attempt to influence the perception of the importance of an existing discrepancy.

Marketers often advertise the benefits their products will provide, hoping that these benefits will become desired by consumers. It is also possible to influence perceptions of the existing state through advertisements. Many personal care and social products take this approach. “Even your best friend won't tell you . . .” or “Kim is a great worker but this coffee . . .” are examples of messages designed to generate concern about an existing state.

Front 12

How can a firm suppress problem recognition?

Back 12

Advertisements can be designed that will aid in the suppression of problem recognition. Such an ad would directly or indirectly indicate that a potential problem is not really a problem. Some would say that ads showing healthy active people smoking cigarettes is an attempt to suppress problem recognition about health and smoking. Also, effective quality control, distribution, packaging, and package inserts are commonly used for this purpose.