ICFAI UNIVERSITY DEHRADUN

CLASS OF 2011, SEMESTER III

NAME: BHASKAR PRATIM SARMA

IUD NO: 0901200547
IBS NO: 09BS0000547
COURSE CODE: SLMM605
COURSE NAME: INTEGRATED MARKETING
COMMUNICATION

FACULTY NAME: PROF. R. SRINIVASAN

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 21/07/2010
TOPIC OF ASSIGNMEMT: (1) Aspects of consumer behavior
which should be considered by promotional planners in developing
IMC.
(2) Various causes of Problem Recognition.

STUDENT SIGNATURE FACULTY SIGNATURE

1) What aspects of consumer behavior should be considered by promotional planners in
developing IMC?

Ans: Consumer Behavior is basically the process and activities that people do in order to search,
select, purchase, use, and dispose a product to satisfy their needs. The good knowledge of the
behavior of the consumer makes the product sell. Marketer’s success in influencing purchase
behavior depends in large part on how well they understand consumer behavior. Marketers need
to know the specific needs customers are attempting to satisfy and how they translate into
purchase criteria. They need to understand how consumers gather information regarding various
alternatives and use this information to select among competing brands. Marketers also need to
understand how the consumer decision process and reasons for purchase vary among different
types of customers. A successful marketer or promotional planner needs to know the following
things about a consumer:

1. What are the steps a consumer goes through before buying a product?
2. What type of decisions he/she likes to make to buy product?
3. What factors make the need of the product in market?
4. What factors can affect the purchase decision of the customer?
5. What are the needs of the consumer?
6. Where do they prefer to buy a product?
7. How the consumers gather the information about a product to fulfill the need?
8. How consumer selects a specific product among alternatives?
9. How consumer makes purchase decision?
10. How the needs of different consumers vary?
11. How are they influenced by marketing stimuli at the point of purchase?

STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS

There are some concurrent psychological decision processes running in the consumer’s mind
when doing decision making process for a product. These Psychological Processes are as follow:

1. Motivation
2. Perception
3. Attitude Formation
4. Integration
5. Learning

Consumer decision making process: The following are the stages that consumer passes
through in purchasing a product.

1) Need recognition and problem awareness: In this stage, the consumer realizes the need for
some product and get motivated to buy the new product. Need recognition or problem
recognition is caused by a difference between the consumer’s ideal state and actual state. A
discrepancy exists between what the consumers wants the situation to be like and what the
situation is really like. The causes of problem recognition may be very simple or very complex
and may result from changes in the consumer’s current and/or desired state. These causes may
be influenced by both internal and external fators. The sources of problem recognition are:

(i) Out of Stock

(ii) Dissatisfaction

(iii) New Needs/Wants

(iv) Related Products/ Purchases

(v) Marketer-Induced Problem Recognition

(vi) New products

In order to market the product well the marketer must know that what factors motivate the
consumer to buy a product like when buying a mobile:

a) One sees functional perspectives of a mobile

b) One sees the price factor (low priced etc.)
c) One sees the brand name and image

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: One of the best ways to learn the consumer motivation is
through the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow says that a person first fulfills its
Physiological needs (basic needs) like Hunger, thrust. After the successful fulfillment of these
needs a person goes to the Safety needs like security and protection. After fulfilling Security
needs a person fulfills his/her social needs like love, affections, and emotions. Then a person
wants to fulfill Self Esteem needs like self recognition. Here the person becomes the status
conscious. Next comes the Self Actualization needs where the person is confident on himself.

According to Maslow’s Theory , the lower level needs like basic needs, safety needs
should be fulfill first before fulfilling the higher level needs like self esteem and self
actualization. Now we can see that especially in progressed countries people don’t actually move
through the needs hierarchy. But the basic needs are the key to motivation for the higher needs.
Therefore in the Cooking Oil (that is basic need) advertisement the love and affection of the
mother is shown. Milk advertisement (basic need) the self confidence (higher level) of a person
is shown.

2) Psychoanalytical Theory: Psychoanalytic theory is also one of the tools to identify the
consumer behavior. It was presented by Freud and the main ingredients of psychoanalytic
theory are Human Personality and Motivation. Therefore the consumer's behavior can be
related to the psychoanalytic theory. But people those have done research on the
consumer's behavior with Psychoanalytic theory, has realized that the consumer's
behavior about buying a product is sometimes very unusual and brought many interesting
results like:
 A man buys a car as a substitute of mistress.
 A woman loves to bake cake because she thinks that its same like giving birth to baby.

3) Information Search: Information Search is the second stage in the consumer decision-
making process. Consumers engage in both internal and external information search. Internal
search involves the consumer identifying alternatives from his or her memory. For certain low
involvement products, it is very important that marketing programs achieve “top of mind”
awareness. For example, few people will search the Yellow Pages for fast food restaurants; thus,
the consumer must be able to retrieve one’s restaurant from memory before it will be
considered. For high involvement products, consumers are more likely to use an external
search. Before buying a car, for example, the consumer may ask friends’ opinions, read reviews
in Consumer Reports, consult several web sites, and visit several dealerships. Thus, firms that
make products that are selected predominantly through external search must invest in having
information available to the consumer in need—e.g., through brochures, web sites, or news
coverage.
The amount of effort a consumer puts into searching depends on a number of factors such as the
market (how many competitors are there, and how great are differences between brands expected
to be), product characteristics, consumer characteristics, and situational characteristics.

4) Alternative Evaluation: After acquiring information during the information search stage of
the decision process, the consumer moves to alternative evaluation. In this stage, the consumer
compares the various brands or products and services he/she has identified as being capable of
solving the consumption problem and satisfying the needs or motives that initiated the decision
process. The various brands identified as purchase options to be considered during the alternative
evaluation process are referred to as the consumer’s evoked set. The goal of most advertising and
promotional strategies is to increase the likelihood that a brand will be included in the
consumer’s evoked set and considered during alternative evaluation. Marketers use advertising
to create top-of-mind awareness. Popular brands with large advertising budgets use reminder
advertising to maintain high awareness levels and increase the likelihood they will be considered
by consumers in the market for the product.

Evaluative criteria are the dimensions or attributes of a product or service that are used to
compare different alternatives. Evaluative criteria are usually viewed as product or service
attributes. Many marketers view their products or services as bundles of attributes, but
consumers tend to think about products or services in terms of their consequence product/service
attributes and the consequences or outcomes consumers think they will experience from a
particular brand are very important, for they are often the basis on which consumers form
attitudes and purchase intentions and decide among various choice alternatives.

5) Purchase Decision: At some point in the buying process, the consumer must stop searching
for and evaluating information about alternative brands in the evoked set and makes a purchase
decision. As an outcome of the alternative evaluation stage, the consumer may develop a
purchase intention or predisposition to buy a certain brand . Purchase intentions are generally
based on a matching of purchase motives with attributes or characteristics of brands under
consideration. Their formation involves many of the personal sub processes including
motivation, perception, attitude formation, and integration. A purchase decision is not the same
as an actual purchase. Once a consumer chooses which brand to buy, he or she must still
implement the decision and make the actual purchase.

Marketers’ strive to develop and maintain brand loyalty among consumers. They use
reminder advertising to keep their brand names in front of consumers, maintain prominent shelf
positions and displays in stores, and run periodic promotions to deter consumers from switching
brands. Purchase decisions for nondurable, convenience items sometimes take place in the store,
almost simultaneous with the purchase. Marketers must ensure that consumer shave top-of-mind
awareness of their brands so that they are quickly recognized and considered. These types of
decisions are influenced at the actual point of purchase. Packaging, shelf displays, point-of-
purchase materials, and promotional tools such as on-package coupons or premium offers can
influence decisions made through con structive processes at the time of purchase.

6) Post purchase Evaluation: The consumer decision process does not end with the purchase.
After using the product or service, the consumer compares the level of performance with
expectations and is either satisfied or dissatisfied. Satisfaction occurs when the consumer’s
expectations are either met or exceeded; dissatisfaction results when performance is below
expectations. The post purchase evaluation process is important because the feedback acquired
from actual use of a product will influence the likelihood of future purchases.

Marketers must recognize the importance of the pos t purchase evaluation stage.
Dissatisfied consumers who experience dissonance not only are unlikely to repurchase the
marketer’s product but may also spread negative word-of-mouth information that deters others
from purchasing the product or service. The best guarantee of favorable post purchase
evaluations is to provide consumers with a quality product or service that always meets their
expectations. Marketers must be sure their advertising and other forms of promotion do not create
unreasonable expectations their products cannot meet. Marketers have come to realize that post
purchase communication is also important. Some companies send follow-up letters and brochures
to reassure buyers and reinforce the wisdom of their decision.

2) Discuss various causes of problem recognition and give an example for each.

Ans: The causes of problem recognition may be very simple or very complex and may result
from changes in the consumer’s current and/or desired state. These causes may be influenced by
both internal and external fators.

(i) Out of Stock: Problem recognition occurs when consumers use their existing supply of a
product and must replenish their stock. The purchase decision is usually simple and routine and
is often resolved by choosing a familiar brand or one to which the consumer feels loyal. Eg:
Brooke Bond, Red Label advertisement.
(ii) Dissatisfaction: Problem recognition is created by the consumer’s dissatisfaction with the
current state of affairs and/or the product or service being used. For example, a consumer may
think her ski boots are no longer comfortable or stylish enough. Advertising may be used to help
consumers recognize when they have a problem and/or need to make a purchase. Eg: Amir
Khan’s Incredible India commercial-2.

(iii) New Needs/Wants: Changes in consumers’ lives often result in new needs and wants. For
example, changes in one’s financial situation, employment status, or lifestyle may create new
needs and trigger problem recognition. Not all product purchases are based on needs. Some
products or services sought by consumers are not essential but are nonetheless desired. A want
has been defined as a felt need that is shaped by a person’s knowledge, culture, and personality.
Many products sold to consumers satisfy their wants rather than their basic needs. Eg: Reliance
Mobile ad for family needs.

(iv) Related Products/Purchases: Problem recognition can also be stimulated by the purchase
of a product. For example, the purchase of a new iPod may lead to the recognition of a need for
accessories, such as a dock, attachment for the car, or a carrying case. The purchase of a personal
computer may prompt the need for software programs, upgrades, printers, and so on. Eg: Castrol
CRB Plus tractor farmer ad for rural India.

(v) Marketer-Induced Problem Recognition: Another source of problem recognition is

marketer’s actions that encourage consumers not to be content with their current state or
situation. Ads for personal hygiene products such as mouthwash, deodorant, and foot sprays may
be designed to create insecurities that consumers can resolve through the use of these products.
Marketers change fashions and clothing designs and create perception among consumers that
their wardrobes are out of style. Marketers also take advantage of consumers’ tendency toward
novelty-seeking behavior, which leads them to try different brand. Consumers often try new
products or brands even when they are basically satisfied with their regular brand. Marketers
encourage brand switching by introducing new brands into markets that are already saturated and
by using advertising and sales promotion techniques such as free samples, introductory price
offers, and coupons. Eg: New Veet wax strips advertisement by Katrina Kaif.

(vi) New Products: Problem recognition can also occur when innovative products are
introduced and brought to the attention of consumers. Marketers are constantly introducing new
products and services and telling consumers about the type of problems they solve. Marketers
attempt to create problem recognition among consumers are not always successful. Consumers
may not see a problem or need for the product the marketer is selling. A main reason many
consumers were initially reluctant to purchase personal computers was that they failed to see
what problems owning one would solve. One way PC manufacturers successfully activated
problem recognition was by stressing how a computer helps children improve their academic
skills and do better in school. Eg: New Yamaha FZ advertisement.