CHAPTER 9

Consumer Knowledge

Roger D. Blackwell, Paul W. Miniard, and James F. Engel, Consumer Behavior , Ninth
Edition

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Knowledge of Products Existence

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Knowledge of Products Existence
Gaining awareness among
consumers
Assessing awareness:
Top-of-the-mind: how many brands
can be recalled from memory
Recognition: identifying known
brands from a list
Recall-based measures are more
conservative than recognition-based
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Knowledge of Products Attributes
and Associations

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Knowledge of Products Attributes
and Associations
Products within awareness set are
likely to have associations between
them and information from memory
Product image: defined by entire
array of associations
May involve physical properties and
feelings that come from consumption
May also include symbols
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Knowledge of Products Attributes
and Associations
Image analysis: involves examining
what consumers know about a
products attributes and associations
Identify attributes and associations
that determine a products image
Assess strengths of associations
Examine what an association
represents in the consumers psyche
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Purchase Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Purchase Knowledge
Encompasses the various pieces
of information consumers possess
about buying products
Includes information about the
products price, where it can be
purchased, and whether it can be
purchased less expensively later

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Purchase Knowledge: How much
does it cost?
Knowledge about typical range of prices
for a product helps consumer evaluate
fairness of the price of a particular brand
The less consumers know about price,
the less concerned are companies about
price differences from competitors
Image analysis includes what consumers
know about absolute price and relative
price
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Purchase Knowledge: When to
buy?
Knowledge about when a product is
typically goes on sale may delay
purchase
May determine when new innovations
are purchased--many consumers do not
purchase new innovations when
introduced because they believe the
price will drop over time
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Purchase Knowledge: Where to
buy?
Knowledge about where to buy a
product guides purchase decision
Internet firms advertise in a variety of
media to build consumers knowledge
of alternative places to buy
Where product is located in the store-when consumer are unfamiliar with
store layout, they rely more on in-store
information
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Consumption and Usage Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Consumption and Usage Knowledge
Encompasses the information in memory
about how a product can be consumed
and what is required to use it
Consumers are unlikely to buy a product
when they lack information about use

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Consumption and Usage Knowledge
Encompasses the information in memory
about how a product can be consumed
and what is required to use it
Consumers are unlikely to buy a product
when they lack information about use
Sometimes consumer have incomplete
information about different ways a
product can be consumed
New uses for existing products may
lower products attractiveness
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Persuasion Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Type of Consumer Knowledge

Persuasion Knowledge
Information about what consumers
know about the goals and tactics of
those trying to persuade them
Persuasion knowledge influences how
consumers respond to persuasion
attempts
Knowledge about a particular tactic
may eliminate its effectiveness

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sources of Consumer
Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
People--from family to salesperson
Nonpersonal sources: media, the
Internet, publications
Experience from buying and
consuming a product
Direct experience increases confidence in knowledge and makes it
more likely to be used in decision
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Lack of Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Lack of Knowledge
Knowledge gaps: an absence of
information in memory
Firms need to identify knowledge
gaps which may prevent consumers
from making purchases
Knowledge gaps may exist for new
and current products
Public policy may focus on gaps
which undermine consumer welfare
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tums
educates
consumers
about the
need for
calcium and
the high
calcium
content of
this product.

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Undesirable Knowledge

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Undesirable Knowledge
Consumers may possess knowledge
that is undesirable from the firms
perspective
Misperception: things that people
believe to be true when they are not

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Undesirable Knowledge
Consumers may possess knowledge
that is undesirable from the firms
perspective
Misperception: things that people
believe to be true when they are not
Firms must combat misperceptions
which make a brand unattractive
Often leads to modification of image
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Gauging Positioning Success

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Gauging Positioning Success
Has the brand achieved its desired
positioning in the marketplace?
Examine products image among
target consumers
How well has the product created the
desired mindset among consumers?

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Discovering New Uses

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Discovering New Uses
Consumers often use knowledge
about a product to invent new
uses

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mr. Clean
introduced a
new form of
antibacterial
wipes based
on how
consumers
used the
liquid
version of
the cleaning
product.
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Discovering New Uses
Consumers often use knowledge
about a product to invent new
uses
Understanding how consumers use
products, marketers may discover
new uses that can be promoted as a
means of broadening product appeal

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Gauging Severity of Competitive
Threats

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Gauging Severity of Competitive
Threats
How much do consumers know
about competitive products?
Understanding how consumers
compare competitive brands can
guide marketing activities with
respect to those competitive brands

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Enhancing the Effectiveness of
Customer Recruitment Activities

Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Consumer
Knowledge
Enhancing the Effectiveness of
Customer Recruitment Activities
Identifying what needs to be changed
in brand position and attributes
How might these changes best be
accomplished? Advertising, personal
sales, or public relations?
Should sales messages focus on
technical information or easy to
understand product attributes?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Consumer Behavior
Roger D. Blackwell
Paul W. Miniard
James F. Engel
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be
mailed to the following address:
Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc.
6277 Sea Harbor Drive
Orlando, Florida 32887-6777
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.