Consumer Behaviors

Q1. A Ans: The first phase of strategic research that is data collection includes two chief aspects. The first aspect of data collection is secondary research and the second aspect of data collection is primary research. While primary research is research from scratch, where every step of the research process has to be accomplished in order to collect data, secondary research is another case. It is actually the study and exploration of all those facts, figures and findings that are already researched and organized in the same line of topics. Basically secondary data gives a past analysis of the area of concern that is being researched while primary data that is obtained by conducting primary research gives a more contemporary and current picture of the same area. There could be a possibility of many or no changes in both types of data. However the chances are greater that there will be many changes in the secondary and primary data. An analytical comparison between the two sets of findings could also contribute a great deal in enabling the researcher gain a more comprehensive understanding of the respective subject area that he is researching for. Secondary data analysis and review involves collecting and analyzing a vast array of information. To help you stay focused, your first step should be to develop a statement of purpose a detailed definition of the purpose of your research and a research design. Statement of Purpose: Having a well-defined purpose a clear understanding of why you are collecting the data and of what kind of data you want to collect, analyze, and better understand will help you remain focused and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed with the volume of data. Research Design: A research design is a step by-step plan that guides data collection and analysis. In the case of secondary data reviews it might simply be an outline of what you want the final report to look like, a list of the types of data that you need to collect, and a preliminary list of data sources.

Q1.B Ans: Individual whose ideas and behavior serve as a model to others. Opinion leaders communicate messages to a primary group, influencing the attitudes and behavior change of their followers. Therefore, in certain marketing

instances, it may be advantageous to direct the communications to the opinion leader alone to speed the acceptance of an advertising message. For example, advertisers may direct a dental floss promotion to influential dentists or a fashion campaign to female celebrities. In both instances, the advertiser is using the opinion leader to carry and "trickle down" its message to influence its target group. Because of the important role opinion leaders play in influencing markets, advertisers have traditionally used them to give testimonials. Individual whose ideas and behavior serve as a model to others. Opinion leaders communicate messages to a primary group, influencing the attitudes and behavior change of their followers. Therefore, in certain marketing instances, it may be advantageous to direct the communications to the opinion leader alone to speed the acceptance of an advertising message.

Q2.A Ans: Studies conducted in order to determine the motivations behind consumer purchases. The research is psychologically oriented and attempts to learn why people behave as they do, why they make certain purchases, and why they respond to specific types of advertising appeals. The resultant information is used by advertisers and advertising agencies to plan new products, develop advertising campaigns, and, in general, to create more effective advertising.

Q2.B Ans: Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists,anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'. In the modern Western context, stratification typically comprises three layers: upper class, middle class, and lower class. Each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational). The most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with a great deal of power are usually viewed as "the elites" within their own societies. Various social and political theories propose that

social classes with greater power attempt to cement their own ranking above the lower classes in the hierarchy to the detriment of the society overall. By contrast, conservatives and structural functionalists have presented class difference as intrinsic to the structure of any society and to that extent ineradicable.

Q3.A Ans: Brand loyalty is directly linked with brand equity. Brand loyalty is the consumer's commitment to repurchase the products of a specific brand while brand equity refers to the marketing effects which a product results because of the brand name attached with it. This means that people will always show more brand loyalty a specific brand if the brand equity of the product is higher. Brand equity refers to the intangible value that accrues to a company as a result of its successful efforts to establish a strong brand. A brand is a name, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes the company's goods or services in the marketplace. Consumers often rely upon brands to guide their purchase decisions. The positive feelings consumers accumulate about a particular brand are what makes the brand a valuable asset for the company that owns it. Brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. Brand loyalty is more than simple repurchasing, however. Customers may repurchase a brand due to situational constraints, a lack of viable alternatives, or out of convenience. Q3.B Ans: Picture in Picture (PiP) is a feature of some television receivers and similar devices. One program (channel) is displayed on the full TV screen at the same time as one or more other programs are displayed in inset windows. Sound is usually from the main program only. Picture in Picture requires two independent tuners or signal sources to supply the large and the small picture. Two-tuner PiP TVs have a second tuner built in, but a single-tuner PiP TV requires an external signal source, which may be an external tuner, like VCR / DVD ETC.

a) Generation X consumers Functionality; heres how to market to Gen Xers: Appeal to their sense of fun and creativity. Include lots of visuals, headlines quotes, etc. in print materials (See Wired Magazine for examples) Communicate directly and openly. They'll see through anything else. Use their language. Either it "rules" or it "sucks." Demonstrate how your product or service can educate them. Gen Xers love learning. Offer a variety of times for events. Keep in mind that unlike preceding generations, this one has a life. Schedule business events in the daytime. b) Affluent baby boomers Here are how to market to AFFLUENT BABY BOOMERS: Functionality; Connect with boomers sense of themselves as trailblazers. Focus on their lives, not their ages. Link your brand with a major life event. Relate to the generations penchant for self-improvement through self-exploration. Fulfill boomers constant need for more. Realize that well-being has many meanings. Think solutions, not problems. Dont assume that all boomers are the same. Recognize their need for indulgence.

Q4.A Ans: Word of mouth advertising (WOM) is the unpaid spread of a positive marketing message from person to person. It can take place directly using the human voice, or can be transmitted via any communicative means such as through the internet or via text message. WOM is a powerful promotional tool and should be considered as part of almost every business marketing strategy. The least powerful WOM message is neutral these tend not to travel very far and are not strong influencing factors. "Did you know there is a new restaurant in town?"

Positive WOM usually results for a good brand experience and is spread by 'brand ambassadors'. "Did you know there's a new restaurant in town? The food and service are great!" Negative messages are spread by 'saboteurs' or 'detractors'. "Don't go to that new restaurant I got food poisoning and had to take two days off work." Word of mouth is difficult to control and measure but can spread quickly and be highly influential in purchase decisions, think about the last film you went to see, the last car you bought or the area you live in. Chances are you arrived at those choices due to a personal recommendation from a friend or trusted acquaintance. Q4. B Ans: Daydreaming or fantasizing enables the individual to attain imaginary gratification of unfulfilled needs.

The selected image is an example of daydreaming of a child today dreaming in the real life. The Farm Fresh Milk has so pure &chemical free. Which one drinking it may be his be his dream to a barrister one day. Aggression

In response to Frustration individual may resort to aggressive behavior to

protect their self esteem. Racing is an aggressive sport the flames in the ad also hint at aggression

Q5.A Ans: Advertisers have long been interested in isolating stimulus factors and associated receiver reactions that affect advertising effectiveness. There is an unresolved debate about the relative merits of recall and recognition, two commonly used measures of ad effectiveness. There is also an inadequate understanding of the differential impact of ad characteristics and reactions on recall and recognition measures. Various papers have addressed the relationship between recall and recognition, both from a conceptual and an empirical standpoint. Relationships among ad stimulus elements, subjective reactions, and the common and unique elements of effectiveness measures have been the focus of several studies, although no study has investigated these elements in an integrated fashion. Research is needed to address the following questions within a single framework: What are the interrelationships between recall and recognition measures? What are the interrelationships between cognitive and affective responses to an ad? How do cognitive and affective responses correlate with recall and recognition? Recognition and Recall Recall and recognition measures both belong to a class of methods

developed to assess the level of awareness of stimuli presented at an earlier point in time. Recall refers to the reproduction of a target item experienced earlier, whereas recognition is awareness of having previously experienced that stimulus g. In advertising, awareness is generally considered the basic or core communication effect from which such other outcomes as attitude formation and change may emanate. Measures of awareness form a continuum in terms of the nature and extent of the information about the stimulus that is supplied in the test and the requisite memory operation to demonstrate awareness. At one extreme, unaided or free recall requires that a person retrieve the information from memory without assistance from researcher-provided cues besides ones about temporal or general contextual aspects of the exposure. Effective retrieval demands that the information has been processed and rehearsed at a deep, elaborative level, and that it is organized so that an appropriate cue will allow access to it in memory. At the other extreme, recognition simply requires that relevant stimuli be identified, usually from among a list containing both correct and distracter items. Recognition may be possible if the stimulus is processed and rehearsed at a shallow, sensory level.

Q5.B Ans: A Market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs. Market segmentation is the process in marketing of dividing a market into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is fairly homogeneous in their needs and attitudes, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing strategy. That is, they are likely to have similar feelings and ideas about a marketing mix comprised of a given product or service, sold at a given price, distributed in a certain way and promoted in a certain way. Broadly, markets can be divided according to a number of general criteria, such as by industry or public versus private sector. Small segments are often termed niche markets or specialty markets. However, all segments fall into either consumer or industrial markets. Although it has similar objectives and it overlaps with consumer markets in many ways, the process of Industrial market segmentation is quite different. The overall intent is to identify groups of similar customers and potential customers; to prioritize the groups to address; to understand their behavior;

and to respond with appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the different preferences of each chosen segment. Revenues are thus improved. For the individual consumer: Social Esteem or Pleasure - youre offering satisfies a purely emotional need in the consumer. Examples are a mink coat or a diamond ring. There are some products that are on the boundary between this category and the Functional category such as a Rolex watch (a Timex would satisfy the functional requirement and probably keep time just as well). Functional - your offering meets a functional requirement of the consumer such as a broom, breakfast cereal or lawnmower. FROM -helps -helps -helps -helps THE ABOVE ANALYSIS, THE MARKETING Segment to narrow the focus to determine exactly what the consumer wants to determine the right place/ right price to deliver. to satisfy the customer with his/her exact needs.

THIS IS EXACTLY--WHAT IS MARKETING CONCEPT. MARKETING CONCEPT It is a fundamental idea of marketing that organizations survive and prosper through meeting needs and wants of customers. This important perspective is commonly known as the marketing concept. The marketing concept is about matching a company's capabilities with customer wants.

Q6. A Ans: Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior Comparative marketing: similarities and differences in consumer behavior Reaction to new products? What is the decision process like? How much and what kinds of info are needed? Promotion? Kinds? Importance? Taboos? Mistranslations? Slogans? Pictures? Appropriate signs and symbols? Distribution? How are things usually sold in Country X? Retailers? Assistance?

Transportation? Prices? What is traded? How much? Cross-Cultural Analysis of Consumer Behavior What needs exist in the culture? What needs does the product fill? How are the needs presently filled? How much behavioral change would be needed to use the product? Can we abstract away what is best for them? Who recognizes a need? decides? buys? uses the product? How much is purchased? How often? Where? E.g often gender differences, servants Any cultural values related to the product? Determine Relevant Motivations in the Culture: What needs are fulfilled with the product in the minds of members of the culture? How these needs are presently fulfilled? Do members of this culture readily recognize these needs? Determine Characteristic Behavior Patterns: What patterns are characteristic of purchasing behavior? What forms of division of labor exist within the family structure? How frequently the product of this type purchased? What size packages are normally purchased? Do any of these characteristic behaviors conflict with behavior expected for this product? How strongly ingrained are the behavior patterns that conflict with those needed for distribution of the product? Determine What Broad Cultural Values Are Relevant to This Product: Are there strong values about work, morality, religion, family relations, and so on that relate to the product? Does this product connote attributes that are in conflict with these cultural values? Can conflicts with values be avoided by changing the product? Are there positive values in this culture with which the product might be identified? Determine Characteristic Forms of Decision-making: Do members of the culture display a studied approach to decisions concerning innovations or an impulsive approach? What is the form of the decision process? Upon what information sources do members of the culture rely? Do members of the culture tend to be rigid or flexible in the acceptance of new ideas? What criteria do they use in evaluating alternatives? Evaluate Promotion Methods Appropriate to the Culture: What role does advertising occupy in the culture? What themes, words, or illustrations is taboo? What language problems exist in present markets that cannot be translated into the culture? What types of salesmen are accepted by members of the culture? Are such salesmen available?

Determine Appropriate Institutions for This Product in the Minds of Consumers: What types of retailers and intermediary institutions are available? What services do these institutions offer that are expected by the consumer? What alternatives are available for obtaining services needed for the product but not offered by existing institutions? How are various types of retailers regarded by consumers? Will changes in the distribution structure be readily accepted? Q6.B Ans: Working women have little time to spend with their family or friends or for their domestic chores. So, most of the marketing activities that cater solely to them would be supposedly introducing products and services that makes their lives easier when they are on the go. For example, ready to cook refrigerated meals would be something that will be quite likely for them to use as they do not have time to normally cook gourmet meals at home. Besides that there can be day care centers for women to have their children taken care of while they are away at work. Since, they spend a significant part of their days in offices they will have a groomingrequired for them and are likely to spend quite a lot on clothing, accessories and makeup. Stress management consultancies can be offered for them to help them manage the pressures of a fast life. Fitness would be a prime concern for them as well. Q.6C An: FOR COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING, THE PRICE CONSCIOUS AUDIENCES ARE THE ONE TO TARGET. It might WORK in price-based advertising in printed media where competitors prices are compared side-by-side.

Comparative advertising is used way too often. In most cases, all you do is remind the audience of your competitors existence. Marketing executives sometimes let their egos run away with them stampeding them into odds corners of thought. This is no news to those who have dealt previously with marketing executives. This isnt to say that these folks are either bad people or bad executives. They just fall prey to their illusion that people are waiting with baited breath for their companys next COMMERCIAL stunt. Out-of-control ego may manifest itself in the form of comparative advertising. Your mental eye should already get the picture; its advertising

claiming product A is better than product B or Ketchup is cheaper at store Z than store Y. Unfortunately for MARKETING or advertising executives making a comparative claim, consumers dont actively watch advertising. Normally they are carrying on conversations, reading, or getting and gobbling food during commercials. This makes it difficult for any advertisement to reach a target audience with a message. This difficulty is intensified when a commercial asks people to actually think about what is being said. Every mention of a competitors name or product in an advertisement increases the probability that the audience will think the ad that competitors. In television as in printed advertising, each visual image of a competitor forms an impression in the minds of the audience. Advertising research commonly finds that a large percentage of the audience will believe that the competitors product is the one being advertised. It can be disastrous if a majority, or a large minority, believes this. An advertiser is potentially spending a lot of money to promote a competitors product. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to avoid comparative advertising entirely. Let the product or service advertised carry the day by speaking to your products or services benefits. If youre lucky, your competitors will take the comparative advertising approach, do it badly, and youll be the beneficiary of FREE ADVERTISING. This is not to say that good comparative advertising is impossible. It might WORK in price-based advertising in printed media where competitors prices are compared side-by-side. But to indulge in comparative advertising, especially on television or radio, is to run the risk of saddling yourself with an extra burden of risk. It could become the trolls story for you, where the sack given to the wanderer to carry becomes heavier and heavier with every step. If you feel you must run a comparative ad, please give careful consideration to at least testing it with the target audience to find out the extent to which your competitor will benefit.