Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Teaching Tips and Strategies from Barbara S. Faries, MBA
This chapter provides understanding of consumer behavior: who buys, why they
buy, how they make purchase decisions, where they purchase, and when they buy.
Key Terms and Concepts Introduced Include:
·Market segmentation
·One-to-one marketing
·Mass customization
·Segmentation variables
·Descriptors
·Geographic
·Demographic
·Cohort analysis
·Psychographic
·Hierarchy of needs
·Physiological
·Safety
·Social
·Ego
·Self-actualization
·Evoked or consideration set
·Purchase set
·Inert set
·Multivariate model
·Compensatory model
·Expectations
·Family life cycle
·Relative advantage
·Compatibility
·Complexity
·Trialability
·Observability
·Network externalitities
Note: Two recurring themes in this Instructor’s Manual will be the first two items:
·Link theory to practice.
·Engage students to link work experience to the concepts demonstrated in
the text.
·Instructors are encouraged to link theory to practice by finding current examples
in the consumer environment that demonstrate the key concepts above.
·If your class contains those already working in the field, have them describe how
the concepts in theory match those in the actual workplace.
Copyright© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall 19
One of the most important concepts in this chapter is segmentation. I often find
using current popular consumer items is a way to demonstrate this. I use companies such as
Nike, Adidas, or Apple products. Have the students discuss these companies and the way
they segment their markets and products to reach different consumer groups. I often use
this an in-class exercise by outlining various segments and products then applying common
segmentation variables to demonstrate the point.
The other important point students need to understand is the timing issue of product
sales and the effect these timing or purchase cycles have on the organization from
marketing communications to distribution channels to manufacturing and inventories. Once
again, using a common season such as Christmas to demonstrate purchase timing and the
effect on the manufacturer’s plans can be quite useful.
Copyright© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall 20
Review Questions
1. Think of a product or service that is mass marketed and one that focuses on one or
more particular segments. How does the development of marketing strategy differ in
the two cases?
2. For a product of your own choosing, pick one logical variable (e.g. age) that can be
used to segment the market. Now, add a second variable (e.g., gender), so that
customers have to satisfy the categories of both variables simultaneously (e.g., 18-
to24-year-old women). Now add a third variable. How many possible segments can you
identify from a combination of the three variables? What implication does this have for
the marketing manager?
3. Visit the VALS2Web site and find out in which psychographic group you fall. Apply the
questions to a copy of acquaintances in different age groups (mother, uncle, younger
sister, etc.) and classify them as well. Would you have guessed that they would be in
those groups?
4. Write a list of physical characteristics for a product. Take each characteristic and
indicate what benefits it provides to customers. How would an advertisement reflect
this information?
5. What are the challenges in marketing products that are highly seasonal? Pick some
examples to illustrate.
6. Pick a high tech product that was successful (e.g., VCR) and one that was not (e.g., the
videodisc player, Apple Newton). Using Everett Roger’s five factors facilitating the
adoption of new technological products (relative advantage, etc.), explain the
difference in the product’s success.
Exercises, Activities, and Projects
Purpose: To help students link theory to real life.
To convey to students how market segmentation is used in the business world.
Have students break into groups and turn to pages 105 - 107 Tables 4.7 and 4.8
These tables depicts the different characteristics of Harley-Davidson Motorcycle
riders. Have students compare and contrast the differences between the different
buyers of motorcycles. Have them share their findings with the class. This exercise
helps students to understand that products are created with a specific profile in
mind. You might even want to give students a customer profile and have them
explain to you what type of bike that person would probably buy and why.
Another variation would be to use the example of Harley-Davidson then ask the
students to compare and contrast other makers and manufacturer’s of motorcycles
segmentation strategies. Compare and contrast Kawasaki’s and Honda’s strategies
to Harley-Davidson: Are they same? Different?
