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Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior Marketing 6th
Chapter 6
Consumer Behavior
Tools for Instructors
Brief Chapter Outline
Learning Objectives
Extended Chapter Outline with Teaching Tips
Answers to End of Chapter Learning Aids
Chapter Case Study
Additional Teaching Tips
Connect Activities
Brief Chapter Outline
The Consumer Decision Process
Factors Influencing the Consumer Decision Process
Involvement and Consumer Buying Decisions
End of Chapter Learning Aids
Chapter Case Study: The Diet Battle—Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Slim-Fast
Learning Objectives
LO 6-1 Articulate the steps in the consumer buying process.
The consumer buying process consists of five main steps: First, during need recognition, consumers
simply realize they have an unsatisfied need or want that they hope to address. Second, they begin to
search for information to determine how to satisfy that need. Third, during the alternative evaluation
stage, they assess the various options available to them to determine which the best is for their purposes.
Fourth, the purchase stage involves obtaining and using the product. Finally, consumers enter the
postpurchase stage, during which they determine whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with their
choice.
LO 6-2 Describe the difference between functional and psychological needs.
Functional needs pertain to the performance of a product or service. Psychological needs pertain to the
personal gratification consumers associate with a product and/or service.
LO 6-3 Describe factors that affect information search.
The information search that people undertake varies depending on both external and internal factors.
Among the former, the type of product or service dictates whether people can make an easy, quick
decision or instead must undertake significant research to find the best purchase option. A person’s
perceptions of the benefits versus the costs of the search also determine how much effort they undertake.
These perceptions often relate closely to their perception of the risk involved in their purchase. Finally,
people’s locus of control, whether external or internal, strongly influences their information search actions.
LO 6-4 Discuss postpurchase outcomes.
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Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior Marketing 6th
Marketers hope that after their purchase, consumers are satisfied and pleased with their purchase, which
can lead to customer loyalty, a positive postpurchase outcome. However, consumers also may suffer
postpurchase dissonance, or buyer’s remorse.
LO 6-5 List the factors that affect the consumer decision process.
The elements of the marketing mix (product, place, promotion, and price) have significant effects, of
course. In addition, social factors, such as family and culture, influence not only what a consumer buys
but also how a consumer goes about making a purchase decision. The psychological factors that
influence purchase decisions include motives, attitudes, perceptions, learning, and lifestyle. Finally, the
specific factors that mark the purchase situation, like the store setting or even the time of day, can alter
people’s decision process.
LO 6-6 Describe how involvement influences the consumer decision process.
More involved consumers, who are more interested or invested in the product or service they are
considering, tend to engage in extended problem solving. They gather lots of information, scrutinize it
carefully, and then make their decisions with caution, to minimize any risk they may confront. In contrast,
less involved consumers often engage in limited problem solving, undertake impulse purchases, or rely
on habit to make their purchase decisions.
Extended Chapter Outline with Teaching Tips
I. The Consumer Decision Process
A. Need Recognition
1. Functional Needs
2. Psychological Needs
B. Search for Information
1 Internal Search for Information
3. External Search for Information
4. Factors Affecting Consumers’ Search Processes
a. The Perceived Benefits versus Perceived Costs of Search
b. The Locus of Control
c. Actual or Perceived Risk
C. Evaluation of Alternatives
1 Attribute Sets
5. Consumer Decision Rules
a Compensatory
d. Noncompensatory
D. Purchase and Consumption
E. Postpurchase
1 Customer Satisfaction
6. Postpurchase Cognitive Dissonance
7. Customer Loyalty
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Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior Marketing 6th
8. Undesirable Consumer Behavior
Progress Check: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts.
1. Name the five stages in the consumer decision process.
2. What is the difference between a need and a want?
3. Distinguish between functional and psychological needs.
4. What are the various types of perceived risk?
5. What are the differences between compensatory and noncompensatory decision rules?
6. How do firms enhance postpurchase satisfaction and reduce cognitive dissonance?
II. Factors Influencing the Consumer Decision Process
A. Psychological Factors
1 Motives
2 Attitude
3 Perception
9. Learning
10. Lifestyle
B. Social Factors
1 Family
11. Reference Groups
12. Culture
C. Situational Factors
1 Purchase Situation
13. Shopping Situation
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Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior Marketing 6th
a Store Atmosphere
e. Salespeople
f. Crowding
g. In-Store Demonstrations
h. Promotions
i. Packaging
14. Temporal State
Progress Check: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts.
1. What are some examples of specific needs suggested by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
2. Which social factors likely have the most influence on (a) the purchase of a new outfit for a job
interview and (b) the choice of a college to attend?
3. List some of the tactics stores can use to influence consumers’ decision processes.
III. Involvement and Consumer Buying Decisions
A. Extended Problem Solving
B. Limited Problem Solving
Progress Check: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts.
1. How do low- versus high-involvement consumers process the information in an advertisement?
Answer: A high-involvement consumer will scrutinize all the information provided (e.g., gas
2. What is the difference between extended versus limited problem solving?
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
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Chapter 6 - Consumer Behavior Marketing 6th
Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education. 5
