Marketing Chapter 13 Disc Customer Topic Ahead Product Categorization And Criteria Selection Blooms Application Difficulty

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

DISC: Customer

16. *Compare the websites of three major retailers, such as Sears, Target, and Walmart, to their

in-store atmosphere. How well do the websites represent the physical stores? Which

combination of website and brick-and-mortar store do you think is best? Why?

Chapter Video Summary

To view the video case on Ford Motor Company, access the Chapter 13 Media Quiz in CB8

Online (create a course at login.cengage.com).

Ford Motor Company

Shopping for a fuel-efficient SUV was easy back in 2005 when Ford introduced the Escape, the

first and only hybrid on the market. But today, there are dozens of alternative energy models on

the road, and consumers looking for the most environmentally friendly SUV have many options

from which to choose. The Ford brand continues to benefit from its association with historic

firsts in auto manufacturing, but some consumers ignore brand history and simply choose the

vehicle that performs best on a single important feature, such as fuel economy.

Ask your students:

1. *Why would Ford create a hybrid SUV? What makes the Escape attractive to consumers?

2. *How did Ford approach the pricing of the Escape? What effect does this have on

consumers’ decisions?

3. Discuss how Ford was socially responsible and how marketers fostered environmentally

conscious behavior.

Bloom’s: Comprehension

Difficulty: Moderate

CB Scenario Video

Several experts on choice discuss the counterintuitive effects large numbers of options have on

consumers. Rather than increasing the likelihood of consumers finding the best options for them,

a variety of choices distresses, confuses, or overwhelms consumers—and may even prevent them

from making a purchase.

Ask your students:

1. What strategies are used in this video to make the point about choices and that “more isn’t

essentially better”?

2. How is the consumer affected by all these choices offered to her?

Part 4 In-Text Case Answers

Case 4-1 Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, and PC’s: What’s the World Coming To?

1. What type of decision-making approach do most consumers use when deciding between

smartphones, tablets, laptops, or desktop computers?

2. What factors influence the amount of search that most consumers will exert when buying a

smartphone or a tablet?

3. How does superordinate and subordinate categorization apply to this case from a

consumer’s perspective?

4. What factors do consumers consider when making judgments about smartphones?

5. Discuss the atmospherics of the two shopping areas: Legacy Place in Dedham, MA, and

the Flatiron district in New York City.

6. Visit three stores selling running shoes. Describe how the atmospherics differ across the

stores. Why do these differences exist?

Case 4-3 Consumer Confidence: Preparation Pays Off

1. Based on the various perspectives of consumer decision making, what type of a shopper is

Maya, and why?

2. Apply the consumer decision-making process stages to Maya’s actions as a consumer, or

describe Maya’s actions within the framework of consumer decision-making process.

3. Is Maya utilizing the affect-based or attribute-based evaluation process? Justify your

answer.

4. Based on the information provided in the case, what are the determinants of the evaluative

criteria that the customer is using? Explain each in detail.

5. In your opinion, which decision rule (compensatory or noncompensatory) is being utilized

by Maya in her car-buying process?

Part 4 Online Case Answers

1. Do you believe brand personality plays a major part in decision making? Explain.

2. After evaluating Table A, which alcohol brand will Greg be most likely to purchase?

3. Using Table B and taking Angelina’s shopping habits into consideration, which brand of

alcohol will she buy?

4. Looking at Table C and considering what you know about Bella’s decision-making style,

which brand is she likely to purchase?

5. How might the decision-making processes for each consumer change if shopping for the

product at a warehouse store like Costco as opposed to an upscale wine shop in Florida?

Redefining Good Cleaning Products

1. What temporary situations or changes in life circumstances might influence a consumer to

recognize a need for a cleaning product, in general, or a green cleaner in particular? How

might a marketer leverage this knowledge?

2. What types of purchase decisions were made by Jack, Jill, and Elena: (a) extended decision

making, (b) limited decision making, or (c) habitual decision making: brand inertia vs.

brand loyalty? Explain.

3. How do perceptual attributes and packaging characteristics of the brands in this case study

signal product quality in terms of the underlying environmental and health benefits?

4. How are consumers who shop at Whole Foods (a natural food store) and those who shop at

Walmart likely to differ in terms of their consideration sets, determinant criteria, and use of

a compensatory or noncompensatory rule when factoring environmentally preferred

attributes? How does product categorization explain Method’s decision to initially

deemphasize green features when the product was launched?

Answer:

Whole Foods

Walmart

Consideration set

Method, Seventh

Generation, and other

eco-brands

Green Works, Clorox’s Formula

409, and traditional brands

Determinant criteria

Health, social, and

environmental benefits

Price, availability

(Non)compensatory

rule

Noncompensatory: will

rule out “chemical”

cleaners

Compensatory: will trade off green

for better price [Note: Some

consumers do pay more for Green

Works, but that’s probably because

of more health benefits than

planetary benefits, per se]

Consumers divide cleaning products (i.e., superordinate level) into subordinate categories

of green and conventional. Method did not want to be categorized as a green product, even

though it was, because the green category has been associated with the perception of

ineffectiveness.

Bottled Water Case

1. How does the need recognition portion of the consumer decision-making process apply to

this case? What need is being addressed?

Answer: The issue in this case is “need.” Does the consumer truly “need” bottled water?

Of course, consumers do need water to survive; however, many people would argue that

public water systems do an adequate job of providing healthy water. As the case points out,

other consumers would strongly disagree, and it is true that many older consumers do not

perceive the need. The need arises largely because younger consumers are growing up in a

time period that highlights healthy living. Everyone knows that life doesn’t exist without

water. However, is bottled water really necessary? This is the real issue in the case.

2. What brands of bottled water are you familiar with? Do these brands easily come to mind

when you think of bottled water? Explain this issue from the perspective of the

consideration set. How would you describe your consideration set for bottled water?

3. The next time you are in the classroom, take note of how many students are drinking

bottled water compared with soda. Does this surprise you? Ask a friend why he or she

chooses bottled water over soda. Can you relate? Do you agree with his or her reasoning?

4. Go to a website that markets bottled water. Does it explain the health benefits of the

product? If so, what does it claim? Why do you believe or disbelieve the information that

you have found? Do you believe that the water is significantly better for you than tap

water? Explain.

Camera Case

Part 4 Video Case

To view the part 4 video case, go to the CB companion website login.cengage.com.

Decision Making

Time: This video is 5–7 minutes long.

Concepts Illustrated in the Video

• Situational influences

• Time pressure

• Shopping activities

Synopsis

Claire, a volunteer teacher is shopping at the Wireless Zone/Verizon for a replacement cell

phone. She hasn’t done her research (i.e., talked to friends or researched online) on which phone

to purchase, and she’s pressed for time. Walter, the sales associate, asks Claire about her cell

Teaching Objectives for the Video Case

• Understand how value varies with situations.

• Know the different ways that time affects consumer behavior.

Critical Thinking Questions—Suggested Answers

1. Which situational influences affected Claire’s decision?

Answer: All three situational influences affected her decision: time, place, and conditions.

Time and conditions are represented by the fact that she was in a hurry to get to the airport.

She was leaving on a trip in less than three hours and would be gone for the entire summer

on a volunteer teaching experience. Place represents the Wireless Zone and her lack of

comfort with technology products.

2. If you were Claire, what would you have done in that situation? Did Walter service her

needs? Do you think she got ripped off? Explain.

3. Describe Claire’s consumer decision-making process for purchasing her new cell phone.

4. What type of decision-making qualities did Claire possess in the video? How do you

compare yourself with Claire when purchasing high-ticket items?

5. Explain the evaluative criteria for purchasing a new cell phone or piece of technology. Use

product, feature, and benefit in your answer.