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Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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• High- and low-resource groups. These include:
– Innovators:
* Are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-
esteem and abundant resources.
– Survivors:
* Have the least resources of any segment.
e. Each of the eight VALS segments exhibits unique media preferences.
• Experiencers and Strivers are the most likely to visit Internet chat rooms.
f. GeoVALS™ estimates the percentage of each VALS group by zip code.
LEARNING REVIEW
4-4. The problem with the Toro Snow Pup was an example of selective __________.
4-5. What three attitude-change approaches are most common?
Answer: (1) Change beliefs about the extent to which a brand has certain attributes.
4-6. What does lifestyle mean?
Answer: Lifestyle is a mode of living that is identified by how people spend their time
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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III. SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR [LO 4-4]
Sociocultural influences evolve from a consumer’s formal and informal relationships
with other people and exert a significant impact on consumer behavior.
A. Personal Influence
1. Opinion Leadership.
a. Opinion leaders:
• Are individuals who exert direct or indirect social influence over others.
b. Since about 10 percent of U.S. adults are opinion leaders, identifying,
reaching, and influencing them is a challenge.
2. Word of Mouth.
a. Is people influencing each other during conversations.
c. According to a recent study about consumer conversations about brands:
• 75 percent of all happen face-to-face.
d. 67 percent of U.S. consumer product sales are directly based on word-of-
mouth activity among friends, family, etc.
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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e. Example: “teaser” advertising campaigns are run in advance of new-product
MARKETING MATTERS
Customer Value: BzzAgent—The Buzz Experience
BzzAgent has a nationwide army of one million people who promote products and
services they deem worth talking about. BzzAgent’s founder David Bolter says, “Our goal is
[Video 4-2: Dove Video]
h. Overcoming or neutralizing negative word of mouth is difficult and costly.
Marketers have found the following helpful in reversing poor word of mouth:
• Supplying factual information.
i. The Internet, through online forums, blogs, social media, and websites, has
magnified the power of word of mouth.
j. With respect to their products, services, and brands, companies:
• Use special software to monitor online messages and find out what
B. Reference Group Influence
• Reference groups.
a. Are people to whom an individual looks as a basis for self-appraisal or as a
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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• Three reference groups have marketing implications:
a. An associative group:
• Is one to which a person actually belongs, such as fraternities and
sororities, social clubs, etc.
• A brand community:
– Is a specialized group of consumers with a structured set of
• A consumer who is a member of a brand community thinks about:
– Brand names (e.g., Harley-Davidson).
b. An aspiration group:
• Is one that a person wishes to be a member of or identified with, such as a
c. A dissociative group:
• Is one that a person wishes to maintain a distance from due to differences
C. Family Influence
Family influences on consumer behavior result from three sources:
1. Consumer Socialization.
a. Is the process by which people acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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c. Research shows that children evidence brand preferences at age two, and these
2. Family Life Cycle.
a. [Figure 4-8] Describes the distinct phases that a family progresses through
from formation to retirement…
b. Each phase bringing with it identifiable purchasing behaviors.
c. Consists of the following progression and contemporary variations:
• The traditional family.
• Young singles.
– Have buying preferences for nondurable items: prepared foods,
• Young married couples without children.
– Are typically more affluent than young singles because usually both
• Young marrieds with children.
– Are driven by the needs of their children.
• Single parents with children.
– Are the least financially secure.
• Middle-aged married couples with children.
– Are typically better off financially than their younger counterparts.
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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• Middle-aged couples without children.
– Have a large amount of discretionary income.
3. Family Decision Making.
a. Two decision-making styles exist that occur within a family:
• Spouse-dominant decisions. Are those for which either:
– The husband (home and car maintenance purchases) or…
b. Five roles of individual family members exist in the purchase process:
• Information gatherer. • Purchaser.
c. Family members assume different roles for different products and services.
d. Preteens and teenagers:
• Are the information gatherers, influencers, decision makers, and
purchasers of products and services for the family…
[Video 4-3: Nissan Ad]
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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E. Culture and Subculture Influences
• Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are learned and shared
among the members of a group.
1. Hispanic Buying Patterns.
a. Hispanics represent the largest racial/ethnic subculture in the U.S. in terms of
population and buying power.
d. One-third are younger than 18.
e. According to research, in terms of buying practices, Hispanics:
• Are quality and brand conscious.
• Prefer buying American-made products that cater to their needs.
• Are influenced by family and peers.
f. Marketing to Hispanics is difficult because:
• Its subculture is diverse, composed of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans,
g. Marketers who are sensitive to the needs of Hispanics can significantly
expand their firm’s market share.
2. African American Buying Patterns.
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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c. Differences in buying patterns:
• Are greater within the African American subculture than…
d. There are some consumption patterns that do differ between African
Americans and Caucasians:
• The typical African American family:
– Is five years younger than the typical Caucasian family, which…
• Historically, African Americans:
– Have been deprived of employment and educational opportunities in
e. African Americans are motivated by product quality, price, and choice.
3. Asian American Buying Patterns.
a. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial/ethnic subculture in the United
States.
c. The Asian subculture:
• Is very diverse.
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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d. Two groups of Asian Americans have been identified:
• Assimilated Asian Americans are:
– Conversant in English.
• Nonassimilated Asian Americans are recent immigrants who still cling to
e. Exceeding those of any other ethnic group, this subculture is characterized by:
• Hard work. • Appreciation for education.
f. This subculture is the most entrepreneurial in the U.S., as evidenced by the
number of Asian-owned businesses.
LEARNING REVIEW
4-7. What are the two primary forms of personal influence?
Answer: (1) opinion leadership—persons considered to be knowledgeable about or
4-8. Marketers are concerned with which types of reference groups?
Answer: Three reference groups have clear marketing implications: (1) associative
groups—ones to which a person actually belongs, such as a brand community that
4-9. What two challenges must marketers overcome when marketing to Hispanic
consumers?
Answer: (1) The diversity of nationalities among this subculture that affect product
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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APPLYING MARKETING KNOWLEDGE
1. Review Figure 4-2, which shows the smartphone attributes identified by Consumer
Reports. Which attributes are important to you? What other attributes might you
consider? Which brand would you prefer?
Answers: Smartphone attributes that are considered important include:
Price Web browsing
2. Suppose research at Panasonic reveals that prospective buyers are anxious about
buying high-definition television sets. What strategies might you recommend to the
company to reduce consumer anxiety?
Answers:
Strategies Panasonic might adopt in order to reduce uncertainty perceptions by prospective
buyers include:
3. Assign one or more levels of the Maslow hierarchy of needs and the motives described
in Figure 4-6 to the following products: (a) life insurance, (b) cosmetics, (c) The Wall
Street Journal, and (d) hamburgers.
Answers:
Item or Action Need
a. Life insurance Safety
4. With which stage in the family life cycle would the purchase of the following products
and services be most closely identified: (a) bedroom furniture, (b) life insurance,
(c) a Caribbean cruise, (d) a house mortgage, and (e) children’s toys?
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Answers:
Product or Service Stage in the Family Life Cycle
a. Bedroom furniture Young married without children
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
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BUILDING YOUR MARKETING PLAN
To conduct a consumer analysis for the product—the good, service, or idea—in your
marketing plan:
1. Identify the consumers who are most likely to buy your product—the primary
target market—in terms of (a) their demographic characteristics and (b) any other
kind of characteristics you believe are important.
2. Describe (a) the main points of difference of your product for this group and
3. For each of the four outside boxes in Figure 4-4 (marketing mix, psychological,
This consumer analysis will provide the foundation for the marketing mix actions
you develop later in your plan.
For existing businesses, a look at company records or scrutiny of customers visiting the
shop may provide specifics on the characteristics of the primary target market customers. This
Helping with Common Student Problems
Student marketing plans often lack clear definitions of (a) the primary target market
Chapter 04 - Understanding Consumer Behavior
TEACHING NOTE FOR VIDEO CASE VC-4
Coppertone: Creating the Leading Sun Care Brand by Understanding Consumers
[Video 4-4: Coppertone Video Case (kerin.tv/cr8e/v4-4)]
Synopsis
Coppertone was developed by pharmacist Benjamin Green when he observed service men
and women in the Air Force using petroleum gel to protect their skin. He added cocoa butter and
coconut oil to create Coppertone Suntan Cream. Taglines such as “Tan, Don’t Burn” and
advertising featuring the “Coppertone Girl” were used to promote the product as a tanning brand.
Over time, however, consumer interests shifted from tanning to protection so Coppertone
developed sunscreen products, water-resistant lotions, and continuous sprays. In addition,
Coppertone conducted research that helped the FDA create the SPF ratings for the entire
industry. Today Coppertone is the market leader with 18 percent share of an industry that has
grown to $9 billion in global sales.
Much of Coppertone’s success can be attributed to how attentive Coppertone managers are
to the path that consumers follow as they make a sun care product purchase. Generally,
Teaching Suggestions
A useful way to introduce the video is to ask how many students are familiar with and
have used Coppertone products. Products such as Coppertone Sport, ClearlySheer Aftersun, and
ClearlySheer Faces are popular so many of your students should be familiar with the company.
Use that discussion to:
1. Ask the students who have used a Coppertone product to describe their purchase decision
