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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Discuss how the field of marketing is influenced by the actions of consumers. 1.1 Describe how websites change to align with consumer demands.

5. Describe how self-perception influences consumers’ actions.

5.1 Explain how websites capitalize on self-perception to influence consumer buying habits.

6. Explore how one’s personality influences lifestyle choices. 6.1 Analyze how personality characteristics impact buying behaviors and, ultimately, lifestyle

choices.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

1 Chae, Choi, and Hur (2017) article Chang (2016) article

1.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Nagy, Kemény, Szucs, Simon, and Kiss (2017) article Haba, Hassan, and Dastane (2017) article Chang (2016) article Case Study

5 Feng et al. (2013) article Ham, Pap, and Bilandzic (2016) article TED (2012) video

5.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Haba, Hassan, and Dastane, (2017) article Case Study

6 Nagy, Kemény, Szucs, Simon, and Kiss (2017) article

6.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Nagy, Kemény, Szucs, Simon, and Kiss (2017) article Case Study

Reading Assignment In order to access the following resources, click the links below. Click here to access the Unit IV PowerPoint presentation. (Click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.) Read pp. 39–46 and 52–54 in the article below. Chae, S., Choi, T. Y., & Hur, D. (2017). Buyer power and supplier relationship commitment: A cognitive

evaluation theory perspective. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 53(2), 39–60. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.proquest.com.library resources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1888640125?accountid=33337

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE Attitudes, Persuasion, and Motivation

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Read pp.129–135 and 151–154 in the article below. Chang, H. (2016). How advertising types of E-commerce websites influence effectiveness of advertising?

Journal of Accounting, Finance & Management Strategy, 11(2), 129–158. https://www-proquest- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/2140848786/E00D90764F394AE1PQ/1?accoun tid=33337

Feng, C., Luo, Y., Gu, R., Broster, L. S., Shen, X., Tian, T., & Krueger, F. (2013). The flexible fairness:

Equality, earned entitlement, and self-interest. Plos ONE, 8(9), 1. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=90530789&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Read pp. 42–50 and 64–66 in the article below. Haba, H. F., Hassan, Z., & Dastane, O. (2017). Factors leading to consumer perceived value of smartphones

and its impact on purchase intention. Global Business and Management Research, 9(1), 42–71. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.proquest.com.library resources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1882017975?accountid=33337

Read pp. 152–156 and 170 in the article below. Ham, M., Pap, A., & Bilandzic, K. (2016). Perceived barriers for buying organic food products. Economic and

Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 162–174. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.proquest.com.library resources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1856836936?accountid=33337

Read pp. 141–147 and 154–156 in the article below. Nagy, A., Kemény, I., Szucs, K., Simon, J., & Kiss, V. (2017). Are opinion leaders more satisfied? Results of a

SEM model about the relationship between opinion leadership and online customer satisfaction. Society and Economy, 39(1), 141–160. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.proquest.com.library resources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1879490031?accountid=33337

TED (Producer). (2012, March 15). Illusions of temporal perspective (Segment 8 of 13) [Video]. In TEDTalks:

Dan Gilbert—How we are deceived by our own miscalculations of the future. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=48137&loid=132977

Click here to access the transcript for the video above. Unit Lesson Motivation and emotion are driving forces with respect to consumer behavior. Think about how many times you have asked yourself why you did something. The basic definition of motivation is the inner reason or driving force behind human actions. Applying this to marketing, this is the science of understanding what drives consumers to make certain purchases over others. The science of motivation suggests that we, as humans, will attempt to self-improve, leading to a self-improvement motivation. In other words, we, as consumers, look to change our current state to a better state. Applying this to human behavior, a consumer might wear Walmart clothing but aspire to wear Nordstrom clothing. This would be considered as self- improvement motivation. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be applied to consumer buying behavior as well. Maslow’s theory attempts to categorize basic human values through their needs. The first level is physiological and brings in basic survival needs such as food, drink, and shelter. The second level brings in safety and security, which addresses the need to be secure and protected. The third level brings in belonging and love, which address the need to feel a sense of belonging such as in a family or neighborhood. The fourth level is that of esteem,

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which brings in the need to be recognized as a person and feel a sense of worth. Finally, the top level is that of self-actualization, which brings in the need for personal fulfillment.

So, how does a marketer use Maslow’s hierarchy to better understand the consumer and specifically their target market? Look at the Mercedes Benz commercial below, which appeals to the safety aspects of the pyramid with the idea that nothing will make a driver more faithful to his or her car than a car that is faithful to its driver (BVP1982, 2008). Click the link below to view the commercial. BVP1982. (2008, March 29). Mercedes Benz “faithful” commercial [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybh3ntL33o Click here to access the transcript for the video above. Now, take a look at the Harley commercial, which appeals to the adventurous side of the consumer through Maslow’s belonging and esteem levels of the pyramid (Beartooth Harley-Davidson, 2010). Click the link below to view the commercial. Beartooth Harley-Davidson. (2010, August 16). 2011 Harley-Davidson Sportster Superlow [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a86DtZi61Ac Click here to access the transcript for the video above. Both of these commercials represent methods that the marketer is attempting to use to reach the target market in the most effective way possible using the basic principles of Maslow. Both companies are selling modes of transportation, but they understand that their vehicles appeal to very different types of people who are motivated by very different stimuli. Another motivating factor is that of the level and type of involvement on behalf of the consumer. The following list describes these levels of involvement.

• Product involvement suggests that the product category has a high level of personal relevance to the consumer.

• Shopping involvement suggests that the consumer has a high level of enjoyment with the shopping activity. Highly involved consumers tend to place a greater value on coupons and sales.

Pyramid showing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (FireflySixtySeven, 2014)

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• Situational involvement suggests that a consumer has a tendency toward certain purchasing situations. For instance, a person interested in fishing may prefer to shop at a store such as Bass Pro Shops with its outdoor atmosphere in the stores.

• Enduring involvement suggests that a consumer has an ongoing need for a certain product or brand. For instance, an athletic consumer might have a need to wear Nike clothing rather than some of its competitors.

As mentioned in Unit III, neuroscience is quickly exiting the hospitals and reaching into the marketing discipline. Neuromarketing is the science of human decision-making. Consumers do not know what they want, so asking them is not an effective method for understanding consumer buying behavior. Because of this, marketers are studying brain patterns to understand consumer behavior (TEDx Talks, 2013). Another area of science that is creeping into the marketing field is that of physics. In his TED Talk, Dan Cobley discusses why he believes that physics actually relates to marketing and the overall understanding of how consumers behave. His talk suggests that we can measure what consumers are doing instead of what they say they are doing through the use of physics. He claims that these are two very different things (TED, 2013). Click the link below to access the video. TED (Producer). (2013, March 18). TEDTalks: Dan Cobley—What physics taught me about marketing

[Video]. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=48549

Click here to access the transcript for the video above. Cobley states that one bad week can totally undermine a brand (TED, 2013). A good example of this is an incident on United Airlines in April 2017 where the airline bumped a passenger who subsequently needed to be physically removed from the plane. Social media played out the entire scene, and United Airlines lost significant brand worth within 24 hours of the incident. Self-concept strongly influences consumer behavior. Think about this as the reflection of the consumers’ attitudes toward themselves. Products often play a key role in defining the self-concept simply because consumers tend to favor certain products because they believe that the products align with their personalities. The ideal self is the consumer’s perception of how he or she would like to be while the actual self is the more realistic appraisal of his or her qualities. Products can assist a consumer in reaching the ideal self and can provide some level of consistency with respect to providing products that are consistent to the customer’s actual self. Another interesting phenomenon is that consumers can actually use products to show off to others, which can be considered as managing other people’s perceptions of them. Marketers consider the self-concept to be related to self-esteem in promoting a product by offering the product as a remedy to low self-esteem. For instance, a prestigious brand of clothing depicts a certain level of high society that might be considered as the ideal self versus the actual self. The extended self enters into the schema here as consumers look at external objects as a part of their makeup. These tend to be material objects such as what you are wearing (individual level), your house and furniture (family level), your neighborhood and hometown (community level), and your religion or sports team (group level). What about a consumer’s personality? Personality involves the qualities and characteristics that combine to affect how a person acts and reacts in different situations. While a person’s personality does influence how he or she responds to marketing stimuli, setting up marketing strategies based on personality differences has had mixed success. This is possibly because of the immense amount of variables associated with different personality types. Recently, a unique discussion trend in consumer behavior has been identifying a brand with a personality type. Basically, what this means is taking a set of personality traits and attributing it to the brand as if it were a person. Some examples of this might be the fact that IBM is older, and Apple is younger. While brands could be identified with an infinite amount of traits, the most common are extraversion/introversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and culture. These brand personalities evolve in the consumer’s mind, leading to what the consumer actually expects from the brand. Additional advantages involved with developing a brand personality may include the following perks:

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• enriches understanding of the product in the mind of the consumer, • differentiates the brand’s identity, • guides the communication effort, and • creates brand equity.

What ultimately can happen is that the brand becomes a significant part of the self-concept, which presents a significant opportunity for a brand. Why does brand personality actually matter? There is actually a cross- cultural twist in brand personalities as there is a relationship between the way a brand expresses itself in different countries and how strong the consumer relationship is with that brand. Brand personalities are viewed differently in different parts of the world. For instance, the Apple iPhone is viewed as a seductress in many countries, but in Australia, it is a joker, and in Japan, it is a dreamer. Basically, what is happening here is that consumers are viewing the same product/brand through their own cultural lens, producing the perception of entirely different brand personalities. There are actually several brand personalities that tend to carry greater brand strength. Included in this lineup were desirable and trustworthy, which had strong correlations in most parts of the world. Desirability has attributes such as allure, status, and exclusivity while trustworthiness pertains to a consistent quality. Attitudes and perception also play a significant role in consumer behavior. They include attributes such as beliefs, effects, and behavioral intentions. Attitude models have development by consumer behavioral specialists in order to predict a consumer’s overall attitude toward a particular product or brand. The functional theory of attitudes, which was developed by Daniel Katz to better understand how attitudes facilitate socially, suggests that attitudes exist to serve some function for the person (Antariksa, n.d.). Beginning with utilitarian function, this relates to rewards and punishments. Value-expressive function relates to the consumer’s values or self-concept discussed earlier. Ego-defensive function protects consumers from external threats or internal feelings, and finally, knowledge function relates to the need for order, structure, or meaning. Marketers can actually look at each of these functions and develop a marketing strategy around these functions. Consumers also vary in their level of commitment and consistency with respect to their attitudes. At the end of the day, marketers attempt to persuade and/or change attitudes of consumers by using the six methods below.

Method Description Reciprocity Consumers are more likely to

give if they receive. Authority Consumers will believe

authoritative sources. Liking Consumers will agree or

believe others they like. Scarcity Consumers will find a product

more desirable if it is less available.

Consistency Consumers attempt not to contradict what they have previously stated.

Consensus Consumers look at what others have done when forming their own opinions.

Another type of marketing influence is based on the type of message appeals. An emotional versus rational appeal should be aligned with the relationship that the consumer has with the product. The use of sex can get attention but has significant and obvious risks. Humorous appeals are a good choice for gaining attention and establishing a relationship with the target market, but care needs to be taken as to not overwhelm the consumer. Fear appeals emphasize the negative consequences that can occur unless the consumer changes a behavior or an attitude such as the “do not smoke” campaigns. In correlation to the message appeal is the source credibility. This refers to the communicator’s level of knowledge on the topic, possibly relating to his or her trustworthiness or objectivity. The consumer needs to relate the source to the product that is endorsed in order to maintain a certain level of credibility. One factor that goes along with this concept is source attractiveness involving the actual physical appearance, personality, and/or social status of the communicator. Another factor is the amount of star power, which is impactful as well, as marketers look to employ celebrities. This, of course, also commands a certain degree of risk if the celebrity engages in behavior that might

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negatively affect the brand image. Nonhuman endorsers, such as cartoon characters or canine affiliates, provide an interesting twist to the source credibility question as well. Understanding the self-concept leading to a consumer’s personality dimensions provides a very basic level of understanding of consumer behavior. The consumer’s cultural background and attitudes also have a significant impact on buying decisions. Finally, we examined how the communication of the meaning through the message appeals and how source credibility affects the overall consumer buying decisions.

References Antariksa, Y. (n.d.). Consumer psychology.

http://www.studymarketing.org/category/Consumer_Psychology/Consumer_Psychology.html

Beartooth Harley-Davidson. (2010, August 16). 2011 Harley-Davidson Sportster Superlow [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a86DtZi61Ac

BVP1982. (2008, March 29). Mercedes Benz “faithful” commercial [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybh3ntL33o TED (Producer). (2013, March 18). TEDTalks: Dan Cobley—What physics taught me about marketing

[Video]. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=48549

TEDx Talks. (2013, May 20). Is there a buy button inside the brain: Patrick Renvoise at TEDxBend [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rKceOe-Jr0