Hoofdstuk 3
Problem recognition arises when the consumer realises that there is a need for
some item. This can come about through assortment depletion (where the
consumer’s stock of goods has been used up or worn out) or assortment
extension (which is where the consumer feels the need to add some new item to
the assortment of possessions). At this point the consumer has only decided to
seek a solution to a problem, perhaps by buying a category of product. The needs
felt can be categorised as either utilitarian (concerned with the functional
attributes of the product) or hedonic (concerned with the pleasurable or aesthetic
aspects of the product).The current view is that there is a balance between the
two types of need in most decisions. An internal stimulus, or drive, comes about
because there is a gap between the actual and desired states.
Each individual has an optimal stimulation level (OSL), which is the point at which
the drive is enjoyable and challenging, without being uncomfortable. OSLis
subjective: research shows that those with high OSLs like novelty and risk-taking,
whereas those with low OSLs prefer the tried and tested. Those with high OSLs
also tend to be younger. Drives lead on to motivation, which is the reason why
people take action. The level of motivation will depend on the desirability of the
end goal, and the ease of achieving the end goal; motivations are subjective, so it
is difficult to infer motivation from behaviour. Few actions take place as a result of
a single motivation, and sometimes a motivation may not even be apparent to
the individual experiencing it: in other words, some motivations operate below
the conscious level.
Having become motivated to seek a solution to the need problem, consumers
engage in two forms of information search.
• The internal search involves remembering previous experiences of the product
category, and thinking about what he/she has heard about the product category.
• The external search involves shopping around, reading manufacturers’
literature and advertisements, and perhaps talking to friends about the proposed
purchase.
Heuristics divide into three categories:
• search heuristics, which are concerned with rules for finding out information;
• evaluation heuristics, which are about judging product offerings; and
• choice heuristics, which are about evaluation of alternatives.
The decision-making process may contain a number of interrupts – points at
which the search is temporarily suspended. Interrupts come in four categories:
• environmental stimuli, which include in-store promotions (perhaps eye-catching
posters for other products);
• affective states, which include physiological needs (the sudden need to go to
the toilet, or to have a coffee);
• unexpected information, for example a change of layout in the shop or some
change in the product attributes; and
• conflicts, which occur when the consumer realises that the original
decisionmaking plan cannot be followed, or an alternative plan appears that is
not consistent with the original plan.
Post-purchase evaluation refers to the way the consumer decides whether the
product purchase has been a success or not. Before the purchase, the consumer
will have formed expectations of the product’s capabilities in terms of
• equitable performance (what can be reasonably expected given the cost and
effort of obtaining the product);
• ideal performance (what the consumer hopes the product will do); and
• expected performance (which is what the product probably will do).
Sometimes this evaluation leads to post-purchase dissonance, when the product
has not lived up to expectations, and sometimes to post-purchase consonance
, when the product is as expected or better. Consumers will usually act to reduce
post-purchase dissonance. There are four general approaches to doing this:
1 Ignore the dissonant information and concentrate on the positive aspects of the
product.
2 Distort the dissonant information (perhaps by telling oneself that the product
was, after all, the cheap version).
3 Play down the importance of the issue.
4 Change one’s behaviour.
From a marketing viewpoint, it is generally better to ensure that the consumer
has accurate information about the product beforehand so as to avoid post-
purchase dissonance, but if it occurs then marketers need to reduce it in some
way. Consumers express dissatisfaction in one of three ways:
• voice responses, in which the customer comes back and complains;
• private responses, in which the consumer complains to friends; and
• third-party responses, which may include complaints to consumer
organisations, trade associations and TV consumer programmes, or even legal
action.
The most effective way of reducing post-purchase dissonance is to provide a
product that meets the customer’s expectations. This is partly a function for the
manufacturer, but is also a problem for the retailer to address since it should be
possible to ensure that the consumer’s needs are fully understood before a
recommendation about a product is made. Services fall into the following
categories, for the purpose of correcting complaints:
• Services where it is appropriate to offer a repeat service, or a voucher.
Examples are dry cleaners, domestic appliance repairers and takeaway food
outlets.
• Services where giving the money back will usually be sufficient. Examples are
retail shops, cinemas and theatres, and video rental companies.
• Services where consequential losses may have to be compensated for.
Examples are medical services, solicitors and hairdressers.
is important that dissatisfied customers are allowed to voice their complaint fully,
and that the appropriate compensation is negotiated in the light of:
• the strength of the complaint;
• the degree of blame attaching to the supplier, from the consumer’s viewpoint;
• the legal and moral relationship between the supplier and the consumer.
Finally, the divestmentstage refers to the way the consumer disposes of the
product after use.
The gaps in the world-view thus created are filled in by the individual’s
imagination and experience. The cognitive map of the world is affected by the
following factors:
• Subjectivity: the existing world-view of the individual.
• Categorisation: the pigeonholing of information. This usually happens through a
‘chunking’ process, whereby information is grouped into associated items. For
example, a particular tune might make someone recall a special evening out from
some years ago.
• Selectivity: the degree to which the individual’s brain has selected from the
environment. This is also a subjective phenomenon; some people are more
selective than others.
• Expectation: the process of interpreting later information in a specific way. For
example, look at this series of letters and numbers: In fact, the number 13
appears in both series, but would be interpreted as a B in the series of letters
because that is what the brain is being led to expect.
• Past experience: this leads us to interpret information in the light of existing
knowledge. This is also known as the law of primacy. The sound of sea birds
Problem recognition arises when the consumer realises that there is a need for
some item. This can come about through assortment depletion (where the
consumer’s stock of goods has been used up or worn out) or assortment
extension (which is where the consumer feels the need to add some new item to
the assortment of possessions). At this point the consumer has only decided to
seek a solution to a problem, perhaps by buying a category of product. The needs
felt can be categorised as either utilitarian (concerned with the functional
attributes of the product) or hedonic (concerned with the pleasurable or aesthetic
aspects of the product).The current view is that there is a balance between the
two types of need in most decisions. An internal stimulus, or drive, comes about
because there is a gap between the actual and desired states.
Each individual has an optimal stimulation level (OSL), which is the point at which
the drive is enjoyable and challenging, without being uncomfortable. OSLis
subjective: research shows that those with high OSLs like novelty and risk-taking,
whereas those with low OSLs prefer the tried and tested. Those with high OSLs
also tend to be younger. Drives lead on to motivation, which is the reason why
people take action. The level of motivation will depend on the desirability of the
end goal, and the ease of achieving the end goal; motivations are subjective, so it
is difficult to infer motivation from behaviour. Few actions take place as a result of
a single motivation, and sometimes a motivation may not even be apparent to
the individual experiencing it: in other words, some motivations operate below
the conscious level.
Having become motivated to seek a solution to the need problem, consumers
engage in two forms of information search.
• The internal search involves remembering previous experiences of the product
category, and thinking about what he/she has heard about the product category.
• The external search involves shopping around, reading manufacturers’
literature and advertisements, and perhaps talking to friends about the proposed
purchase.
Heuristics divide into three categories:
• search heuristics, which are concerned with rules for finding out information;
• evaluation heuristics, which are about judging product offerings; and
• choice heuristics, which are about evaluation of alternatives.
The decision-making process may contain a number of interrupts – points at
which the search is temporarily suspended. Interrupts come in four categories:
• environmental stimuli, which include in-store promotions (perhaps eye-catching
posters for other products);
• affective states, which include physiological needs (the sudden need to go to
the toilet, or to have a coffee);
• unexpected information, for example a change of layout in the shop or some
change in the product attributes; and
• conflicts, which occur when the consumer realises that the original
decisionmaking plan cannot be followed, or an alternative plan appears that is
not consistent with the original plan.
Post-purchase evaluation refers to the way the consumer decides whether the
product purchase has been a success or not. Before the purchase, the consumer
will have formed expectations of the product’s capabilities in terms of
• equitable performance (what can be reasonably expected given the cost and
effort of obtaining the product);
• ideal performance (what the consumer hopes the product will do); and
• expected performance (which is what the product probably will do).
Sometimes this evaluation leads to post-purchase dissonance, when the product
has not lived up to expectations, and sometimes to post-purchase consonance
, when the product is as expected or better. Consumers will usually act to reduce
post-purchase dissonance. There are four general approaches to doing this:
1 Ignore the dissonant information and concentrate on the positive aspects of the
product.
2 Distort the dissonant information (perhaps by telling oneself that the product
was, after all, the cheap version).
3 Play down the importance of the issue.
4 Change one’s behaviour.
From a marketing viewpoint, it is generally better to ensure that the consumer
has accurate information about the product beforehand so as to avoid post-
purchase dissonance, but if it occurs then marketers need to reduce it in some
way. Consumers express dissatisfaction in one of three ways:
• voice responses, in which the customer comes back and complains;
• private responses, in which the consumer complains to friends; and
• third-party responses, which may include complaints to consumer
organisations, trade associations and TV consumer programmes, or even legal
action.
The most effective way of reducing post-purchase dissonance is to provide a
product that meets the customer’s expectations. This is partly a function for the
manufacturer, but is also a problem for the retailer to address since it should be
possible to ensure that the consumer’s needs are fully understood before a
recommendation about a product is made. Services fall into the following
categories, for the purpose of correcting complaints:
• Services where it is appropriate to offer a repeat service, or a voucher.
Examples are dry cleaners, domestic appliance repairers and takeaway food
outlets.
• Services where giving the money back will usually be sufficient. Examples are
retail shops, cinemas and theatres, and video rental companies.
• Services where consequential losses may have to be compensated for.
Examples are medical services, solicitors and hairdressers.
is important that dissatisfied customers are allowed to voice their complaint fully,
and that the appropriate compensation is negotiated in the light of:
• the strength of the complaint;
• the degree of blame attaching to the supplier, from the consumer’s viewpoint;
• the legal and moral relationship between the supplier and the consumer.
Finally, the divestmentstage refers to the way the consumer disposes of the
product after use.
The gaps in the world-view thus created are filled in by the individual’s
imagination and experience. The cognitive map of the world is affected by the
following factors:
• Subjectivity: the existing world-view of the individual.
• Categorisation: the pigeonholing of information. This usually happens through a
‘chunking’ process, whereby information is grouped into associated items. For
example, a particular tune might make someone recall a special evening out from
some years ago.
• Selectivity: the degree to which the individual’s brain has selected from the
environment. This is also a subjective phenomenon; some people are more
selective than others.
• Expectation: the process of interpreting later information in a specific way. For
example, look at this series of letters and numbers: In fact, the number 13
appears in both series, but would be interpreted as a B in the series of letters
because that is what the brain is being led to expect.
• Past experience: this leads us to interpret information in the light of existing
knowledge. This is also known as the law of primacy. The sound of sea birds
