Learning Outcomes:
Explain why marketing managers should understand consumer behavior
An understanding of consumer behavior reduces marketing managers’ uncertainty when they are defining a target market and designing a marketing mix.

Analyze the components of the consumer decision-making process
The consumer decision-making process begins with need recognition, when stimuli trigger awareness of an unfulfilled want. If additional information is required to make

a purchase decision, the consumer may engage in an internal or external information search. The consumer then evaluates the additional information and establishes

purchase guidelines. Finally, a purchase decision is made.

Explain the consumer’s postpurchase evaluation process
Consumer postpurchase evaluation is influenced by prepurchase expectations, the prepurchase information search, and the consumer’s general level of self-confidence.

When a purchase creates cognitive dissonance, consumers tend to react by seeking positive reinforcement for the purchase decision, avoiding negative information about

the purchase decision, or revoking the purchase decision by returning the product.

Identify the types of consumer buying decisions and discuss the significance of consumer involvement
Consumer decision making falls into three broad categories: routine response behavior, limited decision making, and extensive decision making. High-involvement

decisions usually include an extensive information search and a thorough evaluation of alternatives. In contrast, low-involvement decisions are characterized by brand

loyalty and a lack of personal identification with the product. The main factors affecting the level of consumer involvement are previous experience, interest,

perceived risk of negative consequences (financial, social, and psychological), and social visibility. A purchase decision can be highly involved due to a wide range

of factors, including product involvement, situational involvement, shopping involvement, enduring involvement, and emotional involvement.

Identify and understand the cultural factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Cultural influences on consumer buying decisions include culture and values,

Click here to place an order  for a similar  paper  and have exceptional work done by our team and get A+resultssubculture, and social class. Culture is the essential character of a society that

distinguishes it from other cultural groups. The underlying elements of every culture are the values, language, myths, customs, rituals, laws, and the artifacts, or

products that are transmitted from one generation to the next. The most defining element of a culture is its values. A culture can be divided into subcultures on the

basis of demographic characteristics, geographic regions, national and ethnic background, political beliefs, and religious beliefs.

Identify and understand the social factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Social factors include such external influences as reference groups, opinion leaders, and family. Consumers seek out others’ opinions for guidance on new products or

services and products with image-related attributes or because attribute information is lacking or uninformative. Consumers may use products or brands to identify with

or become a member of a reference group, or to follow an opinion leader. Family members also influence purchase decisions; children tend to shop in similar patterns as

their parents.
Identify and understand the individual factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Individual factors that affect consumer buying decisions include gender; age and family life cycle stage; and personality, self-concept, and lifestyle. Beyond obvious

physiological differences, men and women differ in their social and economic roles, and that affects consumer buying decisions. A consumer’s age generally indicates

what products he or she may be interested in purchasing. Marketers often define their target markets in terms of consumers’ life cycle stage, following changes in

consumers’ attitudes and behavioral tendencies as they mature. Finally, certain products and brands reflect consumers’ personality, self-concept, and lifestyle.

Identify and understand the psychological factors that affect consumer buying decisions
Psychological factors include perception, motivation, learning, values, beliefs, and attitudes. These factors allow consumers to interact with the world around them,

recognize their feelings, gather and analyze information, formulate thoughts and opinions, and take action.

Click here to place an order  for a similar  paper  and have exceptional work done by our team and get A+results Perception allows consumers to recognize their consumption

problems. Motivation is what drives consumers to take action to satisfy specific consumption needs. Almost all consumer behavior results from learning, which is the

process that creates changes in behavior through experience. Consumers with similar beliefs and attitudes tend to react alike to marketing-related inducements.
TERMINOLOGY, CONCEPTS AND VOCABULARY
aspirational reference group    marketing-controlled information
attitude    Routine response behavior    secondary membership group
belief    Maslow’s hierarchy of needs    selective distortion
cognitive dissonance    Social class    selective exposure
consumer behavior    need recognition    selective retention
consumer decision-making process
culture    nonaspirational reference group    self-concept
source
motive    nonmarketing-controlled information
evoked set (consideration set)    Socialization process
extensive decision making    opinion leader
external information search    perception
ideal self-image    personality
internal information search    primary membership group
involvement    real self-image
learning    reference group