Modul E2: Role of Research in Understanding Consumer Behaviour

Modul
e2
Role of Research in
understanding
Consumer Behaviour
Consumer Research
It is a Part of market research in which

the preferences, motivations, and
buying behavior of the targeted
customer are identified through direct
observation, mail surveys, telephone
or face to face interviews, and from
published sources (such as
demographic data & others).
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Importance of Consumer
research
 Consumer Research enables marketers to predict how consumers will react to
promotional messages and to understand why they make the purchase decisions
 Marketers realize that the more they know about their target consumers’ decision
making process, the more likely they are to design marketing strategies and
promotional messages that will favorably influence these consumers
 Consumer Research enables marketers to study and understand consumers’ needs

and wants ,and how they make consumption decisions.

Quantitative Research
 Descriptive in nature.
 Enables marketers to “predict” consumer
behavior.
 Research methods include experiments,
survey techniques, and observation.
 Findings are descriptive, empirical and
generalizable.

Qualitative Research
 Consists of depth interviews, focus groups,
metaphor analysis, and projective
techniques.
 Administered by highly trained
interviewer-analysts.
 Findings tend to be subjective.
 Small sample sizes.

Comparison between Quantitative and
Qualitative research
Qualitative research Quantitative research

1. Study purpose: Studies designed to provide 1. Studies aimed at describing a target market –its
insights about new product ideas and characteristics and possible reactions of various
positioning strategies. Ideas uncovered segments to the elements of the marketing mix.
should be tested via quantitative studies. Results are used for making strategic marketing
decisions
2. Type of questions and data collection 2. Closed ended questions with predefined
methods: Open-ended ,unstructured possible responses and open –ended questions
questions and further probing by the that have to be coded numerically. Most
interviewer. Projective techniques include questionnaires include attitude scales and,
disguised questions where the respondents generally the questions are not disguised.
do not know the true purpose of the Questionnaires are used in surveys conducted in
questions and are asked to freely respond to person, by phone or mail, or online.
stimuli such as words or pictures. Depth Observation of respondents is also used.
interviews and focus groups are used
Comparison between Quantitative and
Qualitative research
3. Large ,probability samples. Providing that

3. Sampling methods: Small,
the data collection instruments are valid and
nonprobability samples; the
reliable, the results can be viewed as
findings are generally not
representative of the universe.
representative of the universe
under study
4. Data analysis: Data collected are 4. The data is collected by a field force
analyzed by the researchers who have retained by the researcher, and then
collected it and who have expertise in coded ,tabulated, and entered into the
the behavioral sciences database. The researcher analyses the
data by using objective, standardised
statistical methods consisting mainly of
comparisons of averages among the
predefined variables and significance
tests that estimate the extent to which
the results represent the universe.
The Consumer Research
Process
 Six steps
 Defining the objectives of the research
 Collecting and evaluating secondary data
 Designing a primary research study
 Collecting primary data
 Analyzing the data
 Preparing a report on the findings

Figure 2.1 The Consumer Research Process
Develop Objectives
Collect Secondary Data
Design Qualitative Research Design Quantitative Research

• Method • Method
• Screener questionnaire • Sample design
• Discussion guide • Data collection instrument
Conduct Research
Collect Primary Data
(Using highly trained
(Usually by field staff)
interviewers) Exploratory
Study
Analyze Data Analyze Data
(Subjective) (Objective)
Prepare Report Prepare report

1.Developing Research
Objectives
 Defining purposes and objectives helps ensure an appropriate research design.
 A statement of objectives helps to define the type and level of information needed.
E.g.- If the purpose of the study is too come up with new ideas for products or
promotional campaigns, then a qualitative study is usually undertaken, in which
respondents spend a significant amount of time face-to-face with a highly trained
professional interviewer-analyst who also does the analysis.
If the purpose is to find out how many people in the population use certain products &
how frequently they use them, then a quantitative study that is undertaken.

2.collecting and evaluating
secondary data
 Secondary data: data that has been

collected for reasons other than the
specific research project at hand

Table 2.2 Major Sources of
Secondary Data
Periodicals
Government
&
Publications
Books
Internal Commercial
Sources Data

3.Designing primary research
• Primary data: data collected by the researcher for the purpose of

meeting specific objectives
• The selection of a research design depends on the purposes of
the study. If a marketer needs descriptive information, then a
quantitative research study is called for, but if the purpose is to
generate new ideas, then a qualitative study is appropriate.

Quantitative research design
Data Collection Methods
Observation
Experimentation
Surveys

Observational Research
 Helps marketers gain an in-depth
understanding of the relationship
between people and products by
watching them buying and using
products.
 Helps researchers gain a better
understanding of what the product
symbolizes.

Experimentation
 Can be used to test the relative sales appeal of many types of variables.
 Only one variable is manipulated at a time, keeping other elements
constant.
E.g.- To determine whether the size of a magazine ad effects readers’

attention, the size of the ad might be changed, keeping the other
variables such as message/appeal & the colour of the ad constant so
that they would not influence the results.

Survey Data Collection
Methods
Personal Interview
Mail
Telephone
Online

Table 2.4 Comparative Advantages
PERSONAL
MAIL TELEPHONE ONLINE
INTERVIEW
Cost Low Moderate High Low
Speed Slow Immediate Slow Fast
Response Self-
Low Moderate High
rate selection
Geographic
Excellent Good Difficult Excellent
flexibility
Interviewer
N/A Moderate Problematic N/A
bias
Interviewer
N/A Easy Difficult N/A
supervision
Quality of
Limited Limited Excellent Excellent
response

Data collection instrument should have
The degree to which

a measurement
Validity instrument
accurately reflects
what it is designed to
measure.

The degree to which a
measurement
Reliability instrument is
consistent in what it
measures.

Quantitative research data
collection instrument

Attitude Scales
 Likert scales: easy for researchers to prepare and
interpret, and simple for consumers to answer.
 Semantic differential scales: relatively easy to

construct and administer . It consists of a pair of bipolar
pair adjectives (such as good/bad, like/dislike) or antonym
phrases at both ends of the scale with response options
spaced in between five or seven points
 Rank-order scales: subjects rank items in order of

preference in terms of some criteria.

Figure 2.4 Example of a Likert Scale
Please place the number that best indicates how strongly you
agree or disagree with each of the following statements about
shopping online in the space to the left of the statement.
1 = Agree Strongly
2 = Agree
3 = Neither Agree or Disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Disagree Strongly
_____ a. It is fun to shop online.

_____ b. Products often cost more online.
_____ c. It is a good way to find out about new products.

Figure 2.4 Semantic Differential Profiles
of Three Pay-Per-Movie Services
Poor
3 DVD
Digital
Neutral
2 Cable
DIVX
1
Availability
Number of
Clarity of
Access
Ease of
Cost
Picture
Titles
Excellent

Figure 2.5 Rank-Order Scales
Rank the following computer manufacturers in

terms of hotline help by placing a 1 next to the one
who provides the best telephone help, a 2 next to
the second best, until you have ranked all six.
_____ IBM _____Hewlett Packard

_____ Dell _____ Gateway
_____ Compaq _____ NEC

Qualitative Data Collection
Methods
Depth Focus
Interviews Groups
Projective Metaphor
Techniques Analysis
A qualitative research
method in which eight
to ten persons
participate in an
Focus Group
unstructured group
interview about a
product or service
concept.

Figure 2.5 Selected Portions of a
Discussion Guide
1. Why did you decide to use your current cellular
company? (Probe)
2. How long have you used you current cellular
company? (Probe)
3. Have you ever switched services? When? What
caused the change? (Probe)
4. What do you think of the overall quality of your
current service? (Probe)
5. What are the important criteria in electing a cellular
service? (Probe)

Research procedures
designed to identify
consumers’
subconscious feelings
and motivations.
Projective
They consists of
Techniques
variety of “test” that
contains ambiguous
stimuli, such as
incomplete sentences,
word-association tests
etc.
Metaphor Analysis
 The use of one form of expression to describe or
represent feelings about another is called metaphor
 Based on belief that metaphors are the most basic
method of thought and communication.
 Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET)

combines collage research (the respondents are provided with
scissors,paper,paste and magazines and are asked to make a
collage representing themselves and their relationship with the
product or service under study) metaphor analysis to bring to the
surface the mental models and the major themes or constructs
that drive consumer thinking and behavior.

Customer Satisfaction Data
Collection Instruments
(Table 2.5)
 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

 Gap Analysis of Expectations versus
Experience
 Mystery Shoppers
 Customer Complaint Analysis
 Analysis of Customer Defections (analyzing
why customers leave the company)

Sampling Design
Whom to
survey?
How many?
How to
select them?
Table 2.6 Probability Sampling
Designs
Simple random Every member of the population has a known and
sample equal chance of being selected.
Systematic random A member of the population is selected at random
sample and then every “nth” person is selected.
Stratified random The population is divided into mutually exclusive
sample groups (such as age groups), and random samples
are drawn from each group.
Cluster (area) The population is divided into mutually exclusive
sample groups (such as blocks), and the researcher draws
a sample of the groups to interview.

Table 2.6 Nonprobability
Sampling Designs
Convenience The researcher selects the most accessible
sample population members from whom to obtain
information (e.g., students in a classroom)
Judgment sample The researcher uses his or her judgment to select
population members who are good sources for
accurate information (e.g., experts in the relevant
field of study).
Quota sample The researcher interviews a prescribed number of
people in each of several categories (e.g., 50 men
and 5 women).

4.Collecting Primary data
 Quantitative study generally employs a
field staff to collect the data.
 In qualitative study data is collected by

using highly trained interviewers

5.Analysing the data
• The last-but-one step in the research process is to extract
relevant findings from the collected data.
• In qualitative research the moderator/analyst usually

analyses the respondents’ responses.
• The researcher supervises the data analysis in quantitative

research.
• The responses are converted into numerical scores then

tabulated and analysed with the help of computers using
sophisticated analytical techniques.

6.Report Preparation
 The researcher prepares a report of her/his findings to be presented to the

relevant parties.
 It may or may not include any recommendations for action depending on
the requirements of the management.
 The report includes a description of the methodology used, as well as
tables and graphics to support the research findings.
 The researcher should present major findings that are relevant to decisions
facing management and avoid detailing numbers and fancy jargon such as
“multivariate analysis of variance.”

Levels of Consumer Decision making
Extensive Problem
Solving
Limited Problem
Solving
Routine Response
Behavior

or Extensive Problem
Solving Models:
 When consumers have not established criteria for evaluating a
product category or specific brands in that category, then they
will consider to a small, manageable subset, their decision
making efforts can be classified as extensive problem solving
 At this level, the consumer needs a great deal of information to

establish a set of criteria on which to judge specific brands and a
correspondingly large amount of information concerning each
of the brands to be considered.

Low Involvement Decision
Making or Limited Problem
Solving Model
 At this level of problem solving ,consumers already have
established the basic criteria for evaluating the product
category and the various brands in that category. However,
they have not fully established preferences concerning a
select group of brands.
 Their search for additional information is more like ‘fine-

tuning'; they must gather additional brand information to
discriminate among various brands.

Routinised Response
Behavior
 At this level Consumers have experience with the product
category and a well established set of criteria with which
to evaluate the brands they are considering.
 In some situations ,they may search for a small amount of

additional information; in others, they simply review what
they already know.

Four Views of Consumer
decision making
An Economic view
A Passive view
A Cognitive view
An Emotional view

An Economic view
 The Consumer has often been

characterized as making rational
decisions

The Economic view
Rational Customers Have To …
 Be aware of all available
product alternatives
 Be capable of correctly ranking

each alternative in terms of its
benefits and disadvantages
 Be able to identify the best

alternatives
Why is the Classical
Economic Model
Considered Unrealistic?
 People are limited by their
existing skills, habits
 People are limited to the

extent of their knowledge
A Passive View
 Here Consumers are perceived as impulsive and irrational
purchasers, ready to yield to the aims and into the arms of
marketers
 Limitation: The passive model fails to recognize that the

consumer plays an equal role in many buying decisions-
sometimes by seeking information about product alternatives
and selecting the product that appears to offer the greatest
satisfaction and other times by impulsively selecting a product
that satisfies the mood or emotion of the moment

A Cognitive View
 This portrays the consumer as a thinking problem solver.
 Consumers are picturised as either receptive to or actively searching

for products and services that fulfill their needs and enrich their lives
 The cognitive model focuses on the processes by which consumers

seek and evaluate information about selected brands and retail outlets.
 The Consumers are viewed as information processors. Information

processing leads to the formation of preferences and ultimately to
purchase intentions.

An emotional view
 When a consumer makes an emotional purchase decision, less
emphasis is placed on the search for pre-purchase information.
Instead, more emphasis is placed on current mood and feelings
 ‘ Emotional View’ is related to perceive consumer’s decision making

based on their emotional association or feeling about some products
and services.
For instance, A person who miss a favourite fountain pen might go to

great lengths look for it.

The nature of Situational
Influences
 Situational influences are temporary
environmental conditions that exist at a
specific time and place and which
influence consumer behaviour
 Marketers must understand:

 The types of situations and how they
influence behaviour
 How different situations affect consumers
 How strong the situational influence is
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Outcomes of Post purchase
Evaluation
 Actual Performance Matches
Expectations
 Actual Performance Exceeds

Expectations
 Performance is Below Expectations

Types of Situations
 Different types of situations that affect your
purchasing decisions include:
1. The message communication situation
1. The purchase situation
1. The consumption situation or usage situation
1. Disposition Situation

The Communication
Situation
 The communication situation refers to the setting in which

consumers are exposed to information ,which will have
impact on their behavior.
 The exposure situation: Whether the consumer is alone or in a

group, in a good or bad mood ,in a hurry or relaxed may determine
the degree to which the consumer will and retain the information.
 The Context of the communication: Communication situation

focuses on answering whether it would be better to advertise on a
happy or sad TV programme,or a calm and exciting programme.
(coco cola has a policy of not advertising during sad programme.)
 Happy programmes lead consumers to have more positive thoughts

during exposure to the commercial and a higher level of ad recall
than sad programmes.
 The consumer’s mood while exposure to communication

occurs: Pleasant mood tends to positively influence processing and
recall of brand related information

Purchase Situation
 . Three factors particularly influence marketing strategy
with regard to purchase situation:
1. In-store purchase Situation.
(décor,sounds,aroma,lighting,dress and behavior of sales personnel,
product availability, displays and physical space are important factors.)
1. Purchase situation relates to gift giving.

(Consumers are likely to be more involved while purchasing a
gift than purchasing the same item for personal consumption)
1. Unanticipated Purchase situation: Sometimes

,purchase situations occur which are not anticipated. A common
situation is when unexpected guests arrive and consumers have
to rush for special shopping.

The consumption situation
or usage situation
 The consumption situation refers to the
occasion of consumers’ product use.
 For e.g. People use different dresses to
wear at home and at work.

Disposition Situation
 Some Consumers consider ease of
disposition as an important product
attribute
 These people may purchase only items
that can be easily recycled

The Situational
characteristics and
consumption behaviour
Physical Surroundings
Social surroundings
Temporal Perspectives
Task definition
Antecedent states

Physical Surroundings
 Physical Surroundings is the sum of
all the physical features of a retail
environment.
 1.Colors
 2.Aromas
 3.Music
 4.Crowding

Social surroundings
 Social surroundings
Deal with other persons present who could have an impact on the individual
consumer's behavior; the effects of other people on a consumer in a consumer
activity
We act differently amongst different people – e.g. family vs friends
The people you shop with can influence your behaviour
You are in a store looking at personal care products. a classmate sees you
and stops to chat. Would this encounter affect what brand you choose? Would
you delay the purchase?
You are walking through the mall and something in the store looks
interesting. Would you stop to further investigate if you are with your best
friend? If you are with your mother?

Temporal Perspectives
 Temporal perspectives deal with the effect of time on
consumer behavior.
 Limited purchase time often limits search
Internet shopping is growing rapidly as a result

of the time pressures felt by consumers.
You have a job interview lined up for next day and need an interview
outfit

Task definition
Reflects the purpose or reason for engaging in the

buying or consumption behaviour
 shopping for a birthday gift
 shopping for bread and milk
 shopping for an interview outfit
 using a computer at home
 using a computer at work

Antecedent States:
ANTECEDENT STATES
Features of the individual person that are not lasting or
relatively enduring characteristics
ANTECEDENT STATES are momentary conditions such as

shopping when in a bad mood, tired or anxious or buying on
impulse

A Model of Consumer
Decision Making
INPUT
PROCESS
OUTPUT

Figure 16.2 A Simple Model of Consumer Decision
External Influences Making
Sociocultural Environment
Firm’s Marketing Efforts
1. Family
Input 1. Product
2. Informal sources
2. Promotion
3. Other noncommercial sources
3. Price
4. Social class
4. Channels of distribution
5. Subculture and culture
Consumer Decision Making
Psychological Field
1. Motivation
Need Recognition 2. Perception
3. Learning
Process Prepurchase Search 4. Personality
5. Attitudes
Evaluation of Alternatives
Experience
Postdecision Behavior
Purchase
Output
1. Trial Postpurchase Evaluation
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2. Repeat purchase 64
CB- DEL HAWKINS, ROJER BEST

Input Stage
 Input Stage: Influences the consumer’s recognition of a product
need .
 It consists of two major sources of information:

1. The firm’s marketing efforts (the product itself , its price, its
promotion, and where it is sold)
2. The External sociological influences on the consumer
(family,friends,neighbours,other informal and noncommercial
sources, social class, and cultural and sub cultural membership)
The cumulative impact of each firm’s marketing efforts, the influence

of family,friends,and neighbors and society’s existing code of
behavior are all inputs that are likely to affect what consumers
purchase and how they use what they buy.

Process Stage
 Process Stage: It focuses on how consumers make
decisions.
 The psychological factors inherent in each

individual(motivation,perception,learning,
personality, and attitudes) affect consumer
decision making process. (what they need or want
,their awareness of various product choices, their
information –gathering activities, and their
evaluation of alternatives)
 The Experience gained through evaluation of

alternatives ,in turn,affect the consumer’s existing
psychological attributes

Three Stages of Consumer
Decision Making
 Need Recognition
 Prepurchase Search
 Evaluation of Alternatives
CB- SCHIFFMAN & KANuk

09/01/10 67
The realization by the
Need consumer that there is a
Recognition difference between “what is”
and “what should be.”

A stage in the consumer
decision-making process in
which the consumer
Prepurchase perceives a need and
Search actively seeks out
information concerning
products that will help
satisfy that need.

A stage in the consumer
decision-making process in
Evaluation of
which the consumer
alternatives appraises the benefits to be
derived from each of the
product alternatives being
considered.

CONCLUSION
Gone are the days of producing the products according
to the manufacturer/Company’s preference
Its is the time where everything starts with the

Customer. To be competitive & survive in the market,
every company should continuously go for Consumer
research & update its product features.
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Modul E2: Role of Research in Understanding Consumer Behaviour

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Modul

It is a Part of market research in which

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 Consumer Research enables marketers to study and understand consumers’ needs

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Qualitative research Quantitative research

3. Large ,probability samples. Providing that

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Collect Secondary Data

Design Qualitative Research Design Quantitative Research

Prepare Report Prepare report

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 Secondary data: data that has been

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• Primary data: data collected by the researcher for the purpose of

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E.g.- To determine whether the size of a magazine ad effects readers’

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The degree to which

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 Semantic differential scales: relatively easy to

 Rank-order scales: subjects rank items in order of

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_____ a. It is fun to shop online.

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Rank the following computer manufacturers in

_____ IBM _____Hewlett Packard

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 Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET)

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 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

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 In qualitative study data is collected by

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• In qualitative research the moderator/analyst usually

• The researcher supervises the data analysis in quantitative

• The responses are converted into numerical scores then

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 The researcher prepares a report of her/his findings to be presented to the

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 At this level, the consumer needs a great deal of information to

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 Their search for additional information is more like ‘fine-

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 In some situations ,they may search for a small amount of

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_ IBM _Hewlett Packard