Consumer Perception

Chapter Content
Elements of Perception
Aspects of Perception
Selection
Organization
Interpretation

Prof Meghna Verma

Perception Definition

The process by which an individual

selects, organizes, and interprets
stimuli into a meaningful and
coherent picture of the world.
By Schiffman & Kanuk
How we see the world around us.

Prof Meghna Verma

Elements of Perception

Sensation
Absolute threshold
Differential threshold
Subliminal perception

Prof Meghna Verma

Sensation

It is the immediate and direct response of the

sensory organs to stimuli.
A stimulus is any unit of input to any of the senses.
It (Sensory inputs or stimuli) includes products,
packages , brand names ,advertisements .
Sensory receptors are the human organs, that
receives sensory inputs.
As sensory input decreases, our ability to detect
changes in input increases, to the point that we
attain max sensitivity under condition of minimal
stimulation.
Prof Meghna Verma

Absolute Threshold

The absolute threshold is the lowest

level at which an individual can
experience a sensation.
As our exposure to stimulus
increases , we notice it less.
In the field of perception
adaptation refers to getting used
to certain sensations.
Sensory adaptation is a problem
that concerns many advertisers.
Prof Meghna Verma

Differential Threshold

Minimal difference that can be

detected between two similar
stimuli.
Also known as the just noticeable
difference (the j.n.d.)

Prof Meghna Verma

Webers Law

The j.n.d. between two stimuli is not an

absolute amount but an amount
relative to the intensity of the first
stimulus
Webers law states that the stronger
the initial stimulus, the greater the
additional intensity needed for the
second stimulus to be perceived as
different.
Prof Meghna Verma

Marketing Applications
of the J.N.D.

Marketers need to determine the relevant

j.n.d. for their products for two reasons:
so that negative changes (reduction in prd
size or quality or increase in price) are not
readily discernible to the public.
so that product improvements are very
apparent to consumers

In product improvement marketers

should carefully note that:
Less than j.n.d is a waste effort because the
improvement will not be perceived.
More than j.n.d is also wasteful because it
can reduce the level of repeat purchase in
some products.
Prof Meghna Verma

Subliminal Perception

Stimuli that are too weak or too brief to

be consciously seen or heard may be
strong enough to be perceived by one or
more receptor cells. This process is called
subliminal perception.
People can be stimulated below their
level of conscious awareness .i.e. they
can perceive stimuli without being
consciously aware that they are doing so.
Prof Meghna Verma

Is Subliminal Persuasion
Effective?

Extensive research has shown no

evidence that subliminal advertising
can influence consumption
behaviour or can persuade
consumers to act in a given manner.
However some evidence that
subliminal stimuli may influence
affective reactions.
Prof Meghna Verma

10

Aspects of Perception
Selection of
stimuli
Organization of
stimuli
Interpretation of
stimuli
Prof Meghna Verma

11

Perceptual Selection

Consumers subconsciously are selective as to what

they perceive.
In actuality, consumer receive (perceive) a small
fraction of stimuli to which they are exposed.
Stimuli Selection depends on the
Nature of the stimulus (packaging ,brand name,
ads)
Expectations (Consumers previous experience )
People tend to perceive products and products
attributes according to their own expectations.
Stimuli that conflict sharply with expectation
receives more attention than those that conform .
Consumers motives (need , interest ,desire)the
stronger the need , the greater the tendency to
ignore unrelated stimuli in the environment.

Prof Meghna Verma

12

Selective Perception
Consumers selection of stimuli from
environment is based on the expectations
and motives with the stimuli itself. Based
on these factors there are 4 imp concepts :

Selective
Exposure
Selective
Attention
Perceptual
Defense
Perceptual
Blocking

Consumers seek
out messages
which:

Are pleasant
They can
sympathize
Reassure them of
good purchases

Prof Meghna Verma

13

Perceptual Selection
Concepts

Selective
Exposure
Selective
Attention
Perceptual
Defense
Perceptual
Blocking

Heightened awareness
when stimuli meet
their needs
Consumers prefer
different messages
and medium, some
people like complex,
sophisticated msgs;
others like simple
graphics.

Prof Meghna Verma

14

Perceptual Selection
Concepts

Selective
Exposure
Selective
Attention
Perceptual
Defense
Perceptual
Blocking

Screening out of
stimuli which are
psychologically
threatening.

Prof Meghna Verma

15

Concepts Concerning
Selective Perception

Selective
Exposure
Selective
Attention
Perceptual
Defense
Perceptual
Blocking

Consumers avoid
being
bombardedwith the
stimuli by simply
Tuning outblocking such stimuli
from conscious
awareness.

Prof Meghna Verma

16

Aspects of Perception
Selection
Organization
Interpretation

Prof Meghna Verma

17

Perceptual Organization

People tend to add to or subtract

from the stimuli to which they are
exposed on the basis of
expectations and motives using
generalized principles of
organization based on Gestalt
theory.
Prof Meghna Verma

18

Principles of Perceptual
Organization (Gestalt
Psychology)

Figure and
ground
Grouping
Closure

People tend to organize

perceptions into figureand-ground relationships.
Stimuli that contrast their
environment are more
likely to be noticed.
The ground is usually
hazy.
Marketers usually design
so the figure is the
Prof Meghna Verma
19
noticed stimuli.

Principles of Perceptual
Organization

Figure and
ground
Grouping
Closure

People group
stimuli to form a
unified impression
or concept.
Grouping helps
memory and recall.

Prof Meghna Verma

20

Organization
Principles

Figure and
ground
Grouping
Closure

People have a need

for closure and
organize perceptions
to form a complete
picture.
Will often fill in
missing pieces
Incomplete messages
remembered more
Prof Meghna Verma
21
than complete

Aspects of Perception
Selection
Organization
Interpretation

Prof Meghna Verma

22

Perception is a personal phenomenon.

People exercise selectively as to which
stimuli they perceive
Then they organize these stimuli on the
basis of certain psychological principles.
Finally interpretation of stimuli is done
which is also uniquely individual.

Prof Meghna Verma

23

Interpretation
Influences of Perceptual Distortion

Physical
Appearances
Stereotypes
First
Impressions
Jumping to
Conclusions
Halo Effect

Positive attributes of
people they know to
those who resemble
them
Important for model
selection
Attractive models are
more persuasive for
some products

Prof Meghna Verma

24

Interpretation
Perceptual Distortion

Physical
Appearances
Stereotypes
First
Impressions
Jumping to
Conclusions
Halo Effect

People hold
meanings related
to stimuli
Stereotypes
influence how
stimuli are
perceived

Prof Meghna Verma

25

Interpretation
Perceptual Distortion

Physical
Appearances
Stereotypes
First
Impressions
Jumping to
Conclusions
Halo Effect

First impressions
are lasting
The perceiver is
trying to determine
which stimuli are
relevant, important,
or predictive

Prof Meghna Verma

26

Interpretation
Perceptual Distortion

Physical
Appearances
Stereotypes
First
Impressions
Jumping to
Conclusions
Halo Effect

People tend not to

listen to all the
information before
making conclusion
Important to put
persuasive
arguments first in
advertising

Prof Meghna Verma

27

Interpretation
Perceptual Distortion

Physical
Appearances
Stereotypes
First
Impressions
Jumping to
Conclusions
Halo Effect

Consumers perceive
and evaluate multiple
objects based on just
one dimension
Used in licensing of
names
Important with
spokesperson choice

Prof Meghna Verma

28

The halo effect

helps Adidas
break into
new product
categories.

Prof Meghna Verma

29

Issues in Consumer Imagery

Product Positioning and

Repositioning
Positioning of Services
Perceived Price
Perceived Quality
Retail Store Image
Manufacturer Image
Perceived Risk
Prof Meghna Verma

30

Positioning

Establishing a specific image for a

brand in the consumers mind
Product is positioned in relation to
competing brands
Conveys the concept, or meaning, of
the product in terms of how it fulfills a
consumer need
Result of successful positioning is a
distinctive, positive brand image
Prof Meghna Verma

31

Positioning Techniques

Umbrella
Positioning
Positioning
against
Competition
Positioning Based
on a Specific
Benefit

Finding an
Unowned
Position
Filling Several
Positions
Product
Repositioning

Prof Meghna Verma

32

Perceptual Mapping

A research technique that enables

marketers to plot graphically
consumers perceptions concerning
product attributes of specific brands.
It helps marketer to determine how their
products/services appear to consumers
in relation to competitive brands on one
or mere relevant characteristics.
Prof Meghna Verma

33

Positioning of services

Service marketers face unique problem in

positioning and promoting their offerings
because:
Services are intangible
Image becomes a key factor in differentiating
a service from its competitors .

Marketers have developed strategies to provide

customers with visual images and tangible
reminders of their service offerings
They feature real service employees in their ads.
More emphasis is given on designing the service
environment (physical environment) .
Prof Meghna Verma

34

Issues in Perceived Price

Reference prices used as a basis for

comparison in judging another price

Internal
External

Acquisition and transaction utility

One study offers three types of
pricing strategies in service industry
based on perception of value.
Prof Meghna Verma

35

Three Pricing Strategies

Focused on Perceived Value
Pricing
Strategy

Provides Value By

Implemented
As

Satisfaction-based
pricing

Recognizing and reducing

customers perceptions of
uncertainly, which the
intangible nature of
services magnifies

Service guarantees
Benefit-driven pricing
Flat-rate pricing

Relationship
pricing

Encouraging long-term
relationships with the
company that customers
view as beneficial

Long-term contracts
Price bundling

Efficiency pricing

Sharing with customers

the cost savings that the
company has achieved by
understanding, managing,
and reducing the costs of
providing the service

Cost-leader pricing.

Prof Meghna Verma

36

Issues in Perceived Price

Reference prices

Internal -- If pur.price is < internal

price, +ve trans. utility
External

Tensile (range of discount) and

objective price claims (single
discount)

Prof Meghna Verma

37

Acquisition-Transaction
Utility

Acquisition utility

The consumers
perceived
economic gain or
loss associated
with the purchase
Function of
product utility and
purchase price

Transaction utility

The perceived
pleasure or
displeasure
associated with the
financial aspect of the
purchase
Determined by the
difference between
the internal reference
price and the
purchase price

Prof Meghna Verma

38

Perceived Quality

Perceived Quality of Products

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Cues

Perceived Quality of Services

Price/Quality Relationship

Prof Meghna Verma

39

Perceived Quality of
Products

Consumer use physical

characteristics (size, colour,
flavor) to judge the quality.
They even use country-of-origin
stereotypes to evaluate products.
e.g- Japanese technology is better.

Prof Meghna Verma

40

Perceived Quality of
Services

Difficult due to characteristics of services

Intangible
Variable
Perishable
Simultaneously Produced and Consumed

SERVQUAL scale used to measure gap

between customers expectation of
service and perceptions of actual service

Prof Meghna Verma

41

SERVQUAL Dimensions for Measuring

Service Quality
DIMENSION

DESCRIPTION

Tangibles

Appearance of physical facilities, equipment,

personnel, and communication materials
Reliability
Ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately
Responsiveness Willingness to help customers and provide
prompt service
Assurance
Knowledge and courtesy of employees and
their ability to convey trust and confidence
Empathy
Caring, individualized attention the firm
provides its customers
Prof Meghna Verma

42

Price/Quality Relationship

The perception of price as an

indicator of product quality (e.g.,
the higher the price, the higher the
perceived quality of the product.)

Prof Meghna Verma

43

Conceptual Model of the Effects of Price,

Brand Name, and Store Name on Perceived
Value
Objectiv
e Price

Perception
of Price

Perceived
Quality

Perceived
Sacrifice

Perceived
Value

Willingness
to Buy

A. Conceptual Relationship of Price Effect

Prof Meghna Verma

44

Figure continued
Brand
Name

Store
Name

Perception
of Brand

Perception
of Store

Objectiv
e Price

+
+

Perception
of Price

Perceived
Quality

+
B. Extended Conceptualization
to Include Brand Name and
Store Name

+
Perceived
Sacrifice

Perceived
Value

Willingness
to Buy

Prof Meghna Verma

45

Perceived Risk

The degree of uncertainty perceived by the

consumer as to the consequences (outcome) of
a specific purchase decision
Types

Functional Risk (Product will not perform as expected)

Physical Risk (risk to self- cream may adversely
effect my hair)
Financial Risk (product may not be worth the cost)
Psychological Risk (poor product choice will bruise
the consumers ego)
Time Risk (time spent in product search may be
wasted if the product does not perform as expected)
Prof Meghna Verma

46

How Consumers Handle Risk

Seek Information
Stay Brand Loyal
Select by Brand Image
Rely on Store Image
Buy the Most Expensive Model
Seek Reassurance

Prof Meghna Verma

47