Consumer Behaviour session 3 Summary

Perception
Different people have different feelings for the same reality which defines their
perception for that reality. So, perception is a process which begins with
consumer exposure, attention to the marketer’s stimuli and drawing a meaning
or interpretation of that stimuli.
The design of a product is now a key driver of its success or failure.
Example: Tea when sold in different forms of packaging (different shapes and
sizes of the cartons) gives a hedonic appeal to the consumers as it makes the
same tea more attractive for the consumers.
Consumers make consumption both for the functionality and also for the
hedonic appeal.
Sensory systems that marketers target to attract more consumers.
a) Vision: The product’s colour, size and styling. Ex- Fanta (friendly drink)-
orange colour represents friendliness and cheerfulness.
b) Scent: Odour can stir emotions and memory. Ex- Different aircrafts have
different fragrances.
c) Sound: Audio watermark- Ex- Airtel signature tune, fizz sound of Coca-
Cola
Sound symbolism- Ex- “Caaar” sound symbol for Nissan Sunny to
represent its long size and more inside space.
d) Touch: Ex- Grains in Big Bazaar could be touched and tested.
e) Taste: Food items (dry fruits) in local stores.
Perception is the process the process by which sensations are selected,
organised and interpreted.
Sensation: A feeling which we experience with our sensory stimuli (sight,
sound, smell, taste, textures) with our sensory receptors like eyes, ears, nose,
etc.
We give attention to these sensations and interpret a meaning for that
particular product.
Key concepts of exposure:
a) Sensory threshold: the minimum limit of threshold which our stimuli can
cross for us to become aware of the product.
b) Absolute threshold: the stimulation used by the marketer should be
strong enough for the consumer to register it or it should match the
absolute threshold of the consumer.
c) Differential threshold: It is the ability of our sense organs to detect a
change between two different packaging, logos, taglines, etc. Ex-
Starbucks logo evolution.
d) JND: If the change of packaging, logo, taglines, etc. is prominent enough
for us to notice it, then it is JND (Just Noticeable difference). If the
change is appositive one then the marketers want us to notice it else
they if the change is negative, they do not want us to notice it.
Attention: Attention is the extent to which processing activity is devoted to
a particular stimulus. Marketers need to break the clutter. Ex- “daag achche
hain” is the emotional appeal which Surf Excel used to break in through the
cluttered detergent market and the attention of the consumers went
towards Surf Excel.
Marketers get attention by using a unique size or colour, contrast, novelty
of the stimuli of the consumers as the they (consumers) get adaptive to that
kind of stimuli.
Factors leading to adaptation:
1) Intensity: Whether the message intensity by the marketer is less or huge
which impacts the consumer.
2) Duration: Same message (advertisement) by the marketer for a long
duration of time would have more impact on the consumer.
3) Discrimination: Different advertisements or messages by the marketer.
Ex- Fevicol and Redbull show different advertisements after short
durations.
4) Exposure: For how long the product exposure is given to the consumer.
Ex- Maggi has a huge exposure to the audience for a long duration of
time.
5) Relevance: Models or themes that give relevance to the product that the
marketer is selling to put up an impact of the product on the consumer.
We interpret the stimuli to which we do pay attention according to learned
patterns in the past and expectations that we have from the product or
brand.
Stimulus Organisation:
1) Closure: We perceive the incomplete picture as a complete picture.
2) Similarity: tendency of consumers to bring similar things together. Ex-
Tea and Parle-G biscuits.
3) Figure- ground: what is the dominating thing we are looking for in the
product.
Interpretation: meaning we assign to sensory stimuli based on a schema.
Subliminal advertisements: Advertisements consisting of words or phrases
at a very low frequency which could directly have an impact on the
subconscious mind of the consumer like voice texts at a very low frequency
embedded in an advertisement.
Semiotics: Study of symbols and the meaning of these symbols which the
marketer uses to give a meaning to the products they are selling.
Ex- the symbol of Nike gives a meaning of performance.