Consumer Behavior

“CASE-STUDY”
CASE-STUDY 1
"Hi, I'm a Mac... and I'm a PC." You probably know this successful TV campaign that features
a very smart, cool Mac guy and a nerdy PC guy. These ads for Apple's Mac laptops aimed to
grab a big chunk of the personal computing business, especially among younger users.
Microsoft fired back as the company tried to separate itself from the undesirable PC-guy
image. Its first attempt; a quirky campaign featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Windows
founder Bill Gates, failed to move the sales needle. Microsoft had more success with the “I'm
a PC ad" that featured testimonials claiming allegiance to PCs from all sorts of PC users,
ranging from celebrities to an adorable 4 1⁄2-year-old. Still, it's an uphill battle: For a
generation of consumers raised on cool products like the iPod and the iPad, it's a tough sell to
shake Apple's spell. Although PCs still have the majority of market share, a growing number
of Macs show up on college campuses every fall.
In the spring of 2011, Microsoft tried a new tactic: A student who purchased a PC for $699 or
more received a free Xbox. He or she only needed to walk into Best Buy with a college ID or
email address and walk out carrying a PC along with an Xbox with a retail value of
approximately $300. Compared to a Mac that starts at $999, this bundle offered an attractive
value proposition to students who were also into gaming.
Is this a simple pricing promotion, or part of a more elaborate branding strategy? The Xbox
represents the "fun" side of Microsoft's personality, so this bundle might help to reposition
Microsoft away from the awkward office-worker stereotype and closer to Apple's cool image
among members of this crucial market segment.
Microsoft is still evaluating the results of the promotion. Marketers continue to debate the
effectiveness of "free” offers. Assuming that the promotion drives short-term sales of PCs,
will it also influence long-term loyalty? What does this bundling mean for the Xbox, the
current market leader in gaming consoles within the college market? With a free Xbox as an
option in the marketplace, will college students be less willing to pay $300 for a stand-alone
Xbox console? Finally, the question remains whether a free console is like a free cell phone
from your wireless company, where the revenues come from add-on purchases in the form of
talk minutes. Will Microsoft still profit from those free units through game purchases, online
subscriptions, accessories, and loyalty to future Xbox consoles? How will the new tablets that
combine features of gaming consoles and laptops affect all of this?
QUESTION 1: What characteristics of extended problem solving are involved in a computer
purchase?
QUESTION 2: How might the free Xbox offer influence a consumer's mental accounting and
perceived risk?
QUESTION 3: How might Apple be creating a heuristic for its consumers?
Answer
Q1 - When а соnsumer соmmits signifiсаnt time tо the соmраrаtive рrосess аnd reviews рriсe,
wаrrаnties, terms аnd соnditiоn оf sаle аnd оther feаtures it is sаid thаt they аre invоlved in
extended рrоblem sоlving. Аlsо соmрuter рurсhаse саn be disruрted by оther fасtоrs suсh
аs;
Negаtive feedbасk оf оthers аnd оur level оf mоtivаtiоn tо соmрly оr ассeрt the feedbасk. Fоr
exаmрle, аfter gоing thrоugh the need reсоgnitiоn, infоrmаtiоn seаrсh, аnd аlternаtive
evаluаtiоn stаges, оne might сhооse tо buy а Dell product, but а сlоse examiner might shаre
negаtive feedbасk, whiсh соuld drаstiсаlly influenсe рersоnаl рreferenсe.
The deсisiоn mаy be disruрted due tо а situаtiоn thаt оne did nоt аntiсiраte, suсh аs lоsing а
jоb оr а retаil stоre сlоsing dоwn.
Q2 - The соmраny hаs been sending оut emаils tо “fаns” аnd surрrising them with free gifts,
inсluding Xbоx Оne соnsоles аnd gаmes, due tо their lоyаlty. The оnly wаy tо get а free
subsсriрtiоn is tо tаke аdvаntаge оf triаls. There аre аlsо sрeсiаl bundles thаt оffer Gаme Раss
ассess аt а disсоunted rаte. These deаls саn sаve yоu sоme seriоus mоney, sо be sure tо сheсk
them аll оut.
Providing free xbox can motivate and confuse the customers.
Getting a free xbox will be excitig for many people and they will so definiely buy the laptop
for availing the offer.
But at the same time they can doubt about the quality of laptop or xbox since it is given as
free.
Q3 - А heuristiс is аn аррrоасh tо рrоblem sоlving оr self-disсоvery thаt emрlоys а рrасtiсаl
methоd thаt is nоt neсessаrily рerfeсt, but suffiсient fоr reасhing аn immediаte gоаl. Think оf
heuristiсs аs mentаl ‘shоrt-сuts’ tо reduсe mоre соmрlex рrосesses intо simрler judgmentаl
орerаtiоns tо reduсe deсisiоn friсtiоn. They оffer effiсient аnd mоst-оften ассurаte sоlutiоns
tо reсurring рrоblems. Deсisiоn Heuristiсs аre а brаnd’s best friend аnd саn turn even аn
exрensive аnd extended deсisiоn-mаking рrосess intо а nоminаl оne, suсh аs in the саse оf
Аррle соmрuters.
Tо соmрete fоr а limited number оf соnsumer dоllаrs, соmраnies use а vаriety оf mаrketing
аnd аdvertising tасtiсs. Аlthоugh there mаy initiаlly аррeаr tо be а рlethоrа оf different tасtiсs,
ассоrding tо leаding sосiаl рsyсhоlоgists, effeсtive tасtiсs аre rооted in а smаll number оf
рersuаsiоn рrinсiрles . The six sсientifiсаlly-vаlidаted рsyсhоlоgiсаl рrinсiрles thаt аррeаr tо
be deрlоyed rоutinely in lоng-рrоsрering, suссessful businesses inсlude reсiрrосаtiоn, liking,
аuthоrity, sсаrсity, соnsistenсy, аnd соnsensus (sосiаl рrооf.)
CASE-STUDY 2
Fast and Furious 9 is coming soon on Mar 2022. You and your friend intend to come to a
cinema to watch this movie.

Could you please analyze your decision-making process to choose a cinema? (3 marks)
Based on your understanding of consumer behavior on choosing the cinema, in your opinion,
which stage of decision-making process is the most important for the marketer who want to
attach the Gen Z customer through advertising campaign to come to your cinema and watch
the movie? Explain why?
Answer
a) Decision making process 5 stages of buying behavior:
1. Identity Identification
▪ The movie Fast and Furious 9 is about to hit theaters in July 2022. My friends and I
scheduled to see this movie before because the whole group was very excited about this
movie.
2. Information search
▪ Search theaters Search movie information on movie theater websites.
▪ Learn about the actors and content of the movie.
▪ Find out the show start date / show date ticket price.
▪ Find out about pricing policies and promotions (for example: Which combo makes them
feel better than the theater; Movie theaters have extra corn or free cans of coke for
specific combos; coupons for loyal customers, students under 22 years old, weekday
promotions).
▪ Learn about the space at the cinema (Spacious, comfortable space, ...)
 ▪ Find out about the service quality of the staff (see if the attitude is gentle and
enthusiastic? Is the staff behavior good?)
▪ Learn about payment methods (such as on-site or online payment: momo, zalopay,
internet banking, shopee pay,....)
▪ Find out about cleaning services at the theater (customers will consider whether the seats
in the theater are cleaned or not, the seats are dirty or not, the theater has a bad smell,
...)
▪ Learn about screen technology, sound, movies (for example: Customers will focus on
choosing theaters with large screens, good sound quality; moreover, theaters include
many theater technologies such as: SCREENX, IMAX, STARDIUM, 4DX, DOLBY
ATMOS)
3. Evaluation of alternatives
▪ At this point in the consumer decision-making process, prospective buyers have
developed criteria for what we want in a product. Once the consumer has determined
what will satisfy their want or need we will begin to begin to seek out the best deal. This
may be based on price, quality, or other factors that are important for them.
▪ We will compare the movie ticket prices like discounts and promotion or is that place
convenient and stuck in traffic
4. Product choice
▪ After tallying up all the criteria for the decision the customers now decide on what we
will purchase and where. We have already talking risk into account and are definite on
what we want to purchase.
▪ Decided to go to the movies at the weekend based on the reviews in the steps above.
5. Result
▪ How would you rate the theater (food, sound, air conditioning,...)
▪ Evaluate employee's attitude
▪ Evaluate good or bad movies, meet the needs of the criteria you give
b) In my opinion, in the stage of decision-making process is “Information Search” is the
most important. Because for the genZ generation, when searching for information on social
networking platforms, they will consider and offer many different methods to compare, hoping
to find theaters with better travel conditions, prices affordable,... Watching movies is easy, as
long as the theater has a lot of reviews or a lot of bad information, it will make genZ think
again, hitting the customer's mentality is genZ, then the theater will have to pay more attention
to the theater quality and accompanying services to give genZ a better experience.
Because GenZ is a department that is very susceptible to external influences on their buying
behavior. With today's wide reach, just seeing a famous person, a favorite reviewer
recommend a certain product, GenZ can easily generate a need to own that product even if
they really don't need it. They are strongly influenced by the information Searchbefore
deciding to buy product.
c) Advertising channels should the marketer choose for advertising: (Nếu đề có yêu
cầu làm Advertising channels thì hả chép câu này vào nha “AHIHI đồ ngốc”)
▪ Social Networking (Tiktok, run ads on Youtube, ads on Facebook,…)
▪ Outdoor (standee placed in crowed places) - Electronic boards
▪ Influence (KOL, KOC on Tiktok,..)
CASE-STUDY 3
In order to reach young users in early 2020, Viettel telecommunications brand has launched a
music clip "Làm Gì Phải Hốt" with the participation of a series of famous names in showbiz
such as Công Lý, JustaTee, Đen Vâu and Hoàng Thùy Linh.
"Làm Gì Phải Hốt" has succeeded in highlighting the outstanding features of Viettel Pay
application by honestly describing our picture on Tet Holiday. Thanks to the catchy and bold
music of "Tet", funny scenes and lyrics, the video quickly reached the Top 1 Trending Youtube
milestone after exactly 4 days of its release, becoming the only promotional MV of Tet 2020
to reach the No. 1 trending position.

Questions:
1. Applying the theory of subcultures, please explain why the clip was successful in
attracting youngsters?
2. Generation Z is the subculture that watches the least amount of television and therefore
are not expose to as many commercials as other groups. What can marketers do to
effectively communicate with this group?
Answer
Questions 1:
Subculture means an identifiable subgroup within a society or group of people, especially
one characterized by beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger group.
The program Tao Quan temporarily stopped broadcasting in 2020, generating many regrets
among Vietnamese audiences, particularly today's youth, who cannot see the Tao Quan as
missing something extremely significant on the 30th night of the New Year. In the traditional
Tet festival, this is very important. ViettelPay took advantage of the chance and launched a
multi-channel marketing campaign, with the major hook being the music video "Lam gi phai
hot' featuring actor Cong Ly's Tao Quan, which also served to capture more consumers'
attention.
The MV expertly exaggerates tough Tet scenarios through scenes of Vietnamese families
doing their best, with the presence of notable artists such as Hong Thuy Linh, actors Cong Ly,
Justatee, and Den Vau. Tet is approaching.
The smart and hilarious lyrics contributed to the success of the song.
Moreover, The MV 'Lam gi phai hot' was able to win over young people because to its amusing
and humorous lyrics. Hong Thuy Linh, Justatee, and Den Vau, all of whom have become well-
known in recent years for their high-quality music, have also helped to distribute the video.
Questions 2:
Generation Z represents 32% of the world's population, they have grown up with mobile
phones, digital tablets and cannot remember a time without the Internet.
Gen Z watches the least TV and is exposed to advertisements from different sources, so in
order to reach them (marketers) they must understand what issues they are interested in, how
much time they spend tracking those issues. issue and how they discuss it.
- It is also noted that, generally speaking, humans retain 20% of a text they have read as
opposed to 80% of an image.
- The marketer should be favour video content over text content. Video is a simple and fun
way to get a message across, and is much more likely to be shared by a large number of people.
- The marketer must be create unique TikTok, Snap and Instagrammable opportunities. Work
with influencers, ditch the script and let their creativity speak organically.
CASE-STUDY 4
Martin Incorporation was a company carrying on business in cosmetics and perfumes. It was
not following the marketing concept and was catering to a target market which was using its
products. In other words, it only concentrated on what it would make, and did not bother about
changes in preferences of its target market.
It was later joined by Mr. Ash, a marketing graduate who advised the company regarding the
changing consumer preferences, and the changes that were necessary to be incorporated in the
product. He emphasized upon the income factors and social factors only. He modernized the
products to a great extent, and invested about 30 lakhs on new packing, etc. Even after six
months of these changes brought about by him, the company did not seem to have a
proportionate increase in sales.
The assistant manager and the product manager were not very happy with the changes and
thought that although an effort has been made in the right direction, some important factors
concerning consumer behavior had been neglected.
QUESTION 1: Do you agree with the assistant and product manager and why?
QUESTION 2: What other factors if any could have been considered?
Answer
Martin Incorporation was involved in the cosmetics and perfume business. The company was
following the product concept of marketing and catered only to their existing customers, while
paying no attention to the changing needs and demands of the consumers. A marketing
graduate, named Ash, joined the company and advised the company about necessary changes
that must be made in the product on the basis of changing taste and preferences of consumers
to successfully sell the company`s products. Mr Ash modernised the products and spent about
30 lakhs on packaging etc. on the basis of relevant income and social factors that affect the
consumers. The product manager and assistant manager were not happy with the efforts made
by Mr Ash as even after 6 months of implementation of suggested changes the company was
not able to achieve effective growth in sales. The product manager and Assistant manager were
of the opinion that although some progress was made by Mr Ash, yet many important factors
affecting consumer behaviour were also neglected by him.
Answer QUESTION 1: Yes, I agree with the product manager and assistant manager
that efforts were made in the right direction, but many factors affecting consumer behaviour
were ignored. The reasons being the following:
1) The company was using the product concept of marketing which is out dated in today`s era
as now producers manufacture products that match consumer`s demand, tastes and
preferences. Therefore, Mr Ash should have focused on the Marketing concept to produce and
market products accordingly.
2) The target audience was limited to the existing customers of the company. Various new
markets must be explored to increase sales. Effective target marketing is essential to promote
and position the product effectively in the market. For example:
‒ Grooming products for men
‒ Safe and chemical free cosmetics for babies
‒ Organic and herbal cosmetics for women
3) The market for cosmetics was not effectively segmented by Mr Ash. Cosmetics market can
be segmented effectively by dividing the market into groups which are homogenous within
and heterogeneous among themselves on the basis of their age, gender, occupation etc. For
e.g. Market can be segmented into:
‒ Working women, Housewife, Teenage girls
‒ Daily consumers, Beauty Parlours, Film Industry
‒ Rich people, Middle class people, Low income group
4) While attention was paid to income and social factors many personal factors such as Age,
Occupation, Lifestyle, personality of a consumer were neglected. For e.g.
‒ Age: Working women, elderly women, Teenage girls all have different needs.
‒ Income: The rich pay more attention to how they look than people with less income.
‒ Occupation: A Housewife has simple beauty needs as she stays at home most of the time
while a working lady has more intensive beauty needs as she goes out of the home every day
and has to look presentable in the office.
‒ Personality: Traditional women and Modern women both have different needs. Some prefer
expensive perfumes while some use natural fragrances like ‘itra’.
‒ Attitude: People have different attitude towards chemicals in beauty products.
‒ Some prefer it while some dislike it and prefer herbal and organic products.
‒ Lifestyle: While urban people make use of deodorants and perfumes to smell good, rural
population prefers use of soaps, sandalwood and itr to smell good.
5) Keeping the income factors in mind no changes were made in product quantities i.e. small
units of previous products. Keeping in mind the social factors no efforts were made to use
opinion leaders like celebrities or doctors which would have been more effective in influencing
sales than change in product packaging.
6) Existing products were modernised while no attention was paid to new product development
for new potential markets in cosmetics industries. For e.g. Grooming products for men.
7) No efforts were made to advertise the products to targeted audience or reposition the brand
according to the changing customer taste and preferences. No offers, discounts or sales
promotion activities were carried out by Mr Ash to boost sales.
Answer QUESTION 2: Other Factors that should have been considered are:
1) Age – Babies, Teenagers, Middle aged people and elderly all have different needs and
requirements related to cosmetics and beauty products. Therefore the target audience could
have been segmented on the basis of age of consumers.
2) Occupation – Working ladies v/s Housewife, Clerical staff v/s Top management, Daily
consumer v/s consumers from Fashion Industry While a housewife, a normal clerk and daily
consumer may have nominal needs and demand basic products, working ladies, Directors and
CEO`s of a company, make-up artists, beauticians, film stars may have specific needs and high
demand for beauty products. Products could have been designed and developed for one or few
segments on the basis of their occupation.
3) Standard of Living – Rural v/s Urban People, Low income group v/s High income Group
While rural people and low income groups may make use of soaps and traditional products,
urban people and the high income group are more inclined towards expensive beauty products.
Different products could have been developed for both the segments and different pricing
strategies could have been followed.
4) Perception & Attitude – Chemicals v/s Organic/Herbal products While some people
perceive beauty products negatively due to chemical ingredients in them some people
recommend them. Market share for both chemicals and organic products could have been
analysed and the more profitable market could have been targeted.
5) Involvement – Normal consumers v/s Film Industry Consumer segments like make-up
artists, beauticians, film starts will have a high involvement in buying beauty products than
normal consumers. Therefore depending upon the target market packaging and labelling
strategies should have been made.
6) Culture – Due to different cultural norms regarding appearances laid down by different
religions, men and women of a particular religion dress up and make use of specific cosmetic
products. For e.g. Hindu, Jain and Bengali women use ‘sindoor’ and ‘Bindi’ while Muslim
women do not, Sikh men don’t use shaving products as they are not allowed to cut hair, Many
Jain men and women use white tikka.
7) Opinion Leaders – Celebrities and Doctors act as effective opinion leaders for cosmetics
and beauty products which could have been used and their impact on the sales, brand value
and price could have been analysed.
Personality and Self-concept – Alpha Males v/s Passive males, Feminine v/s Tomboyish girls
While alpha males and feminine girls may use and encourage use of beauty products while
passive males and tomboyish girls may like to stay raw and refrain from using beauty products.
 CASE STUDY 5
WE ONLY SEE WHAT WE WANT TO SEE
It was on Sunday morning last week when Khang and Kim, a lovely just-married couple, hung
out at a nice coffee shop nearby their house in District 2.
“Wow, Khang, look at this! I don’t know that my phone can do this!” excitingly Kim told her
husband. Khang smiled at her, “Yes, really!”, and kept watching his favourite MU team
playing against Chelsea on the big-sized TV placed in the middle of the outdoor cafeteria area.
“Hey, Khang, I heard that FPT shop is having promotion for anything Iphone-new-owner.
Shall we go there?” yet stopping, Kim added, “I also want to stop by somewhere to get my
phone laminated with nano-shield protection, I read about it on the news.”
"Let’s go, honey!" Kim said, pinching Khang’s arm.
“Why go home early?” Khang said, “and we haven’t finished the coffee.” He tried to finish
his half-burned cigarette after taking a sip of coffee. Smoke got into the couple’s eyes.
“We’re not going home,” Kim looked at Khang, “Why do you keep smoking? Don’t you see
the awful picture of the cancered heart printed on your cigarette box!” She got irritated.
“What picture, where?”, Khang answered Kim while waving hand to the waiter. “I do not
notice it.” Khang smiled to Kim.
“OK! Let’s go.” Khang told Kim. “And where do we go?” He laughed…
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Based on the Personal Selection Factors, explain the behaviour of the wife Kim in the
context.
2. Based on the Personal Selection Factors, explain the behaviour of the husband Khang
in the context.
Answer
• Kim is a loving wife and she is very much concerned of the habit and health of her
husband. She is very good woman and she likes to get her husband at home and she does not
want to spend her intimate time with her husband at the public place. She does not like the place
like coffee house. She wants to stop the smoking of her husband she she tries to make him
understand how it causes cancer. She does not object to any wish or her husband. But she wants
her husband healthy and good. She does not show any bitterness or anger. She is very tender
and loves her family.
• Khang is also a good husband. He greatly loves his wife Kim. He gives importance the
opinion of his wife and like to maintain his commitment. He also agrees to the wish of Kim and
he likes to spend time with his wife. He values the love and desire of his wife and honestly
confesses that he did not notice the warning picture on the cigarette packet. He accepts what his
wife says and he also maintains good relationship wirh his wife.
CASE STUDY 6
BB Water
Mr. Vu was the director of BB Water. He started his business with capital borrowed from
members of his family. Thereafter, however, Mr. Vu’s family had very limited involvement in
the business. Mr. Vu emerged as the most individualistic of the family. He seemed to have
sole control of his business. For example, after describing how he set up the bottling plant and
negotiated with government officials to get the necessary papers, he said: “I also had to do
almost everything myself. At the beginning I bought the land, designed the buildings, and
supervised the construction.
I had to interview and train each person. Also, I had to discipline people.” He explained that
he could not delegate discipline because workers would ‘react’ if they were admonished by
“anyone but the boss, the owner of the company”.
Discuss the difference in behavior, attitude, perception and business culture between Mr.
Vu, his family, and employees.
Answer
Mr. Vu is a bossy boss. He want to control everything himself, from setting up the bottling
plant to hiring and training workers.
His family had very limited involvement in the business maybe because Mr Vu’s personality.
Mr. Vu is the most individualistic of the family, he seemed to have sole control of his business
and he does not let people interfere in his work.
The employee only agreed to be disciplined by Mr. Vu. This happened because the employees
were only used to obeyed orders from Mr Vu, Mr Vu's personalization has created the culture
of the whole company that everything has to go through him, if there is any problem. If anyone
but Mr Vu manages the work, the workers would ‘react’.