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Consumer Behavior
Roger D. Blackwell
Paul W. Miniard
James F. Engel
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COPYRIGHT
COPYRIGHT © 2005
© 2005
Thomson
Thomson
South-Western,
South-Western,
a parta part
of The
of The
Thomson
Thomson
Corporation.
Corporation.
Thomson,
Thomson,
the Star
the Star
logo,logo,
and South-Western
and South-Western
are trademarks
are used herein
undertrademarks
license. used herein under license.
CHAPTER 9
Consumer Knowledge
COPYRIGHT
COPYRIGHT © 2005
© 2005
Thomson
Thomson
South-Western,
South-Western,
a parta part
of The
of The
Thomson
Thomson
Corporation.
Corporation.
Thomson,
Thomson,
the Star
the Star
logo,logo,
and South-Western
and South-Western
are trademarks
are used herein
undertrademarks
license. used herein under license.
Importance of Consumer Knowledge
COPYRIGHT © 2005 Thomson South-Western, a part of The Thomson Corporation. Thomson, the Star logo, and South-Western are
What we know or don’t know
strongly influences our decision-
making processes
It affects how decisions are
made
It may determine the final
decision itself
Consumer Knowledge Affects
Product Demand
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights
Knowledge about a brand’s
associations (linkages in memory
between the brand and other
concepts) can affect consumer
behavior in many ways
Different Brand Associations Have
Different Effects on Consumers
Source: A. Belen del Rio, Rodolfo Vacquez, and Victor Iglesias, “The Effects of Brand Associations on Consumer Response,” Journal of
Consumer Marketing, 18 (2001), 410–425.
Knowledge shapes inferences
about unknown product attributes
using known product attributes
Knowledge about competitors’
prices can determine consumer
acceptance of a company’s price
Knowledge can influence
consumer response to
salespeople
Types of Consumer Knowledge
Product Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Consumption and Usage Knowledge
Persuasion Knowledge
Self-Knowledge
Product Knowledge
Product Knowledge
Represents information stored in
consumers’ memory about a
general product category
Product Knowledge
Represents information stored in
consumers’ memory about
products
Can be divided into product
category knowledge (i.e.,
knowledge about a general
product category) and brand
knowledge (i.e., knowledge about
a brand in the product category)
Product Knowledge
Product Category Knowledge
Product novices possess very
simply levels of product
category knowledge
Product experts possess vast
amounts of product category
knowledge
Product Knowledge
Brand Knowledge
Whether the consumer is aware
of the brand or not is the most
fundamental aspect of brand
knowledge
Product Knowledge
Creating knowledge of the brand’s
existence is a challenge facing:
New products in the current
market
Americans’ Awareness of New
Products in 2004
Product Knowledge
market
Established brands and
companies in the current market
Product Knowledge
market
companies in the current market
companies in new markets
Product Knowledge
Assessing Awareness
Product Knowledge
Assessing Awareness
Recall: which brands can be
retrieved from memory
Top-of-the-mind awareness: the
particular brand that is
remembered first
Product Knowledge
Assessing Awareness
Recall: which brands can be
retrieved from memory
Top-of-the-mind awareness: the
particular brand that is
remembered first
Recognition: identify familiar
brands from a list
Product Knowledge
Assessing Awareness
Choosing the best indicator of
knowledge depends on whether
consumers construct their
consideration sets based on
recall or recognition
Product Knowledge
Brand image: defined by entire array
of associations activated from
memory when consumers think about
a brand
May involve product attributes and
associations
May also include endorsers, ad
campaigns, symbols, product
slogans, etc.
Linking Brands to Product Slogans
Product Knowledge
Image analysis: involves examining
the current set of brand associations
that exist in the marketplace
Identify attributes and associations
that come to mind about the brand
Assess strengths of associations
Examine what an association
represents in the consumer’s psyche
Product Knowledge
Perceptual Mapping: image analysis
that derives brand images from
consumers’ similarity judgments
Consumers judge the similarity of
brands examined in the analysis
Brands perceived as similar are
located close together on the
perceptual map
Placement of the “ideal brand” may
suggest new products
Hypothetical Perceptual Map
Product Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Encompasses the various pieces
of information consumers
possess about buying products
Includes information about the
product’s price, where it can be
purchased, and whether it can be
purchased less expensively later
Purchase Knowledge
How much does it cost?
Knowledge about typical range of prices
for a product helps consumer evaluate
fairness of the price of a particular
brand
Businesses are concerned about the
accuracy of consumers’ price
knowledge and what consumers know
about their competitors’ prices (relative
price knowledge)
Purchase Knowledge
When to buy?
Knowledge about when a product
typically goes on sale may delay
purchase
May determine when new innovations
are purchased—many consumers do
not purchase new innovations when
introduced because they believe the
price will drop over time
Purchase Knowledge
Where to buy?
Knowledge about where to buy a
product guides purchase decisions
Includes knowledge about where
product is located in the store—when
consumers are unfamiliar with store
layout, they rely more on in-store
information
Creating Knowledge
about Where to Buy
Product Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Consumption & Usage Knowledge
Encompasses the information in
memory about how a product can
be consumed and what is
required to actually use it
Consumers are unlikely to buy a
product when they lack
information about how to use it
Creating Usage Knowledge
Sometimes consumer have
incomplete information about
different ways a product can be
consumed
Care must be taken in selecting
new uses for an existing product
so not to lower its appeal
Expanding Usage Knowledge
Product Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Information about what
consumers know about the goals
and tactics of those trying to
persuade them
Persuasion knowledge influences
how consumers respond to
persuasion attempts
Knowledge about a particular
tactic may eliminate its
effectiveness
Product Knowledge
Purchase Knowledge
Self-Knowledge
Self-Knowledge
A person’s understanding of
one’s own mental processes
Can the consumer accurately
assess and report the importance
of product attributes used in the
decision process?
Companies are better off relying
on the results of statistical
models than those reported by
consumers
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Personal versus Impersonal
Business versus Nonbusiness
Controlled
Consumers’ Sources of Knowledge
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Business sources of knowledge
are often viewed with suspicion
Consumers have more faith in

personal knowledge sources that
are not controlled by businesses
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Differing credibility of sources
Relative influence of product
sources depends on the type of
information conveyed
Perceptions of Media Credibility
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Experience from buying and consuming
a product
Direct experience increases confidence
in knowledge and makes it more likely to
be used in making decisions
Companies may adjust their marketing
strategies when targeting consumers
lacking direct experience with the
product
Sources of Consumer
Knowledge
Companies need to decide which source
to use when delivering their messages
Essential that the company monitor
what is being transmitted to consumers
about them
Monitoring Media Coverage
Benefits of Understanding
Consumer Knowledge
Consumer Knowledge
Gauging Positioning Success
Consumer Knowledge
Gauging Positioning Success
By examining a product’s image
among target consumers, a
company can determine its success
in achieving the desired image
among consumers?
Consumer Knowledge
Identifying Purchase Barriers
Consumer Knowledge
Can occur due to a lack of
knowledge
Knowledge gaps: an absence of
information in memory
Firms need to identify knowledge
gaps which undermine product
purchase
Knowledge gaps may exist for new
and existing products
Educating Consumers
Consumer Knowledge
Can occur due to a lack of
knowledge
Can occur due to inaccurate
knowledge (misperceptions)
Consumer Knowledge
Misperceptions
Can occur in many areas including
knowledge of the brand, company,
product, or product’s price
Fixing misperceptions requires
changing how the product is
perceived
Consumer Knowledge
Discovering New Uses
Consumer Knowledge
Consumers often develop new ways
of using a product
New Product Uses
Consumer Knowledge
Consumers often develop new ways
of using a product
Companies may find that these new
uses can be promoted as a means of
broadening a product’s appeal
Consumer Knowledge
Gauging the Severity of
Competitive Threats
Consumer Knowledge
Gauging the Severity of
Competitive Threats
How much do consumers know
about competitive products?
Understanding what consumers
know about competitive brands can
guide marketing activities with
respect to those competitive brands
Consumer Knowledge
Enhancing the Effectiveness of
Customer Recruitment Activities
Consumer Knowledge
Enhancing the Effectiveness of
Customer Recruitment Activities
What product changes are needed to
attract competitors’ customers?
How might these changes best be
accomplished? Advertising, personal
sales, or public relations?
Should sales messages focus on
technical information or easy to
understand product attributes?
Implications for Public Policy
Safeguarding and improving
consumer welfare is the primary
concern
Policies and legislation aimed at
protecting the uninformed
consumer
Includes areas such as appropriate
disclosure of information and
educating consumers

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