Consumer Decision Making Model

Consumer Decision Making Model The consumers decision making model deals with the process of consumer decision making. This model consists of three stages the Input stage; the Process stage and the out put stage. The input stage can be broadly categorized into Firms efforts and Socio-cultural Environment. The firms efforts relate to the firms marketing mix, i.e. Product, Promotion, Price, Channels of Distribution, People and Physical evidence. This stage involves the activities the firm undergoes to sell their products. Socio-cultural environment on the other hand is the environment of friends, family, society, culture and sub culture that surround a consumer. The input stage affects a consumers decision making. The decision-making is the second stage called process. In this stage the consumer does him pre-purchase research and evaluation based on the firms efforts and socio-cultural environment. The firms efforts and socio-cultural environment influence a consumers psychological field. The psychological field consists of Motivation, Perception, Learning, Attitude and Personality of a consumer. This stage also evaluates the past experience of the consumer. The final stage in the consumer decision-making is the Output stage. This stage is concerned with the actual purchase, repurchase and the purchase evauation. Cognitive View Cognitive View explains decision making from the thinking problem solvers perspective. According to Cognitive view, decision-making is an emotional or reasoning process, which can be rational or irrational and can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions. The most important characteristic of this view is that, a consumer is in pursuit of information until a satisfactory solution is found. Once the satisfactory solution is found, the process of collecting information is terminated. Problem solving view defines a consumer who lies between the two extremes of passive and economic view. It is believed that a consumer cannot have all the knowledge of all the alternative products. Hence the consumers decisions are not perfect. But nevertheless the consumer actively seeks information and attempts to make satisfactory decision. In a cognitive view, the consumer has a predefined goal. The next step is action plan or way to achieve the goal. The third step is implementation of this action plan and controlling it. The final step is attainment or failure of Goal. Consumer Decision Making and Cognitive Learning. As defined earlier, the first step in any decision-making is a need reorganization or goal. A consumers cognitive learning is related to pre-purchase search and evaluation of alternatives. For example, if a person is looking to buy a car he will first decide what features does he want in his vehicle. Whether his first preference is safety or performance. Based on this evaluation he will evaluate various car models available in the market. The consumers psychological field will come into play once he has identified his goal. The cognitive learning combined with attitude, personality and previously will form a perception in a consumers mind. This perception will thus motivate a consumer make a purchase decision. Marketers Efforts A firms marketing efforts play a very important role in influencing cognitive learning process. Over the years the marketers has provided the consumers with information to make them believe that they have sufficient knowledge and thus spur the decision making process. The best example of this can be seen as the Free or Sale adverts. These adverts convey that something is free or there is a sale on. This Free or Sale sticker on the window display of store is enough to attract the consumers inside the store. Marketers have used Promotional Model and Diffusion of Innovation to influence the consumers cognitive learning. The promotional model focuses on Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. The Sale sign is to attract the costumers attention. Up to 50% off written under the sale sign is to create interest. Store design and reduced prices to instigate the desire and marketing campaign to cause Action. There is silent need of a consumer to buy clothes. The moment the consumer comes across the Sale sign, the final piece of information is received that instigates action. The marketers over time introduce new technology and new products, using the Innovation Diffusion, to affect the persons cognitive learning and thus drive sales. Various automotive companies use the cognitive model to understand their customer and hence sell their cars. The purchases such as cars, which are expensive, are generally well thought out. The customers generally do a through pre-purchase research and evaluate their alternatives before making the purchase. Hence to attract these customers, the marketers promote their products with test drives, and other adverts that focus mainly on the features of the vehicles. Hierarchy of Needs It can be argued that people looking to satisfying self-actualization need may need complete information about a product. Their cognitive learning process may vary from that of those aiming to satisfying physiological, safety, social and esteem needs. But nevertheless, cognitive learning is ideal for satisfying every need on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. The degree of information gathered might vary, but learning and information processing will be constant at each level. Passive View Passive view believes that can be manipulated by self-serving interests and promotional efforts of the marketers. To a certain extent this model can be believed to be true. But the passive model does not recognize that a consumer plays an equal role in making the purchase decision. The consumer does make pre-purchase search and evaluation before buying goods. This model can be applicable in case of B2C where the customer is absolutely unaware of good and the marketer is in position to manipulate the consumers. This is mainly evident in case of tourists. Local sellers and marketers in many places often manipulate tourists. Since the tourists have very little market and product knowledge, sales people can manipulate them. In case of B2B application of passive model is highly debatable, as business men and companies generally go through a through research and back ground check before buying their desired products. There are of course certain extra-ordinary incidents, when due to lack of time or resources B2B buyers can also be manipulated. Consumer Decision Making and Passive View In the passive view model the marketers generally use their marketing mix to influence the consumers perception, personality, learning, attitude and motivate the consumer to buy the product. Innovation Acceptance Model and Innovation Decision Model are being effectively used to influence the consumers psychological field and hence instigate the consumer to buy a particular product. Marketers Efforts Apple Inc for example, have been using the Passive view combined with the Innovation Diffusion to sale their products. They came up with Ipad in 2010 and with extensive and unique marketing mix managed to sell it well, now as of 24th March 2011; people are already queuing for the Ipad 2. It is nothing but belief in the passive model that is driving the sale of various electronic innovations in todays world. There are various other companies that make an effective use of passive view. The most notable among these are the high street fashion design labels. These retailer introduce their seasonal fashion, they popularize it using their extensive marketing campaign and sell them successfully at a profit. Louis Vuitton for example have been following a concept of retro marketing and selling their products to the customers at a high price and particular trademark design. Economic View Economic view believes in a world of perfect competition, where consumers make rational decisions all the time. In the true sense of the world this model is inappropriate as there can never be a situation of perfect competition. Besides it is also not possible for the consumer to make rational decisions all the time. Because for making rational decisions a consumer will have to be aware of all the products in the market, all possible alternatives and their features. Having all this information is literally impossible in todays fast changing world. Consumer Decision Making and Economic view The consumers economic decisions are mainly influenced by their needs, attitude, personality, cultural environment, and marketers efforts. The economists believe that the decline in price of a product will increase the demand. It is not always true. The consumers consider the price as something they have to give up for the product. So the decision depends on the need for the product. Maslows hierarchy of needs depict the security and psychological needs as a set of desires which forces buyers to focus more on food, shelter, family and safety rather than price. The attitude and personality also come into action during the decision making process. This has been clearly reflected in Maslows esteem needs. The economic view of a buyer with an attitude of self respect and esteem concentrate on their possessions. And the spotlight on the product and not the price influences their decisions. For instance, buying premium range clothes boasts the buyers esteem and attention from others. Consumers with this attitude may fall under the category of materialistic people. The economic view of a buyer depends on their personality of seeking for the potential and value of the product. Buyers satisfy their actualization needs by comparing price and quality of the product with the available alternatives. The psychological traits sets the The cross-cultural analysis reveals the fact that the benefits of products or services consumed differ from one country to another. For instance, possessing premium cars in Africa portrays ones esteem in the society. The marketers still consider that the consumers economic vision towards a product has little real life application. It is unlikely that the consumer will be aware of the knowledge of all the alternatives. The consumer with an economic view conducts an extensive decision making through comparing. So the marketers come up with tactical pricing strategies illustrating discounts and offers to motivate the stimuli of the consumers effectively. However, in B2B market it is different. The business markets have well-organized resources to attain the knowledge and the potential of the products and services. Marketers Efforts Various marketers have been using the low pricing and the economic view to attract their target market and thus increase their sales. The Pound stores in the UK and Dollar Stores in the United States of America are the examples of use of economic model. Various and frequent sales and low pricing offers by the companies to increase their sales are also examples of economic view. Primark would be an ideal example of a company that tries to make best of the economic view model. The company sells its merchandize at prices, which are lowest in the market. The quality of the products though, is not as good as other in the same market. Emotional View Emotional view believes in targeting emotions and impulse of the consumers. This view believes that there are certain feelings or emotions like joy, love fear fantasy etc attached to every purchase of the consumers A consumers is less likely to do pre-purchase evaluation and search before emotional purchase. Consumer Decision Making and Emotional View An emotional view model deals with the personality and attitude of the consumer. The emotions of a consumer attached to a particular product motivate the consumer to make a particular decision. Over the years the marketers have used emotions in the their adverts and marketing campaign to influence the personality and the attitude of the consumer. Marketers Efforts Over the years football clubs have sold their merchandize on the basis of the emotional view. The various holiday packages use emotions to attract the customers. My real-estate seller promote their homes and other properties with a tag line Your Home etc just to attract the emotional aspect to their product. The Body Shop has been using the emotional model attract its consumers. The company portrayed itself as more humanitarian than the others in the same industry, by campaigning against animal testing. Marketers have also been doing various other things with the physical evidence of their stores to attract the emotional feel. In Tesco, there is a scent of fresh bread in the bakery section. The All Saints have designed their stores with a display of old sewing machines and other cloths manufacturing goods of the old times. Hierarchy of Needs The emotional view is about satisfying the self-actualization need of the customer. It is more about doing things or buying things to feel good. But it can be argued that emotional views are also about fulfilling social and esteem needs to a certain extent. Relevance of the above views There have been various criticisms of the economic and the passive view models. These models are extremely opposite of each other. The economic model believes in the existence of perfect competition and the notion that every consumer is fully aware of all the products and their features in the markets. Whereas the passive view model believes that a consumer is fully submissive to the manipulations of the marketers and has not dominance of his own. In true sense of the world both these believes are baseless and surreal. But their presence in the world is possible in certain scenarios. The relevance of the cognitive and emotional models is justifiable. As consumers do tend to make pre-purchase evaluation as well as make decisions based on impulse and emotions. Hence the marketer should use the combination of both cognitive and emotional views to market their products. Alternative theories Freudian Freudian theory believes that an individuals personality is formed as she or he passes through various stages of infant and adulthood. It believes that consumers are initially unaware of the true reasons for buying what they buy. Freud proposed that an individuals personality consists of three interacting systems: Id, superego and ego. Ids are the primitive or the impulsive drives and include physiological needs. Superego is the individuals internal expression of societys moral and ethical code of conduct. Ego is the individuals self-conscience. These factors affect an individuals personality and hence influence his or her purchase decision-making. Neo Freudian Neo Freudian theory believes social relationships are fundamental to formation and development of personality. This theory has divided the individuals personality into three categories, i.e., compliant, aggressive and detached. The individuals with this kind of personality have different purchasing habits and behavior. Traits Theory Trait is any distinct and relatively enduring way in which an individual differs from other individuals. This theory believe that an individuals specific characteristics affect his decision making process. For example, a confident individual is more likely to buy a newly introduced product than a conservative product Marketers Efforts Marketers have used various creative adverts to attract these personality adverts. Nissans tag line Enjoy the ride is targeted toward safety conscious individuals. Nikes Just do it is targeted toward impulsive personality, whereas Mountain Dews Do the Dew marketing campaign is targeted toward the adventurous people. Conclusion There are various factors that affect a consumer, while making a purchase decision. These decisions can be rational or irrational, economy driven or emotion driven. But all these decisions are influence by a consumers motivation, perception, learning, attitude and personality. This in turn is affected by the research and evaluation of the consumer. And all these factors are further influenced by the marketing communication of the firm.

Bill Proposal Essay

A severe mental illness (SMI) is an assembly of mainly psychotic conditions that are, by description, extensive and related to compromised societal functioning. As stated by the surgeon general’s report of 2010, one out of five adults, or nearly 40 million Americans, suffer from some type of psychological disorder annually. In addition, about five percent of the U. S population suffers from chronic mental disorder for instance, bipolar, major depressive disorders, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, (Surgeon General Report, 2010). Most individuals with severe mental ailments have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. Valuations propose that up to 8 million grownups in the US have a mixture of at least one co-occurring psychological condition and substance-related illness in a yearly. In comparison to individuals with a primary mental or substance abuse disorder, individuals with co-occurring disorders tend to be more symptomatic, have multiple health and social problems, and require more costly care, including inpatient hospitalization (Center for Mental Health Services and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2000). Many are at increased risk of homelessness and incarceration. Of the 10 million adults who enter US jails each year, about700, 000 of them have co-occurring disorders (United States Department of Justice Statistics, 1997). In 2000, the Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organization’s research identified the need for a number of systematic improvements to the continuing care processes for vulnerable groups of patients, including those with co-occurring disorders (Fulop et al. , 2000). For example, there has been a lot of deinstitutionalization. Rather than hospitals attempting to meet the health and social needs of patients, this task is now carried out by a variety of primary and secondary health and social care providers. These agencies, often times driven by inadequate resources and limited well trained medical personnel have led to several concerns about untoward incidents involving people with SMI. Repeated official inquiries have linked such concerns to failures to coordinate patient care. (Fulop et al. , 2011). Continuity of care has therefore assumed particular significance in the US behavioral health system and as such, a bill mandating improve delivery and sustainability of care for people with co-occurring disorders will protect, promote and preserve better mental health for residents in Arizona. This bill will: Mandate primary and secondary health care providers to collaborate strongly with clinical institutions to ensure both coordination and sustainability of care to the severe mentally ill. Provide alternative activities of daily living to people with severe mental illness thereby redirecting them from forms of misconduct and eventual jail time. Ensure improve quality of care for people already diagnosed with co-occurring disorders which will lead to treatment and rehabilitation to normal life. Reduce homelessness as those properly treated will gain employable skills and find work. The passing of this bill will come at a time when many organizations and the general public have shown interest in working together to provide better services to the mentally ill in our community. The Arizonan Department of Health has a Division of Behavioral Health that collaborates with Regional Managed Care Providers: RBHAS (Regional Behavioral Health Agencies) to provide coordinated care for behavioral health recipients, the Center for Human Rights also partners with hospitals and health providers to protect and ensure fair treatment of people with mental illnesses as well as the US federal government through its increased  funding for mental health diagnosis and treatment. After the shooting in Tucson, and the recent mass shooting of children in Connecticut, the Colorado theater , and the recurrent shootings in Fort Hood, the public is more willing to support and advocate for improved coordination of care for the mentally ill, especially people with co-occurring disorders. Health and migration laws have been long standing in us politics,its an ongoing process and batlle. TheUnited States is in the midst of a heated debate on immigration policy, and a renewed debate on health care reformhas also begun in anticipation of the 2008 presidential election. Both of these debates present an important opportunity to revisit health policies affecting immigrants and to craft solutions that are grounded in evidence about the vulnerability of immigrant groups and the potential consequences of lack of access for their health and the health of the nation. To do so, however, will require serious consideration of how various provisions of the immigration and health reformproposalsmight interact to affect immigrants’ access to health care. On the immigration reform side, what will temporary work visas and time limits on stays mean for immigrants’ health care access and experiences? What are the implications for immigrants’ health and mental health of provisions barring families from immigrating with a worker? Provisions that expand opportunities for legal residency and citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the Assignment Grading Criteria Bill Proposal Research various modes of health care delivery systems and analyze how they promote and support the health care needs of vulnerable populations. Outline a bill intended for your local legislative representative describing your selected mode or modes of delivery and explain how it will promote and support vulnerable populations. Content 12 points possible Points available Points earned Explains needs of vulnerable populations in health care Describes the rationale for the proposed bill to include the selected mode of delivery 5 Contains an analysis of current health care delivery systems States the benefits of the proposed bill Identifies resources that support and promote the needs of vulnerable populations 5 Defines necessary terms and identifies any provisions of the proposed bill 2 Format 3 points possible Points available Points earned Follows rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation Has a structure that is clear, logical, and easy to follow.

Local Color In Huck Finn Essay

Huckleberry Finn, a tale about a boy and his struggles with the society in which he lives, is written by Samuel L. Clemens. In the story, Huck manages to escape from the custody of Widow Douglas and travels down the river to a nearby island where he encounters Miss Watson’s runaway slave, Jim. Together, they float down the Mississippi River, to find a new life, where they can live freely and easily. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is perhaps the finest example of â€Å"local color†, an emphasis which is laid on the surrounding settings. Throughout the novel, Clemens accents â€Å"local color† by illustrating the natural scenery, the way of thinking, and the distinct practices and folklore encompassing the area. The novel’s plot revolves around the Mississippi River. The river breaks all the barriers of the time period, between black and white, young and old, slave and free. With their many journeys on land, they invariably return at the raft. While stopped in a near by village, Huck and Jim manage to escape the king and the duke, seeking refuge on raft. â€Å"It was the raft, and mighty glad was we to get aboard of it again†(Clemens 1309). Later on in the novel, at the Phelps Farm plantation, Tom and Huck learn that Jim is held captive in a hut just beyond Aunt Sally’s house. They devise a scheme to get him out, involving digging a tunnel, sawing off a leg of a bed which Jim was chained to, using a rope ladder, and having Jim flee from a makeshift window. The plan runs smoothly, all three exiting through the man made hole, until Tom gets caught on a piece of wood, which creates a clamorous noise. At that moment, they began their retreat in a hurry. Fifteen men, equipped with rifles and dogs, begin their hunt for the three outlaws: â€Å"Then we struck out, easy and comfortable, for the island where my raft was; and we could hear them yelling and barking at each other†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Clemens 1442). They manage to, once again, get away seeking protection on the raft. The raft shielded both Huck and Jim from nearly every obstacle, yet slavery was still present no matter where they were. During the time this novel was set, just prior to the 1860’s, slavery prevailed all across the United States, especially in the South. Slaves were thought of as property for the white man to own, thus making them inferior. It was not until the Civil War where the slavery issue was addressed and eventually resolved. Throughout  the story, Huck and Jim travel down the Mississippi in search of freedom. Jim escapes from the possession of Miss Watson, fearing she was going to sell him down the river and thus separate him from his family. At one of their stops, at the Phelps farm, Huck hears a story from Tom’s Aunt Sally about an explosion on a boat: â€Å"It warn’t the grounding † that didn’t keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head. Good Gracious! Anybody hurt? No’m. Killed a nigger. Well, it’s lucky; b ecause sometimes people do get hurt†(Clemens 1409). Ultimately, at the culmination of the novel, Miss Watson grants Jim his freedom, as stated in her will. Much of the population of this time based most of their practices and rituals on either the Bible or folklore. Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, had a hairball, taken from the fourth stomach of an ox. He believed this hairball was a prophecy, which truly spoke to him. In another episode, while Huck is stranded on Jackson’s Island, he hears loud explosions in the distance: â€Å"You see, they was firing cannon over the water, trying to make my carcass come to the top†(Clemens 1287). It was common knowledge of the time that when a dead body is in a river, the vibrations from the cannon ball will enable it to rise and float. Furthermore, residents believed that when quicksilver was put into loaves of bread, it would float to the dead carcass. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has numerous instances in which â€Å"local color† is present. Throughout the novel, heavy focus is laid upon the Mississippi River, and the villages close by. Common men and women used superstition and folklore to explain and solve life’s natural phenomena. Along with this is the portrayal of the brutal aspects, both physical and psychological, of slavery. At the conclusion of the novel, all hurdles are overcome, and Jim and Huck become free. Most of the population of this time was narrow-minded, being on the river, away from society, allowed Huck and Jim to overcome these bounds.

Biological Determinism And Why Sociologist Have Mounted...

This assignment is going to look at the concept of biological determinism and why sociologist have mounted such a powerful attack. Due to time constraints and word count, this essay will focus on gender and race with reference to biological determinism. The term biological determinism it is a theory that looks into a person’s behaviour and also their genetic makeup, it does not take into account any other social factors which surrounds the environment. It argues the fact that the biological factors i.e., genes and genetics are based on the way an individual behaves over time. Psychologist Charles Darwin, Mendel believed â€Å"our bodies changed to handle the environment†. Helen Cronin (2007) states that as human beings we have evolved but we still have this legacy today - the world has changed but our minds have not. Darwin uses this theory as natural selection he thought that both men and women minds are predetermined to do different things in society i.e. women have children and men go out hunting. By this he is referring to the nature side (genetics) of nature versus nurture (environment) argument. On the other hand sociologist argued that it is due to our environment how we as human beings behave. They looked at the culture, upbringing, social patterns and relationship to pan out the way individuals behave in society. Matt Ridley wrote a article on the Genetics- The Genes of blame where he states that there are genes in our bodies that are diseased. He believes thatShow MoreRelatedCrime, Deviance, And Deviance3445 Words   |  14 PagesCrime and Deviance This report will begin by making a distinction between the concepts of crime and deviance, accompanied by the concept that crime is a social construct. Then this report will evaluate some theoretical approaches to how and why crime exists. Further reference will be made to the existing crime statistics, and the validity and reliability of the official statistics that measure crime. Finally, this report will look into the presentation of crime in two areas of the mass media. AtRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesendings that accord with major shifts in political and socioeconomic circumstances and dynamics rather than standard but arbitrary chronological break points. In the decades that followed the Great War, the victorious European powers appeared to have restored, even expanded, their global political and economic preeminence only to see it eclipsed by the emergence of the Soviet and U.S. superpowers on their periphery and a second round of even more devastating global conflict. The bifurcated internationalRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesRiver, New Jersey 07458. Many of the designations by manufacturers and seller to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Whetten, David A. (David Allred) Developing management skills /David A. Whetten, Kim S. Cameron.—8th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and