1

Buying, Having, Being

CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR, 11e
Michael R. Solomon

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-1

 Chapter Objectives
1. Consumer behavior is a process.
2. Marketers need to understand the wants
and needs of different consumer
segments.
3. Our choices as consumers relate in
powerful ways to the rest of our lives.
4. Our motivations to consume are complex
and varied.
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-2
 Chapter Objectives (Cont.)
5. Technology and culture create a new
“always on” consumer.
6. Many different types of specialists study
consumer behavior.
7. There are differing perspectives
regarding how and what we should
understand about consumer behavior.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-3

 Learning Objective 1

• Consumer behavior is a process.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-4

 What is Consumer Behavior?
Consumer behavior: the
study of the
processes involved
when individuals or
groups select,
purchase, use, or
dispose of products,
services, ideas, or
experiences to satisfy
needs and desires.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-5

 Figure 1.1
Stages in the Consumption Process

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-6

 For Reflection

• How do you decide that you need a

product?
• What about a purchase makes it pleasant
or stressful for you?
• When using the product, what determines
if the experience is pleasant?

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-7

 Learning Objective 2

• Marketers have to
understand the
wants and needs of
different consumer
segments.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-8

 Segmenting Consumers: Demographics
Demographics:
• Age
• Gender
• Family structure
• Social class/income
• Race/ethnicity
• Geography

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-9

 Redneck Bank Targets by Social Class

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-10

 Big Data

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-11

 Learning Objective 3

• Our choices as consumers relate in

powerful ways to the rest of our lives.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-12

 Popular Culture
• Music Marketers influence
• Movies preferences for movie
and music heroes,
• Sports
fashions, food, and
• Books decorating choices.
• Celebrities
• Entertainment

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-13

 Consumer-Brand Relationships

• Self-concept attachment
• Nostalgic attachment
• Interdependence
• Love

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-14

 For Reflection

• What kind of relationship do you have with

your car?
• Do these feelings correspond to the types
of relationships consumers may develop
with products?
• How do these relationships affect your
behavior?

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-15

 Learning Objective 4

• Our motivations to consume are complex

and varied.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-16

 Classifying Consumer Needs

• Need for affiliation

• Need for power
• Need for uniqueness

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-17

 Figure 1.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-18

 For Reflection

• Which levels of the hierarchy do you

experience most often as a consumer?

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-19

 Learning Objective 5

• Technology and culture create a new

“always on” consumer.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-20

 Learning Objective 6

• Many specialists study consumer behavior.

Disciplinary Focus Product Role
Experimental Psychology Perception, learning, and memory processes

Clinical Psychology Psychological adjustment

Human Ecology Allocation of individual or family resources
Social Psychology Behavior of individuals as members of social groups

Sociology Social institutions and group relationships

Macroeconomics Consumers’ relations with the marketplace
Demography Measurable characteristics of a population
History Societal changes over time
Cultural Anthropology Society’s beliefs and practices

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-21

 Figure 1.3 Disciplines in
Consumer Research
MICRO CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
(INDIVIDUAL FOCUS)

Consumer behavior
involves many different
Experimental Psych
disciplines Clinical Psychology
Developmental Psych
Human Ecology
Microeconomics
Social Psychology
Sociology
Macroeconomics
Semiotics/Literary Criticism
Demography
MACRO CONSUMER History
Cultural Anthropology
BEHAVIOR
(SOCIAL FOCUS)

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-22

 For Reflection

• Pick two of the disciplines shown in Figure

1.3. How would their approaches to the
same marketing issue differ?

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-23

 Learning Objective 7

• There are differing perspectives regarding

how and what we should understand
about consumer behavior:
• Positivist approach
• Interpretivist approach

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-24

 Table 1.2
Positivist versus Interpretivist Approaches

Assumptions Positivist Approach Interpretivist Approach

Nature of Objective, tangible Socially constructed

reality Single Multiple

Goal Prediction Understanding

Knowledge Time free Time-bound

generated Context-independent Contest dependent

View of Existence of real causes Multiple, simultaneous

causality shaping events

Research Separation between Interactive, cooperative

relationship researcher and subject with researcher being
part of phenomenon
under study

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-25

 For Reflection

• How do you think the two paradigms of

consumer research affect the choices
marketers make in targeting consumer
segments?

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-26

 For Review
1. Consumer behavior is a process.
2. Marketers need to understand the wants
and needs of different consumer
segments.
3. Our choices as consumers relate in
powerful ways to the rest of our lives.
4. Our motivations to consume are complex
and varied.
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-27
 For Review
5. Technology and culture create a new
“always on” consumer.
6. Many different types of specialists study
consumer behavior.
7. There are differing perspectives
regarding how and what we should
understand about consumer behavior.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-28