Consumer Benefits and Evaluative

Criteria

Evaluative criteria are the various features or benefits a customer looks for in response to a particular type of problem. Consumers may use a few criteria to reduce the alternatives, and then use more criteria to decide among the remaining alternatives.

• Universal set – all product classes and/or all brand alternatives with reasonable marketplace access
• Retrieval set – subset of universal set that consumers can bring up from memory
• Evaluative criteria – the means by which consumers compare product classes, brands, vendors, etc.
• Tangible – price, color, size, shape, performance
• Intangible – brand image, ownership feelings

Measuring Evaluative Criteria

• Direct measures for tangible criteria
• Surveys
• In-depth interviews
• Focus groups
• Indirect measures for intangible criteria
• Projective techniques
• Perceptual mapping

How Many Criteria Do Consumers Use?

• Typically, they use from four to six criteria.
• The more important the purchase, the greater the number of criteria used.
• Criteria may be used in combination.
• The more important the decision, the fewer the acceptable alternatives there are.

What Is the Relative Importance of Each Criterion?

• Importance = salience
• Salience varies by product, situation, and person
• Some product attributes may be salient to some consumers, but unimportant to others
• Determining relative importance – the “100 points” rule

Country of Origin, Price, and Brand, as Evaluative Criteria

Country of origin is used to signal product quality. Use of price as criterion varies across product categories

• Acceptable price range is determined by past purchases; perception of benefits vs. costs indicates value; and the buying situation.
• Brand reputation
• Brand may be viewed as an indicator of quality and/or consistency of satisfaction – lessening risk

Consumer Decision Rules

• How consumers evaluate and choose products and services in different buying situations.
• They are used consciously or unconsciously
• Three types of rules

No compensatory rule – one in which the weaknesses of an alternative are not offset by its strengths (not designed to find “winners”)

Disjunctive

Decide which criteria are determinant (or not) and then establish a minimum score for each one. Meet minimum “in” do not “out”. Select all (or any or first) brands that surpass a satisfactory level on any relevant evaluative criterion. Lower involvement products or to reduce choices on higher involvement products Concentrate promotions on at least one important criterion

Conjunctive

Consider all criteria as determinant and then establish a minimum acceptable score for each one. Meet all minima “in” otherwise “out”. Select all (or any or first) brands that surpass a minimum level on each relevant evaluative criterion. Used by customers for lower involvement products or to reduce choices on higher involvement products. Marketers must promote acceptability on several important criteria.

Lexicographic

Rank each of the evaluative criteria in order of importance; compare alternatives on most important with highest score winning; if tie for high score those tied evaluated on second most important criterion, etc., until “winner” is found. Rank the evaluative criteria in terms of importance. Start with the most important criterion and select the brand that scores highest on that dimension. If two or more brands tie, continue through the attributes in order of importance until one of the remaining brands outperforms the others. Marketers must exceed all other brands on each important attribute.

• Compensatory rule – allowing for trade-offs among strengths and weaknesses (find “winners”)
• Simple additive – total scores on all evaluative criteria for each alternative and the highest score wins
• Weighted additive – assign relative weight to each criterion based on perceived importance and then multiply the score by the relative weight to arrive at a weighted score, sum scores, highest weighted score wins
• Decision heuristics – these are rules of thumb or short cuts that allow quick decision-making.

Examples

• Price – “the higher the price the better the quality”
• Brand reputation – if it’s brand X, it must be good (or bad)
• Key product features – if a used car has a clean interior, a buyer may also infer a mechanically sound vehicle.
• Market beliefs

Four types of purchase situation –

• Specifically planned
• Generally planned
• Substitute
• Unplanned

Planned Purchasing Behavior

• Understanding “buying intention” is key to predicting and potentially influencing planned behavior
• Measuring purchasing intention can be done through surveys –
• Measures of intention may not provide accurate results due to changing situational influences
• The method of questioning may be flawed itself. (Yes – No to do something; probability of doing)

Intervention of Planned Purchases

• Intervening variables – changes that may have an impact on the actual purchase behavior
• Financial status, employment situation, family or household size, weather, etc
• Deliberation – the longer we put off a purchase the higher the likelihood that either the purchase will not be made or the choice will change.

Unplanned Purchasing Behavior

• Four types of unplanned purchases
• Pure impulse – those that are bought for the sake of novelty
• Reminder impulse – are routine purchases, albeit unanticipated.
• Suggestion impulse – when a product (not previously seen) stimulates immediate need recognition
• Planned impulse – responding to a special incentive to buy an item considered in the past but not selected

 How do Marketers Encourage Unplanned Purchases?

• Point-of-purchase displays
• Reduced prices
• In-store coupons or specials (Kmart’s Blue Light specials)
• Multiple-item discounts
• Packaging
• In-store demonstrations
• Store atmosphere
• Salespeople

Choice

• Outlet selection or brand choice, which comes first?
• Brand choice first
• Brand loyalty
• No outlet loyalty or preference
• No need for the expertise of salespeople (knowledgeable consumers) a. No, outlet choice first
• High store loyalty or preference
• Low brand loyalty
• Need for helpful sales staff
• Brand and outlet working together
• Find the best fit for the consumer’s self image

Outlet Image and Choice

• Image – the sum total of various functional and psychological outlet attributes
• Functional attributes – merchandise, prices, and credit policies, store layout, etc.
• Psychological attributes – sense of belonging, feeling of warmth or excitement, etc
• Retailers use attributes that imply certain benefits to design an image that appeals to their target market(s)
• Influences on outlet choice include the level of involvement, perceived risk, advertising, prices, and outlet size

Consumer Choice and Shopping Behavior

• Why do people shop?
• Personal and social motives
• How do people shop?
• Shopping orientation – their style or way of shopping
• Choice decision during the shopping process –
• Which product to buy, how many, which brands to buy, which outlet to use, when to buy, how to pay, and other (should we buy extended warranty)?

Buyer decision process for new products – Stages in the Adoption Process

• Awareness – The consumer is aware of the new product but lacks further information about it.
• Interest – The consumer is motivated to seek information about the new product.
• Evaluation – The consumer determines whether or not to try the new product.

• Trial The consumer tries the new product on a small scale to test its efficacy in meeting his or her needs. Trial can be imagined use of the product in some cases.
• Adoption – The consumer decides to make use of the product on a regular basis.

Influences of Product Characteristics on the Rate of Adoption of New Products

• Relative Advantage – Degree to which the innovation appears superior to existing products. The greater the perceived relative advantage, the sooner the innovation will be adopted.
• Compatibility – This refers to the degree to which the innovation fits the values and experiences of the potential consumers. Increased compatibility will accelerate adoption of the innovation.
• Complexity – Degree to which the innovation is difficult to understand or use. Greater complexity will slow the rate of adoption of the innovation.
• Divisibility – Degree to which the innovation can be tried on a limited basis Greater divisibility will help increase the rate of adoption of the innovation.
• Communicability – Degree to which the results of using the innovation can be observed or described to others. Greater communicability will increase the rate of adoption of innovation.