Consumer Perception

Chapter Details

Nature of perception Elements of Perception Dynamics Perceptual Mapping Perception and marketing strategy Brand positioning Perceived price Perceived quality Perceived risks

Meaning

It is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of

sensory information

Process by which sensations are selected, organized and

interpreted

It explains how a person recognizes, selects, organizes and

interprets each stimulus based on his/ her needs, values

and expectations

Perception Process

Sensory

Stimuli

Sights

Sounds

Smells

Taste

Textures

Sensory

Receptors

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Mouth

Skins

Exposure Attention Interpretation

The Nature of Perception

Exposure Random Deliberate

AttentionLow Involvement High Involvement

Interpretation Low Involvement High Involvement

MemoryShort-term Long-term

Active Problem solving Stored experience, values, feeling

Purchase and consumption decision

Per

cept

ion

Information Processing for Consumer Decision Making

Exposure Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of our

sensory receptor nerves

E.g hoarding while you are walking

People are exposed to large number of stimuli

Stimuli could be in form

Products

Packages

Brand names

Ads

Smell

People seek information that they think will help them achieve

their goals

Attention

Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory

receptors and the resulting sensation go to the brain for processing

An average individual is exposed to 30000 items in a supermarket

Stimuli are available but those are not processed until a deliberate

effort is made to do so

Attention is determined by three factors

Stimulus

The individual

The situation

A. Stimulus Factors

Physical characteristics of the stimulus itself

1. Size and Intensity

Larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed than smaller ones

Insertion frequency – multiple insertions increase recall

Intensity – loudness, brightness, length

2. Colour and Movement

Serve to attract attention Bright colours and moving items are noticeable Effect of animation

3. Position

Refers to the placement of an object in a person’s visual

field

Objects near to visual field are more likely to be noticed

Eye-level grocery

RHS ads

4. Isolation and Contrast

Isolation is separating a stimulus object from the other objects

Consumers pay more attention to stimuli that are contrast with

their background than to stimuli that blend with it

5. Format

Refers to the manner in which the message is presented

Simple, straightforward presentations receive more attention

than complex

Ads that lack a clear visual point of reference or too fast / slow

decrease attention

Message difficult to understand reduce attention

6. Interestingness & Information quantity

Interestingness would depend on individual characteristics

Information overload can decrease attention levels

B. Individual Factors

Interest

Needs

Lifestyle

Long-term, Short-term goals and plans

Involvement

C. Situational Factors

Include stimuli in the environment other than the focal stimulus

and temporary characteristics of the individual that are induced by

the environment

E.g crowded mall, shopping during sale

Program involvement

Non-focused Attention Subliminal stimuli

a signal or message embedded in another medium designed

to pass below the normal limits of the human mind’s

perception

Messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind

Can affect the sub-conscious mind and thereby influence

attitude, beliefs, thoughts

Perception Process

Sensory

Stimuli

Sights

Sounds

Smells

Taste

Textures

Sensory

Receptors

Eyes

Ears

Nose

Mouth

Skins

Exposure Attention Interpretation

Interpretation

Process of the assignment of meaning to sensation

Cognitive interpretation is a process whereby stimuli are placed into

existing categories of meaning

Affective interpretation is the emotional or feeling response triggered by a

stimulus

Based on

Stimulus

Individual

Situation

1. Individual Characteristics

Individuals actively interprets marketing messages based on needs, desires, Motives, expectation, learnings and Past experiences

Stereotypes Halo effect First impressions

2. Situational Characteristics

Temporary characteristics of the individual like hunger, mood

The amount of time available

Physical characteristics of the situation like temperature

External distraction

Contextual priming effect – immediate context in which

stimulus (ad) appears

3. Stimulus Characteristics

The product, packaging, advertisement, sales presentation

Sensory discrimination

the ability of an individual to distinguish between similar

stimuli

Just Noticeable difference (JND)

Minimal apparent difference between two stimuli as

observed by the consumer

Weber’s law – the stronger the stimulus, the greater the

change required for the stimulus to be seen as different

Individuals do not notice relatively small amount of

different between brands or attributes

Perceptual Organisation – Interpretation

Principle of Gestalt

“Whole is greater than sum of its parts”

The closure principle - Law of Good continuation

The tendency to perceive unseen

parts of a pattern as continuing in a

predictable and simple manner

Principle of Similarity

People group objects that share

similar characteristics

Law of Proximity

Things that are relatively

close to each other are

grouped together

The Figure & Ground Principle

Either one part of stimulus will dominate

In advertising, product or brand should always be figure

Creativity, humor, jingle, graphic should take a role of

ground

Selective Perception

Selective Exposure

Selective attention

Perceptual defense

Perceptual blocking

Perception

and

Marketing Strategy

Perceptual Mapping

Brand Perception = Brand attributes + symbolic attributes

Helps to understand how the consumers perceive their offerings

in relation to competitive brands on certain chosen parameters

Helps to assess how consumers view different brands in a

product category

Marketers can identify unexplored areas in terms of consumer

needs

Brand Positioning

Creating distinct image in minds of the consumers

Umbrella positioning – e.g. Maggi

Positioning on a specific benefit

Finding an ‘unowned’ position

Celebrity endorsement

Consumer imagery

Perceived Price / Quality

Reference price

Quality versus price

Perceived risk

The degree of uncertainty perceived by the consumer about the

consequence (outcome) of a specific purchase decision

Perception risk varies with product categories, shopping situation

Functional risk

Physical risk

Financial risk

Time risk

Social risk

Psychological risk

Applications to

Retail Strategy

Brand name and logo

Media strategy

Advertisement

Package design

Individual interpretation influences

behaviour

Class Discussion1. Evaluate the ad

Analyze its attention –attracting characteristics

How does the ad creative affect interpretation

Identify interpretation factors

How does the ad influencing perception

2. Develop a retail strategy for

Shampoo brand – Clinic Plus

Perfume Brand – Elizabeth Arden

I-pod – Apple

3. Compare two ads

Analyze both with reference to Attention & Interpretation factors

Identify TG

Explain how do they influence perception

Project 2 Presentation on 16th August 2010 Select any three brands of your choice Analyze its packaging, explain how packaging influences

perception, thereby buying behaviour Do a consumer survey (25 respondents) to analyze the

perception of brand basis the packaging Use various factors influencing attention and interpretation that

affect perception in relation to each of the packaging Colour Visual Size Contrast etc.

Suggest packaging strategies based on your analysis to the marketer of these brands.