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Chapter 10
Consumer Intentions, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Feelings
Consumer Intentions
How much existing product should be produced to meet demand?
How much demand will there be for a new product?
Useful for firms when predicting how people will act as consumers
Firms interested in where consumers will buy, when they will buy, and how much they will buy
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Consumer Intentions
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How Firms Can Predict Behavior (1 of 2)
Rely on past behavior to predict future behavior
Problems:Situations change (changes in market can cause unpredictable changes in demand)
Sales trends are sometimes erratic
Past behaviors not available for new products or first-time behaviors
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How Firms Can Predict Behavior (2 of 2)
• Intentions: subjective judgments abouthow we will behave in the future
Purchase intentions
Shopping intentions
Spending intentions
Search intentions
Consumption intentions
• People often do what they intend
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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions
Intentions can change
Intend to do something and don’t
Intend not to do something and do
Can’t control whether consumers act upon intentions
Can influence predictive accuracy
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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions
Measuring intentions may be lesspredictive of future behavior thanmeasuring what they expect to do
Behavioral expectations: representperceived likelihood of performing abehavior
(Although smokers may intend to quitsmoking, they may report more moderateexpectations due to past failures)
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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions
Accuracy of forecasts also depends onwhen intentions are measured
How far into the future is beingpredicting?
Accuracy depends on what the to-be-predicted behavior is (behaviorsrepeated with regularity are easier topredict)
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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions
Volitional control: the degree to whicha behavior can be performed at will
Existence of uncontrollable factorsinterfere with the ability to do asintended
Perceived behavioral control: theperson’s belief about how easy it is toperform the behavior
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Consumer Intentions: Other UsesIndicator of the possible effects ofcertain marketing activities
Intentions may provide an informativeindication of a company’s likelysuccess in retaining customers
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Repurchase Intentions for Personal Computers
Apple Below Average
Compaq Above Average
Dell Above Average
Gateway Above Average
Hewlett-Packard Above Average
IBM Above Average
Micron Above Average
MidWest Micro Average
Repurchase IntentionPC Vendor
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Consumer AttitudesAttitudes: represent what we like anddislike
Attitudes determine intentions
Holding a favorable attitude toward aproduct is often prerequisite forholding a favorable purchase orconsumption intention
Preferences: represent attitudestoward one object in relation toanother (way to measure attitudes)
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Consumer AttitudesJust because consumers prefer brandX, doesn’t mean they will necessarilybuy brand X
Having a favorable attitude toward aproduct is not the same as having afavorable attitude toward its purchaseor consumption
How can attitudes and preferences bemeasured?
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Attitude toward the object:How much do you like/dislike IBM computers?
Like very much 1 2 3 4 5 Dislike very much
Attitude toward the behavior:Buying an IBM personal computer would be:
Very good 1 2 3 4 5 Very badVery rewarding 1 2 3 4 5 Very punishing
Very wise 1 2 3 4 5 Very foolish
Preference:Compared to Apple personal computers, how much do you like IBM personal computers?
Like IBM much more than Apple 1 2 3 4 5 Like Apple much more than IBM
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The Variety of Consumer Attitudes
Attitudes toward product
Attitudes toward company
Attitudes toward a retailer
Attitudes toward product attributes
Attitudes toward various types ofbrand associations (logos, symbols,and product endorsers)
Attitudes toward advertising andspokespersons
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Consumers form avariety of attitudestoward this type ofBenetton ad
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Attitude Formation
The Role of Beliefs
The Role of Feelings
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
Beliefs: subjective judgments aboutthe relationship between two or morethings
Beliefs are based on knowledge
Multiattribute attitude models showthat beliefs about a product’sattributes determine favorability ofone’s attitude toward the product
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Fishbein Model
n
Ao = Σ bi ei
i =1Ao = attitude toward object
bi = strength of the belief that object has attribute i
ei = evaluation of attribute i
n = number of salient or important attributes
The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Fishbein Model
Model proposes that attitudetoward an object is based on thesummed set of beliefs about theobject’s attributes weighted by theevaluation of these attributes
Attributes can be any product orbrand association
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The Fishbein Model: Sample Results
Shock absorbent +2 +2 +1 -1
Price less than $50 -1 -3 -1 +3
Durability +3 +3 +1 -1
Comfort +3 +2 +3 +1
Desired color +1 +1 +3 +3
Arch support +2 +3 +1 -2
Total score +29 +20 -6
Brand Brand BrandAttribute Evaluation A B C
Beliefs
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Fishbein Model
Companies want consumers toperceive their products as:
Possessing desirable attributes(when ei positive; bi should bepositive)
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Communicating the Presence of Desirable Attributes
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Fishbein Model
Companies want consumers toperceive their products as:
Possessing desirable attributes(when ei positive; bi should bepositive)
Not possessing undesirableattributes (when ei is negative; bi
should be negative)
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Communicating the Absence of Undesirable Attributes
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Ideal-Point Model
AP = Σ Wi (Ii - Xi)
AP = attitude toward product
Wi = importance of attribute i
Ii = ideal performance on attribute i
Xi = belief about product’s actual performance on attribute i
n = number of salient attributes
i = 1
n
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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation
The Ideal-Point ModelConsumers indicate where theybelieve a product is located on scalesrepresenting the various levels ofsalient attributes
Also report where ideal productswould fall on these scales
The closer ideal and actual ratingsare, the more favorable the attitude
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The Ideal-Point Model: Sample Results
Taste: sweet (1) - bitter (7)
Carbonation: high (1) - low (7)
Calories: high (1) - low (7)
Fruit juices: high (1) - low (7)
Price: high (1) - low (7)
Total Score
6 2 2 3
3 3 2 6
4 5 4 5
4 1 2 2
5 5 4 3
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Importance Ideal Brand BrandAttribute Point A B
Beliefs
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Benefits of Using Multiattribute Attitude Models
Diagnostic power: examine whyconsumers like or dislike products
Simultaneous importanceperformance grid
Marketing implications for each cell
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Stimulus Importance-Performance Grid
HIGH
LOW
POOR
GOOD
POOR
GOOD
Neglected Opportunity
Competitive Disadvantage
Competitive Advantage
Head-to-head competition
Null Opportunity
False Alarm
False Advantage
False Competition
Poor
Good
Poor
Good
Poor
Good
Poor
Good
Attribute Our Competitor’s Simultaneous Importance Performance Performance Result
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Benefits of Using Multiattribute Attitude Models
Can provide information forsegmentation (based on importance ofspecific attributes)
Useful in new product development
Forecast performance of specificbrands and attributes in market
Guidance in development of attitudechange strategies
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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation
Feelings: an affective state (such asmood you currently are in) or reaction(such as feelings experienced duringproduct consumption or whenprocessing an advertisement)
Can be positive or negative andrange from overwhelming to virtuallynonexistent
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Types of Feelings (Partial List)
Negative WarmUpbeat
AngryAnnoyedBadBoredCriticalDefiantDisgustedFed-upInsultedIrritatedRegretful
AffectionateCalmConcerned ContemplativeEmotional HopefulKindPeacefulPensiveTouchedWarm-hearted
ActiveAdventurousAliveAttractiveConfidentCreativeElatedEnergeticGoodHappyPleased
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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation
Feelings As Part of The ConsumptionExperience
Consumption often evokes a widerange of feelings (relaxation at aspa or frustration with an airline)
Feelings may influence post-consumption evaluations andproduct attitudes
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How often, if at all, do you experience the following feelings as a result of eating chocolate?
Happy never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Excited never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Delighted never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Joyous never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Satisfied never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Proud never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Annoyed never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Depressed never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Guilty never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
Regretful never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often
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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation
Feelings As Part of The Advertising Experience
Some ads may amuse while othersannoy consumers
Feelings experienced during adprocessing may influencepostmessage evaluations
Products attitudes are influencedby feelings evoked during ad
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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation
Mood State
Some feelings are carried into purchaseand consumption situations
Mood states can influence attitudeformation (when consumers feel positive,the mood is often transferred to productattitude)
Sometimes more intense feelings fromconsumption overpower the influence ofpreconsumption mood states
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Attitude ChangeAttitudes are dynamic
Both positive and negative attitudesmay become more neutral as timepasses
Attitude persistence: an attitude’simmunity to corrosion
Consumers may expect high qualityand form a certain product attitude,but have a bad experience andchange their attitude accordingly
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Attitude ChangeChanging consumer attitudes is afrequent business objective
Attitude adjustment is often requiredwhen turning product nonusers intousers
Need to change preferences whenrecruiting competitors’ customers
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Attitude ChangeAttitude resistance: the degree towhich an attitude is immune to change
The more resistant consumers’product attitudes are, the more difficultit is for competitors to recruit them
A strong foundation and directexperience enhance resistance
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Attitude Change Implications from Multiattribute Attitude Models
Three primary ways for changingconsumer attitudes:
Changing beliefs
Changing attribute importance
Changing ideal points
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Changing Consumer Attitudes: Changing Beliefs
Firms hope that changing beliefs aboutproducts will result in more favorableproduct attitudes and influence whatconsumers buy
If beliefs are false, they need to be broughtinto harmony with reality
If beliefs are accurate, it may be necessaryto change the product
Comparative advertising helps reducebeliefs about a competitive brand
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Changing Consumer Attitudes: Changing Attribute Importance
Changing an attribute’s importance is moredifficult than changing a belief
How is a brand perceived relative to idealperformance?
Increasing attribute importance is desirablewhen the competitor’s brand is farther fromthe ideal point than your product
Firms may add a new attribute
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Estimating the Attitudinal Impact of Alternative Changes
How expensive are the productmodifications required to changeattitude?
Are they possible to accomplish?
How resistant to change areconsumers?
What are the potential attitudinalpayoffs each change might deliver?
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Review Questions1. How can firms predict behavior and what
are the problems they might face?2. Briefly discuss the role of feelings in
attitude formation.
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