UNIT 2

CONSUMER AS AN INDIVIDUAL
Consumer needs and motives
There are two types of human needs:
Physiological needs are innate (biogenic, primary) and fulfilling them sustains
biological existence. They include the need for food, water, air, protection of the body from
the outside environment (i.e., clothing and shelter), and sex.
Psychological needs are learned from our parents, social environment, and
interactions with others.
Among many others, they include the needs for self-esteem, prestige, affection,
power, and achievement. Both types of needs affect our buying decisions. For example, all
individuals need shelter from the elements and therefore buy homes. However, the kind of
homes they buy is the result of psychological, learned needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychologist Abraham Maslow formulated a theory of human motivation based on the notion
that there is a hierarchy of human needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of five levels
of human needs, which rank in order of importance from lower-level (biogenic) needs to
higher-level (psychogenic) needs.
The theory states that individuals seek to satisfy lower-level needs before higher-level
needs. The lowest level of unsatisfied needs motivates a person’s behaviour. When that need
is fairly well satisfied, the individual is motivated to fulfil a need in the next level of the
hierarchy. When that need is satisfied, the need in the next level is one’s primary motivator,
and so on. However, if a person experiences renewed deprivation regarding a formerly met
lower-level need, that need becomes the dominant factor in the person’s motivation, even if
only temporarily.
For example, if a person who is well off and trying to satisfy his ego needs loses his
job, he reverts or “goes back” to trying to satisfy his security needs; if he gets a new job that
pays well, thus satisfying security needs, he will once again “move” to a higher level in the
hierarchy.
Figure below presents a diagram of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For clarity, the
levels appear as mutually exclusive. According to the theory, however, there is some overlap
among the levels, as no need is ever completely satisfied. Thus, to some extent, all levels of
need below the level that is currently dominant continue to motivate behaviour.
Physiological Needs
Maslow maintained that physiological needs are the first and most basic level of human
needs. These primary needs, which are required to sustain biological life, include food, water,
air, shelter, clothing, and sex—all biogenic needs. According to Maslow, physiological needs
are dominant when they are chronically unsatisfied: “For the man who is extremely hungry,
no other interest exists but food. He dreams food, he remembers food, he thinks about food,
he emotes only about food, he perceives only food, and he wants only food.”

Safety Needs
After physiological needs have been satisfied, safety and security needs become the driving
force behind an individual’s behaviour. These needs are concerned not only with physical
safety, but also with order, stability, routine, familiarity, and control over one’s life and
environment. For example, health and the availability of health care are important safety
concerns. Savings accounts, insurance policies, education, and vocational training are all
means by which individuals satisfy the need for security.

Social Needs
The third level of Maslow’s hierarchy consists of social needs, such as love, affection,
belonging, and acceptance.

Egoistic Needs
When social needs are more or less satisfied, the fourth level of Maslow’s hierarchy becomes
operative. This level includes egoistic needs, which can take either an inward or an outward
orientation:
1. Inwardly directed ego needs reflect an individual’s need for self-acceptance, self-esteem,
success, independence, and personal satisfaction.
2. Outwardly directed ego needs include the needs for prestige, reputation, status, and
recognition from others.

Need for Self-Actualization

According to Maslow, once people sufficiently satisfy their ego needs, they move to the fifth
level. The self-actualization need refers to an individual’s desire to fulfil his or her potential
—to become everything that he or she is capable of becoming. For example, an artist may
need to express herself on canvas; a research scientist may strive to find a new drug that
eradicates cancer. Advertising an organization as one that “lets you do great things,” or
enables you to “be all you can be,” appeals to the need for self-actualization.

A Trio of Needs
Another framework for organizing human needs is known as the trio of needs: the needs for
power, affiliation, and achievement.
Individually, each of the three needs can affect consumer motivation.
1. Power
The power need is an individual’s desire to control his or her environment. It includes the
need to control other persons and various objects. This need appears to be closely related to
the ego need, in that many individuals experience increased self-esteem when they exercise
power over objects or people.
 2. Affiliation
Affiliation is a well-researched social motive that significantly influences consumer
behaviour. The affiliation need is very similar to Maslow’s social need and suggests
that behaviour is strongly influenced by the desire for friendship, acceptance, and
belonging. People with high affiliation needs tend to be socially dependent on others
and often buy goods that they feel will meet with the approval of friends. Teenagers
who hang out at malls or techies who congregate at computer shows often do so more
for the satisfaction of being with others than for the purpose of making a purchase.
3. Achievement
Individuals with a strong achievement need often regard personal accomplishment as
an end in itself. They are self-confident, enjoy taking calculated risks, actively
research their environments, and value feedback, often in the form of monetary
rewards. People with high achievement prefer situations in which they can take
personal responsibility for finding solutions. Because of this, portraying achievement
is a useful promotional strategy for many products and services, especially those
targeting educated and affluent consumers.

Consumer Motives

Consumer motivation is an internal state that drives people to identify and buy products or
services that fulfil conscious and unconscious needs or desires. The fulfilment of those
needs can then motivate them to make a repeat purchase or to find different goods and
services to better fulfil those needs.

Hierarchy of Needs

Consumer motivation is linked to Maslow's "hierarchy of needs.” According to this

model, motivational drivers have different levels of importance. The most common
needs are physiological and concern basic survival--the need for food, shelter and
safety. Higher-level needs include social ones (for relationships and love), esteem
needs (recognition and status) and self-actualization needs (fulfilment of self).
According to Maslow, an individual must meet lower-level needs before being
motivated to fulfil higher-level needs.

Motivational Levels

Depending on how important a purchase is to an individual, his motivational levels

may vary from low to high. Influences include familiarity with the purchase, status
factors and overall expense and value. Where fulfilment rewards are low, as with
groceries, motivation levels are also relatively low and involve little decision-
making behaviour. Conversely, with a complex, risky and emotionally-charged
process such as buying a new house, the drive to achieve the “right” result is high.

Motivational Behaviour

The behavioural aspect of consumer motivation concerns the actions someone takes
before purchasing and consuming goods or services. A person might do a lot of
research--evaluating alternatives, testing and sampling--before making a selection.
 She might decide to buy something based on which goods or services most closely
meet and satisfy motivational wants and needs. Marketers aim to gain the most
impact and eventual sales by linking their products and services to clearly defined
consumer needs and by understanding what motivates people to buy.

Motivational Influences

Motivational levels differ greatly between individuals and are influenced by many
external variables. These include the social value of making the “right” decision,
beliefs about brands and alignment of brand values and personal values. If other
people are involved in the decision, their motivation also affects the behaviour of
the primary consumer.

Accessing Motivation

Companies and marketers use a number of different tools to help them understand
consumer motivation in relation to their products and services. This may help them
orient their markets according to different buyer motivation. Marketers use pre-
purchase and post-purchase focus groups, one-to-one interviews and online or postal
surveys to develop their understanding of consumers’ motivational drivers.

Consumer Personality

Personality has many meanings. In consumer studies, personality is defined as consistent

responses to environmental stimuli or we can also say patterns of behaviour that are
consistent and enduring. An individual’s personality helps marketers to describe consumer
segments as it provides for orderly and coherently related experiences and behaviour.

Personality characteristics may be a basis for product positioning. For example, one segment
of the market may die because they want to stick to the group norms and therefore uses diet
product. In contest another segment is on diet because of internal need.

Therefore, company’s positioning strategies will be different for both. For the first segment,
they will portray group approval as a result of product use, whereas positioning for the
second segment would portray individual achievement.

Personality Theories:
Marketers have used three personality theories to describe consumers:
(1) Psychoanalytic theory or Freud’s theory –

(2) Sociopsychological theory.

(3) Trait theory.

(1) Freud’s Theory:

This theory was given by Sigmund Freud. Freud’s psychoanalytical theory stresses the
unconscious nature of personality as a result of childhood conflicts. According to this theory,
the human personality system consists of the id, ego, and superego and conflicts are derived
from these three components.

id: The id is the source of psychic energy and seeks immediate gratification for biological
and instinctual needs like hunger, sex, and self-preservation. In other words, id is
conceptualized as a warehouse of primitive and impulsive drives for which individual seeks
immediate satisfaction without concern for the specific means of satisfaction. The id operates
on one principle, directing behaviour to achieve pleasure and to avoid pain. The id is entirely
unconscious with no objective reality.

Superego:
Superego is the individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of
conduct. This means superego is the leash on the id and works against its impulses. It does
not manage the id but restrains it by punishing unacceptable behaviour through the creation
of guilt. Its role is to see that individual satisfies needs in a socially acceptable fashion. So,
superego is a kind of ‘brake’ that inhibits the impulsive forces of the id.

Ego:
The ego is the individual’s self-concept and is the manifestation of objective reality as it
develops after interaction with the external world. Ego is the individual’s conscious control
and it functions as an internal monitor that attempts to balance the impulsive demands of the
id and the socio-cultural constraints of the super ego.

According to this theory, ego manages the conflicting demands of the id and superego. When
the child manages these conflicts (sp. sexual conflicts) then this determines the adult
personality. But if conflicts are not resolved in childhood then this will result in defence
mechanisms and will influence later behaviour. Defence mechanisms are the strategies that
the ego uses to reduce tensions.

(2) Socio – Psychological Theory:

According to this theory, the individual and society are interlinked. This theory disagrees
with Freud’s contention that personality is primarily instinctual and sexual in nature. It is also
known as the Neo – Freudian Personality Theory, researchers believe that social relationships
are fundamental to the formation and development of personality.

Karen Horney was another social theorist. She believed that personality is developed as an
individual learns to cope with basic anxieties that stems up from parent – child relationships.

She proposed that individuals can be classified into three personality groups:
(a) Compliant::
Those individuals who move toward others. They desire to be loved, wanted and appreciated.

(b) Aggressive:
Those individuals who move against others. They desire to excel and win admiration.

(c) Detached:
Those individuals who move away from others. They desire independence, self – sufficiency
and freedom from obligations.
A personality test based on ‘Horney’s work’ was developed by Cohen to explain purchase
behaviour. Test name was compliance – aggressiveness – detachment (CAD) scale. He
measured CAD using a 35 – item inventory, Cohen found that compliant types used more
mouthwash, toilet soaps etc., aggressive types used more cologne and after – shave lotion,
branded shirts, Old Spice deodorant etc. and detached type drank more tea and less beer.

These findings suggest advertising the use of mouthwash or toilet soap as a means of social
approval, advertising colognes and after – shaves as a means of social conquest and
advertising tea in a non-social context.

This scale is important as it is constructed for marketing applications and have a theoretical
base in personality theory.

(3) Trait Theory:

Trait theory has been used most widely for measuring personality because it is a quantitative
approach. This theory states that an individual’s personality is composed of definite pre-
dispositional attributes called traits. A trait can be defined as any distinguishable, relatively
enduring way in which one individual differs from another. For example, sociability relaxed
style, amount of internal control.

Trait theorists construct personality inventories and ask respondents to respond to many items
by agreeing or disagreeing with certain statements or expressing likes or dislikes for certain
situations or types of people. These items then are statistically analysed and reduced to a few
personality dimensions. This method is not like psychoanalytic and social theories and also
do not determine personality traits.

Single – trait personality tests which measure just one trait, such as self-confidence are
increasingly being developed specifically for use in consumer behaviour studies. These
personality tests can be designed according to the need to measure traits such as consumer
innovativeness, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (like SUSCEP helps in
knowing how consumers respond to social influence), consumer materialism (means try to
assess degree of consumer’s attachment to “world” possessions), and consumer
ethnocentrism (like CETSCALE – identifies consumer’s likelihood to accept or reject foreign
– made products).

Researchers have learned that it is generally more realistic to expect personality to be linked
to how consumers make their choices and also to the purchase or consumption of a broad
product category either than a specified brand.

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individual customers, groups or organizations select,
buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to satisfy their needs and wants. It refers to
the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and the underlying motives for those actions.

Marketers expect that by understanding what causes the consumers to buy particular goods
and services, they will be able to determine—which products are needed in the marketplace,
which are obsolete, and how best to present the goods to the consumers.
The study of consumer behaviour assumes that the consumers are actors in the marketplace.
The perspective of role theory assumes that consumers play various roles in the marketplace.
Starting from the information provider, from the user to the payer and to the disposer,
consumers play these roles in the decision process.

The roles also vary in different consumption situations; for example, a mother plays the role
of an influencer in a child’s purchase process, whereas she plays the role of a disposer for the
products consumed by the family.

Nature of Consumer Behaviour:

1. Influenced by various factors:
The various factors that influence the consumer behaviour are as follows:
a. Marketing factors such as product design, price, promotion, packaging, positioning
and distribution.

b. Personal factors such as age, gender, education and income level.

c. Psychological factors such as buying motives, perception of the product and

attitudes towards the product.

d. Situational factors such as physical surroundings at the time of purchase, social

surroundings and time factor.

e. Social factors such as social status, reference groups and family.

f. Cultural factors, such as religion, social class—caste and sub-castes.

2. Undergoes a constant change:

Consumer behaviour is not static. It undergoes a change over a period of time depending on
the nature of products. For example, kids prefer colourful and fancy footwear, but as they
grow up as teenagers and young adults, they prefer trendy footwear, and as middle-aged and
senior citizens they prefer more sober footwear. The change in buying behaviour may take
place due to several other factors such as increase in income level, education level and
marketing factors.

3. Varies from consumer to consumer:

All consumers do not behave in the same manner. Different consumers behave differently.
The differences in consumer behaviour are due to individual factors such as the nature of the
consumers, lifestyle and culture. For example, some consumers are technophilics. They go on
a shopping and spend beyond their means.

They borrow money from friends, relatives, banks, and at times even adopt unethical means
to spend on shopping of advance technologies. But there are other consumers who, despite
having surplus money, do not go even for the regular purchases and avoid use and purchase
of advance technologies.

4. Varies from region to region and country to county:

The consumer behaviour varies across states, regions and countries. For example, the
behaviour of the urban consumers is different from that of the rural consumers. A good
number of rural consumers are conservative in their buying behaviours.

The rich rural consumers may think twice to spend on luxuries despite having sufficient
funds, whereas the urban consumers may even take bank loans to buy luxury items such as
cars and household appliances. The consumer behaviour may also vary across the states,
regions and countries. It may differ depending on the upbringing, lifestyles and level of
development.

5. Information on consumer behaviour is important to the marketers:

Marketers need to have a good knowledge of the consumer behaviour. They need to study the
various factors that influence the consumer behaviour of their target customers.

6. Leads to purchase decision:

A positive consumer behaviour leads to a purchase decision. A consumer may take the
decision of buying a product on the basis of different buying motives. The purchase decision
leads to higher demand, and the sales of the marketers increase. Therefore, marketers need to
influence consumer behaviour to increase their purchases.

7. Varies from product to product:

Consumer behaviour is different for different products. There are some consumers who may
buy more quantity of certain items and very low or no quantity of other items. For example,
teenagers may spend heavily on products such as cell phones and branded wears for snob
appeal, but may not spend on general and academic reading. A middle- aged person may
spend less on clothing, but may invest money in savings, insurance schemes, pension
schemes, and so on.

8. Improves standard of living:

The buying behaviour of the consumers may lead to higher standard of living. The more a
person buys the goods and services, the higher is the standard of living. But if a person
spends less on goods and services, despite having a good income, they deprive themselves of
higher standard of living.

9. Reflects status:
The consumer behaviour is not only influenced by the status of a consumer, but it also
reflects it. The consumers who own luxury cars, watches and other items are considered
belonging to a higher status. The luxury items also give a sense of pride to the owners.

Consumer Perception

Consumer perception is defined as a process by which consumers sense a marketing stimulus,

and organize, interpret, and provide meaning to it. The marketing stimuli may be anything
related to the product and/or brand, and any of the elements of the marketing mix. We can
classify the marketing stimuli into two types, namely primary or intrinsic and secondary or
extrinsic.
The primary or intrinsic stimuli comprise the product and its components, namely brand
name, label, package, contents, and physical properties.

The secondary or extrinsic stimuli comprise the form in which the good or service offering is
represented through words, visuals, graphics, and the symbolism, or through other cues such
as price, outlet, salespeople, or marketing communication.

Perception can be better explained by understanding its nature and characteristics:

1. Perception comprises three components, namely the perceiver, the target (stimulus), and
the situation. The characteristics of each of these components influence the perceptual
processes of selection, organization, and interpretation. The consumer, actual or prospective,
is the perceiver, the 4 Ps are the target, and the buying occasion and the surrounding
environment are the situation.

2. Perception is a complex process. After a stimulus is detected by the sense organs, the
perceptual process comes into play and involves the interplay of three processes, namely
selection, organization, and interpretation. In this way, perception is a dynamic process.

3. Perception is also an intellectual process, as it involves a lot of cognitive effort. Once

sensation takes place, the cognitive processes take over and assign meaning to the stimulus.
Consumers possess varying cognitive capacities and capabilities; their backgrounds are
diverse, and psychological processes (needs, motivation, learning, attitudes, and values) and
sociological factors (culture, sub-culture, and social class) are different. The cognitive
processes have a bearing on not only the perceptual mechanism, but also on the resultant
output and the behavioural response of the perceiver.

4. Perception is broad in nature. It includes a physiological component (through sensation), as

well as cognitive, sociological, and psychological components.

5. Perception is a subjective process, as it is unique to each person. Two consumers who are
exposed to a particular stimulus may perceive it differently. While they are exposed to the
same marketing stimulus, the manner in which they select, organize, and interpret it is
different.

Important Elements involved in the Consumer Perceptual Process – Input, Perceptual

Mechanism, Output and Behaviour

1. Input:
The input to the perceptual process refers to the various stimuli that surround an individual
and exist in his environment. The perceptual process begins when the sensory receptors
detect a stimulus in the environment, which acts as an input to the perceptual mechanism.

2. Perceptual Mechanism:
Once the sense organs detect a stimulus in the environment, the person selects, organizes, and
interprets it through a. perceptual selectivity, b. perceptual organization, and c. perceptual
interpretation. Put together, this is known as the perceptual mechanism.
 a. Perceptual selection or perceptual selectivity refers to a tendency within a person to
select one or a few out of the many stimuli present in the environment. Selectivity is
based on one’s demographic, sociocultural, and psychographic factors. A person
would tend to select those stimuli that appear attractive and relevant to him.
Selectivity would also be affected by the characteristics of the stimulus as well as by
the situation involved.

b. Perceptual organization occurs after the stimulus has been received and selected for
further processing. It is the process of organizing inputs into a definite, coherent, and
interpretable structure. In other words, the various stimuli are organized and given a
form.

c. Perceptual interpretation refers to the process of drawing inferences from the

organized whole (of stimuli), and giving meaning to them.

3. Output:
Once the input has been interpreted, it results in an output. The output towards the stimulus
assumes various forms, for example, in the formation of emotions and moods, as well as
beliefs, opinions, and attitudes.

4. Behaviour:
The resultant behaviour is an outcome of the output. Based on one’s emotions and moods, as
well as beliefs, opinions, and attitudes, a person would enact a behaviour.

Learning

According to Kotler’s Definition, learning involves changes in an individual’s behaviour

arising out of the experience. Most of the human behaviour is learned over time, out of the
experience.
Following are the features of consumer learning
 Consumer learning is a process. A process which continually changes and acquires
new knowledge.
 This knowledge can be obtained from reading, discussing, observing, thinking, etc.

 Newly acquired knowledge or personal experience, both serve as feedback.

Elements of Consumer Learning

Motivation is the driving force of all important things to be learnt. Motives allow
individuals to increase their readiness to respond to learning. It also helps in activating the
energy to do so. Thus the degree of involvement usually determines the motivation to search
information about a product.
For example, showing advertisements for summer products just before summer season or for
winter clothes before winters.
Motives encourage learning and cues stimulate the direction to these motives. Cues are not
strong as motives, but their influence in which the consumer responds to these motives.
For example, in a market, the styling, packaging, the store display, prices all serve as cues to
help consumers to decide on a particular product, but this can happen only if the consumer
has the motive to buy. Thus, marketers need to be careful while providing cues, especially to
consumers who have expectations driven by motives.
Response signifies how a consumer reacts to the motives or even cues. The response can be
shown or hidden, but in either of the cases learning takes place. Often marketers may not
succeed in stimulating a purchase but the learning takes place over a period of time and then
they may succeed in forming a particular image of the brand or product in the consumer’s
mind.
Reinforcement is very important as it increases the probability of a particular response in
the future driven by motives and cues.

Consumer Behavioural Learning Theories

There are various theories which are developed to explain the learning theories. The below
are the major theories related to consumer behaviour.
Classical Conditioning theory refers to learning through repetition. This is referred to as a
spontaneous response to particular situation achieved by repetitive exposure. It is such a
kind of a behavioural theory which says, when a stimulus is connected to or paired with
another stimulus, it serves to produce the same response even when used alone.
For example, if you usually listen news at 9 pm and have dinner too at 9 pm while watching
the news then eventually the sound of news at 9pm may make you hungry even though you
are not actually hungry or even if the dinner is not ready.
Instrumental Theory is developed by B F SKINNER, an American psychologist, he was the
first to develop this model of learning. Instrumental theory suggests that human beings learn
by trial-and-error method and then find out a particular stimulus that can yield best results.
Then, this is subsequently formed as a habit
This theory is very important and applies to many common situations in the context of
consumer behaviour. It suggests that consumers learn by means of trial-and-error method in
which some purchase behaviours result in a more favourable outcome.
Consumer Attitudes
Consumer attitude may be defined as a feeling of favourableness or unfavourableness that an
individual has towards an object. As we, all know that an individual with a positive attitude
is more likely to buy a product and this results in the possibility of liking or disliking a
product.
Consumer attitude basically comprises of beliefs towards, feelings towards and behavioural
intentions towards some objects.
Belief plays a vital role for consumers because, it can be either positive or negative towards
an object. For example, some may say tea is good and relieves tension, others may say too
much of tea is not good for health. Human beliefs are not accurate and can change according
to situations.
Consumers have certain specific feelings towards some products or brands. Sometimes these
feelings are based on certain beliefs and sometimes they are not. For example, an individual
feels uneasy when he thinks about cheese burst pizza, because of the tremendous amount of
cheese or fat it has.
Behavioural intentions show the plans of consumers with respect to the products. This is
sometimes a logical result of beliefs or feelings, but not always. For example, an individual
personally might not like a restaurant, but may visit it because it is the hangout place for his
friends.

Functions of Attitudes

The following are the functions of attitudes

 Adjustment Function − Attitudes helps people to adjust to different situations and
circumstances.
 Ego Defensive Function − Attitudes are formed to protect the ego. We all are
bothered about our self-esteem and image so the product boosting our ego is the
target of such a kind of attitude.
 Value Expression Function − Attitudes usually represent the values the individual
possess. We gain values, though our upbringing and training. Our value system
encourages or discourages us to buy certain products. For example, our value system
allows or disallows us to purchase products such as cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, etc.
 Knowledge Function − Individuals’ continuously seeks knowledge and information.
When an individual gets information about a particular product, he creates and
modifies his attitude towards that product.

Models of Attitude

The following are the models of attitude

  Tri-component Model − According to tri-component model, attitude consists of the
following three components.
 Cognitive Component − The first component is cognitive component. It consists of
an individual’s knowledge or perception towards few products or services through
personal experience or related information from various sources. This knowledge,
usually results in beliefs, which a consumer has, and specific behaviour.
 Affective Component − The second part is the affective component. This consists of
a person’s feelings, sentiments, and emotions for a particular brand or product. They
treat them as the primary criteria for the purpose of evaluation. The state of mind
also plays a major role, like the sadness, happiness, anger, or stress, which also
affects the attitude of a consumer.
 Conative Component − The last component is conative component, which consists
of a person’s intention or likelihood towards a particular product. It usually means
the actual behaviour of the person or his intention.
Attitude Formation and Change
Refer PPT for attitude formation from Slide 53 to Slide 77
For attitude change, refer below pictures
Communication
Communications can be either impersonal or interpersonal. In marketing, the sources of
impersonal communications are messages that companies transmit through their marketing
departments, advertising or public relations agencies, and spokespersons. The targets, or
receivers, of such messages are usually a specific audience or several audiences that the
organization is trying to inform, influence, or persuade. The senders of interpersonal
communications may be either formal sources (e.g., a salesperson in a physical or virtual
retail location) or informal sources (e.g., peers with whom the consumer communicates
face-to-face or via electronic means). The most prominent ones are selective exposure and
psychological noise.

Selective Exposure
Selective exposure refers to consumers’ selectivity in paying attention to advertising
messages. They read ads carefully for products they are interested in and tend to ignore
advertisements that have no interest or relevance to them. Furthermore, technology provides
consumers with increasingly sophisticated means to control their exposure to media.
Consumers can now control their exposure to mass media and avoid commercials while
watching TV by using the pause function when a string of commercials starts and then
quickly returning to the broadcast once the ads are over. Viewers can also time shift by
recording TV shows and viewing them at their leisure while skipping over commercials.
Readers of newspapers and magazines online can create personalized editions of these
publications and avoid many ads, and satellite radio allows consumers to avoid hearing radio
ads altogether. Caller ID, phone answering machines, the government’s “do not call” list, and
other devices allow consumers to screen out telemarketing and other unsolicited contacts
from marketers.

Psychological Noise
Just as telephone static can impair a phone conversation, psychological noise in the form of
competing advertising messages or distracting thoughts can affect the reception of a
promotional message. A viewer faced with the clutter of nine successive commercial
messages during a program break may actually receive and retain almost nothing of what he
has seen. Similarly, an executive planning a department meeting while driving to work may
be too engrossed in her thoughts to “hear” a radio commercial. Marketers use the following
strategies to overcome or limit psychological noise:
1. Repeated exposure to an advertising message surmounts psychological noise and
facilitates message reception. Thus, repeating an ad several times is a must. The
principle of redundancy is also seen in advertisements that use both illustrations and
text copy to emphasize the same points. To achieve even more advertising
redundancy, many marketers now place their messages in such places as video games,
movie theatres, elevators, supermarket floors, baggage carousels, subway turnstiles,
and even public restrooms.
2. Copywriters often use contrast to break through the psychological noise and
advertising clutter and attract consumers’ attention. Contrast includes featuring an
unexpected outcome; increasing the amount of sensory input (such as colour, scent, or
sound); and identifying, through testing, message appeals that attract more attention.
 3. Digital technologies allow marketers to monitor the consumer’s visits to websites,
infer the person’s interests, and design and send customized promotional messages to
that person.
Of course, effective positioning and providing value are the most effective ways to
ensure that a promotional message stands out and is received and decoded
appropriately by the target audience. Advertisements for products that are perceived
to be unique and provide better value than competitive products are more likely to be
received in their intended ways than other promotional messages within the
advertising clutter.

Persuasion
Persuasion is the act of presenting arguments for change, while motivation involves the force
to bring about change. The concept of measurable gain assesses audience response to a
persuasive message.

Communicating a Message

When we speak, we are communicating some sort of message. Think of babies, they are
unable to speak but yet are able to communicate to us their need. Sure, sometimes we are
unsure and have the game of trial and error but in time we do get to hear a different cry for
hunger, pain, overtired, pick me up, etc. We are constantly communicating a message
verbally and non-verbally.

A facial expression is communicating a message through body language of joy or discontent

as we are reacting in a manner that we want that person to know how we are feeling. In
advertising, we are communicating a message that we also want people to know. We want
them to know that we exist, what our offering is, how we are better than the rest and how we
can solve their problem. In social media marketing, we take communications a bit further as
we do all of the above as social media is a form of advertising, but we take it a step further
we are able to communicate to create dialogue, conversation and engagement. We are
establishing a communication channel that is persuading people to listen.

Stages of Persuasion

When we communicate, we are persuading. We are persuading them to listen, accept,

comprehend and act. If they do not accept the message, they act by either voicing their
opinion or ignoring. When you have their attention, the stages of persuasion tend to emulate
the stages of brand perception and acceptance. We will not buy from people we do not trust.
We buy from people/a brand that we hear, listen, accept and trust when we have a need and
feel that they are talking to us. That talking to us, is the persuasion which as we know in
marketing comes in stages.

1. Unaware. Introducing your brand to your audience/target market while at the same time
talking to your current market is no easy feat. Crafting a message that is universal of sorts on
certain platforms needs to guide and direct them to satisfy no only their needs for information
but your needs as a business as a first exposure to persuade them and the repeats to buy.
2. Aware. Those that are aware but not yet sold on your message are where many businesses
focus on. They are the leads, they the folks that need to be nurtured and pushed along through
repeat communications. They pull the trigger when you are able to communicate a bigger
message of how. How will you make their life easier, how will your product perform, how
much attention should they pay to how you perform (thinking big brand vs generic here). As
a small business social media agency, we have to show how we will create
goals and strategies and tactics that persuade them to buy. They know we are here but when
they are unsure, they are saying we are unsure how YOU will elicit a favourable response for
ME. You created a favourable response for you (as I am talking to you) but how can you turn
that around for me - and I want hard results before I can sign that check!

3. Acceptance. Are they accepting what you are saying? If they are, they are trusting you? If
not, they are unsure. Trust is a big factor when they consider the propensity to buy. If you
offer the lowest price should people be sceptical? If you offer the highest price is what you
are providing the best of the best? We trust people/brands that make us trust them. We trust
Apple. Why? They have a great product and whether we are an Apple or PC, we know that
they are the other side may offer more than we have. That that end, is your brand and
accepted in social media or a hassle to change?

4. Action. We want people to take action from our communications. That could be to respond
to us, see us, listen to us, buy from us. In traditional media in a radio commercial, we are
given a short period of time to get our message out which is a non-visual message. You are
relying upon their ears to provide the attention whereas with TV we have the visual and audio
(if people are not walking away from the visual). In social media we are visual. We have to
see the message to respond. We have to exude that control where we either stay or click off.
Action is not always buying. Action is a listening and trusting which in turn is persuasion to
get then to listen.

Persuasion Through Communication

The cognitive process of persuasion through communication is not new as Aristotle in his
book, The Art of Rhetoric, equated communication to persuasion. While we can challenge
this through a myriad of examples (simplest one, a speed zone sign vs a police officer sitting
with a radar gun) we have learned to associate cognitive thoughts and perceptions to a certain
set of emotions. The emotions arise as a result of our perception in marketing is through the
message and also through their level of awareness, acceptance and buyer stage.

Self-Image

Lifestyle analysis

Note:- Refer PPT 82 to 89