MKTG 2060 - Consumer Behavior

Credit Hours: 3.00

Objectives:

1. Define consumer behavior

2. Understand the meaning of consumption and consumer behavior

3. Explain the role of consumer behavior in business and society

4. Be familiar with basic approaches to studying consumer behavior

5. Describe why consumer behavior is so dynamic and how recent trends affect consumers

6. Apply the concepts of marketing strategy and marketing tactics to describe the way firms go about creating value for consumers

7. Explain the way market characteristics like market segmentation and product differentiation affect marketing strategy

8. Analyze consumer markets using elementary perceptual maps

9. Justify adopting the concept of consumers’ lifetime value as an effective long-term orientation for many firms

10. Comprehend the role of corporate social responsibility in the field of marketing

11. Understand the various forms of regulation that affect marketing practice

12. Comprehend the major areas of criticism to which marketers are subjected

Outcome 2: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to explain how external influences affect consumer behavior.

Objectives:

1. Discuss how consumer behavior is influenced at the macro level by global issues as well as at the micro level by family and group influences

2. Describe the effect of cultural and sub-cultural variations in the consumer decision process

3. Identify and describe key sub-cultures in U.S. society, focusing on differences in buyer behavior

4. Compare cultural variations in non-verbal communication patterns

5. Describe changes in U.S. society from the standpoint of demographic distribution and social stratification

6. Identify values that are emerging in U.S. society and explain their impact on the buying process

7. Differentiate between U.S. values and values of other cultures

8. Explain how household and family life cycles influence buyer behavior

9. Describe group influences on consumer behavior, including reference groups, opinion leaders, and word-of-mouth

10. Create marketing strategies that reflect understanding of the external influences on consumer behavior

Outcome 3: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to explain how internal influences affect consumer behavior.

Objectives:

1. Describe perception and its role in the buying process

2. Explain how understanding of perception is important in a variety of marketing contexts, including advertising, retailing, branding, and package design

3. Describe learning theory as it relates to the consumer buying process

4. Outline the different theories of motivation and explain how they link to different levels of involvement in the purchase decision process

5. Describe consumer personality and explain how it relates to brand personality

6. Describe how emotions are used in marketing and advertising

7. Identify the components of attitudes and describe how they form and how they change

8. Describe the meaning of lifestyle analysis and the role it plays in developing marketing strategies

9. Create marketing strategies that reflect understanding of the internal influences on consumer behavior

Outcome 4: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to explain the purchase decision process.

Objectives:

1. Describe the significance of the situational context of a purchase decision

2. Explain stages in the consumer decision process, differentiating between low-involvement and high-involvement purchases

3. Define the Problem Recognition stage and offer strategies to discover consumer problems and to help consumers to recognize problems

4. Define the Information Search stage and identify strategies for inclusion in the consumer’s consideration set.

5. Define the Evaluation stage and explain how consumers analyze, compare and make choices

6. Define the Post-purchase stage and offer strategies to reduce dissonance, increase loyalty, and build relationships with customers

7. Create marketing strategies that reflect understanding of the purchase decision process

• Communication: The graduate can communicate effectively for the intended purpose and audience.
• Critical Thinking: The graduate can make informed decisions after analyzing information or evidence related to the issue.
• Global Literacy: The graduate can analyze human behavior or experiences through cultural, social, political, or economic perspectives.
• Information Literacy: The graduate can responsibly use information gathered from a variety of formats in order to complete a task.
• Quantitative Reasoning: The graduate can apply quantitative methods or evidence to solve problems or make judgments.
• Scientific Literacy: The graduate can produce or interpret scientific information presented in a variety of formats.

1. Introduction to Consumer Behavior
   1. Other disciplines which influence consumer behavior
   2. Market segmentation - definition and overview
   3. Introduction to consumer behavior model: external influences, internal influences, and the consumer decision process
2. External Influences on Consumer Behavior
   1. Global cultural factors affecting consumer behavior: language (verbal and non-verbal), demographics, values
   2. U.S. society: values, demographics, subcultures, and household structure - and implications for marketing strategy
   3. Group influences on consumer behavior: types of groups, nature of the influence and implications for marketing strategy
3. Internal Influences on Consumer Behavior
   1. Perception: exposure, attention, interpretation and implications for marketing strategy
   2. Learning: memory, brand image and implications for marketing strategy
   3. Motivation, Personality and Emotion: implications for marketing strategy
   4. Attitudes: components, influences and implications for marketing strategy
   5. Self-concept and lifestyle: definitions, analysis tools like VALS or PRIZM and implications for marketing strategy
4. Consumer Decision Process
   1. Organizational vs. individual consumers
   2. Types of decisions and extensiveness of decision process
   3. Problem recognition and implications for marketing strategy
   4. Information search and implications for marketing strategy
   5. Evaluating choices and making a selection - both for the product and the outlet from which it is purchased
   6. Post-purchase behavior: satisfaction/dissatisfaction, commitment, repurchase