Consumer behavior mid term exam Answers PDF

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Mohamed Salem Mohamed Consumer behavior Midterm Exam (Answers)

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1) In recent years, there has been a large debate about the influence that internet shopping will have on our consumer lives. Try listing the changes that you personally have made in your buying and consumption patterns due to ecommerce. Compare these changes with changes experienced by other people from various social groups, e.g. somebody from your parents’ generation, an IT freak, or somebody with a lower educational background. Answer:

My changes Searching broadly between a variety of brands

IT freak changes Easy to learn about the product instead of printed manuals. Comparing hardware products easily

Comparing products locally and internationally. Buying any time 24/7

Encouraged to try more internet services as in data hosting, advanced E-mail and social media privileges Stimulated by online ads Get notifications about new products or offers My social image has a new dimension that is on the internet. Lie on more online banking Instant interact with ex users.

Get the best price. Tracking delivery Interact with instant customer service Pay online Get product information before buying from blogs or ex buyers. Get clear written steps and Conditions for the whole buying process

Mobile phone sites allow to explore the products in 3D and also allow customers to test camera quality so buying decision would be reasonable.

Food, beverages, drugs, restaurant menus and almost all FMCG are available online.

2) Although demographic information on large numbers of consumers is used in many marketing contexts, some people believe that the sale of data on customers’ incomes,

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buying habits and so on constitutes an invasion of privacy and should be banned. Comment on this issue from both a consumer’s and a marketer’s point of view. Answer: Consumer view: As a consumer I feel mostly violated especially online; I keep getting mails from websites tracking my online surfing, any website I visit bother me with ads derived from my previous search keywords. When I’m in retailing shops sometimes I feel being tricked by the store employees to buy things that I don’t need offered with promotions or represented in a certain appealing way. I may be ok with revealing my buying habits information but defiantly not ok with revealing my income information like my salary, how much do I pay to buy a certain amount of a specific product per month. In most cases we didn’t know about it so we think it is a coincidence when we find the exact product that is convenient for us in the store. That’s how we get fooled and buy it.

Marketer view: Habits aren’t destiny — they can be ignored, changed or replaced. But it’s also true that once the loop is established and a habit emerges, your brain stops fully participating in decision-making. So unless you deliberately fight a habit — unless you find new cues and rewards — the old pattern will unfold automatically. As a marketer I look at collecting data about consumer habits or incomes as a necessary procedure that helps me to satisfy his needs otherwise he won’t find the products he needs in the right time, in convenient place and in reasonable price for him. If we send someone a catalog and say, ‘Congratulations on your first child!’ and they’ve never told us they’re pregnant, that’s going to make some people uncomfortable. For example software companies make their products available for trial in prior production phase called Beta so consumers can send their feedback voluntarily to the company for enhancing and improving the product. Microsoft embedded an application called Windows Feedback app in their unissued windows 10 to collect consumer feedbacks before introducing the final product.

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Sometimes we assign each shopper a unique code that keeps tabs on everything they buy. “If you use a credit card or a coupon, or fill out a survey, or mail in a refund, or call the customer help line, or open an e-mail we’ve sent you or visit the store Web site, we’ll record it and link it to him as we want to know everything we can.

3) Select a product and brand that you use frequently and list what you consider to be the brand’s determinant attributes. Without revealing your list, ask a friend who is approximately the same age but of the opposite sex to make a similar list for the same product (the brand may be different). Compare and contrast the identified attributes and report your findings. Answer: My product (Samsung mobile) Price is reasonable Works on the widely used Android system Updates and applications mostly free Perceived Image is good as Samsung is the second in mobile market after Apple. Quality is not the that good It can be connected to any device even apple devices.

Friend product (Samsung mobile) Come in variety of colors and styles. The battery doesn’t last as long as it should although charging time is good. Arabic language is supported Camera quality is important for memorial shots and to scan documents I prefer the big screen size to be comfortable to my eyes. Embedded applications is very important as I’m not good in downloading such stuff.

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Small size with convenient capabilities is important for me to fit my pocket. Screen light is not enough to see text clearly in the direct sun light.

Original peripherals are very expensive and only available in big stores.

4) Collect ads for five different brands of the same product. Report on the segmentation variables, target markets and emphasized product attributes in each ad. Answer: Product: Cinema Movies Brand 20th Century Fox Product Avatar Type Science Fiction Segmentation  Psychographic segmentation Variables  Experiencers, thinkers and innovators. Target market Experiencers Attributes 1. The movie produced with 3D visual effects that needs special glasses to watch and surround sound effects for more realism. 2. The story happened in an imaginary new world. 3. The movie represented new machines and advanced computers 4. A love story included for emotional entertaining. 5. The story has key tricky ideas to think about after watching. 6. Epic battles stimulate the competition instincts. Brand Walt Disney Product Up Type Animation Segmentation  Demographic age segmentation Variables  Childes, teenagers, youth, grown-ups and elders Target market Childes and their parents Attributes 1. Caricature characters and colors. 2. Adventure story. 3. Elements lovable for kids like balloons, talking dogs, grandpa and flying house 4. Encouraging a good behavior through simple ideas like helping the elders, taking care of animals, good and evil. 5. Ending the movie by rewarding the kid character for his good behavior.

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Brand Product Type Segmentation Variables

Universal Meet the Parents Comedy  Demographic life stage/marital status segmentation  Singles, married couple, engaged couple, close friends and divorced couple. Target market Engaged and/or married couple Attributes 1. Focusing on family life concept. 2. Comedian situations and reactions that evoke good memories. 3. Discussing common relation issues such as love, jealousy, worrying of misunderstanding and acceptance. 4. Directing attention slightly to other typical family members not just the main couple. Brand Paramount Product Mission: Impossible Type Action Segmentation  Psychographic segmentation Variables  Achievers, makers and innovators Target market Innovators Attributes 1. The idea of accomplishing a specific task is an appealing concept for innovators 2. All characters are sophisticated people with high self-esteem. 3. Introducing the main character as a team leader. 4. The riddles and mysterious cues heat up the challenge. 5. Enthusiastic music to warm up the audience mode. Brand Warner Bros. Product Slumdog Millionaire Type Drama Segmentation  Demographic generation based segmentation Variables  Youth, middle ages and elders. Target market Youth Attributes 1. The whole movie represent the common youth dreams of wealth and love. 2. Giving ambition audience the feeling of achieving success quickly by luck. 3. A story depending on a famous TV show give the movie more appealing dimension. 4. All the show elaborate the poor miserable life for a young man and the prize is only at the end where the audience would feel rewarded and satisfied.

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5) Assume that you are a consultant for a marketer who wants to design a package for a new premium chocolate bar targeted to an affluent market. What recommendations would you provide in terms of such package elements as color, symbolism and graphic design? Give the reasons for your suggestions. Answer: A. Color  For the package color I would use golden, silver or chrome as basic color as in Nescafe gold that release the feel of prosperity, richness and high social image.  Chocolate brown color also my used as a complementary color or I my just use a chocolate image.  Another idea is to use the black color for the whole package and draw some decorations over it using golden, silver or chrome as special shiny colors.  Black also represent prosperity and mystery but for a dark color I would find a way to emphasize contrast between it and the chocolate color that is also dark.

B. Symbolism  I may use an Image of melted chocolate, a pleasant women face or some glowing jewels.  Another idea is to use an image of closed female mouth with sexy lips and a tongue tip is licking a tiny piece of chocolate over the above lip.

C. Graphic design  The package material is very important aspect is it should reflect the quality of the product not only the design.  The design would be mostly simple and I would prefer a creative way to open the package instead of the ordinary way so the consumer would feel uniqueness.

6) Find one ad that is rich in symbolism and perform a semiotic analysis of it. Identify each type of sign used in the ad and the product qualities being communicated by each. Comment on the effectiveness of the signs that are used to communicate the intended message. Answer:

McDonald’s ad symbolisms.

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A. The logo  McDonald’s logo evolution is intentional; each new logo serves as a response to common consumer issues in order to directly influence the perception of the corporation  McDonald’s has been able to turn a letter into a brand and has successfully linked their company with feelings of tasty food and quick service.  Yellow happens to be “one of the most popular colors among the 5-12 year olds” and because of its longer wavelength red has been “seen to arouse” and be “associated with happiness.”  The golden arches logo is the physical sign for the McDonald’s brand in the minds of consumers. The logo represent what consumers know as McDonald’s. It trigger, in the consumers’ minds, the whole host of emotions and images that the company represents.

B. The Objet McDonald's features several products on their menu that are permanent and do not change. Examples of this include their basic hamburger and cheeseburger, the Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder. After the initial development, these items remain on the menu for extended periods of time without undergoing significant changes. This strategy ensures that there is always something familiar for consumers on the menu. C. The Sign  Nearing 50 years of age, Ronald McDonald is the epitome of successful international semiotics. His lasting exuberance and exaggerated features are fairly unrealistic, but somehow create an air of humanism that comforts the individual. He is always happy pleasantly plump, and is rarely sited in the myriads of complaints against the company he represents.  His main appeal to global consumers is his racial ambiguity. While you can assume he is a white American man, his facial features are relatively vague. Therefore, he can easily be used for commercial purposes. Though his presence in television advertisements is low, his likeliness is shown in statues and photographs in many major McDonalds locations. There are statues of him surfing, sitting at park benches, and greeting people all over the world. Google searches of Ronald McDonald USA / Russia / Cambodia / Lichtenstein / Ireland / Japan show people of different origins posing with identical plastic statues.  While understated, Ronald McDonald’s importance is obvious. He is one of the few uncontested features McDonalds has left. He a dependable hostess, the face of their charity, and even ditched his yellow jumpsuit to train for the 2010 Olympics. And unlike the imposing Golden Arches or the tailored commercials, Ronald McDonald is a steadfast representation of the McDonalds Corporation: cheery, plump, and relatively intimidating

D. The Interpreting

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McDonald’s aimed to convey that eating burgers and French fries is the American way of life and that by eating there you will become closer with your family, your friends, and be situated in a comfortable environment to enjoy a great meal.

References https://blogs.longwood.edu/imjustsaying/2013/01/11/m-is-not-just-a-letter-anymore/ http://sites.davidson.edu/anthro/global/2012/03/18/the-importance-of-ronald-mcdonald/ http://smallbusiness.chron.com/product-development-strategy-mcdonalds-12207.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?_r=0

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