The Influence of Identified Internal Factors on a Consumers Decision-Making Process - Coursework Example

The Influence of Identified ‘Internal Factors’ on a Consumer’s Decision-Making Process The consumer decision making process has been described by many scholars and analysts as a complex undertaking. Wright (2006) for example notes that the decision making process is influenced by both internal and external influences. Theoretically, it is indicated that the consumer decision making starts with need recognition, which is followed by information search, evaluation of alternative, action, purchase, and post purchase evaluation. Wright (2006) identified internal influencers that can affect consumers’ decisions as the consumer’s personality, attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and memory. Myers (1962) identifies a consumer’s cognitive style as the major influence of decisions that he/she makes regarding purchases. Generally however, analysts use three models of analysing internal factors that influence consumer decision making. The models include: economic models (largely quantitative, assumes consumers are rational beings and that they posses near-perfect knowledge); psychological models (relies on cognitive and psychological processes such as consumer behaviour models, need reduction and motivation); and practical models (blends both psychological and economic models). In this paper, I will use the psychological model because the economic model has been criticised as being unrealistic especially in its consideration of it assumption that consumers are rational economic actors (Dubey, 2007). By extension, and considering that the practical models includes a blend of economic and psychological model, it can also be assumed that it (the practical models) also has an element of unrealistic expectations on the consumer hence my decision not to use it. In this paper, Dettol Soap, a product of Reckitt Benckiser will be used for illustration purposes. Psychological influences, which are identified as perception, learning, motivation, and beliefs & attitudes will be the main theory used in this analysis. The selection of the psychological influences theory is informed by this writer’s conviction that although external influencers (e.g. marketing messages, advocacy by friends, colleagues or family members) have a role to play in shaping consumer decisions, it is the internal psychological factors that determine the consumer decision in both immediate and repeat purchase decisions. Dettol Soap is a product manufactured Reckitt Benckiser Plc., and its subsidiaries in different global markets. Studies regarding the penetration of Dettol soap in India were performed by the Reckitt Benckiser subsidiary in India, and started by noting that the soap was based on consumer feedback regarding the Dettol Antiseptic Liquid. According to the report, many consumers used not only to clean wounds and glazes, but also in bath water as a way of ensuring germ-free baths (Kalia, 2009). Reckitt Benckiser therefore offered the Dettol soap bar as a more convenient way of bathing. Notably, even with the ‘germ protection’ promise that the soap was marketed with, it only registered limited success which was concentrated among loyalists, who specifically liked the soap for what they termed trade mark fragrance. To penetrate the Indian market further by appealing to more consumers, Reckitt Benckiser launched other variants which included Dettol Skincare Soap and Dettol Cool. By 2007, one year after the Dettol Cool variant was launched, it was estimated that the three variants of Dettol Soap had a 4.9% share in the Indian market. As a product that do not inspire complex decision making, where a lot of thinking is involved, the penetration of Dettol soap in the Indian market no doubt was (and continues being) affected by several factors that influence consumer decision making. They include: Perceptions towards Dettol soap According to Baker (2002), perception is the process through which “people select, organise and interpret stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture” (p. 55). When Dettol soap was initially launched in the Indian market in the 1980s, it was marketed as a gentle and mild soap (Kalia, 2009). However, most consumers who have been accustomed to using the Dettol antiseptic in occasions that required a tough germ-fighting solution did not make sense of the soap proposition. According to Kalia (2009), it was hard to make sense of a mild soap coming from the Dettol stable. In other words, the consumer’s perceptions did not acknowledge the need of a mild soap from the Dettol stable, but would probably have reacted better if the soap was launched with the same germ-fighting proposition as the Dettol antiseptic liquid. The latter was confirmed when Reckitt Benckiser after a market research seeking to find out why the soap was not performing as expected, launched a new marketing strategy that imaged the soap as the solution to fighting germs. Consequently, sales of the soap increased significantly indicating that the company’s communication had succeeded in aligning the messages to meet consumers’ perceptions. Reckitt Benckiser further shaped consumer perceptions by linking daily living activities to germs, and germs to diseases and ill health. The company therefore created the promise of better health through the use of Dettol soap for not only bathing but hand washing, and as a result, Kalia (2009) notes that the sales of soap has increased significantly. Motivation Baker (2002) defines motivation as “unobserved inner force that stimulates and compels a behavioural response and provides specific direction to that response” (p.4). On their part, Hoyer and MacInnis (2009) observes that motivation is closely linked to personal relevance because consumers are more interested in goods or services that are personally relevant to them. Personal relevance has been defined as “something that has a direct bearing on the self and has potentially significant consequences or implications for our lives” (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2009, p. 49). When Dettol soap was initially launched in the 1980s, Kalia (2009) notes that it elicited stimulus in consumers which were positive (for those loyalists who liked its trademark fragrance); and negative (for those consumers who felt that the soap did not live to the tough germ fighting stance that the Dettol antiseptic liquid was known for). While the trademark Dettol fragrance seemed to be the main reason why loyal customers were purchasing the product, the non-using consumers arguably did not perceive the risk of not using the soap as posing any kinds of threats or were not convinced about the personal relevance of the soap. In subsequent marketing communications however, Dettol Soap was positioned as having germ-fighting capabilities that other soaps lacked, and by so doing, more consumers were motivated to purchase the soap especially because the risks associated with non-use (contracting germs and perhaps disease) appeared more than was initially communicated in the initial marketing messages. Additionally, Reckitt Benckiser emphasised that germs were everywhere and no person was immune from the same, hence pushing the personal-relevance message to as many people. When Dettol soap non-users were prodded for reasons, a majority cited the costs (too expensive) as their major reasons. Other reasons included: too strong/harsh on skins, unpleasant fragrance, not for daily use, and the soap’s inability to kill germs as its markets itself. It can therefore be said that internally, the non-users’ perceptions were not convinced regarding the worthiness of Dettol soap’s high price, quality and reliability, and important attributes such as fragrance or longevity. It could also be that the non-users were not convinced about the personal-relevance that the soap had to them. Following the Maslow hierarchy of needs, one can argue that Dettol Soap was marketed as a product that would address the safety needs of consumers. The Maslow’s hierarchy indicate psychological needs as the most basic needs that must be met, after which a person can seek to meet other needs in the hierarchy including safety, love, esteem and self-actualisation (Integrated Advertising Program, 2004). Marketing Dettol Soap as being tough on germs but loving and caring on family members, arguably acts a positive emotional appeal to consumers. Consequently, it would be expected that they would be more willing to secure their wellbeing by fighting germs, or the wellbeing of their families by providing the love and care promised by Dettol soap. As Baker (2002) observes, consumers do not just buy products; rather, their decisions to buy are motivated by the ability of a product to solve their problems or satisfy their motives. In the same light, it can be argued that Dettol Soap has continuously positioned itself as having solutions to germs, and by such, consumers are increasingly motivated to purchase the product for purposes of living a germ-free life. Learning Learning is another internal factor that is defined by Baker (2002) as “a process that creates changes in behaviour immediate or expected, through experience and practice” (p. 62). Learning is either conceptual where one does not need to have used a product to know about it, or experiential where learning takes place by experience. Learning can also occur through stimulus generalization where a response experienced as a result of using a specific product is extend to another product similar to it. The latter kind of learning is evident in the loyal customers who embraced Dettol Soap based on the trademark fragrance that they associated with the Dettol antiseptic liquid. Conceptual learning and maybe some experimental learning however had to occur for some other clients to make up their minds to purchase Dettol soap. Specifically, Reckitt Benckiser had to communicate that Dettol soap was different from other soaps, and that it had the same germ-fighting capabilities as Dettol antiseptic liquid. Notably, learning does not always occur in a manner that favours a product. In Dettol soap’s case, Baker (2002) notes that non-users indicate that the soap does not indeed kill germs as indicated by the marketing messages. Such could be termed as experimental learning where consumers learn that the product does not deliver on its promises. Another group of non-users cite the fragrance as unappealing and the soap qualities being too harsh/strong on the skin. It would be expected that the latter group learned the indicated negative qualities of the soap by having purchased the same and using it. The learning however meant that the decision not to purchase Dettol soap in future was made and that no amount of marketing could convince them otherwise (unless the fragrance and/or the germ-killing abilities of the soap are enhanced). Beliefs and Attitudes Beliefs are defined as organised patterns of knowledge that people hold as true in their context, while attitude is defined as the learned inclination to react consistently towards something. Combined, beliefs and attitudes also affect consumer decision making. In the Dettol case as indicated above, beliefs and attitudes are evident in that some consumers believed that the Dettol stable could not come up with a product that was mild and caring. The consumers’ beliefs and attitudes were therefore shaped to expect the opposite of ‘gentle and mild’ from the manufacturers of Dettol antiseptic liquid, and this explains their lack of confidence in the initial Dettol soap when it was released. However, with a change of marketing communications on Reckitt Benckiser’s side, the company was able to shape the beliefs and attitudes held by some consumers, and by so doing, managed to convince them that Dettol soap is indeed a germs-fighting solution for bathing. Notably, and as indicated by Baker (2002), shaping beliefs and attitudes is a continuous undertaking for product marketers since products need to remain relevant to existing consumers, and at the same time, gain new markets by fitting into the beliefs and attitudes of new consumers. A child who grows up believing that Dettol soap is the ultimate solution to germs may uphold that belief up to adulthood; on the other hand, a child who grows up with the belief that there are several brands of soaps that can offer the same anti-germs benefits may sustain the same in adulthood, in which case it would be the brands job to convince him/her about why he/she should chose one over the others. Beliefs and attitudes are also evident in Dettol soap use across seasons, with consumers who do not use it all year round indicating that they use the soap in seasons they consider as having more germs. The summer season in India specifically seem to inspire more usage of Dettol soap (an average of 26.5%), with the rainy season and winter inspiring an average of 10% and 1% additional users respectively. In conclusion, it is worth noting that human beings are different hence the complex nature of analysing consumer decision makings. The common denominator among most consumers is their ability to be influence in their decision-making by non-rational considerations such as emotions. In Dettol soap’s context for example, most of the loyal buyers just continue purchasing the products based on the trademark fragrance alone. They do not really care whether there is evidence to prove the 100% germs protection promised by the soap marketer. It is for that reason that scientific models and practical models of analysing consumer are considered less accurate in analysing consumer behaviour when compared to the psychological model used herein. References Baker, D. (2002). Consumer decision making. Texan Christian University. 1-67. Retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.swlearning.com/marketing/lamb/marketing_6e/powerpoint/ch05.ppt Dubey, P. (2007). Changes in consumer decision making process led by environmental information. DSPace, retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/319/1/ Hoyer, W. D., & MacInnis, D. J. (2008). Consumer behaviour. 5th ed. London: Cengage Learning. Integrated Advertising Program. (2004). Chapter 5: Understanding message strategy. Unit 2, Lesson 20. 1-20. Kalia, V. (2009). 75 years if Dettol: a case analysis contest. Reckitt Benckiser & the Marketing Club of MDI. retrieved April 5, 2013, from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/69676696/Dettol-Soap-Marketing-Strategy. Myers, I. (1962). Introduction to type: A description of the theory and implications of the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Wright, R. (2006). Consumer behaviour. London: Cengage Learning. Read More