LITERATURE REVIEW
Consumer attitudes are both an obstacle and an advantage to a marketer. Choosing to discount or ignore consumers’ co nsumers’ attitudes of a particular product produ ct or service—while developing a marketing strategy—guarantees limited success of a campaign. In contrast, perceptive marketers leverage their understanding of attitudes to predict the behavior of consumers. These savvy marketers know exactly how to distinguish the differences between beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors while leveraging all three in the development of marketing strategies.
n attitude in marketing terms is defined as a general evaluation of a product or service formed over time !"olomon, #$$%&. n attitude satisfies a personal motive— and at the same time, affects the shopping and buying habits of consumers. 'r. (ars )erner !#$*$& defines consumer attitude simply as a composite of a consumer’s beliefs, feelings, and behavioral intentions toward some ob+ect within the context of marketing. consumer can hold negative or positive beliefs or feelings toward a product or service. behavioral intention is defined by the consumer’s belief or feeling with respect to the product or service.
)erhaps the attitude formed as the result of a positive or negative personal experience. aybe outside influences of other individuals persuaded the consumer’s opinion of a product or service. ttitudes ttitudes are relatively enduring !-skamp "chult/, #$$0, p. %&. ttitudes are a learned predisposition to proceed in favor of or opposed to a given ob+ect. In the context of marketing, an attitude is the filter to which every product and service is scrutini/ed.
The functional theory of attitudes—developed by 'aniel 1at/—offers an explanation as to the functional motives of attitudes to consumers !"olomon, #$$%&. 1at/ theori/es four possible functions of attitudes. 2ach function attempts to explain the source and purpose a particular attitude might have to the consumer. 3nderstanding the purpose of a consumer’s attitude is an imperative step toward changing an attitude. 3nlike 1at/’s explanation of attitude—as it relates to social psychology, specifically the ideological or sub+ective side of man—consumer attitudes exist to satisfy a function !1at/, *456&.
The utilitarian function is one of the most recogni/ed of 1at/’s four defined functions. The utilitarian function is based on the ethical theory of utilitarianism, whereas an individual will make decisions based entirely on the producing the greatest amount of happiness happ iness as a whole !"idgwick, *4$6&. consumer’s attitude attitude is clearly based on a utility function when the decision revolves around the amount of pain or pleasure in brings.
The value7expressive function is employed when a consumer is basing their attitude regarding a product or service on self7concept or central values. The association or reflection that a product or service has on the consumer is the main concern of an individual embracing the value expressive function !"olomon, #$$%&. This particular function is used when a consumer accepts a product or service with the intention of affecting their social identity identity..
The ego7defensive function is apparent when a consumer feels that the use of a product or service might compromise their self7image. self7image. oreover, the ego7defensive attitude is difficult to change. The ego7defensive attitude—in general psychology—is a way for individuals deny their own disconcerting aspects !8arayan, #$*$&. marketer must tread lightly when considering a message strategy to a consumer with an attitude based on the ego7defensive function.
The knowledge function is prevalent in individuals who are careful about organi/ing and providing structure regarding their attitude or opinion o f a product or service !"olomon, #$$%&. marketer can change a consumer’s knowledge function based attitude by using fact7based comparisons and real7world statistics in the message strategy. 9ague 9ague and non7relevant marketing campaigns are ineffective against a knowledge attitude audience.
dvertising campaigns that appeal to consumer behaviors based on the value7 expressive or utilitarian functions are the most common !"irgy, *44*&. 3tilitarian advertisements deliver a message regarding the benefits of using a product or service. dvertising targeted to consumers with value7expressive v alue7expressive attitudes will typically include product symbolism and an image strategy. In either case, it is important to understand why a consumer holds a particular attitude toward the product or service.
The :C odel of ttitudes—consisting ttitudes—consisting of the three components; affect, behavior, and cognition—accentuates the relationship between knowing, feeling, and doing !"olomon, #$$%&. ffect is the feeling an individual has regarding an ob+ect. In the current context, affect represents the emotion or opinion about a product or service. :ehavior is the responses of a consumer resulting from affect and cogn ition. :ehavior only implies intention. Cognition is an individual’s belief or knowledge about an attitude ob+ect.
The hierarchy of effects is the result of all three components working together. The hierarchy of effects is a concept used to distinguish between the involvement levels or motivation an individual might have toward the attitude ob+ect. The standard7learning hierarchy, low7involvement hierarchy, hierarchy, and experiential hierarchy are the three hierarchies of effects. 'r.
included, and represented by the component order—behavior, belief, and affect !8ovack, #$*$&.
The standard7learning hierarchy, also known as the high7involvement hierarchy assumes that the consumer will conduct extensive research and establish beliefs about the attitude ob+ect. The consumer will then establish feelings regarding the attitude ob+ect. The feelings—or affect—are followed by the individual’s behavior. behavior. The cognition7affect7behavior approach is prevalent in purchase decisions where a high level of involvement is necessary.
The low7involvement hierarchy consists of a cognition7behavior7affect order of events. consumer with an attitude formed via the low7involvement hierarchy of effects bases the purchase decision on what they know as opposed to what they the y feel. The consumer establishes feeling about a product or service after the purchase. This limited knowledge approach is not suitable for life7changing purchases such as a car or new home.
The experiential hierarchy of effects is defined by an affect7behavior7cogniti affect7behavior7cognition on processing order. In this scenario, the consumer is influenced to purchase based entirely on their feeling regarding a particular product or service. Cognition comes after the purchase and enforces the initial affect. 2motional contagion is common in attitudes formed by the experiential hierarchy of effects !"olomon, #$$%&. 2motional contagion, in this situation, suggests that the consumer is influenced b y the emotion contained in the advertisement.
The elaboration likelihood model !2(& offers a theory concerning attitude change. "imilar to the :C model of hierarchy, hierarchy, the 2( model is based on the level of involvement in the purchase !)etty Cacioppo, *4%*&. 'epending on the level of involvement and motivation, the consumer will follow one of two possible routes.
The central route is when the consumer is highly involved in every aspect of the purchase. consumer following the central route extends extra effort in in researching and understanding the products or services. The pe ripheral route—as the name implies—is followed by a consumer with low involvement in the purchase process.
"ocial +udgment theory offers another explanation for attitude changes, whereas a consumer compares current information to previous notions !8ovack, #$*$&. Incoming messages are filtered down two possible paths—latitudes of acceptance and latitudes of re+ection. If the new information is similar to existing information, the consumer follows the latitude of acceptance. In contrast, if the information is disparate, the consumer follows the latitude of re+ection !"olomon, #$$%&.
ultiattribute models are used to understand and measure attitudes. The basic multiattribute model has three elements—attributes, beliefs, and weights. ttributes ttributes are the characteristics of the attitude ob+ect. :eliefs are a measurement of a particular attribute. =eights =eights are the indications of importance or priority of a particular attribute. multiattribute multiattribute model can be used to measure a consumer’s overall attitude.
The most influential multiattribute model—the >ishbein model—also uses three components of attitude. The first, salient salient beliefs, is a reference reference to the beliefs a person might gain during the evaluation of a product or service. "econd, ob+ect7attribute linkages, is an indicator of the probability of importance for a particular attribute associated with an attitude ob+ect. 2valuation, the third component, is a measurement of importance for the attribute. The goal of the >ishbein model is to reduce overall attitudes into a score. )ast and predicted consumer behavior can be used to enhance the >ishbein model !"mith, Terry, Terry, anstead, anstead, (ouis, (ou is, #$$%&.
more advanced and automated modeling techni?ue, semantic clustering, is used to analy/e and predict consumer attitudes. =hile proven effective for measuring the
flow and direction of information, recently semantic clustering is being used to elicit attitudes toward brands !"haughnessy, #$*$&. :logs and forums are a prime target for an analyst using the semantic clustering techni?ue.
@esults from a multiattribute will reveal several pieces of information that can be used in various marketing applications. If the competitor scores higher on a particular attribute, a marketer should downplay the attribute and emphasi/e the importance of a high7scoring attribute of his or her own. (ikewise, if the score reveals a broken connection between a product and attribute, the marketer can develop a message strategy to establish the link. 'ifferentiation is an important advantage to marketers. 3sing the results of a multiattribute model, a marketer can develop and market new attributes to existing products.
Changing a consumer’s attitude towards a product, service or brand is a marketer’s Aoly Brail. Three attitude change strategies include; changing affect, changing behavior, and changing beliefs !)erner, #$*$&. Classical conditioning is a techni?ue used to change affect. In this situation, a marketer will sometimes pair or associate their product with a liked stimulus. The positive association creates an opportunity to change affect without necessarily altering the consumer’s beliefs. ltering the price or positioning of a product typically accomplishes changing behavior. -ne example example is the use of coupons or incentives to promote sales.
Changing beliefs is the most difficult of the three. marketer can leverage several approaches to changing a consumer’s beliefs about a product. >our common approaches include; change current held beliefs, change the importance of beliefs, add beliefs, and change ideal. Changing beliefs is sometimes a necessary, for example, when a mature product p roduct is to be reintroduced into the market !rora, #$$6&.
arketing spans many disciplines including mathematics, and psychology. ath plays an important role is predicting consumer behavior. behavior. 3nderstanding the reasons behind consumer behavior re?uires knowledge of several theories of psychology. psychology. These two disciplines combine to aid in the complete rationali/ation of consumer behavior. ttit ttitudes udes are easily formed, but difficult to change. arketing is an ongoing attempt to instill a positive attitude toward a specific product or service.
ttitudes can be influenced by many factors outside the product attributes. "ocial and cultural environment as well as demographic, psychographic, and geographic conditions can sometimes shape consumer behavior. Consumer attitude, if positive, is an advantage to a marketer. savvy marketer can build a model for prospecting new consumers from the attributes of a satisfied customer. 'irect marketing companies create higher response rates by using look7alike modeling based on existing customers—individuals with a positive attitude.
Consumer behavior is the study of how a consumer thinks, feels, and selects between competing products. oreover, the study of attitudes is critical to understanding the motivation and decision strategies employed by consumers. The combination of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors influence how a consumer reacts to a product or service. arketers develop relative, compelling marketing messages using the same combination of information, and ultimately influence consumer behavior.