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Chapter 10

Consumer Intentions, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Feelings

Consumer Intentions

How much existing product should be produced to meet demand?

How much demand will there be for a new product?

Useful for firms when predicting how people will act as consumers

Firms interested in where consumers will buy, when they will buy, and how much they will buy

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Consumer Intentions

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How Firms Can Predict Behavior (1 of 2)

Rely on past behavior to predict future behavior

Problems:Situations change (changes in market can cause unpredictable changes in demand)

Sales trends are sometimes erratic

Past behaviors not available for new products or first-time behaviors

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How Firms Can Predict Behavior (2 of 2)

• Intentions: subjective judgments abouthow we will behave in the future

Purchase intentions

Shopping intentions

Spending intentions

Search intentions

Consumption intentions

• People often do what they intend

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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions

Intentions can change

Intend to do something and don’t

Intend not to do something and do

Can’t control whether consumers act upon intentions

Can influence predictive accuracy

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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions

Measuring intentions may be lesspredictive of future behavior thanmeasuring what they expect to do

Behavioral expectations: representperceived likelihood of performing abehavior

(Although smokers may intend to quitsmoking, they may report more moderateexpectations due to past failures)

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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions

Accuracy of forecasts also depends onwhen intentions are measured

How far into the future is beingpredicting?

Accuracy depends on what the to-be-predicted behavior is (behaviorsrepeated with regularity are easier topredict)

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Constraints on Predictive Power of Intentions

Volitional control: the degree to whicha behavior can be performed at will

Existence of uncontrollable factorsinterfere with the ability to do asintended

Perceived behavioral control: theperson’s belief about how easy it is toperform the behavior

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Consumer Intentions: Other UsesIndicator of the possible effects ofcertain marketing activities

Intentions may provide an informativeindication of a company’s likelysuccess in retaining customers

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Repurchase Intentions for Personal Computers

Apple Below Average

Compaq Above Average

Dell Above Average

Gateway Above Average

Hewlett-Packard Above Average

IBM Above Average

Micron Above Average

MidWest Micro Average

Repurchase IntentionPC Vendor

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Consumer AttitudesAttitudes: represent what we like anddislike

Attitudes determine intentions

Holding a favorable attitude toward aproduct is often prerequisite forholding a favorable purchase orconsumption intention

Preferences: represent attitudestoward one object in relation toanother (way to measure attitudes)

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Consumer AttitudesJust because consumers prefer brandX, doesn’t mean they will necessarilybuy brand X

Having a favorable attitude toward aproduct is not the same as having afavorable attitude toward its purchaseor consumption

How can attitudes and preferences bemeasured?

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Attitude toward the object:How much do you like/dislike IBM computers?

Like very much 1 2 3 4 5 Dislike very much

Attitude toward the behavior:Buying an IBM personal computer would be:

Very good 1 2 3 4 5 Very badVery rewarding 1 2 3 4 5 Very punishing

Very wise 1 2 3 4 5 Very foolish

Preference:Compared to Apple personal computers, how much do you like IBM personal computers?

Like IBM much more than Apple 1 2 3 4 5 Like Apple much more than IBM

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The Variety of Consumer Attitudes

Attitudes toward product

Attitudes toward company

Attitudes toward a retailer

Attitudes toward product attributes

Attitudes toward various types ofbrand associations (logos, symbols,and product endorsers)

Attitudes toward advertising andspokespersons

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Consumers form avariety of attitudestoward this type ofBenetton ad

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Attitude Formation

The Role of Beliefs

The Role of Feelings

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

Beliefs: subjective judgments aboutthe relationship between two or morethings

Beliefs are based on knowledge

Multiattribute attitude models showthat beliefs about a product’sattributes determine favorability ofone’s attitude toward the product

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Fishbein Model

n

Ao = Σ bi ei

i =1Ao = attitude toward object

bi = strength of the belief that object has attribute i

ei = evaluation of attribute i

n = number of salient or important attributes

The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Fishbein Model

Model proposes that attitudetoward an object is based on thesummed set of beliefs about theobject’s attributes weighted by theevaluation of these attributes

Attributes can be any product orbrand association

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The Fishbein Model: Sample Results

Shock absorbent +2 +2 +1 -1

Price less than $50 -1 -3 -1 +3

Durability +3 +3 +1 -1

Comfort +3 +2 +3 +1

Desired color +1 +1 +3 +3

Arch support +2 +3 +1 -2

Total score +29 +20 -6

Brand Brand BrandAttribute Evaluation A B C

Beliefs

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Fishbein Model

Companies want consumers toperceive their products as:

Possessing desirable attributes(when ei positive; bi should bepositive)

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Communicating the Presence of Desirable Attributes

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Fishbein Model

Companies want consumers toperceive their products as:

Possessing desirable attributes(when ei positive; bi should bepositive)

Not possessing undesirableattributes (when ei is negative; bi

should be negative)

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Communicating the Absence of Undesirable Attributes

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Ideal-Point Model

AP = Σ Wi (Ii - Xi)

AP = attitude toward product

Wi = importance of attribute i

Ii = ideal performance on attribute i

Xi = belief about product’s actual performance on attribute i

n = number of salient attributes

i = 1

n

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The Role of Beliefs in Attitude Formation

The Ideal-Point ModelConsumers indicate where theybelieve a product is located on scalesrepresenting the various levels ofsalient attributes

Also report where ideal productswould fall on these scales

The closer ideal and actual ratingsare, the more favorable the attitude

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The Ideal-Point Model: Sample Results

Taste: sweet (1) - bitter (7)

Carbonation: high (1) - low (7)

Calories: high (1) - low (7)

Fruit juices: high (1) - low (7)

Price: high (1) - low (7)

Total Score

6 2 2 3

3 3 2 6

4 5 4 5

4 1 2 2

5 5 4 3

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Importance Ideal Brand BrandAttribute Point A B

Beliefs

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Benefits of Using Multiattribute Attitude Models

Diagnostic power: examine whyconsumers like or dislike products

Simultaneous importanceperformance grid

Marketing implications for each cell

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Stimulus Importance-Performance Grid

HIGH

LOW

POOR

GOOD

POOR

GOOD

Neglected Opportunity

Competitive Disadvantage

Competitive Advantage

Head-to-head competition

Null Opportunity

False Alarm

False Advantage

False Competition

Poor

Good

Poor

Good

Poor

Good

Poor

Good

Attribute Our Competitor’s Simultaneous Importance Performance Performance Result

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Benefits of Using Multiattribute Attitude Models

Can provide information forsegmentation (based on importance ofspecific attributes)

Useful in new product development

Forecast performance of specificbrands and attributes in market

Guidance in development of attitudechange strategies

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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation

Feelings: an affective state (such asmood you currently are in) or reaction(such as feelings experienced duringproduct consumption or whenprocessing an advertisement)

Can be positive or negative andrange from overwhelming to virtuallynonexistent

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Types of Feelings (Partial List)

Negative WarmUpbeat

AngryAnnoyedBadBoredCriticalDefiantDisgustedFed-upInsultedIrritatedRegretful

AffectionateCalmConcerned ContemplativeEmotional HopefulKindPeacefulPensiveTouchedWarm-hearted

ActiveAdventurousAliveAttractiveConfidentCreativeElatedEnergeticGoodHappyPleased

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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation

Feelings As Part of The ConsumptionExperience

Consumption often evokes a widerange of feelings (relaxation at aspa or frustration with an airline)

Feelings may influence post-consumption evaluations andproduct attitudes

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How often, if at all, do you experience the following feelings as a result of eating chocolate?

Happy never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Excited never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Delighted never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Joyous never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Satisfied never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Proud never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Annoyed never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Depressed never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Guilty never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

Regretful never _:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_ very often

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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation

Feelings As Part of The Advertising Experience

Some ads may amuse while othersannoy consumers

Feelings experienced during adprocessing may influencepostmessage evaluations

Products attitudes are influencedby feelings evoked during ad

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The Role of Feelings in Attitude Formation

Mood State

Some feelings are carried into purchaseand consumption situations

Mood states can influence attitudeformation (when consumers feel positive,the mood is often transferred to productattitude)

Sometimes more intense feelings fromconsumption overpower the influence ofpreconsumption mood states

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Attitude ChangeAttitudes are dynamic

Both positive and negative attitudesmay become more neutral as timepasses

Attitude persistence: an attitude’simmunity to corrosion

Consumers may expect high qualityand form a certain product attitude,but have a bad experience andchange their attitude accordingly

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Attitude ChangeChanging consumer attitudes is afrequent business objective

Attitude adjustment is often requiredwhen turning product nonusers intousers

Need to change preferences whenrecruiting competitors’ customers

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Attitude ChangeAttitude resistance: the degree towhich an attitude is immune to change

The more resistant consumers’product attitudes are, the more difficultit is for competitors to recruit them

A strong foundation and directexperience enhance resistance

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Attitude Change Implications from Multiattribute Attitude Models

Three primary ways for changingconsumer attitudes:

Changing beliefs

Changing attribute importance

Changing ideal points

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Changing Consumer Attitudes: Changing Beliefs

Firms hope that changing beliefs aboutproducts will result in more favorableproduct attitudes and influence whatconsumers buy

If beliefs are false, they need to be broughtinto harmony with reality

If beliefs are accurate, it may be necessaryto change the product

Comparative advertising helps reducebeliefs about a competitive brand

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Changing Consumer Attitudes: Changing Attribute Importance

Changing an attribute’s importance is moredifficult than changing a belief

How is a brand perceived relative to idealperformance?

Increasing attribute importance is desirablewhen the competitor’s brand is farther fromthe ideal point than your product

Firms may add a new attribute

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Estimating the Attitudinal Impact of Alternative Changes

How expensive are the productmodifications required to changeattitude?

Are they possible to accomplish?

How resistant to change areconsumers?

What are the potential attitudinalpayoffs each change might deliver?

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Review Questions1. How can firms predict behavior and what

are the problems they might face?2. Briefly discuss the role of feelings in

attitude formation.

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