Problem Solving Involves the Customer Being Very

¶ … problem solving involves the customer being very well-acquainted with the product as a result of researching it. The customer in this situation initially had little to no knowledge of the product, the brand selling it, and the market as a whole. A person wanting to buy a car typically engages in such a process.

Limited problem solving occurs in a situation when customers have already developed a set of measuring tools in order to evaluate a product and the brands promoting it. Even with this, their knowledge is still limited and they have to do more research in order to gain a complex understanding of the industry. Someone wanting to buy a jacket normally takes on ideas related to this type of problem solving.

Routinized response can be observed in situations when customers are accustomed to purchasing particular products. These respective consumers rarely need to perform additional research in order to understand the product better, as they are already familiar with most information regarding it. An individual buying bread on a daily basis usually engages in routinized problem solving.

Q2 .

The consumer buying decision model first involves determining whether or not the individual needs the product. If he or she needs it, they are going to go further with the purchasing behavior. The second part entails gathering more information about the product. The third part relates to the consumer becoming aware of the several offers available and concentrating on choosing one. The fourth involves the purchase decision that might be shaped by the way that the customer interacts with the company providing the product. Post-purchase behavior is largely related to the consumer's experiences with the product.

The input phase regards ways in which the consumer's decision is being affected by environments and ideas he or she interacts with. The process phase is more complex and it involves the consumer's ability to understand a product and to use reason when deciding whether or not to purchase it. The output phase involves the product's purchase -- a moment consequent to which the consumer needs to evaluate the product's effect on his or her life.

Q3. Consumer gifting behavior can occur in a series of situations (for example, on a customer's birthday or when a company introduces a new product and provides existing customers with vouchers so as for them to be able to come in contact with it).

Q4.

Chapter 15.

Societal marketing involves companies acting in accordance with the needs of their customers and with the needs of society as a whole while also trying to accomplish their profit-related goals.

Exploitive marketing occurs in cases when companies have no regard to the moral outcome of their actions and are unhesitant about targeting children in spite of the fact that their products can be particularly harmful for them.

Children have a limited understanding of the way they can filter information and are thus more vulnerable to buying products that can prove to be harmful for them.

Covert marketing involves the promotion of products through means that are not obvious to the consumer. While being legal in most cases, covert marketing is not ethical, considering that consumers are practically tricked into interacting with a product they would otherwise not consider.

Product placement occurs when particular products are being promoted via a channel such as a television program. Again, while it is legal, this type of promotion is not very ethical when considering that people might purchase products only because they see their favorite characters using them too.

Deceptive advertising is a concept where companies promote their products in a certain way without actually having proof to support their claims. Colgate's ad and the way it emphasized its product as being verified by dental experts is a good example of deceptive advertising.

The FTC analyzes promotional campaigns with the purpose to determine whether particular messages are likely to mislead customers.

Consumer privacy is a very controversial topic in the present, with more and more companies using technology with the purpose to better understand potential customers. These companies can thus identify ways of reaching out to these respective individuals without them actually being aware.

Cause-related marketing involves companies using various charitable causes in order to appeal to the masses. As a result of observing the link between company X and charity Y, a person is more likely to purchase products from the respective company.

Chapter 16. The Consumer Research Process involves the consumer considering his or her goals, gathering information about products he or she is interested in, considering samples, analyzing data, and preparing a report in order to determine whether or not it would be profitable for him or her to purchase those respective products.

A company interested in finding out whether or not it has a market in a particular region can focus on analyzing that respective region and its inhabitants. A company concerned about introducing a new product can organize focus groups in order to see how existing customers would react to that product.

Secondary data involves more general ideas, such as similar studies conducted in the past and that are likely to have results that would benefit researchers in the present.

Internal secondary data involves information that the company has from past research and that can still be applied during the current research process. External secondary data is information gathered from places other than the company's archive.

Secondary data can be widely available, as it can be found in a series of places such as periodicals, newspapers, magazines, books, or in other media locations.

Primary data can involve the company representative interacting with focus groups, performing surveys, and generally getting involved in activities that make it possible for them to observe their market and how it behaves.

Although secondary data is widely available, primary data can be more precise and can enable researchers to find specific information rather than information that is general.

A qualitative study has the researchers deal with focus groups in order to gain a better understanding of the market. In a quantitative study, researchers focus on analyzing the market and trying to find its characteristics.

Qualitative research is based on the idea that consumers are not rational decision makers. It promotes the concept that it is difficult in most cases to understand consumers and thus proceeds with having researchers learn more about the market.

Quantitative research involves researchers already being familiar with their products and with the market. In these situations, researchers have to analyze customers in order to determine the degree to which they respond positively to marketing campaigns and to the product itself.

In a questionnaire, open-ended questions involve the respondents answering in their own words while close-ended questions require the respondents to answer by choosing appropriate answers from a list.