Decision Making - Assignment

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DECISION MAKING
By

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Institution
Course
Date
Information for prioritising image/brand decisions
Netflix Telecommunications
Introduction
Brand manager's objectives help individuals, i.e. planners or other stakeholders to
develop goals that measure whether the objectives can be met over the engagement
period(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). Managers should have SMART goals to
increase quality insight and maturation of analytical department. When managers commit to
SMART goals, they achieve what they want(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). This
paper carries research on image and branding decision. Branding is a significant marketing tool
that helps buyers to save time spent trying to compare prices among many products since they
can pinpoint what they want quickly(Roper & Fill, 2012). Branding also helps consumers to

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develop a feeling of emotional connection. The other advantage of branding is habitual buying
and strategic options for marketers(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). BHT helps
customers to refer your business to others; they help your product to penetrate the market, build
relationship with customers etc. (Roper & Fill, 2012.The essay will begin with an introduction,
state the business and research objectives, the body of the research, describe the research design
and draw conclusions on the main discussion(Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund, & Hansen, 2012).
Business & research objective(s) Netflix telecommunications
1. To further establish their presence in Southeast Asia region, particularly Singapore
2. Establishing more loyal, happier and larger consumer base within Singapore
3. To improve Netflix's reputation in Singapore with the aim of increasing reputation in the
entire Asia region
4. Focus on three target groups, i.e. families, adults and students
5. To increase Netflix's subscriber count by 20% by the year-end in Singapore while
focusing to increase the customer satisfaction to 80% (Zott, Amit& Massa, 2011).
Specific research objectives of the BHT
1. To increase brand differentiation to avoid businesses brands look-a-likes experienced by
consumers today by ensuring that your brand is unique from others.
2. Increase budget for consumer communication to create the desired result through
feedback evaluation
3. Ensure that the brand show up in the market during consumers' purchase decision-making
process
Information required fulfilling the research objectives

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For the research objectives to be effective, there is information that is required before making
branding decision(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). For instance, the consumer
behaviour regarding purchasing behaviour and post-purchasing behaviour can help to make
proper decision concerning product branding.
1. Purchasing behavior evaluation
Understanding the type of purchases made by consumers is important when studying their
purchasing behavior (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015). There are three types of
types of purchases made by consumers, and they include; trial purchase, repeat purchase and
long-term commitment purchase.
Trial purchase
Trial purchase happens when the consumer of a product decides to buy the product in very small
quantities for the first time to experience it(Roper & Fill, 2012). The evaluation of a new product
by the consumer, in this case, is done by direct use of that particular product. Consumers behave
like this to avoid regrets from using the ineffective product; hence they choose smaller trial
quantities as opposed to products they are familiar with(Punjaisri& Wilson, 2011). A good
example is a consumer who meets some new type of shoe polish and instead of buying the
biggest and high priced shoes polish pack they settle for the smaller pack to make a try than they
would do to Kiwi which they are familiar with. Trials can also be facilitated by providing free
samples, coupons, or sale prices(Roper & Fill, 2012). This type of behaviour is the most
important stage for a new product to sell big in the market and vice versa(Hanna & Rowley,
2011). The trial purchase is not applicable all the time more so for durable goods like washing
machines, electrical ranges, or refrigerators etc. (Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund,& Hansen, 2012)In

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case of cars, for instance, consumers can do a one on one trial in display centres where they can
sit in a car and even drive. In this situation, they may decide to purchase then or not at all
depending on how they have experienced the car.
a) Repeat purchase
Consumers will repeat purchase of the new product with established product category such as
toothpaste, shoes polish, detergent etc. after trial if the product proves to be better than existing
products (Chiu, Wang, Fang & Huang, 2014). If a repeat purchase happens, brand loyalty starts
building up(Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund, & Hansen, 2012). If the repeat purchase happens, the
consumer has approved the brand and is willing to use the product in large quantities unlike
during trial where they only needed to purchase small quantities and test the usefulness of the
product(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker, & Brennan, 2015).
b) Long-term commitment
As the phrase suggests this type of consumer behaviour is the full loyalty of the consumer to the
brand. They continue to purchase the product in time they need a product of such kind(Zott,
Amit& Massa, 2011). This may lead to a customer getting used to the product where they may
never opt for another depending on whether the product continues to give the desired
expectations.
2. Post-purchase evaluation
Consumer buy products for trial with own expectations. They evaluate the product, and the
results are judged according to consumers’ expectations.
Possible outcomes of trial purchase

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Neutral feelings resulting from expectations matching with actual performance
Over performance causing what is referred to as positive disconfirmation of expectations which
satisfies the expectations
Underperformance which dissatisfies the expectations and is known negative disconfirmation of
expectations
Post-purchase evaluation is important because of reduction of uncertainty, and if the consumer
had a selection as part of their post-purchase analysis, they reassure themselves that they made a
wise decision(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011). Consumers will tend to seek advertisement that may
attempt to persuade friends, family, and relatives, to purchase the brand to rationalize their
decision(Sarangapani, &Mamatha, 2009). They also may decide to turn to other satisfied
owners(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011).
What post-purchase analysis depend on
The importance of product decision, the experience acquired using the product, the assumption
that customer satisfaction relates to their retention. Brand reputation is more a matter of retention
especially if consumers find it difficult to evaluate(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011).
Consumer psychology
Beyond the decision consuming and processing
The consumer behaviour has been historically emphasized on the product, brand choice decision
and service(Kuo, Wu & Deng, 2009). The other facet of consumer behaviour is collecting,

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possessing, and consuming things. Today consumers’ choices are the beginning of consumption
processes and not end decision-making process of the consumer(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011).
Relationship marketing
Also known as loyalty programs are used to foster commitment to loyalty, to usage loyalty, and
to company product and service. Real marketing programs focus on more than the use of
database tactics in marketing in customer target(Kuo, Wu & Deng, 2009). The customer must
feel benefiting from participating in the relationship(Sorescu, Frambach, Singh, Rangaswamy, &
Bridges, 2011). This program has been used in a variety of products and services categories(Kuo,
Wu & Deng, 2009). It is used by many companies under the title program club with some even
charging some fees for membership to customers.
When all the above information has been well collected, the company can use it well to decide
on how to do their branding. For instance, by analyzing trial purchase, they can determine how
the customer has responded to the product. They know this by looking at whether the customer
will buy the product the second time which is known as repeat purchase(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt,
2011). Repeat purchase proves that the customer may have gotten satisfied with the
product(Hanna & Rowley, 2011). Consumer psychology is the most useful tool here in ensuring
the business will be able to win consumers loyalty to their brands(Lee, 2009). They should be
able to step-by-step ensure they walk in the mind of the consumer. By doing so, they will be in a
good position in comparison to their competitors hence gaining competitive advantage.
Describe the research design in relation to your chosen approach

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Research design specific to BHT
Brand saliency; refers to as making customers think about your brand more often and in more
situation of buying(Ni Mhurchu, Blakely, Jiang, Eyles& Rodgers, 2009). This is an underrated
marketing challenge facing brand today(Lee, 2009). According to Woody Allen, 80% of brand
success is just showing up(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011). Unfortunately, most brands do not
show up during the purchase decision time.
Communication evaluation; communication is the vital marketing and promotion stimuli for any
product(Labroo& Nielsen, 2009). It is used by companies in creating desired results. The
company allocates a significant amount of budget for consumer communication both BTL and
ATL(Hanna & Rowley, 2011). The best-proposed methodology here will be media-neutral,
meaning that which is not inclined to any medium. This provides with an accurate measure of the
communication impact across all media and does not favour any particular medium(Hanna &
Rowley, 2011). The medium covered includes TV, newspaper/magazine, internet, radio, and
outdoor or shops(Hanna & Rowley, 2011). The proposed methodology will provide the feedback
on the different copies, enabling to put more weight behind working brands advertisements and
quickly withdraw/modify ads if not working for the brand(Labroo& Nielsen, 2009). Here we will
be addressing efficiency and effectiveness (Aaker, 2012). Effectiveness will be addressing the
creation of the desired results among the target audience while the efficiency will be attempting
to capture quality media planning(Hanna & Rowley, 2011). For instance, how many consumers
know of the ads?
Penetration; how long has the product been used (1 year or 1 month) or is used often and
currently.

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Relationship; the attempt of measuring customer relationship with the brand is most important
(Aaker, 2012). This is done through, tracking advocacy-how many customers can refer your
product or service to another? The momentum which focuses on the number of users willing to
spend on your brand and the other relationship focused on is the brand substitution –the number
of customers who find it difficult to replace you with other(Nam, Ekinci&Whyatt, 2011).
Profile; in brand management managers mostly forget to carry out customer profiling (De
Chernatony, 2010). Customers are always talked about, but their profiles are rarely considered
during strategic planning sessions.
Brand planning process
This process is considered after learning successful steps involved in leveraging the
brand(Aaker, 2012). This is a planning process that that would involve planning a new brand or
brand or refresh the one in existence (De Chernatony, 2010). This process involves three steps
which are:
Market definition
1) This is the first step involved in brand planning and is done from a customers'
perspective. You must be able to state briefly what needs the current market fulfills
(Kuo, Wu & Deng, 2009). The definition should be stating the purposes fulfilled and time
scales served and not to be tailored for different purposes and time scales, e.g. if you
intend to introduce a new product such as a new drink, you have to consider the types of
all drinks in the market viewing them as thirst quenchers(Lee, 2009). This means
involves the inclusion of all cold drinks in the market, juices, squabbles, energy drinks or
even drinking water etc. you may opt to consider only one type of drink when defining

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your market but having in mind that other drinks will have to be considered on a later
date(Labroo& Nielsen, 2009). When choosing stem from you're your strategic
consideration at all times and stage. Consider your competitor and their brand that
directly compete with your brand by looking at their brand features and
characteristics(Kuo, Wu & Deng, 2009). In this step, you should be aware that legitimacy
of your consideration has minimal score through brand commissioning(Labroo& Nielsen,
2009). Also, you need to consider having talks about whether the market is declining,
growing fast, or in stable condition. This stage is very important as is enables brand
movement.
Market analysis
This is the question of whether you understand who your buyers are the way they constitute
market regarding demographic (Kuo, Wu & Deng, 2009). You will need to have a complete
understanding of the profile, how your brand fit into their lives, the problem your brand helps
them to solve and the quantity they can use Hankinson, 2010). This stage is crucial in the
planning process because they highly rely on other segment forming the market. You must also
consider the changing trends likely to create a new segment in the new future(Labroo& Nielsen,
2009).Being alert in the new possibility of segmentation will help you to be very on strategic
moves.
Ask yourself what are the threat that exists from competitors for your brand. Do not rely on
consumer and forget your competitors as they are equally important knowing in mind the market
does not operate in a vacuum(Labroo& Nielsen, 2009). Consider strengths and weaknesses of
main players so that you are in a position to gain a competitive edge. Determine which channels

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will be most useful for your brand. Whether yours is product or service, the ultimate goals are to
reach your customers in the most effective way.
Drivers of the change
The drivers of the change are the most dominant forces in the market, and they enforce changes
to most sectors of the industry(Teece, 2010). These drivers may include changes in long-term
industry growth and changes in who buys the product and how they use it.
Changes in long-term industry growth
Downward or upward shift in the industry is a force that needs full attention by the business to
know the causes of the change experienced(Teece, 2010). If there is an upward shift, is there
some new entry expected in the market? Or are there some firms that may close up due to
oversupply in the market? You will also need to consider how your brand is going to be affected
by the changes brought by those forces(Aaker, 2012).
Changes in who buys the product and how they use it
Changing economic conditions affect the usage of the product making it change(Teece, 2010).
For instance, ready to eat-to-eat chicken used for breakfast or as snacks may mean changing
habit are the drivers.
Conclusion
Branding is an important marketing strategy that requires a step by step consideration to reap
maximum benefit from it. During the brand trial, consumers may experience the following
outcomes; overperformance which is the brand performance above consumers’ expectations,

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underperformance which is below the consumer expectation and neutral feeling which mean
consumers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. In most cases when consumers experience
neutral feelings, they may be even confused about the product, as they may opt to buy it again or
not. BHT refers to brand health tracking and is very important to marketers and brand managers
since it helps them to collect quantitative data from consumers and enable them to amend their
strategies in compensating their weaker areas. The process of brand planning helps indefining the
market, analyzing the market, and analyzing drivers of change.

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