MKT271 Final Exam: Consumer Behavior, Marketing - CNC, Sem-2

This document provides solutions to short answer questions from an MKT271 final exam, covering key concepts in consumer behavior and marketing. Topics include the meaning of products to consumers, positioning strategies, sensory marketing in online retail, cognitive versus behavioral learning theories, the role of involvement in purchasing decisions, the impact of digital selves on consumption, the effects of adding liquor items to Starbucks, cognitive dissonance, the effectiveness of verbal versus visual messaging, the utility of studying rational decision making, and the increasing use of product placement. The answers draw upon marketing principles and provide examples to illustrate each concept.

Ans 1:
Products provide only minimum functional benefits. This is because most of the options of the brands
give basic features which are quite similar and consumers seek additional benefits from the
products beyond the basic facilities. People prefer the brand that has personality and an image
over all the similar things due to their constant underlying needs (Muyeed, 2012). Any of the
products can be picked up as an instance. Emphasis should be given to the clothing brands of
student wears.
Ans 2:
The fundamental part of an organization’s marketing performance is known as the positioning
strategy. This is because it utilizes factors of the marketing structure like prices, the design of the
product, marketing communication and distribution for affecting the meaning of the interpretation
of the consumer. There lie various dimensions for uplifting the position of the brand in the
marketplace. These dimensions are used by the marketers and they include:
• The Price leadership: The face cream of L’Oréal’s Noisôme brand is available in the beauty shops
which are upscale The discount stores sell its Plenitude brand at one-sixth the price of the original
product even though both of the products are made out of the same chemical formula (L'Oréal
Paris. 2018).
• Attributes: “The Quicker Picker Upper” is the paper towels of Bounty.
• The class of the product: One of the sporty convertibles is The Mazda Miata.
• The competitors: With All State Insurance, ‘you are in good hands’.
.
• Occasions: When smoking is not allowed, one of the alternatives is Wrigley’s gum
• Quality: Primary targets of Levi’s Dockers are men of 20-40 years.
• Users: Quality is job 1 at Ford.
Ans 3:
Some of the essential sensory qualities like the sight of the design elements, colors, and even sound
can be experienced in the online platform. Sensory requirements can be met in the business
platform by focusing attention to design detail, color and description of the design elements to the
consumer (Muyeed, 2012). One of the examples is the Banana Republic, the clothing site which
highlights each and every detail of the fabric and pictures of the details to its consumers. One of
the disadvantages of the online retailers is that they have less capability to manipulate the sensory

experience of the consumer since shopping from home does not provide the facility to smell or
hear other than seeing.
Ans 4:
The students can prefer to support both the concepts of the argument under various concepts. The
idea that consumer decisions are made rapidly without much thought is supported both by the
behavioral instrumental conditioning and classical conditioning. However, the internal process of
the mind is stressed by the cognitive learning theory approach. According to this perspective,
people are viewed as problem solvers who effectively use global information for mastering their
environment (Schunk, Meece & Pintrich, 2012).
Ans 5:
The approach of the cognitive learning focuses on the importance of the internal procedure of the
mind. In contrast to the behavioral theories of learning, this approach sees people as issue solvers
who effectively use global data for mastering their environment (Schunk, Meece & Pintrich,
2012). During the process of learning, the supporters of this view also stress the position of
insight and creativity.
Ans 6:
Students are likely to agree with the statement if they have an inadequate understanding of the
process of involvement. It is to be made clear that one of the potential determinants of the product
involvement is the product price. It is the duty of the instructor to explain the role of the personal
relevance of the product to an individual. He should also point out that it is influenced by the
product, unique consumption situation and by the person. One of the best exercises for the
students would be the development of the list of items of high involvement. They should also
provide the estimated price for each other the item or simply note the items as nonexpensive or
expensive under its category. This type of charts and displays will highlight the absence of the
connection between price and the involvements.
Ans7:
Purchasers would more be able to effortlessly outline their ideal digital selves and even have various
forms over a few stages. Computerized things are cheap and all the more effortlessly changed in
accordance with experiment with various personas and investigate how unique the digital selves
feel (Harasim, 2012). Because numerous consumption activities are identified with self-definition,
it isn't amazing to discover that customers demonstrate consistency between their qualities and the
things they purchase. Self-image congruence models recommend that items will be picked when

their properties are similar to some aspect of the self. These models accept a procedure of
cognitive matching between the attributes of the product and the self-image of the consumers.
Ans8:
Students will have solid suggestions about this new course. Numerous students will see the progress
emphatically and point to the way that Starbucks will additionally grow their income possibilities
and boost profit potential. This is because liquor item tends to convey high margins. Other
students will point to the way that Starbucks has worked hard to build their image value and their
personality is clearly established as an easygoing higher-end coffee shop where buyers are
allowed to take as much time as is needed. The reputation has been earned with the steady image.
Students may likewise begin to think about their own encounters late around evening time amid
exam season where a Starbucks area has served as a refuge. Regardless of the fact, would it still
be the situation if it completely grasps this approach?
Ans 9:
The theory of cognitive disharmony expresses that when an individual is confronted with
irregularities among attitudes or practices, he or she will make some move to determine this
"discord," maybe by changing a state of mind or modifying a conduct (Harasim, 2012). The
theory has vital outcomes for attitudes since individuals are often confronted with circumstances
in which there is some dissension between their states of mind and behavior. Hence, if an
individual experiences negative data about an item after buying it, they may rebate that data and
focus on positive data that would reaffirm their explanations behind the purchase.
Ans 10:
A verbal message is most appropriate for high-involvement situations since it requires more effort to
process. One of the examples is in printing context where the reader is encouraged to pay
attention to the advertisements. These messages require more frequent exposures to obtain the
desired effect since verbal material decays more rapidly in memory. Chunking information during
the time of encoding by the receiver is permitted in case of visual images. This process results in
the trace of a stronger memory that assists in retrieval over the time frame. There are one or two
ways by which the brand attitudes may get affected by the visual elements. First, Consumer may
form a perception of the brand and change his preferences due to an imagery illustration
(Muyeed, 2012). Example, in a study, people who viewed an advertisement of a facial tissue
accompanied by a picture of sunset had this perception in their mind that the brand offers
attractive color ranges. Secondly, attitudes of the bands can also be affected directly. Example, a
strong positive or negative reaction to the visual elements will affect the attitude of the consumer
towards the advertisement (Aad) that will then affect the attitude of the brand (Ab).

Ans 11:
While having a discussion on the utility of studying ration decision making or extended solving of
problems, it is important for the instructor to highlight the importance of the usage of different
methods for investigating the complicated nature of the decision making of the consumer. It is
also to be clear that other less utilized method also plays a role. For understanding and applying
experimental consumptions to the strategies of marketing, it is essential to have more knowledge
on how consumers develop their overall perception of a product and how they utilize it in their
decision making procedure. Contributions from sociology and psychology will also be essential.
The real challenge lies in the application of this dissimilar data to the strategies of marketing
(Muyeed, 2012).
Ans 12:
Both the product placement blatancy and the popularity of product placement have been increasing as
a promotional technique. An agent’s phone rings at a 2005 episode of CSI New York. His partner
enquired about the song and he replied that it is the new cold play music. He then goes on very
apathetic. The obvious nature of the plug is transcended by the fact that the first advertisement in
the next commercial break is for the latest release of the Cold Play.

References
Muyeed, M. A. (2012). Customer perception on service quality in retail banking in developing
countries-a case study. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(1), 116.
Harasim, L. (2012). Learning theory and online technologies. Routledge.
Schunk, D. H., Meece, J. R., & Pintrich, P. R. (2012). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and
applications. Pearson Higher Ed.
L'Oréal Paris. (2018). Lorealparis.co.in. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from
https://www.lorealparis.co.in/