Topic 4 Low Involvement Consumer Decision Making

In Topic 2 & 3 we assumed that consumers were highly involved with purchasing decision.

For topic 4 we will be discussing Low-involvement consumer purchase decision making. What does low-involvement decision making means? Low-involvement purchase means, consumers do not consider the product important and do not strongly identify with it.  

Low-involvement products - Let us consider the variety of more mundane products purchase on an everyday basis – such as tooth paste, detergent, cereal, deodorants etc… it is not surprising that most purchase are low in consumer involvement. 

A Low-involvement purchase is one in which consumers do not consider the product important and do not strongly identify with it.  

Marketers think otherwise and when they see that consumers involvement is lacking they try to create new product attributes that are important to consumers or by linking uninvolving products to involving situations and issues. 

The importance of low-involvement perspective is considered first. Next consumer decisions are classified by level of product involvement. 

Strategic Implications of high vs. low-involvement situations – special emphasis on advertising strategy. 

EXAMPLE: Procter & Gamble (The Package Goods Giant USA)

In the late 1990 it entered the information age by going on-line to try to increase involvement with its basically uninvolved brands.

·         Internet usage increase from 150 million in 2000 to 200 million by 2005

·         By 2000, there were 407 million worldwide users of the internet

·         Increase in low-income earners usage of the web

·         50% of the internet users were women. 

P&G captured these trends by leveraging the interactivity of the web to strengthen its customer relationships.

 

The Nature of Involvement 

The level of involvement with products varies from one consumer to the next. 

Example: some individuals may be highly involved with the purchase of jeans because they associate product with personal appearance and social acceptance. Others may not be highly involved because they view jeans as just another piece of casual clothing with few personal associations. 

So consumer involvement with a product can vary on a continuum from High to Low.Generally, a consumer is more likely to be involved with a product when it;

1.      The product is important to the consumer (It is important when the consumer’s image is tied to the product. (E.g. BMW represents power and success, or Nike represents athletic prowess to teenage, or it is expensive etc)

2.      The product has emotional appeal (The consumer seeks benefits that triggers an emotional response. (E.g. Harley-Davidson motorcycle produces a kingship with other owners of the same product.)

3.      The product is continually of interest to the consumer (The fashion-conscious consumer’s ongoing interest in clothing)

4.      The product entails significant risks (E.g. The financial risk of buying a house or the technological risk of buying a personal computer)

5.      The product is identified with the norms of a group (E.g. The product has a sign or badge value.

 

Types of Involvement 

Two types of involvement, with products:- 

Situational Involvement – Occurs only in specific situations and is temporary. Generally occurs when a purchase decision is required.

Enduring Involvement – Is continuous and more permanent. 

Example: Two MBA graduates, one may not be fashion conscious but she must buy a suit for a job interview just for that particular situation. The other MBA graduate is fashion conscious which would lead her to buy a suit for a job interview but her interest in clothing is enduring which require an ongoing interest in the clothes and product line. 

Many High-involvement purchases are made on situational basis.The web enables quick comparison and evaluation of purchasing alternatives. 

Both situational and enduring involvements are likely to result in complex decision making. Whether the college graduate is interested in clothes because of a job interview or on a more enduring basis, he or she is aware of fashion information, considers alternative lines of clothing, and evaluate them carefully before making a decision. 

Marketers – Takes different approaches.

In targeting enduring involvement consumers – more symbols and images are more likely to be used to connect the consumer with the particular product. 

For situational involvement consumers – more specific appeals to the particular context of the purchase are made. 

Example 1- Ad for a box of delicious chocolate targeting those who believe that quality time can be spent in a museum enjoying the chocolate.

Example 2 – Valentine Day gift. 

Looking at the two examples; the first maybe a chocolate addict and he buys chocolate all year around. The second purchase is made for a particular situation only. 

The Multidimensional Nature of Involvement 

The five conditions for involvement suggest that consumers can be involved with a product on several dimensions. (Product importance; Interest; Risk; Emotion; Badge Value) 

A study carried out by Kapferer and Laurent on 800 women looking at several products taking into account the five conditions for involvement: (Clothing; Perfume; Chocolate; Champagne; Washing Machine, Vacuum Cleaner; Facial Soap Shampoo; Yogurt) found the following; 

Product	Continuous Interest	Emotions	Badge Value	Product Importance	Risk
Clothing Perfume Champagne Chocolate	123 120 75 94	147 154 128 130	166 164 123 86	129 116 123 76	99 97 119 91

 

Clothing and Perfume – involvement across all components, except risk; Suggest consumers are more likely to be involved with these products on an enduring involvement.
Champagne – involvement in all components except continuous interest suggesting that the consumers are involved with champagne on a situational basis
Chocolate – involvement only in emotional appeal suggesting possible pleasure associated with the product

Involvement With The Medium
Researchers have established that consumers have varying levels of involvement with product they purchase. It is also important to note the different level of involvement consumers have among the various media by which they receive advertising messages. 

Television is a passive medium. Consumers always switch channels, perform other tasks or simply ignore commercials when they appear. 

Internet is extremely high involvement. Interactive nature
Print Media – falls some-where between TV & web. Though content is static, the consumer is in complete control in regard to pacing and amount of time spent with a particular message. 

Example: Kellogg strategic applications. From a primarily children product which was declining due low birth rate to a more nutritional supplement for adults focus on high fiber content, nutrition and vitamins to prevention of cancer and other illness. 

The Cross-Cultural Nature of Involvement

Bicycles are important in China - main means of transport then they are in the United States. 

Beer drinking among English and American students may vary and so forth with other products and services.

International marketers must adjust their strategies on a country by country basis, depending on the cultural role and importance of certain products. 

Involvement and Hierarchy Effects

If low involvement characterizes much of purchasing, why have marketers focused on high-involvement decisions (i.e. complex decision making and brand loyalty)?

Two (2) reasons:- 

1.      Because marketers are highly involved with their products, they easily assume consumers are also highly involved. 

2.      Marketers tend to focus on high-involvement decisions are that; it is easier for them to understand and influence consumers if they assume consumers employ a cognitive process of brand evaluation. Complex decision making assumes a sequence in the consumers’ choice process (Hierarchy of effects) that leads consumers to think before they act. 

Hierarchy of Effect – Consumers tend to think first before they act. That is they first form brand beliefs (the cognitive component of attitudes), then evaluate brands (the effective component) and then make a purchase decision (the behavioral component). 

The Beliefs/evaluation/behavior hierarchy assumes involved consumers. 

Low-Involvement Hierarchy 

Consumer behavior researchers are directing more attention to a low-involvement hierarchy of effect. This hierarchy stipulates that consumers may act without thinking.

For example, when purchasing table salt, it is unlikely that the consumer initiates a process of information search to determine brand characteristics. Nor is the consumer likely to evaluate alternative brands to identify the most favoured one. Rather than searching for information, the consumer receives information passively (TV) The need arises simply because salt is running low.

 

A Comparison of Low and High-Involvement Hierarchy

Low-Involvement Hierarchy	High-Involvement Hierarchy
·         Brand beliefs are formed first by passive learning ·         A purchase decision is made ·         The brand may or may not be evaluated afterward	·         Brand beliefs are formed first by active learning ·         Brands are evaluated ·         A purchase decision is made

 

Low Involvement and Brand Evaluation 

The salt example cited suggested that in low-involvement decision making, consumers do very little brand evaluation and information processing. This is because consumers are generally governed by a principle of cognitive economy. They search for only as much information as they feel is necessary to adequately evaluate a brand.  

The product being evaluated is not particularly risky, expensive, important, or personally relevant. This lack of motivation to process information is why brand beliefs are formed in a passive state. 

Low Involvement Decision Criteria 

If brand evaluation is minimal in low-involvement conditions, then how do consumers make decisions? They follow relatively simple decision rules that reflect principles of cognitive economy by minimizing the time and effort in shopping and decision making. 

·         One rule is to pick the most familiar brand.

·         Another simple decision rule is to pick the brand used the last time if it was adequate.

 

Four Types of Consumer Behavior 

	High-Involvement	Low-Involvement
Decision Making	Decision Process ·         Complex Decision Making   Hierarch of Effects ·         Beliefs ·         Evaluation ·         Behavior   Theory ·         Cognitive Learning	Decision Process ·         Limited Decision Making   Hierarch of Effects ·         Belief ·         Behavior ·         Evaluation   Theory ·         Passive Learning
Habit	Decision Process ·         Brand Loyalty   Hierarch of Effects ·         (Beliefs) ·         (Evaluation) ·         Behavior   Theory ·         Instrumental Conditioning	Decision Process ·         Inertia   Hierarch of Effects ·         Beliefs ·         Behavior ·         (Evaluation)   Theory ·         Classical Conditioning

 

Complex Decision Making and Brand Loyalty

The upper left-hand box represents the process of complex decision making described by the traditional “think before you act” hierarchy. 

The learning theory that best describes this process is cognitive learning; that is, a process that requires the consumers’ development of brand attitudes and detailed evaluation of brand alternatives. 

The lower left hand box describes the brand loyalty; that is, consumers make purchases with little deliberation because of past satisfaction and a strong commitment to the brand as a result. 

The learning theory that best describes brand loyalty is instrumental conditioning (positive reinforcement based on satisfaction with the brand, leading to repetitive behavior). 

Both high involvement process are described by a Beliefs/Evaluation/=Behavior hierarchy, except that forming beliefs and evaluating brands are not a necessary part of the choice process in brand loyalty. 

INERTIA (Tendency to remain unchanged) 

The lower right hand box – based on inertia. Low-involvement hierarchy – Consumer forms beliefs passively, makes a decision with little information processing, and then evaluates the brand after the purchase. 

Because inertia involves repetitive buying of the same brand to avoid making a decision, the consumer does not make a subsequent brand evaluation until after the first few purchases.

If the brand achieves a certain minimum level of satisfaction, the consumer will repurchase in on a routinized basis. This process is sometimes referred to as spurious loyalty because repetitive purchases may make it appear that the consumer is loyal to the brand when actually no such loyalty exists. 

Limited Decision Making

 

Occasionally, low-involvement purchases warrant some decision making (upper right hand box) in contrast to the process of routinized decision making that characterized inertia. 

The introduction of a new product, a change in the existing brand, or a desire for variety might cause a consumer to switch from routinized to limited decision making. 

Example: Assume a new product is being introduced as strong and durable and reusable & can replace an existing product.

Involvement is low but the introduction is enough to arouse mild interest and curiosity. The decision process conforms to a low-involvement hierarchy, as there is little information seeking and brand evaluation. The consumer forms beliefs about the brand (thick, strong, reusable) purchases the brand, and then evaluates it based on initial trial. 

Unplanned Purchasing Behavior 

When consumers are not involved with a product, they often make a purchase decision inside the store, because there is insufficient motivation to pre-plan a purchase. 

Such unplanned decisions are generally made by inertia or by limited decision making. In contrast, complex decision making assumes a preplanning process. 

There are two basic reasons for an unplanned purchase. The time and effort involved in searching for alternatives outside the store may not be worth the trouble and consumer buy largely on a reminder basis (i.e. inertia). 

Consumers may seek variety or novelty and thus buy on impulse (i.e. by limited decision making). 

Sources: Henry Assael (2005) Consumer Behavior (Biztantra)