Chapter 5
Consumer Perception
Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das
Copyright © 2006
Pearson Education Canada Inc.
Opening Vignette
 Good
Carbs, Bad Carbs
– Pasta, white bread, beer are ‘bad carbs’
 Beer
is perceived as high in bad carbs
– Only 11 to 17 gms per bottle
– Consumers overestimate carbs in beer
– Perceptions have to change
– Labatt’s campaign
– http://www.labatt.ca
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Perception
The process by which an individual
selects, organizes, and interprets
stimuli into a meaningful and
coherent picture of the world
How we see the world around us
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Elements of Perception
 Elements
of Perception
 Absolute threshold
 Differential threshold
 Differential threshold
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Sensation
 The
immediate and direct response
of the sensory organs to stimuli.
 A perfectly unchanging
environment provides little to no
sensation at all!
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Differential Threshold or j.n.d
 The
minimal difference that can be
detected between two similar
stimuli
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Weber’s Law
 the
stronger the initial stimulus, the
greater the additional intensity
needed for the second stimulus to
be perceived as different
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Marketing Applications
of the JND
 Need
to determine the relevant
j.n.d. for their products
– so that negative changes are not
readily discernible to the public
– so that product improvements are
very apparent to consumers
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Subliminal Perception
 Perception
of very weak or rapid
stimuli received below the level of
conscious awareness
http://www.thoughtscan.com/
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Subliminal Perception
 1957:
Drive-In Movie Theater
 1974: Publication of Subliminal
Seduction
 1990s: Allegations against Disney
http://www.snopes.com/business/hid
den/popcorn.htm
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Is Subliminal Persuasion
Effective?
 Extensive
research has shown no
evidence that subliminal
advertising can cause behaviour
changes
 Some evidence that subliminal
stimuli may influence affective
reactions
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Aspects of Perception
Selection
Organization
Interpretation
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Perceptual Selection
 Conscious
and unconscious
screening of stimuli
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Perceptual Selection
 Depends
on three major factors
–Consumer’s previous experience
–Consumer’s motives
–Nature of the stimulus
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Concepts Concerning Selective
Perception

Gestalt
Psychology
Selective Exposure
 Selective Attention
 Perceptual Defense
 Perceptual Blocking
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Perceptual Selection – Cont’d
 Selective
exposure
– Consumers actively choose stimuli
that they want to see
 Selective
attention
– Consumers decide how much
attention they will pay to a stimulus
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Perceptual Selection – Cont’d
 Perceptual
defence
– Consumers screen out
psychologically threatening stimuli
 Perceptual
blocking
– ‘tuning out’ of stimuli
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Principles of Perceptual
Organization
 Figure and ground
– Definition of figure depends on the
background
 Grouping
– Information is organized into chunks
 Closure
– Incomplete stimuli create tension
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Influences of Perceptual Distortion
 Physical Appearances
 Stereotypes
 First
Impressions
 Jumping to Conclusions
 Halo Effect
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Issues In Consumer Imagery
 Product
Positioning and
Repositioning
 Perceived Price
 Perceived Quality
 Price-Quality Relationship
 Perceived Risk
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Positioning
 Establishing
a specific image for a
brand in relation to competing brands
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Positioning Techniques

Umbrella Positioning
 Positioning Against Competition
 Positioning Based on a Specific Benefit
 Conveying a Product Benefit
 Taking an Un-owned Position
 Positioning for Several Positions
 Repositioning
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Perceptual Mapping

A research technique that enables marketers
to plot graphically consumers’ perceptions
concerning product attributes of specific
brands.
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Research Insight
 Attribute-based
approach
– Identify attributes that consumers
use
– Rate brands on these attributes
– Identify ideal level of these attributes
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Research Insight
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Internet Insight
 Non-attribute-based
approach
– List all brands; identify all pairs
– Arrange pairs in order of similarity
– Identify underlying dimensions
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Research Insight
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Pricing Strategies Focused on
Perceived Value
Satisfaction-based
Pricing
Relationship Pricing
Efficiency Pricing
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Issues in Perceived Price
 Reference
prices
– Internal
– External
 Tensile
and objective price claims
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Tensile and Objective
Price Claims

Evaluations least
favorable for ads stating
the minimum discount
level
 Ads stating maximum
discount levels are
better than stating a
range
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Perceived Quality
 Perceived
Quality of Products
– Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Cues
 Perceived
Quality of Services
 Price/Quality Relationship
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Price/Quality Relationship
The perception of price as an indicator of
product quality (e.g., the higher the price,
the higher the perceived quality of the
product).
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(continued)
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Figure 5-9 (continued)
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Perceived Risk
 The degree of uncertainty perceived by the
consumer as to the consequences
(outcomes) of a specific purchase decision
 High-risk perceivers are narrow
categorizers
 Limit their choices to safe alternatives
 Low-risk perceivers are broad categorizers
 Wide range of alternatives preferred
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Types of Risk
 Functional
Risk
 Physical Risk
 Financial Risk
 Psychological Risk
 Time Risk
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How Consumers Handle Risk
 Seek
Information
 Stay Brand Loyal
 Select by Brand Image
 Rely on Store Image
 Buy the Most Expensive Model
 Seek Reassurance
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Perception and Marketing
Strategy
 Make
perceptual selection work in
your favour
– Increase accidental exposure
– Use the j.n.d
– Draw attention to your ad using contrast and
other principles
– Find creative ways to reduce blocking
» continued
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Perception and Marketing
Strategy

Ensure that consumers organize and
interpret messages correctly
 Develop suitable consumer imagery
 Find ways to reduce perceived risk
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