MCB 30306 – Samenvatting
In assessing the actionalibility of elicited consumer needs, we distinguish a hierarchy of concrete
product characteristics that form the basis of the technical product specification to abstract
consumer values. Product characteristics are measurable, manipulable and physical properties of
products under control of technical product developers. These characteristics are also referred to as
‘tangible’. Product attributes are those characteristics that the consumer infers from the product.
There are instrumental and terminal values.
Conjoint analysis
Researcher select attributes relevant to the product category (target consumers) à researcher select
levels of each attribute à respondent is given a set of these hypothetical profiles à respondent ranks
or rates the stimuli according to some overall criterion.
Kelly repertory grid
The participant is provided with a set of products presented in groups of three à in what way are two
products similar and is one different?
This works as long as:
- The objects are sufficiently familiar to trigger personal constructs.
- The objects are sufficiently similar in order to trigger attribute related constructs.
- The objects are sufficiently different to trigger meaningful constructs.
Marketing and consumer behaviour with respect to foods – Trijp & Meulenberg
Study of consumer behaviour: “Study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select,
purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires.”
Interesting because: “It is the key to achieving organizational goals consists of the company being
more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value
to its chosen target markets.”
Determinants in consumer behaviour: Consumer (gender, age), Product (package, quality) Situation
(time, mood, social context).
Main pillars of marketing management: market focus, customer orientation, coordinated marketing
and profitability.
Marketing management: “The art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and
growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value.”
Marketing: ‘’A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need
and want through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others.’’
Marketing mix: Combination of price, place, product and promotion.
Product:
Intrinsic quality cues – characteristics that belong to the product itself and cannot be changed
without altering the product, the basis can be founded is the physical product.
Extrinsic quality cues – quality image through other marketing efforts (like price, brand name,
packaging).
Price(pricing tactics):
Market skimming pricing – high introduction price, when competition comes in prices can decline
(can be used by low price elasticity of demand, low level of competition).
1
,Market penetration pricing – low introduction price to let a lot of customers become brand loyal on
the long term (useful when price elasticity is high, strong potential competition and large financial
resources of the firm).
History of marketing concepts:
Production concept – focus on physical product and on efficiency of production and distribution →
Selling concept – basic needs were satisfied, take an aggressive selling and promotion approach →
Marketing approach – deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively & efficiently than competitors
Market segmentation: identify homogenous groups of consumers with the same needs, concerns
and perception of risks than other market segments. Ultimate type of market segmentation is
customized production.
Differentiation(/positioning): The process of distinguishing a product to make it more attractive for a
particular target market.
Lecture 2)
Consumers make choices between products. There must be a level of comparable otherwise you
can’t choose. How are products compared?
- with regard to attributes/characteristics.
That are instrumental for needs satisfaction.
That are discriminating between products.
Perception: creating of a mental image. This image is about oneself, the world and about the relation
between these two: one’s place in the world.
Basis to perception are similarities and differences. The smallest unit of meaning is the triad in which
two objects are similar to each other and different from a third à a ‘construct’ of understanding the
world. The meaning of the construct is partly in the construct and partly in the contrast.
Construct = a conceptual term to describe a phenomenon of interest.
Means-End Chains: Connecting Products With Self – Walker & Olson
Central function of marketing: psychological relationship between consumers and a product or
service. Means-end chains models, which depict the relationship between product attributes and the
higher-order benefits and values that they may satisfy seem to be particularly appropriate for these
purposes.
Product attributes are the most concrete constructs, they can be also tangible, abstract and
intangible. These product attributes are important because they imply consequences (benefits) for
the consumer. Consequences can be functional and/or psychosocial. Functional consequences are
benefits for the producer. Psychosocial consequences are benefits to the consumer. Those
consequences are preferred because they imply valued end states for the consumer.
Functional consequences and product attributes are the Means to the psycho-social consequences of
the product use. Different situations à different means to reach some invariant personal End. This
invariant End is related to the core values of the consumer.
Soft laddering: the natural flow of speech of the respondent is restricted as little as possible. This is
better when we can expect the cognitive structure of the respondent to be weak, due to low
involvement and/or little experience with the product.
Hard laddering: respondent is forced to produce ladders one by one and to give answers in such a
way that the sequence of the answers reflects increasing levels of abstraction.
Soft laddering is more difficult than hard laddering.
2
, Coding means grouping different answers together, which will be regarded as equal.
Lecture 3)
Laddering theory, method, analysis and interpretation – Rynolds & Gutman
Means-End Theory: Theory that specifies the rational underlying why consequences are important –
namely personal values.
Laddering: An in-depth one-on-one interviewing technique to develop an understanding of how
consumers translate the attributes of products into meaningful associations with respect to self,
following Means-End Theory.
Laddering methods: 1) Triadic sorting: Give the respondent a set of three products and ask how two
are similar and different from the other one. 2) Preference-consumption differences: Respondent
provides a preference order of the objects. Then he has to say why one is the most/least preferred.
3) Differences by occasions: People do not use or consume products in general, they do so in
particular context.
Process of laddering: Use a method to find out what constructs people relate to a certain product.
Ask the respondent why the construct is important for him/her. Continue asking why the new
construct is important. By starting with an attribute of a product and continue asking why, you will
find the consequences and finally values. Make ladders of the attributes, consequences and values,
make codes out of the large amount of codes (recoding) and make new ladders out of this new
codes.
Advantages of laddering: The detailing and subsequent understanding of the higher level distinction
provides a perspective on how product information is processed form what could be called a
motivational perspective, in that the underlying reason why an attribute or a consequence is
important. And gives information on underlying personal motivations with respect to a given product
class.
Disadvantages of laddering: The respondent could just not know the answer on the ‘’why’’-question.
Use negative laddering in this situation > ask what would happen if the attribute or consequence was
not delivered. It’s also possible that interview becomes too sensitive > move the conversation into a
third person format, reveal a personal fact about yourself so the respondent will feel more confident
or just make a note of it and come back to the issue later on if possible.
Hard- and soft laddering: Hard laddering is asking the questions step-by-step, force the respondent
to produces ladders one by one and does not involve personal interviewing. Respondent is forced to
producer ladders one by one. Subsequent levels must reflects increasing levels of abstraction.
Disadvantages are that people can give ‘correct’ answer when he doesn’t know an answer, the
respondent can only give 1 answer even though he has more to say and the respondent can feel
forced to complete long ladders, even when they don’t exist in their own cognitive structure. All data
collection that does not involve personal interviewing is hard laddering. Soft laddering is not a strict
conversation, the respondent is allowed to give several answers and answers can been given in
different levels of abstraction (not climbing the ladder from the bottom to the top). Respondent is
allowed to retrieve several answers (forked ladders) and is allowed to answer in higher, same or even
lower levels of abstraction. It is more difficult, interviewer can be involved. Appropriate for unknown
areas of cognition. In general it is very difficult to decide when to stop and when to push on.
After laddering > Make a content analysis and an implication matrix with direct and indirect
connections in it. Use the implication matrix to make an Hierarchical Value Map. You can use
different cut-off levels for the HVM, this permits the researcher to evaluate several solutions,
choosing the one that appears to be the most informative and most stable set of relations.
Information obtained through laddering can serve as a basis for: 1) segmenting consumers with
respect to their values orientations for a product class or brand, 2) for assessing brands or products
3
In assessing the actionalibility of elicited consumer needs, we distinguish a hierarchy of concrete
product characteristics that form the basis of the technical product specification to abstract
consumer values. Product characteristics are measurable, manipulable and physical properties of
products under control of technical product developers. These characteristics are also referred to as
‘tangible’. Product attributes are those characteristics that the consumer infers from the product.
There are instrumental and terminal values.
Conjoint analysis
Researcher select attributes relevant to the product category (target consumers) à researcher select
levels of each attribute à respondent is given a set of these hypothetical profiles à respondent ranks
or rates the stimuli according to some overall criterion.
Kelly repertory grid
The participant is provided with a set of products presented in groups of three à in what way are two
products similar and is one different?
This works as long as:
- The objects are sufficiently familiar to trigger personal constructs.
- The objects are sufficiently similar in order to trigger attribute related constructs.
- The objects are sufficiently different to trigger meaningful constructs.
Marketing and consumer behaviour with respect to foods – Trijp & Meulenberg
Study of consumer behaviour: “Study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select,
purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires.”
Interesting because: “It is the key to achieving organizational goals consists of the company being
more effective than competitors in creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value
to its chosen target markets.”
Determinants in consumer behaviour: Consumer (gender, age), Product (package, quality) Situation
(time, mood, social context).
Main pillars of marketing management: market focus, customer orientation, coordinated marketing
and profitability.
Marketing management: “The art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and
growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value.”
Marketing: ‘’A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need
and want through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others.’’
Marketing mix: Combination of price, place, product and promotion.
Product:
Intrinsic quality cues – characteristics that belong to the product itself and cannot be changed
without altering the product, the basis can be founded is the physical product.
Extrinsic quality cues – quality image through other marketing efforts (like price, brand name,
packaging).
Price(pricing tactics):
Market skimming pricing – high introduction price, when competition comes in prices can decline
(can be used by low price elasticity of demand, low level of competition).
1
,Market penetration pricing – low introduction price to let a lot of customers become brand loyal on
the long term (useful when price elasticity is high, strong potential competition and large financial
resources of the firm).
History of marketing concepts:
Production concept – focus on physical product and on efficiency of production and distribution →
Selling concept – basic needs were satisfied, take an aggressive selling and promotion approach →
Marketing approach – deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively & efficiently than competitors
Market segmentation: identify homogenous groups of consumers with the same needs, concerns
and perception of risks than other market segments. Ultimate type of market segmentation is
customized production.
Differentiation(/positioning): The process of distinguishing a product to make it more attractive for a
particular target market.
Lecture 2)
Consumers make choices between products. There must be a level of comparable otherwise you
can’t choose. How are products compared?
- with regard to attributes/characteristics.
That are instrumental for needs satisfaction.
That are discriminating between products.
Perception: creating of a mental image. This image is about oneself, the world and about the relation
between these two: one’s place in the world.
Basis to perception are similarities and differences. The smallest unit of meaning is the triad in which
two objects are similar to each other and different from a third à a ‘construct’ of understanding the
world. The meaning of the construct is partly in the construct and partly in the contrast.
Construct = a conceptual term to describe a phenomenon of interest.
Means-End Chains: Connecting Products With Self – Walker & Olson
Central function of marketing: psychological relationship between consumers and a product or
service. Means-end chains models, which depict the relationship between product attributes and the
higher-order benefits and values that they may satisfy seem to be particularly appropriate for these
purposes.
Product attributes are the most concrete constructs, they can be also tangible, abstract and
intangible. These product attributes are important because they imply consequences (benefits) for
the consumer. Consequences can be functional and/or psychosocial. Functional consequences are
benefits for the producer. Psychosocial consequences are benefits to the consumer. Those
consequences are preferred because they imply valued end states for the consumer.
Functional consequences and product attributes are the Means to the psycho-social consequences of
the product use. Different situations à different means to reach some invariant personal End. This
invariant End is related to the core values of the consumer.
Soft laddering: the natural flow of speech of the respondent is restricted as little as possible. This is
better when we can expect the cognitive structure of the respondent to be weak, due to low
involvement and/or little experience with the product.
Hard laddering: respondent is forced to produce ladders one by one and to give answers in such a
way that the sequence of the answers reflects increasing levels of abstraction.
Soft laddering is more difficult than hard laddering.
2
, Coding means grouping different answers together, which will be regarded as equal.
Lecture 3)
Laddering theory, method, analysis and interpretation – Rynolds & Gutman
Means-End Theory: Theory that specifies the rational underlying why consequences are important –
namely personal values.
Laddering: An in-depth one-on-one interviewing technique to develop an understanding of how
consumers translate the attributes of products into meaningful associations with respect to self,
following Means-End Theory.
Laddering methods: 1) Triadic sorting: Give the respondent a set of three products and ask how two
are similar and different from the other one. 2) Preference-consumption differences: Respondent
provides a preference order of the objects. Then he has to say why one is the most/least preferred.
3) Differences by occasions: People do not use or consume products in general, they do so in
particular context.
Process of laddering: Use a method to find out what constructs people relate to a certain product.
Ask the respondent why the construct is important for him/her. Continue asking why the new
construct is important. By starting with an attribute of a product and continue asking why, you will
find the consequences and finally values. Make ladders of the attributes, consequences and values,
make codes out of the large amount of codes (recoding) and make new ladders out of this new
codes.
Advantages of laddering: The detailing and subsequent understanding of the higher level distinction
provides a perspective on how product information is processed form what could be called a
motivational perspective, in that the underlying reason why an attribute or a consequence is
important. And gives information on underlying personal motivations with respect to a given product
class.
Disadvantages of laddering: The respondent could just not know the answer on the ‘’why’’-question.
Use negative laddering in this situation > ask what would happen if the attribute or consequence was
not delivered. It’s also possible that interview becomes too sensitive > move the conversation into a
third person format, reveal a personal fact about yourself so the respondent will feel more confident
or just make a note of it and come back to the issue later on if possible.
Hard- and soft laddering: Hard laddering is asking the questions step-by-step, force the respondent
to produces ladders one by one and does not involve personal interviewing. Respondent is forced to
producer ladders one by one. Subsequent levels must reflects increasing levels of abstraction.
Disadvantages are that people can give ‘correct’ answer when he doesn’t know an answer, the
respondent can only give 1 answer even though he has more to say and the respondent can feel
forced to complete long ladders, even when they don’t exist in their own cognitive structure. All data
collection that does not involve personal interviewing is hard laddering. Soft laddering is not a strict
conversation, the respondent is allowed to give several answers and answers can been given in
different levels of abstraction (not climbing the ladder from the bottom to the top). Respondent is
allowed to retrieve several answers (forked ladders) and is allowed to answer in higher, same or even
lower levels of abstraction. It is more difficult, interviewer can be involved. Appropriate for unknown
areas of cognition. In general it is very difficult to decide when to stop and when to push on.
After laddering > Make a content analysis and an implication matrix with direct and indirect
connections in it. Use the implication matrix to make an Hierarchical Value Map. You can use
different cut-off levels for the HVM, this permits the researcher to evaluate several solutions,
choosing the one that appears to be the most informative and most stable set of relations.
Information obtained through laddering can serve as a basis for: 1) segmenting consumers with
respect to their values orientations for a product class or brand, 2) for assessing brands or products
3
