BUS116: Week 6 AssignmentPage 1
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Worksheet: Understanding and Influencing Consumer Buying Behavior
AssignmentOverview
To gain a better understanding of how to sell items to consumers, marketers research the consumer buying decision process. It is a process that most individuals undergo when deciding what to buy. There are variables in the process that can also impact how consumers make decisions.
Solar Technologies has surveyed several individuals who bought chargers from its competitors. In an effort to gain greater insight into their purchasing decisions, the company is attempting to outline why the individuals purchased competing products by utilizing the consumer buying decision process.
Read the data collected after interviewing three individuals who bought a competing charger. They represent those who did not purchase Solar Harvest Phone Chargers. Chart key points about their statements using the consumer buying decision process. Make recommendations regarding what the company could do to better influence consumers decision processes.
AssignmentDetails:
Perform the following tasks:
- Complete the reading assignment and the interactive lesson before attempting this assignment.
- Attend the instructor session to prepare for this assignment.
- Complete the following:
- Read interviews in the Assignment Worksheet section beginning on page 2of three individuals who explain why they purchased competing chargers.
- Chart key points of their statements on the consumer buying decision process chart beginning in the Assignment Worksheet section on page 4.
- Explain in the Assignment Worksheet section on page 5your overall findings based on the consumer statements.
- Make recommendations in the Assignment Worksheet section on page 5that can help Solar Technologies win additional customers for its phone chargers. (Be sure to consider if rewards programs or incentives are needed.)
- Use proper grammar and spelling throughout the assignment.
- Submit the Week 6Assignment via Blackboard by clicking on the “Week 6Assignment” link.
- Include the proper file naming convention: BUS116_wk6_assn_jsmith_mmddyyyy.
Grading:
Grading Criteria / Points Possible / PointsAchieved / CommentsChart key points of each individual’s statement. / 60
Explain overall findings based on the statements. / 15
Provide recommendations to gain more consumers of the product. / 20
Use proper grammar and spelling. / 5
TotalPoints / 100
Assignment Worksheet:
Solar Technologies has surveyed several individuals who purchased chargers from the company’s competitors. In an effort to gain a better understanding of these individuals’ decisions, the company is analyzing the choices of three consumers who purchased competing products. Solar Technologies has asked you to chart information from the three consumers on a consumer buying decision process chart. After charting their information, explain if at various points their decisions were impacted by situational, psychological, or social influences. If so, please explain how. If not, please state “no.” Chart key points about the individual statements using the consumer buying decision process. Then, write a paragraph stating your overall findings while also making recommendations that can help Solar Technology influence more people to purchase its charger. When making recommendations, please consider the use of rewards programs or incentives. For a better understanding of the consumer buying decision process and influences on the process, please refer to relevant sections of your reading for this week on consumer buying behavior.
Each person below bought a competitor’s phone charger. They were asked why they bought a phone charger, and how they made their purchasing choices. Their responses are as follows:
Susan (EXAMPLE): I dropped my charger and it broke, so I needed a new one. I didn’t even fall far, but it cracked anyway. I wanted to get a charger that was more stable. I did not really know what to buy, so I asked the man at Best Buy in Atlanta about a few chargers I saw, but I never saw the Solar Harvest Phone Charger. He told me some details about the chargers I picked out: ChargIt, which could charge phones quicker; Buzz Away, which was the cheapest but did not charge as fast; and Fuel Forever, which had these fantastic colors that almost made me buy it so that I would not get it mixed up with my roommates’ chargers. Then I chose the one that I thought would work best for me. I bought a ChargIt Phone Charger that cost me $39.99 because it charged faster. ChargIt is okay I guess. I haven’t had any real problems with it.
Note: Susan’s information has been charted below as an example for you to follow.
Deborah: I lost my charger and needed another. Actually, I think someone at my office took it by mistake. We all have similar chargers. I went to HH Gregg in New Jersey on the eastside to buy another one. The salesperson showed me several chargers including Solar Harvest Phone Chargers. He made the Solar Harvest Charger sound great. I was just about to buy the charger, but I decided to go home and do some research online. I found an article about solar chargers in general, how they were lousy – you had to hold them just right in the sun to charge – and they did not charge the phones for more than 10 minutes. I did not read Solar Technologies literature about its Solar Harvest Phone Charger. I thought the company would just hype up its product anyway. After I read the article about solar chargers online, I thought to myself I don’t need headaches. Then I went back to the store and just bought a bright color Forever Fuel charger. Other phone chargers that I had considered besides Solar Harvest and Forever Fuel were ChargIt and Buzz Away. Forever Fuel had a bright color that others in the office would not mistake for their charger, and it was really pretty. However, no one in the office would want the charger because it is a piece of garbage. After I used it a little over a month, the cord began to break. The cord was thin, but if you pay $30 for something you expect it to last more than a month. Anyway, I was out of luck because the item was no longer under warranty. How convenient! So now I am stuck with wiggling the cord to get the charger to work. Man!
Moesha: I like researching new technologies online, so I knew about the Solar Harvest Phone Charger! It sounds like a really great product. After my phone charger stopped working, I went to a Best Buy in West Palm Beach near my house to buy Solar Harvest, but they did not stock it. However, my friend up north bought one at a Best Buy, and she loves it. When I told the manager about my friend, he said that Solar Harvest Phone Chargers are not widely distributed in southern states. He was not sure why because he would like to stock the product. Then my sister called me on my cell while I was at the store. She needed me to do something and told me to just buy ChargIt. She liked the product and said that it performed well. So, I just bought ChargIt. I didn’t really look into other brands. I don’t have issues with how ChargIt works, but I REALLY wanted the Solar Harvest Phone Charger. If it weren’t for my sister, I probably would have gone home and ordered it online and paid additional for shipping, but I didn’t.
Ricardo: My charger stopped working, and I had to buy one. Sure, I knew about Solar Harvest Phone Chargers. However, I work in a law firm where everyone has ChargIt. It seems to work well with my phone, which was issued as personal property by the office along with the original charger that no longer works. Each year, you get a phone. Any maintenance in the middle is your responsibility. If your charger goes dead, like mine did, you have to buy your own. I really like Solar Harvest, but I didn’t want to be the odd man out. I didn’t even evaluate or seriously consider any other charger. Why do research when you know what you are going to buy? I knew which one everyone expected me to get: a ChargIt. Now, I am thinking what a waste of money. I love going camping, which is an ideal situation for a solar charger. I am not happy with ChargIt.
Consumer Buying Decision Process / Susan (Example) / Deborah / Moesha / Ricardo- Recognize problem
- Information search
Was the information search interrupted by situational, psychological, or social influences? If so, please explain. / No. / Hint: Think of the misinformation she encountered online.
- Evaluation of alternatives
Buzz Away - cheapest
Fuel Forever –colorful
Was the evaluation of alternatives interrupted by situational, psychological, or social influences? If so, please explain. / No.
- Purchase choice
Was the purchase interrupted by situational, psychological, or social influences? If so, please explain. / No.
- Post-purchase evaluation
Summary of Findings and Recommendations:
[Write your responses here…]