The evidence for the uniqueness of perception

Hey everybody and welcome back to my blog!

Let us talk about last session. Testing of perception was the topic and it was a really practical lesson. As we have already learned is perception the process, in which sensations are absorbed by the consumer and used to interpret the surrounding world. The consumer’s perception is affected by the five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch.  Our part was to prepare an activity based on perception for the class. All groups decided to test our taste by eating chocolate, cookies or drinking Cola/ Pepsi.

But first of all you have to bear in mind some basics. It is really important that you test products that are nearly similar, so that it is not easy for the consumer to distinguish between the tastes of the two products. So if you for example compare the taste of Pepsi and Cola, the difference of taste is high, so it cannot show funded results.  Furthermore by testing the taste of biscuits you should make clear that the consumer is not able to see or feel the brand punched into the product.

So, what have we learned during the lesson. Well, one group decided to test three types of chocolate and we as consumers should eat the chocolate without any knowledge about the tasted types. The Question was: Which one tastes better? The result was not really surprising; most of us defined the expensive one as best. But why did not all of us choose the expensive chocolate as best; as we have learned is perception unique because it is influenced by experience, gender, age, family structure, culture etc. . Our taste contributes to our experience of many products. Generally are blind taste tests a good opportunity for companies to discover both different consumer preferences and, thus, different consumer segments, and the positioning of a company or a brand in terms of the most sensory qualities of the product.

This advertisement is a good example for the different sight of people. The picture was really controversy when it came out. I can only see to men dressed identically and handcuffed together. But many people interpreted it to mean that the black man had been arrested by a white man. 

My colleague Rebecca and I decided to make our own test based on sound. Many aspects of sound affect people’s feelings and behaviours. Mostly every commercial is underlaid with music to attract the consumer’s attention. People associate music with pictures, friends, events, etc. We searched for to advertisements and chose to perfume commercials. Here you can see the video of the Dolce & Gabbana perfume which we have analyzed.

We asked two girls and six boys to listen to the music; I did not show them the video. The task was: “Which product is advertised? Describe the spot.” This test was really interesting and the results different. Only to persons said that it could be a perfume. The first asked person had a really surprising association. He was thinking about a “Partnership” commercial. A man in a bar searching for a woman and a relationship. Four persons associated the music with alcohol like Martini, Whisky or Baileys. They described the melody as relaxing, classy and also sexy; the type of music as Jazz. Everyone had different fantasies in their heads.  One of the boys imagined a bar at the beach in the evening. A beautiful and attractive woman, perhaps a model, is ordering an iced drink and all the men are watching her. Another fantasy was about a well-dressed woman, perhaps in a red dress. Based on music the advertised product was observed as expensive and luxurious. The commercial seemed as sexy and it should animate especially men to buy the product for their women.  The last asked person thought by hearing the music that the advertised product is perfume and the spot is erotic. In his mind the spot shows a woman together with a man in a hotel room. Both are well-known, perhaps actors. The man is not wearing a shirt. The beautiful woman seduces the man with help of her body and the smell of her perfume.

As a result I can say that the test was really interesting. Everyone described a different clip just based on perception. Rebecca tried the same with another perfume commercial; here you can read her blog. Hopefully you enjoyed reading and had fun. You are welcome to comment on my blog and perhaps you like to test your own perception ;-)

 

See you soon,

Greetings

Sabine 

P.S.: Thanks everyone for taking part in our test!

Next week, Next blog…:-D

Hey everybody!

Let us continue with my next blog about the module Understanding the customer. This week we learned something about the decision-making-process and once again about perception. We started with a group activity; our task was to draw a word picture of a typical over 50 year old. This activity is based on perception and experience. Our picture was influenced by people we know or things we have seen. 

After that we talked about Buyer Decision Making Process of Kotler. This process is divided into five stages. The model implies that customers pass through all stages in every purchase. But in reality customers often reverse or skip some of the stages because they have gained experiences concerning the product.

Let us explain the model with an easy example; it is divided into five stages. The whole process begins with need recognition

(I need new shoes) or is a reaction to the marketing stimulus (Sale at a Footlocker Store). Customers need further information about the product; they can use several resources (advertising, newspapers, experience, etc.) for that. The third stage is based on evaluation; the customer has to choose between the different alternatives (brand, product, service). After that the customer is willing to buy the product. The final stage is the post-purchase. The customer decides whether the purchase was useful and a good investment. The customer may feel that an alternative would have been preferable, so he/she buys another brand next time.

The buyer’s decision is not only influenced by experience but also by risk. Everyone has a different tolerance to risk. The perceived risk can be defined as: Consumer's level of uncertainty regarding the outcome of a purchase decision, specially in case of high priced item such as a car, or a complex item like a computer. Consumers attempt to reduce their anxiety by collecting more information and by seeking the recommendations of a peer group or an entity (person or consumer advocacy group) considered an expert on the subject matter.  

Laurent & Kapferer argue that a consumer’s level of involvement will be affected by six different components:

·         Finance

·         Time

·         Performance (Is it working?)

·         Ego (How do I feel about buying the product?)

·         Physical (Can it hurt me?)

·         Social

Our second activity was based on that model. We should consider the likely level of involvement of 1. 21-year old and 2. a 46-year old when they a) buy a car, b) buy a mobile phone, c) buy underwear for their partner. A 46-year old has by buying a car for example a lower involvement in Ego as a 21-year old. And normally the financial risk is also lower. Buying is based on expectations therefore the level of involvement is different for the boy and the man.

My last blog defines the three stages of perception. The second stage is attention: The ability to focus selectively on a selected stimulus, sustaining that focus and shifting it at will.  The goal of companies is to arouse customers’ attention. Companies use different techniques in their advertisements. Many are hiring famous and pretty people to take part in a commercial. Others prefer to create a really funny advertisement. These two videos are good examples for that.

The Perceptual Set was our next discussed theory. It can be described as an internal rulebook or checklist. It is unique and can prevent from problem solving. This image for example was designed to be interpreted as an old or a young woman.

Another topic of the lesson was “Gestalt Psychology”. Gestalt psychology is based on the observation that we often experience things that are not a part of our simple sensations. Gestalt psychology is based on the observation that we often experience things that are not a part of our simple sensations. 

The theory is based on four rules:

a) Figure & Ground (Figure is the central element, background catches less attention)

b) Grouping (people tend to group together objects that share similar physical characteristics)

c) Closure (people need to fill the gaps; example: an incomplete picture)

d) Stimulus ambiguity (People recognize an item, but they need to interpret it or find a context)

Here you will find some further information about Gestalt Psychology. 

The last aspect we talked about was perceptual maps.

In this graphic you can see two dimensions: economical/less economical and Makes your hair look beautiful /makes it not. On this map you can see the different placements of hair washing products. This map shows the perception of consumers regarding quality and economy. 

Well, that is it for today. I hope you had fun while reading :-) 

See you soon!

Sabine

 

Perception :)

Hey everybody :-)

Second lesson, second blog…so what have we learned during the second session with Ruth. I searched for a good definition of Perception and I found this: Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world. Sensation usually refers to the immediate, relatively unprocessed result of stimulation of sensory receptors in the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or skin. Perception, on the other hand, better describes one's ultimate experience of the world and typically involves further processing of sensory input. In practice, sensation and perception are virtually impossible to separate, because they are part of one continuous process.

This Process is divided in the three stages Sensation, Attention and Interpretation.

Well, why is Perception so important? Perception influences the buyer’s behavior and we are trying to understand the customer. For sellers it is important to see themselves through the Buyer’s eye; that is the big secret of successful work, advertising and selling.  We used the Black Box Model for understanding the process which evokes purchase decisions. The model is an interaction of different stimuli, consumer characteristics, the decision-making-process and finally the consumer responses.

The inputs affect the Black Box like stimuli. If these stimuli show a positive impact, the consumer is willing to buy. It is important that sellers are presenting their products creative and interesting, so that a positive stimulus is evoked. I found a really interesting article in the Internet, where they use an easy model to describe this relationship.

If you like to read the article, try this link ;-)  

We also talked about the buyer-behaviour model by Howard Sheth. It looks more difficult than the Black Box Model, but there a just a few more aspects included; the basic understanding is the same ;-) 

Experience and especially culture are important facts that are influencing the buyer’s perception.

I realized that during the lecture on Friday. We looked at some advertisements. Especially interesting for me was this one because the reactions of my fellow students were really surprising from my point of view. 

They said that the advertising looks fresh because of the lilies. Well…my first impression by looking at the picture was different. I thought:”Oh my god, I would never buy that, the picture looks like death!”  In Germany most people associate lilies with death because they are often used for interments. I think this is a good example for different perceptions and it is the evidence that perception is unique...

As I mentioned before it is important for sellers to attract buyer’s attention. Sellers can use bright colours, brands, slogans and so on. For a better understanding we made an activity called “Selling colour”. We were divided into small groups and every group received to papers. One paper represented our target group and on the other paper were different colours shown. Our task was to find a creative brand name and attractive names for the colours. That was a really interesting practice because we tried to see the product through buyer’s eyes.

I found a really funny video which emphasizes the importance of creativity and uniqueness of advertisements. 

So…that’s it for today...hopefully you enjoyed reading my blog and your feedback is welcome :-)

Greetings

Sabine

It is just beginning now...

Hey everybody out there :-)

Second week in High Wycombe and now blogging for the first time, that is quite exciting. Well, that will be definitely a good experience. The name of the module is "Understanding the customer", let us find out what it is all about. A customer is a person, company, or other entity which buys goods and services produced by another person, company, or other entity.

So the module is going to deal with business, customers and theories to analyze the behaviour consumers. This blog is an opportunity to share my impressions, work with pictures, videos and perhaps I am going to tell something about me, too...So, yes, this is my first blog so far. It seems to be interesting, so hopefully it will be a good combination of work and fun^^

Greetings,

Sabine!

P.S.: Hopefully it is possible for everybody to understand me and my posts, because I am a foreigner and my mother tongue is not English ^^