How People Make Buying Decisions

Read this chapter, which discusses consumers' decision-making process and examines the situational, personal, psychological, and societal factors influencing their buying decisions.

Discussion Questions and Activities

Activities

  1. Go to http://www.ospreypacks.com and enter the blog site. Does the blog make you more or less inclined to purchase an Osprey backpack?
  2. Select three advertisements and describe the needs identified by Abraham Maslow that each ad addresses. Find an international version of an advertisement for one of the products. What differences do you detect in the international version of the ad?
  3. Break up into groups and visit an ethnic part of your town that differs from your own ethnicity(ies). Walk around the neighborhood and its stores. What types of marketing and buying differences do you see? Write a report of your findings.
  4. Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs, identify a list of popular advertising slogans that appeal to each of the five levels.
  5. Identify how McDonald's targets both users (primarily children) and buyers (parents, grandparents, etc.). Provide specific examples of strategies used by the fast-food marketer to target both groups. Make it a point to incorporate Happy Meals and Mighty Kids Meals into your discussion.