Consumer winning marketing strategies

By Abhinash on November 26, 2013

A strategy is generally applied at different aspects of an organization i.e. business or corporate. It can thus be tied to different activities such as their pricing strategies, new product development or promotional strategies.

Consumer decision making process

Many theories regarding the consumer decision making process have been proposed. Many of these theories simply assume that the consumer’s purchase decision processes are made up of several steps which the buyer passes through while purchasing a particular product or service. This may not always be the case. All the decisions which a consumer makes may not necessarily involve all the steps proposed in these theories. Many of these steps are often skipped depending on the type of purchase made.

Andreason (1965) was the first person to propose a model of consumer behavior. The model stresses on the importance of information about the product and other matters concerning the product affect the consumer decision making process. Although it did not take into account the attitude in relation to repeat purchase behavior it was successful in emphasizing the importance of customer attitudes on a whole. After this theory, many more theories were proposed, such as the Freudian Psychoanalytical Model, The  Pavlovian Learning Model, Sociological Model, Nicosia Model, Howard-Sheth Model, Engel-Kollat-Blackwell Model etc.

Consumer attitude

Understanding consumer attitudes toward marketing activities is important for managers considering a variety of communication strategies (Gaski and Etzel, 1986). Like any other area of marketing communication, there are several controversies regarding the appropriateness of event sponsorship (Kahle and Riley, 2004, p. 211). Event sponsorhip strategies, like in case of Indian Premier League too, are noted for their ability to associate sponsors with particular usage situations and to cut through the clutter associated with several marekting communication techniques.

Marketers can make use of carefully-selected events to gain access to difficult-to-reach markets and exhibit a commitment towards supporting the intended consumers’ interests and lifestyle (Schreiber, 1994; Jensen, 1994). In addition to these consumer-oriented goals, other obejctives can also be served, such as building corporate image or media exposure (Sandler and Shani, 1993). Sponsorship operates differently from traditional advertising strategies in that event title sponsorship like the Sugar Bowl by Nokia, DLF IPL, etc. and arena signage viewed via TC broadcasts or at the event offer limited prospects to relay a selling message (Ukman, 1995; Hastings, 1984).

Winning consumers through your communication

Marketers, at the end of the day, strive to create a positive impact on the product sales via consumer sponsorship strategies. Event sponsorship success can be evaluated in context of the intervening variables like attitudinal measures such as brand preferences. Although Petrecca (1999) reports a positive change in brand perception due to event sponsorship, Crimmins and Horn (1996) note that additional expenditures on promotion are required to make the event clearer in the consumers’ minds.

References

  • Gaski, JF, Etzel, MJ (1986). The index of consumer sentiment toward marketing. Journal of Marketing, 50, 71-81.
  • Kahle, L.; Riley, C. (2004). Sports Marketing and the Psychology of Marketing Communication. Lawrence Erlbaum, NJ.
  • Schreiber, AA (1994). Lifestyle and Event Marketing: Building the New Customer Relationship. New York: McGraw Hill.
  • Jensen, TD; Carlson, L (1994). The effects of multiple endorsements by celebrities on consumers’ attitudes and intentions. Journal of Consumer Research.
  • Sandler, DM & Shani, D. (1993). Sponsorship and the Olympic Games: The consumer perspective. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2, 38-43.
  • Ukman, L. (1996). IEG’s Complete Guide to Sponsorship: Everything You Need to Know about sports, Arts, Event, Entertainment and Cause marketing. IEG, Chicago.
  • Petrecca, L. (1999, August 30). Visa’s biggest-ever NFL push gets $50 million budget, Advertising Age, pp. 1-40.
  • Crimmins, L. & Horn, M. (1996). Sponsorship: From management ego to marketing success. Journal of Advertising Research, 36 (4), 11-21.

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