CHP 7 - Perception and Learning

Consumer behaviour
Chapter 7 : Perception and Learning

• Discuss and explain the nature of perception.
• Illustrate the implications of the perceptual process
• Highlight the marketing implications of perception.
Learning • Explain the nature and elements of learning.
objectives • Illustrate the marketing implications of the various
learning theories.
• 33% of consumers will switch brands after only one bad
experience.
• Media is used to influence perceptions that customers have
of brands/products.
• Marketers are interested in:
• how customers perceive information,
• how they select and attend to information, and
Introduction • how they interpret and give meaning to information.
• What is the customer perception process?
• Nature of perception
• Perceptual process
• How customers ‘defend’ themselves against stimuli
• How marketers overcome these mechanisms.
• Customer behaviour is learnt behaviour
• How customers learn is important for marketers.
Source: Arcadia Finance, 2024; Karate Oconee, 2021

Customer perception
• The awareness, impressions and opinions of customers regarding:
• A company
• Brands
• Values
• Products
• Customers’ interactions with reference groups, family & friends,

media, articles, social media influence perceptions.
• Perception directly influence buying decision
The customer perception process
Source: Discuss, n.a.

The importance of customer perception
Service Service
Source: Platt, 2022

Social media and customer perception – Social proof
Social proof refers to positive feedback your customers share with you and/or on their
social media channels.
Social proof is the psychological phenomenon that consumers adapt their buying
decisions based on what other people are doing.
I.e. our buying decisions are influenced by what others seem to like.
We are less likely to admit that we don’t like a product if we were assured by other
customers that it should be great. We want to like what we picked based on numerous
positive reviews, and that is the power of social proof for product positioning.
Social proof includes testimonials you publish on your own websites, reviews on feedback
curation.
Source: Smarty, 2023
Social proof Source: Merchant, n.a.
Source: SLR MArketing, 2015
The nature of Source: Wade, 2016
perception
The nature of p. 116
perception
Perception is the following process:

1. An individual is exposed to a stimulus
2. The stimulus attracts the individuals' attention
3. The individual interprets the stimulus based on certain criteria
4. The individual responds to stimulus in a certain way
Perception is selective, subjective and based on the individuals' personal

experience
Exposure
Source: Niosi, 2021

We are exposed to 4000-10000 adverts daily.
Selective exposure through selection of information.

Based on experience, interest and self-selection determine exposure.
Customers seek out what they’re interested in based on needs and

interests.
Exposure
E.g. a vegetarian will ignore meat specials or adverts.
Marketers have to be creative to gain exposure.

• Unconventional places with less competition.
• Captive audience
NB: Media planning is paramount!
Attention
Selective attention – Interest or need.
Interest reflect lifestyle.
E.g. when will you become interested in different medical aids or plans available?
You look at specific adverts when a need is identified.

Stimulus determines attention level.
Consumers pay attention to messages that correspond to:

• Personality
• Experience
• Attitude
• Self-image
• Social environment
• Cultural environment
Stimulus determines attention level
• Size and intensity
• Colour
• Position
• Isolation
Thus the following is important:

o Eye-catching visuals
o Compelling story telling
o Emotional content
o Engaging
o Videos, infographics, interactive content
o Store layouts, product placements, promotional displays
Source: Brogan & Partners, 2014; MKTG, n.a.
o Lighting, colour, signage – guide attention
Campaign example – “Share a Coca Cola realised that their young adult audience craved more than just a
refreshing drink.
They yearned for a sense of self-belonging, self-expression and storytelling.
By adding names to bottles/cans, CC tapped into emotions, making each

drink a personal experience.
Coke”
CC understood that people make decisions based on emotions rather than

logic.
The brand was associated with positive moments and cherished memories.
• Emotion is powerful
• Stay updated
• Research is key
Campaign example –
“Share a Coke”
Source: Budding, 2022

Interpretation
Focused, deliberate and conscious process.
Assign meaning to experience through mental process.
Interpret according to:

• Existing beliefs
• Attitudes
• General disposition
• Experiences
Selective interpretation
• Levelling – ignore information in message, simplify message.
• Sharpening – reads additional information.
Semiotics
Interpretation - Semiotics
Recall via point-of-sale marketing
Learning
All aspects of individual influence – perception, needs, motives, attitudes – are determined
by the ability to learn.
Learn and remember – decision-making is dependent on past learning situations.
Types of learning:
• Experiential – Engaged learning by doing something and reflecting on the experience.
• Conceptual – No direct experience.
We learn and adapt our behaviour

Elements of learning
Marketers stimulate by
using physical objects
such as products, brands,
size or intangibles such as
service, quality and
satisfaction.
Response = Any action,
reaction or state of mind
resulting from a particular
stimulus or cue
Elements of learning
Reinforcement = the
satisfaction resulting
from successful
behaviour that
triggers human
memory of how
satisfaction was
obtained.
REPETITION – E.g.
store layout & in-
store patterns,
repeated adverts.
PARTICIPATION – E.g.
samples, trial-size
products,
demonstrations.
Perform behaviour that
produce positive
Association outcomes and avoid
Possibility of reward those that have negative
outcomes.
Pair brands with celebrities
Packaging Frequency marketing
Theories of
learning
Internal mental process

Cognitive Marketing - video
Reference
• Brogan & Partners. 2014. “Share a Coke” campaign gives the brand its best summer in a decade. Available from:
https://brogan.com/blog/share-a-coke-campaign-gives-the-brand-its-best-summer-in-a-decade/ (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Budding. 2022. Coca Cola: Share a Coke. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8TMv5H_h2E (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Discuss. N.a. What is customer perception? Available from: https://www.discuss.io/blog/what-is-customer-perception/ (Accessed 20 August
2024)
• Maxwell, M. 2019. Types of learning Classical conditioning. Available from: https://slideplayer.com/slide/14646353/ (Accessed 20 August 2024
• Merchant, N. Social proof in e-commerce: Analysing the influence of user reviews. Available from:
https://blog.walls.io/guest-posts/social-proof-in-e-commerce/ (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• MKTG. n.a. Selective attention in marketing: Strategies to capture and retain consumer focus. Available from:
https://mktginsight.com/selective-attention-in-marketing/ (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Niosi, A. 2021. The Perceptual Process. Available from: https://opentextbc.ca/introconsumerbehaviour/chapter/the-perceptual-process/
(Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Platt, J.S. 2022. How branding improves customer perception of your product. Available from:
https://blog.catalpha.com/how-branding-improves-customer-perception-of-your-product (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• SLR Marketing. 2015. #Business. Available from:
https://web.facebook.com/SLRMarketing/photos/the-customers-perception-is-your-reality-customerservice-business/359112660949632/?_rdc
=1&_rdr
(Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Smarty, A. 2023. How to use social proof to shape customer perception of your product. Available from:
https://paykickstart.com/how-to-use-social-proof-to-shape-customer-perception-of-your-product/ (Accessed 20 August 2024)
• Wade, G.E. 2016. What is the perceptual process? Available from:
https://aninsightintothemarketingworld.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/the-perceptual-process/ (Accessed 20 August 2024)
Next Lesson
• Prepare for Chapter 6: Personal characteristics

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Consumer behaviour

Chapter 7 : Perception and Learning

Source: Arcadia Finance, 2024; Karate Oconee, 2021

• Customers’ interactions with reference groups, family & friends,

Source: Discuss, n.a.

Source: Platt, 2022

Perception is the following process:

Perception is selective, subjective and based on the individuals' personal

Source: Niosi, 2021

Selective exposure through selection of information.

Customers seek out what they’re interested in based on needs and

Marketers have to be creative to gain exposure.

You look at specific adverts when a need is identified.

Consumers pay attention to messages that correspond to:

Thus the following is important:

They yearned for a sense of self-belonging, self-expression and storytelling.

By adding names to bottles/cans, CC tapped into emotions, making each

CC understood that people make decisions based on emotions rather than

Source: Budding, 2022

Assign meaning to experience through mental process.

Interpret according to:

Learn and remember – decision-making is dependent on past learning situations.

We learn and adapt our behaviour

Internal mental process

• Prepare for Chapter 6: Personal characteristics

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