Consumer Behavior is the science to understand the way in which an individual or organization makes decisions. It mostly reflects the way consumers act in a market environment. The Perception in Consumer Behavior is all about processing of information to retaining that information and acting on this new experience.
Exposure
Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of our sensory receptor nerves. In simple terms, this is when some consumer stimulus is placed in the person’s relevant environment. The consumer may choose to self-select which stimulus he/she may be exposed to. The impact of the active, self-selecting nature of exposure can be seen in zipping, zapping, and muting of television commercials. Zipping is the fast-forwarding, zapping is switching channels and muting is silencing the commercials. A way of bypassing this behaviour is to advertise by providing the required value. I am an affiliate and I declare so by providing my Amazon Link here. But this is embedded among the relevant information so you may choose to go to the link or ignore. But the purpose of explaining the link is fulfilled. Other examples of this would be infomercials.
Attention
Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor nerves and the resulting sensation goes to the brain for processing. People are today constantly exposed to advertisements. This may be in terms of commercials or product embedding. On average a television network shows 6000 commercials per week. This is besides radio and social media ads that are thrown at us. The only ones that will get our attention are if it is of our interest. Making such commercials is a great challenge. This is the reason we see a lot of attention-grabbing visuals of a handsome/beautiful model or a catchy jingle. It’s all the game of perception in consumer behavior.
Interpretation
Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to sensations. People interpret any message in different ways. This may be due to social rules of the place or upbringing of the person. People assign meaning to the tone and feel of any message. This will also be based on actual words and symbols. Cognitive Interpretation is a process whereby stimuli are placed into existing categories of meaning. This may also be consistent with their expectation of the message. A dark brown sweet dish might carry an expectation of a chocolate flavor rather than vanilla.
Memory: Perception in Consumer Behavior
The memory of any stimulus will depend on problem solving or feelings generated by the stimulus. A desirable watch if in a stretchable budget can be a want that with effective stimulus transform into a need. This need may not be a true one but an assumed one. There are many that are living a minimalist lifestyle and they have shunned a lot of desires. But not all consumers live such a lifestyle. Any stimulus strong enough to make an impact on the persons senses can leave strong memories.
Information Credits: Consumer Behavior – Building Marketing Strategy
