英语词汇absorb&/Eb5sR:b/&&&&v&[T] 忍耐；忍受：&absorb&the additional hardships（忍受额外的困苦） During the same period, families have been asked to&absorb&much more risk in their retirement income. [2007 Text 3]（与此同时，家庭成员的退休收入也要承担更多风险。）&【常见义】v&[T]吸收；吸进&act&/Akt/&&&&n&[C] 行为；举动：This dreadful murder is surely the&act&of a madman. （这种令人惊骇的谋杀纯粹是疯子的行为。）This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the&act&of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. [2007 Text 1]（这次实验的成功，加上后来那些表明记忆力不是由遗传决定的实验，使埃里克森得出结论：记忆行为与其说是一种直觉活动，不如说是一种认知活动。） Instead, the studies ended up giving their name to the “Hawthorne effect”, the extremely influential idea that the very&act&of being experimented upon changes subjects’ behavior. [2010 Section I]（出人意料的是，人们最终以将这些研究的结果命名了为“霍桑效应”——一种极具影响力的观点，认为仅仅成为实验对象这一举动就足以使受试者的行为发生改变。）Only a decade earlier, such an&act&would have required legislative approval in Virginia. [2008 Text 4] （而仅仅在那之前的十年，这样的行为在弗吉尼亚还需要得到立法机构的批准。）n&[C]（立法机构所立的）法案，法令：Parliament has passed an&act&which makes such sports illegal.（议会通过了一项法例，规定这些娱乐是非法的。）The only major objection came from Justice Antonin Scalia, who offered an even more robust defense of state privileges going back to the Alien and Sedition&Acts. [2013 Text 4]（唯一主要的反对来自大法官安东宁·斯卡利亚，他为州特权提供了更加强有力的辩护，这些州特权可回溯到《外国人与煽动叛乱法》这一法案。）【常见义】v&[I, T]扮演v&[I]行动address&/E5dres/&&&&v&[T] （尤指正式地）向（某人或听众）讲话： The chairman will now&address&the meeting.（现在由主席向与会者讲话。） Depending on whom you are&addressing, the problems will be different. [2002 Text 1]（因此，谈话对象不同，所谈的问题也不同。）&&&&&&&&&&v&[T] 提出；提交（口头或书面的报告）以引起……的注意：address&a protest to the faculty senate（向校评议会提交抗议书） Regrettably, however, the report’s failure to&address&the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good. [2014 Text 4] （然而，令人遗憾的是，该报告未能指出文科教育面临的危机的实质，故其带来的弊大于利。）&&&&v&[T] 应对；处理： Governments have been slow to&address&the problem of global warming.（政府在应对全球变暖问题上动作迟缓。） Boston Globe reporter Chris Reidy notesthat the situation will improve only when there are comprehensive programs that&address&the many needs of the homeless. [2006 Section I]（《波士顿环球报》的记者克里斯·里迪指出，只有通过综合规划来满足无家可归者的各种需求，情况才能够得到改善。）【常见义】n&[C]住址；地址&agent&/5eIdVEnt/&&n&[C] 原动力；动因： Technological advances are the chief&agents; of change.（技术进步是变革的主要推动力。） Since much of the variation is due to genes, one more&agent; of evolution has gone. [2000 Passage 2]（由于大部分的变异是由基因引起的，所以又一个影响进化的因素消失了。）【常见义】n&[C]代理人，经纪人&air/eE/& &n&[C] 气质，风度：smile with a triumphant&air（带著胜利神情的微笑）Even Tommasini, who had advocated Gilbert’s appointment in the Times, calls him “an unpretentious musician with no&air&of the formidable conductor about him.” [2011 Text 1] （甚至在《纽约时报》上发表文章支持任命吉尔伯特的托马西尼，都称其为“一位谦逊的音乐家， 在他身上没有指挥家那种令人望而生畏的神态”。）【常见义】n&[U]空气&anchor&/ 5ANkE(r) /&&n&[C] 主持人；主播： He signed off after nineteen years as CBS news&anchor.（在做了19年哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目主持人后，他辞职不干了。） Fast-food eaters, news&anchors, text messengers, all smiling, smiling, smiling. [2006 Text 4]（快餐食客们、新闻主播们以及发送短信息者，都在微笑，微笑，微笑。）&【常见义】n&[C]锚&answer&/5B:nsE(r)/&&n&[sing] （地位、作用等方面的）对应物；相当的人： The press called her Britain’sanswer&to Marilyn Monroe.（新闻界称她为英国的玛丽莲·梦露。） [2013 Text 1]&Overdressed&is the fashion world’s&answer&to consumer-activist bestsellers like Michael Pollan’s&The Omnivore’s Dilemma. [2013 Text 1] 迈克尔·波伦的《杂食者的困境》一书是维护消费者权益的畅销书，而《过度时装消费》则相当于时尚界的《杂食者的困境》。&【常见义】n&[C]回答v&[I, T] 回答&appeal&/E5pi:l/&&&&v&[I]（对某人）有吸引力；（使某人）感兴趣：The idea of camping has never&appealed&to me. （对露营这种想法我从来就不感兴趣。）If the study of law is beginning to establish itself as part and parcel of a general education, its aims and methods should&appeal&directly to journalism educators. [2007 Part C]（如果有关法律的研习正开始成为普通教育的重要组成部分，那么它的目的和方法应该会即刻吸引新闻学教育者。）【常见义】v&[I]（向上级法院）上诉&appetite&/5ApItaIt/&&&n&[C, U] 欲求： an insatiable&appetite&for books（对书籍永不满足的欲望） Religious associations began, for example, in the desire to secure the favor of overruling powers and to ward family life in the desire to gratify&appetites&and secu systematic labor, for the most part, because of enslavement to others, etc. [2009 Part C]（比如，宗教团体的成立是为了保卫统治阶层的利益和抵御邪恶势力；家庭生活的建立是为了满足身体的欲望和维系家族长久；有组织的劳动的兴起很大程度上是因为奴隶制度的产生，等等。）【常见义】&n&[U]胃口；食欲&approach&/E5prEUtF/&v&[T] 处理；对付： Governments tend to&approach&the issue from different angles. （政府倾向于从多个角度处理这个问题。） Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to&approach&challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally （or collaboratively） and innovatively. [2009 Text 1]（20世纪60年代末，研究人员发现人类生来具有四种主要的应对挑战的方法：分析的方法、程式化的方法、相关联的方法（也称协作性方法）和创新性的方法。） The way consumers now&approach&the process of making purchase decisions means that marketing’s impact stems from a broad range of factors beyond conventional paid media. [2011 Text 3]（如今消费者对于做出购买决定这一过程的处理方式，意味着市场营销的影响力来自于传统付费媒介以外的广泛因素。）&【常见义】n&[C]道路；方法&argue&/5B:gju/&&v&[I, T] 坚持，主张：The speaker&argued&that more immigrants should be admitted to the country.（讲演者举出理由证明应该允许更多的移民入境。）If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they&argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. [2003 Text 3]（他们认为，如果铁路公司对所有客户平均收费，那些可以选择货运汽车或其他运输方式的客户就会另作选择，从而使剩下的客户承担铁路的运营费用。） Do you remember all those years when scientists&argued&that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn't know for sure? [2005 Text 1]（还记得科学家们认为吸烟会致人死亡，而怀疑者们却坚持认为我们对此尚不能确定的那些年吗？）【常见义】v&[I, T]争论；争吵&arm&/B:m /&&&&& v&[T] 提供（设备， 信息等）；配备： I’ll need to&arm&myself with all the facts before meeting them formally.（在与他们正式见面前，我需要了解所有的事实。） Some use them to keep a close watch on the demand for their line of work or gather information on compensation to&arm&themselves when negotiating for a raise. [2004 Text1]（有的人用它来密切关注对于本行业的市场需求或搜集有关薪水的信息以备加薪谈判时胸有成竹。）【常见义】&n&[C]手臂&assume&/E5sju:m/&&&v&[T] 呈现；具有（特定的性质、外表或程度）： Militant activity had&assumed&epidemic proportions.（军事活动呈蔓延之势。）& In them we can see biophilia—a yearning for contact with nonhuman life—assuming&uncanny representational forms. [2013 Part C]（从中，我们可以看到人类亲近大自然的天性（对接触非人类生命的渴望）呈现出一种奇特的表现形式。）【常见义】v&[T]假定，认为&attack&/E5tAk/&n&[C，U] 抨击；非难： an&attack; on the government’s policies（对政府政策的抨击）& Theattacks&on ambition are many and come its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely unattractive. [2000 Passage 5]（对野心的抨击比比皆是，并且角度各不相同；公开为雄心辩解的人则寥寥无几，虽然他们不至于毫无吸引力，但却无法给人留下深刻印象。）【常见义】v&[I, T]进攻；攻击&bar&&/bB: /&&&&&n&[S] 法律专业（人士），法律界： Another is to let students sit for&the bar&after only two years of law school. [2014 Text 2]（另一种提议是主张学生在法学院学习两年后就进行司法考试。）&【常见义】n&[C]棍，棒；酒吧&bear&/beE(r)/&&&v&[T] 承担；担负： the expert’s fee shall be&borne&by the tenant（专家费要由承租人负担） Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it&borne&by families have risen—and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. [2007 Text 3]（医疗保健的绝对支出和家庭所承担的份额都提高了，最近流行的健康储蓄计划正从立法机构延伸到沃尔玛员工中，该计划增加了医疗保险扣减额，也增加了家庭未来医疗保健方面的投资风险。）【常见义】n&[C]熊&bill&/bIl/&&&&&&n&[C] （提交议会讨论的）法案： propose a&bill（提出一项议案）& In a significant tightening of legal controls over the press, Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, will introduce a draft&bill; that will propose making payments to witnesses illegal and will strictly control the amount of publicity that can be given to a case before a trial begins. [2001 Section II]（为了大力加强对报界的法律控制，大法官欧文勋爵将提交一份草案，提出向证人付费将被视为非法，并且严格控制开庭前对案情的公开程度。）【常见义】n&[C]账单&&board&/bR:d/&&&&&n&[C] 委员会；理事会；董事会： He sits on the company’s management&board.（他是公司的管理委员。） He says medical licensing&boards&“must make it clear... that painful deathsare presumptively ones that are incompetently managed and should result in license suspension.” [2002 Text 4]（他说，行医执照颁发委员会“必须明确表明……病人痛苦的死亡可以推定为由于医生治疗不力造成的，应该吊销其行医执照。”）&【常见义】n&[C]木板&book&/bUk/&&&&&&v&[T] 记载； 把……记录在册：&book&the loss（记录损失） And dead markets partly reflect the paralysis of banks which will not sell assets for fear of&booking&losses, yet are reluctant to buy all those supposed bargains. [2010 Text 4]（另外，缺少活力的市场在一定程度上反映银行系统的瘫痪，为避免账面损失，他们不愿意出售资产，也不愿意收购那些所谓的廉价资产。） 【常见义】n[C]书；书籍&branch&/brB:ntF/&n&[C]（知识的）分科；（语言的）分系：Social science is that&branch&of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned, orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural scientists use for the study of natural phenomena. [2003 Part B] （社会科学是知识探索的一个分支，它力图像自然科学家研究自然现象那样，用理性、有序、系统和冷静的方式去研究人类及其活动。）Being learned in some&branch&of human kn living in &public and illustrious thoughts,& as Emersion would say, is something else. [2006 Part C]（精通人类知识的某个分支是一回事；而生活在如爱默生所说的“公众、卓越的思考”之中，又是另外一回事。）【常见义】n&[C]树枝&buy&/baI/&&&&&&v&[T]认为合乎情理而接受（某事物）；相信： No one will&buy&that excuse.（谁也不会相信那个借口。） Lots of Americans&bought&that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves. [2005 Text 2]（许多美国人接受了这些无稽之谈，结果在过去的三十多年里，差不多有一千万烟民早早地进了坟墓。）【常见义】v&[T]购买；采购更多内容，敬请期待领航医学(gh_9e590c78e7f5)　
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《诗经》里有一句话叫“靡不有初，鲜克有终”，也就是讲一件事情开始时都会有很多人去做，可是到了最后，剩下的人就近来有许多同学问，考研英语的如何学以及需要什么资料，小编建议大家在这三四个月期间，主要做好以下几件事：1、单「面试问题」先抽签，然后一个一个进去面试，时间大概每个人十五分钟左右。面试主要是先简短的自我介绍，然后由各位保研大热，倒逼考研党，所以能保研的考生一定要做好准备，抓住这条好路。目前正是准备保研的好时机，下面就谈谈关于相信大家基础阶段的复习都在紧锣密鼓地进行着，但是你的复习过程中可能就存在着一个容易忽略的问题——积累亮点词汇同学，领航君喊你补课啦！缺了去年【长难句1和长难句2】的同学，根据新课表安排5月8日，5月29日统一补课。美美滴西综女神--王棋然老师今天给童鞋们上的是西综面授课生化这门课。大家都说西综生化是最难的，王老师的讲解深考研英语复习没头绪？背单词没效果怎么办？听领航词汇主讲、南开大学翻译博士、高级同传【刘博强老师】给你来支招！三月不备考，四月徒伤悲。对于考研那点事，三月正好是小伙伴们汲取信息，确定思路的时候。为了让童鞋们能对考研有更〉A. 清实火
B、退虚热C、两者均是【领航每日备考-英语】Such large, imperson1选学校不要怕好但是也不要报那些只招几个人的专业。有些同学在选学校的时候，畏首畏尾，瞻前顾后，标准一降再降，恭喜你对人类的知识有所创新，因此授予你这个学位。我们在美国得到博士学位时都会领到看不懂点击上方“公众号”可订阅哦！
1考生在备考英语翻译的时候，许多句子的译文不顺，究其原因，往往是定语没有领航医学本期我们讲唯物主义的三个“宗”，它们分别是古代朴素唯物主义、机械唯物主义（形而一年之计始于春，在这个绿意盎然，生机勃勃的日子里，2017年考研的小伙伴们，你们对考研随着2016考研接近尾声，很多2017考生虽然已经决定考研，但是仍然像无头苍蝇一样到处乱撞，对考研常识一知半“听说某某并没有怎么准备就考上研了……”你是否听过这样的话。但是，哪有什么偶然的成功，现阶段，小白考研人的首要任务就是搞定考研的一些基础常识。这两天，考研君帮大家汇总整理考研小白必知的一些内容，复习期间做笔记，是每个考研党的必修课程。而如何做好笔记，让好多小伙伴选择考研最担忧的就是英语，这是很多人不愿意提及的致命弱点跨专业考生该何时开始准备考研？
一方面要看你跨考的专业的难易程度，以及和爱玩游戏的小伙伴们都知道游戏的一大诱点就是不断闯关，通关时的求胜心，通关后的胜在我们学习进入疲惫期的时候，往往会有这么一个问题浮现在脑海中：我这么努力学习的意义到底问题一：阅读模拟题有用还是没用?
复习时很多考生都会买阅读英语词汇absorb /Eb5sR:b/
v [T] 忍耐；忍受： absorb考研英语是大多数考研学子的短板，大家用在英语学科上的时间、精力在整gh_9e590c78e7f5领航医学教育专注医学类培训课程，专业培训医学类专业考研、职业医学类认证等。热门文章最新文章gh_9e590c78e7f5领航医学教育专注医学类培训课程，专业培训医学类专业考研、职业医学类认证等。请翻译the way consumers now approach the process of making purchase decisions means that marketing's impact stems from a broad range of factors beyond conventional paid media.
谢晋宇1853
如今，消费者作出购买决定的方式,意味着市场营销的影响力来自于传统付费媒介之外的广泛因素
approach the process 怎么翻译呢
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Chapter 14 Consumer Decision Making IThe Process
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你可能喜欢3.1. The Consumer’s Decision-Making Process
Learning Objectives
Understand what the stages of the buying process are.
Distinguish between low-involvement buying decisions and high-involvement buying decisions.
You’ve been a consumer with purchasing power for much longer than you probably realize—since the first time you were asked which cereal or toy you wanted. Over the years, you’ve developed a systematic way you choose among alternatives, even if you aren’t aware of it. Other consumers follow a similar process. The first part of this chapter looks at this process. The second part looks at the situational, psychological, and other factors that affect what, when, and how people buy what they do.
Keep in mind, however, that different people, no matter how similar they are, make different purchasing decisions. You might be very interested in purchasing a Smart Car. But your best friend might want to buy a Ford 150 truck. Marketing professionals understand this. They don’t have unlimited budgets that allow them to advertise in all types of media to all types of people, so what they try to do is figure out trends among consumers. Doing so helps them reach the people most likely to buy their products in the most cost effective way possible.
Stages in the Buying Process
Figure 3.2, “Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process” outlines the buying stages consumers go through. At any given time, you’re probably in some sort of buying stage. You’re thinking about the different types of things you want or need to eventually buy, how you are going to find the best ones at the best price, and where and how will you buy them. Meanwhile, there are other products you have already purchased that you’re evaluating. Some might be better than others. Will you discard them, and if so, how? Then what will you buy? Where does that process start?
Figure 3.2. Stages in the Consumer’s Purchasing Process
Stage 1. Need Recognition
Perhaps you’re planning to backpack around the country after you graduate, but you don’t have a particularly good backpack. Marketers often try to stimulate consumers into realizing they have a need for a product. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Gatorade, Powerade, and other beverage makers locate their machines in gymnasiums so you see them after a long, tiring workout? Previews at movie theaters are another example. How many times have you have heard about a movie and had no interest in it—until you saw the preview? Afterward, you felt like had to see it.
Stage 2. Search for Information
Maybe you have owned several backpacks and know what you like and don’t like about them. Or, there might be a particular brand that you’ve purchased in the past that you liked and want to purchase in the future. This is a great position for the company that owns the brand to be in—something firms strive for. Why? Because it often means you will limit your search and simply buy their brand again.
If what you already know about backpacks doesn’t provide you with enough information, you’ll probably continue to gather information from various sources. Frequently people ask friends, family, and neighbors about their experiences with products. Magazines such as Consumer Reports or Backpacker Magazine might also help you.
Internet shopping sites such
have become a common source of information about products.
is an example of consumer-generated review site. The site offers product ratings, buying tips, and price information.
also offers product reviews written by consumers. People prefer “independent” sources such as this when they are looking for product information. However, they also often consult nonneutral sources of information, such advertisements, brochures, company Web sites, and salespeople.
Stage 3. Product Evaluation
Obviously, there are hundreds of different backpacks available to choose from. It’s not possible for you to examine all of them. (In fact, good salespeople and marketing professionals know that providing you with too many choices can be so overwhelming, you might not buy anything at all.) Consequently, you develop what’s called evaluative criteria to help you narrow down your choices.
Evaluative criteriaevaluative criteriaCertain characteristics of products consumers consider when they are making buying decisions. are certain characteristics that are important to you such as the price of the backpack, the size, the number of compartments, and color. Some of these characteristics are more important than others. For example, the size of the backpack and the price might be more important to you than the color—unless, say, the color is hot pink and you hate pink.
Figure 3.3.
Osprey backpacks are known for their durability. The company has a special design and quality control center, and Osprey’s salespeople annually take a “canyon testing” trip to see how well the company’s products perform.
Marketing professionals want to convince you that the evaluative criteria you are considering reflect the strengths of their products. For example, you might not have thought about the weight or durability of the backpack you want to buy. However, a backpack manufacturer such as Osprey might remind you through magazine ads, packaging information, and its Web site that you should pay attention to these features—features that happen to be key selling points of its backpacks.
Stage 4. Product Choice and Purchase
Stage 4 is the point at which you decide what backpack to purchase. However, in addition to the backpack, you are probably also making other decisions at this stage, including where and how to purchase the backpack and on what terms. Maybe the backpack was cheaper at one store than another, but the salesperson there was rude. Or maybe you decide to order online because you’re too busy to go to the mall. Other decisions, particularly those related to big ticket items, are made at this point. If you’re buying a high-definition television, you might look for a store that will offer you credit or a warranty.
Stage 5. Postpurchase Use and Evaluation
At this point in the process you decide whether the backpack you purchased is everything it was cracked up to be. Hopefully it is. If it’s not, you’re likely to suffer what’s called postpurchase dissonancepostpurchase dissonanceA situation in which consumers rethink their decisions after purchasing products and wonder if they made the best decision.. You might call it buyer’s remorse. You want to feel good about your purchase, but you don’t. You begin to wonder whether you should have waited to get a better price, purchased something else, or gathered more information first. Consumers commonly feel this way, which is a problem for sellers. If you don’t feel good about what you’ve purchased from them, you might return the item and never purchase anything from them again. Or, worse yet, you might tell everyone you know how bad the product was.
Companies do various things to try to prevent buyer’s remorse. For smaller items, they might offer a money back guarantee. Or, they might encourage their salespeople to tell you what a great purchase you made. How many times have you heard a salesperson say, “That outfit looks so great on you!”? For larger items, companies might offer a warranty, along with instruction booklets, and a toll-free troubleshooting line to call. Or they might have a salesperson call you to see if you need help with product.
Stage 6. Disposal of the Product
There was a time when neither manufacturers nor consumers thought much about how products got disposed of, so long as people bought them. But that’s changed. How products are being disposed is becoming extremely important to consumers and society in general. Computers and batteries, which leech chemicals into landfills, are a huge problem. Consumers don’t want to degrade the environment if they don’t have to, and companies are becoming more aware of the fact.
Take for example, Crystal Light, a water-based beverage that’s sold in grocery stores. You can buy it in a bottle. However, many people buy a concentrated form of it, put it in reusable pitchers or bottles, and add water. That way, they don’t have to buy and dispose of plastic bottle after plastic bottle, damaging the environment in the process. Windex has done something similar with its window cleaner. Instead of buying new bottles of it all the time, you can purchase a concentrate and add water. You have probably noticed that most grocery stores now sell cloth bags consumers can reuse instead of continually using and discarding of new plastic or paper bags.
Other companies are less concerned about conservation than they are about planned obsolescenceplanned obsolescenceA deliberate effort by companies to make their products obsolete, or unusable, after a period of time.. Planned obsolescence is a deliberate effort by companies to make their products obsolete, or unusable, after a period of time. The goal is to improve a company’s sales by reducing the amount of time between the repeat purchases consumers make of products. When a software developer introduces a new version of product, older versions of it are usually designed to be incompatible with it. For example, if you only have Microsoft Word 2003 installed on your computer, you won’t be able to open a document that’s been created in Microsoft Word 2007. Consequently, you will be more inclined to upgrade to the new version so you can open all Word documents you receive.
Products that are disposable are another way in which firms have managed to reduce the amount of time between purchases. Disposable lighters are an example. Do you know anyone today that owns a nondisposable lighter? Believe it or not, prior to the 1960s, scarcely anyone could have imagined using a cheap disposable lighter. There are many more disposable products today than there were in years past—including everything from bottled water and individually wrapped snacks to single-use eye drops and cell phones.
Figure 3.4.
Disposable lighters came into vogue in the United States in the 1960s. You probably don’t own a cool, nondisposable lighter like one of these, but you don’t have to bother refilling it with lighter fluid either.
Low-Involvement versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions
Consumers don’t necessarily go through all the buying stages when they’re considering purchasing product. You have probably thought about many products you want or need but never did much more than that. At other times, you’ve probably looked at dozens of products, compared them, and then decided not to purchase any one of them. At yet other times, you skip stages 1 through 3 and buy products on impulse. As Nike would put, you “just do it.” Perhaps you see a magazine with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the cover and buy it on the spot simply because you want it. Purchasing a product with no planning or forethought is called impulse buyingimpulse buyingPurchases that occurs with no planning or forethought..
Impulse buying brings up a concept called level of involvement—that is, how personally important or interested you are in consuming a product. For example, you might see a roll of tape at a check-out stand and remember you need one. Or you might see a bag of chips and realize you’re hungry. These are items you need, but they are low-involvement products. Low-involvement productslow-involvement productsProducts that carry a low risk of failure and/or have a low price tag for a specific individual or group making the decision. aren’t necessarily purchased on impulse, although they can be. Low-involvement products are, however, inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if she makes a mistake by purchasing them.
Consumers often engage in routine response behaviorroutine response behaviorWhen consumers make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. when they buy low-involvement products—that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited information or information they have gathered in the past. For example, if you always order a Diet Coke at lunch, you’re engaging in routine response behavior. You may not even think about other drink options at lunch because your routine is to order a Diet Coke, and you simply do it. If you’re served a Diet Coke at lunchtime, and it’s flat, oh well. It’s not the end of the world.
By contrast, high-involvement productshigh-involvement productsProducts that carry a high price tag or high level of risk to the individual or group making the decision. carry a high risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often. Buyers don’t engage in routine response behavior when purchasing high-involvement products. Instead, consumers engage in what’s called extended problem solvingextended problem solvingPurchasing decisions in which a consumer gathers a significant amount of information before making a decision., where they spend a lot of time comparing the features of the products, prices, warrantees, and so forth.
High-involvement products can cause buyers a great deal of postpurchase dissonance if they are unsure about their purchases. Companies that sell high-involvement products are aware of that postpurchase dissonance can be a problem. Frequently they try to offer consumers a lot of information about their products, including why they are superior to competing brands and how they won’t let the consumer down. Salespeople are typically utilized to do a lot of customer “hand-holding.”
Figure 3.5.
Allstate’s “You’re in Good Hands” advertisements are designed to convince consumers that the insurance company won’t let them down.
Limited problem solving falls somewhere in the middle. Consumers engage in limited problem solvinglimited problem solvingPurchasing decisions made based on consideration of some outside information. when they already have some information about a good or service but continue to search for a bit more information. The backpack you’re looking to buy is an example. You’re going to spend at least some time looking for one that’s decent because you don’t want it to fall apart while you’re traveling and dump everything you’ve packed on a hiking trail. You might do a little research online and come to a decision relatively quickly. You might consider the choices available at your favorite retail outlet but not look at every backpack at every outlet before making a decision. Or, you might rely on the advice of a person you know who’s knowledgeable about backpacks. In some way you shorten the decision-making process.
Brand names can be very important regardless of the consumer’s level of purchasing involvement. Consider a low- versus high-involvement product—say purchasing a tube of toothpaste versus a new car. You might routinely buy your favorite brand of toothpaste, not thinking much about the purchase (engage in routine response behavior), but not be willing to switch to another brand either. Having a brand you like saves you “search time” and eliminates the evaluation period because you know what you’re getting.
When it comes to the car, you might engage in extensive problem solving but, again, only be willing to consider a certain brands or brands. For example, in the 1970s, American-made cars had such a poor reputation for quality, buyers joked that a car that’s “not Jap (Japanese made), is crap.” The quality of American cars is very good today, but you get the picture. If it’s a high-involvement product you’re purchasing, a good brand name is probably going to be very important to you. That’s why the makers of high-involvement products can’t become complacent about the value of their brands.
Video Clip
1970s American Cars
Today, Lexus is the automotive brand that experiences the most customer loyalty. For a humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at why the brand reputation of American carmakers suffered in the 1970s, check out this clip.
Key Takeaway
Consumer behavior looks at the many reasons why people buy things and later dispose of them. Consumers go through distinct buying phases when they purchases products: (1) realizing the need or want something, (2) searching for information about the item, (3) evaluating different products, (4) choosing a product and purchasing it, (5) using and evaluating the product after the purchase, and (6) disposing of the product. A consumer’s level of involvement is how interested he or she is in buying and consuming a product. Low-involvement products are usually inexpensive and pose a low risk to the buyer if she makes a mistake by purchasing them. High-involvement products carry a high risk to the buyer if they fail, are complex, or have high price tags. Limited-involvement products fall somewhere in between.
Review Questions
What is consumer behavior? Why do companies study it?
What stages do people go through in the buying process?
How do low-involvement products differ from high-involvement products in terms of the risks their buyers face? Name some products in each category that you’ve recently purchased.}