RMIT International University Vietnam Assignment Cover Page MKTG1421 CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR Semester Semester 3 Title of Assignment Assignment 2 Decision making process Name and Student ID N[.]
RMIT International University Vietnam Assignment Cover Page MKTG1421 CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR Semester Semester Title of Assignment Assignment 2: Decision making process Name and Student ID Nguyen Tri Khang - S4019053 Class Group HN-Group Lecturer Chi LP Word Count (Main content without list of references, cover page, etc.) Declaration and Statement of Authorship This assignment is my original work and no part of it has been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made Introduction Zoologist is a niche perfume brand founded in 2013, by Canadian perfumer Victor Wong (Zoologist 2023) The award-winning DNA of Zoologist Perfumes lies within the magnificent recapture of animals and their living habitats, and its world-wide success is a testament for the novel business model Interestingly, Zoologist triumph is somewhat unprecedented still, considering the fact that the niche market only takes up less than 10% of the fragrance industry (Horoszko et al 2018; Nguyen 2022) In this paper, the author will reflect upon his decision making process of a highinvolvement purchase, including five phases as detailed Then, a customer journey map is constructed, with recommendations to improve marketing practices Information on the high-involvement purchase: ● Date of purchase: 20th December 2023 ● Place of purchase: Gia Perfumerie ● Retailer address: 23 P Bà Triệu, Hàng Bài, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 10000 ● Item purchase: Macaque - Yuzu Edition 60ml ● Brand name: Zoologist Perfume ● Price: 5,200,000 VND Decision making process Problem Recognition The author recognized the need to purchase a gift-giving item for his brother’s birthday on 4th December (task definition and temporal perspective), thus a planned problem is clearly presented The author wants to purchase a product category that reinforces his originality and thoughtfulness for his sibling, and perfume suits the primary intention of gift-giving With perfume, the effort put into researching the ‘right’ one is essentially arduous, since perfume poses both high financial risk and social risk (Roberts et al 2015) However, it can also express mutual understanding of the recipient and strengthen the relationship (Shanka and Handley 2011), provided that the perfume matches the wearer’s preferences Perfumes, especially the prestigious and niche brands, tell stories that entail ‘engagement’, ‘wants’, and ‘lusts’: it does not necessarily satisfy instrumental performance, but rather symbolic, personalized experience (Quester et al 2013, Horoszko et al 2018) The author, originally, spent a morning asking family members of the usual perfume styles of the recipient (fresh, zingy, citrusy notes) He conducted internal searches as previously on his birthday, he had been given an impressive, exotic niche perfume from the retailer, Gia Perfumerie And when the author surfed the Instagram fanpage, there were promotions for purchase during Christmas This might be an early success, as marketers were able to time problem recognition Figure Instagram fanpage of Gia Perfumerie (Gia Perfumerie 2023) Figure Facebook post to promote Zoologist Perfumes (Gia Perfumerie 2023) Information search An extended decision making process similar to the author’s may call for extensive external search, yet internal search from past experiences may surface and set guidelines for the searching process (Quester et al 2013) The writer did reflect upon past experiences with niche perfume, since he was a supporter of originality and diversity The constraints, as explained, arise in the form of price range, scent notes of recipient, and known retailer To utilize this budget, the author continued to conduct external research on aspects such as Youtube review videos, retailer’s own social fanpages, and last but not least, a visit to the physical store to have direct experience It is worth noting that perfume is a sensual journey of the olfactory stimuli, thus consumers always need to have physical experience to process the scents, rather than just gazing at products through the Internet Market report from Statista (Jeong 2023) substantiates the idea, with 95% of revenue share coming from offline sales Additionally, due to the reserved quality of niche perfume, little is disclosed about the actual experience through marketing campaigns or media communication The consumers have to take themselves to the exact showrooms or counters to sample the scent stripes for better learning As a result, silent marketing is a useful strategy to implement amidst a noisy digital world (Nguyen 2022) Figure Positive review reinforces the initial impression (author’s own photograph) Figure Zoologist Perfumes’ website is designed in a minimalistic, straightforward style which helps customers navigate better (author’s own photograph) Evaluation of alternatives Evaluation criteria are a set of metrics that individuals rely on to make sound judgment The fact that evaluation criteria are person-product-situation specific requires marketers to understand which criteria dominate and frequently come up The author, in this case, turned to a few criteria which the retailing salesperson was able to resonate with: price, scent notes, brand awareness, and design As fragrance consumers have a tendency to favor sensory discrimination, it is important that they experience different brands on-site to distinguish the olfactory ingredients Evaluation criteria Importance of criteria L’Orchestre Parfum Electro Limonade Maison Matine Esprit de Contradiction Zoologist Macaque Yuzu Edition Price 30 Scent notes 40 Design 10 4 Brand awareness 20 Total 350 390 430 100 Advertising cannot be easily sought after for niche perfume, yet Zoologist Perfumes succeeded in conquering the hearts of many reviewers as a unique player The author learned more about the product by looking at user reviews from Youtube, which offers insights into the aromatic voyage of Macaque - Yuzu Edition Interestingly, Gia Perfumerie owns a personal channel that advertises a few selected brands except for Zoologist Perfumes, despite showcasing the brand at the very top of the website and social media fan pages This mismatch created a small hassle for the writer to watch other reviewers instead Figure and Youtube reviewers on Zoologist novelty and uniqueness Figure Macaque - Yuzu Edition review with moderate number of views, indicating a lesser-known aura of niche brands Store selection and purchase Figure Well-organized Zoologist Perfumes on a wooden counter, signifying luxury and prestige (author’s own photograph) Figure 10 Convenient parking lots for motorbike (author’s own photograph) Figure 11 A dedicated corner for chatting and conversation, which may encourage learning and memory Dimensions Author’s experience Merchandise Wide range of brand names with abundant products High trustworthiness as exclusive distributor of many niche perfume houses Service Online and offline delivery, flexible payment methods Friendly and professional staff with in-depth knowledge of the given brands Physical facilities Hygienic, curated, hedonic and highly pleasurable Perfume is well-organized according to brands First floor with a black storefront: It may seem unappealing from outside, yet some may perceive this color scheme as premium and luxury Convenience Store is located downtown with high foot traffic (Ba Trieu Street) and storefront parking Promotion Online and offline P.O.P leaflets for Christmas sales Store atmosphere Comforting and pleasing, depicting a trip into the forest of euphoria According to Sujan et al (1988), successful salespeople may take advantage of the marketing opportunities to approach the targeted customers efficiently Informative content and illustrative jargons captivated the author and assisted the learning process He then finalized the decision jubilantly and satisfyingly without a second thought Post-purchase process Figure 12 and 13 Customer loyalty programs are designed to retain customers The post-purchase process is depicted by the tremendous delight to witness the recipient’s unboxing the present with gift cards and well-wishes To see the satisfied facial expression of the recipient reassured the soundness of decision making and the author was quite gleeful Additionally, customer loyalty is well thought through with customer membership (Figure 12), and applied promotion encourages the buyers to repeat the purchasing behavior may any similar situations arise This, together with word of mouth, reinforces the retailer image and the author did foster on-going search ever since Customer journey map and recommendations (500 words) Customer’s Persona: - Medium to high budget - Part-timer seeking luxury and original experience - Fresh, zingy, and citrusy notes Problem Recognition: Birthday present for brother, an early Gen Z who frequent business meetings and hang-outs Goal: Surprise brother and strengthen the relationship between family members Customer Decision Making Process Problem Recognition Information search Evaluation and selection Store choice and Purchase Post-purchase and advocacy Touch points Mobile advertising and social advertising Google, Youtube, retailer and company website Retailer’s Facebook Retailer’s Instagram Physical store Retail outlet Social media, physical store Customer’s actions Trace back memory and search keywords - Interact with retailer through social platform - Watch Youtube videos - Research through database website Find the best aromas Price warranties, Promotion, Customer loyalty program are compared - Share feedbacks on review section or post on social media about the experience - Share words of mouth and form a long-term memory to utilize internal search - Form brand loyalty User experience Confident and pleasurable Confused with the information overload Hesitant and need reassurance Reassured by sales staff and manager Cheerful and relieved Company’s opportunities, KPIs and recommendations - Maintain the current design but description should be put in the caption/ comment - Monitor Facebook/ Instagram traffic - Increase guidance and encourage on-site visits - Produce more relevant content about scent notes on Youtube - Pre-schedule a meeting to best advise customers - Conversion rate with more customer buying products - Maintain the evoked position by reminding the best solutions offered (original niche perfume retailer) - Train the staffs with scripts and guidelines, together with payment methods and customer loyalty programs - Increase Youtube content and Facebook posts - Promote social listening with active responses and thanks for past customers - Engage in workshops and collaborate in social events to boost highinvolvement learning References Nguyen N (12 July 2022), ‘Nước hoa niche số lượng giới hạn: Marketing im lặng’, VnEconomy, accessed 20 December 2023 https://vneconomy.vn/techconnect//nuoc-hoa-niche-so-luong-gioi-han-marketingbang-su-im-lang.htm Horoszko N, Moskowitz D, and Moskowitz H (2018) Understanding the Marketing Exceptionality of Prestige Perfumes,Taylor and Francis, London https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=5331543 Quester P, Pettigrew S, Rao HS, Kopanidis F and Hawkins D (2013), Consumer Behaviour : Implications for Marketing Strategy, McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Limited, North Ryde, available from: ProQuest Ebook Central, accessed 20 December 2023 Shanka T and Handley B (2011) ‘Gift Giving: An Exploratory Behavioural Study’, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 16(4): 359-377, DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2011.588865 Sujan H., Sujan M., Bettman J R 1988, ‘Knowledge structure differences between more effective and less effective salespeople’, Journal of Marketing Research, vol.25, no.1, pp.81-86