Marketing Psychology BPS107

 

Some Sample Course Notes  

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow came up with a 5-tier hierarchy of needs that he believed people passed through. At the bottom of the hierarchy are fundamental physiological needs that have to first be satisfied. When these needs are fulfilled, they no longer motivate people and so they move up to the next level. At the very top is ‘self-actualisation’, which is realised by very few people. Even those that do attain this stage, retain motivation. It is considered to be the realisation of one’s unique potential.

Maslow’s theory has been applied to marketing from the point of view that Maslow himself suggested that people are influenced by higher order needs, even when their lower needs are not completely satisfied. This means that everyone is in the market at some level for the full range of need satisfaction.

People may trade off one need for another, e.g. spend less on housing (physiological) and more on education (self-esteem/self-actualisation).

The element of consumer choice is of particular importance to marketers. For example, a person can satisfy their need to drink by consuming tap water. Why then would they choose ‘Coke’, and why ‘Coke’ rather than ‘Pepsi’?

Also, many products can be used to satisfy an array of needs.

 

Course Structure

There are eight lessons in this module as follows:

1. People as Consumers Understanding the types of psychological “rewards” gained by a person through buying. Distinguishing between consumers, customers and buyers?
   
2. Market Segmentation Understanding market segments and applying the concept of target marketing.
   
3. Internal Influences –Perception & Personality Consumer self image, difference threshold, trait theory of personality, etc.
   
4. Internal Influences –Motivation and Awareness Customer satisfaction, the way complaints are dealt with, stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination, etc
   
5. Social Influences Family Influences, Social groups, Developmental Influences, Peer Group Influences (Work and Leisure), Social Class and Culture
   
6. Consumerism Deceptive advertising, sensitivity to consumer needs, variation between perception and reality.
   
7. Communication and Persuasion Message Evaluation, Selection & Execution
   
8. Deciding to Buy Why people shop, or do not shop; surveying the market place.

Aims

• Identify different categories of shoppers.
• Describe the key concepts of Market Segmentation   
• Determine the role of perception and personality in the marketing process
• Determine the factors that motivate a consumer toward a purchase
• Define how social factors influence a consumers behaviour 
• Discuss consumerism in the context of marketing.
• Determine the factors that influence consumer attitude and marketing communication and persuasion.
• Apply the concept of multi – element buying decisions.   

 

Other Options

Or are you interested in how psychology relates to business, why not try –

Psychological Assessment http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Psychological-Assessment-379.aspx

Careers Counselling http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Careers-Counselling-344.aspx

Stress Management http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Stress-Management-295.aspx

Industrial Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Industrial-Psychology-290.aspx

Multicultural Awareness http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Multi-Cultural-Awareness-369.aspx

Social Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Social-Psychology-I-345.aspx

Or if you are not sure if psychology is for you, why not try our Introduction to Psychology - http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/product.aspx?id=359

If you would like to see our range of psychology books, please visit - http://www.acsbookshop.com/books_productcategory.aspx?id=14

For more information on the range of careers available in psychology, have a look at - http://www.thecareersguide.com/articles.aspx?category=14

We have some interesting articles on psychology and counseling at - http://www.acs.edu.au/psychol/

Due to the sheer mass of information that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, we tend to filter out the information that is not immediately important, and instead concentrate on that which is. This is known as attention.

By doing this, the information is given access to our short-term memory, and ultimately our long-term memory.

At the same time other sensory inputs are blocked so that we don’t become overwhelmed or confused.

When we go shopping we use the same process of attention, for example if we are buying groceries and we know exactly what we are going to buy.

Why do people choose to buy something? What influences their thinking to decide one way rather than another? Develop your ability to understand how an understanding of Psychology can be applied to marketing.

Approximate duration: 100 hours

Cost: $693.00 inc GST

Enrolment: Click here to enrol in this course