BLS Institute of Management

“Consumer focused advertising”

(Covering utilitarian and hedonic motive)

Submitted to
Prof. Neeraj singhal

Submitted by
Ashish singh
Md. jubair
Rahul kr. sharma
Sumit verma
Sanjay Kumar
 INDEX

• Introduction
• Reasons of losing customers
o Examples...
• Sell the benefits, not the features
o Examples...
• Identification of Consumer needs
• Consumer Satisfaction
• Consumer Focused Advertisement
• Impact of various Motives (Consumer)
o Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
• Utilitarian Motives v/s Hedonic Motives
o Utilitarian Motives?
o Examples...
o Hedonic Motives?
o Examples...
• Implementation of consumer focused advertising.
• What enhance the effectiveness of an advertisement...?
• Few Examples...Dealing with Consumer focused Advertisement...
o Explanation...
• Conclusion
Introduction:

Marketing would appear to be the great buzz word of the decade. Every self-
respecting business team talks about it, yet many of us aren't even sure what it is,
and even more are uncertain of how they should be doing it. This plays a pivotal
role in the success of any business organization. Marketing is simply about
bridging the gap between the producer and the consumer. It's not about what
you're trying to sell, it's about who you're trying to sell it to, what they want from
you, and how to give it them.

Marketing carries a fact that it seems easy and having complete sense while
reading but it’s completely different when it comes to application of that. Now one
of the simplest and most effective ways to do so is to “focus on the consumer”.
This is basically how to retain the old and attract new customers to your product,
services and website, it is the constant quandary (difficult problem) of many
businesses, small or large. But the fact is that no matter what method you use to do
so, it's a hard, slow and often expensive process. Logically, we can therefore
assume that we should, and indeed must, apply some of our energies to retaining
existing customers. Here the question arises that why we lose so many potential
customers before they've even had a chance to reach for their wallets. There could
be many reasons for this. Some may no longer require what you're selling, some
may simply forget about you, and inevitably, some may feel (rightly or wrongly)
that you don't provide what they need or want. It’s the time to control the activities
and marketing strategies when the consumers reflect their attitude by rejecting the
offering of the organization.
Reasons of Loosing Customers:

• If, for example, a customer did use your product in the past, but no longer
has any need for it, then something must have changed. Is it perhaps new
technology that you're not keeping up with, a gap in your product, or
incompatibility with other software? Identify what's changed, and if
possible, address those needs.
• If the reason is a competing product, then go after the product's features with
a vengeance, and build on them. Don't constrain yourself by only providing
the bare basics of what the consumer wants. Give them what they could use,
and show them features that they've never even thought of before. While no-
one in their right mind goes shopping for a new car based on the stereo and
seat linings, the fact is that sometimes these add-ins may prove to be the
make-or-break features in choosing their purchase. Throw them in.
• On the other hand, if the potential customer doesn't even realize what you're
offering, then you're doing something very wrong. Have you ever come
across a site with the make-or-break fact that persuades you to buy the
product, hidden away four clicks into the web site? I certainly have, and it's
far from rare.
• Realistically, chances are that a large number of your website visitors won't
go beyond the front page, so don't hide the juicy details buried in the depths
of your site.

A book may not be judged by its cover, but a website certainly is. Catch
their attention the moment they arrive, entice them in with tasty titbits, and
you've got them.
Sell the benefits, not the features:

This has got to be one of the biggest “newbie” mistakes business owners make.
When you start a business at some point you will very likely create a brochure or a
website or a flyer that will be designed to sell your product or service. When that
time comes you will have to very quickly learn how to write compelling sales copy
and this is where the mistake occurs.

As Perry Marshall in his free e-course about writing an effective whitepaper says:

“Why is it better to offer problem-solving information than a straight sales pitch?

Because: Nobody who bought a drill wanted a drill. They wanted a hole.
Therefore, if you sell drills, you should advertise information about making holes,
not about drills!”

This Example sums up perfectly the principle about selling solutions to problems,
providing a scratch to an itch and focusing on how your product or service can help
people.

Identification of Consumer needs:

"You cannot manage a quality service organization unless you understand the
nature of what you are providing; fully realize what your customers want from you
and how they perceive you from the start."

W.Martin: Managing Customer Service, Crisp, 1989

Once you have identified who your customers are, you need to assess what they
need from your product or service. Most customer needs can be divided into four
basic categories:

1. The need to be understood - Customers need to feel that the message they

are sending is being correctly received and interpreted,

2. The need to feel welcome - Customers need to feel that you are happy to see

them
3. The need to feel important - Customers like to feel important and special

4. The need for comfort - Customers need physical and psychological comfort

By knowing who your customers are, you are more able to meet their needs.

Example: Radio stations and television stations conduct regular market research to
find out who their listeners and viewers are and often adapt their programs to suit
the audience. Radio stations particularly have become niche service providers as
they specifically aim their product at a particular group, or niche.

Consumer Satisfaction:

Consumer satisfaction is defined as a global evaluation or a state of feelings toward

a product or service. Authors like indicate the convenience of identifying three
general components in the concept of satisfaction:

1. The consumer satisfaction is a response (emotional or cognitive).

2. The response is associated with a particular focus (expectations, product and
consumption experience).
 3. The response happens in a particular time (after consumption, after choice
and based on an accumulated experience).

Other authors argue the existence of a disagreement centered on the nature of this
global concept. Thus, the satisfaction can be described as a cognitive response or
as an affective one. The latter perspective has a major weight in previous literature,
where the affection plays a principal role in the valuation of the satisfaction

The expectancy/disconfirmation theory) is one of the most studied models in the

literature. This model departs from the theory of the level of adjustment and
suggests that consumer satisfaction depends on the comparison between the initial
expectations and the real results. In fact, satisfaction arises when expectations are
confirmed, whereas dissatisfaction arises when those expectations are not met.
Thus, consumer satisfaction will depend on the difference between the expected
quality and the real experienced one. That is, if the perceived quality is major or
equal to the awaited one, the client will be satisfied. On the contrary, if the
perceived quality is minor to the expected one, the client will remain unsatisfied.

Consumer Focused Advertisement:

Nowadays, there are lots of quite interesting and inventive things around our
environment and most people are using the Internet, as a result, they are familiar
with computer system and interaction with website and web banner. The traditional
media such as book, sound, or movie, etc. have been used for long times and still
work but people started to be fascinated by new media. There can be found similar
trend in the area of advertising. Traditional advertising media such as TV, Radio,
Press, and Outdoor advertisements are losing their ability to transfer information
and persuade people to buy products but interactive advertising media such as
website; banner, interactive TV and mobile devices are getting more powerful.
There is no doubt that the use of interactive advertising will be increased in the
future.

How can we define advertising? ‘Advertising’ means ‘drawing attention to

something’, or notifying or informing somebody of something. Interaction with
interactive advertising has been developed by the development of technology and it
will be continued in the future. Interaction gives better opportunity to communicate
between consumers and advertising media, therefore, effectiveness of advertising
increases. The effectiveness of interactive advertising has been issued and
examined by a variety of researches. And nobody doubts that interaction is one of
the key factors for interactive advertising.

An interactive installation has been just considered as the monopoly of designers

for long times but cannot an interactive installation be an effective medium for
advertising? Advertisers have been interested in using interactive installations for
advertising medium because of more attractive and interactive expressions
compared to the other existing advertising media. In order to better understand its
effectiveness, we explore its working process, examine effectiveness and identify
some variables that influence effectiveness of advertisement. Therefore the
possibility of using an interactive installation as advertising medium is investigated
and analyzed critically.

This is started from the current state and will present the following ones. Firstly,
how interactive installation used as an advertising medium will be explored.
Secondly, how the feature of ‘interaction’ affects Consumer’s attitudes toward
advertising. Finally, current Consumer’s attitudes toward installation-based Public
transportation advertising will be surveyed and analyzed based on the first and
second one.

According from starting point, it becomes necessary questions, which are; what
features affect consumer’s attitudes toward advertising? How are consumer’s
attitudes affected by interaction? The purpose of this research is to investigate
these points. The specific objectives of this research are:
1. To identify key features influencing consumer’s attitudes toward advertising.
2. To identify interrelation between interaction with installation-based public
transportation advertising and consumer’s attitudes. Based upon these
objectives, following hypotheses are developed:
H1: Consumers will perceive various features of advertising differently.
H2: These feature influent Consumer’s attitudes toward each advertising
differently.

A survey was conducted to collect the opinions of interviewer living in city of

central, Seoul. The questionnaires were divided into three sections;

1) Consumer’s behavior about advertising,

2) Attitudinal information and
3) Demographic information.

This exploratory study investigates the consumer’s attitudes towards installation

based public transportation advertising, especially bus shelter that has not been
researched mainly so far. The goal of this research is, firstly, it will analyze using
an interactive installation as advertising medium. Furthermore, the emergency of
installation-based public transportation advertising and interaction with installation
advertising will be studied. On the other hands, it will address Consumer’s
attitudes toward advertising in general and the interrelation between interaction
and Consumer’s attitudes will be analyzed. Representative examples also will be
introduced. It will discuss and analyze key features influencing Consumer’s
attitudes toward advertising and interrelation between interaction with installation-
based public transportation advertising and Consumer’s attitudes.

Impact of Various Motives:

The Nature of Motives Of the steps involved with consumer decision making,
problem recognition holds the distinction of being the only completely passive
step. This means that people do not deliberately set out to recognize problems;
instead, recognition of a problem is something that simply happens to people.
Although the influences on problem recognition discussed in the preceding section
may increase the likelihood that a problem gets recognized or may influence the
types of problems that get recognized, the fact remains that problem recognition is
passive. Consumers do not actively seek to recognize problems. To the extent that
the following steps in the decision process require some degree of effort on the
parts of consumers, it’s useful for marketers to have some understanding of how
the transition from passive to effortful occurs. The answer is through the activation
of motives. “Motivation activation” occurs when the discrepancy between the
desired and actual states becomes great enough to produce some degree of physical
or psychological discomfort. Because people don’t like discomfort, they take
action to resolve the problem that created the discomfort. Therefore, “motives” can
be defined as the “inner drives” that actually propel people to expend effort
resolving the problem. To be “motivated” simply means willing to do something.
In the context of buyer behavior, to be motivated means willing to take the
effortful steps necessary for closing the gap between the actual and desired states.
Motives, therefore, serve as a bridge between the passivity of problem recognition
and the effortful steps that comprise the remainder of the decision process.

Role of Motives:

Classification of Motives People’s natural desire to understand the motives behind

human behavior has produced an extensive research literature, much of it
originating in psychology. Some of this research might prove useful to marketers
seeking to understand the often complex reasons why consumers buy what they do
when they do. By understanding the motives underlying purchases, marketers can
speak to consumers in ways relevant to, solving the problems that prompted the
purchase in the first place. A good place to begin to understand motives is to
examine some of the work attempting to classify motives. The motives can be
understood with the help of the Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory:

Although many different types of motives have been proposed by writers over the
years but few have the intuitive appeal or acceptance of the so called “Hierarchy of
Needs”, proposed by Abraham Maslow. Maslow used the term “needs” in ways
that fit our use of the term motives. This is unfortunate because we already use the
term “need” to refer to the condition of a declining actual state of affairs. To avoid
confusion, for our purposes you should think of Maslow’s Hierarchy as a hierarchy
of motives despite its more popular name. These notes will refer to Maslow’s
classification of motives simply as “Maslow’s Hierarchy.”
One reason Maslow’s Hierarchy remains such a common framework for
explaining motives is because it just makes sense to us. In his work, Maslow
viewed the motives in his hierarchy as stages that people must pass through in
order as they move from so-called lower order motives to higher order motives.
Although this part of his theory has never received much direct empirical support,
his categorization of what motivates people to expend effort seems sensible and
universal. Most students are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy by the time they
reach your stage of college education. However, I occasionally encounter people
who have little or no exposure to Maslow’s work. Therefore a brief summary
might be helpful. The basics of Maslow’s theory are Maslow argued that the
motives behind all human behavior fall into one of five categories. As noted above,
he also believed that the motives for people’s behavior moved in order up and
down the hierarchy with no variations, which is where his theory ran into trouble.
Still, the categories themselves can prove instructive to marketers trying to
determine why consumers might seek to buy a particular brand. According to
Maslow, the first motive of human behavior is physiological. That is, humans must
have food, water, clothing, and shelter before other motives can produce other
behaviors.
The second set of motives, on Maslow’s Hierarchy, are safety and security
motives. Maslow reasoned that although people will place themselves in great
danger to obtain food shelter or clothing, once obtained people will seek to be free
from any danger. Third, Maslow suggested social motives to explain why people
seek to live in societies. That is, once people felt safe, they sought out the company
of others. Fourth, Maslow believed people sought to be well regarded by others.
These so-called ego-esteem motives may explain why people seek acceptance or
recognition. Finally, at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy is what he referred to as
“self actualization.” A person whose actions are prompted by self actualization
motives seeks to discover more about him- or herself, learn more about the world,
or perhaps gain some physiological, safety-security, social, ego-esteem, personal
actualization, development factors.

Acting on self actualization motives may involve something as simple as taking a

walk in the park, visiting an art museum, or enrolling for a community college
class purely out of interest. Importantly, when people act from a desire for self
actualization, they do not seek recognition or admiration. Recently, interest in self
actualization motives has prompted extensions to Maslow’s original
conceptualization of human motivation. This includes the addition of two new
motivations in the hierarchy beyond self-actualization. One is the “desire to know
and understand.” Proponents of this motive suggest limiting self-actualization
motives to discovering one’s self meaning the desire to know and understand refers
to wanting to know about other facets of the world. Finally, they add “need for
beauty” as the pinnacle of the hierarchy.

Marketers should appreciate the motives at work when consumers purchase their
brands. Emphasizing benefits consistent with a particular motive will be more
effective in bringing potential problems to consumers’ attention and, of course,
offer that brand as the optimal solution. We will detail later how marketers use
motives in their efforts to attract and retain customers.
  Utilitarian Motives v/s Hedonic Motives:

Utilitarian motives:

Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by
its usefulness in maximizing utility/minimizing negative utility as summed among
all sentient beings. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral
worth of an action is determined by its outcome.

Utilitarianism was described by Bentham as "the greatest happiness or greatest

felicity principle." Utility, the good to be maximized, has been defined by various
thinkers as happiness or pleasure, although preference utilitarian defined as the
satisfaction of preferences. It may be described as a life stance, with happiness or
pleasure being of ultimate importance.

Utilitarianism can be characterized as a quantitative and reductionist approach to

ethics. It can be contrasted with deontological ethics and virtue ethics, as well as
with other varieties of consequentialism.

In general usage, the term utilitarian refers to a somewhat narrow economic or

pragmatic viewpoint. Philosophical utilitarianism, however, is a much broader
view that encompasses all aspects of people's life.

Types of Utilitarianism-

Act Vs rule-
Act utilitarianism states that, when faced with a choice, we must first consider the
likely consequences of potential actions and, from that, choose to do what we
believe will generate the most pleasure. The rule utilitarian, on the other hand,
begins by looking at potential rules of action. To determine whether a rule should
be followed, he or she looks at what would happen if it were constantly followed.
If adherence to the rule produces more happiness than otherwise, it is a rule that
morally must be followed at all times. The distinction between act and rule
utilitarianism is therefore based on a difference about the proper object of
consequentialist calculation specific to a case or generalized to rules.

Rule utilitarianism has been criticized for advocating general rules that will in
some specific circumstances clearly decrease happiness if followed. Never to kill
another human being may seem to be a good rule, but it could make self-defense
against malevolent aggressors very difficult. Rule utilitarians add, however, that
there are general exception rules that allow the breaking of other rules if such rule-
breaking increases happiness, one example being self-defense. Critics argue that
this reduces rule utilitarianism to act utilitarianism and makes rules meaningless.
Rule utilitarians retort that rules in the legal system that regulate such situations are
not meaningless. Self-defense is legally justified, while murder is not.

However, within rule utilitarianism there is a distinction between the strictness and
absolutism of this particular branch of utilitarianism. Strong Rule Utilitarianism is
an absolutist theory, which frames strict rules that apply for all people and all time
and may never be broken. John Stuart Mill proposed Weak Rule utilitarianism,
which posits that, although rules should be framed on previous examples that
benefit society, it is possible, under specific circumstances, to do what produces
the greatest happiness and break that rule. An example would be the Gestapo
asking where your Jewish neighbours were; a strong rule utilitarian might say the
"Do not lie" rule must never be broken, whereas a weak rule utilitarian would
argue that to lie would produce the most happiness.
Rule utilitarianism should not be confused with heuristics, but many act utilitarians
agree that it makes sense to formulate certain rules of thumb to follow if they find
themselves in a situation whose consequences are difficult, costly or time-
consuming to calculate exactly. If the consequences can be calculated relatively
clearly and without much doubt, however, the rules of thumb can be ignored

Hedonic motive-

Hedonism is a school which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. This is
often used as a justification for evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure
and how little pain. They produce. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to
maximize this net pleasure.

What motivates individuals to regulate their emotions? One answer – highlighted

in emotion regulation research – is short-term hedonic goals (e.g., feels pleasure).
Another answer, however, is instrumental goals (e.g., perform certain behaviors).
We suggest that both answers have merit. To demonstrate the role instrumental
goals may play in emotion regulation, we contrasted short-term hedonic motives
and instrumental motives by testing whether individuals were motivated to
experience a potentially useful, albeit unpleasant, emotion. We found that

(a) Individuals preferred activities that would increase their level of anger (vs.
excitement) when anticipating confrontational, but not non-confrontational, tasks
and that

(b) Anger improved performance in a confrontational, but not a non

confrontational task. These findings support a functional view of emotion
regulation, and demonstrate that in certain contexts, individuals may choose to
experience emotions that are instrumental, despite short-term hedonic costs.
Hedonic and Instrumental Motives in Anger Regulation One prominent feature of
emotions is their hedonic tone - some emotions are pleasant, others are unpleasant.
Because individuals prefer pleasure over pain, they are generally motivated to
increase pleasant and decrease unpleasant emotions. Emotions, however, are more
than feelings. They have instrumental aspects. This suggests another motive for
regulating emotions, namely to increase useful and decrease harmful emotions.
This investigation tests whether instrumental motives for regulating emotions can
trump short-term hedonic motives by pitting these two motives against one
another. To do this, we asked whether individuals would choose to experience an
unpleasant emotion (i.e., anger), when it is likely to be useful in an upcoming task.

Why Do Individuals Regulate Their Emotions?

Emotion regulation refers to individuals’ attempts to influence their emotions
(Gross, 2002). It is generally assumed that individuals seek to increase pleasant
and decrease unpleasant emotions (Larsen, 2000). Self-regulation, however, is not
driven exclusively by short-term hedonic considerations. Indeed, individuals often
forego immediate pleasure to maximize long-term utility. Such instrumental
motives might play a role in the regulation of emotion. Therefore, we endorse an
instrumental approach to emotion regulation, according to which preferences for
emotions depend upon the balance of hedonic and instrumental benefits of
emotions in a given context.
The hedonic and instrumental benefits of emotions are separable. Both pleasant
Hedonic and Instrumental Motives in Anger Regulation 4 and unpleasant emotions
can be useful in specific contexts. Individuals may be motivated to increase
pleasant emotions for either their short-term hedonic or their instrumental benefits.
However, individuals may be motivated to increase unpleasant emotions primarily
for their instrumental benefits. Empirical support for the idea that emotion
regulation can be motivated by instrumental considerations is currently scarce.

Example of Utilitarian Value and Hedonic Value -

Most of the studies on mobile value focused on the unique feature of mobile
technology. However, some values depend on the types of mobile applications
offered by mobile Internet. Atkin (1973) argues that there exist two types of
purpose of consumers’ information seeking process. One is a utilitarian purpose
that is achieved when an individual considers message content as a means toward
solving his or her practical problems, and the other is a non-instrumental,
entertainment purpose that serves personal interest in a subject matter. The former,
termed as instrumental utility of the media, is sought when people use messages
that provide information necessary for adapting to practical environmental and
psychological problems. The latter is a hedonic purpose that is sought when an
individual exposes himself or herself to mass media content because it provides a
pleasurable sensation.

Adopting Atkin’s two types of purpose of consumers’ information seeking process,

this study conceptualizes mobile application values as two types: utilitarian and
hedonic values. The utilitarian values derived from an economic concept in the
information-processing paradigm are the result of useful, economically efficient
and productive experiences, while hedonic values are the outcome of fun,
pleasurable and enjoyable experiences (Carpenter Moore and Fairhurst 2005).
Based on the two mobile application values, we conceptualize two types of
tendencies of mobile users’ application use: utilitarian tendency and hedonic
tendency. Utilitarian tendency on mobile applications refers to the mobile user’s
preference to use mobile services which have more functional and economically
meaningful values such as mobile shopping, mobile banking, news etc. Hedonic
tendency refers to the preference of mobile users to use mobile services which
provide the emotional or psychological worth such as mobile chatting with friends,
mobile games, sports, and mp3 music play, etc. Hedonic tendency is a more
personal usage compared to utilitarian tendency.

How do consumers choose whether to have a rich, creamy ice cream for dessert
or a healthy but perhaps less tasty bowl of fresh fruit? Whether to go on a beach
vacation for a week or spend the time making progress on an important long-
term project at work? Whether to choose an expensive apartment with a nice
view far from work or a cheaper apartment without a view but close to the office?

Consumers are often faced with these types of choices between hedonic and
utilitarian alternatives that are at least partly driven by emotional desires rather
than cold cognitive deliberations. Hence, these choices represent an important
domain of consumer decision-making. Yet much of the pioneering work in
behavioral decision theory has largely focused on the cognitive aspects of decision-
making without exploring its emotional dimensions. This research program was
initially juxtaposed against standard economic theory, according to which
consumers maximize utility in a rational and cognitively driven manner. Research
in behavioral decision-making therefore followed a paradigm of contrasting actual
choices to predictions derived from these rational models. Parallel research on
consumer information processing took a similar approach and viewed consumers
as rationally bounded yet emotionally dispassionate decision makers who logically
evaluate alternatives in terms of tradeoffs among product attributes. This research,
with its roots in problem solving, emphasized effort-accuracy tradeoffs in decision-
making and similarly neglected the emotional dimensions of choice. Neither the
approach focused on systematically explaining consumer behavior with regards to
goods or attributes whose selection nor uses, guided by emotional wants rather
than functional needs (e.g., gourmet food, performing arts, paintings, movies,
concerts, and fashion).
Nonetheless, emotional desires can often dominate functional motives in the
choice of products (Maslow 1968). For example, when buying a house an
emotional feature such as the view from the bedroom window can be more
influential in the final decision than a more utilitarian concern with distance from
work. One can, of course, incorporate such attributes in a traditional framework,
treating them simply as additional considerations in choice. However, to fully
understand the pattern of choice, it is important that any explanation of consumer
behavior is accompanied by a complete understanding of the interplay between a
consumer’s functional goals and experiential preferences within the decision
context. Consumer researchers have increasingly begun to investigate consumer
choice based on distinctions that involve the purchase and consumption of goods
for pleasure versus for more utilitarian and instrumental purposes. Two different
theoretical perspectives broadly capture these distinctions. The first perspective is
explicitly concerned with context effects on the tradeoffs involved in choosing
between alternatives that induce pleasure and alternatives that are instrumental to
achieving some other goal, such as getting a kiss from one’s favorite movie star or
receiving $50. The second perspective that helps elucidate conflicts between
functional goals and experiential preferences characterizes goods according to their
capacity to induce temptation and impulsive choice at the expense of delayed
benefits (e.g., tasty but fatty and salty potato chips). Research in this second
category typically falls into the realm of time-inconsistent preferences.
Hedonic versus utilitarian goods –

Some researchers have used the terms luxury and necessity more broadly, in a less
technical sense, to imply that luxuries are consumed primarily for hedonic pleasure
while necessities are required to meet more utilitarian goals. Hedonic goods are
multisensory and provide for experiential consumption, fun, pleasure, and
excitement. Flowers, designer clothes, music, sports cars, luxury watches, and
chocolate fall in this category. Utilitarian goods, on the other hand, are primarily
instrumental and their purchase is motivated by functional product aspects.
Examples are microwaves, detergents, minivans, home security systems, or
personal computers (Dhar and Wertenbroch 2000; Hirschman and Holbrook 1982;
Strahilevitz and Myers 1998). Notice that both utilitarian and hedonic consumption
are discretionary and the difference 4 between the two is a matter of degree or
perception. That is, in comparison to utilitarian consumption, hedonic consumption
may be perceived as relatively more discretionary.

Different products can be high or low in both hedonic and utilitarian attributes at
the same time. In fact, most evaluations in our consumption profile are based on
the degree, to which various alternatives satisfy utilitarian and hedonic goals. A
person evaluating a pair of sneakers may care for both functional features (e.g.,
durability) as well as hedonic features (e.g., design). Usage and consumption
motives are central in determining whether an item is perceived as primarily
hedonic or utilitarian. For example, purchasing a cell phone to access help in times
of trouble makes a cell phone a utilitarian product. Buying the same phone to chat
with friends makes it hedonic.
Implementation of consumer focused advertising:

As a business owner with goals for the future, you've done it all. You've hired
well-trained techs. You offer reasonable prices. You've even sent coupon fliers to
seven different ZIP codes. Sound familiar? If it does, then you've officially done
the same thing most of your competitors are doing, and you're blending in nicely.
But if you're aiming for success in growing your business, "blending in" is a bad
idea.
When it comes to advertising in the automotive service industry, there is a
temptation to go with "the norm" - to style your advertising so it matches what
others in the industry are doing because it's familiar. And you're not alone. Without
thinking about it, many shop owners allow their competitors to set the advertising
standard for that line of business and then follow along. Think about it, if your
direct mailings or phone book ads mimic what everyone else is doing, what is
really making you stand out to your customers? Why would a customer pay more
attention to your advertising than to your competitors' advertising? What can you
do to draw them to you instead? The answer: customer-focused advertising. Most
shop owners already know it's important, yet the amount of non-customer-focused
advertising that is floating around confirms that they don't know how to make it
work. The main key to customer-focused advertising is simple: remember that it's
not about you.
The psychology of the new consumer age has left business owners largely without
the cushion of customer loyalty. Customers are fully aware of their buying power
and aren't afraid to establish their expectations when it comes to products and
services or to keep their options open for the possibility of something better. Most
consumers will readily admit their "what's in it for me and how does it solve my
needs" approach, and this affects their attention span for advertising as well -
which is why customer-focused advertising is so important. For example:

• Sure, it's nice that you've been family-owned for three generations, but how
does that apply to your customers?
• It's great that you have three bays open and have hired knowledgeable
technicians, but how does that directly relate to the service your customers
will be receiving?
• You use OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts? Terrific. What does
that have to do with your customers' expectations of driving away in a
vehicle that works properly? (Many of your customers don't even know what
OEM means. Your customers aren't auto repair experts, so be careful not to
alienate them with jargon that may sound impressive but doesn't really mean
anything to them.)

The same goes for your on-hold advertising. When your callers are on hold, do
they hear things that are important to them or do they fall asleep listening to the
sound of the things that are important to you? Applying customer focus in a
practical way when you are putting together the "nuts and bolts" of your
advertising requires an extra step - the step into the inner workings of your
customer's mind.
A good way to begin the transition is to review your current advertising message
and ask yourself if it actually answers the questions your customers have. As you
read through the features of your shop, insert an explanation of why and how each
one directly benefits your customers. If you have mentioned a feature that doesn't
have a convincing direct customer benefit, delete it. And on behalf of weary
consumers everywhere, please remove the following phrases from your advertising
vocabulary:
 • "We're dedicated to meeting your needs."
• "We have a convenient location to serve you."
• "You have our personal guarantee." "We really care."

Everyone knows that even the dishonest schmucks use those lines.
What you have when you are finished will be exactly what you are after: customer-
focused copy. Sure, throw in your tagline and a few other phrases that mention
your shop's greatness, but immediately justify those phrases with "what's in it" for
your customers because your customers don't care about anything else. Here are a
few examples:

• Family owned for three generations? That means the way I treat my
customers reflects on my family name; it's important to me that this business
is here for the next generation, so you know I'm going to treat you well.
Besides, if I don't live up to the standards of customer service my
grandfather established, he's going to write me out of the will and I'll have to
sit at the kids' table next Thanksgiving.
• Three bays and knowledgeable technicians? That means when you call with
a problem, we can get you in immediately. Your car won't collect dust in the
parking lot until we get to it. We'll get it in now. And because our
technicians know what they're doing, they'll be able to diagnose the problem,
get it repaired and back on the road before you know it.
• Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts? That means we use the same
parts that the manufacturer of your car used.

Those are the things your customers want to know. Not surprisingly, they're more
interested in their bottom line than yours. So when people begin responding to
your customer-focused advertising, make sure you have customer-focused service
to back you up.

As we are very much aware about the importance of advertisement, the same way
there are certain steps required to make your advertisement more effective. Those
steps are as follows,

1. Its all sales to create powerful result-generating ads you need to understand that
advertising is not about being witty, or being able to write the least amount of
words on one page. Effective advertising is salesmanship - nothing more and
nothing less. It is about taking your most effective sales pitch and putting it down
in writing. You need to ask yourself "what would you say if I were face to face
with the prospect and wanting to sell your product?" Would you use witty slogans?
Would you confine yourself to being very brief and saying as little as possible? Or
would you give your prospect all the information they need to make an informed
decision? Remember Ads are sales pitches in writing!

2. An Attention Grabbing Headline- You need to get the attention of your

prospects, which is why headlines are so important. They are effectively an ad for
your ad. It is what tells readers why they should stop and read more about your
products or services. The headline should be targeted to your most likely buyer and
powerfully communicate the single most compelling benefit provided by your
offering. Have a look at newspapers and magazines and see which advertisement
headlines grab your attention and why.

3. Emotionalize the Benefit- Remember that emotion sells and logic justifies. The
greater your ability to communicate the emotional benefits your prospect has to
gain, the greater the success of your advertising. Identify and articulate the
emotional reasons why your prospects would want to buy your products or
services. For example I recently heard a radio advertisement promoting the
Desperate And Dateless Ball. One of the comments during the ad was "You will be
like a kid in a candy store." This statement instantly gives you a powerful and deep
comprehension as to the benefits you'll receive from this offering.

4. Creating Credibility- Advertising is really YOU making a song and dance about
YOURSELF or your offerings. It therefore has very little credibility, especially
when you compare it to other marketing tools such as publicity, word of mouth that
involve a third party's endorsement. To add credibility to your advertising you have
many options. Some of these include:

(a) Use testimonials which convey the specific benefits received.

(b) Be as specific as possible when articulating the benefits. Avoid generalities and
always quantify and qualify benefits wherever possible.

(c) Make sure each statement is believable and not over-exaggerated. Remember
we do not believe in things that are too good to be true -it just makes us suspicious.

(d) Use logic to justify the purchase. Spell out why purchasing this offering is
totally logical and justifiable.

5. Baby Steps- It is highly likely that the prospect who is reading your ad has never
bought from you before. To get your prospect to act and buy from you, it is
imperative that the next steps with you are as easy, painless and as risk free as
possible. Some tips on how to achieve this include:

(a) A totally irresistible offer in terms of price.

(b) A totally irresistible offer in terms of a bonus product or service.

(c) A trial, or

(d) An invitation to an obligation free event… just to name a few.

6. Test- Test your advertising. Test your headlines, test your body copy, test your
special offers, and test the advertising mediums. Don't expect to get great results
first off. Advertising that works is advertising that has been tested and refined and
tested and refined. Always test your marketing.

I hope you find these suggestions help you to improve the effectiveness of your
advertising. The key to remember is to think of your ads as sales pitches and to ask
yourself what would I say? during a sales pitch. How would I get my prospect's
attention? What benefits would I talk about and how would I articulate these in an
emotional way? How would I increase my credibility? How would I motivate my
prospects to act now? And should I be testing the sales pitch?
Conclusion:

Therefore, it has been seen that only launching the best quality of product or
service doesn’t serve the purpose. Because, only by providing the quality to
consumer doesn’t attract the consumer towards the offering. It needs a proper
simulation process that starts from identifying the needs of the consumer and
moves with creating awareness among the consumer, generating the demand and
ends with their satisfaction. Here the concept of consumer focused advertisement
comes into practice. The advertisement should be done in such a manner that
endorses the need of the consumer and by availing the offering; it provides the
ultimate solution of the problem that consumer faces.