A buyer's observation that one or more people are consuming a product can lead that buyer to consume the product as well. The evidence supporting unconscious and unintentional (automatic) mimicry of consumption suggests that it is a pervasive and robust phenomenon. However, up until now most findings on the antecedents of mimicry have been obtained from lab studies. Using a field study, the current research shows that passengers in a train mimic the consumption behavior of other passengers. Two subsequent lab studies suggest that mimicry of consumption is all the more powerful the more people there are consuming and the more intense and consistent their consumption behavior is. However, the impact of the number of people on the willingness to engage in mimicry reaches a peak at approximately eight people and is relatively constant thereafter.
Research in marketing suggests that customers within a retail store can be influenced by ambient scents. Unfortunately, there have been few theoretical explanations offered for observed effects. The major goal of this paper is to explore how ambient scent impacts expenditures and the extent to which specific characteristics of the olfactory cue itself plays a role. In particular, we propose
that the ease with which olfactory cues are processed (i.e., processing
fluency) will affect how such cues influence customer behavior. According to processing fluency, stimuli that are easier processing will trigger positive affect, which in turn will result in greater liking of a stimulus and other positive outcomes (e.g., increased spending in the presence of such a cue). In this research, we examine the perceived ease of processing of a simple versus complex olfactory
cue, such that ease of processing effects are significantly stronger for simple, rather than for complex, scents (stimulus complexity is a traditional manipulation of processing fluency). To provide insights in the underlying process and support a processing fluency explanation, we explore the mediating role of affective responses on the observed effects.
Though practitioners have relied on tempo as a criterion to design in-store music, scant attention has been devoted to the mode of musical selections, and no consideration has been given to the potential for the interactive effects of low-level structural elements of music on actual retail sales. The current research reports a field experiment wherein the positive main effect of slow tempo on actual sales reported by Milliman (J Marketing 46 (3):86-91, 1982, J Cons Res 13 (2):286-289, 1986) is qualified by musical mode. A significant interaction between tempo and mode was evidenced, such that music in a major mode did not vary in effectiveness by tempo while music in a minor mode was significantly more effective when accompanied by a slow tempo. That is, the Milliman effect was eliminated for music in a major mode. Implications of our findings and directions for further research are discussed.
As part of a product management strategy, companies face the challenge of integrating customer needs on the one hand with company and production requirements on the other hand. While approaches exist that attempt to transform the ‘voice of the customer' into the ‘voice of the engineer', these invariably do not explicitly convey issues of brand management. Yet branding is of pivotal importance to the company as well as to the reception of its products and services by customers. Therefore, we propose an integrated approach to product and branding strategy by identifying important brand drivers, and identify a process of how such knowledge can be transformed into production requirements. Using a combination of brand performance approach and quality function deployment, we use a case study from the automotive industry to exemplify the applicability of this integrated approach. Specific focus is on the decisions needed during implementation with regard to use of analysis methods as part of the decision-making process of an integrated product and branding strategy.
