Consumer Behavior Essay Example

This Assignment is in continuation with the assignment 1 regarding the social behaviours. In this assignment the social behavior related to tobacco smoking is selected and discussed. It is a type of behavior that is more common and is at peak today especially among teenagers. The framework applied for this behavior is the elaboration likelihood model. In the end recommendations to tackle the issue are outlined with the help of the 4Ps of product marketing. Here three strategies are recommended which focus on the product, placement and promotion.

The social issue selected for the assignment is tobacco smoking. It is a practice in which tobacco is burned and the vapours are inhaled or tasted. According to a survey in the year 2000 smoking is practiced by about 1. 22 billion people causing 1. 2 million deaths in the European region. Today it has become a common trend especially among the teenagers in their language it’s a fashion to smoke. Although about seventy percent of the smokers say that they want to quit smoking only ten to twenty percent are successful. (Bonas, S, 2005)

Another common reason to why people smoke because of addiction because everyone is aware of the after affects and the consequences of smoking but they still smoke as they are addicted to it. Smoking causes emphysema, cancer and heart diseases. All theses shorten life by 10 or more year. Smoking is one of those habits that are easy to start but difficult to break. It consists of nicotine which is highly addictive like nicotine and other drugs which make the body and mind becomes so used to it that the person needs it to feel normal. Different people smoke because of different reasons.

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Some people start it because they think it is cool, or because their friends and family members do while teenagers smoke because it is fashion. Smoking is unhealthy for the body and the environment of not just the smoker but of other people also. Human body does not need tobacco and other chemicals whose high doses can kill a person. The affects of smoking are usually long term; people who are regular smoker may experience many problems such as more risk of illness, bad skin, greater risk of injury and slow healing, bad breath and reduced athletic performance.

(Hirsch, L, 2010) According to a survey in 2004 the total cigarette production was 5. 5 trillion units and in other words 868 cigarettes per man, woman and child on the planet. It is a fact that Smoking is a health risk for both the smoker himself and the second hand receiver of smoke. Tobacco is considered as the second major cause of death today. It is responsible for about five million deaths each year. It is assumed that by the year 2020 if the same smoking patterns will continue than it will cause ten million deaths.

Smoking greatly influences the atmosphere and the environment and causes air, water and land pollution so it is considered as a direct contributor to pollution. The chemicals present in the cigarettes are very harmful and are released and breathed out in the atmosphere which causes different diseases related to the lungs. The cigarette butts left out on the ground takes about twenty-five to twenty-six years to decompose which pollutes the land and plants ultimately. Similarly some of the cigarette butts are dumped into water which are eaten up by the fishes and other water animals and causes their death.

Today smoking is a major issue that is under concern because of its hazardous affects on the environment and the population. But at the same time it is noted that more and more people are getting involved in smoking and ultimately the number of smokers is increasing. To stop this increasing trend work is being done by the Governments of different countries, NGOs and different health and environmental organizations to create awareness and the sense of responsibility among the people that they should try to stop the smokers from smoking. Theory/ model / framework

The model chosen and selected to apply on the smoking issue is the elaboration likelihood model. This model was developed by R. E. petty and J. T Caccioppo in the 1980s. It is a model of persuasion that shows how attitudes are formed and changed. The model states two routes with the help of which persuasive messages are forwarded or conveyed. The two routes are: The Central Route: the messages being sent via this route should be complete and straight forward. It is very important that the messages have high receiver involvement this means that the receiver must have interest and relation with the subject under consideration.

In case of the smoking issue it is very important to convey the hazards because of smoking to the smokers in a way that not only them but others are also affected by smoking. Once a feeling or the attitude of the smoker is changed that is if they have understood that it really is hazardous than they’ll try not to smoke and change the habit. This route creates a permanent change in the attitude or feeling. For this route only the persuasion message is needed that is well defined, persuasive and interesting for the receiver that he understands it and get the meaning and the purpose of it.

Also that the receiver applies to it. The peripheral Route: this route is complete opposite to the central route this involves low receiver involvement and motivation. It basically involves the role of marketing, public relation and advertising. It focuses on everything other than the message itself. In case of the smoking issue this can be done with the help of advertisements including celebrities showing that they are healthy and fit because they do exercise and workouts. This will indirectly reflect the idea that smoking is injurious to health if the smokers will quit smoking they will also be fit and healthy. It is very important to influence the thinking automatically because there is no receiver involvement present in this route (Anonymous, n. d).

Recommendations

The issue of tobacco smoking is a major issue of the century which affects not only the person who smokes but also other people and the environment. It is also affecting other living beings (the animals, plants and sea animals) directly or indirectly. But now different organizations, NGOs and the government are raising voice against this issue. Different campaigns are being run and articles are being written to make people aware of the hazardous affects of tobacco smoking.

It has become very important for the smokers to understand that they must quit this habit and it will eventually kill them. For this purpose new products are developed by different companies which include the herbal and tobacco free cigarettes. In this regard strategies related to 4Ps are recommended the four Ps include the strategies related to product, price, placement and promotion these are also called the marketing mix strategies. Marketing mix is considered as a set of tools that are controllable and can be used to produce a response among the customers.

The marketing mix strategy for herbal or tobacco free cigarettes and quit smoking idea is discussed below:

• Product: in order to make people stop taking tobacco cigarettes different companies are now coming up with the idea of having tobacco free or herbal cigarettes. These help the smokers a lot in quitting smoking. It makes the smoker feel that he is holding the tobacco cigarette and is inhaling that but the composition is different. It acts as an alternative to tobacco smoking. A company named honey rose is selling herbal cigarettes that helps the smokers to quit smoking. They provide a whole stop smoking plan with the herbal cigarettes. (Honey rose products Ltd, n. d)
• Placement: it is very important to place the herbal cigarette at every store, pharmacy, or retailers store so that it is available to everyone who wants or needs help to quit smoking. This will help a lot in reducing the number of smokers in the world. It is important to place it worldwide because smoking is a common practice around the whole world and not just in any part of the world.
• Promotion: the most important part in the social issue related to smoking can be played by the promotion. By putting in campaigns showing that smoking is not good for health and the environment. Also it could be promoted by showing famous celebrities (actors, athletes or politicians) telling that they don’t smoke and this is the reason for their health, fitness and success. One major promotion strategies that companies are using today is that they are sponsoring different events in the case of smoking events could be sponsored by the government, NGOs and the different public welfare organizations with the statements like “ Smoking is injurious for health” or “Save the environment by quitting smoking”.

Companies that are making the herbal cigarettes can also sponsor events. It is also be promoted by different TV shows, skits and dramas that smoking is not good it can kill you in the long run. People should be told that smoking can not only harm humans but also the animal, trees and the whole eco system as many tree are cut down to make the fuel for the tobacco’s procedure and they chemicals from the procedure effects the crops and the trees also.

These strategies will help in promoting the idea of quit smoking and changing the product (tobacco cigarettes) and move on to the other (herbal cigarettes) that is not harmful for health and will help in the process of quitting tobacco cigarettes. As a lot of people die because of tobacco this has become very important to make them aware of the hazardous effects of smoking and its side effects on not only them but others around them. These strategies will be a useful asset in doing so.

References

1. Anonymous, n. d, the elaboration likelihood model. Available from <http://docs. google. com/viewer? a=v&q=cache:L2TL0o3IdjkJ:www. fisherhouse. com/courses/elaboration_likelihood. pdf+elaboration+likelihood+model&hl=en&gl=pk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgGP790HoHEzeBYv3dJz_jS2JfEjTnCaIN7OO2ZDRSfKa017JDzlZ30s7dGUptIePI1cdZizX0L1MkltKHA05ElvRMQX1tNZs2_FWNksNm2GA5KS4pao9ziJpLpGcJOTUR1L_Ba&sig=AHIEtbRtxu3xqpHY5BqQ7bkLGSZ5zB8J1Q> [Accessed May, 15, 2010]
2. Bonas, S, 2005, Smoking: psychological and social influences. net doctor. Available from < http://www. netdoctor. co. uk/smoking/psychologicalinfluences_000509. htm> [Accessed May, 15, 2010]
3. Hirsch, L, 2010, Smoking. Teens health. Available from <http://kidshealth. org/teen/drug_alcohol/tobacco/smoking. html# > [Accessed May, 15, 2010]
4. Honey rose products Ltd, n. d, tobacco free cigarettes, Available from < http://www. honeyrose. co. uk/index. html> [Accessed May 15, 2010]
5. Kotler, P & Armstrong, G, 2004, Principles of Marketing. Tenth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Available from < http://university-essays. tripod. com/marketing_mix. html>[Accessed May 15, 2010]
6. McCarthy, n. d. , the marketing mix. Available from<http://dis. shef. ac. uk/sheila/marketing/mix. htm>[Accessed April 16, 2010]
7. McLaren, W, 2007, Smoking Environment and social Impacts. Tree Hugger. Available from < http://www. treehugger. com/files/2007/02/smoking_environ. php> [Accessed May, 15, 2010]
8. Ygoy, 2009, how smoking affects the environment. Available from < http://smoking. ygoy. com/smoking-and-the-environment/

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