Currently, economic development, together with technological progress, is occurring at an alarming speed, leading to increased stiff rivalry among companies. The bulging number of electronic brands has attracted tight competition in the market. As a result, consumers are confronted with unlimited brand choices (Dead, 2015). On the other hand, manufacturers have to be aware of the tastes and preferences of customers to manufacture and sell computers and mobile phones that customers prefer most. Organisations across the world rely on their customers and clients to remain profitable, sustainable and to remain competitive. Organisations that have a large number of customers are assured of raking in huge profits as this translated to brand royalty. It is for this reason that organisations engage in various strategies to attract more customers to remain viable (SHIHAOZHAO, 2016). The strategies that an organisation adapts can make the difference between an increased and reduced brand loyalty. This study aims at determining the attributes considered valuable by customers to the Apple product brand using the Fishbein model of consumer behaviour to determine consumers’ attitude towards a particular brand (Alsamydai, Alnaimi, & Dajani, 2015). Companies that have managed to use this model successfully have become reputable as most consumers choose their brands over the competitor's brands.
Theory/ Framework
Overview
Organisations adopt various theories in order to understand the target clients purchasing behaviours to harness their brand. Fishbein model of consumer behaviour is one of the theoretical frameworks that is widely used for this purpose. Fishbein model, which is also referred to as the theory of reasoned action or the theory of planned behaviour helps to explain what influences consumers’ choices. The model helps companies to measure consumers overall attitudes towards a product or a service to come up with tailor-made products and services. Companies use the Fishbein model with the aim of influencing the consumers’ decision-making process so that the consumers can subscribe to the particular brand. Fishbein model of consumer behaviour rides on three basic variables namely the customer attitude, beliefs and subject evaluation of the customer's attributes (Alsamidyai, Alnaimi, and Dajani, 2015). Customers’ attitudes represent how the customers view a particular product while customers’ beliefs establish that a customer believes that a product has beneficial attributes owing to prior knowledge. Subjective evaluation is about evaluating the positive outcomes the customer will get after acquiring the product.
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Benefits and Limitations of the Fishbein Model of Consumer Behaviour
Fishbein model of consumer behaviours helps companies to establish how customers feel about particular products, which is at the core of their purchasing behaviours. This model of consumer behaviour is associated with various benefits and limitations in understanding consumer attitudes (Phan, & Daim, 2011). This model of consumer behaviour is beneficial as it has the ability to act as an information-generating device. Essentially Fishbein model of consumer behaviour provides organisations with a wide range of information regarding brand strengths and weaknesses, which allows the companies to have multiple decision-making criteria (Zhang, 2014). The organisations are able to reflect on the weight of each criterion to use the criterion that allows them to understand the customers’ behaviours and attitudes. Additionally, the Fishbein model is beneficial in understanding consumers’ attitudes owing to its easy and simple structure as well as its low-cost methodology. This structure helps the decision makers to acquire data and rank alternatives in real time and cheaply.
While Fishbein model of consumers’ behaviour is so beneficial in understanding consumers’ attitudes it is associated with several weaknesses. For one this model of consumer behaviour fails to take into account the interaction of various attributes in consumers’ minds. Moreover, this model of consumer attitudes presents potential halo effects in that consumers may assign higher scores to a particular brand owing to their personal attitude towards a brand. For this reason, a particular brand may receive higher or lower ratings, which may not be true representation. Furthermore, the Fishbein model fails to take into consideration the fact that consumers’ attitudes are highly dynamic and they keep changing as their beliefs and experiences change (Alsamydai, Alnaimi, & Dajani, 2015). As a result, the Fishbein model can contribute to situational variations, which can, in turn, lead to arbitrary and oversimplified equations.
Why the Fishbein Model is the Theory of Choice
In as much as the Fishbein model of consumer behaviour is associated with various limitations it is considered the most effective theory in addressing a shift in consumer behaviour. The reason why this model is suitable is the fact that it is widely used by companies that are a global sensation owing to its attributes. Fishbein model takes into consideration local economic sensitivity and environmental responsibility factors that are omitted by other consumer attitudes models (Ajzen, 2015). Moreover, the Fishbein model helps companies to make comparisons with similar organisations to determine their success in the competitive market. The best thing about the Fishbein model of consumer behaviour is the fact that it is a multi-attribute model meaning that a company can measure various consumer attitudes and attributes. In this case, a company can establish whether it has a lower or higher score when it comes to consumers’ attitudes.
Application of the Fishbein Model of Consumer Behaviour to Personal Experience
The Fishbein model of consumer behaviour can be used to explain why I changed my perspectives on Apple’s brands and products. Initially, I never thought that I would ever subscribe to Apple’s brands as they did not appeal to my taste. However, my perspective has changed and now I am a loyal customer. The reason for this change in attitude can be attributed to the Fishbein model of consumer behaviour. Apple is one of the most reputable organizations that use this model to analyse consumers’ attitudes. Essentially Apple established various consumers’ attributes that must be addressed to get a huge clients base. It should be noted that consumers are looking forward to purchasing products that meet their specific attributes and needs. Some of the attributes that customers have in mind included quality, price, variety, convenience, and satisfaction guarantees (Alsamydai, Alnaimi, & Dajani, 2015). Apple has been able to tap into these attributes to manufacture gadgets that meet most of the consumers’ attributes. In my case, I needed to have products that low cost yet they are convenient, environmentally friendly and of high quality. I was able to find the products with Apple who is keen on meeting needs by assessing their attitudes. It is for this reason that Apple has managed to become a market leader, which enjoys a large number of loyal consumers. I foresee myself sticking with Apple for all my gadgets needs as this company has continually manufactured high-quality products that help meet the changing preferences of its target consumers. As at now, clients are looking for stylish gadgets that are affordable and that meet their varied communication needs.
Marketing Implications and Recommendations
Consumers’ Sentiment towards Apple as Evident on Social Media
Apple Inc. is one of the most reputable companies owing to the Salesforce sentiment analysis, which is based on tweets, forums and blogs about Apple Inc. The analysis focuses on 43,000 posts, where 90.4% (39.3k) were from YouTube, 9.1% (4k) wer from reviews and 0.5% were from Facebook. The total posts represent a 29 percent drop from the previous analysis period. From the Salesforce sentiment analysis, it is clear that the number of positive words stands at 90 percent while the negative words stand at 10 percent. Another analysis generated a total of 16,000 posts, where 88.8% were from Twitter, 6.6% were from forums and 1.2% were from mainstream media and 0.1% were from Facebook. The total posts represent an 8 percent drop from the previous analysis period. A 100% keyword groups were English words with the Australia being the leading country with 100%. The sentiment analysis establishes that there are several influencers who have popularized Apple Inc. such as The Spectator Index at at 94 percent, ABC News at 92 percent among others. The analysis has filtered some of the words that are associated with Apple Inc. products. Some of the keywords used in the sentiment analysis include social, easy, good, love among others. Most of Salesforce sentiment is based on Naïve Bayes classifier to sieve the words denoting positive and negative emotions (Tirouvingadame, 2016). The sentiment trend resonates with the regular happy faces taking to the upper limit while the sad faces are few. From this analysis, it is clear that Apple Inc. is in line with its customers’ attitudes and expectations, which translates to a larger client base.
Impact of Brand-Related Information Available Online On Consumers
Consumers are likely to base their purchasing decisions on the available information, especially on the online platforms. Consumers usually read the available customer reviews, which are available in line to determine whether they will buy the product, or not. Positive customer reviews portray that the previous customers have been satisfied by the products and are willing to buy a similar product or refer to other people. On the other hand, negative customers’ reviews indicate that the customers are not happy about the products and are likely to stay away from specific products (Islam, and Rahman, 2017). The Salesforce sentiment analysis for Apple Inc. can influence consumers to buy more of the Apple products owing to the popularity of positive trends and feedback. It should be noted that information whether positive or negative may affect how future customers will base their purchasing decisions. Products with many positive reviews and products are more likely to attract new customers as compared to products with more negative comments and lower ratings. Of importance is the fact that customers are likely to buy or decline a product depending on the amount of information that is available online. Products with expansive information are likely to attract new customers as opposed to products with scanty or no marketing information. Apple Inc. being aware of this aspect provides its clients with all the information needed to elicit brand loyalty (Moorman, 2018).
How Marketers Can Use the Salesforce Information to Change or to Maintain Consumer Attitudes towards Their Brand
Marketers are at the heart of enhancing organisational profitability and market penetration. The marketers can use a variety of strategies to appeal to a large population of customers so that they can elicit customer loyalty. One of the ways that marketers can succeed in eliciting consumers’ interests is by Salesforce sentiment analysis information. The sentiment analysis helps the marketers to determine the customers’ emotions in connection to the products that are advertised online or the products that have lately been bought (Bhasin, 2018). For example, marketers at Apple Inc. can view the keyword sentiment analysis to find out the positive and negative words associated with Apple Inc. From here the marketers can adjust their products and services to increase the chances of getting positive feedback (Zoeller, 2019). More positive feedback will increase the likelihood of changing customers’ attitudes so that they buy more of the Apple products (Chadwick, 2018). Moreover, marketers can use the Salesforce sentiment to understand what drives customers to seek certain products. At this point, the marketers will understand the products in not only their physical appeal but also their emotional appeal, which is at the centre of the purchasing trends.
Determination of Who Ultimately Has the Power to Change Consumers’ Attitudes towards a Brand
Customer’s loyalty to a brand depends on several factors including the brand's reputation, features as well as the ability of the brand to meet the customers’ needs. Marketers can try out various strategies to make the brand appealing and the companies can cut a niche for itself but fail to attract new consumers. At this point, an organisation realizes that the client has the ultimate decisions on whether to become loyal to a particular brand or not (Krasniqi, & Krasniqi, 2014). Consumers are aware that there are so many brands out there and any brand can meet the consumers need. However, in as much as there are so many brands with the same functionalities, the consumers decide which brand they will be loyal to depending on the features (Zhang, Zhuang, Yang, and Zhang, 2017). Consumers have the final say on the attitudes they will have on particular brands, as they are the ultimate users of the products.
In conclusion, consumers’ attitudes and attributes play a central role in enhancing organizations productivity, profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability. Organisations being aware of this fact have continually adopted some consumer behaviour models to help them understand their customers’ attitudes. Organisations that have been able to analyse their consumers’ behaviours and attitudes are more likely to attract new consumers. Apple is one of the organisations that make use of the Fishbein model of consumer behaviour to come up with products that meet the needs of a large clientele base. In this case, one can agree that this model has helped Apple to appeal to consumers who would have otherwise shunned its products. In addition to this, Apple Inc. uses Salesforce sentiment analysis tools to understand their customers’ sentiments regarding their products or advertisements. In as much as companies use these models, the consumers have the last decision depending on which brand they will loyal to in the end. Consumers will only be loyal to a brand that meets their preferences and matches their attitudes.
References
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