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from the traditional to the very modern. A further variable was that the finishes on offer were of a soft plain surface, a quilted finish, or the rather old-fashioned button-type fixing. The customers unhesitatingly chose a quilted finish in the traditional fabric, notwithstanding the fact that all the mattresses were physically identical.
Research evidence shows that the buyer is influenced to a critical degree by the size of a product and its shape, colour, weight, feel, typography, and even smell. The successful package is the ones that appeals to both conscious and unconscious level of the consumer's mind. The conscious mind recognizes just the product, whereas the unconscious mind is motivated by the package.
It must not be supposed that 'presentation' of product applies only to the consumer field. The study of 'organizational buyer behaviour' shows clearly the many subjective factors that enter into a purchasing decision. Gone are the days when a handful of components was bundled into a black box, and an that mattered was that the performance matched the specification. The appearance of an industrial product sends out signals. The design, shape, colour, and so on, an combine to create an impression on the one hand of a dynamic, innovative, go-ahead company, or on the other of a traditional or maybe a backward one. It is important to realize that it usually costs no more to put a conscious effort into good product presentation, whereas to create the same effect by means of conventional promotional media is often very expensive.
Consideration must further be given to brand name as part of the total product offering. Any product is going to be called something by its customers and users, soJt._might as well be a name of the company's own choice, and one that brings with it certain positive attributes. Does it have or imply a favourable connotation? Is it short and memorable? Can people actually pronounce it? Does it support the claims being made of product performance? And then there is the graphic symbolism or the associated logotype: a good brand name can evoke a feeling of trust, confidence, security, strength, durability, speed, status, and the like.
Price
For many if not most products, the signal given by price, and thus the effect on purchasing, follows the normal economist's law of demand. As price falls, so demand increases. With everyday products, where price levels are common knowledge, the message conveyed by price is indicative of good or bad value for money: hence the success of supermarkets in being able to offer heavily branded products at a lower price than the local grocer, and,
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going one stage further, the success of own-label products which undercut the established branded ones.
For some products, however, the normal rules do not apply, as is shown for instance in Figure 3.2. In this case, price is taken as signalling quality or prestige, and within limits creates a desire to acquire which increases as the price increases. Without delving into the ethical considerations, the fact is that in some circumstances a reduction in price will signal a reduction in quality and vice versa. This is particularly so where the customer is unable to make a judgement on any other basis - a watch, for instance, or a hi-fi set, or cosmetics in general. There are other factors, of course, such as appearance and availability, but in the main, the assessment of quality in such items will be based heavily upon price.
The same price-demand relationship is found in products that are purchased as gifts. Here a higher price may be paid largely as a compliment to the receiver of the gift, or for that matter to enhance the prestige or satisfy the ego of the giver. Once again, it is a matter of perception on the part of