Mktg1421 Asm1.Docx

RMIT International University Vietnam


Assignment Cover Page
MKTG1421 CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

Semester

Semester 3

Title of Assignment

Assignment 2: Decision making process

Name and Student
ID

Nguyen Tri Khang - S4019053

Class Group

HN-Group 2

Lecturer

Chi LP

Word Count
(Main content without list of
references, cover page, etc.)

Declaration and Statement of Authorship
This assignment is my original work and no part of it has been copied from any
other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement
is made.


Introduction
Zoologist is a niche perfume brand founded in 2013, by Canadian perfumer Victor
Wong (Zoologist 2023). The award-winning DNA of Zoologist Perfumes lies within the
magnificent recapture of animals and their living habitats, and its world-wide success is a
testament for the novel business model. Interestingly, Zoologist triumph is somewhat
unprecedented still, considering the fact that the niche market only takes up less than
10% of the fragrance industry (Horoszko et al. 2018; Nguyen 2022).
In this paper, the author will reflect upon his decision making process of a highinvolvement purchase, including five phases as detailed. Then, a customer journey map is
constructed, with recommendations to improve marketing practices.

Information on the high-involvement purchase:
● Date of purchase: 20th December 2023
● Place of purchase: Gia Perfumerie
● Retailer address: 23 P. Bà Triệu, Hàng Bài, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 10000
● Item purchase: Macaque - Yuzu Edition 60ml
● Brand name: Zoologist Perfume
● Price: 5,200,000 VND


Decision making process
Problem Recognition
The author recognized the need to purchase a gift-giving item for his brother’s
birthday on 4th December (task definition and temporal perspective), thus a planned
problem is clearly presented. The author wants to purchase a product category that

reinforces his originality and thoughtfulness for his sibling, and perfume suits the primary
intention of gift-giving.
With perfume, the effort put into researching the ‘right’ one is essentially arduous,
since perfume poses both high financial risk and social risk (Roberts et al. 2015).
However, it can also express mutual understanding of the recipient and strengthen the
relationship (Shanka and Handley 2011), provided that the perfume matches the wearer’s
preferences. Perfumes, especially the prestigious and niche brands, tell stories that entail
‘engagement’, ‘wants’, and ‘lusts’: it does not necessarily satisfy instrumental
performance, but rather symbolic, personalized experience (Quester et al. 2013, Horoszko
et al. 2018).
The author, originally, spent a morning asking family members of the usual
perfume styles of the recipient (fresh, zingy, citrusy notes). He conducted internal
searches as previously on his birthday, he had been given an impressive, exotic niche
perfume from the retailer, Gia Perfumerie. And when the author surfed the Instagram
fanpage, there were promotions for purchase during Christmas. This might be an early
success, as marketers were able to time problem recognition.


Figure 1. Instagram fanpage of Gia Perfumerie (Gia Perfumerie 2023)

Figure 2. Facebook post to promote Zoologist Perfumes (Gia Perfumerie 2023)


Information search
An extended decision making process similar to the author’s may call for extensive
external search, yet internal search from past experiences may surface and set guidelines
for the searching process (Quester et al. 2013). The writer did reflect upon past
experiences with niche perfume, since he was a supporter of originality and diversity.
The constraints, as explained, arise in the form of price range, scent notes of recipient,
and known retailer.

To utilize this budget, the author continued to conduct external research on aspects
such as Youtube review videos, retailer’s own social fanpages, and last but not least, a
visit to the physical store to have direct experience. It is worth noting that perfume is a
sensual journey of the olfactory stimuli, thus consumers always need to have physical
experience to process the scents, rather than just gazing at products through the Internet.
Market report from Statista (Jeong 2023) substantiates the idea, with 95% of revenue
share coming from offline sales. Additionally, due to the reserved quality of niche
perfume, little is disclosed about the actual experience through marketing campaigns or
media communication. The consumers have to take themselves to the exact showrooms
or counters to sample the scent stripes for better learning. As a result, silent marketing is
a useful strategy to implement amidst a noisy digital world (Nguyen 2022).

Figure 4. Positive review reinforces the initial impression (author’s own photograph)


Figure 5. Zoologist Perfumes’ website is designed in a minimalistic, straightforward style which helps customers navigate better
(author’s own photograph)

Evaluation of alternatives
Evaluation criteria are a set of metrics that individuals rely on to make sound
judgment. The fact that evaluation criteria are person-product-situation specific requires
marketers to understand which criteria dominate and frequently come up. The author, in
this case, turned to a few criteria which the retailing salesperson was able to resonate
with: price, scent notes, brand awareness, and design. As fragrance consumers have a
tendency to favor sensory discrimination, it is important that they experience different
brands on-site to distinguish the olfactory ingredients.
Evaluation
criteria

Importance

of criteria

L’Orchestre
Parfum
Electro
Limonade

Maison
Matine
Esprit de
Contradiction

Zoologist
Macaque Yuzu Edition

Price

30

4

5

3

Scent notes

40

4

3

5

Design

10

3

4

4

Brand awareness 20

2

4

5

Total

350

390

430

100

Advertising cannot be easily sought after for niche perfume, yet Zoologist
Perfumes succeeded in conquering the hearts of many reviewers as a unique player. The
author learned more about the product by looking at user reviews from Youtube, which


offers insights into the aromatic voyage of Macaque - Yuzu Edition. Interestingly, Gia
Perfumerie owns a personal channel that advertises a few selected brands except for
Zoologist Perfumes, despite showcasing the brand at the very top of the website and
social media fan pages. This mismatch created a small hassle for the writer to watch other
reviewers instead.

Figure 6 and 7. Youtube reviewers on Zoologist novelty and uniqueness.

Figure 8. Macaque - Yuzu Edition review with moderate number of views, indicating a lesser-known aura of niche brands.


Store selection and purchase

Figure 9. Well-organized Zoologist Perfumes on a wooden counter, signifying luxury and prestige (author’s own photograph)
Figure 10. Convenient parking lots for motorbike (author’s own photograph)

Figure 11. A dedicated corner for chatting and conversation, which may encourage learning and memory

Dimensions

Author’s experience

Merchandise

Wide range of brand names with abundant products
High trustworthiness as exclusive distributor of many
niche perfume houses.

Service

Online and offline delivery, flexible payment methods
Friendly and professional staff with in-depth knowledge of
the given brands

Physical facilities

Hygienic, curated, hedonic and highly pleasurable
Perfume is well-organized according to brands
First floor with a black storefront: It may seem
unappealing from outside, yet some may perceive this
color scheme as premium and luxury.

Convenience

Store is located downtown with high foot traffic (Ba Trieu
Street) and storefront parking

Promotion

Online and offline P.O.P. leaflets for Christmas sales

Store atmosphere

Comforting and pleasing, depicting a trip into the forest of
euphoria

According to Sujan et al. (1988), successful salespeople may take advantage of the
marketing opportunities to approach the targeted customers efficiently. Informative
content and illustrative jargons captivated the author and assisted the learning process. He
then finalized the decision jubilantly and satisfyingly without a second thought.


Post-purchase process

Figure 12 and 13. Customer loyalty programs are designed to retain customers.

The post-purchase process is depicted by the tremendous delight to witness the
recipient’s unboxing the present with gift cards and well-wishes. To see the satisfied
facial expression of the recipient reassured the soundness of decision making and the
author was quite gleeful. Additionally, customer loyalty is well thought through with
customer membership (Figure 12), and applied promotion encourages the buyers to
repeat the purchasing behavior may any similar situations arise. This, together with word
of mouth, reinforces the retailer image and the author did foster on-going search ever
since.


Customer journey map and recommendations (500 words)
Customer’s Persona:
- Medium to high budget
- Part-timer seeking luxury and
original experience

- Fresh, zingy, and citrusy notes

Problem Recognition:
Birthday present for brother, an early
Gen Z who frequent business meetings
and hang-outs

Goal:
Surprise brother and strengthen the relationship between family
members

Customer Decision
Making Process

Problem
Recognition

Information search

Evaluation and
selection

Store choice and Purchase

Post-purchase and advocacy

Touch points

Mobile
advertising and

social
advertising

Google, Youtube,
retailer and company
website

Retailer’s
Facebook
Retailer’s
Instagram
Physical store

Retail outlet

Social media, physical store

Customer’s actions

Trace back
memory and
search keywords

- Interact with retailer
through social platform
- Watch Youtube videos
- Research through
database website

Find the best

aromas

Price warranties,
Promotion,
Customer loyalty program are
compared

- Share feedbacks on review section or
post on social media about the
experience
- Share words of mouth and form a
long-term memory to utilize internal
search
- Form brand loyalty

User experience

Confident and
pleasurable

Confused with the
information overload

Hesitant and
need
reassurance

Reassured by sales staff and
manager

Cheerful and relieved

Company’s
opportunities, KPIs
and
recommendations

- Maintain the
current design
but description
should be put in
the caption/
comment
- Monitor
Facebook/
Instagram traffic

- Increase guidance and
encourage on-site visits.
- Produce more relevant
content about scent
notes on Youtube

- Pre-schedule a
meeting to best
advise
customers
- Conversion
rate with more
customer

buying products

- Maintain the evoked position
by reminding the best solutions
offered (original niche perfume
retailer)
- Train the staffs with scripts
and guidelines, together with
payment methods and
customer loyalty programs

- Increase Youtube content and
Facebook posts
- Promote social listening with active
responses and thanks for past
customers
- Engage in workshops and collaborate
in social events to boost highinvolvement learning.


References
Nguyen N (12 July 2022), ‘Nước hoa niche số lượng giới hạn: Marketing bằng
sự im lặng’, VnEconomy, accessed 20 December 2023.
/>Horoszko N, Moskowitz D, and Moskowitz H (2018) Understanding the
Marketing Exceptionality of Prestige Perfumes,Taylor and Francis, London.
/>Quester P, Pettigrew S, Rao HS, Kopanidis F and Hawkins D (2013), Consumer
Behaviour : Implications for Marketing Strategy, McGraw-Hill Education
(Australia) Pty Limited, North Ryde, available from: ProQuest Ebook Central,
accessed 20 December 2023.
Shanka T and Handley B (2011) ‘Gift Giving: An Exploratory Behavioural Study’,

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 16(4): 359-377, DOI:
10.1080/10941665.2011.588865
Sujan H., Sujan M., Bettman J. R. 1988, ‘Knowledge structure differences
between more
effective and less effective salespeople’, Journal of Marketing Research, vol.25,
no.1,
pp.81-86.