1.

Discuss several reasons why marketers continue to have a hard time understanding,
predicting, and explaining consumer behavior.

The foundation of a successful marketing strategy is being able to understand consumer

behavior. “Consumer behavior is the study of how individual customers, groups or organizations
select, buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to satisfy their needs and wants.” (2014)
Marketers tend to have a hard time understanding, predicting, and explaining consumer behavior
is because it is very complex and can be unpredictable. Consumer behaviors change because of
factors that include social influence, social media, new technology, new trends, and attitudes, all
of which lead to new demands and new feelings about products and services. “Modern
consumers are well informed. Today’s consumers are always carrying an endless source of real-
time information in their pockets: their smartphones.” (Jongen, 2018) Technology changes
rapidly and because the effects of its changes can create opportunities and challenges from a
marketing perspective, organizations must learn how they can take advantage of these
opportunities and face these challenges. “Companies face increasingly heterogeneous markets,
where success is difficult. Entering the mind of consumers and understanding their purchasing
behavior constitute one of the greatest challenges in which researchers should be involved.”
(Arenas-Gaitan, Sanz-Altamira, Ramirez-Correa, 2019) Goods and services would not be
profitable without the support and demand of consumers. In the video about Umpqua Bank,
Hayward talked a little about how companies should test prototypes to see what will work and
how to implement change. (Hayward, 2014) Prototypes and surveys would be extremely helpful
to marketers since consumer behavior is ever-changing.

2. After watching the video on Umpqua Bank, what impressed you the most about
Umpqua's branding and positioning tactics? Why?

After watching the video on Umpqua Bank, I was impressed with how they have managed to
continue making consumers their priority and remained a community bank throughout the
years. Umpqua Bank’s branding tactics have made them a household name within their
community. Their branding strategy makes them seem human and sensitive as opposed to the
status-quo of the banking industry. "Branding means more than establishing the name for a
company or a product line. Branding is a long-term state of mind, that requires the management
of the company’s strategy, the coordination of its objectives and resources.” (Dumitriu, 2012, p.
130) Hayward explained that the new strategy was based on three principles: creating unique
delivery systems, building a culture around service and innovation, and to be a community bank
and engage with people. “The strategic brand management process starts with a clear
understanding as to what the brand is to represent and how it should be positioned concerning
consumers and competitors.” (Keller & Brexendorf, 2016). Many people believe that financial
institutions just want your money and will charge you everything because the consumer is just a
number, but Umpqua Bank has changed that thinking for their customers by putting them first.
Not only have they taken queues from the retail industries to remain customer-centric, but they
also provide events for the communities as well as give local merchants a place to sell their
items. This shows how successful Umpqua Bank is at being a part of the community.

3. How has Umpqua Bank's marketing tactics changed your view of the banking industry?

This study source was downloaded by 100000837171407 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 23:28:06 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/71328910/Module-3-Discussionediteddocx/
 Umpqua Bank does not use marketing tactics like other big banks. Many big banks choose to
market with advertisements, sponsorship, or billboards, but Umpqua uses handshake marketing
to reach and entice those in their communities. Hayward discussed the importance of value
proposition and described it as a brand promise that everyone in your organization can rally
around. The value proposition can convince a consumer that the company’s product or service
will add more value than that of its competitor. Umpqua Bank’s “Lemonade Stand Starter Kit”
campaign brought the conversation of starting small businesses and using loans to the dinner
table. This was a great way for adults to reminisce about their childhood lemonade stands, have
children experience and create them, as well as learn about the services Umpqua Bank offers for
small businesses. Their marketing tactics showed me that at least one bank in the industry is
showing that they are there for the community and I think other banks should start using some of
these marketing tactics. “The customers do not interact with the products and the services; they
are essentially attracted by the emotions generated by brands.” (Dumitriu, 2012, p. 131) Umpqua
Bank has created these feel-good, community emotions in their areas.

4. How would you measure Umpqua Bank's brand equity?

“David Aaker defines brand equity as a set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand that adds
value to or subtract value from the product or service under that brand.” (Brand Management -
Equity Models) Aaker’s model of brand equity down into five components: brand awareness,
brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand associations, and other proprietary assets.

Brand Awareness: Umpqua Bank created a culture around their brand awareness by creating
community-centered outreach projects that bring awareness to their banks. They stress
community involvement and have made their bank a household name amongst their consumers.
For this reason, I would rank their brand equity highly.

Brand Loyalty: Umpqua Bank focuses on creating long-term impact within their community by
helping customers connect to issues that they care about, such as education, equality, and
inclusion In business attracting new customers is typically thought of as much more expensive
than retaining loyal ones and thus retaining loyal customers is a focus of businesses. For this
reason, Umpqua Bank has worked to find ways to keep customers returning to their bank
whether it is strictly for banking or to participate in a yoga class or to hear a guest lecture. They
rank extremely high in brand loyalty.

Perceived Quality: Perceived quality means that the customer receives a product that is up to
their expectations. Umpqua Bank would receive a high rating in this because they focus on
getting it right first instead of fast first.

Brand Associations: Brand associations include perceived value along with brand personality and
organizational associations. “Umpqua launched a multi-year collaborative with four Portland-
based nonprofits serving individuals and families along a spectrum of financial needs—from
immediate financial support services and stable housing to post-secondary education and career
readiness” (Olphert, 2020). This allows the community to see that the bank is investing in the

This study source was downloaded by 100000837171407 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 23:28:06 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/71328910/Module-3-Discussionediteddocx/
 community’s growth and success, not simply for the business’ success. Umpqua Bank is high in
brand association.

Proprietary Assets: While the information in this category is hard to find; Umpqua Bank is high
in all other categories and has great brand equity.

References:

Arenas-Gaitan, J., Sanz-Altamira, B. & Ramirez-Correa, P. (2019, January 8). Complexity of

Understanding Consumer Behavior from the Marketing Perspective. Complexity. Vol.
2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2837938

Brand Management - Equity Models. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/brand_management/brand_management_equity_models.h
tm

Consumer Behaviour: Meaning/Definition and Nature of Consumer Behaviour. (2014, April 02).
Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/market-
segmentation/consumer-behaviour-meaningdefinition-and-nature-of-consumer-
behaviour/32301

Dumitriu, R. (2012). “The Role of Branding in Marketing Strategy”, Management & Marketing.
Vol. X, Issue: 1/2012, p. 125-132 [PDF file]. Retrieved
from: https://moodle.louisiana.edu/pluginfile.php/2919794/mod_resource/content/3/Bran
ding%20in%20Marketing%20Strategy.pdf

Hayward, L. (2014, November 10). Disrupting the Banking Industry One Customer at a
Time [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NGEImMY0Q

Jongen, R. (2018). 3 Reasons Why Consumer Behavior is Changing (and What to Do About It)
[Web log post]. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.revelx.co/blog/consumer-behavior-
changing/

Keller K. & Brexendorf, T. (2016). Strategic Brand Management. Springer Fachmedien.

Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-
3-658-13361-0_8-1.pdf

Olphert, C. (2020, June 11). Financial empowerment: A holistic approach. Boston College
Center for Corporate Citizenship. https://ccc.bc.edu/content/ccc/blog-
home/2020/06/community-involvement-financial-empowerment-a-holistic-approach.html

This study source was downloaded by 100000837171407 from CourseHero.com on 02-20-2022 23:28:06 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/71328910/Module-3-Discussionediteddocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)