What Is Consumer Education?

Consumer education refers to activities for the purposeful and planned dissemination of consumer knowledge, promotion of consumer concepts, cultivation of consumer skills, exchange of consumer experience, and improvement of consumer quality. "Consumer education" originates from developed western countries and is a social national movement. The purpose is to guide consumers to make correct and healthy consumption, and to protect consumers' rights in the process of consumption. Consumer education activities are generally undertaken at two levels, namely consumer education activities undertaken by governments, social groups and industry organizations, and consumer education activities implemented by enterprises. ^[1]

Consumer education

Right!

Consumer education refers to activities for the purposeful and planned dissemination of consumer knowledge, promotion of consumer concepts, cultivation of consumer skills, exchange of consumer experience, and improvement of consumer quality. "Consumer education" originates from developed western countries and is a social national movement. The purpose is to guide consumers to make correct and healthy consumption, and to protect consumers' rights in the process of consumption. Consumer education activities are generally undertaken at two levels, namely consumer education activities undertaken by governments, social groups and industry organizations, and consumer education activities implemented by enterprises. ^[1]

In 1928, the world's first consumer education institution, the Consumer Research Institute, was established in the United States. The Consumer League, which was differentiated from it in 1936, has now become the largest consumer education institution in the United States. Some well-known consumer protection literature in the West also clearly stipulates that consumers have the right to education. In Japan, where consumer education is in full swing, a three-stage theory of consumer education has been formed.

1. "Smart consumer" stage In the early stage of the market economy, the damage to consumers from fake and shoddy goods is most typical. It is necessary to improve the self-protection ability of consumers by enlightening consumers on shopping knowledge.

2. "Independent consumer" stage With the development of the economy, a large number of goods and information flood the market. At this stage, consumers, as the main body of life, must have a sense of self-determination, consumer contract awareness, basic knowledge of transactions, Life design ability, reasonable judgment of consumer behavior and lifestyle.

3. In the "conscious consumer" stage, due to increasingly fierce competition, companies cannot survive without considering the needs of consumers. In this case, consumer behavior is not only a consumer's personal problem, but also a social problem that affects economic activities, because consumers, as participants in economic activities, largely control the direction of business operations and the development of the national economy. direction. From a higher perspective, to examine the social value of consumer survival, to make consumers the creators of a beautiful living environment, and to cultivate "conscious consumers". This is the essence of consumer education.

The concept of "conscious consumer", in terms of the relationship between consumers and society, requires consumers to determine and choose not only from an individual perspective, but to consider themselves as members of the economy and society. Consciously attach great importance to the impact of consumer behavior on the environment and take responsibility for their own consumer behavior; in terms of consumers and the natural ecological environment of consumers, consumers are required to fully understand the relationship between consumer behavior and natural ecology, and consider whether the goods are healthy and safe, and whether Cause environmental damage and waste of energy, whether to increase the impact of garbage and so on.

1. From the perspective of commodities and markets: rich varieties and complex transactions

In China's current economic life, the necessity of consumer education is mainly reflected in:

(1) Increasingly rich commodities and relatively poor consumer knowledge. According to relevant data, there are currently about 1.5 million kinds of goods in the world and nearly 500,000 kinds in China, and new products are constantly emerging. There are more than 40,000 kinds of merchandise in large retail stores that people often visit. Being in such a sea of commodities is dizzying and I do nt know what to choose. This kind of confusion often comes from the lack of product knowledge and consumer experience. Insufficient and self-protection ability is not enough, so it is often tempted and deceived in purchasing activities.

(2) Irregular market order and professional complexity of transactions put consumers in a weak position with asymmetric information.

(3) Consumer education activities are still a big blank. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have nine rights. The maintenance of these rights depends on consumers' self-awareness and self-protection in addition to a good legal environment.

2. From the perspective of consumers: conflict of needs and interests

In market activities, the actual situation where consumer demand is not consistent with consumer interests is manifested at least in the following three levels:

(1) Consumers' personal consumption is often irrational and irrational. For example, bad hobby consumption, superstitious consumption, etc. belong to irrational consumption, while blind consumption and blind obedience consumption are irrational consumption.

(2) Part of the consumption model is not a "sustainable consumption". This is manifested in three aspects: First, the unrestricted excessive abuse of resources. Second, excessive development and consumption have disrupted the ecological balance. The third is damage to consumers themselves. For example, the consumption of many "Pleasing Products" may produce immediate satisfaction to consumers, but may cause harm to consumers in the long run. For example, in order to satisfy the infinite desire of the senses, the products are constantly being improved, "Eat without getting tired of eating, but not too delicious." But delicious cuisine has also brought cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and obesity, making cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease the number one killer in humans.

(3) Part of the consumption pattern is an unfair consumption pattern. This is mainly due to the fact that a few high-consumption countries and a few high-consumption groups have consumed more consumption resources, resulting in unfair and unreasonable regional and group distribution of consumption. US consumers, who account for only 6% of global consumers, consume 1/6 of global resources.

3. In theory: the bounded rationality of consumer behavior

The proposal of rational consumption is premised on the assumption of a rational person in economics, and the most essential characteristic of a rational person is that he must pursue his own utility to maximize his actions. There are two necessary conditions for absolute rationality. One is to have sufficient information, and the other is to have complete logic. Neither of these two conditions can be truly fulfilled by individuals or organizations, not to mention the issue of timeliness when it is more urgent, that is, applying logic as quickly as possible. So people are irrational.

However, a rational person is just a model of economics, a hypothesis that integrates the behavioral characteristics of people under the conditions of economic assumptions. Due to the limitations of people's physical and intellectual abilities and the uncertainty and complexity of external things, people's ability to understand and solve complex problems and process information is limited. Therefore, it is impossible for people to make economic decisions. To reach the level of complete rationality, it can only reach the level of "limited rationality" at most. People's economic behavior is often irrational-this is an important contribution of psychology and behavior science to economics.

The impact of consumer education on modern marketing

1. The relationship between consumer education and corporate marketing

The basic connotation of "consumer education" is that it is not enough for marketing companies to "meet" demand. Because consumer consumption needs are not always consistent with consumer interests, marketing companies must further analyze consumption. Demand, identify the rationality of consumer demand, and judge the impact of the satisfaction of this demand on the interests of individual consumers, overall interests, immediate interests, and long-term interests. On this basis, the company's marketing methods are used to guide consumers, educate consumers, enhance the rationality of consumers, improve the quality of consumers, and achieve consumer needs through corporate marketing activities. Only in this way can we truly realize and increase the interests of consumers and realize the "Win-Win Game" advocated by the marketing concept. Therefore, incorporating the ideas of guiding and educating consumers into the marketing concept system is the development and improvement of marketing concepts.

2. The significance of consumer education for corporate marketing

The consumer education activities advocated by the government and social groups constitute the marketing environment of the enterprise, and the consumer education activities implemented by the enterprise organization are directly part of the corporate marketing activities, but they have not attracted enough attention. In corporate marketing practice, although some people realize that consumer education is a promotion method, they have been mingled with advertising, public relations and SP promotion activities, but few people have gone deeper and broader. Fully analyze the potential value of consumer education in modern marketing theory and modern marketing practice activities. We believe that consumer education is not only an environmental force, but also a specific component of corporate marketing. It has far-reaching significance and great value in modern marketing theory and modern marketing practice. The "consumer education" consciousness of the enterprise is the development and improvement of modern marketing concepts; the "consumer education" theory is a modification and supplement of modern marketing theory; the "consumer education" activity is a new field of modern marketing activities.

The basic system of modern marketing theory is to analyze the marketing environment, find suitable marketing opportunities, and design a suitable marketing mix based on the characteristics of the target market. The marketing mix 4P'S believes that as long as it develops the right product, designs the right price, presents the product in the right place and time, and conducts the right promotion, and at the same time is better than its competitors, consumers (users) will naturally compare and choose, Naturally, I will respond to my marketing stimulus as expected by marketers.

Obviously, in the inherent logical structure of such a theoretical system, the basic assumption that the target customer as the service object of the enterprise is a mature consumer who is "omnipotent and all-powerful" and "fully rational" has been implicitly included. However, this is not the case for actual consumers, especially those in the consumer market: consumers may not be knowledgeable about the intrinsic value of the product, and may not even be able to distinguish counterfeit and inferior products; consumers may lack mature shopping psychology and shopping experience, and are often misused The company's "marketing skills" are fooled; the consumer may not know the relevant market conditions because he lacks this ability or the "search cost" is too high; the consumer may also have the side of irrational consumption and so on. Therefore, in the face of the objective reality of "limited rationality" of customers, "consumer education" with the main goal of improving consumer quality and increasing consumer consumption rationality and maturity is an important revision and improvement of modern marketing theory.

I. Content of consumer education marketing

As a marketing method, consumer education aims to instill the correct concepts, improve the quality of consumers, cultivate rational and mature consumers, and strive for a high degree of unity between consumer and corporate interests. Therefore, the content of consumer education is:

(I) Consumer Concept Education

Ideas are the guide of behavior. What kind of consumption concept is advocated and cultivated in marketing activities has a significant impact on marketing results. It is a period when China s overall market is changing from quantity pursuit to quality pursuit. Enterprise marketing has shifted from low-level marketing such as quantity, price, and individual promotion to quality and service. Objective needs of high-level marketing for overall marketing. The core of consumer concept education is to guide consumers through correct advocacy and propaganda, through vigorous advocacy and publicity, to establish consumer values that are compatible with consumption levels, compatible with excellent cultural traditions, and compatible with social development and human progress. And consumption patterns. The details are as follows:

1. Education of consumers' personal values. Values are both a marketing environment and an ideology, which have a decisive influence on consumer purchasing behavior. The formation of consumer value orientation is affected not only by the macro-level factors such as culture, ideology, education level and social atmosphere, but also by the marketing propaganda of marketers at the micro-level. As far as marketing promotion is concerned, maximizing the creation of an irrational "irritating" and "sensational" consumer atmosphere has made companies into a quagmire of blindly playing tricks and fooling consumers, and moving towards the abyss of "anti-marketing". While rectifying its own business philosophy, the company guides and cultivates the long-term development of the company and adapts to the healthy, legitimate, reasonable, and civilized consumption values of the company's "sustainable marketing", so that consumers are not confused by dazzling promotion techniques To resist the temptation of unrealistic and unsatisfactory consumption desires that are inconsistent with cultural ethics, and choose a consumption method that is suitable for consumers and their families.

2. Education of consumers' social values. Modern industrial civilization is like a double-edged sword. While bringing material civilization to human beings, it also brings unavoidable by-products to human beings. The consumption of many commodities co-exists, involving not only the personal interests of consumers, but also the interests of others (such as smoking and noise) and even the interests of the entire society (such as environmental pollution). Educating consumers on the social values of personal consumption is to make self-ethical and legal constraints on excessive consumption, harmful consumption, and environmental pollution that consumers may personally produce.

3. Education of a progressive lifestyle concept. The improvement of lifestyle is a sign of human civilization. However, due to the relative lag of ideas, the consumption of progressive new material products is often hindered by traditional and backward lifestyle concepts, making it impossible to form a large-scale market quickly. Therefore, it is important for consumer education to enable consumers to accept a new lifestyle concept that is synchronized with the progress of human civilization, and to enable the material new products produced by enterprises that can improve the lifestyle and quality of life to be successfully consumed.

(II) Consumer Quality Education

Consumer quality is a comprehensive reflection of the basic knowledge and ability necessary for consumers to complete shopping behavior as a person with capacity for civil conduct. Therefore, consumer quality education should include:

1. Commodity knowledge transfer. An ignorant consumer is definitely not a true God. One of the root causes of the prevalence of counterfeit and shoddy goods and the behavior that harms consumers' interests is the ignorance of consumers. The significance of changing this phenomenon lies in the following: First, it can effectively enable consumers to identify the authenticity of good and bad, with the help of consumers. The ability to eliminate fake and shoddy products; the second is to enable enterprises to completely eliminate the idea of "deception" and improve sales services; the third is to promote the improvement of the level of other marketing activities of the enterprise (at least it can greatly improve the current advertising level of the enterprise); the fourth is to reduce Marketing expenses used to resolve various consumer rights disputes.

2. Cultivation of purchasing ability. Consumer purchasing ability is a comprehensive reflection of its ability to express language, negotiate, calculate, recognize, think and judge, and make decisions. From a marketing perspective, the cultivation of consumer purchasing power is mainly focused on the cultivation of consumer discernment, judgment, and decision-making capabilities, so as to enhance the maturity and rationality of consumers' purchasing behavior and enable consumers to buy what they need. Goods, buy what they must buy, buy goods that they fully consume, and avoid fooled purchases, invalid purchases, regretful purchases, and limited consumption purchases.

Second, consumer education marketing methods

In the final analysis, consumer education is a kind of information communication, which aims to provide consumers with comprehensive and accurate information and knowledge, and form a "reasonable expectation" for consumers to buy.

(I) Consumer education in the overall product

The consumer education contained in the whole product is the most basic level of consumer education. The relevant elements that form the product in the whole product are used as the information source and information carrier, and the concepts and knowledge to be communicated by the company are attached to it. Consumers of this product have an educational effect after reading. Because the consumer education at this level is based on the relevant elements of formal products, it is a consumer education model that can be very effective and economical with a little improvement. In modern supermarket operation, the consumption of this model must be brought into play. Education functions, we must change the design thinking of product elements such as product installation, especially the overly weakened and simple design of product functions, formulas, use, precautions, suggestions and advice, and increase the content of consumer education. The design of advertising functions that focus on color, symbols and other aspects of product elements such as packaging and packaging is both education and advertising.

(II) Consumer education in the distribution process

Consumer education in the distribution process requires close cooperation among channel members. Manufacturers are the mainstay, and dealer cooperation and support should be the basic framework of consumer education in the distribution process. The huge influence of dealers' quality and ability on consumer purchases determines that the following education, help and guidance for dealers are necessary in the process of consumer education: (1) training and education for dealers to make them have Qualified commodity operator with sufficient commodity knowledge. (2) Provision of information about production, technology and products. (3) Opinions, requirements, and even regulations on the content, form, and degree of consumer education conducted by dealers. (4) Help and guide dealers in consumer education. (5) Jointly develop consumer education activities with distributors.

(3) Consumer education in personnel marketing

The characteristics of sales promotion are that the sales promotion and the sales promotion parties can directly communicate the products being promoted, the information is fully communicated, the questions and answers can be answered face to face, the pertinence is strong, and the immediate effect is good. Since the 90's, the success of personnel marketing this cost-effective economical marketing method of consumer products has fully proved the strong vitality of the combination of education and sales, which meets the strong demand of customers for shopping guidance and services. . Therefore, the process of successful personnel marketing is also the process of educating consumers. During the sales promotion process, the following consumer education forms are essential: (1) Introduction and demonstration. (2) Accept consultation. (3) Maintenance. 4) Suggestions and guidance.

(IV) Consumer Education in Non-Personnel Promotions

1. "Membership club" education. That is, an educator (usually an expert or related person in a certain field) educates a group of consumers for the purpose of disseminating commodity knowledge, presenting consumer experiences, and introducing the special interests of products. Since club-type consumer education is not directly related to the promotion of any product, consumers have no psychological pressure to shop during the process of receiving education, but also can cultivate consumer sentiment, improve aesthetic ability, and have a greater impact on consumers. Attractive, easy to get consumer response and support. Clubs can be consumer family gatherings, salons, sororities, or consumer colleges (including membership clubs and general clubs that enjoy specific benefits).

2. Education for public welfare activities. This has become a marketing method in which companies invest more. Appropriately increasing the content of consumer education in public welfare activities can do more with less. Such as: identification of counterfeit and inferior goods; compulsory consultation and maintenance of set points; public service advertising.

3. Public education. That is, in the wider time and space, the use of mass media to disseminate educational content to the public, the main forms are: continuous introduction of commodity knowledge, and the media to jointly organize prizes and quizzes for commodity knowledge, consumer hotlines, corporate and product albums, public welfare Advertising, etc.