What is the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model and how does it apply to consumer behavior?

1 The SOR Model Explained

The SOR model is based on the idea that consumer behavior is a result of three factors: stimuli, organism, and response. Stimuli are the external factors that trigger a consumer's attention, such as marketing messages, product features, prices, or social cues. Organism is the internal factor that processes the stimuli, such as the consumer's personality, attitudes, emotions, motivation, or memory. Response is the final factor that reflects the consumer's action, such as buying, liking, recommending, or complaining. The SOR model suggests that stimuli affect the organism, which in turn affects the response.

2 The Benefits of the SOR Model

The SOR model has several benefits for market researchers. First, it helps to identify the key factors that influence consumer behavior and how they interact with each other. Second, it helps to design and evaluate marketing strategies that aim to create positive stimuli, enhance the consumer's organism, and elicit desirable responses. Third, it helps to measure and predict consumer behavior by using various methods, such as surveys, experiments, observation, or neuromarketing.

3 The Limitations of the SOR Model

The SOR model also has some limitations that market researchers should be aware of. First, it is a simplified and general model that does not account for the complexity and diversity of consumer behavior in different contexts and situations. Second, it assumes a linear and causal relationship between stimuli, organism, and response, which may not always be the case. Third, it may not capture the dynamic and interactive nature of consumer behavior, which may change over time and across stages of the decision-making process.

4 The Examples of the SOR Model

To illustrate how the SOR model works, let's look at some examples of consumer behavior in different domains. In the fashion industry, a stimulus could be a celebrity endorsement, a fashion show, or a social media post that showcases a new clothing line. The organism could be the consumer's self-image, preference, mood, or aspiration that relates to the clothing line. The response could be the consumer's purchase intention, satisfaction, loyalty, or word-of-mouth. In the entertainment industry, a stimulus could be a movie trailer, a review, or a recommendation that generates interest in a new movie. The organism could be the consumer's genre preference, expectation, curiosity, or involvement that affects their perception of the movie. The response could be the consumer's ticket purchase, enjoyment, rating, or sharing.