Final answer:
The last step in the hierarchy of effects serves to encourage brand loyalty.
Step-by-step explanation:
The last step in the hierarchy of effects is meant to solidify the consumers' actions and perceptions towards the product or brand. The correct answer is B) Brand loyalty. After guiding the consumer through the stages of brand awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, and conviction, brand loyalty is the final goal where consumers consistently choose the same brand over competitors due to their positive experiences and satisfaction with the product.
When conducting a study about consumer preferences between a new laundry detergent and the leading competitor, you're gathering data that can influence strategies to increase brand preference and eventually lead to brand loyalty. The use of peripheral route persuasion, through uses like celebrity endorsement, positive emotions, and attractive models (but not factual information), aims to influence consumer attitudes and brand perceptions at a more subconscious level. Understanding the correct order of steps in the modeling process, which is a. attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, is critical for developing effective marketing and advertising strategies. Lastly, when testing the proportion of consumers who prefer a brand, the appropriate statistical distribution for hypothesis testing is typically a binomial distribution, given that preference can be classified as a success or failure.