Introduction To Consumer Behaviour

Introduction:

Consumer behaviour is a relatively recent area of research, having emerged shortly after WWII. The seller’s market has vanished, and the buyer’s market has risen. As a result, the manufacturer’s focus has shifted from commodity to market, with a particular emphasis on consumer behaviour. Buyer behaviour has become autonomous due to the evaluation of marketing concepts from mere sales to consumer-oriented marketing concepts. The rise of consumerism, as well as consumer legislation, emphasises the consumer’s significance. Consumer behaviour is the study of how people decide how to spend their limited resources (time, money, and effort) or aspects of consumption (what they buy? when they buy? how they buy?  and so on).

Due to the diversity of individuals, marketers face a difficult challenge in interpreting customer behaviour. As a result, advertisers feel compelled to gain a thorough understanding of customers’ purchasing habits. Finally, this expertise is a critical weapon for marketers, allowing them to predict future consumer purchasing behaviour and formulate four marketing strategies to build long-term customer relationships.

Consumer behaviour is the study of consumers and the processes they use to choose, use, and dispose of products and services. A more in-depth definition will also include how that process impacts the world. Consumer behaviour incorporates ideas from several sciences, including psychology, biology, chemistry, and economics.

Some selected definitions of consumer behaviour are as follows:

According to Engel, Blackwell, and Mansard, ‘consumer behaviour is the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and services for personal consumption’.

According to Louden and Bitta,‘consumer behaviour is the decision process and physical activity, which individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services’.

Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour:

Why is it essential to study consumer buying behaviours? The simple response is that we can no longer take our customers for granted. How do our customers decide whether or not to purchase our product, and what factors influence this decision?

Understanding the factors that influence consumer behaviour—psychological, personal, and social—is vital to comprehend how consumer behaviour affects marketing entirely.

1. Cultural factors: Cultural factors such as the buyer’s culture, subculture, and social status significantly impact Consumer behaviour.

(a) Culture: Culture is a company’s market share and the primary motivator for people who want culture and actions. Since the impact of culture on buying behaviour varies by country, sellers must be highly cautious when analysing the culture of various groups, regions, or even nations.

(b) Subculture: Each culture has subcultures, including religions, nationalities, geographical areas, ethnic groups, and other subcultures. Marketing groups can use these to segment the market into many small segments. Marketers, for example, may create goods that cater to the needs of a particular regional community.

(c) Social Class: Every society has a social class, which is significant for marketing because people in the same social class have similar purchasing habits. As a result, marketing activities may be tailored to various social groups. It is important to note that social class is determined by wages and various other factors such as wealth, education, occupation, and so on.

2. Social factors: Consumer buying behaviour is often influenced by social factors. Reference classes, family, role, and status are all social factors.

(a) Reference groups: Reference groups can form an individual’s attitude or actions. The influence of comparison groups varies depending on the product or brand. The power of comparison groups will be greater if the commodity is obvious, such as clothes, shoes, or a vehicle. Opinion leaders are also included in reference classes (someone who influences others by special skill, knowledge or other characteristics).

(b) Family: A family member may significantly impact a buyer’s decision. As a result, vendors attempt to determine the positions and spheres of control of the husband, wife, and children. If a buyer’s wife influences their decision to purchase a product, sellers may try to target women in their advertising. It’s worth noting that the buying of roles changes as customers’ lifestyles shift.

(c) Roles and Status: Each individual in society has a unique position and status regarding the classes, clubs, families, and other organisations to which they belong. Consider a woman who works as a finance manager in a business. She is now juggling two tasks. The chief financial officer is one, and the mother is the other. As a result, their purchasing decisions will be affected by their position and function.

3. Personal factors: Personal factors can influence consumer behaviour. Lifestyle, economic status, occupation, age, personality, and self-esteem are all important factors that affect personal purchasing behaviour.

(a) Age: Their age and life stage may influence consumers’ buying behaviour. It is self-evident that consumers’ purchases of products and services change over time. The family life cycle is divided into stages, such as young, singles, married couples, and unmarried couples, which aids marketers in developing goods appropriate for each stage.

(b) Occupation: A person’s occupation directly affects purchasing habits. For example, a marketing manager at a company is attempting to purchase business suits, while a low-level employee at the same company is attempting to purchase work-resistant clothing.

(c) Economic Situation: The consumer’s financial situation significantly impacts purchasing decisions. If a customer’s income and savings are high, he or she may purchase more expensive goods. Furthermore, an individual with a low income and limited savings purchases low-cost goods.

(d) Lifestyle: Their lifestyle influences consumers’ important buying behaviour. How individuals live in a society and express themselves in their surroundings is called their lifestyle. It is shaped by the client’s desires, views, and behaviours, influencing their entire pattern of acting and engaging in the world.

(e) Personality: People’s personalities differ from one another, from one moment to the next and from one location to the next. As a result, it has a significant impact on consumer purchasing behaviour. Personality is the sum of a man’s actions in various situations, not just what he has. He possesses various traits, such as dominance, aggression, and trust, which can be used to predict how consumers will respond to a product or service.

4. Psychological Factors: Four significant psychological factors influence Consumers’ buying behaviour: perception, inspiration, understanding, values, and attitudes.

(a) Motivation: Customers’ buying behaviour is influenced by their level of motivation. Physiological, biological, social, and other needs are all unique to each person. Due to the requirements’ design, some specifications are more urgent than others. As a result, when a need is most pressing, it motivates the person to seek fulfilment.

(b) Perception: Perception is selecting, organising, and interpreting information to create a coherent worldview. Selective focus, selective distortion, and selective retention are three distinct perceptual mechanisms. Customers try to perceive facts in a way that confirms what they already believe in the case of selective attention. In contrast, sellers try to draw the customer’s attention in the case of selective distortion. In the same way, advertisers use selective retention to keep knowledge that confirms their views.

(c) Beliefs and Attitudes: Clients have their own beliefs and attitudes towards various items. Traders are interested in such values and behaviours because they shape brand awareness and influence consumer purchasing behaviour. Unique campaigns may help marketers shift customers’ perceptions and attitudes in this area. Customers versus Consumers:

The term ‘customer’ refers to a brand, company, or shop. It refers to a person who customarily or regularly purchases a particular brand, purchases a particular company’s product, or purchases from a particular shop. Thus a person who shops at Bata Stores or uses Raymond’s clothing is a customer of these firms. The ‘consumer’ is a person who generally engages in activities such as searching, selecting, using, and disposing of products, services, experiences, or ideas.

Need and Importance of Study of Consumer Behaviour:

Since we are all consumers, studying consumer behaviour benefits us all. Marketers must first consider their consumers to thrive and prosper in today’s dynamic marketing world. The following explanations emphasise the relevance of consumer behaviour research as a field of study.

The aim of studying a discipline is to improve one’s understanding of the contributions made by that discipline. The importance of consumer behaviour in people’s lives motivates researchers to investigate it. Most free time is spent shopping or doing other things in the marketplace. The spare time is usually spent learning about goods and services, discussing them with friends, and watching commercials. The way we use them tells a lot about how we live. All of these factors indicate that further research is needed. However, it’s possible that the aim is to address immediate and concrete issues. Decision-Making Relevance

Consumer behaviour is considered an applied discipline because their behaviour or intended behaviours directly impact certain decisions. Micro and social viewpoints are the two perspectives that aim to put their experience to use.

Micro insights include gaining a better understanding of customers to assist a consumer or corporation in achieving its goals. People who work in this sector aim to understand consumers so that they can be more successful at their jobs.

On the other hand, the social or macro view extends consumer awareness to the aggregate-level challenges confronting the masses or society as a whole. Consumer behaviour has a significant impact on quality and standard of living.

The need to study customer behaviour has a significant impact on marketing decisions. It provides valuable data and insight into what customers are thinking. Marketing companies may use these insights to improve their specific marketing strategies and engage with customers more effectively. The need to research customer behaviour benefits advertisers in a variety of ways, including the following:

1. Perception: Research into consumer behaviour helps marketers understand consumer expectations of a product or a collection of products. Identifying and correcting false perceptions about a product may offer marketers a competitive advantage.
2. Attitudes: Consumer attitudes often determine consumer views regarding specific goods. Consumer attitudes can help marketers tune their promotions to align with a specific consumer niche and expand their marketing scope.
3. Cultures: How marketing campaigns are planned is affected by changing population dynamics worldwide. By understanding cultural differences and subtleties, marketers can help better identify their target market.
4. Consumer lifestyles: Consumer lifestyles influence which goods appeal to which consumer markets. Understanding consumer lifestyles is also an important aspect of consumer behaviour because it allows advertisers to make the necessary appeals while marketing lifestyle goods and encouraging more use.
5. Experience: Customer reactions to specific goods, like consumer attitudes, are covered by experience. By observing consumer behaviour, marketing experts may tap into customer interactions with similar goods to encourage consumption and gain a competitive advantage over rivals.

Modern marketing management addresses consumers’ fundamental issues in the field of consumption. To compete in the market, a company must continually innovate and consider the latest customer needs and desires. This will be extremely helpful in taking advantage of marketing opportunities and overcoming the obstacles that the Indian market presents. Because of the following factors, marketers need to consider buyer conduct.

The study of consumer behaviour for any product is critical for advertisers who want to shape the fortunes of their companies.

• It is essential for regulating goods consumption and thus sustaining economic stability, developing methods for more efficient marketing resource utilization, and aiding in resolving marketing management issues.
• Consumers today place a higher value on environmentally friendly goods. They care for their food, hygiene, and fitness and prefer natural goods. As a result, every company must conduct extensive research on upcoming customer classes.
• The rise of the consumer rights movement has necessitated a greater understanding of consumers’ purchasing and consumption decisions.
• Consumer tastes and desires are constantly shifting. Consumer behaviour research provides information on colour, style, and size preferences. In other words, customer behaviour aids in the formulation of production policy.
• Understanding consumers’ behaviour is essential for successful market segmentation and target marketing.

Organizational Buyer versus Individual Buyer:

Bases	Consumer Buying Behavior	Organizational Buying Behavior
Purpose of Buying	Individual consumers buy goods and services to use or satisfy their needs. Their buying purpose is not to earn profit by reselling the goods and services.	Organizations buy goods and services for their business needs. Their buying purpose is to profit by using and reselling the goods and services.
Quantity	Although consumers buy various kinds of goods, the quantity of goods they buy remains small. They buy only the necessary quantity of goods for regular use.	Organizational buying is done in large quantities. There are several reasons why organizations must buy the goods they need in bulk. First, they use large quantities of each item and must maintain inventories high enough that they will not run out of stock. Second, it is cheaper and more efficient to make large-volume purchases.
Purchase Decision	Consumer buying involves decisions by consumers themselves. Sometimes, they can consult with family members and friends. They need not fulfil any formality, like organizational buying.	Organizational purchasing is a rational process because organizations’ purchasing behavior is guided by objective factors related to production and distribution. It takes longer than consumer buying.
Market Knowledge	Most consumers may not have adequate knowledge and information about the market situation, available goods and services, etc. The educated customers may be aware of the market and its goods.	Organizational purchase criteria are precisely defined. Organizational buyers usually have fewer brands to choose from than individuals, and their purchases must be evaluated based on criteria specific to the organization’s overall needs. The organizational buyers have full knowledge of the market and suppliers.
Types of Goods	Consumers buy many goods to use to satisfy personal or family needs.	Organizational buyers buy limited goods to use to conduct business.
Effect	Consumer buying behaviour is affected by age, occupation, income level, education, gender etc. of consumers.	Many individuals are involved in the buying process. Within large organizations, rarely is one individual solely responsible for the purchase of products for the purchase of products or services. Instead, many individuals and departments may be involved, and departments may be involved in the buying process.
Buying Process	The consumer buying process is very simple. There is no need to fulfil any formalities, and there is also no need to maintain extensive contact with sellers.	Buyers and sellers in the organizational market must maintain extensive contact.

Nature of Consumer Behaviour:

1. Process:

Consumer behaviour is a systemic process that involves consumers’ purchasing decisions. The steps in the purchasing process are as follows:

• identification of the product to be purchased;
• identification of the product to be purchased;
• identification of the product to be purchased;
• identification of the product to be purchased;
• identification of the
• Check for product-related information.
• Alternative brand names are included.
• Considering the alternatives (cost-benefit analysis) and making a purchasing decision, as well as the marketer’s post-purchase assessment.

2. Influenced by a Variety of Factors:

A variety of factors affect Consumer behaviour. Marketing, personal, psychological, situation-based, social, and cultural factors all influence consumers.

3. Different for all customers:

consumers do not all act in the same way. Consumers act in a variety of ways. Individual factors such as the essence of the customer’s lifestyle, history, and so on influence consumer behaviour.

4. Different Consumer Behavior for Different Products:

Consumer behaviour varies depending on the product. Some consumers can purchase a large quantity of one item while purchasing a small or no quantity of another.

5. Consumer Behavior is Region-Bounded:

Consumer behaviour differs across states, territories, and nations. Urban consumers, for example, behave differently from rural consumers, who are typically conservative (traditional) in their purchasing habits.

6. Vital for Marketers:

Marketers must thoroughly understand consumer behaviour. They must study the factors affecting their target customers’ consumer decisions. Based on this understanding, marketers may make effective marketing choices.

7. Reflects Status:

A consumer’s purchasing behaviour is affected by and reflects his or her status. Others consider those who own expensive vehicles, watches, and other products to be of higher status.

8. Spread-effect:

There is a spread effect in Consumer actions. One person’s purchasing habits can influence the purchasing habits of another. For example, a customer may purchase high-end clothes, watches, and other accessories. This may affect some of his relatives, neighbours, and coworkers. This is one of the reasons why brands employ celebrities like Shahrukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar to promote their products.

9. Standards Of living:

Consumer purchasing habits can contribute to a higher standard of living. The higher a person’s standard of living, the more goods and services he or she purchases.

10. Consumer Behaviour Changes Over Time:

Consumer behaviour changes over time due to age, education, and income level changes. For example, children may prefer brightly coloured skirts, but as they grow older and become teens and young adults, they may prefer fashionable clothing.

Changing Trends in Consumer Behaviour

Customer service’s fundamental values are timeless, but consumer preferences are not. Customers have always desired a friendly, effective, and dependable service, but their standards have risen as new technology has been developed.

They want a service that is more effective than before. They don’t only want to be treated with friendliness; they want to feel as though the service has been tailored specifically for them.

The adage “know your customers” holds today just as much as it did in the past. Since consumer behaviour constantly evolves, companies must remain aware of customer preferences.

Consumers of goods and services have developed certain habits or behaviours. Consumer trends track more than just what people buy and how much they spend. Details about how consumers use a product and interact with a brand through their social network can also be included in trend data.

According to Trend Hunter’s 2016 Trend Report, five trends that will change consumer behaviour are given below:

1. Automated Creation: Funding an idea has been made exponentially more accessible with crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter. However, a new cohort of businesses is being created, and they are looking forward to drawing upon vast, active communities in various industries to help produce a product. For example, if you’re keen on launching an app or website, Fifty Three Paper’s Mix app is where you should head first. A place where designers and artists come together, Mix is an endless resource for inspiration, offering a wide range of tutorials to advance your skills and templates to get your digital product off the ground.
2. Curated Dining: Ready-made is still not an excellent term, but that doesn’t mean consumers aren’t looking for shortcuts. Services like Chef’s Plate allow people to cook gourmet meals without all the fuss. The service ships ingredients and instructions so anyone can prepare a healthy homemade meal hand-selected by executive chef Jason Rosso of Milestones Canada.
3. Resource Sharing and Community Building: Consumers care about the global community and want to know that the brands they purchase from do, too. Social Feed is satisfying the push for responsible business by allowing brands to buy media that impact people’s lives in South Africa. Brands sign up for Social Feed and post advertisements or content they’d like shared. Consumers can pick which ads or pieces of content they’d like to post to their social networks, and for each share they complete, a meal goes to a child in need.

The more exposure for the brand, the more meals are distributed – it’s a feel-good situation all around. In 2016, we’ll see more businesses align with environmental, social and even political causes to appeal to mounting pressure for brands to stand for something more significant than their products authentically.

4. Streamlined Feedback: As the pace of consumer needs quickens, brands have to rely on new technologies to get feedback and insight about where they are, both over and underperforming and what they can push on. Co-operative Food’s smart shopping carts with tablets prompt shoppers to answer various questions ranging from their thoughts on store layout to sustainability. On the other hand, Shaftsbury uses I-Beacon technology to provide retailers with data such as the number of people who pass by their shop versus the number who go in to check it out.
5. Recognition Purchasing: Brick-and-mortar and e-commerce have fiercely competed over the past few years, but the line between the two has become increasingly blurred. One Canadian business is trying to take the shopping experience to the next level. Well.ca created a completely virtual store at Toronto’s Union Station, where passersby could scan the QR code of any product pictured on the wall to purchase. Slyce, another Canadian-based company, also provides consumers with a convenient way to purchase. Just take a picture of a product in a store; its visual product search technology will allow you to purchase that item from your Smartphone immediately.

The following are some of the most common changing consumer behaviour trends:

1. The concept of “fast” is evolving due to social media.

We’re all linked to a stream of real-time information, breaking news, and messages. We can share something on social media and receive immediate input from our mates. According to the Global Web Index, social networking accounts for 28% of all online time.

This has effectively reduced the time consumers expect a brand (or anyone) to respond to a message. When asking a question about a product or service, 66 percent of consumers expect a response the same day, and over 40% expect a response within an hour.

2. The online world is shifting our expectations of a company’s effectiveness.

A simple Google search will tell you about everything you need to find. As a result, consumers are impatient when businesses say they don’t know anything. Consumers expect businesses to have reliable stock statistics, delivery times, and customer records at their fingertips. With all this data and the technology to help it, consumers sometimes feel they have no reason to make a mistake.

3. The emergence of self-service has resulted in a generation of people who are content to support themselves.

Consumers are more likely than ever to try to fix their issues themselves, using self-checkouts, FAQ sites, and call centre IVR. This isn’t to say that they don’t want to speak to a live human, but it does mean that contact centres can save time and money by implementing self-service strategies.

4. The “always on” culture ensures that consumers demand service 24 hours a day, seven days a week (or as close as possible)

We live in an era where almost everyone carries a smartphone in their pocket, which connects them to almost every aspect of their lives. This is a computer that is still attached and on. We’ve grown accustomed to finding content, communicating with whoever we want, and even listening to whatever music we want at any time. Consumers do not anticipate having to break this habit to support a company. Consumers demand longer operating hours and weekend service, even though 24/7 call centres are not feasible.

5. E-commerce has become the standard, and customers no longer need to be charged for convenience.

When e-commerce first started, shipping costs were expected. They were an unavoidable part of the online shopping experience. Now that online services are commonplace, paying for anything like delivery seems unfair. Consumers now expect free next-day delivery as a matter of course.

6. Customers demand channel service because of their channel or system hopping habits.

Customers are drawn to a brand rather than a department. They don’t understand why a call centre agent can’t recall a previous day’s Twitter exchange with the brand. This is important since 60% of consumers switch communication channels depending on where and what they are doing. Consumers should enjoy quality support as they switch platforms, and the experience should feel like one big conversation.

7. Consumers now feel more inspired as a result of social media.

Thanks to social media, consumers can now share their views with a larger audience than ever. Some shoppers also have a greater social media presence than brands. However, the average consumer has at least 150 Facebook friends and 140 Twitter followers. Today, businesses must address an audience of audiences; get it right, and their message could spread like wildfire; get it wrong, and it could be a PR catastrophe. As a result of all of this, many consumers now feel more inspired. They understand that if they complain publicly on social media, they are more likely to receive a favourable response than if they complain privately.

8. Consumers demand personalised service in today’s data-driven online environment.

From social media to how Google personalises our search results, the online experience is now personalised. It’s only natural for customer service to be customised as well. Consumers anticipate that you will remember them. They expect to be treated as a person rather than a number. In reality, this means the agents would need access to their contact background, purchasing patterns, and preferences.

9. Customers expect the site and customer support to be “mobile-friendly” because of our mobile-first culture.

Mobile technology is evolving the way we live. It constantly connects us to people, brands, and knowledge. Every part of your customer experience should be mobile-friendly, from your website to customer service. Mobile shopping and service are no longer an option but a requirement.

10. Customers expect you to be “listening” on social media.

All is out in the open with social media. Because of this “open book” approach to socialising, brands are expected to track any references on social media and react appropriately. Consumers expect brands to be heard and ready to answer, whether it’s a direct complaint letter or just a mention.

Consumers may have higher expectations of brands than previously, but with the right technology, any company can meet (and exceed) those expectations. Make the customer experience a priority now that customer support is the most significant competitive differentiator, and you’ll reap the benefits fast.

Consumer and Customer:

A consumer typically engages in any or all of the activities mentioned in the definition. Traditionally, consumers have been defined strictly regarding economic goods and services involving a monetary exchange. Over time, this concept has been broadened. Some scholars also include goods and services where a monetary transaction is not involved, and thus, the users of voluntary organisations’ services are also considered consumers. Organisations such as UNICEF, CRY, or political groups can view their public as “consumers.”

The consumer is used for personal and organisational consumers and represents two different consuming entities. The personal consumer buys goods and services for her or his personal use (such as cigarettes), for household consumption (such as sugar and furniture), or just one member of the family (such as a pair of shoes for the son), or a birthday present for a friend (such as a pen set). In all these instances, the goods are bought for final use, referred to as “end users” or “ultimate consumers.”

The other consumer category is the organisational consumer, which includes profit and not-for-profit organisations. Government agencies and institutions (such as local or state government, schools, hospitals etc.) buy the products, equipment and services required to run these organisations. Manufacturing firms buy raw materials to produce and sell their goods. They buy advertising services to communicate with their customers. Similarly, advertising service companies buy equipment to provide the services they sell. Government agencies buy office products needed for everyday operations. This book focuses on studying the behaviours of individual consumers, groups and organisations who buy products, services, ideas, experiences, etc., for personal, household, or organisational use to satisfy their needs.

Anyone who regularly purchases from a store or a company is termed a “customer” of that store or company. Thus, a customer is typically defined as a specific store or company.

Buyers and Users:

The person who buys a particular product may not necessarily be the user or the only user of this product. Likewise, it is also true that the person who purchases the product may not be the decision-maker. For example, the father buys a bicycle for his school-going son (the son is the user), or he buys a pack of toothpaste (used by the entire family), or the mother is the decision maker when she buys a dress for her three-year-old daughter. The husband and wife may buy a car (both agree). It is clear that in all cases, buyers are not necessarily the users of the products they buy. They also may not be the persons who make the product selection decisions. Whenever consumer behaviour occurs in the context of a multi-person household, several different tasks or roles, as mentioned in the table below, may be performed in acquiring and consuming a product or service. Different household members can perform each of the roles singly or collectively. For example, when deciding which videocassette to rent for entertainment, parents might decide on the movie. Still, children may play a role directly by making their preferences known or indirectly when parents keep the children’s likes in mind. One parent may go to the store to get the video, but the entire family may watch it.

Origin and Development in the Field of Consumer Behaviour:

The study of consumer behaviour has emerged as a significant and distinct branch of the marketing discipline for various reasons. Consumer behaviour did not always follow economic theory, according to marketing consumers. The consumer demand was enormous in all developed and rapidly developing economies worldwide. Many consumers were spending a lot of money on goods and services. Aside from that, consumer tastes were changing and becoming increasingly diverse. Also, in industrial markets, where the demand for products and services is more homogeneous, consumers’ tastes were diversifying, and they, too, were displaying less predictable purchasing behaviour.

Marketing experts researching consumer purchasing behaviour quickly realised that, although there were many parallels, consumers were not all alike. Many consumers preferred highly differentiated goods that fulfilled their specific needs and mirrored their personalities and lifestyles over “me too” products.

These findings led to the market segmentation definition, which entailed dividing the total heterogeneous yet potentially lucrative market into smaller homogeneous groups or segments for which a particular marketing mix could be developed. They often used positioning tactics and created advertising consumers to change the reputation of their goods so that they were seen as a great way to meet the unique needs of specific consumer segments.

Shorter product life cycles, increased environmental issues, interest in consumer welfare, the growth of services marketing, the opening up of foreign markets, and the advent of computers and advanced statistical research techniques were all important factors in developing consumer behaviour as a marketing discipline.

Development of Marketing Concept:

The marketing paradigm emerged in the late 1950s, and it is deeply rooted in the area of consumer behaviour.

Following WWII, there was a surge in demand for almost all types of products, and the marketing philosophy was to manufacture low-cost goods and distribute them as widely as possible. This strategy worked well for advertisers because demand outstripped supply, and consumers were more concerned with getting the product than with unique features.

This strategy is known as development orientation. It is focused on the premise that consumers would purchase what is already available rather than wait for what they want. The marketer is uninterested in learning about consumer desires.

The next stage is product orientation, meaning consumers will purchase the product with the best performance and features. The organisation makes every effort to increase the quality of its products. The emphasis is on the commodity rather than what consumers want. Professor Levitt coined “marketing myopia” to describe this undue emphasis on product quality. We see this in highly competitive markets, where certain businesses keep adding needless features to attract consumers by passing their costs on to them.

Selling orientation developed naturally as a result of manufacturing and product orientation. The marketer is mainly concerned with selling the commodity that it has chosen to manufacture on its own. The premise behind this strategy is that unless consumers are consciously and vigorously motivated to do so, they will not purchase enough of this commodity. This strategy, known as “hard sell,” involves convincing consumers to purchase something they don’t want or need. The problem with this strategy is that it ignores the importance of consumer satisfaction. This sometimes results in consumer frustration and unhappiness, which is likely to spread through word-of-mouth to other potential customers, preventing them from purchasing the product.

Marketers soon realised they could easily sell more if they only manufactured products they had first confirmed consumers would purchase. As a result, the marketer’s primary emphasis shifted to consumer needs and desires. The marketing philosophy was born out of this consumer-oriented marketing strategy. The central premise of the marketing philosophy is that a business must identify the needs and desires of its target audiences and then provide the desired satisfactions more efficiently and effectively than the competition. This is the secret to marketing success.

Disciplines Involved in the Study of Consumer Behaviour:

Consumer behaviour was a relatively new area of study during the second half of the 1960s, and it had little background or analysis. It is, in effect, a subset of human behaviour, and distinguishing between consumer-related behaviour and other aspects of human behaviour can be difficult. Consumer behaviour is strongly influenced by ideas developed in other research fields, such as psychology, sociology, social psychology, cultural anthropology, and economics.

1. Psychology:

Human psychology studies motivation, cognition, behaviour, personality, and learning theories. These variables are important in understanding consumer behaviour because they help us understand people’s purchasing desires, attitudes, and reactions to various advertising messages and items and how their experiences and personality traits affect product choices.

2. Sociology:

Sociology is the science of people in communities. Individuals’ behaviours when they join groups are often very different from those of those same individuals when they operate alone. Group memberships, family, and social status are essential when studying consumer behaviour.

3. Social Psychology:

Social psychology is a branch of sociology and psychology that examines how people interact in groups. It also investigates how individuals’ consumption behaviour is influenced by others whose views they value, such as peers, comparison groups, their communities, and opinion leaders.

4. Cultural anthropology:

Cultural anthropology is the study of people in their social environments. It examines how people’s fundamental beliefs, values, and customs are passed down from their parents and ancestors and how they affect their purchasing and consumption habits. It also investigates subcultures and compares consumers from various nationalities and cultures.

5. Economics:

One of the most critical aspects of economics is the study of how consumers spend their money, compare alternatives, and make choices to maximize their purchases.

Although consumer behaviour is a relatively new study area, it has evolved enormously and has become a full-fledged discipline in its own right. It is included in the study of most marketing programmes.

Many companies in developed countries, especially the United States, embraced and adopted the marketing idea, which sparked interest in consumer behaviour research. To recognise unmet consumer needs, businesses had to conduct comprehensive market research. Marketers discovered that consumers were highly complex as people had very different psychological and social needs, in addition to their survival needs, as a result of this process. They also discovered that different consumer groups had very different needs and preferences. They realised that to formulate products and create marketing strategies that would meet consumer desires; they needed first to conduct extensive research on consumers and their consumption habits. Market segmentation and marketing definition paved the way for consumer behaviour concepts to be applied to marketing strategies in this way.

Strategic Applications of Consumer Behaviour:

Consumer behaviour concepts are used in a variety of marketing situations, as seen below:

1. Market opportunity analysis:

A consumer behaviour study may assist in identifying unmet consumer needs and desires. This necessitates thoroughly examining business patterns, circumstances, consumer lifestyles, income levels, and emerging factors. This could expose unmet needs and desires. The rise in the number of dual-income households and a greater focus on convenience and leisure has increased demand for household appliances such as washing machines, mixer grinders, vacuum cleaners, and childcare centres, among other things. Mosquito repellents were developed in response to an unmet consumer need.

2. Selecting a target market:

Analyzing market opportunities will also help identify distinct consumer groups with very specific desires and needs. The marketer will design and market goods or services that are specifically tailored to these groups’ wants and needs by identifying them, understanding how they act, and making purchasing decisions.

3. Marketing Mix Decision:

Product, price, distribution, and promotion decisions: After establishing unmet needs and desires, the marketer must decide on the best product, price, distribution, and promotion combination. Consumer behaviour research can also be helpful in determining the responses to several perplexing questions.

(a) Product: The marketer creates a product or service that fulfils unmet needs or desires. Size, shape, and features are all aspects of the product that need to be considered. The marketer must also decide about packaging, essential aspects of operation, warranties, and accessories.

(b) Price: Price is the second most significant part of the marketing mix. Marketers must determine the price of the good or service. These decisions affect the company’s sales flow. About the competition, should the marketer charge the same, higher, or lower price? Is the consumer price sensitive, and can lower the price boost sales? Is there any chance of a price reduction? Do consumers consider a lower price to be a sign of bad quality?

To answer such questions, a marketer must understand how consumers view the company’s product, price value as a purchasing decision variable, and how different price levels impact sales. A marketer can expect to find answers to these critical questions only by studying consumer behaviour in real-world purchasing conditions.

(c) Distribution: The next step is to choose a distribution system or where and how to sell goods and services. Can the goods be available in all retail outlets or only a few? Should the marketer rely solely on existing outlets that sell rival brands, or should new exclusive outlets dedicated solely to the marketer’s brands be established? Is it necessary for consumers to know where retail outlets are located? Should the business consider direct marketing?

Consumer behaviour analysis provides the answers to these concerns.

(d) Promotion: Promotion refers to consumer marketing communications. Advertisements, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, and direct marketing are the most effective promotion methods. The marketer must determine which approach is best for effectively reaching consumers. Should ads be done separately or in conjunction with sales promotion? The organisation must know the target audience, their venue, what media they access, and their media habits, among other consumers.

In most cases, industrial goods receive little to no advertisement. Clients are often sent technical requirements brochures, and salespeople make follow-up visits. Consumer goods receive the most significant amount of ads. Personal sale is used primarily by the pharmaceutical industry for prescription drugs. Advertisement and personal selling are both used by insurance firms.

4. Use of social and non-profit marketing:

Consumer behaviour research will help social, governmental, and non-profit organisations develop marketing campaigns to make programmes like family planning, AIDS awareness, crime against women, safe driving, environmental issues, and others more successful. Consumer behaviour awareness is used by UNICEF (greeting cards), the Red Cross, and CRY, among others, to sell their programmes and goods and to encourage people to help these organisations.

General Model of Consumer Behaviour:

Input-Processing-Output Model is another name for this model. The consumer decision process is a set of activities and decision-making steps that culminate in a purchasing function. It exemplifies a problem-solving strategy. This is the most basic paradigm for explaining consumer decision-making. The mechanism is similar to any other processing operation involving three variables: inputs, processing, and outputs. The consumer information-processing box (the ‘black box’) receives inputs in a marketing programme’s product, price, location, and promotion sections and produces a collection of outputs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several consumer behaviour models representing the purchasing process have been established over the last few decades. Both models view the consumer as a decision-maker who comes to the market to solve his consumption issues and meet his needs. The most basic model consists of three stages: input, processing, and output.

The consumer receives input in the form of a collection of stimuli in the market. Two stimulus variables provide it: the firm’s marketing efforts and the social climate. The firm’s marketing efforts aim to expose, inform, and influence consumers meaningfully. These activities include the product/service, advertisements, pricing strategies, distribution networks, and all marketing functions in general. When a company launches a new brand of detergent powder or a television set, it can run a series of radio commercials and supporting press ads. The social environment is a non-commercial source of consumer knowledge and power that the company does not directly regulate. It includes individuals and comparison groups, family members, social classes and castes, history, and other factors. All of these stimuli affect consumers and their purchasing decisions.

Consumers obtain input factors and process information through a deep psychological process of information processing, evaluating alternative information inputs, comparing each input’s attributes with anticipated consumer benefits, and eventually making a decision. A decision is a mental rule that helps you devise a solution to a difficult consumption problem. In the next section of the chapter, we’ll go through the stages of information processing. Consumers can also retrieve information from their memory box and combine it with information gathered from external sources to process data and devise a solution to a consumption problem. The consumer’s mind is referred to as a black box because of its capacity to capture, analyse, retrieve, and apply a mental rule to make a decision.

The end product of the information processing stage is the output factors. These can take the form of positive word-of-mouth among potential consumers, leading to a brand trial or complete acceptance of the brand for all buying situations. The performance results are used to assess the efficacy of a marketing campaign.