CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The Consumer Market comprises all individuals and households who buy or acquire goods and services for personal consumption.

•  Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of final consumers (individuals &        households) who buy goods and services for personal consumption.

• We need to understand consumer behavior to answer the question: “How do consumers respond to marketing efforts the company might use?”

THE BUYING DECISION PROCESS

The Buying Decision Process comprises five steps:

• Need recognition
•  Information search
•  Evaluation of alternatives
•  Purchase decision
•  Post purchase behavior / evaluation

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Personal Factors

•  Age – linked to the types of products (categories) that people buy and use

•  Life cycle stage – see details given below

•  Occupation – certain occupations require people to buy and consume specific products such as types of apparel, accessories, equipment etc

• Economic situation – linked to the price people can afford to pay, and hence categories that are purchased and the brands that are selected within those categories

•  Personality & Self Concept – see details given below

•  Life style identification – linked to occupation, economic situation etc

Life Cycle Stages

1. Single / Bachelor: not living at home; low total income but high discretionary income, few financial burdens; influenced by peer reference groups; buy basic furniture, kitchen items, clothes, vehicles, accessories…
2. Newly Married Couples: young, no kids; financially better than they will be in near future; buy vehicles, durables, holidays, insurance, financial products…
3.  Full Nest I: youngest child under six; low savings, low liquid assets; spending focused on children’s needs; may purchase homes
4.  Full Nest II: youngest child over six; improved financial position, wives may resume earning; children’s needs still dominate spending
5.  Full Nest III: older couples with dependent children; older children at work / higher education; more wives earning; buy expensive furniture, holidays, durables
6.  Empty Nest I: older married couple , no children at home; head of family still employed, income at highest level, low expenses; home ownership at peak; buy luxuries, home improvements, recreation, travel, self education
7. Empty Nest II: older married couple , no children at home; head of family retired, significant decrease in income, concern about savings, pensions; spend on medical care, health, some hobbies & pastimes
8. Solitary Survivor: still working, income adequate; worries about savings, security, dependence; may sell family home and buy smaller property; spend on some pastimes
9. Solitary Survivor, Retired: significant cut in income; high medical expense; need attention, affection, assistance in personal & financial affairs

Personality & Self Concept

•  Personality: a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that leads to relatively consistent and      enduring responses to environmental stimuli, including buying behaviour.

•  Personality: often described in terms of self confidence, dominance, deference, sociability, defensiveness, adaptability…

•  Personality can be a useful factor in analysing brand choices – consumer likely to select brands whose personalities match their own

•  Brand Personality: a specific mix of human traits that can be attribute to a specific brand: sincere, exciting, sophisticated, rugged, competent…

•  Actual Self Concept: how we perceive ourselves

•  Ideal Self Concept: how we would like to view ourselves

•  Others’ Self Concept: how we think others see us.

Psychological Factors

•  Motivation: a need becomes a motive when it is strong enough to propel us to act, to seek satisfaction
•  Perception: process by which we select, organize and interpret information to form a picture of the  world
•  Learning: changes in behavior arising from experience
•  Beliefs: a descriptive thought about something
•  Attitudes: consistent / enduring favorable / unfavorable evaluations, feelings, and tendencies towards something

Family

The family is the most important consumer buying unit in any society or market in terms of the variety of the item purchased.and volumes. Family members are usually the most important or influential primary reference groups regarding consumption patterns.

The family of orientation consists of parents and siblings who have a strong influence on consumptions habits that lasts a lifetime while the family of procreation comprises the spouse and children where the issue of dominance and influence of purchases and consumption patterns need to be analyzed and understood by marketers.

Reference Groups

• Reference group: group of people with whom a person associates and who influence that person's attitudes, values, behavior, consumption habits. Membership groups are those that have a direct influence.
• A primary group consists of people with whom an individual has continuous informal interaction, such as family, friends, neighbors, colleagues.
• Secondary groups comprise religious bodies, professional associations, trade unions, etc
• Aspirational groups are those a person hopes to join.
• A dissociative group is one whose values or behavior a person rejects and hence tends to avoid such people and groups. 

Social Role & Status

• Role: Activites a person is expected to perform
• Status : Each Role a person is expected to perform
• People select products & Brands that reflect their role and actual / desired status in society
• Marketers need to be aware of the status symbol potential of products and brands

Cultural Factors

• Culture: The fundemantal determinant of a person's want's and behavoir acquired through socialization processes with the family  and other key institutions - it comprises a set of values, knowledge perceptions,  preferences, etc.
• Sub-Culture: susbset of culture, comprising of sub-groups of Individuals who have similar value and behavior patterns within the group  but differ from those in other sub-groups - religions, racial groups, special interest groups, etc    .
• Social Class: Relatively homogeneous, enduring divisions in society, hierarchically ordered with members sharing the same values, interests, behavior.