MARKETING TO
CONSUMERS
TOPIC 5
Learning Objectives :
2-1 Consumer Buying Behaviour
2.2 Consumer Buying Decision-Making Process
2.3 Factors influencing Consumer Buying Behaviour
Learning Objective 2.1
Consumer Buying Behaviour
Consumer Markets and Buyer
Behavior
Consumer buyer behavior is the buying behavior
of final consumers—individuals and households that
buy goods and services for personal consumption.
Consumer markets are made up of all the
individuals and households that buy or acquire goods
and services for personal consumption.
Learning Objective 2.2
Consumer Buying
Decision-Making
Process
Consumer decision-making
process
Evaluation Post-
Need Information of Purchase
purchase
Recognition Search alternatives decision
behaviour
Consumer decision-making
process
1. Need recognition:- consumer buying decision process starts with need recognition. The marketer
must recognize the needs of the consumer as well as how these needs can be satisfied. For example
if a person is hungry then food is desired or if it is a matter of thirst than water is desirable.
2. Information search:– in consumer buying decision process information search comes at second
number. In this stage consumer searches the information about the product either from family, friends,
neighborhood, advertisements, whole seller, retailers, dealers, or by examining or using the product.
3. Evaluation of alternatives:– after getting the required knowledge about the product the consumer
evaluate the various alternatives on the basis of it’s want satisfying power, quality and it’s features.
Involvement is another factor that influences the evaluation process. For example, if the customer’s
attitude is positive and involvement is high, then they will evaluate a number of companies or brands;
but if it is low, only one company or brand will be evaluated.
Consumer decision-making
process
4. Purchase decision:– after evaluating the alternatives the buyer buys the suitable product. But
there are also the chances to postpone the purchase decision due to some reasons. In that case
the marketer must try to find out the reasons and try to remove them either by providing sufficient
information to the consumers or by giving them guarantee regarding the product to the consumer.
5. Post purchase behavior:– after buying the product consumer will either be satisfied or
dissatisfied. If the consumer is not satisfied in that case he will be disappointed otherwise If he is
satisfied than he will be delighted. It is usually said that a satisfy consumer tell about the product
to 3 people and a dissatisfy consumer tell about the product to 11 people. Therefore it is the duty
of the marketer to satisfy the consumer.
Consumer decision making process
example
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior
CULTURAL
Culture Is the set of basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviors
learned by a member of society from family and other
important institutions
Subculture Are groups of people within a culture with shared value
systems based on common life experiences and situations
Social Class Are society’s relatively permanent and ordered
divisions whose members share similar values,
interests, and behaviors.
Measured as a combination of occupation, income,
education, wealth, and other variables
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior
SOCIAL
Groups and Membership Groups- Groups with direct influence and to
social networks which a person belongs
Aspirational Groups- Groups an individual wishes to
belong to
Reference Groups- Groups that form a comparison or
reference in forming attitudes or behavior
Social Network - Online social networks, Buzz marketing,
Social media sites, Virtual worlds, Word of mouth and
Opinion leaders
Family is the most important consumer-buying organization in
society.
Roles and can be defined by a person’s position in a group.
status
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior
PERSONAL
Age and life-cycle People change the product that they buy over their lifetime. They will
stage demand and consume different products as their age increases.
Consumer buying behavior is also influenced by the stage of the
family life cycle i.e. single, married without children and married with
children. Each stage creates different consumer demands.
Occupation A person's occupation affects the goods and service bought.
Economic situation Marketers watch trends in Spending, Personal income, Savings and
Interest rates
Lifestyle People coming from the same subculture, social class and occupation
may have quite different lifestyles. Lifestsyle is a person’s way of
living as reflected by his/her activities, interests and opinions (AIO)
Personality and Refers to the unique psychological characteristics that
self-concept distinguish a person or group. The idea is that brands also
have personalities, and consumers are likely to choose
brands with personalities that match their own. A brand
personality is the specific mix of human traits that may be
attributed to a particular brand
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Motivational A person has many needs at any given time. A need becomes
motive when is aroused to a sufficient level of intensity. A
MOTIVE is a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the
person to seek satisfaction. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs)
Perception is the process by which people select, organize, and interpret
information to form a meaningful picture of the world.
Learning Is a process that creates changes in behaviour, immediate or
expected, through experience and practice.
Beliefs and Marketers are interested in the beliefs that people
attitudes formulate about specific products and services because
these beliefs make up product and brand images that
affect buying behavior. If some of the beliefs are wrong
and prevent purchase, the marketer will want to launch a
campaign to correct them.
