Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Understanding Consumer
Behaviour
Consumer Behaviour is the study of how
individuals make decisions to spend their
available resources(time,money,effort) on
consumption related items.
What they buy? How they use and dispose
the products?
When they buy?
Why they buy?
Where they buy,How often?
Factors influencing consumer
behavior
Cultural factors
Social factors
Personal factors
Psychological factors
Cultural factors
Individual buying pattern is affected by his culture
Subculture has more specific identification
Culture affects buying behaviour
Eggless cakes for Jains ,Alcohol free products
offered to Gulf countries.
Purchase of gold on Padwa – Indian culture
Marathi Ads are aired to cater to the vast majority
of people in the state
French –particular about their language
Social factors
Family ,friends, formal social groups,
colleagues, consumer action groups influence
the consumer buying behavior significantly.
Family : Family of orientation –one’s parents
and siblings
Family of Procreation-spouse and children
Newly wed couples buy honeymoon packages
Husbands have started taking keen interest in
housekeeping , cooking due to rising proportion
of working women
Social factors
groups
They have Reference a direct /indirect influence
on a person’s behavior
Primary reference groups
1.Membership Group: Members of Swadeshi
/Gandhigiri club
2.Aspirational group-whom one aspires to
join !
3.Disclaimant group- Being a member
dislikes the values
4.Avoidance /dissociative group- not a
member and dislikes their attitudes &
behaviour
Social factors
Secondary reference groups
Opinion leaders –special skills
,knowledge , personality
Identify media read /tuned to by
opinion leaders
E.g: kitchenware –Housewife is the
best opinion leader
Personal Factors
Age
Easy to digest and eat –old age
Low fat low calorie –health conscious adults
Sweet meat –young adolescents
Stage in lifecycle
Divorce, remarriage , widowhood …life
circumstances have an effect on consumer
behavior.
Personal factors
Occupation and financial status
Blue collared worker –Lunch box, work clothes,
work shoes. White collared executives –
laptop,travel,adventure
Personality , self concept, Lifestyle affect buying
behavior e.g. Choice of apparel ,Real estate,
home appliances, automobiles
Personality –psychological characteristics that
give enduring & consistent responses to the
environment
Psychological Factors
Motivation : Why one buys and when?
Perception : interpret information to create
meaningful picture of the world.
Understanding Customer’s perception
would help marketers creating a proper
image around the brand (Positioning)
Beliefs and attitudes
Learning – test rides , free samples are aimed
at changing attitudes towards the product
Buying Roles
Initiator – gives the idea of purchasing the
product
Influencer- advices and influences the
purchase decision
Decider – a person who decides – where
,when , how to buy a product
Buyer – actually purchases the product
User – final beneficiary who uses the product
Maintainer- repairs /services the product
Disposer – a person who disposes the
product
Buying Behaviour
Extensive problem solving buying behavior
Expensive and infrequently purchased products
Consumers collect a lot of data
High involvement product
Marketers must differentiate their brand to stay
ahead of competition
Marketers must help customers know the
brand
E.G : Washing machine, music system,
automobiles
Buying behaviour
Routine buying behavior.
Routine purchases
Low involvement products – Salt
In case the customer reaches for the same
brand, it is due to habit and not brand
loyalty necessarily
Buying behaviour
Variety Seeking behavior
Need for variety is felt by the consumer
Brand switching for variety than
satisfaction reasons
E.g: Cookies
Buying behavior
Impulse buying behavior
On the spot decision
Instantaneous purchase
Marketers lure customers through free gifts
,discounts.
In store displays-danglers, banners, cut
outs…Point of purchase communication
Sensory Branding
Buying decision Process
Problem /need recognition
Information search
Evaluation of alternatives
Purchase decision