Consumer Behaviour
Meaning Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behavior is the study of how customer, groups of organizations select, buy, use and dispose idea, goods and services to satisfy there needs and want. It refers to the action of the customer in the marketplace and the underline motivates for those action.
Understanding consumer behaviour helps in identifying whom to target, how to target, when to reach them and what message is to be given to them to reach the target audience to buy the product.
Studying consumer behavior helps companies to understand decision to buy was met and how they hunted for the product. This information helps companies and business manager to know the reason behind the purchase of rejection of a product or service by the customer.
Another nature of behavior analyzed is consumers are influenced by different factors like family, culture, friends, lifestyle and many more. Most customers tend to buy product or services from a particular brand they may like for specific reasons.
In this case, it develops brand loyalty towards these organizations.
Nature of Consumer Behaviour
1. Influenced by various factors:-
i) Marketing factor:- Such as product design, price, promotion, packaging, Position, distribution.
ii) Personal factor:- Such as age, gender and income level.
iii) Psychological factor:- Buying motives, perception of the product and attitudes to the product.
iv) Situational factor:- Such as physical surrounding at the time of purchase, social surroundings and time factors.
v) Social factors:- Social status, reference groups and family.
vi) Cultural factor:- Religion, social class, cast and sub-cast.
2. Undergoes a constant change:- Consumer behaviour is not static. It undergoes a change over a period of time depending on the nature of product. For example, kids prefer colorful and fancy footwear, but as they grow up as teenagers and young adults, they prefer trendy footwear, and a middle age and senior citizen, they prefer more sober footwear.
3. Varies from consumer to consumer:- All consumers do not behave in the same manner. Different customer behave differently. The differently in consumer behavior are due to individual factors such as the nature of the consumer, lifestyle and culture. For example, some consumer are technology, They go on a shopping and spread beyond their means.
4. Varies from region to region and country to country:- The consumer behavior varies across states, region and countries. For example, the behaviour of the urban consumer is different from that of the rural consumer. A good number of rural consumer are conservative in their buying behaviours.
5. Information on consumer behavior is important to the marketers:- Marketers need to have a good knowledge of the consumer behavior. They need to study the various factors that influence the consumer behaviour of their target customers.
6. Lead to purchase decision:- A positive consumer behavior leads to a purchase decision. A consumer may take the decision of buying a product on the basis of different buying motives. The purchase decision leads to higher demand and the sales of the marketers increase. Therefore, marketers need to influence consumer behavior to increase their purchases.
7. Varies from product to product:- Consumer behavior is different from different products. These are some consumer who may more quantity of certain item. For example, teenagers may spend heavily on product such as cell phones and branded wears and snob appeal, but may not spend on general and academic reading. A middle-aged person may spend less on clothing but may invest money in savings, insurance schemes, pension scheme and so on.
8. Improves standard of living:- The buying behavior of the consumers may lead to higher standard of living. The more a person buys the goods and services, the higher is the standard of living. But if a person’s spend less on goods and services, despite having a good income, they deprives themselves of higher standard of living.
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Importance/Significance of Consumer Behaviour
1. Realistic implementation of the marketing concept:- The modern marketing concept is consumer oriented. To give a realistic implementation to the concept, a study of consumer behavior is imperative. More specifically, a study of consumer behavior is a must for developing an ideal marketing-mix; which is the cornerstone of the concept of marketing.
2. Planning product differentiation and market segmentation:- For planning product differentiation strategies (i.e. making the product so differentiated and unique that consumer may be tempted to buy only the product due to its unique features); a study of consumer behavior is very significant and necessary.
Again for designing schemes of market segmentation (a process of diving a potential market into distinct sub-market of consumer with common needs and characteristics), a study of consumer behavior is very necessary.
3. Selection of distribution channels:- A study of consumer behavior not only includes what consumers buy; but also the source from where they buy. For example, men of status in society may never buy things from ordinary shops and ordinary markets. They would prefer to buy from prestigious stores and markets; even though they may have to pay a higher price and so on for various categories of consumer.
4. Designing promotional techniques:- Promotional techniques including advertising, message and media, personal selling approaches and special sales promotional device. Designing promotional techniques is much facilitated by a study of consumer behavior; which may through light on the psychology of people as to the factors which affect their buying decisions.
5. Trade-off between price and quality:- A study of consumer behaviour is likely to reveal whether target consumers of the enterprise emphasize more on the price of the product or its quality.
Factors affecting in consumer behavior
Consumer behavior is influenced by several factors. Here are five key ones:
1. Psychological Factors – These include perception, motivation, learning, beliefs, and attitudes that shape consumer decisions. For example, a consumer’s perception of a brand’s quality influences their purchasing choice.
2. Social Factors – Family, friends, social media, and cultural influences play a major role in buying decisions. Consumers often seek recommendations from peers before making a purchase.
3. Personal Factors – Age, lifestyle, occupation, income, and personality affect consumer choices. For instance, younger consumers may prefer trendy fashion, while older consumers may prioritize comfort.
4. Cultural Factors – Culture, subcultures, and societal norms shape consumer preferences. For example, food preferences vary significantly across cultures.
5. Economic Factors – Income levels, economic conditions, and pricing impact purchasing power. Consumers are more likely to buy luxury goods during economic booms and focus on essentials during recessions.
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