MARK 40013 Consumer Behavior
MARK 40013 Consumer Behavior
MARK 40013 Consumer Behavior
COMPILED BY:
OVERVIEW:
This course is about the behavior of a consumer, how he acts and behaves in a given
situation especially in the business settings. It discusses the factors that determine his buying
decision such as social influences, households and social class influences, his values,
personality and lifestyle. It also tackles the marketing ethics and social responsibility in today’s
consumer society.
The students under this course will develop knowledge on the different behavior that
consumer of the particular product practiced in the organization. It is widely classified the
discussion on the factors that determine buying influences. The organization can also acts as
agent in practicing how the behavior can greatly affect its consumption.
The last part of the course will conduct a simple research on one particular topic that
focusing into the behavior of one particular group of consumers. The output of the course will
be the new knowledge coming from a research and how it will help the organization in satisfying
the needs and wants of the consumer of a certain product in one industry.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Apply the definition of consumer behavior in the buying process of a certain product.
2. Assess the reasons why do people study consumer behavior.
3. Adapt the characteristics affecting consumer behavior especially in the buying process.
COURSE MATERIALS:
Consumer Behavior is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select,
purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and
desires.
Consumer behavior explains the reasons and logic that underlie purchasing decisions and
consumption patterns; it explains the processes through which buyers make decisions. It
includes the interplay between cognition, affect and behavior that goes on within a consumer
during the consumption process: selecting, using and disposing of goods and services.
Affect: “feelings”
The term customer‘ is specific in terms of brand, company, or shop. It refers to person who
customarily or regularly purchases particular brand, purchasesparticular company‘s product, or
purchases from particular shop. Thus a person who shops at Bata Stores or who uses
Raymonds clothing is a customer of these firms. Whereas the consumer‘ is a person who
generally engages in the activities - search, select, use and dispose of products, services,
experience, or ideas.
INITIATOR - Individual who determines that some need or want is not being met and initiates
purchase behaviour to rectify the situation
USER -The person most directly involved in the consumption of the purchase
Types of Consumers
Personal Consumers-These types of consumers are individual consumers who purchase goods
for the sole purpose of personal, family or household use.
Impulse Buyers- Impulse buyers are consumers who make unplanned buying decisions.
Impulse buyers make swift buying decisions and immediately purchase when they 'connect' with
the product and its features. There is often some kind of emotional appeal.
Need Based Consumers-Need based consumers are those types of consumers who buy goods
and services when they need them and not any other time. Many of the products in a hardware
store, for instance, are sold to need based consumers.
Discount Driven Consumers- Discount driven consumers are the type of consumers who
purchase goods and services primarily for the discounts on offer. They may not engage in any
buying activity until they hear or see large discounts being offered on products they like.
Habitual Consumer- Habitual consumers are those who feel compelled to use certain brands or
types of goods.
It has been established that the consumer buying behavior is the outcome of the needs and
wants of the consumer and they purchase to satisfy these needs and wants. (Kacen. J. J.)
Consumer’s interest to purchase a product or service always depends on the willingness to buy
and at the same time ability to pay for the product. Though they are willingness and ability to
pay then also the consumers change their buying decisions because of the influence of various
factors.
There are five various factors that influence the consumer’s buying decision. These are:
Psychological Factors
Personal Factors
Cultural Factors
Social Factors
Economic Factors
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Many studies proved that purchase decisions always depend on the perception levels of
the consumers.
The perception levels vary from one individual to another which may depend on need,
influence, motivation, and finally how do they perceive things to take decisions.
Consumer’s beliefs and attitudes show influence on the buying decisions, so the
marketers should know that individuals thinking is unique.
PERSONAL FACTORS
Here all the demographic factors can show a clear path to take various decisions to the
marketers.
If the marketers start observing consumer’s behavior then they know more and more
about them.
The age and gender of the consumers decide half of the market demand. Some people
may give preference to brand image because of the nature of the society they live.
Personality traits such as characteristics, interests, beliefs, and attitudes make a person
to take the decision of purchase or not.
CULTURAL FACTORS
Culture refers to the set of values, beliefs, and ideologies of the society or group, where
an individual learn from the family and society and follows.
The way of dressing, wearing ornaments and eating habits, of a community is the result
of cultural factors. .
SOCIAL FACTORS
Various social factors show influence on the consumer behavior, every individual follow
the culture and trends of the society and they may be influenced by the various factors
such as status, role in the society and reference groups.
Economic status of the individual and country rules the purchase decisions of the
customers. If per capital income of individuals is less than a country’s economic
condition becomes poor.
READINGS
Kacen. J. J. and Lee. J. A., (2002) “A Brief Literature Review on Consumer Buying Behaviour”
Journal of consumer psychology. 12(2), pp. 163-174.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
1. Using the definition of consumer behavior, write your understanding of its meaning.
2. Conduct a semi survey on the different types of consumers
3. Prepare a journal that identifies all the five various factors that influence the
consumer’s buying decision.
According to Solomon (2009) Study of consumer behaviour helps to achieve this purpose. As
consumers are the most important person for marketer or sales person, therefore it is important
for them to consider the likes and dislikes the consumers so that they can provide them with the
goods and services.
The most important reason for studying consumer behaviour is the role that it plays in our lives.
We spend a lot of time in shops and market places. We talk and discuss with friends about
products and services and get lot of information from T.V. This influences our daily lives.
Marketing Managers
Provides critical information to marketing managers for developing marketing strategies and
tactics. Then it helps to understand what consumer and client value. And also they can develop,
communicate and deliver the appropriate goods and services to the consumers.
READINGS
Hoyer & MacInnis (2011).Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century, Cengage Learning Asia Pte
Ltd (Philippine Branch) page 35-36.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
1. Interview at least five consumers buying your favorite food asking reasons on buying
particular product.
2. Evaluate answers rank them accordingly based on your preferred answers.
3. Prepare a journal that identifies reasons on why study the Consumer Behavior.
Ethnic influences are another major factor that affects consumer behavior. It is important
to emphasize that the generalizations about ethnic groups discussed in this chapter are only
broad group tendencies and may or may not apply to individual consumers. Marketing to any
consumer group requires careful research to get beyond stereotypes and to identify specific
characteristics and behavioral patterns that can be addressed using appropriate strategies and
tactics.
Individuals from many different cultures have come to America over the years. This long
history of immigration has created not only a unique national culture but also a number of
subculture or ethnic groups, within the larger society. Members of these ethnic groups share a
common heritage, set of beliefs, religion, and experiences that set them apart from others in
society. Larger groups include the Hispanic, African American, Asian, Italian, Irish, Jewish,
Scandinavian, and polish subcultures.
Consumer Behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and
services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the
consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to
consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the
commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend.
Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision
about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors
influencing the purchases of consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological.
These factor is given below:
SOCIAL FACTORS – also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The important
social factors are :
REFERENCE GROUP- Have potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The
impact of references groups varies across products and brands.
FAMILY- Buyer behavior is strongly influenced by the member of a family.
READINGS:
https:/productmanagement.buzz/index.php/2010/07/27/factors_affecti/
J. Paul Peter & Jerry C. Olson (2009).Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy (Eighth
Edition). Published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.page382
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Classify the relationship of consumer models on buyer and business buying process.
COURSE MATERIALS:
In order to sell your goods and services, you need an idea why consumers behave the way they
do when they make purchases. For example, knowing how much your customers have to spend
and what their most important needs are can help you create a product selection and pricing
strategies that lead to more sales for your business. Additionaly, learning about the
psychological and sociological aspects of your customer’s buying choices can give you insight
on how they see your brand and how loyal they are to it.
It focuses on the idea that a consumer’s buying pattern is based on the idea of getting the most
benefits while minimizing costs. Thus, one can predict consumer behavior based on economic
indicators such as the consumer’s purchasing power and the price of competitive products. For
instance, a consumer will buy a similar product that is being offered at a lower price to maximize
the benefits; an increase in a consumer’s purchasing power will allow him to increase the
quantity of the products he is purchasing.
It is governed by the need to satisfy basic and learned needs. Maslow stated that people base
their actions based on fulfilling certain needs and that they have to satisfy the lower level needs
before reaching for the higher ones. Lower level needs include food, clothing and shelter, while
higher ones include having a feeling of prestige. Thus, a consumer will have a tendency to buy
things that will satisfy their needs and provide satisfaction. A hungry customer may pass up on
buying a nice piece of jewelry to buy some food, but will later go back to purchase the jewelry
once her hunger is satisfied.
PSYCHOANALYTICAL MODEL
SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL
Primarily considers the idea that a consumer’s buying pattern is based on his role and influence
in his society. A consumer’s behavior may also be influenced by the people she s of behavior.
Knowing these behaviors is key when developing marketing strategies for your business.
There are five stages in the consumer decision making process. These are:
Occurs whenever the consumer sees a significant difference between his or her current state of
affairs and some desired or ideal state. This is a stage of perceiving a deficiency need. A need
could be triggered off by an internal stimulus or an external stimulus
In some cases, marketers attempt to create Primary Demand, where consumers are
encouraged to use a product or service regardless of the brand they choose.
Secondary Demand, where consumers are prompted to prefer a specific brand instead of
others, can occur only if primary demand already exists.
-There is an imbalance between the actual state and the desired state.
-Another product seems better and superior to the one being currently used.
INFORMATION SEARCH
Information Sources can be roughly broken down to two kinds: Internal and External. When
confronted with a purchase decision we may engage in internal search by scanning our own
memory bank to assemble different product alternatives. Usually, though even the most marker-
aware of us needs to supplement this knowledge with external search, where information is
obtained from advertisements, friends, or just plain people-watching.
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
Much of the effort that goes into a purchase decision occurs at the stage in which a
choice must be made from the available alternative. Once the consumer has gathered
information and identified the alternatives, he compares the different alternatives available on
certain criteria.
1. Identifying Alternatives
2. Product Categorization
PURCHASE DECISIONS
Once the relevant options from a category have been assembled and evaluated, a choice must
be made among them. Recall that the decision rules guiding choice can range from very simple
and quick strategies to complicated processes requiring much attention and cognitive
processing. The choice can be influenced by integrating information from sources such as (1)
prior experience with the product or a similar one, (2) information present at the time of
purchase and, (3) beliefs about the brands that have been created by advertising.
POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR
Marketers are aware that after consumers have made their decision and have purchased the
product, their job is not complete. Companies need to manage their post-decision interaction
with buyers in order to maintain a long-term profitable relationship with them.
Cognitive Dissonance is caused by feelings of uncertainty as to whether or not one has made
the right decision.
If the performance is better than expected then Positive Disconfirmation occurs and this results
in satisfaction.
If the performance is worse than expectations then Negative Disconfirmation occurs and this
leads to dissatisfaction.
Hoyer, W.D. & Maccinis D.J. (2011), Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century Pasig City,
Philippines: C & E Publishing, Inc. P. 39
Noel Hayden, (2009), Basics Marketing 01 - Consumer Behavior, Rue des Fontenailles 16,
Case Postalle, 1000 Lausanne 6, Switzerland, AVA Publishing, Inc.
Solomon M., Basmossy Gary., Askegaard, Soren, Hogg Margaret K., (2006), Consumer
Behavior - A European Perspective Third Edition, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, England, UK,
Prentice Hall Inc, Pages 258-277
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
For existing firms, new products are essential to keep and maintain the momentum while for
new firms, it provide the differentiation. New products are really innovative like Facebook which
revolutionized social networking. New products does not absolutely mean new to the world. It
may be a modification, or offered in the new market, or differentiate from existing products.
Some of the new products bring change to an existing product. This change can affect the
consumers by offering gains or losses. These losses can be the cause of switching.
To further understand how and why consumers adopt changes at different rates, the five
adopter categories will be introduced. These categories are mostly based on the personalities
of the consumers.
Innovators. These consumers are risk takers which leads them to a more wide and
global social relationships. The group of innovators has a common pattern of
communication and friendships even though they are geographically distant. An
innovator must have a stable financial resource to bear all the possible loss of an
Early Majority. The location of this category is between the very early and relatively late
to adopt which makes them an important role in the process since they provide a
connection in the interpersonal networks. They are one of the most numerous adopter
categories, making up one third of all members of a system. Compare to innovators and
early adopters, their decision period is much longer because they deliberate for some
time before completely adopting to a new product. They follow with deliberate
willingness in adopting innovations but seldom lead.
Late Majority. Like early majority, late majority also make up one third of all members of
a system. They tend to adopt because of economic necessity and the increase of peer
pressure. Late majority approach innovativeness with a skeptical and cautious air and
for them to adopt the weight of the system norms must definitely favor the innovation.
Laggards. They are the last to adopt an innovation. Among the five categories, they are
the most localized and their only point of reference is the past. The resistance of the
innovations for laggards might be because of their unstable economic resource which
forces them to be extremely cautious for them to become certain that a new product will
not fail before they adopt.
Now that the five adopter categories are introduced, the adoption process would be
easily understood. The adoption process has five stages:
Product Awareness. The first stage of the process is the introduction and awareness of
the new product. This is the stage wherein the consumers are aware of the existence of
the new product as well as the existence of the company if it is also new to the
consumers. Consumers can be aware of the new product through teasers, videos,
banners and other marketing materials. Creating a strong product presence is very
important for a consumer to move to the next stage.
Product Interest. In this stage, the consumer is more aware and informed about the
product itself, the value of the product, its unique feature, benefits and even the
manufacturer of the product. Maintaining the interest of the consumers are very
Product Evaluation. The third stage of the process is examination, comparison and
evaluation of the product before making a purchase decision. This is the stage where the
consumers use recommendations, reviews and suggestion from social groups. Also,
consumers verify the pros and cons of the product, the value for money and other
substitutes.
Product Trial. This stage is the most important stage in the process because the
consumers use the actual product on a trial basis which gives the consumers the idea of
the product and its benefits. The consumers will depend on this stage for the product
acceptance or rejection. Samples or testers are often used by the companies as part of
the marketing campaign.
Product Adoption. After the trial, the consumer decides to make full scale and regular
use of the new product. In this stage, the consumer is now ready to adopt and actually
spend money for the new product.
Communicability. The benefits of the product are well communicated and understood
by the consumers. In order to see the communicability of the product, the benefits must
be well known and easy to see. This factor helps the consumer to understand why they
need the product and makes them want to purchase it.
Compatibility. The degree to which the innovation fits with existing traditions, cultures,
values, needs, and past experiences of a consumer. Compatibility is how the consumer
perceives the product into person’s existing values.
Complexity. The consumers want a simple and easy to use product. So if the product is
perceived by the consumers as complicated, the adoption of the new product is slower.
Divisibility. Consumers prefer to try things on a smaller scale when they’re new. They
want to be able to purchase a trial product before purchasing the full product. So, if at all
possible, ensure that your potential consumers can try your products before buying.
The factors discussed above are mostly rational and consumers would like to think that
all of their purchases are the result of rational decisions. However, according to Ilano, A.B., it is
not necessarily true at all. Humans have two brains; the emotion-driven brain and the logical
brain. Emotion-driven brain is inherited from ancestors and is highly familiarized to the sensory
experiences. On the other hand, logical brain is rational, very objective, and which an individual
hope that control all the decision-making,
Whenever a consumer sees a new product which is displayed very attractively to the eye
of the consumer, it triggers a positive emotional attraction for the product. The emotional brain is
stimulated by the attractive display. Thus, it decides that it like this. In fact, the consumer may
have already decided to buy the product and feeling the feel of unexplainable urge to purchase
the product.
The next thing that your brain will do is to let your logical brain butt in. However, this will
not calmly assess the benefits of the product but it will be utilized to rationalize the potential
purchase decision which is based on the emotional brain.
The Buying Decision process is the Decision making process used by consumers regarding the
market transactions before, during and after the purchase of a good and services. It is the step
a consumer takes in making a purchasing decision. The steps include Problem recognition,
Information search, Evaluation of choices, purchase and post-purchase evaluation.
The consumer decision process generally begins when the consumer identifies a consumption
problem that needs to be solved. You can't make a purchase decision unless you actually know
what you want or need. A need is an essential product or characteristic of a product that you
must obtain. A want, on the other hand, is some product or product characteristic that you
desire but is not essential.
Problem recognition is the perceived difference between an ideal and an actual state.
1.The ideal state is the way that consumers would like a situation to be.
Next, the consumer searches for information to solve the problem either internally from memory
or externally from outside sources (such as experts, magazines, or ads).Start to search and
gather information about potential product choices that may meet them. Sources of information
You use your needs and wants as criteria in evaluating and comparing each product against
each other. You may find trade-offs, such as higher prices for products that include more of your
wants.
You will purchase the product. Your purchasing decision may be influenced by the manner in
which you can purchase and receive the product.
You will evaluate your decision. This evaluation may be conscious or unconscious. Your
evaluation will play a large role in your loyalty to the product and the company that produced it.
READINGS:
Lake, L. (2009). Consumer Behavior For Dummies. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Wayne D. Hoyer & Deborah J. MacInnis (2008) Consumer Behavior Fifth Edition. Pages195.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-buying-process-in-marketing-stages-lesson-
quiz.html
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-buying-process-in-marketing-stages-lesson-
quiz.html
Ilano, A.B. (2016). Principles of Marketing. Sampaloc, MNL: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Farooq, U. (2016). Consumer Adoption Process – Stages and Factors. Retrieved September
22,
Rogers, E.M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th Edition). New York, NY: Free Press
Lake, L. (2009). Consumer Behavior For Dummies. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
1. Research through online the buyer decision process on buying an expensive or luxury
products.
2. Give example of other authors regarding buyer decision process.
3. Based on the answer no, 1 & 2, make or suggest a new or improved buyer decision
process.
There are Five Stages in Business Buying Decision Process. These are:
4. Evaluation of Proposals
The process begins when a company identifies a need for a purchase. It may want to replace an
existing item, replenish stocks or buy a new product that is just available on the market. You can
also stimulate a need that the company may not be aware of by advising them of issues and
challenges that other companies in their industry face.
The buying team next works with the requesting department to firm up on the requirement. Your
sales team can provide advice and guidance at this stage by offering discussion papers or
inviting decision makers to workshops or seminars on the topic.
When the buying team has agreed requirements, it prepares a detailed specification that sets
out quantities, performance and technical requirements for a product. Your sales team can
support this stage by advising the buying team on best practice or collaborating with the buying
team to develop the specification. Buying teams then use the specification to search for
potential suppliers. They may search the internet to find products or companies that provide a
match to their specification, so it is important that your website features keywords that match
your customers’ product or service needs.
When the buying team has identified potential suppliers, it asks for detailed proposals from the
suppliers. The team may issue a formal document known as a request for proposal, or it may
outline requirements and invite potential suppliers to make a presentation or submit a quotation.
If the product or service has a precise specification, the buying team may simply ask for price
quotations. If the product is more complex, it may ask for proposals on how a supplier would
meet the need.
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
The buying team evaluates suppliers’ proposals against criteria such as price, performance and
value for money. As well as evaluating the product, they assess the supplier on factors such as
corporate reputation, financial stability, technical reputation and reliability. You can influence
decisions at this stage by providing company information, case studies and independent reports
that review your company and products.
Before the buying team places an order with the chosen supplier, they negotiate price, discount,
finance arrangements and payment terms, as well as confirming delivery dates and any other
contractual matters. When the order is complete and delivered, the buying team may add a
further stage by reviewing the performance of the product and the supplier. This stage may
include imposition of penalty charges if the product fails to meet the agreed specification.
READINGS:
Solomon, M. R., Bennett, R. R., & Previte, J. (2006). Five Stages of the Business Buying
Decision Process. Retrieved from Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, Being.
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
COURSE MATERIALS:
Research leads to the expansion of knowledge to new discoveries and observing phenomena
while developing critical thinking. This also solves the present phenomena through reviewing
the existing knowledge and problems, create new system as basis of the decision-making,
prove or disprove a theory, and etc. (Buchnan& Bryman, 2009).
There has been a great impact of using Research methods towards the performance
management of a business, Through the evidences it provides a business rightfully creates
decision with a reasonable aspect (Gooden & Berry-James, 2018).
Survey
This research method is a type of research which collects data in a structured manner, along
with fast and easy data collection suggested to a mass target respondent. Among the Research
method this is the most common form, there are different survey designs which vary from the
goals of the research and also its sampling method (Marsden & Wright 2010).
Reference: Marsden, V., & Wright, D. (2010). Handbook of Survey Research (2nd Ed). Howard
House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16, Warrington, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing
Limited. pp. 3, 27, 81.
In spite of this, in a group discussion some participants have the possibility to share their
opinion or ideas within the group nor, exchange idea. This maybe out of control.
Myers (2019) stated that companies study consumer behavior to learn how consumers
respond to or use products. Collecting data about consumer behavior helps companies better
target their efforts. The data gathered may be objective, such as consumer opinions about
products or issues. Research firms may use a variety of methods to gather information and
construct a complete profile of consumer behavior.
Interview
Is similar to focus groups, but the facilitator works with consumers one on one to gauge
their response to a product or idea. (Myers, 2019) Interview provides a comprehensive
understanding of an individual’s perspective and what’s important to them. It allows the
interviewer to clarify information, ask follow up questions and probe for further detail to gain a
deeper understanding of key information. (Pascale, 2015)
As stated by Hoyer and Maclnnis (2011), in some interviews, researchers ask customers
about the process they use to make a purchase decision. A research company assigns
professional interviewer to tape-record consumers’ thoughts while they shop for groceries.
Traditional interviews require a trained interviewer who attempts to establish rapport with
consumers. Interviewers also note nonverbal behaviors as clues to whether the respondent is
open to the discussion or whether certain questions are particularly sensitive.
Storytelling
Although storytelling involves the real stories of real consumers, sometimes marketers
ask consumers to tell or write stories about situations that the marketer has depicted in a picture
or scenario. Storytelling not only provides information relevant to the marketing of the product
but also to be in touch with the customers and value what they say. (Hoyer and Maclnnis, 2011)
According to Bhat (2019), completing the process/ methods will help you:
• Reduce costs
Some researchers use a technique where they will show pictures of experiences of consumers
that consumer had, it will help them to remember and report experiences more completely. And
also, researchers may ask consumers to draw or collect pictures that represent their thoughts
and feelings about the topic. Another style is to ask consumers to do a collage of pictures that
reflects their lifestyles. Then the researchers will ask about the pictures and the meaning behind
them or have the consumer write an essay, which can help integrate the images and thoughts
suggested by the pictures.
Diaries
Asking consumers to keep diaries can provide important insights on their behavior, including
product purchasing and media usage. Diaries often reveal how family and friends affect
consumer’s decisions about clothes, fastfood, concerts and so on.
Buchnan, D., & Bryman, A. (2009). The Sage Handbook of Organizational Research Methods.
2455, Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publication Inc. (pp. 2, 61).
Gooden, T., & Berry-James, R. (2018). Research Methods Matter: Essential skills for Decision
Making. 6 Curie Court, Irvine, California: Melvin & Leigh Publishers. pp. 1-4.
Marsden, V., & Wright, D. (2010). Handbook of Survey Research (2nd Ed). Howard House,
Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16, Warrington, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
pp. 3, 27, 81.
Hoyer, W. D., & MacInnis, D. J. (2011). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. Pasig city,
Philippines: C & E Publishing, Inc. Pages 51-53.
Pascale, K. (2015). Conducting in-depth interviews with consumers. Retrieved August 9, 2019,
from https://www.emralliance.org/uploads/9/7/7/9/97794766/consumer_feedback_toolkit_-
_5.1_conducting_in-depth_interviews_with_consumers.pdf
Bhat, A. (2019). Consumer Research- Examples, Process and Scope. Retrieved August 4,
2019, from https://www.questionpro.com/blog/consumer-research/
Myers, C. (2019). Consumer Behavior Research Methods. Retrieved August 5, 2019, from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/consumer-behavior-research-methods-70706.html
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
Experiments
With experiments, researchers randomly assign consumers to receive different "treatments" and
then observe the effects of these treatments. For example, consumers might be assigned to
groups that are shown different brand names. The researchers collect data about participants'
attitudes toward the name and compare attitudes across groups. In a taste-test experiment, they
might randomly assign consumers to groups and then ask each group to taste a different
product. Comparing evaluations of the product across the groups will show which product is
preferred.
An important aspect of such experiments is that the groups are designed to be identical in all
respects except the treatment, called the independent variable. Thus, in a taste-test experiment,
only the taste of the food or beverage is varied. Everything else is the same across groups—
consumers eat or drink the same amount of the product, at the same temperature, from the
same kind of container, in the same room, in the presence of the same experimenter, and so
on. After consumers taste and rate the product, researchers can compare the groups'
responses to see which taste is preferred. Because the groups are identical in all other
respects, researchers know that any differences between the two groups are caused by the
treatment (the food's taste).
Field Experiments
All marketing-mix elements can be market tested. P. F. Chang's China Bistro, a restaurant
chain, recently tested a new dinner menu in its Dallas restaurant. The results were so
successful that the company added the menu to 45 of its other restaurants.
READINGS
Hoyer, W., & Maclnnis, D. (2008). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. Emerald Avenue,
Ortigas Avenue: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd. p. 32-33
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
OBSERVATION
At times, researchers observe consumers to gain insight into potentially effective product,
promotion, price, and distribution. Some marketers use tracking software to observe which
websites consumers visit, which pages they look at, how long they visit each site, and related
data. By analyzing consumer browsing patterns, researchers can determine how to make
websites more user friendly and how to better target online advertising as well as how to make
other decisions about online marketing activities. However, privacy advocates are concerned
that tracking software—especially when used without the consumer’s knowledge or consent—is
intrusive. In response, companies are posting privacy policies and, in some cases, allowing
consumers to view and edit collected data or even “opt out” of tracking systems. Some
companies conduct ethnographic research, in which researchers interview, observe (and
perhaps videotape) how consumers behave in real-world surroundings.
PURCHASE PANELS
Sometimes marketers try to understand consumer behavior by tracking what consumers buy on
different purchase occasions. This kind of research, conducted by IRI and other firms, simply
records whether a behavior occurred. Such behavioral data may be collected from special panel
members, from a representative sample of the general population, or from the marketer’s target
market. Every time panel members go shopping, the cash register records their purchases. By
merging purchase data with demographic data, marketers can tell who is purchasing a product,
whether those consumers are also buying competitors’ products, and whether a coupon or other
sales promotion was involved. dog food products. Feedback from participants helped Del Monte
select flavors for its Sausages Breakfast Bites dog treats.
READINGS
Hoyer, W., & Maclnnis, D. (2008). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. Emerald Avenue,
Ortigas Avenue: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd. p. 32-33
1. Compare the usefulness of observation and purchase panel this pandemic period in
conducting research.
2. Download a sample research that uses either observation or purchase panel.
3. Critique the downloaded sample research identifying its applicability to the present
situation.
Marketers need to identify who is likely to be involved in acquisition, usage, and disposition
decisions.
Target Market
Examples:
Make-up = Girls
Toys = Children
TYPES OF SEGMENTATION
3. PROFIT MARGINS
4. COMPETITORS
5. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
6. STRATEGY OR GOALS
7. RESOURCES
B. Marketing Segmentation
Marketing Segmentation
Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market of potential customers into groups, or
segments, based on different characteristics. The segments created are composed of
consumers who will respond similarly to marketing strategies and who share traits such as
similar interests, needs, or locations.
Demographic- Age, Gender, Income, Location, Family Situation, Annual Income, Education,
Ethnicity.
Geographic- ZIP Code, City, Country, Radius around a Certain Location, Climate, Urban or
Rural.
Consumer research can help marketers identify consumers who have needs that are not being
met and can reveal the size and profitability of each segment. When Best Buy the retailer
identified a number of segmented one profitable segment “one unprofitable segment “Devil”
(consumers who buy items on sale and resell them online). The company then remodeled its
stores and retrained its salespeople to focus on consumers fit the “Buzz” persona.
To determine the satisfying features of the offer that consumer expect, Market Segmentation is
divided to 4 types, this are Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, and Behavioural.
Geographic Factors:
B.) Size - Segmentation on the basis of size of a metropolitan area as per its population
size.
Demographic Factors:
B.) Purchasing Power - Segmentation done on the basis of purchasing power of the
customer.
I.) Education - The education level of a particular individual tends to influence his buying
decisions.
Psychographic Factors:
C. Opinions – base on the opinions of the consumer that affects their buying behaviour.
D. Attitudes – is the set of beliefs and emotions a consumer holds for a particular brand,
product, service.
E. Values – Segmented through consumer own thought about the value of a produce or
service
4.) Behaviouralistic Segmentation – Divides the market into groups based upon variables
such as occasion, benefit sought, user status, user rate, loyalty rate, readiness stage, and
Attitude toward offering
B. Benefit Sought – The Quality of a product percieved by the consumer that affects its
buying behaviour.
F. Readiness stage - Awareness of its existence, Knowledge of its benefits, Initial interest,
Preference over the competing products, Conviction of its suitability to purpose, and finally
Purchase.
G. Attitude Towards Offering – Affects the Buying behavior of consumer in terms of its
experience.
Values
Values are enduring beliefs that a given behavior or outcome is good or bad. For example you
may believe that it is good to be healthy, keep your family safe, have self respect, and be free.
As enduring beliefs, your values serve as standards that guide your behavior across situations.
Individualism
Importance of Time
Consumers used to spend time to save money. Now they spend money to save time. Time has
become a valuable currency in consumer's lives.
70% of consumers don't have enough time to do all the things they need to do. Half of
consumers now say that a lack of time is a bigger problem in their lives than a lack of money.
Youth
Consumers place a high value of youth and looking good. Contrast for striving for youth.
Authenticity
Some consumers place special value on products/experiences they consider authentic. Local
"farm-to-table" restaurant vs. "chain restaurant".
Materialism
People gauge satisfaction in terms of what they have or have not acquired in life and in terms of
desired possessions. Materialistic people can be particularly susceptible to marketing tactics
and are interested in luxury brands.
Home
Many consumers place a high value on the home and believe as making it as attractive and as
comfortable as possible.
Culture differ in the values they place on their families and children. European and Asian
parents tend to value education more than American parents.
Hedonism
Pleasure seeking, desire for products and services that simply makes consumers feel good.
Health
Technology Savvy
Consumers believe in power of computers, DVR's, ATM's, the Internet etc. But sometimes
technology moves so fast that we cannot keep up.
Environmentally Friendly
Lifestyle Segmentation is a type of segmentation in which the consumers are grouped as per
their lifestyle. Marketers use lifestyle segmentation and studies to plan their product or service
better, so that it is in line with the consumer lifestyles.
Segmentation is an important activity for a brand or product. There are different segments that
marketers use to target and position right products for right segment of customers.
The consumer lifestyle consist different types of tools to form this segmentation, marketers are
needed to better understand these tools. Such tools enable marketers to provide better products
and services to target customers. The lifestyle segmentation tools known as AIO (Activities,
Interests and
Opinions and demographics). Here we will discuss these tools with examples.
Activities consists work, hobbies, social events, vacation, entertainment, community, club
membership and social event of consumers. Such activities inform marketers about what they
do, where
they are engaged and how they entertained themselves. These activities inform marketers
about the consumers’ routine suppose the person is a finance guy and doesn’t like outdoor
activities and void meeting with people.
Interests consists family, home, job, community, fashion, food, and recreation of consumer.
Such lifestyle activities inform marketers about the overall interests of consumer. For example
which food, sports or technology they like or not. These factors are very important for markets to
take
Opinions consists social issues, political, business or economic, education, product and
themselves. Opinion is important because it informs marketers about different issues and
people. For
example, a particular consumer is attracted to social issue which is not fall under your
promotional campaign umbrella then you cannot fulfill the interest of that consumer.
References:
Plummer, J. (1974). The Concept and Application of Life Style Segmentation. Journal of
Marketing, 38(1), 33-37. Retrieved from https://doi.10.2307/1250164
Gregorio, R.L. (2013). Understanding Activities, Interest, and Opinions . Makati City, Philippines:
Anvil Publishing, Inc. p. 26
Lifestyle segmentation help marketers to better understand customer needs and requirements
and then take decisions of product placement in appropriate market segment. But marketers
should know that the lifestyle analysis is a continuous process because consumer activities,
opinions, interests and demographics changes with the time, taste and situation.
Mountain Dew advertising strategy was focused on adventure lovers and thrill seekers. The
drink was positioned as a way of overcoming fear and the communications carried situations
reflecting the same. So the target customers for Mountain Dew were young adults between 18-
30 years of age, who love adventure and travel and have confidence in their own abilities.
READINGS
Hoyer, Wayne D. Macinnis, Deborah J. (2013). CONSUMER BEHAVIOR in the 21st Century.
Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd. Page 34-35
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319085560_Market_Segmentation_Targeting_and_Po
sitioning?fbclid=IwAR3kjvgAZOewJu5WbM55ZxLK5r5s2j9bDQOnXddGHFPXfR27qe0BXBU6e
Qk
Hoyer W. & MacInnis D. (2010). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century (Philippine Edition).
Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd. , c2010. Page 37
Santos, C.T. (2015). Lifestyle Segmentation and its Importance . Pasig City, Philippines: Ilaw ng
www.netmba.com/marketing/market/target/
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
COURSE MATERIALS:
A customer centric strategy is a sales strategy that puts the customer’s needs, wants, and
communication preferences at the centre of the buying process.
The customer journey from start to finish should be designed so that all sales activities and
communication are aimed at helping the customer achieve short and long-term success.
To be fully effective, customer-centric selling should go beyond the sales department – to your
customer service, marketing, and account management teams as well.
When you have a customer-focused company, you’ll gain customer loyalty, improve retention
rates, and increase referrals – making it a win-win for both you and your clients.
Implementing a customer-centric approach to selling sounds simple, yet most companies fail to
accomplish it. If you want to transform your sales organization to a customer-centric model,
follow these 7 tips:
1. Believe in It
This is a key step to ensure each of your employees (especially your front-line employees)
approach every interaction with your customers’ best interest in mind.
Most companies give lip service to keep a focus on the customer, while true customer-centric
sales organizations develop a customer-centric culture. They live and breathe customer
centricity, from start to finish.
Customer-centric sales organizations take the time to understand the customer both at the
industry level and at the individual level. Arm your sales team with data-driven insights on their
customers, and teach them to research each prospect in advance.
4. Be Consultative
A customer-centric sales strategy focuses first on understanding the issue, then on helping to
solve it with the most appropriate solution.
Train your salespeople in consultative selling skills. They should be able to listen actively, offer
suggestions, and tailor solutions based on what is truly in the customer’s best interest.
Active listening combined with probing questions and a consultative approach will put your sales
team ahead of the competition. But to really stand out from the crowd, teach your reps to
identify and adapt to the customer’s preferred communication style.
Adapting to the customer’s communication style will automatically make them feel more at ease
and will improve their overall experience with your company. Read more about identifying and
adapting to buyer behaviour styles here.
True customer centricity is a business strategy that doesn’t stop with the sales team. Your
customer service team is an integral part of the customer experience. When the two teams are
in alignment, the result is increased customer loyalty, retention, revenue, and referrals.
A customer-centric strategy should begin and end with the customer. This means that every
client should have the opportunity to provide feedback, whether it’s through a post-sale survey,
scorecard, or other format that makes sense for your business.
Your organization should use that feedback to continuously improve how you serve the
customer.
Requesting this feedback from your customers (and even opportunities that you lost) can help
you learn what you’re doing right, and where you can twist your approach to be more successful
in the future.
READINGS
A leader with high ethical standards conveys a commitment to ... was identified as the next
most important leadership competency. ... by name, and remember their interests and family
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT:
Psychographics of Consumers
Psychographics are consumer attributes that serve to identify consumer activities, interests and
opinions (AIOs). Studying consumer behaviors to understand the types of activities consumers
engage in, the things they're interested in and the opinions they have can help marketers in two
key ways: First, understanding AIOs can help marketers identify the appropriate communication
tools to connect with target consumers. In addition, understanding AIOs can help marketers
craft messages designed to influence or capitalize on their existing opinions.
Consumers are influenced by others, and savvy marketers know this. The use of testimonials
and spokespeople to strengthen a brand is common among many marketers -- consider the use
of sports figures such as Tiger Woods to Peyton Manning to endorse products from golf clubs to
cars to apparel. Word-of-mouth can be a powerful influence on buying behavior, and marketing
strategies are often designed to leverage word-of-mouth. The increasing popularity and use of
social media help marketers to take even more advantage of reference groups in helping to
spread messages about their products and services.
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) is a popular model used in marketing circles that helps
marketers determine whether a central or peripheral route of communication would be most
appropriate for a given audience based on their level of loyalty or connection to a product,
service or cause. A central route is popular for communicating with consumers who are more
highly involved with the product or issue, while peripheral means of communication (a
combination of multiple approaches) are suitable for influencing less-involved consumers. An
effective illustration of ELM is political campaigning. Party-to-party communication can take a
Consumer Decision-Making
Consumer decision-making determines the likelihood that a consumer will consider or purchase
a particular product. In general, consumers seek to increase pleasure and avoid pain. They wish
to minimize the risk of decisions they make and will invest more time in researching purchase
decisions that represent a higher level of risk. For instance, low-cost, low-involvement products
like shampoo will require less effort and consideration on the part of consumers than high-cost,
high-involvement products like cars, computers or homes. Knowing this, marketers will spend
more effort to communicate in more detail with consumers whose choices represent a higher
level of risk.
Marketing Mix is the set of controllable variables that the firm can use to influence the buyer’s
response. The controllable variables refer to the 4 P’s – Product, Price, Physical
Distribution/Place and Promotion. Marketing Mix is systematic combination of the 4P’s which
constitute the core of the firms efforts in marketing.
Product - Is an object or system made available for consumer use. It is anything a consumer
acquires or might acquire to meet a perceived need. good, idea, method, information, object or
service created as a result of a process and serves a need or satisfies a want. It has a
combination of tangible and intangible attributes (benefits, features, functions, uses) that a seller
offers a buyer for purchase.
Product Development - The creation of products with new or different characteristics that offer
new or additional benefits to the customer. Product development may involve modification of an
existing product or its presentation, or formulation of an entirely new product that satisfies a
newly defined customer want or market niche. Importance consumers attach to attribute provide
meaningful way to understand needs and form benefit segments, the idea levels of performance
indicate the consumers desire.
Product Development Process - (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product
to market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along with various business
considerations. New product development is described broadly as the transformation of a
market opportunity into a product available for sale.
The product can be tangible (something physical which one can touch) or intangible (like a
service, experience, or belief), though sometimes services and other processes are
distinguished from "products."
The impact of the new product development - Developing a constant stream of new products is
essential to a firm’s long term survival and profitability. Over the years, the literature on new
product development (NPD) has grown to enormous proportions. However firms that only focus
on developing new products quickly find themselves trying to manage a large, unwieldy and
ineffective range of products, thus emphasizing the need for regular and systematic product
deletion as a complement to product development.
• Technological advantage
• Responsiveness
READINGS
Spotts H.(2003).Creating and Delivering Value in Marketing. Springer Cham, Heidelberg New
York Dordrecht London. Page 48.
Annacchino M. (2011) .The Pursuit of New Product Development: The Business Development
Process. Butterworth-Hienemann Imprint, Elsevier . Page 4-6.
Dutta, S. & Saha, D. (2015). Mastering Commercial Applications. First Edition. A Div of Vikas
Publishing house Private Limited. Masjid Road, Jangpura, New Delhi. Page 34.
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
2. Make a write ups on the different products that needed to undergo the process of
buying process.
3.3. Responsiveness
Buying motives are the internal motivator to persuade the desires of people so that they buy a
particular good or service. Buying motive relates to the feelings and emotions of people which
generates a desire to purchase.
By helping consumers reduce post-decision dissonance and regret, marketers can diminish
negative feelings related to the offering.
Product Motives:
a. Promotional Product Buying Motives: When a buyer decides to purchase a product without
thinking over the matter logically and carefully (i.e., without much reasoning).
b. Rational Product Buying Motives: When a buyer decides to buy a certain thing after careful
consideration (i.e., after thinking over the matter consciously and logically).
Patronage Motives:
a. Emotional Patronage Buying Motives: When a buyer patronizes a shop (i.e. purchases the
things required by him from a particular shop) without applying his mind or without reasoning,
he/she is said to have been influenced by emotional patronage buying motives.
b. Rational Patronage Buying Motives: When a buyer patronizes a shop after careful
consideration (i.e. after much logical reasoning and careful thinking) he/she is said to have been
influenced by rational patronage buying motives.
Maslow proposes a motive hierarchy shared by all. Maslow’s theory is a good guide to
general behavior. It is not an ironclad rule, however numerous examples exist of individuals who
sacrificed their lives for friends or ideas, or who gave up food and shelter to seek self-
actualization. However, we do tend to regard such behavior as exceptional, which indicates the
general validity of Maslow’s overall approach. It is important to remember any given
consumption behavior can satisfy more than one need. Likewise, the same consumption
behavior can satisfy different needs at different times. For example, clothing can satisfy
physiological, safety, and/ or esteem needs (Hawkins, W.D., Best, R. J., & Coney, K.A, 2004).
Maslow's Hierarchy brings useful organization to the complex issue of needs, some
critics say it is too simplistic. First, needs are not always ordered exactly as in this hierarchy.
Some consumers might place a higher priority on buying lottery tickets than acquiring
necessities such as food and clothing. Second, the hierarchy ignores the intensity of needs and
the resulting effect on motivation. Finally, the ordering of needs may not be consistent across
cultures. In some societies, for instance, social needs and belonging may be higher in the
hierarchy than egoistic needs (Hoyer & Macinnis, 2010).
1. All humans acquire a similar set of motives through genetic endowment and social
interaction.
3. The more basic motives must be satisfied to a minimum level before other motives are
activated.
4. As the basic motives become satisfied, more advanced motives come into play.
Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that
some needs take precedence over others. Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this
will be the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is
what motivates us, and so on.
1. Physiological needs - these are biological requirements for human survival, e.g. air,
food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep.
If these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot function optimally. Maslow considered
physiological needs the most important as all the other needs become secondary until these
needs are met.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from
fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs - after physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled,
the third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of belongingness. The need for
interpersonal relationships motivates behavior
Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and
love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself
(dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from
others (e.g., status, prestige).
Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and
adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.
READINGS
https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/15980-buying-
motive.html
Hawkins, D.I., Best, R.J, & Coney, K.A. (2004). Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing
Strategy 8th edition (pp. 362-363). New York, NY. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hoyer, W. D., & Macinnis, D. J. (2010). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century (pp. 72).
Quezon City, Philippines: C&E Publishing, Inc.
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
1. Among the different types of buying motives, what is your preference to increase the
sales of the product.
2. Make a write ups on the different types of buying motives and how the company uses
that to increase consumption of product.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
COURSE MATERIALS:
Reference is the action of mentioning, referring and alluding to something. It is the use of a
source of information in order to ascertain something, it can be books or articles.
Group is a collection of people or set of people that are located close together with some
common characteristics or purpose.
Reference Group is a set of people with whom individuals compare themselves for guidance in
developing their own attitudes, knowledge and behaviors.
Reference groups are an interesting and popular topic in the marketing research domain, since
they can influence consumer’s product choice. “Reference groups are social groups that are
important to a consumer and against which he or she compares himself or herself”. An
important information source for uncertain consumers are reference groups. Consumers that
face product/brand uncertainty can for example check which brand the reference group uses to
make up their own purchase decision. In this case, information retrieval from reference groups
is preceded by uncertainty, which means that the consumer is aware of it’s uncertainty towards
a specific purchase and consequently searches for information in reference groups. Individuals
use information from reference groups in their decision making process. We argue that the
reference group’s opinion about a brand or product within a specific category may not always be
in line with the individual’s initial opinion. If the individual’s opinion about the product/brand
contradicts with the reference group’s opinion an interesting situation arises. (Bearden and Etzel
2006)
Aspirational Reference Group are groups we admire and wish to be like but are not currently a
member.
Associative Reference Group are groups to which we actually belong, such as clique of friends,
an extended family, a particular work group, a club or a school group.
Diss associative Reference Group are groups whose attitudes, values and behaviors we
disapprove of and do not wish to emulate.
Primary reference group: group with whom we have physical face-to-face contact.
Secondary reference group: group with whom we do not have direct contact.
Group attractiveness - attractiveness can affect how much consumers conform to the group.
Density - dense groups are those in which group members all know each other.
It is defined in social psychology as "The influence of other people that leads us to conform in
order to be liked and accepted by them".
Conformity often leads to people exhibiting compliance of the group's social norms in order to
be accepted by the group.
Normative social influence involves a change in behavior that is deemed necessary in order to
fit in a particular group.
The power of normative social influence stems from the human identity as a social being, with a
need for companionship and association.
Social norms refers to the unwritten rules that govern social behavior. These are customary
standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture.
Brand-choice Congruence
Compliance
Reactance
Normative social influence also affects the way we buy and shop.
People want to be accepted and included into a group of people or a community of people that
mean something to them, so they respond toward to accomplish that ideal.
Advertisement is really important for both consumers and businesses to understand who is
buying the products that are offered so that messages can be tailored to that group of people
and be effective. This, in turn, creates bigger profits for the company. In order to fit in, the viewer
is persuaded to make the same purchases.
Normative social influence is so important to buying behavior since marketing strategies always
start with an effort to understand and build marketing segments. Marketing segments are the
slice of society that is likely to pay attention and be influenced to action with a particular
advertising campaign.
With the rise in social media marketing, businesses now use segmentation for advertising on
Facebook to increase profits. When advertising on social media, the advertiser choices the
gender, age range, ethnicity, location, even interests of the person who will view the ad, further
utilizing marketing segments to increase the chance that the ad will inspire the right people to
action. Since the average user of social media connects mainly with people that are like
themselves, these tactics help to spread the messages to those that would also be interested in
products and service. Modern technology is employing the theory of normative social influence
everyday.
A "consumer culture" is one whose economy is defined by the buying and spending of
consumers. Consumer culture is closely to tied capitalism, because it is driven by money. What
distinguishes it, though, is that it is not focused so much on the power of money as it is on the
happiness that can be attained through buying and owning personal property.
According to Flynn (1995), age is a very important demographic factors that influences on the
decision making process on the purchase behavior because natural factor, easy to measure
and use it a lot of social science theories. People of different age have different needs and
wants and buy different goods and services over their life time.
Age is an important demographic factor that affects consumer behavior. As people grow, their
needs change. Similar changes come to their buying decision making patterns. With age, our
health needs change and so do many other needs. Age brings changes to people’s lifestyle
and with it their needs and personal values are also affected.
Marketers often segment consumers by age. The basic logic is that people of the same age are
going through similar life experiences and therefore share many common needs, experiences,
symbols and memories, which, in turn, may lead to similar consumption patterns.
The major age group targeted by marketers are the teens or generation Y, Generation X,
Boomers and the Seniors. But in the book "Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century" the teens
or the generation Y and the seniors are being focused on. Consumers up to the age of 18
comprise 25 percent of the U. S. population: by comparison, consumers aged 65 and older
conprise just 12 percent of the population.
Teens as well as consumers born in 1979 through 1994 are part of generation which are media
and tech savvy, using internet, CP and many high tech products used to communicate, play
games, do homeworks and shop. When people are young, they spend more on their lifestyle
needs from fun and movies to fashion. As they grow older, their expenses on these things
shrink. Elderly people mostly remain indoor, however, their health related expenses may rise.
Age does not just affect buying behavior, it is also an important factor affecting market
segmentation and marketing strategy. Marketers segment their target market on the basis of
age. There are several products that are marketed only to the millenials. Similarly, there are
products meant for the elderly and which meet the needs of people past their middle ages.
Lifestyle gadgets and magazines are mostly marketed to the youth or the millennial generation.
Since, the taste of this generation is vastly different and they are more digitally inclined, this
affects not just the choice of marketing strategy but also the marketing channels used to market
to them.
READINGS
Daryl Copeland (Feb 2, 2010). “Power of Normative Social Influences”. The Mark. Archived from
the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2012.s
Deutsch, M. & Gerard, H. (2016) “a study of normative social influences upon individual
judgment” (PDF). Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 51 (3): 629-636.
Frager, R. (2011). “How Normative Social Influences Affect Consumer Behavior”. Journal of
Personality and social Psychology. 15 (3): 203-210.
Hoyer, W. & Maclnnis, D. (2010). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. Philippines: ESP
Printers. Inc.
Electric Sources:
https://classroom.synonym.com/what-is-consumer-culture-12079448.html
wan de Leijer (2010). Bachelor Thesis Marketing 2009/2010 Reference groups as a source of
consumer. Retrieved from: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=115813
Wayne D. Hoyer & Deboraj J. Macinnis (2010). Consumer Behavior in the 21st century. pp. 482.
Cengage Learning Philippine Edition. Quezon City, Philippines: C & E Publishing, INC.
Wood, W.; Lundgren, S.; Quellete, J. (2009). “Minority Influence: A Meta-Analytic Review of
Social Influences Processes”. Psychological Bulletin. 115 (3): 323-345.
1. The instigator (initiator)- person who first suggests the idea of a product/service and initiates
the purchase process.
4. The purchaser (buyer)- person who actually purchases the product, pays for it, takes it home.
1. Economic resources- persons making greater economic contribution have more economic
power.
3. Expert power- more knowledge a person possess. Husband may know more about cars, wife
may know more about household items.
4. Legitimate power- this depends on the role the family members play.
6. Emotional power- purchase decisions are influenced by emotions, sentiments and feelings of
one partner.
A family is usually defined as a group of individuals living together who are related by
marriage,blood or adoption. The most typical unit is the nuclear family,consisting of mother,
father and children. The extended family consists of the nuclear family plus relatives such as
grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Household is a broader term that includes a single
person living alone or a group of individuals who live together in a common dwelling, regardless
of whether they are related. This term includes cohabiting couples (an unmarried male and
female living together) , gay couples, and singles who are roommates. Because the number of
households is on the rise— increasing by 1.35 million each year—marketers and researchers
are increasingly thinking in terms of households rather than families.
Household and Social Class Influence : Roles that Household Members Play
(i) Influencers
The members who influence the purchase of the product by providing information to the family
members, the son in a family may inform the members of a new fast food joint. He can influence
the family members to visit the joint for food and entertainment.
These members control the flow of information for a product or brand that they favour and
influence the family to buy the product of their choice. They provide the information favourable
to themselves and, withhold information about other product which they do not favour.
(iii) Deciders
These are the people who have the power or, money and authority to buy. They play a major
role in deciding which product to buy.
(iv) Buyers
Buyers are the people who actually buy. A mother buying ration for the house etc. Father buying
crayons for his children.
(v) Preparers
Those who prepare the product in the form it is actually consumed. Mother preparing food by
adding ingredients to the raw vegetable. Frying an egg for consumption, sewing clothes for the
family, etc.
(vi) User
The person who actually uses or consumes the product. The product can be consumed
individually or jointly by all members of the family. Use of car by the family, use of
refrigerator,TV, etc.
She can play many roles of a decider, preparer as well as the user. In limited problem solving or
extensive problem solving there is usually a joint decision by family members.
Instrumental - they relate to task affecting the buying decision such as when and how to
purchase
Expressive - they indicate family norms, such as choice of color and style
Husbands and wives play different roles in making decisions, and the nature of their influence
depends on the offering and the couple’s relationship. In examining husband-wife influence, a
landmark study conducted in Belgium (and replicated in the United States) identified four major
decision categories:
An Autonomic decision is equally like to be made by the husband or wife but not by both (
men’s clothing, luggage, toys and games, sporting equipment, and cameras).
A Syncratic decision is made jointly by the husband and wife (e.g., vacations, refrigerators, TVs,
living room furniture, financial planning services, and the family car).
Social Class
A status hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis of esteem and
prestige acquired mainly through economic success and accumulation of wealth.
Most societies have social class hierarchy that giving a higher status to some classes than
others. Social classes are composed of a group of individuals having a behavior and lifestyle
that’s differ from other classes. In a particular social class, members tend to share similar values
and behavior patterns. These distinctions are viewed by many societies as important because
they recognized that everyone has a role to play in order for society to function well.
Consumers have an image of what social class a store attracts and have an understanding of
what shopping should be like in a store that appeals to their own social class. For instance,
People in upper class want to a pleasant store atmosphere featuring exciting displays; lower
classes emphasize acquiring household things or clothing as the enjoyable part of shopping
(Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1990: 142).
People are usually grouped in social classes according to income, wealth, education, or type of
occupation, so people in different social classes have different consumer behavior. As a
Income
Social class have a profound effect on consumer spending habits, the most obvious effect is the
level of income of each social class. In a general way, people with high income have the ability
to purchase more consumer goods than those who with low income, and those goods almost
have higher quality.
For example, high income people tend to be the primary buyers of fine jewelry and often shop at
exclusive retailers. Low income people pay more attention to the necessities of life( Fisher,
1987).
Education
For example, college students need the computer to do their homework, but Kindergarten
students not. (Bloom, 1976)
Occupation
The occupation of a person has significant impact on his buying behavior. For example a
marketing manager of an organization will try to purchase business suits, whereas a low level
worker in the same organization will purchase rugged work clothes ( Asifo, 2010).
READINGS
Abraham, K., 2011 A Study On Consumer Behaviour (With Reference To V.B Factors).
International Journal Of Enterprise Computing And Business Systems ISSN (Online) : 2230-
8849, Vol. 1 Issue 2.
Fisher JE, 1987, ‘Social Class and Consumer Behavior: the Relevance of Class and Status’,
Consumer Research, vol.14, pp 492-496.
Hoyer, W.D. and Macinnis, D.J. (2012) Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. United State:
SOUTH-WESTERN CENGAGE Learning, , p, 425-426)
Wisdom IT services (2018) Family Buying Influence on Consumer Behavior, Retrieved August
13, 2019 from https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/consumer-behaviour-tutorial-94/family-
buying-influences-10516.html
1. Analyze your own family buying roles. Who dominate the decision making?
Building upon Hartel et al.'s (1997) crisis model, it was argued that this primary appraisal
consists of a determination of felt involvement. Felt involvement was argued to determine the
level of processing of the crisis message, including company responses, as well as the
experienced degree of anger intensity. Further, as anger may be influenced separately by the
degree of media exposures (SSPR) acting on the consumer's goals, values, concerns, needs,
interests and beliefs (ISPR), the relationship between anger and felt involvement is therefore
reciprocal.
The more a crisis affects the concerns of the wider community and the more times consumers
are exposed to the story, the greater the impact on purchase intentions and sales. Ideally,
following a crisis, company responses should reduce and not exacerbate media interest in the
story.
The lower the level of consumers' media exposure, the fewer times involvement is activated.
Managers also need to remain in touch with shifting community concerns as these concerns
translate into buying behaviour. The model represents the first application of the concept of
involvement to the study of company crises.
Felt Involvement
Researchers use the term felt involvement to refer to the psychological experience of the
motivated consumer.
Felt Involvement can be (1) enduring, (2) situational, (3) cognitive or (4) affective;
Objectives of Involvement
As many of this chapter’s examples indicate, consumers may exhibit cognitive or/and
affective involvement in objects. This objects can include a product or retail category such as
cars or cosmetic stores or can involved experiences such as white watering rafting.
READINGS
Hoyer, W. & MacInnis, D. (2010). Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century. Philippines: ESP
Printers. Inc.
Richard L. Celsi and Jerry C. Olson Journal of Consumer Research Vol. 15, No. 2 (Sep.,
1988), pp. 210-224
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
Once they recognize a problem, consumers may address it by using cognitive decision-
making models (deciding in a rational, systematic manner) or affective decision-making models
(deciding on the basis of their feelings or emotions). Consumers face a number of other
decisions in high-effort situations: which brands to consider (developing the consideration set),
what is important to the choice (how it is affected by goals, decision timing, and decision
framing), what offerings to choose, whether to make a decision now, and what to do when
alternatives cannot be compared. In thought-based decisions about offerings, consumers may
use compensatory or non-compensatory models, process by brand or by attribute, and consider
gains versus losses. Feeling-based decisions about offerings may rely on appraisals and
feelings, affective forecasts and choices, and imagery. Finally, three types of contextual factors
that can influence the decision process are (1) consumer characteristics, (2) decision
characteristics, and (3) the presence of a group.
Conscious low-effort decision making can follow a hierarchy of effects in which thinking
leads to behaving and results in feeling; in contrast, the hierarchy of effects for high-effort
decision making is typically thinking-feeling behaving. For simplicity, consumers making low-
effort decisions may satisfice rather than optimize. They may also devise choice tactics over
repeat purchase occasions through a process similar to operant conditioning. Cognitively based
choice tactics include performance, habit, brand loyalty, price, and normative influences;
affective-based choice tactics include affect referral, brand familiarity, variety seeking, and
impulse buying.
READINGS
Hoyer, W.D., & Maccinis, D.J. (2008). Consumer Behavior, Fifth Edition. South-Western 5191
Natorp Boulevard Mason, OH 45040 USA p. 244 & 268
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
3. Among the two effort, what is the most ideal this pandemic period to consider.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: After successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:
COURSE MATERIALS:
Marketing Ethics
Code of morals and conducts used in the marketing practices. It is also understood as
the systematic study of how moral standards are applied to marketing decisions. It can be
represented by standards related to marketing decisions base of what is right and what is
wrong.
Fairness- balance buyers needs and seller interest fairly, and avoid manipulation while
protecting the information of the consumers.
Respect- acknowledge basic human dignity of all the people involve through efforts to
communicate, understands and appreciate contributions of others.
READINGS
Hassan Mohamed, Hassan Shabana; 2017. Marketing Ethics in Egypt. Retrieve from
https://www.com.researchgate.net/publication/317557582_Marketing_Ethics_in_Egypt/. Date
Retrieved: September 22, 2019
ACTIVITIES/ ASSESSMENT:
Benefits:
Many companies are also being pushed by both consumers and retailers to use less
product packaging or more environmentally friendly product packaging.
Research about recycling demonstrates that specific beliefs about its importance and
attitudes toward recycling in general can directly affect whether consumers engage in recycling
behaviors and whether they perceive that recycling is inconvenient.
On the other hand, environmentally conscious behaviors are most likely to occur when
consumers perceive that their actions will make a difference – called perceived consumers
effectiveness.
READINGS
Ellen, P., Wiener, J., & Walgren, C. (1991). Consumer Behavior, 5 th Edition. “The Role of
Perceived Consumer Effectiveness in Motivating Environmentally Conscious Behaviors”.
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, pp. 102-117.
Kinnear, T., Taylor, J., & Ahmed, S. (April 1972). Consumer Behavior, 5th Edition. “Ecologically
Consumers: Who Are They?”. Journal of Marketing, pp. 46-57.
Nayvar, S. (October 1992). Consumer Behavior, 5 th Edition. “Refillable Pouch a Lotion First”,
Brandweek, p.3
2. Select one company that conducting CSR, explain how they implement and practice its
concept.