Buyer behaviour

Marketing Management/Fundamentals of Marketing

1. Dr. Pooja Assistant Professor, Dept. of Commerce AMPGC, BHU Buyer Behaviour Concept & Factors Influencing Buyer Behaviour

2. Introduction In most of the markets, be it consumer market or organizational buying market, buyers differ enormously in terms of their buying dynamics. So the task for the marketing manager is not only to understand these differences in buying patterns but also to generalize them for better targeting and product offer. In consumer markets, for example, not only do buyers typically differ in terms of their age, income, educational levels and geographical location, but more fundamentally in terms of their personalities, lifestyles and their expectations from the products and services available in the market.

3. Definition of Consumer Behaviour “Consumer behaviour refers to the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and services for personal consumption .” James F Engel, Roger D Blackwell and Paul W Miniard , “ Consumer Behaviour” (Dryden Press, 1990) “Consumer behaviour refers to “the mental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants.” Bearden et al. “Marketing Principles and Perspectives.” “The behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing off if products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs.” Leon G Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk , ‘Consumer Behaviour’, Prentice-Hall of India, 4th ed. 1991

4. Definition of Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour refers to “the mental and emotional processes and the observable behaviour of consumers during searching, purchasing and post consumption of a product or service.” Authors How consumers make decisions to spend their available resources such as money, time and effort on consumption and use related items is the subject of consumer behaviour study.

5. Scope of Consumer’s Behaviour A product or service should have a consumer to buy it. Thus, it is very necessary to make a study on the behavioural aspect of the consumer i.e., there must be reasonable answer to the following questions: 1. What does a consumer buy? 2. Where from does he buy? 3. When does he buy? 4. How much does he buy? and 5. Why does he buy?

6. Why the Study of Buyer or Consumer’s Behaviour It is significant for regulating consumption of goods and thereby maintaining economic stability. It is useful in developing ways for the more efficient utilisation of resources of marketing. It also helps in solving marketing management problems in more effective manner. Today consumers give more importance on environment friendly products. They are concerned about health, hygiene and fitness. They prefer natural products. Hence detailed study on upcoming groups of consumers is essential for any firm. The growth of consumer protection movement has created an urgent need to understand how consumers make their consumption and buying decision.

7. Why the Study of Buyer or Consumer’s Behaviour Consumers’ tastes and preferences are ever changing. Study of consumer behaviour gives information regarding colour, design, size etc. which consumers want. In short, consumer behaviour helps in formulating of production policy. For effective market segmentation and target marketing, it is essential to have an understanding of consumers and their behaviour .

8. Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour refers to the selection, acquisition and consumption of goods and services to meet their needs. There are different processes involved in consumer behaviour. Initially, the consumer tries to find what products you would like to consume, and then select only those products that promise greater utility. After selecting the products, the consumer makes an estimate of available funds that can happen. Finally , the consumer looks at the current prices of commodities and makes the decision about which products to consume. Meanwhile, there are several factors that influence consumer purchases, such as social, cultural, personal and psychological.

9. Cultural Factors Culture: Essentially, culture is the share of each company and is the major cause of the person who wants culture and behaviour. The influence of culture on the purchasing behaviour varies from country to country; therefore sellers have to be very careful in the analysis of the culture of different groups, regions or even countries. Subculture: Each culture has different subcultures, such as religions, nationalities, geographical regions, racial, etc. Marketing groups may use these groups, segmenting the market in several small portions. For example, marketers can design products according to the needs of a specific geographical group. Social Class: Every society has some kind of social class which is important for marketing because the buying behaviour of people in a particular social class is similar. Thus marketing activities could be adapted to different social classes. Here we should note that social class is not only determined by income, but also there are several other factors such as wealth, education, occupation etc.

10. Social Factors Reference groups: Reference groups have the potential for the formation of an attitude or behaviour of an individual. The impact of reference groups vary across products and brands. For example, if the product is visible as clothing, shoes, car etc. The influence of reference groups will be higher. Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who influences others by his special skill, knowledge or other characteristics). Family: Buyer behaviour is strongly influenced by a family member. So vendors are trying to find the roles and influence of the husband, wife and children. If the decision to purchase a particular product is influenced by the wife of a buyer then sellers will try to target women in their advertisements. Here we should note that the purchase of roles change with changing lifestyles of consumers. Roles and Status: Each person has different roles and status in society in terms of groups, clubs, family, etc. organization to which it belongs. For example, a woman working in an organization as manager of finance. Now she is playing two roles. One is the chief financial officer and the other one is mother. Therefore, purchasing decisions will be influenced by their role and status.

11. Personal Factors Age: Age and life-cycle have a potential impact on the purchasing behaviour of consumers. It is obvious that consumers change the purchase of goods and services over time. Family life cycle consists of different stages as young, singles, married couples, and unmarried couples etc. that help marketers develop suitable products for each stage. Occupation: The occupation of a person has a significant impact on their buying behaviour. For example, a marketing manager of an organization is trying to buy business suits, while a low level worker in the same organization buy – resistant clothing works. Economic Situation: Economic situation of the consumer has a greater influence on their buying behaviour. If income and savings a customer is high, then going to buy more expensive products. Moreover, a person with low income and savings buy cheap products.

12. Personal Factors Lifestyle: Lifestyle clients are another factor affecting import purchasing behaviour of consumers. Lifestyle refers to the way a person lives in a society and express things in their environment. It is determined by the client’s interests, opinions, etc. and activities shape their whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. Personality: Personality varies from person to person, time to time and place to place. Therefore, it can greatly influence the buying behaviour of customers. In fact, personality is not what one has, but is the totality of the conduct of a man in different circumstances. He has a different characteristic, such as dominance, aggression, confidence etc. that may be useful to determine the behaviour of consumers to the product or service. Self-Image: A person’s self-image will also tend to influence what he or she will buy an upwardly mobile manager may buy a flashy car to project an image of success.

13. Psychological Factors Perception: Studying consumer behavior helps marketers understand consumer perceptions about a particular product or range of products. Uncovering and correcting erroneous perceptions about a particular product may give marketers an additional competitive advantage over competitors . Motivation: The level of motivation also affects the purchasing behaviour of customers. Each person has different needs, such as physiological needs, biological needs, social needs, etc. The nature of the requirements is that some are more urgent, while others are less pressing. Therefore, a need becomes a motive when it is most urgent to lead the individual to seek satisfaction .

14. Psychological Factors Observation: Select, organize and interpret information in a way to produce a meaningful experience of the world is called perception. There are three different perceptual processes which are selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention. In case of selective attention, sellers try to attract the attention of the customer, whereas, in case of selective distortion, customers try to interpret the information in a way that supports what customers already believe. Similarly, in case of selective retention, marketers try to retain information that supports their beliefs . Beliefs and Attitudes: Client has specific beliefs and attitudes towards different products. Because such beliefs and attitudes shape the brand image and affect consumer buying behaviour so traders are interested in them. Marketers can change beliefs and attitudes of customers with special campaigns in this regard .