Consumer markets are constantly changing, and marketers must understand new and emerging contexts to succeed
Widespread adoption of digital technologies has created a global consumer culture that affects local lifestyles and behaviors
Global consumer culture shapes cultural values and can significantly influence how individuals respond to marketing activities
Marketers need to understand both local and global nuances of a market and identify aspects that may impact consumer behavior
3. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
Actions and decisions made by individuals when purchasing goods or services for personal use.
This behavior can be influenced by a variety of factors:
• personal needs and preferences,
• cultural and societal norms,
• advertising and marketing messages,
• economic factors.
4. THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR
• Consumer markets are constantly changing, and marketers must understand new and emerging contexts to succeed
• Widespread adoption of digital technologies has created a global consumer culture that affects local lifestyles and
behaviors
• Global consumer culture shapes cultural values and can significantly influence how individuals respond to marketing
activities
• Marketers need to understand both local and global nuances of a market and identify aspects that may impact consumer
behavior
• Marketers should consider how individuals acquire knowledge, skills, and behaviors that shape the culture in which they
live
• Global mass media, such as satellite TV and the internet, has expanded coverage and created a more connected world
• People around the world can now access the same music, TV shows, and news, increasing their exposure to global
corporations' marketing efforts.
5. THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR…..
• Greater social mobility and travel exposes people to different cultures
• Firms seek to create value by differentiating their products/services
• Co-creation of value involves firms collaborating with customers to create experiences that
complement their offerings
• Marketing managers need to understand how customers can contribute to brand value for successful
co-creation
• Digital channels are altering how consumers engage with firms, especially for digital natives
• Social media involves sharing content, creating a presence, having conversations, developing
relationships, joining groups, building reputations, and revealing identities
• Technology enables sophisticated analysis of changing consumer behaviors.
6. THE DIMENSIONS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
•Consumers purchase products or services for personal use. Organizational buying involves purchasing
products and services for use within a company's operations.
•Distinguishing between consumer and organizational goods is important, but some products can be
challenging to classify. For example, cars can be sold to both individuals for personal use and organizations
for business purposes such as providing transportation for sales representatives
However, for both types of buyer, an understanding of customers can be gained by answering the following
questions
• Who is important in the buying decision?
• How do they buy?
• What are their choice criteria?
• Where do they buy?
• When do they buy?
• Why do they buy?
These questions help define the key dimensions of behavior (and are relevant to both consumer and
organizational purchasers). Understanding the dimensions identified by these questions is important
and has implications for different levels of marketing planning.
7. WHO BUYS!
Many consumer purchases are individual. However, decision-making can also be made by a group such as a household. In
such a situation, a number of individuals may interact to influence the purchase decision.
Each person may assume a role in the decision-making process. The five roles are outlined below.
Initiator: the person who begins the process of considering a purchase. Information may be gathered by this person to
the decision.
Influencer: the person who attempts to persuade others in the group concerning the outcome of the decision. Influencers
typically gather information and attempt to impose their choice criteria on the decision.
Decider: the individual with the power and/or financial authority to make the ultimate choice regarding which product to
buy.
Buyer: the person who conducts the transaction. The buyer calls the supplier, visits the store, makes the payment and
delivery.
User: the actual consumer/user of the product.
An implication of understanding who buys is that identification of the roles played within the buying centre is a prerequisite
for targeting persuasive communications.
8. HOW THEY BUY – THE CONSUMER-DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Need
recognition/probl
em awareness
Information
Search
Evaluation of
Alternatives Purchase
Post-purchase
evaluation of
decision
9. NEED RECOGNITION / PROBLEM AWARENESS
Awareness of a problem can take many forms but a need recognition is essentially functional, and
realization may take place over time.
Consumer purchasing may be initiated by more emotional or psychological needs.
The consumer's intention to solve a problem is based on two factors: the size of the gap between the
desired and current situation and the significance of the problem. If the gap is small, the consumer may not
be motivated enough to take further action in the decision-making process, even if they perceive a
problem.
The existence of a need, however, may not activate the decision making process in all cases. This is due to
the existence of need inhibitors. For example, someone may want to buy an item on Amazon but may be
inhibited by fear of paying online and not receiving the goods. In such circumstances, the need remains
passive.
10. IMPLICATIONS IN THE NEED RECOGNITION STAGE
There are a number of marketing implications in the need-recognition stage:
• Understanding consumer needs: By understanding customer needs, companies can gain a
competitive advantage. Marketing research helps to identify customer problems and
dissatisfaction
• Overcoming need inhibitors: Need inhibitors can stop a purchase
• Need stimulation to encourage a purchase: Marketers use advertising campaigns and sales
training to stimulate customer needs. An advertisement displaying features and benefits of a
mobile smart phone may stimulate potential customers to reflect on their own model's
limitations and prompt them to take action.
11. INFORMATION SEARCH
•The consumer decision-making process moves to the information search stage if problem recognition is
strong enough. It involves identifying alternative ways to solve the problem through internal or external
search. Internal search involves reviewing relevant information from memory( ie potential solutions, methods
of comparing solutions, reference to personal experiences and marketing communications), while external
search involves personal and commercial sources ( ie friends, websites, social media, ads etc )
•The objective of information search is to build up the awareness set of brands that may provide a solution to
the problem.
•The growth of internet usage and companies providing search facilities have facilitated information search by
consumers. Consumers increasingly use the internet to gather information before buying a product and
reading reviews from other customers.
12. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES AND THE PURCHASE
In this stage, the consumer evaluates the various alternatives that were identified during the information search stage, and
ultimately chooses one product or service to purchase.
• Evaluation of alternatives involves comparing the different brands and products that have been identified as potential
solutions to the consumer's problem.
• Consumers may use a range of criteria ( Choice Criteria) to evaluate alternatives, such as price, quality, features, design, and
brand reputation.
• Some consumers may develop a set of evaluative criteria based on their personal values, preferences, and experiences.
• The relative importance of different evaluative criteria may vary depending on the product category and the individual
consumer's needs and preferences.
• In some cases, consumers may use heuristics or decision rules to simplify the evaluation process. For example, a consumer
may choose the brand that they have used before or the one that has the highest price as an indicator of quality.
• In other cases, consumers may engage in more elaborate decision-making processes, such as constructing decision matrices
or conducting in-depth research on each alternative.
At the end of the evaluation stage, the consumer selects one product or service that they believe best meets their needs and
preferences. This decision may be influenced by factors such as the consumer's budget, the availability of alternatives, and the
perceived risk associated with each option.
13. POST PURCHASE EVALUATION
After purchasing a product, the consumer evaluates whether their expectations have been met, exceeded or fallen short.
This evaluation can lead to positive or negative feedback and affect future buying decisions.
Some key points about post-purchase evaluation are:
• Satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the purchase is based on the consumer's expectations prior to the purchase.
• If the product meets or exceeds expectations, the consumer is likely to be satisfied and may become a repeat customer.
• If the product falls short of expectations, the consumer may be dissatisfied and potentially share negative feedback with
others, leading to negative word-of-mouth.
• Post-purchase evaluation can also lead to cognitive dissonance, which is when the consumer experiences discomfort or doubts
about the purchase decision. To alleviate this, the consumer may seek out information that confirms their decision or avoid
information that contradicts it.
• Marketers can influence post-purchase evaluation by providing follow-up support, such as warranties, customer service, and
encouraging feedback.
• Positive post-purchase evaluation can lead to brand loyalty and repeat purchases, while negative evaluation can lead to brand
switching and lost sales.