Consumer is the reason why business exists.

Without them no company can

survive or thrive. In their absence, an organization doesn’t have a business or
purpose. The main purpose of a company is to satisfy customer’s needs and wants.
Though similar, consumers are unique in themselves; they have needs and want
which are varied and diverse from one another; and they have different
consumption patterns and consumption behavior. The marketer helps satisfy these
needs and wants through product and service offerings. For a firm to survive,
compete and grow, it is essential that the marketer identifies these needs and
wants, and provides product offerings more effectively and efficiently than other
competitors.
A comprehensive yet meticulous knowledge of consumers and their
consumption behavior is essential for a firm to succeed. Herein, lays the essence of
Consumer Behaviour, an interdisciplinary subject, which emerged as a separate
field of study in the 1960s. Peter Drucker, a leading management expert, once
stated that the aim of marketing is to know and understand the consumer so well
that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result
in a consumer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to make the
product or service available. In short consumer or customer satisfaction is the key
to an organizational success.
Consumer Behaviour

Human being differs from one to another. It is not easy to predict the human
behavior. Human being differs in their taste, needs, wants and preferences. But one
constant thing is that we all are consumers. CB is a vast and complex subject.
Understanding CB and “knowing consumers’ are not that simple. It is almost
impossible to predict with one hundred per cent accuracy, how consumer(s) will
behave in a given situation. Marketers are interested in watching people shopping,
flirting, parading, playing, entertaining, as they are keenly interested in the wide
variety of behaviors they display. The efforts of all marketers are to influence the
behaviour of consumers in a desired manner. The success or failure in this pursuit
determines the difference between success and failure of marketing efforts or even
the business itself. Consumer behaviour explains the reasons and logic that underlie
purchasing decisions and consumption patterns; it explains the processes through
which buyers make decisions. Consumer Behaviour may be defined as “the
interplay of forces that takes place during a consumption process, within a
consumers’ self and his environment. This interaction takes place between three
elements viz. knowledge, affect and behavior

Nature of Consumer Behaviour

1. Process: -Consumer behaviour is a systematic process relating to buying
decisions of the customers. The buying process consists of the
following steps;
1) Need identification to buy the product
2) Information search relating to the product.
3) Listing of alternative brands.
4) Evaluating the alternative (cost-benefit analysis)
5) Purchase decision.
6) Post-purchase evaluation by the marketer.

2. Influenced by various factors: -Consumer behaviour is influenced by a

number of factors. The factors that influenced consumer are as follow; marketing,
personal, psychological, situational, social, cultural etc.

3. Different for different customers: -All consumers do not behave in the same
manner. Different consumers behave differently. The difference in consumer
behaviour is due to individual factors such as nature of the consumer’s life style,
culture, etc.
4. Different for different products: -Consumer behaviour is different for different
products. There are some consumers who may buy more quantity of certain items
and very low/no quantity of some other items.
5. Varies across regions: -The consumer behaviour vary across states, regions
and countries. For instance, the behaviour of urban consumers is different from that
of rural consumers. Normally, rural consumers are conservative (traditional) in their
buying behaviour.
6. Vital for marketers: -Marketers need to have a good knowledge of consumer
behaviour. They need to study the various factors that influence consumer
behaviour of their target customers. The knowledge of consumer behaviour enables
marketers to take appropriate marketing decisions.
7. Reflects Status: -Consumers buying behaviour is not only influenced by status
of a consumer, but it also reflects it. Those consumers who own luxury cars,
watches and other items are considered by others as persons of higher status.
8. Result in spread-effect: -Consumer behaviour has a spread effect. The buying
behaviour of one person may influence the buying behaviour of another person. For
instance, a customer may always prefer to buy premium brands of clothing,
watches and other items etc. this may influence some of his friends, neighbors,
colleagues. This is one of the reasons why marketers use celebrities like Sharuk
khan, Sachin Tendulkar to endorse their brands.
9. Improves Standard of Living: -Consumer buying behaviour may lead to
higher standard of living. The more a person buys the goods and services, the
higher is the standard of living.
10. Undergoes a change: - The consumer’s behaviour undergoes a change over a
period of time depending upon changes in age, education and income level. Etc, for
instance,, kids may prefer colorful dresses, but as they grow up as teenagers and
young adults, they may prefer trendy clothes.

Scope of Consumer Behaviour:

The study of consumer behaviour deals with understanding consumption patterns

and behaviour. It includes within its ambit the answers to the following:
 ‘What’ the consumers buy: goods and services
 ‘Why’ they buy it: need and want
 ‘When’ do they buy it: time: day, week, month, year, occasions etc.
 ‘Where’ they buy it: place
 ‘How often they buy’ it: time interval
Application of Consumer Behaviour:

An understanding of consumer behaviour is necessary for long term success

and survival of a firm. It is viewed as the edifice of the marketing concept, an
important orientation in marketing management. According to the marketing
concept, the marketer should be able to determine needs and wants of the target
segment and provide product and service offerings more effectively and efficiently
than competitors. It is essentially a customer-centered philosophy, which aims at
understanding customer needs and wants, providing the right product and service,
and deriving customer satisfaction; “make what you can sell” rather than “sell what
you make.” An understanding of the study of consumer behaviour helps formulate
appropriate marketing strategies for a firm keeping in view the consumer and his
environment.
It has a number of applications; the main application bases are as follows:
1. Analyze the environment:
The knowledge of consumer behaviour can be applied to help identify
opportunities and fight threats. The opportunities could be in terms of newer
customers, newer markets, unfulfilled needs and wants (through a study of
consumer individual determinants and other environmental influences). The threats
could be fought by developing and implementing appropriate marketing strategies
to best fit the environment. The marketing strategies need to be dynamic and
constantly evolving keeping in view the uncertainty in the environment;
Environmental uncertainty is a function of complexity and dynamism. Complexity is
defined in terms of the number, strength and interrelatedness of the various factors
in the environment that a firm has to deal with. Dynamism relates to how quickly
the changes take place in the environment.

2. Segmentation, targeting and positioning:

The study of consumer behaviour may be applied to segment the market,

select the target market and position the product or service offering. Identifying the
target segment, understanding their needs, providing the right product and service
offering and communicating about the offering – all of these help a marketer
succeed in the long term and ensure his survival and success in a changing
environment.
a) Segment the market: The marketer needs to identify distinct customer groups
with needs and wants, classify them on basis of descriptive characteristics and
behavioural dimensions. The descriptive characteristics may take forms of age,
gender, income, occupation, education, family size, family life cycle, gender,
lifestyle, personality, religion, generation, geography, nationality, and social class.
The behavioural dimensions take forms of benefits, uses, use occasion, usage rates,
and loyalty status.
b) Select target market: The marketer then selects one or more markets to
enter. The segment(s) that should be targeted should be viable; there should be a
fit between the market attractiveness and the company’s objectives and resources.
The marketer would be able to assess the viability of a segment on the basis of the
following criteria, viz., measurability, substantial ability, accessibility,
differentiability, and action ability.
c) Position: the product offering in the mind of the customers: The marketers
should be able to communicate the distinct and/or unique product characteristics.

3. Designing the Marketing Strategy:

There exists an interrelation between the Consumer, the Environment and
the Marketing strategy.
a) Consumer: The consumer has his needs and wants as well as product
preferences; Thus, there exists an interplay of Cognition (knowledge about products
and alternatives), Affect (feelings of favorableness and un favorableness) and
Behaviour (action: buy or not to buy).
b) Environment: This refers to forces in the environment, which make the
environment complex and dynamic.
c) Marketing strategies: This implies setting up of goals and then achieving them
through the design of an appropriate marketing mix. The Marketing Strategy should
be designed to influence consumers (Cognition, Affect and Behaviour) and be
influenced by them. It should be flexible and ever evolving with changes in the
customer needs and wants; as well as, changes in the environment in which it
operates. The knowledge of consumer behaviour can be applied to develop a “best
fit” between consumer needs and wants, the environment in which the firm
operates; and, the firms’ goals and objectives.

4. Designing the Marketing Mix:

4-Ps The study of consumer behaviour may be applied to design the 4 Ps.

a) Product: The term product includes both tangible products and intangible
services. The issues to address consist of name (brand), size, shape, features,
labelling, packaging, accessories and supplementary products, terms of sale and
services, after sales etc.
b) Price: This includes the pricing of the product offering. The major components
include, form of payment, terms and conditions of payment, discounts, price
sensitivity, differential prices and customer reaction, imagery (price increase and
customer reaction, price decrease and customer reaction).
c) Place and Distribution: This includes the marketing channel, and comprises
decisions regarding choice of channel (direct or indirect), location, accessibility and
availability of product offering, wholesaling, retailing, logistics etc.
d) Promotion: This includes marketing communication, and the major issues
comprise decisions on communication/promotion mix, the message and media
strategy (the content, appeal and context).
5. Application in Governmental and Non-profit Organizations and Social
Marketing:
The knowledge of consumer behaviour finds relevance even in Governmental
and Non-profit Organizations and Social Marketing. Governmental and Non-profit
Organizations have the society as its customers and need to understand them so as
to be able to serve them better. Social marketing involves propagation of ideas;
attempts at such circulation and spread of ideas for moral and social up liftment can
be more successful if there is a proper understanding of the these consumers (i.e.,
the public and society).
Research Perspectives on Consumer Behaviour:

There are three broad research perspectives in consumer behaviour. They

are as follows: the Decision-Making perspective, the experiential perspective, and
Behavioural-Influence perspective.

1. The Decision-Making Perspective:

According to the decision making perspective, the buying process is a

sequential in nature, with the consumer perceiving that there exists a problem and
then moving across a series of logical and rational steps to solve the problem;
stages being problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives,
purchase decision, and post purchase behaviour. This perspective emphasizes the
rational, logical and cognitive approach to consumer decision making and purchase
process.
2. The Experiential Perspective: The experiential perspective believes that not
all buying may be approach or the ‘dialectic’ approach to studying Consumer
Behaviour makes use both the approaches.
a) Quantitative Research in Consumer Behaviour:

As the name suggests, the approach makes application of quantitative

research techniques to the study of Consumer Behaviour. It comprises (i) research
techniques that are used together quantitative data over large samples randomly,
and (ii) statistical tools and techniques, inclusive of survey techniques, observation
and experiments. This type of research is descriptive and empirical in nature. It is
primarily used by the positivists while studying consumer behaviour, with a focus
on prediction of consumer behaviour. The findings can be generalized to marketing
situations. As mentioned above, the quantitative techniques are also used by
“dialectics”.
b) Qualitative Research in Consumer Behaviour:
This approach makes application of qualitative research techniques to the
study of Consumer Behaviour. It comprises (i) research techniques that are used to
gather qualitative data over small samples randomly and, (ii) non-statistical tools
and techniques, inclusive of depth interviews, focus group, projective techniques
and even observation. The type of study is subjective and non empirical in nature.
It lays emphasis on the holistic “what, where, when, why and how” of human
behaviour”. The focus is on understanding consumption behaviour and consumption
patterns. The objective is to gain an understanding of consumer behaviour and the
underlying causes that govern such behaviour. The approach assumes that all
marketing situations are unique; and, hence the findings cannot be generalized to
marketing situations. This approach is primarily used by the inter pretivists while
studying consumer behaviour. However, as mentioned above, the qualitative
techniques are also used by “dialectics”.
c) Combining the two approaches:

Now a day, the two approaches are used in combination to study consumer
behaviour. Qualitative research is very often a prelude to quantitative research; the
findings from qualitative research areused to prepare scales for surveys and
experiments.
Consumer Behaviour Audit

The consumer behaviour audit is a fundamental part of the marketing

planning process. It is conducted not only at the beginning of the process, but also
at a series of points during the implementation of the plan. The consumer
behaviour audit considers both internal and external influences on marketing
planning, as well as a review of the plan itself. There are a number of tools and
audits that can be used, for example SWOT analysis for the internal environment,
as well as the external environment. Other examples include PEST and Five Forces
Analyses, which focus solely on the external environment. In many ways the
consumer behaviour audit clarifies opportunities and threats, and allows the
marketing manager to make alterations to the plan if necessary. This portion tells
you the basics of the consumer behaviour audit, and introduces a consumer
behaviour audit checklist. The checklist rational and logical; in some cases, buying
results from a consumers’ desire for fun and fantasy, hedonic pleasures, emotions
and moods. The perspective emphasizes that consumers are “feelers” as well as
thinkers.
3. The Behavioural Influence Perspective: This perspective holds that forces in
the environment stimulate a consumer to make purchases without developing
beliefs and attitudes about the product.
Research Paradigms in Consumer Behaviour:
The research paradigm in the study of consumer behaviour focuses on two
approaches viz., Quantitative research, used by the positivists and, Qualitative
research: used by the interpretivists. The positivists and interpretivists as two
schools of thought have already discussed. The current is designed to answer the
question, what is the current marketing situation? Let’s consider the consumer
behaviour audit under three key headings:
I. The Internal Marketing Environment.
 II. The External Marketing Environment.
III. A Review of Our Current Marketing Plan
I. The Internal Marketing Environment.
In respect of internal marketing environment the following are the imporant
elements of checklist;
 How is our marketing team organised?
 How efficient is our marketing team?
 How effective is our marketing team?
 How does our marketing team interface with other organisations and internal
functions?
 How effective are we at Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
 What is the state of our marketing planning process?
 Is our marketing planning information current and accurate?
 What is the current state of New Product Development? (Product)
 How profitable is our product portfolio? (Product)
 Are we pricing in the right way? (Price)
 How effective and efficient is distribution? (Place)
 Are we getting our marketing communications right? (Promotion)
 Do we have the right people facing our customers? (People)
 How effective are our customer facing processes? (Process)
 What is the state of our business's physical evidence? (Physical Evidence)

II. The External Marketing Environment.

As a market orientated organization, the important areas we must analyse

are;
 What is the nature of our 'customer?' Such as: Their needs and how we
satisfy them. Their buyer decision process and consumer behaviour. Their
perception of our brand, and loyalty to it. The nature of segmentation,
targeting and positioning in our markets.
 What customers 'value' and how we provide that 'value?'.

Nature of Consumer Involvement

1. It is an inner urge that creates within an individual an interest/desire to hold
certain product/service offerings in greater relevance/importance.
2. Involvement possesses certain properties

a) It has a level of strength and intensity that determines the degree of

involvement that a consumer possesses. This could be high or low. A highly
involved consumer would actively search for information and collect facts, compare
the various brands against each other on the basis of the information, assess
differences and similarities between the various alternatives and finally make a
choice. In other words, they collect process and integrate information very
intensely, and finally arrive at a decision regarding the brand choice. On the other
hand, a consumer low on involvement would not make so much of effort in
collecting and processing information about varying alternative brands and taking a
decision.
b) The length of time that the consumer remains in this heightened state
determines the level of persistence. It could be short term and situational interest
in the product/service category; or it could be long term and enduring.
c) It is directed towards any or all of the elements of the marketing mix. A person
may show involvement towards the product (its features/attributes and benefits),
the price, the store or the dealer or even the promotional effort dvertisement/sales
promotion etc).
3. A mechanism underlies the very process of involvement. As a process,
involvement is impacted by certain “antecedents” that get restrained by
“moderating factors,” and finally affect its degree of intensity and level of
persistence.
Antecedent factors: There are certain factors that precede and lead to
involvement; these are referred to as ‘antecedents’; Antecedents to consumer
involvement include the following:
a) The person himself and the individual determinants like motives/needs;
learning/experiences; interests; attitudes; personality; lifestyle/social
class/interests/values; etc, have a bearing upon consumer involvement. Products
which relate to self image and personality lead to high involvements.
b) The object, stimuli or the product/service offering also affects involvement. The
greater the product differentiation, the greater would be the level of involvement.
Varying yet comparable brand alternatives also impact the level of involvement.
Involvement would also be impacted by features, benefits and associated value of
various brand offerings; brand image and equity; and very importantly the
associated risk levels. Products which possess high levels of risk increase the level
of consumer involvement.
c) The situation: The occasion/situation/reason of purchase also have a bearing on
the level of consumer involvement; for example, while gifting to a person special to
oneself, we are careful
Influencing buyer behaviour are as following:

I. Marketing Factors
Each element of the market mix – product, pricing, promotion and place
distribution) – has the potential to affect the buying process at various stages.
A. Product: The uniqueness of the product, the physical appearance and packaging
can influence buying decision of a consumer.
B. Pricing: Pricing strategy does affect buying behaviour of consumers. Marketers
must consider the price sensitivity of the target customers while fixing prices.
C. Promotion: The various elements of promotion such as advertising, publicity,
public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion affect buying behaviour of
consumers. Marketers select the promotion mix after considering the nature of
customers.
D. Place: The channels of distribution and the place of distribution affects buying
behaviour of consumers. Marketers make an attempt to select the right channel and
distribute the products at the right place.
II. Personal Factors:

The personal factors of a consumer may affect the buying decisions. The personal
factors include:
A. Age Factor: The age factor greatly influences the buying behaviour. For
instance, teenagers may prefer trendy clothes, whereas, office- executives may
prefer sober and formal clothing.
B. Gender: The consumer behaviour varies across gender. For instance, girls may
prefer certain feminine colours such as pink, purple, peach, whereas, boys may go
for blue, black, brown, and so on.
C. Education: Highly educated persons may spend on books, personal care
products, and so on. But a person with low or no education may spend less on
personal grooming products, general reading books, and so on.
D. Income Level: Normally, higher the income level, higher is the level of
spending and vice versa. But this may not be always the case in developing
countries, especially in the rural areas.

E. Status’ in the Society: Persons enjoying higher status in the society do spend a
good amount of money on luxury items such as luxury cars, luxury watches,
premium brands of clothing, jewellery, perfumes, etc.
F. Other Personal Factors: The other personal factors such as personality,
lifestyle, family size, etc., influence consumer behaviour.
Ill. Psychological Factors:
A person’s buying behaviour is influenced by psychological factors such as follows:

A. Learning: It refers to changes in individual behaviour that are caused by

information and experience. For example, when a customer buys a new brand of
perfume, and is satisfied by its use, then he/she is more likely to buy the same
brand the next time. Through learning, people acquire beliefs and attitudes, which
in turn influence the buying behaviour.
B. Attitude: It is a tendency to respond in a given manner to a particular situation
or object or idea. Consumers may develop a positive, or negative or neutral attitude
towards certain product or brands, which in turn would affect his/her buying
behaviour.
C. Motives: A motive is the inner drive that motivates a person to act or behave in
a certain manner. The marketer must identify the buying motives of the target
customers and influence them to act positively towards the marketed products.
Some of the buying motives include:
 Pride and possession
 Love and affection
  Comfort and convenience
 Sex and romance, etc.
E. Perception: It is the impression, which one forms about a certain situation or
object. A motivated person is ready to act. But the way or the manner in which he
acts is influenced by his/her perception of the situation. For instance, a student
may perceive examinations as an important event, and therefore, he/she would
make every possible effort including purchase of new stationery like pens, whereas,
another student may be casual about the examinations, and therefore, would not
make extra efforts.
F. Beliefs: A belief is a descriptive thought, which a person holds about certain
things. It may be based on knowledge, opinion, faith, trust and confidence. People
may hold certain beliefs of certain brands/products. Beliefs develop brand images,
which in turn can affect buying behaviour.
IV. Situational Influences:
Major situational influences include the physical surroundings, social surroundings,
time, the nature of the task, and monetary moods and conditions.
A. Physical Surroundings: The physical surroundings at the place of purchase
affect buying behaviour. For instance, when a customer is shopping in a store, the
features that affect buying behaviour would include the location of the store, the
decor, the layout of the store, the noise level, the way merchandise is displayed,
and so on.
B. Social Surroundings: The social surroundings of a situation involve the other
people with the customer that can influence buying decision at the point of
purchase. For instance, a bargain hunter shopping with an impatient friend may do
quick purchases, and may not haggle over the price, so as to please the impatient
friend.
C. Time Factor: Customers may make different decisions based on when they
purchase – the hour of the day, the day of the week, or the season of the year. For
instance, a consumer who has received a pay cheque on a particular day may shop
more items, than at the end of the month when he is short of funds.
D. Task: A customer may make a different buying decision depending upon the
task to be performed by the product. For instance, if the product is meant as a gift
rather than for personal use, then the customer may buy a different brand/product
depending upon to whom the gift is purchased.
E. Momentary Conditions: The moods and condition of the customer at the time
of purchase may also affect the buying decision. A customer who is very happy
would make a different buying decision, as compared to when he is not in a happy
mood
V. Social Factors:
The social factors such as reference groups, family, and social and status affect the
buying behaviour:

A. Reference Groups: A reference group is a small group of people such as

colleagues at work place, club members, friends circle, neighbours, family
members, and so on. Reference groups influence its members as follows:
 They influence members’ values and attitudes.
 They expose members to new behaviours and lifestyles.
 They create pressure to choose certain products or brands.
B. Family: The family is the main reference group that may influence the consumer
behaviour. Nowadays, children are well informed about goods and services through
media or friend circles, and other sources. Therefore, they influence considerably in
buying decisions both FMCG products and durables.
C. Roles and Status: A person performs certain roles in a particular group such as
family, club, organisation, and so on. For instance, a person may perform the role
of senior executive in a firm and another person may perform the role of a junior
executive. The senior executive may enjoy higher status in the organisation, as
compared to junior executive. People may purchase the products that conform to
their roles and status, especially in the case of branded clothes, luxury watches,
luxury cars, and so on.

VI. Cultural Factors:

Culture includes race and religion, tradition, caste, moral values, etc. Culture also
include subcultures such sub-caste, religious Sects, language, etc.
A. Culture: It influences consumer behaviour to a great extent. Cultural values and
elements are passed from one generation to another through family, educational
institutions, religious bodies, social environment, etc. Cultural diversity influences
food habits, clothing, customs and traditions, etc. For instance, consuming alcohol
and meat in certain religious communities is not restricted, but in certain
communities, consumption of alcohol and meat is prohibited.
B. Sub-Culture: Each culture consists of smaller sub-cultures that provide specific
identity to its members. Subcultures include sub-caste, religious sects (Roman
Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Protestant Christians, etc), geographic regions (South
Indians, North Indians), language (Marathi, Malayali, Tamilian, Guajarati) etc. The
behaviour of people belong to various sub-cultures is different. Therefore,
marketers may adopt multicultural marketing approach, i.e., designing and
marketing goods and services that cater to the tastes and preferences of
consumers belonging to different sub-cultures.
Consumer as an individual
The central focus of marketing is the consumer. To devise good marketing
plans, it is necessary to examine consumer behavioural attributes and needs,
lifestyles, and purchase processes and then make proper marketing-mix decisions.
The study of Consumer behaviour includes the study of what they buy, why they
buy, how they buy, when they buy, from where they buy, and how often they buy.
An open-minded consumer-oriented approach is imperative in today’s diverse global
marketplace so a firm can identify and serve its target market, minimize
dissatisfaction, and stay ahead of competitors. Final consumers purchase for
personal, family, or household use.
Consumers’ Personality and Theories of personality Personality- meaning

To understand the buyer and to make a customer out of him is the main purpose of
the study of consumer behaviour. Though this problem has been analysed from
different viewpoints under different premises, it still remains a complex one. On the
other hand the buyers a riddle. He is a highly complex entity. His needs and desires
are innumerable. Some are latent, some manifest and some others are highly
dominant. These have different priorities in the scheme of things. The buyer has his
own ideas and plans about realising these needs and desires. The first and foremost
task of the marketer is to get close to the buyer and understand his need-structure
and priorities. There are four major factors which influence the behaviour of the
consumers. They are:
1. Psychological factors influencing Customer Behaviour
2. Social Psychological factors influencing Customer Behaviour
3. Sociological factors influencing Customer behaviour
4. Economic factors influencing Customer Behaviour
Psychological Factors
These are the factors which are the personal attributes of an individual. We shall
study Five of them: Attitude, Motivation, Perception, Personality and Learning.
Personality
Each individual has inherent personality characteristics that influence his
buying behaviour.
According to Kotler, “Personality” is a set of distinguishing human psychological
traits that lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to environment
stimuli. It is often referred to as such traits like: self confidence, dominance,
autonomy, deference, sociability, defensiveness, and adaptability.
According to Schiffman and Kanuk, “Personality” is defined as those inner
psychological characters that both determine and reflect how a person responds to
his environment. The single most important element in personality is inner
characteristics of an individual. These are the specific qualities, attributes, traits,
factors, and mannerisms that distinguish one individual from another.
The Nature of Personality:
The following are the three important and distinct properties of Personality:

1. Personality Reflects Individual Differences:

Because the inner inherent characteristics which constitute an individual’s
personality are a complex combination of factors, no two individuals are identical or
exactly alike. But fortunately, any individuals may be similar on the basis of a single
personality trait, but not others. Like for example, out-going type, quiet type, shy
type, family-oriented type, etc. So it has become easier for the marketers to group
or categorise consumers into different groups on the basis of one or several traits.
2. Personality Is Consistent and Enduring:
The personality of an individual is both consistent (that is, it doesn’t change
in the short run) and enduring (that is, it doesn’t change in the long run). Both of
these qualities are thus useful for marketers to predict the behaviour of the
consumers in terms of personality. It’s very difficult to change an individual’s
personality characteristics. The marketers can’t change them. But if the marketers
know which personality characteristics influence which specific consumer responses,
then they can attempt to appeal to those relevant traits in their target consumer
group. Even if the personality of an individual is fairly consistent, still then the
buying and consumption pattern often varies with several external factors like,
time, environment, social, psychological, cultural, situational, change in fashion,
availability of goods and services. We have to consider the whole combination of
influencing factors of which personality is just one attribute to the change in a
buyer’s behaviour.
3. Personality Can Change:
Under certain circumstances the personality of an individual can change. It
may be gradual and slow like a child grows into a changed personality. It can be
also sudden on account of any major events in life, like birth of a child, death of a
dear one, divorce, major career promotion, accident, loss of job, migration, natural
calamity, etc. There are also instances where the personality stereotypes may
change over a period of time. For example, over the last 50 years, men’s
personality has generally remained relatively unchanged, as compared to women’s,
which has undergone significant change. This is because of women moving into
professions which were traditionally held by men earlier. Simply Personality is the
sum total of an individual’s enduring internal psychological traits that make him or
her unique. Self-confidence, dominance, autonomy, sociability, defensiveness,
adaptability, and emotional stability are selected personality traits. The sum total of
an individual defines his personality. Just as an individual has a personality,
similarly products also have a personality of their own.

Personality traits and Personality types:

We need to differentiate between a “personality trait” and a “personality
type”. As mentioned in the above section, as individuals, each one of us is unique
with a wide array of qualities, attributes, traits and characteristics. However, each
one of us shares with each other a quality or a few traits (s). When we share a trait
(s) with another (others), we are said to be similar on that trait and thus we
together with the other person (s), is said to fall in a personality type. In other
words, a personality trait is a person's inclination to behave in a particular way
while interacting with the external environment to achieve goals; this would be
specific to an area of a person's life. Many personality traits put together, comprise
the personal make-up of a person and culminate into his personality.

Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and
using products.

Need to understand:

 Why consumers make the purchases that they make?

 What factors influence consumer purchases?
 The changing factors in our society.

Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer.
A firm needs to analyze buying behavior for:

 Buyer’s reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the

firm’s success.
 The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix
(MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the
what, where, when and how consumers buy.
 Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing
strategies.

Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions).
Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process. Not all decision processes lead
to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6 stages,
determined by the degree of complexity...discussed next.

The 6 stages are:

1. Problem Recognition (awareness of need)--difference between the desired

state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger--
Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat. Can be stimulated by the
marketer through product information--did not know you were deficient? I.E.,
see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that
you need a new pair of shoes.
2. Information search--
o Internal search, memory.

o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives

(word of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping;
public sources etc.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation,
features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or
resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, Indian gets
highest rank etc.
4. Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package,
store, method of purchase etc.
5. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product
availability.
6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction.
Cognitive Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be
reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc.

Types of Consumer Buying Behavior

Types of consumer buying behavior are determined by:

 Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of

interest in a product in a particular situation.
  Buyer’s level of involvement determines why he/she is motivated to seek
information about a certain products and brands but virtually ignores others.

High involvement purchases--Honda Motorbike, high priced goods, products visible

to others, and the higher the risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk:

 Personal risk
 Social risk
 Economic risk

The four type of consumer buying behavior are:

 Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--buying low involvement

frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision
effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack
foods, milk etc.
 Limited Decision Making--buying product occasionally. When you need to
obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category,
perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering.
Examples include Clothes--know product class but not the brand.
 Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar,
expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High degree of
economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes,
computers, education. Spend a lot of time seeking information and deciding.
Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel
etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process.
 Impulse buying, no conscious planning.

The various processes which help the customers to procure the desired
merchandise from the retail stores for their end use refer to retail
management. Retail management includes all the steps required to bring the
customers into the store and fulfill their buying needs.
Retail management makes shopping a pleasurable experience and ensures
the customers leave the store with a smile. In simpler words, retail
management helps customers shop without any difficulty.
Retail is to rightly manage all the activities needed to carry out to
make products or services available to customers from vendor for personal or
family use. It carries all the activities that are being done in a business like
raising capital, buying products and services, deploying accounting and
management information system for control activities, managing warehouses
and distribution, developing new products and also the marketing activities.
Managing all these activities in retail is what we call retail management.
Retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customers
through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. Demand is created
through diverse target markets and promotional tactics, satisfying
consumers' wants and needs through a lean supply chain. In the 2000s, an
increasing amount of retailing is done online using electronic payment and
delivery via a courier or postal mail. Retailing includes subordinated services,
such as delivery. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider
services the small orders of a large number of individuals, rather than large
orders of a small number of wholesale, corporate or government clientele.
Shops may be on residential streets, streets with few or no houses, or in
a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a
shopping street has a partial or full roof to create a more comfortable
shopping environment protecting customers from various types of weather
conditions such as extreme temperatures, winds or precipitation. Online
retailing, a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C)
transactions and mail order, are forms of non-shop retailing.
Purchase decision

After the evaluation process consumers will select the product they would
like to purchase. Once product may be a clear winner or the consumer may have to
reprioritize their criteria to help them select a product. The job of the seller is to
ensure that the purchase process is simple and effective. Even at this stage the
purchaser could change their mind and select a competitor product or cancel the
purchase altogether. A long queue, impolite sales staff or complicated sales process
can all dissuade consumers from buying. Even if a consumer buys on this occassion
a negative buying experience could stop them buying in the future. Therefore
sellers need to make the buying process as simple and enjoyable as possible to
safeguard this and future purchases.
Post Purchase Behavior

Ever have doubts about the product after you purchased it? Research shows
that this feeling is common post purchase behaviour. Manufacturers of products
clearly want purchasers to feel proud of their purchase, so that they will purchase
from them again and recommend them to family and friends. It is therefore just as
important for manufacturer's promotions to reassure purchasers, as it is for them to
attract new customers. Promotions should make purchasers feel that they have
bought their product from a strong and reputable organization with "good"
products. Next Consumer behaviour is affected by many uncontrollable factors. Just
think, what influences you before you buy a product or service? Your friends, your
upbringing, your culture, the media, a role model or influences from certain groups?

Culture

Culture is one factor that influences behaviour. Simply culture is defined as

our attitudes and beliefs. But how are these attitudes and beliefs developed? As an
individual growing up, a child is influenced by their parents, brothers, sister and
other family member who may teach them what is wrong or right. They learn about
their religion and culture, which helps them develop these opinions, attitudes and
beliefs (AIO) . These factors will influence their purchase behaviour however other
factors like groups of friends, or people they look up to may influence their choices
of purchasing a particular product or service. Reference groups are particular
groups of people some people may look up towards to that have an impact on
consumer behaviour. So they can be a singer like the Lady Gaga or your immediate
family members. Opinion leaders are those people that you look up to because your
respect their views and judgments and these views may influence consumer
decisions. So it maybe a friend who works with the IT trade who may influence your
decision on what computer to buy. The economical environment also has an impact
on consumer behaviour; do consumers have a secure job and a regular income to
spend on goods? Marketing and advertising obviously influence consumers in trying
to evoke them to purchase a particular product or service.
Social Status

People's social status will also impact their behaviour. What is their role
within society? Are they Actors? Doctors? Office worker? and mothers and fathers
also? Clearly being parents affects your buying habits depending on the age of the
children, the type of job may mean you need to purchase formal clothes, the
income which is earned has an impact. The lifestyle of someone who earns
£250000 would clearly be different from someone who earns £25000. Also
characters have an influence on buying decision. Whether the person is extrovert
(out going and spends on entertainment) or introvert (keeps to themselves and
purchases via online or mail order) again has an impact on the types of purchases
made.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory explores the factors behind human
achievement and sets out the answer in the form of a hierarchy. Maslow suggests
individuals first need to satisfy basic physiological needs such as shelter hunger and
thirst. When these have been met, they move up to the next stage of the
hierarchy; safety needs, where the priority is things like job security and knowing
that you have a regular income. Safety is followed by social needs such as love and
belonging. Things that influence self esteem are next in the hierarchy; status,
recognition, job title and even wearing branded clothing make up self esteem needs
as they imply a certain status. The last stage is self actualisation or the point where
an individual believes they have met their potential and all of their needs have been
met. But how does Maslow's concept help an organisation trying to market a
product or service? Well as we have established earlier within this website,
marketing is about meeting needs and providing benefits, so the task involves
marketing products that meet the needs of your target market. For example
supermarkets sell value brands to meet the physiological needs of hunger and thirst
whilst luxury retailer Harrods develops products and services for those who have
met their esteem needs and are at the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Model.

Types of Buying Behaviour.

There are four types of buying behaviour.

1. Complex buying behaviour is where the individual purchases a high value

brand and seeks a lot of information before the purchase is made.
2. Habitual buying behaviour is where the individual buys a product out of
habit e.g. a daily newspaper, sugar or salt.
3. Variety seeking buying behaviour is where the individual likes to shop
around and experiment with different products. So an individual may shop
around for different breakfast cereals because he/she wants variety in the
mornings!
4. Dissonance reducing buying behaviour is when buyers are highly
involved with the purchase of the product, because the purchase is expensive
or infrequent. There is little difference between existing brands an example
would be buying a diamond ring, as people believe there is little difference
between diamond brand manufacturers.
CONSUMER ATTITUDES
An attitude is an enduring organization of motivational, emotional,
perceptual, and cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of our
environment. It is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable
or unfavourable manner with respect to a given object. Thus, an attitude is the way
one thinks, feels, and acts toward some aspect of his or her environment such as
a retail store, television prog Ratheesh, or product.

Attitude serves four key functions for individuals:

1. Knowledge function: Some attitudes swerve primarily as a means of
organizing beliefs about objects or activities such as brands and shopping. These
attitudes may be accurate or inaccurate with respect to objective reality, but the
attitude will often determine subsequent behaviours rather than that reality. For
example, a consumer’s attitude toward cola drinks may be ‘they all taste the same.’
This consumer would be likely to purchase the least expensive or most convenient
brand.
2. Value-expressive function: Other attitudes are formed and serve to express
an individual’s central values and self-concept. Thus consumers who value nature
and the environment are likely to develop attitudes about products and activities
that are consistent with that value. These consumers are likely to express support
for environment protection initiatives, to recycle, and to purchase and use ‘green’
products.
3. Utilitarian function: This function is based on operant conditioning. People tend
to form favorable attitudes toward objectives and activities that are rewarding and
negative attitudes toward those that are not. Marketers frequently promise rewards
in advertising and conduct extensive product testing to be sure the products are
indeed rewarding.
4. Ego-defensive function: People form and use attitudes to defend their egos
and self-images against threats and shortcomings. Products promoted as very
macho may be viewed favourably by men who are insecure in their masculinity. Or
individuals who feel threatened in social situations may form favourable attitudes
toward products and brands that promise success or at least safet such situations.
These individuals would be likely to have favourable attitudes toward popular
brands and styles of clothes and use personal care products such as deodorants,
dandruff shampoo, and mouthwash. Attitudes are formed as the result of all the
influences we have been describing in the previous chapters, and they represent an
important influence on an individual’s lifestyle.
5. Combination function – More often individuals develop attitudes towards a
product, which are a combined effect of all these functions.
Attitude Components
It is useful to consider attitudes as having three components: cognitive (beliefs),
Affective (feelings), and behavioural (response tendencies).
1. Cognitive Component: Cognitive component consists of a consumer’s belief
about an object. For most attitude objects, people have a number of beliefs. Many
beliefs about attributes are evaluative in nature; for example, high gas mileage,
attractive styling, and reliable performance are generally viewed as positive beliefs.
The more positive beliefs associated with a brand, the more positive each belief is,
and the easier it is for the individual to recall the beliefs, the more favorable the
overall cognitive component is presumed to be.
2. Affective Component: Feelings or emotional reactions to an object represent
the affective component of an attitude. A consumer who states ‘I like Pepsi” or
“Pepsi is a tasty drink” is expressing the results of an emotional or affective
evaluation of the product. The overall evaluation may be simply a vague, general
feeling developed without cognitive information or beliefs about the product.
3. Behavioural Component: The behavioural concept of an attitude is one’s
tendency to respond in a certain manner toward an object or activity. A series of
decisions to purchase or not purchase. Pepsi or to recommend it or other brands to
friends would reflect the behavioural component of an attitude. Actual behaviours
reflect these intentions as they are modified by the situation in which the behaviour
will occur.
Formation of Attitude
People are not born with an attitude. But they develop it over the growing &
learning period. There are several ways the attitude can be formed:
1. Classical conditioning – Attitudes about the products are formed over the
years by continuous tutoring & exposing the consumers to product’s attributes.
Thus slowly the consumer’s attitude is reinforced.
2. Instrumental conditioning – Sometimes this attitude is formed out of an
incidence. This is not intentional, but due to some reason if the consumer tries
some new product &develops a favourable or unfavourable attitude, which lays the
foundation of future strengthening of attitude.
3. Cognitive learning theory – This is similar to classical conditioning, with a
difference that it is associated with learning thro’ mental processing & evaluation,
experience of using the products over a period of time.

CUSTOMER EMOTIONS
Needs and emotions are closely related. Emotions are generally triggered by
environmental events. Anger, joy, and sadness are most frequently a response to a
set of external events. However, we can also initiate emotional reactions by internal
processes such as imagery. Athletes frequently use imagery to “psych” themselves
into a desired emotional state. Emotions are accompanied by physiological changes.
Some characteristic changes are
(1) Eye pupil dilation,
(2) Increased perspiration,
(3) More rapid breathing,
(4) Increased heart rate and blood pressure, and
(5) Enhanced blood sugar level.
Emotions also have associated behaviours. While the behaviours vary across
individuals and within individuals across time and situations, there are unique
behaviours characteristically associated with different emotions: fear triggers,
fleeing responses, anger triggers striking out, grief triggers crying, and so forth.
Finally, emotions involve subjective feelings. In fact, it is the feeling component we
generally refer to when we think of emotions. Grief, joy, anger, jealousy, and fear
feel very different to us. These subjectively determined feelings are the essence of
emotion.