Unit III
BUYER BEHAVIOUR
Understanding Individual Consumer Behaviour
INTRODUCTION:
Consumer Behaviour:
Consumer - buyer behaviour is a process involving series of related and
sequential stages or activities. The process begins with the discovery and
recognition of an unsatisfied need or want. It becomes a drive. Consumer begins
a search for information.
This search gives rise to various decisions and finally the purchase evaluates
these alternatives and finally the purchase decision is made. Then, the buyer
evaluates the purchase and decides whether he is satisfied or not.
Types Of Consumer Problem-Solving Processes
1. Routenized
Used When Buying Frequently Purchased, Low Cost Items
Used When Little Search/Decision Effort Is Needed
E.G., Buying A Quart Of Orange Juice Once Per Week
2. Limited Problem Solving
Used When Products Are Occasionally Purchased
Used When Information Is Needed About An Unfamiliar Product In A Familiar
Product Category
3. Extended Problem Solving
Used When Product Is Unfamiliar, Expensive, Or Infrequently Purchased
E.G., Buying A New Car Once Every Five Years
Buying Process:
For marketing management the most important behaviour on the part of a
prospective buyer is the process of deciding whether to buy or not to buy.
1. Perceived want, need recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation of alternatives
4. Purchase decision
5. Post-purchase experience and behaviour
Husband-Wife Role Structures
Family Communication Patterns (FCP)
There are two dimensions of family communication structure. They are: Socio
oriented , Concept oriented
1. Socio-oriented: designed to produce deference and to foster harmonious and
pleasant social relationships at home.
2. Concept-oriented: focuses on positive constraints that help the child to develop
his/her own views about the world.
The Family Life Cycle
Like all living things, families go through a life cycle. Individuals and families tend
to go through a “life cycle.” If the stages of the cycle are held in common by a
large number of families then it can be of value to marketers as a tool for
segmentation as well as predicting demand. The FLC might still be useful in the
future if the stages stabilize & it can certainly be useful in other countries where
the stages are still quite predictable.
The simple life cycle goes from
Child/teenager —> young single —> young couple* —> full nest—> Empty nest
—> widow (er).
Young single —> single parent
Full nest —> single parent —> blended family
New Urban Family:
People, in other words, who are defined less by their individual characteristics
than they are by their positions, roles, and relationships in the context of their
families.
The New Urban Family (NUF) according to Business Today has emerged at that
very time when individual tastes are diverging sharply from one another, and,
backed by sufficient spending-power, seeking unique solutions to their needs.
First, the consumption may be personal, but the choice is not.
Family Decision Making:
The decision maker(s) have the power to determine issues such as:
1. whether to buy;
2. which product to buy (pick-up or passenger car?);
3. which brand to buy;
4. where to buy it; and when to buy.
Understanding Industrial Consumer Behaviour
Difference between individual consumer behaviour and industrial
consumer behavior:
1. Consumer behaviour is subjective as consumer purchases are dominated
by emotions and are not always rational. Organizational behaviour is more
objective as the buying behaviour is influenced by the multiple goals and
objectives of the organization. The personal needs and goals play a
secondary role in organizational purchases.
2. In individual buying behaviour, there are not formalities to be performed in
the actual buying. In organizational buying, there is the influence of a
formal organization on the buying process.
3. In the buying task, we have five different roles namely, user, purchaser,
decider, influence and initiator. In consumer markets, two or more of these
roles out of these five roles are played by several persons and the entire
buying process is quite elaborate.
The marketing mix for consumer markets will be dominated by sales promotion,
advertising and distribution; where as, marketing mix for organization buyers will
be personal selling, product design, service and price.\
Industrial buying process:
The process of buying industrial goods involves.
1. Determination of quality;
2. Determination of quantity;
3. Quality description;
4. Selection of suppliers;
5. Analysing quotations;
6. Order placing;
7. Order processing;
8. Information feed back.
Customer Satisfaction
Customer Analysis
In order to conduct a customer analysis, the following questions need to be
answered using market research, competitor intelligence etc.:
WHO:
1. Buys our product- target and its demographics?
2. Buys our competitors product and why- positioning, mapping?
3. Makes buying decisions- husband or/and wife, team, user, top
management?
WHERE:
1. Are our customers geographically located?
2. Is the decision made to buy- buying process?
3. Do customers seek information about the products?
4. Do customers buy the product if so, from what type of stores?
WHAT:
1. General and specific needs satisfaction
2. Benefits (attributes) does the consumer seek?
3. Functions does the product perform for the customer?
4. Factors influence demand (economic force, interest rate, risk, peer and
the relative importance of these factors)
5. Are the important buying criteria?
6. Risk does the customer perceive?
7. Services does the customer expect?
WHEN:
1. Is the first decision to buy made?
2. Is the product repurchased?
3. Does the customer uses the product on what occasions and what is the
usage pattern?
HOW:
1. Do customers buy?
2. Long does the buying process last?
3. Does customer use the product?
4. Often customer uses the product?
5. Much amount customer uses the product for different occasions?
6. Much are they willing to spend?
7. Much do they buy?
WHY:
1. Do customers buy?
2. Do customers choose one brand as opposed to the other?
Customer Portfolio Analysis:
I. Customer Measures
II. Dimensional Analysis
III. Segment Descriptions
IV. Segment Profiles
V. Geographic Analysis
VI. Interpretation
Understanding Consumer Wants:
Consumer buying motives:
These buying motives may be classified into two:
1. Product Motives
2. Patronage Motives
Product motives may be defined as those impulses, desires and considerations
which make the buyer purchase a product. Product motives may still be classified
on the basis of nature of satisfaction.
1. Emotional Product Motives
2. Rational Product Motives
Patronage Motives:
Patronage Motives may be defined as consideration or impulses which persuade
the buyer to patronize specific shops. Just like product motives, patronage can
also be grouped as emotional and rational. Emotional Patronage Motives are
those that persuade a customer to buy from specific shops, without any logical
reason behind this action.
Customer categorization:
VALSTM (Values and Lifestyles) categorizes U.S. adult consumers into
mutually exclusive groups based on their psychology and several key
demographics. The same provision applies for India also. VALS is unique
because it highlights factors that motivate consumer buying behavior.
Study on marketing executives yielded five psychographic segments based on
attitudes and motivations: Sophisticates, Direct Answers, Mass Marketers,
Constrained, and Networkers.
Marketing of Services
Characteristics of Services:
Service is an intangible product; any product offering that is essentially
intangible. The features of services that distinguish them from tangible products;
these are intangibility, variability, inseparability and perishability.
Segmentation, Positioning and Differentiation:
Market segmentation is used as a strategic marketing tool for defining markets
and thereby allocating resources. Market segmentation is the act of dividing a
market into distinct groups who might be attracted to different products or
services.
The various gaps that can arise out of service continuum between customer and
the employee are:
1. Service gap: The distance between a customer’s expectation of a service and
perception of the service quality delivered. Ultimately the service gap is a
function of the knowledge gap, the standards gap, the delivery gap, and the
communications gap.
2. Knowledge gap: The difference between what consumers expect of a service
and what management perceives the consumers to expect.
3. Standards gap: The difference between what the management perceives
consumers to expect and the quality specifications set for service delivery.
4. Delivery gap: The difference between the quality standards set for service
delivery and the actual quality of service delivery.
5. Communications gap: the difference between the actual quality of the
service delivered and the quality of service described in the firm’s external
communications.
