Psychological Factors’ Implications on Consumers’ Buying

Behaviour: Examples from Tanzania

By:
Gabriel Byabato Bakilana
June 2009
Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they
buy and why they buy. It blends elements from psychology, sociology,
sociopsychology, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the
buyer decision processes/buyer decision making process, both individually and in
groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics,
psychographics, and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's
wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as
family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.

According to Kotler and Keller (2006) consumer behaviour is the study of how
individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods,
services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.

A study of consumer behaviour provides clues for improving or introducing

products or services, setting prices, devising channels, crafting messages and
developing other marketing activities. Consumer’s buying behaviour is influenced
by cultural, social and personal factors. Cultural factors exert the broadest and
deepest influence.

Consumer Psychology

Consumer psychology is the study of how people relate to the products and
services that they purchase or use. Consumer psychologists study virtually all
psychological and behavioural responses that can occur within the context of a
person's role as a consumer. And consistent with the goals of psychologists from
other areas, research carried out by consumer psychologists is designed to
describe, predict, explain, and/or influence consumer responses to product- and
service-related information and experiences. For example, a research on
consumer psychology may be used to:

• Provide information to companies and consumers on what the public

needs or wants
• Help an organization (either profit or non-profit) effectively develop and
market products, services, or ideas
• Guide the work of government agencies that are responsible for product
safety, identity of brand names, evaluation of advertising claims, and
assessment of ethical marketing practices

Motivation

A need becomes a motive when it is aroused to a sufficient level of intensity. A

motive is a need that is sufficiently pressing to drive the person to act. Needs can
be classified into biogenic and psychogenic needs.

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Biogenic needs arise from psychological states of tension such as hunger, thirst
or discomfort while psychogenic needs arise from psychological states of tension
such as the need for recognition, esteem or belonging.

Motivation is about what makes any living creature go in search of something,

whether it is lions seeking shade or customers looking for a cold drink. In
Marketing, it's all about finding out what your customers really need (and want
and the difference between those two concepts) and what they are willing to do
to get it. It's also about finding out how much you, as the marketer, are willing to
do to satisfy those customers.

Motivation has much to do with desire and ambition, and if they are absent,
motivation is absent too. Often, a person has the desire and ambition to get
something done or achieve a certain goal, but lacks the push, the initiative and
the willingness to take action. This shows a lack of motivation and inner drive.

Motivation strengthens the ambition, increases initiative and gives direction,

courage, energy and the persistence to follow one's goals. A motivated person
takes action and does whatever he/she needs to achieve his/her goals.

Motivation is usually strong, when one has a vision, a clear mental image of a
certain situation or achievement, and also a strong desire to materialize it. In this
case motivation pushes one forward, toward taking action and making the vision
a reality.

Motivation can be applied to every action and goal. It could be motivation to

study a foreign language, to get good grades at school, bake a cake, write a
poem, take a walk everyday, make more money, get a better job, buy a new
house, own a business or become a writer, a doctor or a lawyer. Motivation is
present whenever there is a clear vision, precise knowledge of what one wants to
do, a strong desire and faith in one's abilities.

Three best known theories of human motivation are those of Sigmund Freud,
Abraham Maslow and Frederick Hertzberg. These are the best because they
carry quite different implications for consumer analysis and marketing strategy.

• Freud’s theory assumes that the psychological forces shaping people’s

behaviour are largely unconscious and that a person can not fully
understand his/her own motivations.

A marketer should understand that when a person examines specific

brands he/she will react not only to their stated capabilities but also to
other less conscious cues. Shape, size, weight, material, colour and brand
name can all trigger certain associations and emotions.

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 • Maslow’s theory sought to explain why people are driven by a particular
need at a particular time. In this theory, human needs are arranged in
hierarchy, from the most pressing to the least pressing, in order of
importance. When a person succeeds in satisfying an important need,
he/she will try to satisfy the next important need.

This theory helps marketers to understand how various products it into the
plans, goals and lives of consumers.

• Hertzberg developed a two factor theory that distinguishes dissatisfiers

(factors that cause dissatisfaction) and satisfiers (factors that cause
satisfaction). The absence of dissatisfiers is not enough; satisfiers must be
present to motivate a purchase. E.g. A computer that does not come with
a warranty would be a dissatisfier, yet the presence of a product warranty
would not act as a satisfier or motivator of a purchase because it’s not a
source of intrinsic satisfaction.

This theory has two implications. First, sellers should do their best to
avoid dissatisfiers, for example a poor training manual or a poor service
policy. Although these things will not sell a product, they might easily
unsell it. Second, the seller should identify the major satisfiers or
motivators of purchase in the market and then supply them. These
satisfiers will make a major difference as to which brand the consumers
buy.

Perception

Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets

information to increase a meaningful picture of the words. Perception depends
not only on the physical stimuli but also on the stimuli’s relation to the
surrounding field and on conditions within the individual.

One person might perceive a fast talking salesperson as aggressive and

insincere while another person might perceive him/her as intelligent and helpful.
Each will respond differently to the salesperson.

In marketing, perceptions are more important than realities as it is perception

that will affect consumer’s actual behaviour. People can emerge with different
perceptions of the same object because of three perceptual processes:

• Selective attention – The most stimuli will be screened out of many

advertisements and brand communications that someone hears, because
a person can not attend to every one of them.

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 • Selective distortion – People tend to interpret information in a way that will
fit their pre-conceptions. Consumers will always distort information to be
consistent with prior brand and product beliefs
• Selective retention – People tend to retain information that supports their
attitudes and beliefs.

Learning

Learning involves changes in an individual’s behaviour arising from experience.

Learning theorists believe that learning is produced through the interplay of
drives, stimuli, cues, responses and reinforcement.

Leaning theory teaches marketers that they can build demand for a product by
associating it with strong drives using motivation cues and providing positive
reinforcement.

Beliefs and Attitudes

A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something. A person

may believe that certain cooking oil 'x' has the lowest fat content and is best for
health. This belief may be based on some real facts or it may merely be a notion
or opinion that the person has.

The belief that the customer has about a brand is important because it
determines his behaviour towards buying and using it. The beliefs constitute the
brand image, and if the customer has the wrong beliefs he is likely to generate a
negative image about the brand.

The marketer must ensure that consumers have all relevant and correct
information about the brand to facilitate formation of a positive brand image.

Attitude is a person's enduring feeling, evaluation and tendency towards a

particular idea or object. Starting from childhood, attitudes develop over the time
with each fresh knowledge input, experience and influence. Attitudes get settled
into specific patterns and are difficult to change.

It is easier to market a product which fits in well with the existing patterns of
attitudes rather than change the attitudes to fit a new product concept.

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Implications of psychological factors on consumer behaviour (Examples
from Tanzania)

FACTOR EXAMPLE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR EXPLANATION

FROM
TANZANIA
Motivation Treated Due to the increased deaths in People may react
mosquito nets Tanzania especially in the differently and make a
(Afya Net & Coast regions due to Malaria, purchase of a product
Mbu Net) and after the media campaigns based on different
to show the communities on motives. Different
how treated mosquito nets can motives may lead to a
be used to combat Malaria, the purchase of a similar
motive was aroused and a lot product.
of people started using these
nets. In Dar es Salaam and
Pemba for instance, this
exercise has turned out to be
very successful. In other
areas, like Kagera where
Malaria cases are relatively
minimal, a number of people
purchased these low-priced
nets and began using them for
other purposes like fishing and
catching the traditional
‘Senene’.
Perception Yebo Juice When the product was Until this stage, the
(Yebo Yebo) introduced to the market, sandals are still
people perceived it as inferior. considered inferior,
And by the time the juice came even though for those
into market, a certain type of who have bought and
sandals had also entered the used them, they have
market and was popular proven to be durable,
among the local street comfortable and
vendors. Therefore most of the relatively cheap. This
vendors who were selling that is because the
brand of juice, were mostly product was
wearing that type of sandals. negatively perceived
The name Yebo Yebo was at its inception
immediately passed on to the
sandals and the sandals
received a negative perception
from the market as being a
cheap product meant for street
vendors

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Learning Ariel Initially, consumers liked the After “learning” that
Detergent product after the product was the soap is actually
introduced to the market with not very good,
heavy advertisements. Later, consumption has
people realized that the soap dwindled remarkably.
has some side effects on the
skin and on clothes as well.
Beliefs and Local vs. There is a tendency in This behaviour has
Attitudes Imported Tanzania, to believe more in been influenced by
goods and imported goods and services beliefs and attitudes
services rather than local ones. Majority carried on from our
of Tanzanians believe that all grapevines; and
goods or services from outside majority of Tanzanians
Tanzania are of better quality especially those in
than the local ones. Tanzanian high social status
education for instance, is of always spend
good quality but there are lots massive amounts of
of Tanzanians abroad and in money to send their
other countries in Africa trying children abroad to get
to acquire education from education which is
there as opposed to here due also available locally
to the mentality that any
college out of Tanzania is
better than Tanzanian
colleges.

Concluding Remarks

A number of factors involve consumer choices. In some cases, consumers will

be more motivated. For example, one may be more careful choosing a gift for a
friend than when buying the same thing for one self. Some consumers are also
more motivated to comparison shop for the best prices, while others are more
convenience oriented. Personality impacts decisions. Some like variety more
than others, and some are more receptive to stimulation and excitement in trying
new stores. Perception influences decisions. Some people, for example, can
taste the difference between generic and name brand foods while many cannot.
Selective perception occurs when a person is paying attention only to information
of interest. For example, when looking for a new car, the consumer may pay
more attention to car ads than when this is not in the horizon. Some consumers
are put off by perceived risk. Thus, many marketers offer a money back
guarantee. Consumers will tend to change their behavior through learning e.g.,
they will avoid restaurants they have found to be crowded and will settle on
brands that best meet their tastes. Consumers differ in the values they hold.

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REFERENCES

Kotler, P & Keller, K.K, Marketing Management, 12th Edition, (2006)

Ripley, Louise M (2007), Consumer Behavior, York University, Toronto, M.B.A.,

PhD AK/ADMS 4220 3.0

Journal of Consumer Behavior, Vol. 7, Issue 4 – 5, 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Lempert, P., Being the Shopper: Understanding the Buyer's Choice, New York:
Wiley; 2002. ISBN: 0471151351.

Satterthwaite, A., Going Shopping: Consumer Choices and Community

Consequences, New Haven: Yale University Press; 2001.

Pooler, J., Why we shop: Emotional Rewards and Retail Strategies, Praeger
2003,Westport, Connecticut.

Dittmar, H. and Brown, R., Consumer Culture, Identity and Well-Being,

Psychology Press, 2007

Stávková J., Stejskal L., and Toufarová Z., Implications of Psychological

Factors on Consumer Behaviour, Faculty of Business and Economics,
Mendel University of Agricultureand Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic, 2008.

Web Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_behaviour

http://www.successconsciousness.com/strengthen_motivation.htm

http://crm4insurance.blogspot.com/2008/01/beliefts-and-attitudes-consumer.html

http://www.atkinson.yorku.ca/~lripley/cbUmotivate.htm