INTRODUCTION

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

All marketing starts with the consumer. So consumer is a very important person to a
marketer. Consumer decides what to purchase, for whom to purchase, why to purchase, from
where to purchase, and how much to purchase. In order to become a successful marketer, he
must know the liking or disliking of the customers. He must also know the time and the
quantity of goods and services, a consumer may purchase, so that he may store the goods or
provide the services according to the likings of the consumers. Gone are the days when the
concept of market was let the buyers beware or when the market was mainly the sellers
market. Now the whole concept of consumers sovereignty prevails. The manufacturers
produce and the sellers sell whatever the consumer likes. In this sense, consumer is the
supreme in the market.

As consumers, we play a very vital role in the health of the economy local, national or
international. The decision we make concerning our consumption behaviour affect the
demand for the basic raw materials, for the transportation, for the banking, for the production;
they effect the employment of workers and deployment of resources and success of some
industries and failures of others. Thus marketer must understand this. The consumer
behaviour suggest how individual, groups and organization select, buy, use and dispose of
goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and wants. It also clues for
improving or introducing products or services, setting price, devising channels etc. Since
liberalization 100% FDI is allowed in India. This has attracted foreign companies to penetrate
the Indian market. The marketers always look for emergent trends that suggest new.

As a consumer we are all unique and this uniqueness is reflected in the consumption pattern
and process purchase. The study of consumer behaviour provides us with reasons why
consumers differ from one another in buying using products and services. We receive stimuli
from the environment and the specifics of the marketing strategies of different products and
services, and responds to these stimuli in terms of either buying or not buying product. In
between the stage of receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the consumer goes through
the process of making his decision.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Consumer behaviour is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why
they buy. It is a subcategory of marketing that blends elements from psychology, sociology,
socio psychology, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the 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.

Consumption is the process of production, acquisition, utilization and destruction of goods,

services, experiences or places

Understanding Demographics -

1) Youth 60% of Indias teens stay in rural area.

2) Women Only 23 % house wives in urban areas have jobs outside their homes

STAGES OF CONSUMER BUYNG 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: The buying process starts with need or problem recognitionthe
buyer recognizes a problem or need. The buyer senses a difference between his or her actual
state and some desired state. The need can be triggered by internal stimuli when one of the
person's normal needshunger, thirst, sexrises to a level high enough to become a drive. A
need can also be triggered by external stimuli.

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

At this stage, the marketer should research consumers to find out what kinds of needs or
problems arise, what brought them about, and how they led the consumer to this particular
product.

2. Information search an aroused consumer may or may not search for more information.
If the consumer's drive is strong and a satisfying product is near at hand, the consumer is
likely to buy it then. If not, the consumer may store the need in memory or undertake an
information search related to the need. At one level, the consumer may simply enter
heightened attention.

The consumer can obtain information from any of several sources. These include personal
sources (family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances), commercial sources (advertising,
salespeople, dealers, packaging, displays, Web sites), public sources (mass media, consumer-
rating organizations), and experiential sources (handling, examining, using the product). The
relative influence of these information sources varies with the product and the buyer.
Generally, the consumer receives the most information about a product from commercial
sourcesthose controlled by the marketer. The most effective sources, however, tend to be
personal. Commercial sources normally inform the buyer, but personal sources legitimize or
evaluate products for the buyer.

People often ask othersfriends, relatives, acquaintances, professionalsfor

recommendations concerning a product or service. Thus, companies have a strong interest in
building such word-of-mouth sources. These sources have two chief advantages. First, they
are convincing: Word of mouth is the only promotion method that is of consumers, by
consumers, and for consumers. Having loyal, satisfied customers that brag about doing
business with you is the dream of every business owner. Not only are satisfied customers
repeating buyers, but they are also walking, talking billboards for your business. Second, the
costs are low. Keeping in touch with satisfied customers and turning them into word-of-
mouth advocates costs the business relatively little.

A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set.
Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is

Chinese food

Indian food

Burger king

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. If not satisfied with your choices then
return to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc.
Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by
"framing" alternatives.

4. Purchase decisionIn the evaluation stage, the consumer ranks brands and forms
purchase intentions. Generally, the consumer's purchase decision will be to buy the most
preferred brand, but two factors can come between the purchase intention and the purchase
decision. The first factor is the attitudes of others

The second factor is unexpected situational factors. The consumer may form a purchase
intention based on factors such as expected income, expected price, and expected product
benefits. However, unexpected events may change the purchase intention.

5. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & product availability

6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: The marketer's job does not end when the product is
bought. After purchasing the product, the consumer will be satisfied or dissatisfied and will
engage in post purchase behavior of interest to the marketer. What determines whether the
buyer is satisfied or dissatisfied with a purchase? The answer lies in the relationship between
the consumer's expectations and the product's perceived performance. If the product falls
short of expectations, the consumer is disappointed; if it meets expectations, the consumer is
satisfied; if it exceeds expectations, the consumer is delighted. The larger the gap between
expectations and performance, the greater the consumer's dissatisfaction. This suggests that
sellers should make product claims that faithfully represent the product's performance so that
buyers are satisfied. Some sellers might even understate performance levels to boost
consumer satisfaction with the product.

Almost all major purchases result in cognitive dissonance, or discomfort caused by post
purchase conflict. After the purchase, consumers are satisfied with the benefits of the chosen
brand and are glad to avoid the drawbacks of the brands not bought. However, every
purchase involves compromise. Consumers feel uneasy about acquiring the drawbacks of the
chosen brand and about losing the benefits of the brands not purchased. Thus, consumers feel
at least some postpurchase dissonance for every purchase.

Why is it so important to satisfy the customer? Such satisfaction is important because a

company's sales come from two basic groupsnew customers and retained customers. It
usually costs more to attract new customers than to retain current ones, and the best way to
retain current customers is to keep them satisfied. Customer satisfaction is a key to making
lasting connections with consumersto keeping and growing consumers and reaping their
customer lifetime value. Satisfied customers buy a product again, talk favorably to others
about the product, pay less attention to competing brands and advertising, and buy other
products from the company. Many marketers go beyond merely meeting the expectations of
customersthey aim to delight the customer. A delighted customer is even more likely to
purchase again and to talk favorably about the product and company.

A dissatisfied consumer responds differently. Whereas, on average, a satisfied customer tells

3 people about a good product experience, a dissatisfied customer gripes to 11 people. In fact,
one study showed that 13 percent of the people who had a problem with an organization
complained about the company to more than 20 people. Clearly, bad word of mouth travels
farther and faster than good word of mouth and can quickly damage consumer attitudes about
a company and its products.

Therefore, a company would be wise to measure customer satisfaction regularly. It cannot

simply rely on dissatisfied customers to volunteer their complaints when they are dissatisfied.
Some 96 percent of unhappy customers never tell the company about their problem.
Companies should set up systems that encourage customers to complain. In this way, the
company can learn how well it is doing and how it can improve

TYPES OF COMSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR :

Types of consumer buying behaviour are determined by:

Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of interest in a product

in a particular situation. Buyers 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 behaviour are:

Routine Response/Programmed Behaviour--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.
COMPLEX BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Consumers undertake complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase
and perceive significant differences among brands. Consumers may be highly involved when
the product is expensive, risky, purchased infrequently, and highly self-expressive. Typically,
the consumer has much to learn about the product category. For example, a personal
computer buyer may not know what attributes to consider. Many product features carry no
real meaning: a "Pentium Pro chip," "super VGA resolution," or "megs of RAM."

This buyer will pass through a learning process, first developing beliefs about the product,
then attitudes, and then making a thoughtful purchase choice. Marketers of high-involvement
products must understand the information-gathering and evaluation behavior of high-
involvement consumers. They need to help buyers learn about product-class attributes and
their relative importance, and about what the company's brand offers on the important
attributes. Marketers need to differentiate their brand's features, perhaps by describing the
brand's benefits using print media with long copy. They must motivate store salespeople and
the buyer's acquaintances to influence the final brand choice.

DISSONANCE- REDUCING BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Dissonance-reducing buying behavior occurs when consumers are highly involved with an
expensive, infrequent, or risky purchase, but see little difference among brands. For example,
consumers buying carpeting may face a high-involvement decision because carpeting is
expensive and self-expressive. Yet buyers may consider most carpet brands in a given price
range to be the same. In this case, because perceived brand differences are not large, buyers
may shop around to learn what is available, but buy relatively quickly. They may respond
primarily to a good price or to purchase convenience.

After the purchase, consumers might experience post purchase dissonance (after-sale
discomfort) when they notice certain disadvantages of the purchased carpet brand or hear
favorable things about brands not purchased. To counter such dissonance, the marketer's
after-sale communications should provide evidence and support to help consumers feel good
about their brand choices.
HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Habitual buying behavior occurs under conditions of low consumer involvement and little
significant brand difference. For example, take salt. Consumers have little involvement in this
product categorythey simply go to the store and reach for a brand. If they keep reaching for
the same brand, it is out of habit rather than strong brand loyalty. Consumers appear to have
low involvement with most low-cost, frequently purchased products.

In such cases, consumer behavior does not pass through the usual belief-attitude-behavior
sequence. Consumers do not search extensively for information about the brands, evaluate
brand characteristics, and make weighty decisions about which brands to buy. Instead, they
passively receive information as they watch television or read magazines. Ad repetition
creates brand familiarity rather than brand conviction. Consumers do not form strong
attitudes toward a brand; they select the brand because it is familiar. Because they are not
highly involved with the product, consumers may not evaluate the choice even after purchase.
Thus, the buying process involves brand beliefs formed by passive learning, followed by
purchase behavior, which may or may not be followed by evaluation.

Because buyers are not highly committed to any brands, marketers of low-involvement
products with few brand differences often use price and sales promotions to stimulate product
trial. In advertising for a low-involvement product, ad copy should stress only a few key
points. Visual symbols and imagery are important because they can be remembered easily
and associated with the brand. Ad campaigns should include high repetition of short-duration
messages. Television is usually more effective than print media because it is a low-
involvement medium suitable for passive learning. Advertising planning should be based on
classical conditioning theory, in which buyers learn to identify a certain product by a symbol
repeatedly attached to it.

Marketers can try to convert low-involvement products into higher-involvement ones by

linking them to some involving issue. Procter & Gamble does this when it links Crest
toothpaste to avoiding cavities. Or the product can be linked to some involving personal
situation. Nestl did this in its series of ads for Taster's Choice coffee, each consisting of a
new soap-opera-like episode featuring the evolving romantic relationship between two
neighbors. At best, these strategies can raise consumer involvement from a low to a moderate
level. However, they are not likely to propel the consumer into highly involved buying
behavior.

VARIETY SEEKING BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Consumers undertake variety-seeking buying behavior in situations characterized by low

consumer involvement but significant perceived brand differences. In such cases, consumers
often do a lot of brand switching. For example, when buying cookies, a consumer may hold
some beliefs, choose a cookie brand without much evaluation, then evaluate that brand during
consumption. But the next time, the consumer might pick another brand out of boredom or
simply to try something different. Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety rather than
because of dissatisfaction.

In such product categories, the marketing strategy may differ for the market leader and minor
brands. The market leader will try to encourage habitual buying behavior by dominating shelf
space, keeping shelves fully stocked, and running frequent reminder advertising. Challenger
firms will encourage variety seeking by offering lower prices, special deals, coupons, free
samples, and advertising that presents reasons for trying something new.

Factors Affecting the Consumer Buying Decision Process

A consumer, making a purchase decision will be affected by the following four factors:

1. Cultural and sub culture Factor

2. Social Factor

3. Personal Factor

4. Psychological

1. Culture and Sub-culture

Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous
group of people and transmitted to the next generation. Culture also determines what is
acceptable with product advertising. Culture determines what people wear, eat, reside and
travel. Cultural values in the US are good health, education, individualism and freedom. In
American culture time scarcity is a growing problem that is change in meals. Big impact on
international marketing. Culture can be divided into subcultures: Geographic regions

Human characteristics such as ethnic background.

Culture affects what people buy, how they buy and when they buy.

2. Social Factors

Consumer wants, learning, motives etc. are influenced by opinion leaders, person's family,
reference groups, social class and culture.

Roles and Family Influences--

Role...things you should do based on the expectations of you from your position within a
group. People have many roles. Husband, father, employer, employee. Individuals role are
continuing to change therefore marketers must continue to update information. Family is the
most basic group a person belongs to. Marketers must understand: that many family decisions
are made by the family unit consumer behaviour starts in the family unit family roles and
preferences are the model for children's future family (can reject/alter/etc) family buying
decisions are a mixture of family interactions and individual decision making. Family acts an
interpreter of social and cultural values for the individual.

The Family life cycle: families go through stages; each stage creates different consumer
demands

Family members can strongly influence buyer behavior. The family is the most important
consumer buying organization in society, and it has been researched extensively. Marketers
are interested in the roles and influence of the husband, wife, and children on the purchase of
different products and services.

Husband-wife involvement varies widely by product category and by stage in the buying
process. Buying roles change with evolving consumer lifestyles. In the United States, the
wife traditionally has been the main purchasing agent for the family, especially in the areas of
food, household products, and clothing. But with 70 percent of women holding jobs outside
the home and the willingness of husbands to do more of the family's purchasing, all this is
changing. For example, women now buy about 45 percent of all cars and men account for
about 40 percent of food-shopping dollars.

Such changes suggest that marketers who've typically sold their products to only women or
only men are now courting the opposite sex. For example, with research revealing that
women now account for nearly half of all hardware store purchases, home improvement
retailers such as Home Depot and Builders Square have turned what once were intimidating
warehouses into female-friendly retail outlets. The new Builders Square II outlets feature
decorator design centers at the front of the store. To attract more women, Builders Square
runs ads targeting women in Home, House Beautiful, Woman's Day, and Better Homes and
Gardens. Home Depot even offers bridal registries

Children may also have a strong influence on family buying decisions. Chevrolet recognizes
these influences in marketing its Chevy Venture minivan. For example, it ran ads to woo
these "back-seat consumers" in Sports Illustrated for Kids, which attracts mostly 8- to 14-
year-old boys. "We're kidding ourselves when we think kids aren't aware of brands," says
Venture's brand manager, adding that even she was surprised at how often parents told her
that kids played a tie-breaking role in deciding which car to buy.

Groups

A person's behavior is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct influence
and to which a person belongs are called membership groups. In contrast, reference groups
serve as direct (face-to-face) or indirect points of comparison or reference in forming a
person's attitudes or behavior. People often are influenced by reference groups to which they
do not belong. For example, an aspirational group is one to which the individual wishes to
belong, as when a teenage basketball player hopes to play someday for the Utah Jazz.
Marketers try to identify the reference groups of their target markets. Reference groups
expose a person to new behaviors and lifestyles, influence the person's attitudes and self-
concept, and create pressures to conform that may affect the person's product and brand
choices.

The importance of group influence varies across products and brands. It tends to be strongest
when the product is visible to others whom the buyer respects. Manufacturers of products and
brands subjected to strong group influence must figure out how to reach opinion leaders
people within a reference group who, because of special skills, knowledge, personality, or
other characteristics, exert influence on others.

Reference Groups--

Individual identifies with the group to the extent that he takes on many of the values,
attitudes or behaviours of the group members.

Families, friends, sororities, civic and professional organizations. Any group that has a
positive or negative influence on a persons attitude and behaviour.

Membership groups

(Belong to) Affinity marketing is focused on the desires of consumers that belong to
reference groups. Marketers get the groups to approve the product and communicate that
approval to its members. Credit Cards etc.!!

Aspiration groups

(Want to belong to) Disassociate groups (do not want to belong to)

Honda tries to disassociate from the "biker" group. The degree to which a reference group
will affect a purchase decision depends on an individuals susceptibility to reference group
influence and the strength of his/her involvement with the group.

Social Class

An open group of individuals who have similar social rank. US is not a classless society. US
criteria; occupation, education, income, wealth, race, ethnic groups and possessions. Social
class influences many aspects of our lives. i.e.; upper middle class Americans prefer luxury
cars Mercedes.

Upper-upper class, .3%, inherited wealth, aristocratic names .Upper uppers are the social
elite who live on inherited wealth and have well-known family backgrounds. They give large
sums to charity, run debutante balls, own more than one home, and send their children to the
finest schools. They are a market for jewelry, antiques, homes, and vacations. They often buy
and dress conservatively rather than showing off their wealth. Although small in number,
upper uppers serve as a reference group for others.

Lower-upper class, 1.2%, newer social elite, from current professionals and corporate elite.

Lower uppers have earned high income or wealth through exceptional ability in the
professions or business. They usually begin in the middle class. They tend to be active in
social and civic affairs and buy for themselves and their children the symbols of status, such
as expensive homes, schools, swimming pools, and automobiles. They include the new rich
who consume conspicuously to impress those below them. They want to be accepted in the
upper-upper stratum, a status more likely to be achieved by their children than by themselves.

Upper-middle class, 12.5%, college graduates, managers and professionals

Upper middles possess neither family status nor unusual wealth. They are primarily
concerned with "career," They have attained positions as professionals, independent
businesspersons, and corporate managers. They believe in education and want their children
to develop professional or administrative skills. They are joiners and highly civic-minded.
They are the quality market for good homes, clothes, furniture, and appliances.

Middle class, 32%, average pay white collar workers and blue collar friends.

The middle class is made up of average-pay white- and blue-collar workers who live on "the
better side of town" and try to "do the proper things." To keep up with the trends, they often
buy products that are popular. Most are concerned with fashion, seeking the better brand
names. Better living means owning a nice home in a nice neighborhood with good schools.
They believe in spending more money on worthwhile experiences for their children and
aiming them toward a college education.

Working class, 38%, average pay blue collar workers.

The working class consists of those who lead a "working-class lifestyle," whatever their
income, school background, or job. They depend heavily on relatives for economic and
emotional support, for advice on purchases, and for assistance in times of trouble. The
working class maintains sharper sex role division and stereotyping.
Lower class, 9%, working, not on welfare

Upper lowers are working (are not on welfare), although their living standard is just above
poverty. They perform unskilled work for very poor pay although they strive toward a higher
class. Often, upper lowers lack education. Although they fall near the poverty line financially,
they manage to "present a picture of self-discipline" and "maintain some effort at
cleanliness."

Lower-lower class, 7%, on welfare

Lower lowers are on welfare, visibly poverty stricken, and usually out of work or have "the
dirtiest jobs." Often they are not interested in finding a job and are permanently dependent on
public aid or charity for income. Their homes, clothes, and possessions are "dirty,"
"raggedy," and "broken-down."

Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality, and quantity of products that a
person buys or uses. Lower class people tend to stay close to home when shopping; do not
engage in much pre-purchase information gathering.

Stores project definite class images.

Family, reference groups and social classes are all social influences on consumer behaviour.
All operate within a larger culture.

Celebrity Influence

This is an important tool which is able to influence Indian consumer buying behaviour. In
India, celebrities are being increasingly used in marketing communication by marketers to
lend personality to their products. With the visual media becoming more popular the use of
celebrities in the TV media has increased. Celebrities create headlines. Their activities and
movements are being closely watched and imitated. What they endorse sell like hot cakes. It
is not surprising therefore that using celebrities in advertisements has become common
practice. In India especially, it is not difficult to look for the reasons as to why companies are
increasingly using celebrities. Indians always love their heroes and heroines. Consumers like
advertisements more if they are admirers of the celebrities in the advertisements. When a
consumer likes the celebrity in the advertisement, he or she is more likely to accept what the
celebrity says about the advertised product and therefore will develop more positive feelings
toward the advertisement and the brand itself. Famous celebrities are able to attract attention
and retain attention by their mere presence in the advertisement

In the midst of the advertisement clutter, the advertisements that celebrities endorse also
achieve high recall rates. When people see their favoured reference group members or
celebrities in the advertisements, they pay more attention to them.

Celebrities may also help reposition products. Products with sagging sales needs some
boosting and in these Indian celebrities can help by way of the endorsing the product
concerned.

Personal factors
Ability and Knowledge

Need to understand individuals capacity to learn. Learning, changes in a person's behaviour

caused by information and experience. Therefore to change consumers' behaviour about your
product, need to give them new information re: product...free sample etc. When making
buying decisions, buyers must process information.

Knowledge is the familiarity with the product and expertise.

Inexperience buyers often use prices as an indicator of quality more than those who have
knowledge of a product. Non-alcoholic Beer example: consumers chose the most expensive
six-pack, because they assume that the greater price indicates greater quality.

Learning is the process through which a relatively permanent change in behaviour results
from the consequences of past behaviour.

Attitudes--
Knowledge and positive and negative feelings about an object or activity-maybe tangible or
intangible, living or non living.....Drive perceptions Individual learns attitudes through
experience and interaction with other people. Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its
products greatly influence the success or failure of the firm's marketing strategy. Honda "You
meet the nicest people on a Honda dispels the unsavoury image of a motorbike rider, late
1950s. Changing market of the 1990s, baby boomers aging, Hondas market returning to hard
core. To change this they have a new slogan "Come ride with us". Attitudes and attitude
change are influenced by consumers personality and lifestyle.

Consumers screen information that conflicts with their attitudes. Distort information to make
it consistent and selectively retain information that reinforces our attitudes. IE brand loyalty.
There is a difference between attitude and intention to buy (ability to buy)

Personality-- all the internal traits and behaviours that make a person unique, uniqueness
arrives from a person's heredity and personal experience. Examples include:

Work holism

Compulsiveness

Self confidence

Friendliness

Adaptability

Ambitiousness

Introversion

Extroversion

Aggressiveness

Competitiveness

Traits affect the way people behave. Marketers try to match the store image to the perceived
image of their customers.
There is a weak association between personality and Buying Behaviour; this may be due to
unreliable measures. Nike ads. Consumers buy products that are consistent with their self
concept.

Lifestyles--

People coming from the same subculture, social class, and occupation may have quite
different lifestyles. Lifestyle is a person's pattern of living as expressed in his or her
psychographics. It involves measuring consumers' major AIO dimensionsactivities (work,
hobbies, shopping, sports, social events), interests (food, fashion, family, recreation), and
opinions (about themselves, social issues, business, products). Lifestyle captures something
more than the person's social class or personality. It profiles a person's whole pattern of
acting and interacting in the world.

Several research firms have developed lifestyle classifications. The most widely used is the
SRI Consulting's Values and Lifestyles (VALS) y typology (see Figure 5.3). VALS classifies
people according to how they spend their time and money. It divides consumers into eight
groups based on two major dimensions: self-orientation and resources. Self-orientation
groups include principle-oriented consumers who buy based on their views of the world;
status-oriented buyers who base their purchases on the actions and opinions of others; and
action-oriented buyers who are driven by their desire for activity, variety, and risk taking.
Consumers within each orientation are further classified into those with abundant resources
and those with minimal resources, depending on whether they have high or low levels of
income, education, health, self-confidence, energy, and other factors. Consumers with either
very high or very low levels of resources are classified without regard to their self-
orientations (actualizers, strugglers). Actualizers are people with so many resources that they
can indulge in any or all self-orientations. In contrast, strugglers are people with too few
resources to be included in any consumer orientation

Economic Situation
A person's economic situation will affect product choice. Anna Flores can consider buying an
expensive Nikon if she has enough spendable income, savings, or borrowing power.
Marketers of income-sensitive goods watch trends in personal income, savings, and interest
rates. If economic indicators point to a recession, marketers can take steps to redesign,
reposition, and reprice their products closely.

4. Psychological factors

A person's buying choices are further influenced by four major psychological factors:
motivation, perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes.

Motivation

A person has many needs at any given time. Some are biological, arising from states of
tension such as hunger, thirst, or discomfort. Others are psychological, arising from the need
for recognition, esteem, or belonging. Most of these needs will not be strong enough to
motivate the person to act at a given point in time. A need becomes a motive when it is
aroused to a sufficient level of intensity. A motive (or drive) is a need that is sufficiently
pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. Psychologists have developed theories of
human motivation. Two of the most popularthe theories of Sigmund Freud and Abraham
Maslowhave quite different meanings for consumer analysis and marketing.

Perception

A motivated person is ready to act. How the person acts is influenced by his or her own
perception of the situation. All of us learn by the flow of information through our five senses:
sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. However, each of us receives, organizes, and interprets
this sensory information in an individual way. Perception is the process by which people
select, organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world.

People can form different perceptions of the same stimulus because of three perceptual
processes: selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention. People are exposed
to a great amount of stimuli every day. For example, the average person may be exposed to
more than 1,500 ads in a single day. It is impossible for a person to pay attention to all these
stimuli. Selective attentionthe tendency for people to screen out most of the information to
which they are exposedmeans that marketers have to work especially hard to attract the
consumer's attention.

Even noted stimuli do not always come across in the intended way. Each person fits incoming
information into an existing mind-set. Selective distortion describes the tendency of people to
interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe. Selective distortion
means that marketers must try to understand the mind-sets of consumers and how these will
affect interpretations of advertising and sales information.

People also will forget much that they learn. They tend to retain information that supports
their attitudes and beliefs. Because of selective retention, Anna is likely to remember good
points made about the Nikon and to forget good points made about competing cameras.
Because of selective exposure, distortion, and retention, marketers have to work hard to get
their messages through. This fact explains why marketers use so much drama and repetition
in sending messages to their market.

Learning

When people act, they learn. Learning describes changes in an individual's behavior arising
from experience. Learning theorists say that most human behavior is learned. Learning occurs
through the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues, responses, and reinforcement.

We saw that Anna Flores has a drive for self-actualization. A drive is a strong internal
stimulus that calls for action. Her drive becomes a motive when it is directed toward a
particular stimulus object, in this case a camera. Anna's response to the idea of buying a
camera is conditioned by the surrounding cues. Cues are minor stimuli that determine when,
where, and how the person responds.

Beliefs and Attitudes

Through doing and learning, people acquire beliefs and attitudes. These, in turn, influence
their buying behavior. A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something.
Anna Flores may believe that a Nikon camera takes great pictures, stands up well under hard
use, and costs $450. These beliefs may be based on real knowledge, opinion, or faith, and
may or may not carry an emotional charge. For example, Anna Flores's belief that a Nikon
camera is heavy may or may not matter to her decision.
Marketers are interested in the beliefs that people formulate about specific products and
services, because these beliefs make up product and brand images that affect buying
behavior. If some of the beliefs are wrong and prevent purchase, the marketer will want to
launch a campaign to correct them.

People have attitudes regarding religion, politics, clothes, music, food, and almost everything
else. Attitude describes a person's relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, and tendencies
toward an object or idea. Attitudes put people into a frame of mind of liking or disliking
things, of moving toward or away from them. Thus, Anna Flores may hold attitudes such as
"Buy the best," "The Japanese make the best products in the world," and "Creativity and self-
expression are among the most important things in life." If so, the Nikon camera would fit
well into Anna's existing attitudes.

Attitudes are difficult to change. A person's attitudes fit into a pattern, and to change one
attitude may require difficult adjustments in many others. Thus, a company should usually try
to fit its products into existing attitudes rather than attempt to change attitudes

Noodles History:

Noodles can be regarded as the second staple after rice in Asian countries. The great thing
about noodles is that they can be prepared in various combinations; with sauces, in soup,
fried, with all kinds of meat, seafood and vegetables. When compared to rice, noodle meals
are cheaper and more convenient. A great deal of time can be saved in the preparing,
consuming and dish washing processes. Therefore, despite its ancient origins, it is highly
suited to the fast beat of modern society.

The traditional Chinese noodle stalls in Hong Kong has changed little over half a century.
Like many traditional Chinese businesses, these were usually run by a family, (typically the
father acts as the cook and master, the mother the cashier, and their children as waiters/
waitresses). Although the management of these stalls can be very flexible, they lack of
control on the quality of food and customer service. Moreover, they do little to promote their
shop image. The staffs seldom wear uniform, and little attention is paid to food hygiene and
the shop interior. Some stalls have pets strolling around and some don't even have air
conditioning. Usually the menu is only in Chinese language, which is placed either under the
greasy table glass top or pasted along the walls.

The target customers are usually people in their neighbourhood and the business relied
mainly on the low price strategies, or by word of mouth. The way in which the noodle is
cooked is the crucial factor on getting return business. However, since the current generations
of young people nowadays are able to receive higher education, they will not be eager to
inherit their father's business. Given that running a noodle stall is not considered as a
particular prestigious and well-paid job. Therefore when the master retires, he must pass on
his technique to someone outside the family. It is a customary practice though for Chinese
chefs not to pass on everything. Therefore, there is bound to be changes to the quality of the
food once the business has changed hands.

The Japanese noodle shops on the other hand are better organized. In the shop front, there is
usually a display window showing wax models of different set meals. The wax models can
imitate the food so successfully that it provides a mouth-watering image to the passerby.
When one walks into the shop, he will be greeted politely by trained waitresses either
wearing apron or some sort of uniform. The shop interior is carefully design to reflect
Japanese culture and is always clean and hygienic. The menu is supplemented by some very
attractive photographs. So that customer can be assured what they order will match their
expectations, even if they cannot read the menu correctly.