Analysing Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups & organizations select, buy , use and
dispose off goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.

What influences consumer behaviour

 Cultural Factors: Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behaviour.
Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and
socialization for their members. It further have social classes with members who share
similar values, interests and behaviour.
 Social Factors
 Reference groups: These are all those groups that have a direct or indirect influence
on the attitudes and behaviour of members. Further these groups are subdivided
into- primary groups, membership groups, secondary groups, aspirational groups
and dissociative groups.
 Family: Most important consumer buying organization in the society. Further divide
into- Family of orientation( parents & siblings) and Family of procreation ( person’s
spouse & children).
 Roles and Status: A role consists of activities a person is expected to perform. Each
role in turn connotes a status. People choose products that reflect their role and
status.
 Personal Factors
 Age and stage in life cycle: Our tastes and preferences changes with change in our
age and family’s life cycle.
 Occupation: Occupation also influences consumption patterns. Both product and
brand choice are greatly affected by economic circumstances.
 Personality: People are likely to choose brands whose personality match their own.

Key Psychological Processes

 Motivation: Our needs become a motive when it is aroused to a sufficient level of intensity
to drive us to act. Therefore, motivation provides both direction and intensity.
 Perception: Perception is the process by which we select, organize and interpret
information. Consumers perceives many different kind of information through their senses.
 Learning: It induces changes in our behaviour arising from experience. Learning is produced
through the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues, responses and reinforcement.
 Memory: Our short term memory is a temporary & limited repository of information and
long term memory is a more permanent, essentially unlimited repository. Marketer need to
create right brand knowledge structures and ensure that it is maintained in consumers
memory.

Buying Process

 Problem Recognition: Burying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need
is triggered by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify circumstances that
 identify a particular need. They can then develop marketing strategies that spark consumer
interest,
 Information Search: As per surveys, consumer often search for only limited information.
Marketers must understand what type of information consumers seek.
 Evaluation of alternatives: There is no single process which is used by all consumers for
evaluation of alternatives. Consumers form judgements largely on a conscious and rational
basis. Consumer will pay more attention to attributes that deliver the sought after benefits.
 Purchase decision: During evaluation a consumer forms preferences among the brands in
the choice set but in executing a purchase intention, the consumer may take as many as five
sub decisions- brand, dealer, quantity, timing and payment method.
 Post purchase behaviour: Post purchase, the consumer might experience dissonance from
unsatisfying and disquieting features or hearing favourable things about other brands.
Therefore, marketing communications should supply beliefs and evaluations that reinforce
the consumer choice.

The marketer’s job is to understand behaviour at each stage. Consumers will not necessarily follow
the specified process and might skip or reverse stages. Hence, marketer need to be flexible with
these stages.