CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy product.

It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. ... The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how

The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products, and retailers); The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media); The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

One "official" definition of consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society." Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Segmentation, targeting, and positioning together comprise a three stage process. We first (1) determine which kinds of customers exist, then (2) select which ones we are best off trying to serve and, finally, (3) implement our segmentation by optimizing our products/services for that segment andcommunicating that we have made the choice to distinguish ourselves that way.

Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of consumers with different needs exist. In the auto market, for example, some consumers demand speed and performance, while others are much more concerned about roominess and safety. In general, it holds true that You cant be all things to all people, and experience has demonstrated that firms that specialize in meeting the needs of one group of consumers over another tend to be more profitable. In the next step, we decide to target one or more segments. Our choice should generally depend on several factors. First, how well are existing segments served by other manufacturers? It will be more difficult to appeal to a segment that is already well served than to one whose needs are not currently being served well. Secondly, how large is the segment, and how can we expect it to grow? (Note that a downside to a large, rapidly growing segment is that it tends to attract competition). Thirdly, do we have strengths as a company that will help us appeal particularly to one group of consumers? Firms may already have an established reputation. While McDonalds has a great reputation for fast, consistent quality, family friendly food, it would be difficult to convince consumers that McDonalds now offers gourmet food. Thus, McDs would probably be better off targeting families in search of consistent quality food in nice, clean restaurants Positioning involves implementing our targeting. For example, Apple Computer has chosen to position itself as a maker of user-friendly computers. Thus, Apple has done a lot through its advertising to promote itself, through its unintimidating icons, as a computer for non-geeks. The Visual C software programming language, in contrast, is aimed a techies.

Repositioning involves an attempt to change consumer perceptions of a brand, usually because the existing position that the brand holds has become less attractive. Sears, for example, attempted to reposition itself from a place that offered great sales but unattractive prices the rest of the time to a store that consistently offered everyday low prices. Repositioning in practice is very difficult to accomplish. A great deal of money is often needed for advertising and other promotional efforts, and in many cases, the repositioning fails. DEVELOPING A CONSUMER MARKETING STRATEGY Developing a marketing strategy with your customers as the main focus is a good move to attain better sales figures and market performance. Undoubtedly, the consumers are the force that can turn your business around, either into a big success or a sorry failure. To penetrate your target market in the right way, it is always best to first consider who really your consumers are.

Before the companies had seen the need to move to go consumer-oriented, marketing activities were developed solely to advertise a product, generate some sales, and build market shares, regardless whether such marketing activities formulated cater to what the consumers really need or not. Since the challenge to do everything for the favor of the consumers, all marketing strategies that are implemented are guided by the lone goal of selling several

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merchandise

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But times had evolved and new strategies are implemented. Today, consumeroriented marketing is fast becoming popular. And what it really implies is the development of marketing tools and systems that for one, provides for stores and distribution channel examinations. These tests are conducted so as to evaluate a particular store's suitability to carry a particular product. Consumer-oriented marketing also requires businesses to check the pricing of their product or service, whether or not it is fitting to their general consumers. Doing so prevents businesses to overprice or under price the commodity they are offering, while giving the best value to the patronizing public. But most importantly, the need to develop consumer-oriented marketing strategies causes businesses to specifically pinpoint the very people who need, use, and buy their product directly. And once they have a good idea as to who the main market movers of their products or service are, they can start to assess their exact needs, aspirations, and wants. Accordingly, they can attend to those things accordingly. This precisely is the main idea behind developing a consumer marketing strategy. To specifically develop a consumer marketing strategy, here are good steps to consider and queries to answer: IS YOUR TARGET MARKET SEGMENTED?

For you to start developing a marketing strategy targeted to your rightful consumers, it is best that you accurately group your customers into their specific categories. Are most of your consumers branding conscious? Are your efforts just across the board to any potential consumer, or are you doing targeted marketing to to say Work at Home Interest Groups, orUS Executives via Email or maybe Trade Companies in Canada? Do they consider price over other factors? Do they buy your products to primarily gain its benefits? There are a lot of other buying factors your consumers may have. Try to analyze all of them to ensure that what you are offering answers specifically to their motivations for buying.

WHICH OF THE SEGMENTS YOU CAME UP WITH IS THE MOST PROFITABLE? The moment you know the specific segments of your market are, the next thing you have to do is to check which of them are going to give you more business. You can then start prioritizing the actual people belonging in that category when developing your marketing strategy. The three good points to consider in determining whether or not the segment is profitable are its size, its congestion, and the group's purchasing power. The larger the market it, the more people can buy your product. The fewer competitors you have on that market, the better your performance will be. And lastly, the ability of people within the group to buy or avail of your product determines your actual profitability. WHAT ARE THE DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES OF THE CUSTOMERS BELONGING IN THE SPECIFIED SEGMENTS?

After the segment is identified and analyzed according to profitability, the next and probably, the last thing you have to know are the attitude and the individual characteristics of the people under each category. If you know whom you are selling to, then serving their needs becomes a lot easier. And to attain that, an in depth marketing research is required. Doing so allows you to create accurate tools and systems to help you attend to your customers' desires. And if you can serve your customers in the specific way they want you to, your business will surely thrive for several years, if not decades, to come. Don't forget to take into consideration your customer's habits, values, and all other factors that influence their decisions. If you know all of about these, they you can estimate the longevity of the segment or if it is likely to shrink in the future. And of course, with these data at hand, you can create strategies that can work around the individual needs of these customers. Immediate and future campaigns can be then planned well so that it can create better impact to the segment. MEASURE THE SATISFACTION LEVEL OF YOUR CUSTOMERS The last step in developing a consumer marketing strategy is reviewing your customer's feedback towards your product. You have to check whether or not you are successful in providing accurate solutions to your customer's individual needs by asking about their views, feelings, and thoughts first hand. If the results

are not good, then you have to try in modifying your system, strategy, or even your actual product or service to make it the perfect things your consumers need. Developing a customer-oriented marketing strategy is actually a cycle. The whole thing needs to be repeated over and over until all points are perfected so as to make all consumers happy after purchasing your product or availing of your service. Developing a customer-oriented marketing strategy is actually a step in tailorfitting your product or your service for all your end users. From a certain viewpoint, it seems that it is the consumers that get the better end of the deal. But actually, that is not necessarily the case. If you are successful in molding your products to make it more apt for your consumers, then true enough, each of them would be happy with their purchase. But in the long run, it will benefit your business more. While fulfilling the specific needs of your underserved consumers, you are also inculcating supreme value with them. And possibly, it will be a start of a long-term relationship. Along with these, tremendous growth opportunities will certainly open up for your business.

PROFILE OF AN INDIAN CONSUMER We have selected for this article the profile of an Indian consumer for the inevitable reason that India is gradually moving up as a Global emerging economical force and is already considered as an international hub for information Technology, Automobiles, Malls both of Indian & foreign companies and Textiles particularly synthetic. No comprehensive study of the Indian consumer has been undertaken so far. We have to rely on the fragmented studies that have been conducted by different agencies. When we attempt to draw a profile of the Indian consumer, we tread on difficult territory. With due recognition of this limitation, we are outlining a broad profile of the Indian consumer, including his buying motives and habits. India being very vast geographically, consumers here are naturally scattered over a vast territory. As the country is also marked by great diversity in climate, religion, language, literacy level, customs and calendars, lifestyles and economies status, here consumers present a complex and bizarre group. The heterogeneity holds many implications for a marketer, especially to those going in for national marketing. As a first step we will go through certain basic data describing a broad profile of the Indian consumer. Demographics:

Size of population: According to the Census 2001 the population of India stood at 1,027 million, of which 742 million lived in rural areas and 285 million in urban areas. Literacy and education: According to the Census 2001, the nations average literacy rate is 65.4 percent. There is a rise in growth of literacy rate since 1951 and it has increased substantially in the last decade. From now onwards there will be a faster progress in checking illiteracy as the proportion of youngsters enrolled in schools is going up and more and more neoliterates are also emerging from the adults, as a result of the National Literacy Program. Over 21 percent of all adults in the country now read some publication or the other. In urban areas, the percentage is over 56. The government has targeted to achieve 80 percent literacy on a nationwide basis in the next 10 years. A vast educated manpower: It is a paradox; on the one hand, India has the highest concentration of illiterates in the world; and on the other, it has the second highest concentration of literates and third largest pool of educated and technically trained manpower in the world. India has a strong pool of engineers, scientists and technically educated persons. In modern fields like information technology, India has been displaying its strength very clearly in recent years. Diversity, the Hallmark: Indian consumers are not a homogeneous lot. They are marked by great diversity. It is this diversity that strikes us first when we look at Indian consumers that is diversity in religion, language, culture, tradition, social customs, and dress and food habits. Religious diversity: The one billion people of India belong to seven different religious groupsHindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians. In addition, there are other persuasions and there are sects, sub-sects, castes and sub-castes. Each religion has its own hierarchic structure, concretized through centuries of practices. Each caste has its own customs established over generations. In birth and death, in marriage and family life, the individual is

entangled in the chores of his religion or caste. What is welcome for one religion is taboo for the other; and something totally banned in one religion is an accepted practice in another. Linguistic diversity: The same diversity is seen in the matter of language. Sixteen languages have been specified in the Constitution of India as national languages. In addition, there are hundreds of dialects. In several places, many amalgams of languages have been formed as a result of shifting populations. If a marketing man has to approach the entire national market of India, this linguistic diversity is a big challenge. Diversity in dress and food habits: As far as dress is concerned, India holds out the picture of widely varying styles. Almost every state, or religious community, has its own traditional styles of dress. The same is the case with ornaments and Jewellery. As regard food, rice is the staple food in the South and wheat in the North. Of course, in several of the southern states people now consume wheat products as co-food items. Likewise, certain southern dishes have become popular in the north. Still the basic difference in food habits remains. There are certain communities, which are strict vegetarians. For meat eaters, there are several restrictions; for the Hindu, beef is taboo, for the Muslim, pork is taboo, for the Christian, both are delicious. Some use coconut oil as the cooking medium, some use groundnut oil, and some others, mustard or gingelly oil.The conclusion if a marketer wants to market his products in India he has to consider all the above diversified aspects before planning the marketing strategy. Accordingly the advertisements, sales promotion activities, distribution channels and retailing plans must be drawn in order to successfully sell the goods whether for B2B or consumer goods through malls and retailers.