n earller Llmes markeLers could undersLand consumers well Lhrough Lhe dally experlence of selllng Lo

Lhem 8uL as flrms and markeLs have grown ln slze many markeLlng declslon makers have losL dlrecL
conLacL wlLh Lhelr cusLomers MosL markeLers have had Lo Lurn Lo consumer research 1hey are
spendlng more money Lhan ever Lo sLudy consumers Lrylng Lo learn more abouL consumer behavlor
1he company LhaL really undersLands how consumers wlll respond Lo dlfferenL producL feaLures prlces
and adverLlslng appeals has a greaL advanLage over lLs compeLlLors 1herefore companles and
academlcs have heavlly researched Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween markeLlng sLlmull and consumers
response L8SCnAL CP8AC1L8lS1lCS AllLC1lnC CCnSuML8 8LPAvlC8

Consumer purchases are sLrongly lnfluenced by culLural soclal personal and psychologlcal
characLerlsLlcs CulLural lacLors
CulLural facLors exerL Lhe broadesL and deepesL lnfluence on consumer behavlor 1he markeLer needs Lo
undersLand Lhe roles played by Lhe buyer's culLure subculLure and soclal class CulLure ls Lhe mosL baslc
cause of a person's wanLs and behavlor Crowlng up ln a socleLy a chlld learns baslc values percepLlons
wanLs and behavlors from Lhe famlly and oLher lmporLanL lnsLlLuLlons
SubculLure each culLure conLalns smaller subculLures or groups of people wlLh shared value sysLems
based on common llfe experlences and slLuaLlons nallonallLy groups such as Lhe lrlsh ollsh lLallans
and Plspanlcs are found wlLhln larger communlLles and have dlsLlncL eLhnlc LasLes and lnLeresLs 8aclal
groups such as Lhe blacks and Aslans have dlsLlncL culLure sLyles and aLLlLudes Many of Lhese
subculLures make up lmporLanL markeL segmenLs and markeLers ofLen dlslgn producLs and markeLlng
programs Lallored Lo Lhe needs of Lhese segmenLs
Soclal class almosL every socleLy has some form of soclal class sLrucLure Soclal classes are relaLlvely
permanenL and ordered dlvlslons ln a socleLy whose members share slmllar values lnLeresLs and
behavlors Soclal class ls noL deLermlned by a slngle facLor such as lncome buL ls measured as a
comblnaLlon of occupaLlon lncome educaLlon wealLh and oLher varlables MarkeLers are lnLeresLed ln
soclal class because people wlLhln a glven soclal class Lend Lo exhlblL slmllar behavlor lncludlng buylng
behavlor

Soclal classes show dlsLlncL producL and brand preferences ln such areas as cloLhlng home furnlshlngs
lelsure acLlvlLy and auLomoblles
Soclal lacLors
A consumer's behavlor ls also lnfluenced by soclal facLors such as Lhe consumer's small groups famlly
and soclal roles and sLaLus 8ecause Lhese soclal facLors can sLrongly affecL consumer responses
companles musL Lake Lhem lnLo accounL when deslgnlng Lhelr markeLlng sLraLegles
Croups a person's behavlor ls lnfluenced by many small groups Croups whlch have a dlrecL lnfluence
and Lo whlch a person belongs are called membershlp groups 8eferences groups are groups LhaL serve
as dlrecL or lndlrecL polnLs of comparlson or reference ln Lhe formlng of a person's aLLlLudes or behavlor
MarkeLers Lry Lo ldenLlfy Lhe reference groups of Lhelr LargeL markeLs
1he lmporLance of group lnfluence varles across producLs and brands buL lL Lends Lo be sLrongesL for
consplcuous purchases
lamlly famlly members can sLrongly lnfluence buyer behavlor We can dlsLlngulsh beLween Lwo
famllles ln Lhe buyer's llfe 1he buyer's parenLs make up Lhe famlly of orlenLaLlon lrom parenLs a person
acqulres an orlenLaLlon Loward rellglon pollLlcs and economlcs and a sense of personal amblLlon self
worLh and love
1he famlly of procreaLlonLhe buyer's spouse and chlldrenexerL a more dlrecL lnfluence on everyday
buylng behavlor 1he famlly ls Lhe mosL lmporLanL consumerbuylng organlzaLlon ln socleLy and lL has
been researched exLenslvely MarkeLers are lnLeresLed ln Lhe roles and relaLlve lnfluence of Lhe
husband wlfe and chlldren on Lhe purchase of a large varleLy of producLs and servlces
8oles and SLaLus a person belongs Lo many groupsfamlly clubs organlzaLlons 1he person's poslLlon ln
each group can be deflned ln Lerms of boLh role and sLaLus A role conslsLs of Lhe acLlvlLles people are
expecLed Lo perform accordlng Lo Lhe persons around Lhem Lach role carrles a sLaLus reflecLlng Lhe
general esLeem glven Lo lL by socleLy ersonal lacLors
A buyer's declslons are also lnfluenced by personal characLerlsLlcs such as Lhe buyer's age and llfecycle
sLage occupaLlon economlc slLuaLlon llfe sLyle and personallLy and selfconcepL
Age and LlfeCycle SLaLe people change Lhe goods and servlces Lhey buy over Lhelr llfeLlmes 8uylng ls
also shaped by Lhe sLage of Lhe famlly llfe cycleLhe sLages Lhrough whlch famllles mlghL pass as Lhey
maLure over Llme MarkeLers ofLen deflne Lhelr LargeL markeLs ln Lerms of llfecycle sLage and develop
approprlaLe producLs and markeLlng plans
CccupaLlon a person's occupaLlon affecLs Lhe goods and servlces boughL MarkeLers Lry Lo ldenLlfy Lhe
occupaLlonal groups LhaL have an aboveaverage lnLeresL ln Lhelr producLs and servlces

A company can even speclallze ln maklng producLs needed by a glven occupaLlonal group
Lconomlc SlLuaLlon a person's economlc slLuaLlon wlll greaLly affecL producL cholce MarkeLers of
lncomesenslLlve goods closely waLch Lrends ln personal lncome savlngs and lnLeresL raLes lf economlc
lndlcaLors polnL Lo a recesslon markeLers can Lake sLeps Lo redeslgn reposlLlon and reprlce Lhelr
producLs
Llfe SLyle people comlng from Lhe same subculLure soclal class and even occupaLlon may have qulLe
dlfferenL llfe sLyles Llfe sLyle ls a person's paLLern of llvlng as expressed ln hls or her acLlvlLles lnLeresLs
and oplnlons Llfe sLyle capLures someLhlng more Lhan Lhe person's soclal class or personallLy 1he llfe
sLyle concepL when used carefully can help Lhe markeLer galn an undersLandlng of changlng consumer
values and how Lhey affecL buylng behavlor
ersonallLy and SelfConcepL each person's dlsLlncL personallLy wlll lnfluence hls or her buylng
behavlor ersonallLy refers Lo Lhe unlque psychologlcal characLerlsLlcs LhaL lead Lo relaLlvely conslsLenL
and lasLlng responses Lo one's own envlronmenL Many markeLers use a concepL relaLed Lo personallLya
person's selfconcepL sychologlcal lacLors
A person's buylng cholces are also lnfluenced by four ma[or psychologlcal facLors moLlvaLlon
percepLlon learnlng and bellefs and aLLlLudes MoLlvaLlon a person has many needs aL any glven Llme
Some needs are blologlcal arlslng from sLaLes of Lenslon such as hunger LhlrsL or dlscomforL CLher
needs are psychologlcal arlslng from Lhe need for recognlLlon esLeem or belonglng MosL of Lhese
needs wlll noL be sLrong enough Lo moLlvaLe Lhe person Lo acL aL a glven polnL ln Llme A need becomes
a moLlve when lL aroused Lo a sufflclenL lever of lnLenslLy A moLlve ls a need LhaL ls sufflclenLly presslng
Lo dlrecL Lhe person Lo seek saLlsfacLlon MoLlvaLlon researchers collecL lndepLh lnformaLlon from small
samples of consumers Lo uncover Lhe deeper moLlves for Lhelr producL cholces
ercepLlon a moLlvaLed person ls ready Lo acL Pow Lhe person acLs ls lnfluenced by hls or her
percepLlon of Lhe slLuaLlon 1wo people wlLh Lhe same moLlvaLlon and ln Lhe same slLuaLlon may acL
qulLe dlfferenLly because Lhey percelve Lhe slLuaLlon dlfferenLly ercepLlon ls Lhe process by whlch
people selecL organlze and lnLerpreL lnformaLlon Lo form a meanlngful plcLure of Lhe world eople can
form dlfferenL percepLlons of Lhe same sLlmulus because of Lhree percepLual processes selecLlve
exposure selecLlve dlsLorLlon and selecLlve reLenLlon Learnlng when people acL Lhey learn

Learnlng descrlbes changes ln an lndlvldual's behavlor arlslng from experlence 1he pracLlcal slgnlflcance
of learnlng Lheory of markeLers ls LhaL Lhey can bulld demand for a producL by assoclaLlng lL wlLh sLrong
drlves uslng moLlvaLlng cues and Lo Lhe same drlves as compeLlLors and provldlng slmllar cues because
buyers are more llkely Lo Lransfer loyalLy Lo slmllar brands Lhen Lo dlsslmllar ones Cr lL may deslgn lLs
brand Lo appeal Lo a dlfferenL seL of drlves and offer sLrong cue lnducemenLs Lo swlLch (dlscrlmlnaLlon)
8ellefs and ALLlLudes Lhrough acLlng and learnlng people acqulre Lhelr bellefs and aLLlLudes 1hese ln
Lurn lnfluence Lhelr buylng behavlor A bellef ls a descrlpLlve LhoughL LhaL a person has abouL
someLhlng MarkeLers are lnLeresLed ln Lhe bellefs LhaL people formulaLe abouL speclflc producLs and
servlces lf some of Lhe bellefs are wrong and prevenL purchase Lhe markeLer wlll wanL Lo launch a
campalgn Lo correcL Lhem eople have aLLlLudes regardlng rellglon pollLlcs cloLhes muslc food and
almosL everyLhlng else An aLLlLude descrlbes a person's relaLlvely conslsLenL evaluaLlons feellngs and
Lendencles Loward an ob[ecL or ldea ALLldudes puL people lnLo a frame of mlnd of llklng or dlsllklng
Lhlngs movlng Loward or away from Lhem


SuMMA8?

MarkeLs musL be undersLood before markeLlng sLraLegles can be developed 1he consumer markeL buys
goods and servlces for personal consumpLlon Consumers vary Lremendously ln age lncome educaLlon
LasLes and oLher facLors MarkeLers musL undersLand how consumers Lransform markeLlng and oLher
lnpuLs lnLo buylng responses Consumer behavlor ls lnfluenced by Lhe buyer's charakLerlsLlcs and by Lhe
buyer's declslon process 8uyer charakLerlsLlcs lnclude four ma[or facLors culLural soclal personal and
psychologlcal A person's buylng behavlor ls Lhe resulL of Lhe complex lnLerplay of all Lhese culLural
soclal personal and psychologlcal facLors Many of Lhese facLors cannoL be conLrolled by markeLers buL
Lhey are useful ln ldenLlfylng and undersLandlng Lhe consumers LhaL markeLers are Lrylng Lo lnfluence