Why Buyers Make the Choices They Make - Essay Example

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR.

In our day to day life we ask ourselves so many questions about what we are supposed to do and what we need to do. How many times in a day do people make decisions? Many product decisions are made every day. What should I wear? What should I eat? What am I going to do today? To move the economy many products questions are answered every day.

Consumer behavior refers to how individuals, organizations, groups and processes behave when it comes to selection, securing, using and disposing of products and services. The study of consumer behavior encompasses elements and ideas from several sciences including psychology to marketing and economics. It is geared towards having a better understanding and decision making process of consumers. This is both individual and in groups. To understand people’s wants, consumer behavior studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and so on. All marketing decisions are based on assumptions and knowledge of consumer behavior. In as much as conducting research on consumer behavior is a complex process it is very critical to marketers as they can use it to make decision making and so on. Business people need to understand consumer behavior as it will help understand:

• Why buyers make the choices they make.
• The factors that influence consumer purchases.
• The changing factors in the society.

Knowledge of buyers’ decisions is important to a firm for:

• The way buyers react has got a direct and immense impact on a firm’s success.
• The marketers can predict with precision how con summers will respond to their marketing strategies.
• Many marketing concepts demand that a business should create a marketing mix that gives utility to buyers and therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy.

Stages of consumer buying behavior.

When it comes to decision making process there are stages that are involved since this is a complex process. It should also be noted that not all decision making processes lead to purchase. The stages enumerated below are six but not all of them are usually followed. The sequence will depend on the degree of complexity. The stages are as mentioned below:

• Problem recognition. This is the point that one realizes that he or she has a need. It brings the difference between the desired state and the actual condition. For example when you feel hungry you will need food. So in short hunger stimulates the urge to eat. The need can also be stimulated by other aspects such as adverts by various companies. For example a commercial for a smart phone with fast internet connectivity invigorates your awareness that you really need a Smartphone in your work.
• Information search. This involves internal and external search. External search of information include fro marketers, friends, relatives and public places. And a successful information search will leave a buyer with alternatives as to where to buy the product.
• Evaluation of alternatives: this is the stage where alternatives are weighed to settle on the most convenient choice. If you are not satisfied with the alternative you get back to the search. Marketers try to capture customers by framing alternatives.
• Purchase decision: when it comes to buying, choices have to be made still. Choices concerning the product itself, the packaging, storage and method of purchase.
• Purchase: this is now the stage when a buyer has made up his or her mind to buy a given product or service to satisfy his or her wants.
• Post purchase evaluation: this is where the buyer does an analysis of whether the product has fulfilled his want or he or she would have gone for the alternative.

Types of consumer buying behavior.

In as much as buying behavior varies from one person to another, they are determined by the level of involvement in the purchase decision which can be explained as the importance and intensity of interest in a product in a given situation. The level of involvement also goes a long way in determining why one is motivated to look for information concerning a given product or brand. The four types of consumer behavior are:

• Routine response or programmed behavior: this involves buying low cost items whose need is almost not there and usually purchased almost automatically. Such types of products include milk and soft drinks.
• Limited decision making: this is where a product is purchased occasionally because you have scanty information about a given product or service. This behavior needs quite some good time for information gathering.
• Extensive decision making: this is where you spend a lot of time seeking for information and deciding. This only happens when it comes to buying expensive and unfamiliar products and high degree products. The products may include computers, cars, homes and even education.
• Impulse buying or no conscious buying. This is buying without planning. It happens when you just bump on a product and decide to buy it because it interests you.

Factors affecting consumer behavior.

When making a purchase decision, there are so many factors that come to play. These factors determine whether one is going to buy a given product or not. It is advisable that marketers beware of these factors so as to come up with counter methods. The factors may be personal, psychological or social.

• Psychological factors can be categorized into physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Perception in this case also affect consumer behavior as buyers interpret information received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. For example wine from South Africa may be bought just because consumers have a strong perceptions about South Africa and hence its products.
• Attitude is another factor that affects the buying behavior of consumers. Attitude refers to positive or negative feelings about an activity or an object. So consumers attitude towards a given firm or product really affects what and where they buy from. Consumers most of the times will compare information that conflict with their attitudes.
• Personality: this refers to the salient behaviors of a person. Those traits that makes a person unique and this comes from personal experience and heredity. Some of the traits might be friendliness, adaptability, extroversion, competitiveness and self confidence. So many companies try to match the store outlook to the perceived image of their customers.
• Lifestyles: these are consistent patterns people follow in their lives. For example trends in lifestyle affect consumers’ choice of buying things. For example healthy foods for healthy lifestyle. It was not until 1920s that some types of fashion got considered in the market.
• Reference groups: this is where an individual identifies so much with a given group of individuals or an individual to the extent that he takes on their preferences for given products and services. The extent to which a reference group will affect the buying of decision depends on one’s susceptibility to the reference group influence and the strength of his or her involvement with the group.
• Ability and knowledge. Learning changes the way a person thinks. This behavior is due to the information and experience this person acquires about anything. So therefore to change consumers behavior about your product, there is need to give them new information about the products.
• Social class. This refers to social stratification on the basis of education, occupation, income, wealth, race and ethnic group. For example the upper middle class of America will prefer a luxury car like Mercedes. The social classes to some extent determine the types, quality and quantity of products that one buys or uses.
• Culture and sub culture.