Marketing Strategy and Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: By number and of INTRODUCTION: Different organisations have been busy in attracting and retaining more customer through various marketing activities. All marketing strategies and activities are devised keeping in mind the needs and demands of the target market. In order to ensure that the marketing activities are able to generate the desired response and results, it is essential to understand different consumer behaviour. There are different consumer behaviour models and theories which attempts to explain and elaborate various elements of the consumer behaviour (Wells, Ponting, & Peattie, 2010). This in turn allows the organisations to formulate the marketing plan and strategies accordingly. Owing to increasing globalization and changes in the overall world, customers have now become more aware (Leslie, 1995). This in turn has increased the importance of customers in the process of formulating different strategies. It has become essential for the organisations to understand the attitudes and behaviour of the consumers, in order to ensure that the respective products have high acceptance and demand. Marketing plans and strategies are used by the organisations in order to increase the visibility and demand of the product. If these marketing strategies are integrated with the consumer behaviour and attitudes, the impact of these strategies can be improved (Varadarajan & Menon, 1988). In this report an attempt has been made to understand the influence of these consumer behaviour models and theories on the marketing strategies of the organisations. Different marketing activities of Coca Cola have been used to explain the use of these models and theories in order to influence the process of decision making and consumer choice. For this purpose, it is first important to understand the relationship of marketing strategy and consumer behaviour. Once, understanding of this relationship will be developed it will become easier to comprehend the impact of different consumer behaviour models and theories on the marketing activities of the organisation (Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009). MARKETING STRATEGY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: Most of the large organisations are aware of the importance of the understanding of consumer behaviour. Understanding the attitudes and behaviour of consumer enables the organisations to ensure the long term profits and growths associated with the products being offered (Gardner, 1985). First step in the process of formulating effective and efficient marketing strategy in order to survive in competitive industry is understanding and anticipating the consumer behaviour (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2009). Consumer behaviour is directly dependent on the product, person, and situation. This means that different persons have different behaviour and attitudes for different products and in different situations (Mooij, 2000). Therefore, while devising marketing strategies this nature of consumer behaviour should be kept in mind which is also depicted in the figure below. (Sun, 2009) It can be further elaborated, that situation and product act as stimuli on the consumer and in a result a response is generated which is known as consumer behaviour. (Sun, 2009) Consumer behaviour directly influence the different marketing decisions and strategies. This includes market segmentation, positioning of the product, and different marketing mix elements which are product, price, promotion, and place (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 1999). DECISION MAKING PROCESS: (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004) Consumers use a complete decision making process in order to select a particular product or brand. This process includes different steps which are (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): Problem recognition Search of information Evaluation of different alternatives and selection Purchase Post purchase activities Problem Recognition: This is the first step in the process of decision making. The difference in the expected state and current state is perceived as problem by the consumer. If the problem results in directing the consumer towards a particular product or brand without looking for and evaluating other alternatives, then this is known as habitual decision making. On the other hand, for other problems consumers indulge in the process of information search and evaluating different alternatives and therefore follow limited decision making process or extended decision making process (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004). For example in the case of Coca Cola consumers realise the problem of thirst and the desire of drinking something in order to quench the thirst. Loyal consumers of Coca Cola instantly remembers the respective product and purchase, hence it is habitual decision making (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Search of Information: After recognising the problem, consumers go for searching the relevant information. There are certain brands and products which are within the evoked set of the consumers as compared to the brands in the inert or inept set. These set of products along with the type of different decision making results in the generation of different marketing strategies, which are as follow (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): 1. Maintenance Strategy 2. Disrupt Strategy 3. Capture Strategy 4. Intercept Strategy 5. Preference Strategy 6. Acceptance Strategy Decision Making pattern of the Target Market Brand or product position Habitual Decision Making Limited Decision Making Extended Decision Making Evoked Set of Brands Maintenance Strategy Capture Strategy Preference Strategy Inept or Inert Set of Brands Disrupt Strategy Intercept Strategy Acceptance Strategy (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004) In the case of Coca Cola, all marketing activities and strategies of the company come under the category of maintenance strategy, as the brand is in the evoked set and target market involves in habitual decision making process for Coca Cola. Hence, the company is using different marketing mediums in order to maintain the market position and the current behaviour of the target market. In this regard, Coca Cola is paying considerable attention to the factors like maintaining the quality of the product, ensure availability of the product, and reinforcement or recall advertisement (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Evaluation of Different Alternatives and Selection: Different factors and elements are selected as evaluative criteria on the basis of which consumers evaluate all available alternatives and make the final selection. Each evaluative criterion is associated with certain importance level. This help in the process of evaluating the different alternatives on the basis of every criterion. Once done, different decision tools are used in order to select the best alternative (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004). Coca Cola understands the preferences and needs of the target customers and take important measures and steps in order to ensure that it fulfils all evaluative criteria. This in turn increase the overall sales and revenue of the company. Purchase: In order to increase the unplanned purchases, organisations have been using different marketing strategies and tactics. These strategies motivates the consumers to purchase a particular brand or product, as a result contributing in increasing the overall sales and revenue (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004). Coca Cola uses different Point of Purchase (POP) marketing activities in order to encourage the purchase of the product. These Point of Purchase (POP) displays result in increasing the unplanned and impulse purchase of the product. Along with this, Coca Cola keep on coming up with different sales promotions and price reductions deals. This also motivates the consumers to buy the product (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Post Purchase: Post purchase evaluation and activities are related to the concepts of repurchase, consumer loyalty, and relationship marketing. In order to deliver ultimate experience to the target consumers and encouraging repeat purchase, organisations have been implementing different strategies for relationship building with consumers. The idea of brand loyalty is different from the habitual buying or decision making. Brand loyalty is generated as a result of strong favourable attitude on part of the target consumers. In order to develop brand loyalty the consumers should be highly satisfied with the product or brand and should be convinced that this particular brand fulfils the requirements of the consumers in more better manner as compared to other products (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004). In this regard, Coca Cola has been able to create strong bonds and relationships with the target consumers. Consumers always relate the soft drink with coke. Apart from this, management of the company has been able to come up with different relationship marketing strategies and activities to increase the brand loyalty (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). INFLUENCES ON DECISION MAKING PROCESS: The decision making process is directly influenced by different factors. These factors are broadly divided into two main categories, which are (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): 1. Internal influences 2. External influences Internal Influences: Perception: The process of building a particular perception about a particular brand or product is started by the process of information processing. Information processing is characterised by a set of different activities which helps in transforming the stimuli into relevant information, which is then stored. Information processing consists of four steps, which are (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): 1. Exposure 2. Attention 3. Interpretation 4. Memory Exposure: Exposure is the process of sending the stimulus within the area of reception. Consumers are exposed to different factors and stimuli and all these stimuli compete for gaining high attention. People tend to provide more attention to the factors which are in accordance to their preferences and interests. Hence, organisation should take into account the needs and preferences of the target market before coming up with some effective advertising and other communication message. Coca Cola has been able to capture considerable exposure by reaching the target market through proper channels and mediums. Apart from this the company breaks the clutter of other messages by delivering the message at appropriate time and place. For instance, the advertisements of Coca Cola are place in locations where there are recreational areas (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Attention: Attention refers to the process of processing the stimuli in the brain of the target consumers. In this era of rapid media growth it has become difficult to capture maximum attention of the target consumers. This requires well thought and well planned marketing communication plan. The three factors which directly influence the level of attention are: 1. Factors associated with stimulus 2. Individual 3. Situation Intensity, colour, size, movement, position, content of message, etc are all factors which affect the impact of the stimulus. Along with this the situation and personal characteristics of the target consumer also impact the level of attention. Coca Cola makes sure that the marketing message communicated through different mediums or channels is communicated to the target consumer in effective manner. This in result ensures maximum attention to the product of the company. In this regard, company has been able to create a unique image of the shape of the bottle along with the logo and red colour (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Interpretation: Interpretation is the process of associating the message with a particular meaning. This is the most important phase as the decision of buying a particular product or brand is strongly associated with the interpretation of the message. This phase is again dependent on the factors related with the stimulus, situation, and individual. Coca Cola has build positive perception about the brand and products with the help of effective retail strategy, media strategy, advertising strategy, packaging strategy, and positioning strategy. Learning and Memory: Learning and memory is generated after the interpretation and perception building about the particular brand. Different marketing activities and tasks are evaluated and judged on the basis of the learning, memory, beliefs, and knowledge about that particular product or brand. There are several methods which can be used in order to increase the memory and recall of the product. This includes different jingles, colours, logos, images, point of purchase displays and several other factors. All of these factors facilitates the organisations in the process of communicating the brand image and positioning. Coca Cola uses different catchy lines and jingles in order to increase the recall rate. At the same time different point of purchase activities and red colour also acts as strong forces for increasing the learning and memory (Wolstencroft & Allinson, 2011). Motivation, Personality, and Emotion: There are different motivations behind the purchase of several products. These motives can be related to physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self actualisation needs as described by the Maslow’s hierarchy. In order to increase the sales of a particular product it is important to first identify the motives behind the purchase. The product of Coca Cola generally comes in the category of basic need of quenching the thirst. Management of Coca Cola has also indentified different social motives behind the purchase of Coca Cola and has thus capitalised on this concept by promoting it as a social drink. Different personality traits also directly influence the purchase decision of the target consumers. It is important to carefully identify the target market and the associated personality traits in order to come up with effective marketing strategies. It is beneficial to associate the product with a particular personality feature which appeals the target market of that particular product. For instance, Coca Cola is perceived to have brand personality of extrovert and social people hence targeting the social and extrovert youth. Apart from motivation and personality, emotions also have clear impact on the overall decision making process. It is necessary for the organisation to understand the influence of the emotions and thus select appropriate strategy for the marketing, like emotion arousal as a benefit of product of emotion reduction as benefit of the product. Coca Cola is perceived to be associated with pleasure and fun emotions and is promoted in the similar manner through different emotional advertisements. These advertisements directly target the fun loving youth. Attitude and Attitude Change: Attitudes of the target market have direct effect on the purchase decision of the consumers. In this regard it is important to establish that there are three components of the attitude which are (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): 1. Cognitive component – associated with beliefs 2. Affective component – associated with feelings 3. Behavioural component – associated with the final reaction or response tendencies Coca Cola has been able to use the advertisements and other marketing tools in order to change the attitude of the target consumers about the product. This has been done by using different celebrity endorsements and other related activities. In this manner, company is communicating the brand image and positioning in an effective and efficient manner. External Influences: Different external factors which directly influences the behaviour of the consumers are (Neal, Quester, & Hawkins, 2004): 1. Society, demographics, and lifestyles 2. Household structure and consumption behaviour 3. Group influences and communication 4. Social class 5. Culture and cross cultural factors The marketing team of Coca Cola has been able to understand the impact all these external factors on the purchase decision and behaviour of the consumer. As a result, the marketing strategies and tactics of the company are devised accordingly. Coca Cola has been able to understand the lifestyle of the target consumers and thus have promoted itself as a drink of whole family and friends. Apart from this owing to different consumption behaviour of the target market, company has come up with different SKUs. This has facilitated the consumers in selecting the bottle size which suits their consumption behaviour and household structure. Coca Cola has promoted itself as a social drink and as a result has incorporated the influence of different groups and communication. Along with this, it helps in responding the social class needs of the target consumers. The management of Coca Cola has been able to understand the impact of different cultures and society on the purchase decision of the consumers. Company is being operating in several countries all over the globe and has followed the strategy of adopting the local culture and preferences and has changed the product according the needs and requirements of different cultures and societies. CONCLUSION: Coca Cola is a perfect example of using different effective and efficient marketing strategies in accordance with different consumer behaviour theories and models. As a result, the company has devised thorough and effective Integrated Marketing Communication plan. All these strategies have enabled the organisation to capture large share of market and reach considerable amount of target market. Hence, it can be said that the theories and models of consumer behaviour are beneficial for the organisations in the process of formulating different marketing strategies and plans. If the organisations will be able to understand the different perceptions, attitudes, needs, requirements, and behaviour of the target consumers it will come up with more effective strategies in order to address all these factors. Marketing activities and strategies are one of the most important factor in the process of attracting large number of customers and encouraging them to purchase a particular brand or product. So, it is essential to understand the particular behaviour and attitude of the consumers. List of References Neal, C, Quester, P, & Hawkins, D 2004, Consumer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy. McGraw-Hill Irwin, Australia Sun, J 2009, ‘Is consumer behaviour random? 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