CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

 Cultural Factors
Culture - is the most fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior.

Subculture – consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and socialization for their
members. Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial groups, and geographic regions.

Social class – Are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society, which are hierarchically ordered and
whose members share similar values, interests, and behavior.

Social classes do not reflect income alone, but also other indicators such as occupation, education, and
area of residence.

 Social Factors
Reference groups – consist of all the groups that have direct or indirect influence on the person’s attitudes or behavior.
Primary groups – family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
Secondary groups – religious groups, professional and union groups.

Family – the most important consumer-buying organization in society, and it has been researched intensively.

Roles and statuses – A person participates in may groups- family, clubs , organizations. The person’s position in each
group can be defined in terms or role and status.
*Role consists of the activities that a person is expected to perform. Each role carries a status.
*Marketers are aware of the status symbol potential of products and brands.

 Personal Factors
Age and Stage in the Life Cycle – people buy goods and services over a lifetime.

Occupation and Economic Circumstances.

Lifestyle – is the person’s pattern of living in the world as expressed in activities, interests and opinions.

Personality – distinguishing psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and enduring Reponses to
environment.

VALS – Values and Lifestyle

Major Tendencies of the four groups with greater resources:

 Actualizers – successful, sophisticated, active, take-charge people. Purchases often reflect cultivated tastes for
relatively upscale, niche-oriented products.
 Fulfillers – Mature, satisfied, comfortable, reflective. Favor durability, functionality, and valued in products.
 Achievers – Successful , career and work-oriented. Favor established, prestige products that demonstrate
success to their peers.
 Experiencers – young , vital, enthusiastic, impulsive and rebellious. Spend a comparatively high proportion of
their income on clothing, fast food, music , movies and video.

Major Tendencies of the four groups with fewer resources:

 Believers – conservative, conventional and traditional. Favor familiar products and established brands.
 Strivers - uncertain, insecure, approval-seeking, resource constrained. Favor stylish products that emulate the
purchases of those with greater material wealth.
 Makers – practical, self-sufficient, traditional, family-oriented. Favor only products with a practical or functional
purpose such as tools, utility vehicles, fishing equipment.
  Strugglers – elderly, passive, concerned, resource constrained. Cautious consumers who are loyal to favorite
brands.

 Psychological Factors
Motivation – A person has many needs at any given time.
*Biogenic – they arise from physiological states of tension such as hunger, thirst, discomfort.
*Psychogenic – they arise from psychological states of tension such as the need for recognition, esteem or belonging/

Perception - the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a
meaningful picture of the worlds.

Learning – when people act, they learn. It involves changes in an individual’s behavior arising from experience.

Belief – is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something.

Attitude – a person’s enduring favorable or unfavorable evaluations, emotional feelings, and action tendencies toward
some object or idea.

The Buying Decision Process

Initiator – a person who first suggests the idea of buying the product or service.
Influencer – a person whose view or advice influences the decision.
Decider – a person who decides on any component of a buying decision: whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or
where to buy.
Buyer – the person who makes the actual purchase.
User - a person who consumes or uses the product or service.

Types of Buying Decision Behavior

Complex
 Highly involved, significant brand differences
 Example – computer
Dissonance-reducing
 Highly involved, little brand differences
 Example – carpeting
Habitual
 Low involvement, little brand differences
 Example – salt
Variety-seeking
 Low involvement, significant perceived brand differences
 Example – cookies

The Stages of the Buying Decision Process

Problem Recognition
Information Search

Consumer information sources fall into four groups:

Personal sources – family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances.

Commercial sources: advertising, salespersons, dealers, packaging, displays.
Public sources – mass media, consumer-rating organizations.
Experiential sources – Handling, examining, using the product.

Evaluation of Alternatives
Purchase Decision
Post Purchase Decision