Consumer behaviour is a study about people, group of peoples, organizations and all

activities related to buy and sell, disposal of goods, consumer’s emotion, mental and
behavioural of consumers. Any peoples who purchase goods for their daily uses or any
peoples who are using services that available in market are called as consumers.

In this topic will be discuss about to understanding consumer’s psychological for

marketers can develop persuasive message which are marketers can attract customers using
theirs words to buy products or services from them. Consumer psychology relies on such
studies as behavioural and psychological economics but the main component is social
cognition. 1. Cognition is responsible for knowledge and perception. It also includes such
aspects as remembering, paying attention, use of language and problem solving.
(O'Shaughnessy, 2013). Analysing basic background factors of an individual helps marketers
develop techniques they can implement to get a better response to the product and catch a
customer’s attention. Persuasive techniques are implemented during all the stages of
marketing mix to guide decision-making. 2.

Firstly, it is important for marketers to understanding what motivates consumers to

purchase products or services from market. The subconscious mind can be easily influenced
by words which is the key for motivational factors. Another thing is emotions. For a people
that have experienced certain emotion can be a motivational for them to purchase goods and
in addition can influence consumers in decision making’s situation. Motivation is aroused by
inner needs, wants and desires and creates a disturbing feeling unless satisfied. According to
Maslow, all humans have a set of similar motives to satisfy for example physiological and
safety needs. Marketer’s task is to discover what motivates the consumer and awakens the
triggers. 3

Another factors that affecting in decision making is perspective. Perspective can be

describe as a response from sensory stimuli. Sensory stimuli are vision, smell, sound, touch
and taste. From all the type of these stimuli, vision is the most powerful stimulus which was
the effective one to implement in marketing. Size, shape, colour of advertisement can affect
consumer’s perspective. Every type of sensory, had their own functional and effectiveness.
Smell of fried chicken can make someone feels hungry. Calm sound such as rain sound can
1
Gordon R. Foxall, ‘The Emotional Texture of Consumer Environments: A Systematic Approach to
Atmospherics’, Journal of Economic Psychology, 1997 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(97)00021-4>.
2
Foxall.
3
Laura Lake, Consumer Behavior for Dummies, Igarss 2014, 2009 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-0173-
7.2>.
release tension. Taste is difference according to what they like. Some people like to eat kari,
some people are don’t like it. So, marketers must creative and take these chance to influence
consumers using theirs perspective. For example, place advertisement along the highway.
People who are using the highway will see the advertisement everyday they are going to their
workplace. Repetition works with the purchases of low involvement. Frequent repetition of
the advertisements helps to recall the product value easier at the moment of decision making.
4
.

Another point is to understanding consumer’s attitudes. Attitude is about evaluation of

peoples to determine favourable or unfavourable thoughts about it. Attitude consists of three
components: conative, affective and cognitive. 5. Conative component is known as intention
which it determines the likely to responds against the object in form of committing or not
committing the purchase. Affective is responsible for emotions or feelings to services and
products. Three things that consumers will evaluate before purchase product: value,
adjustment, knowledge and ego. Values is personal image of consumers and theirs self-image.
Adjustment help to achieve right goals. Knowledge helps to compile the understanding about
based on emotions and belief. Ego is a protection of a self-image from potentials threats.
Cognitive component is beliefs in opinions of other peoples which consist of other
component to form an attitudes. Attitudes can be influenced in many ways including gaining
ideas from friends, family or media, new experiences of yourself or people around you as
well as personality traits. In return attitudes can influence behaviour. 6.

The next point is, addictive. Maybe it is hard for us to admit to ourselves that we are
all obsessed and addictive to certain things that we like. For example nowadays, smartphone
is something that someone must have it. Especially to teenagers that they feeling must catch
up with the flow of technology and everyone must connected to socials media. How long a
person can stand without using smartphone and check the social networks? Without any
medical evidence of addiction, it is proven that when a person get a new notification from
socials media network, the shot of dopamine is released creating the pleasurable feeling
which is the same process occur when a drug addicted get a shot from drugs. When dopamine
disappeared, the person will craving to experience the feeling again. The often that person
feel the sensation, the greater the needs of product to satisfy their needs and craving. This is
4
Lake.
5
Roger D Blackwell, Paul W Miniard, and James F Engel, Consumer Behavior 9th, South-Western Thomas
Learning. Mason, OH, 2001 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.3606>.
6
Lake.
how addiction to something starts and it is not impossible to get addict to anything such as
shopping, gadgets, foods and etc. For marketers, they must also catching up with this
phenomena. They must try to understand what consumers nowadays are addicted to. For
example a mobile phone gamer, this type of consumer need a gadget that can be use
anywhere to play games. Marketers can attract them by promoting to them a phone with a big
capacity of battery, a phone with a great display or a phone with a great processor which is
very suitable for a mobile gamer.

References

Blackwell, Roger D, Paul W Miniard, and James F Engel, Consumer Behavior 9th, South-
Western Thomas Learning. Mason, OH, 2001
<https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.3606>

Foxall, Gordon R., ‘The Emotional Texture of Consumer Environments: A Systematic

Approach to Atmospherics’, Journal of Economic Psychology, 1997
 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(97)00021-4>

Lake, Laura, Consumer Behavior for Dummies, Igarss 2014, 2009

<https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2>

O'Shaughnessy, J. (2013). Consumer Behaviour. Perspectives, Findings & Explanations. 1st

ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, p.143.