A

Seminar Report

ON

“THE CONSUMER CONUNDRUM:

CHANGING OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR”

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Jaya Malhotra Ritika Sharma
HOD 201013
Department of Management BBA 3rd Sem

MAHARAJA AGRASEN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT &

TECHNOLOGY (ISO 9001-2008) JAGADHRI- 135003
(YAMUNA NAGAR)

CONTENTS
 Consumer behavior

 Consumer behavior important to business

 Role of consumer behavior in marketing

 Sources of consumer behavior data for marketers

 Consumer decision-making process

 The reason of change in consumer behavior

 Three steps to conquering today’s customer conundrum

 The customer loyalty conundrum – what do your customers really want?

 The content-strategy conundrum: when, what and how to generate demand

 Changes in consumer behavior brought on by the pandemic

 Changing consumer behaviour in post-covid scenario

 Conclusion

 References
 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

In general terms, consumer behavior is a psychologically-based study of how individuals

make buying decisions; what motivates them to make a purchase. Several facets of
consumer behavior exist, such as:

 How a consumer feels about certain brands, products, or services 

 What motivates a consumer to pick one product over another and why 
 What factors in a consumer's everyday environment affect buying decisions or
brand perceptions and why
 How consumers make decisions in groups or when they are alone

Multiple factors exist that determine buyer behavior, such as social factors, psychological
factors, and even simply personal factors. For instance, a good consumer behavior
example would be a single mother in her 20s choosing to purchase an SUV instead of a
minivan because of her personal perception of the minivan being a vehicle for a middle-
aged mother.
 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS

According to a Salesforce report, 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their

needs and expectations. This means that if you don't understand what a consumer wants
before they can tell you, they're probably taking their business elsewhere.

Successful organizations build their marketing strategies with consumer behavior insights
as the foundation. They're not generating products and marketing plans based on their
ideas alone; they are bringing external information into the fold to find out what
customers want and how they want it, then interacting with them accordingly. This is the
essence of creating a positive customer experience (CX), and CX means everything to
fostering a loyal customer-base.

Role of Consumer Behavior in Marketing

As addressed above, the organizations that not only solve, but best communicate that they
solve, real consumer problems are the ones that win in the market today. Therefore,
consumer behavior insights can be used to inform almost all areas of your marketing
strategy. This may include what content you should be creating within your blogs and
other content mediums, the types of stories you tell in your video and display
advertisements, or even how you adjust your product lines to deliver what the consumer
wants.

As an example, let's consider the content your marketing teams could create in the
coming months. If you're a brand that specializes in products for men, you might have a
plan to create a bunch of blogs about gifting for men this quarter. When analyzing
consumer search behavior, you may notice that the phrase “gifts for men on anniversary”
gets a substantially more searches than “ideas for husband anniversary gift”. This subtle
tweak in the way you title and keyword optimize your content could mean the difference
between getting almost 10,000 site visitors or just above 1,000 from this content.
 SOURCES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DATA FOR MARKETERS

Consumer behavior insights can be derived through a variety of ways. They may come
from analytics provided by your marketing or sales platforms, they may be a result of
surveys, or they may come from your own analysis of publicly available data (such as
search engine data). The more you understand your ideal customer, the better you can
tweak your marketing efforts to woo those individuals.

As the world becomes overwhelmingly digitally driven. Many, but not all, components of
consumer behavior can be captured by the analytics provided within the marketing
channels your company already uses. These may include your programmatic display
advertisements, search ads, and website content. In these cases, clickthrough rates, page
views, and site conversion activity can tell you a lot about what consumers do and don't
like, what marketing content works, and what doesn't.

But there's a large amount of consumer behavior data that is outside of a marketers'
readily-accessible view. Such as how consumers are engaging with competitors' websites
- and how those sites' content influences consumer behavior in-turn. Analytics solutions
that leverage competitive intelligence in combination with search behavior data have the
ability to guide marketing strategies in a variety of ways.

To conclude, marketers who leverage the power of consumer behavior data automatically
take giant steps forward in their race against competitors to reach their audience. If
consumer behavior is currently driving your marketing strategy, you may be missing out
on important marketing opportunities right in front of you.

If you'd like to see what your target audience cares about and what content they are most
interested in consuming, request a free consumer behavior insights report. 👉

To simplify your content strategy and see how you stack up against competitors, get
started with a free account today!
 CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Steps in the consumer decision process

Generally speaking, the consumer decision-making process involves five basic steps.
Start to understand the unique decision process of your customers with this decision
flowchart template.

1. Problem recognition

The first step of the consumer decision-making process is recognizing the need for a
service or product. Need recognition, whether prompted internally or externally, results in
the same response: a want. Once consumers recognize a want, they need to gather
information to understand how they can fulfill that want, which leads to step 2.

But how can you influence consumers at this stage? Since internal stimulus comes from
within and includes basic impulses like hunger or a change in lifestyle, focus your sales
and marketing efforts on external stimulus. 

Develop a comprehensive brand campaign to build brand awareness and recognition––

you want consumers to know you and trust you. Most importantly, you want them to feel
like they have a problem only you can solve.

Example: Winter is coming. This particular customer has several light jackets, but she’ll
need a heavy-duty winter coat if she’s going to survive the snow and lower temperatures.

2. Information search

When researching their options, consumers again rely on internal and external factors, as
well as past interactions with a product or brand, both positive and negative. In the
information stage, they may browse through options at a physical location or consult
online resources, such as Google or customer reviews.

Your job as a brand is to give the potential customer access to the information they want,
with the hopes that they decide to purchase your product or service. Create a funnel and
plan out the types of content that people will need. Present yourself as a trustworthy
source of knowledge and information. 

Another important strategy is word of mouth––since consumers trust each other more
than they do businesses, make sure to include consumer-generated content, like customer
reviews or video testimonials, on your website.

Example: The customer searches “women’s winter coats” on Google to see what options
are out there. When she sees someone with a cute coat, she asks them where they bought
it and what they think of that brand.

3. Alternatives evaluation
At this point in the consumer decision-making process, prospective buyers have
developed criteria for what they want in a product. Now they weigh their prospective
choices against comparable alternatives.

Alternatives may present themselves in the form of lower prices, additional product
benefits, product availability, or something as personal as color or style options. Your
marketing material should be geared towards convincing consumers that your product is
superior to other alternatives. Be ready to overcome any objections––e.g., in sales calls,
know your competitors so you can answer questions and compare benefits.

Example: The customer compares a few brands that she likes. She knows that she wants a
brightly colored coat that will complement the rest of her wardrobe, and though she
would rather spend less money, she also wants to find a coat made from sustainable
materials.

4. Purchase decision
This is the moment the consumer has been waiting for: the actual purchase. Once they
have gathered all the facts, including feedback from previous customers, consumers
should arrive at a logical conclusion on the product or service to purchase.

If you’ve done your job correctly, the consumer will recognize that your product is the
best option and decide to purchase.

 
Example: The customer finds a pink winter coat that’s on sale for 20% off. After
confirming that the brand uses sustainable materials and asking friends for their
feedback, she orders the coat online.

5. Post-purchase evaluation

This part of the consumer decision-making process involves reflection from both the
consumer and the seller. As a seller, you should try to gauge the following:

 Did the purchase meet the need the consumer identified?

 Is the customer happy with the purchase?

 How can you continue to engage with this customer?

Remember, it’s your job to ensure your customer continues to have a positive experience
with your product. Post-purchase engagement could include follow-up emails, discount
coupons, and newsletters to entice the customer to make an additional purchase. You
want to gain life-long customers, and in an age where anyone can leave an online review,
it’s more important than ever to keep customers happy.
 THE REASON OF CHANGE IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

1. Real-timeification of Consuming Modern consumers are well informed. Today’s

consumers are always carrying an endless source of real-time information in their
pockets: their smartphones. I call this the “real-timeification of buyer behavior.” This
means that potential buyers will always find the best deal in real time.

To be successful in this market, you have to constantly monitor the prices, value
propositions, customer engagement and behavior of your competition. And importantly,
adapt whenever you may be at risk to be outsmarted by your competitor.

2. Reviewification of Business  When was the last time you booked a hotel? I bet you
used a review site before you made your decision. 49% of consumers look for at least a 4-
star rating before they choose to use a business. I call this the“reviewification” of
business.

So, to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to earn your reputation. How? Aim for
perfection. Happy clients write great reviews, and that is something money cannot buy.
But remember: not every client writes a review. You have to work hard to get those
reviews and find clever ways to get your happy customers to review you.

3. “Uberization” of the Market The taxi and hotel industry are the poster children of
business disruption. Many once-thriving companies are now struggling because lean
startups took large parts of their market share. The reason for this “uberization” is
customer need.
 THREE STEPS TO CONQUERING TODAY’S CUSTOMER
CONUNDRUM

Few companies were fully prepared for the ground-shaking upheaval of Covid-19.
Businesses were forced to go online in a matter of weeks, and many organizations
couldn’t bear the strain. Even Amazon, a titan of delivery and applying the customer-first
mindset, saw unprecedented delays. Many of us remember how when the pandemic hit,
we waited on hold for hours at a time to change our plans or get what we needed. 

A year later, we’ve found that customer expectations and attitudes are in flux and, at
times, seemingly at odds with each other, reflecting the complexity of our times. 

Navigating this still boils down to providing good old-fashioned customer service. Failing
to offer timely, useful support in crunch time (in other words, what most of us
experienced at some point last year) can have a dire impact on the bottom line. In a recent
survey of 300 customer service leaders, our company found that 3 in 5 U.S. customer
service leaders saw an increase in customer churn since February 2020. 

1. Listen And Lead With Empathy

As the world leaped to e-commerce, customers became more demanding. Our survey
found that 68% have seen an increase in customer expectations since February 2020. 

2. Calling All Digital Channels

Across the board, we’re seeing heavy investment in technology that empowers online
solutions. Platforms that encompass multiple online channels are incredibly valuable to
present a comprehensive customer view that informs smarter responses. To meet today’s
expectations, companies must go further to provide tailored interactions that meet each
customer where he/she lives.

That’s why 4 out of 5 customer service leaders are improving their online game by
investing at least 30% more in hardware, self-service, measurement and analytics, and
live chat and messaging. 
3. Communicate Like Your Business Depends On It

When customers are seeking timely support, it’s essential to be transparent and keep a
steady line of communication open. This becomes even more important when integrating
new digital tools. Many companies make the mistake of taking a “set it and forget”
approach to going digital, or assume that now that there’s a bot involved, the problem is
solved. This can lead to disaster. 

Without incorporating human support and timely communication around why you’re
making changes and enhancements, you’ll let customers come to their own conclusions
— which may not be in your favor. 

Conundrum Comes Opportunity

Customer requirements will always change, and company systems must continually
evolve to meet them. Today’s customer conundrum forces companies to rise to the
challenge to meet conflicting customer attitudes and provides a golden opportunity for
companies to turn challenges into opportunities and harness technology to delight
customers for years to come. 
 THE CUSTOMER LOYALTY CONUNDRUM – WHAT DO YOUR
CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT?

We’re living in the age of the customer. But are brands hitting the nail on the head when
it comes to customer experiences? Or are they simply taking a stab in the dark? With
customer experience being such an integral part of brand loyalty, companies really can’t
afford to be playing the guessing game.

Customers now face more choice than ever before, with offerings both on- and offline.
While this might be great for consumers, it means they often don’t have an affinity with
any one brand.

As Retail Week reports, 60% of consumers cited conveniently located stores as the most
important factor when shopping and 72% wish to have an effortless loyalty programme,
with rewards automatically redeemed.

But how are brands supposed to boost customer loyalty when one-size-fits-all points card
schemes simply don’t cut it anymore?

Listen

In the customer era, the most important voice is that of the customer. Brands have more
means of interacting with consumers than ever before, so there’s no excuse for giving
offers and discounts on products they don’t want or need.

Engage with your customers on social media, invite them to product development
sessions, and use surveys to gauge what they want and need.
The human touch

Just because we live in a digital world doesn’t mean you should completely give up on
the human touch. Sure, there can be a time and place for apps and chatbots but they
shouldn’t be your only source of communication – especially if it’s not actually what your
customer likes.

According to Enterprise Innovation, over half (58%) of consumers believe a phone call
still provides the best and most efficient service. What’s more, 74% are more loyal if they
can speak to someone and 60% feel their voices are actually being heard when they speak
to a person.

Make sure you have a presence in places where they hang out and interact with them on
their chosen channel. Strive for communication consistency across all your channels, all
year round.

Personalisation

Research by Oracle found that 58% of retailers feel they provide customers with relevant
offers, but only 32% of consumers feel the same way. A one-size-fits-all approach will
quickly have your customers switching off.

By engaging with and listening to customers in combination with data, brands can
personalise the offers and deals sent to customers. Personalised offers based on stated
preferences and on purchase history were described as appealing by 69% and 66% of
respondents, respectively.

Engage

Get creative with how you engage with existing and potential customers. Involve them in
competitions and fun and easy content both on and offline. You want to make your brand
seem down to earth, approachable and contactable.

And don’t be afraid to experiment with technology. Bond’s Loyalty Report 2018 found

that 95% of loyalty scheme members want to engage with the programme via new and
emerging tech, such as AR, VR and wearables.

At Linney, we’ve delivered exciting customer engagement strategies for some big-name
brands. Whether you’d like to gain a deeper understanding of your consumers or deliver a
truly engaging customer loyalty scheme, speak to Linney today.
 THE CONTENT-STRATEGY CONUNDRUM: WHEN, WHAT AND
HOW TO GENERATE DEMAND

Three types of content to use in your demand generation strategy

1. 'Engage' content. Engagement content is purely educational, and all about your

prospective buyers; it is meant to outline the issues they may be encountering, and the
ways to solve them. So, identify your buyers' personas and use those demographics, plus
their information-seeking habits, to define your messaging and techniques. Also, use
engaging content at this initial stage, to identify what the buyer is looking for, before you
hone in on more targeted messaging. Limited branding should be done at this stage.

2. 'Nurture' content. The nurturing stage is designed to continue the dialogue with buyers.
It should still be about them and their pain points, but at this stage, you should use some
branding and describe how your company could solve those buyers' business challenges,
pointing to your particular branded solution. Focus on moving past the top-of-mind issues
and into more specific solution categories that match your buyers’ challenges and pain
points.

3. 'Convert' content. When your prospects are ready to buy, it is imperative to enable

those sales by employing relevant content that can help close the deal. Convert content is
solution-specific, is heavily branded and lets you showcase how your company’s products
and solutions can meet your prospects' needs.
 CHANGES IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR BROUGHT ON BY THE
PANDEMIC

Consumer behavior is always changing and evolving, however the changes seen recently
have altered the business world significantly. There has been an acceleration in the shift
to online shopping, an increased need for omni-channel, and major changes in consumer
shopping habits – all brought on by the pandemic. 

Shift To Shopping Online 

People have been forced to live differently, and as a result they are also shopping
differently and spending their time differently. Staying indoors has naturally increased the
need for online shopping, and we have seen rapid changes in behavior that would have
otherwise taken years. One example is how quickly people have adapted to purchasing
groceries online. This is one category of goods that was not frequently purchased via the
web. Customers are also purchasing more essentials and household cleaning supplies
online. 

In the U.S., consumers spent $211.5 billion on e-commerce during the second quarter of
2020, up 31.8% quarter-over-quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “The events
of the last year have resulted in such a significant acceleration both from a consumer and
a business standpoint. We’ve seen shopping behavior from consumers just fast-forward.
You think about the penetration of online grocery shopping today vs. where it was 18
months ago –18 months ago, would you ever have predicted people would be shopping
for fresh, perishable groceries [online] as much as they are, as frequently as they are,
today?” said Ravi Jariwala, senior director of public relations for Walmart e-commerce,
as cited in Winsight Grocery Business.

Spending More Time On Leisure Activities 

Behaviors have notably changed, whether we look at the amount of time people are
spending on self-care, mental health and physical wellness, or the amount of time spent
watching television at home, we can see a significant shift in day-to-day actions. 
 CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN POST-COVID
SCENARIO

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our lives in multiple ways — ways that we, as a
society, will come to detect, understand, and accept many years from now. It has
transformed the way we work, eat, shop, do business, and even  the way we cast our
vote. Previous research has indicated that consumer behaviour changes in times of
crisis. Epidemics in the past, such as SARS and MERS, showed the trend of  ‘economic
elastic behaviour’ where people curtailed their spending and focused largely on
essential goods. Along with curtailed consumption, people also paid more attention to
the price and origin of the product, not only shaping what consumers bought but also
where they bought it from.
Consumption is not only habitual but also contextual. Context matters and ad hoc
disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, and pandemics like the current one fall into
the most important and least predictable category. Along with factors like risk
perception and risk attitude, three major factors lead to the formation of new habits.
These are public policy, technology, and demographics. Public policy tends to shape the
ease with which consumers can buy any particular product and indulge in any desired
transaction. It also determines if there are any alternatives available. One of the major
advantages of air travel — which is its  efficiency — may get offset by the increased
time required to prepare for air travel, security checks, COVID tests etc., which then
may push people to shift to other means of transport, especially for shorter distances.
Changes in technology continuously transform wants into needs. The mobile phone and
internet have not only become needs by themselves but are also pushing through a
whole set of new behaviours like online shopping, paying bills online, gaming, GPS
navigation, etc. Changing demographics shape consumer behaviour. For example, the
ageing population of advanced economies will have different patterns for spending on
recreation, wealth preservation, and health compared to a population with a lower mean
age.
These new habits and the factors leading to their creation are moderated by personality
characteristics, culture, geography, and time period. The likelihood of a habit’s
retention is determined by the extent to which a person is exposed to that particular
environment. It takes anywhere between 18 to 254 days for a new habit to form, with 66
days being the average time taken.
Research conducted in this sphere lists some emerging trends of consumer behaviour
caused by the current crisis. One major emerging trend has been the accelerated
rate of digital adoption. There has been a ‘digitalisation of buying’ with greater use of
e-commerce touch points. This looks to increase with the regulations on physical
movement and distancing set to continue. Technology and digital media platforms are
set to play a greater role in reaching out to consumers, creating a buzz, facilitating
transactions and retention of customers. The shortage of goods and the constraints
imposed has unleashed a vast amount of improvisationamongst the consumers, trying to
do their best with what could be sourced. Through such creative solutions, new ways of
consumption are invented and the old traditional ways get discarded. There is also a
shift towards a simpler buying pattern with consumers focusing on  basic needs and
essentials rather than on luxury goods. Even the more well-off expressed their
disapproval for excess consumption and went for more sustainable and local
offerings. Pent-up demand is another consumption trend that emerges in times of crises.
Consumers postpone purchases, especially of large durables like automobiles, which
then gets released whenever conditions become more normal or there is a window of
respite from the crises.
The pandemic has forced upon all of us new ways of doing things, modifying existing
practices, and transforming entire ecosystems, and that too for a considerable length of
time. Therefore, the next big question in modelling consumer behaviour is: Will habits
formed during the crises continue or will people return to their old routines once
conditions change? Consumers will shift to new ways of doing things if they are ‘ more
convenient, affordable, and accessible.’ Streaming services like Netflix, Disney, and
Prime are examples of such shifts in consumer behaviour with a better and more
accessible alternative coming along. In a survey done by Numerator Insights Data
(2021), reflecting on food consumption habits in a post-COVID scenario, 32 percent of
the respondents felt that they will visit bars and restaurants more frequently than pre-
COVID times, while 23 percent expected themselves to continue with the habit formed
in the COVID period, i.e., going out for food a lesser number of times. With regards to
modification of habits around ordering or take-out of food, 18 percent felt that they will
continue at a greater frequency, while 19 percent believed that their habits will change
and return to the pattern of pre-COVID times.
An interesting aspect of human behaviour is the coming back of habits or necessitiesthat
are given up as a recreation or a hobby. It is highly likely that day-to-day activities of
our current world such as in-store shopping, travelling for work, dining at restaurants,
etc. may get converted into recreational one-off activities and hobbies. It will be
interesting as well as critical to identify which of these habits are the modern-day
equivalents of hunting and fishing, to trace the path human society takes in a post-
COVID scenario.
 CONCLUSION

The experience of living through COVID-19 is changing the world in which we live and
our behaviour. Changes that provide positive experiences are likely to last longer,
particularly those driven by convenience and well-being, such as digital adoption, value-
based purchasing and increased health awareness. This provides an opportunity for
insurers to offer innovative, modular, granular, value-based and integrated products to
meet customer needs. It is vital that insurers understand consumers' preferences to stay
relevant and adapt accordingly.
 REFERENCES

 https://www.demandjump.com/blog/the-importance-of-consumer-behavior-in-
marketing
 https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/consumer-decision-making-process
 https://www.revelx.co/blog/consumer-behavior-changing/
 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/27/three-steps-to-
conquering-todays-customer-conundrum/?sh=563f5b261635
SNAP SHOTS