Principles of marketing. (2015). University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.

https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.1901 (Original work published 2010)

1. Chapter 3 - Consumer Behavior: How People Make Buying Decisions. In this chapter,
students will learn about the factors that influence consumer behaviors. Students will
explore the purchasing decision process including the five-stage model
2. Chapter 4 - Business Buying Behavior

Chapter 3.1 Buying Behavior Factors

The book chapter on the factors that influence consumers’ buying behavior highlights several
key concepts:
1. Cultural Factors: Culture, subculture, and social class significantly impact consumer
behavior. These elements shape preferences and purchasing decisions based on
shared values, beliefs, and customs.
2. Social Factors: Social influences such as family, reference groups, and roles and status
play a crucial role. Family members, friends, and colleagues can affect an individual’s
buying choices through their opinions and behaviors.
3. Personal Factors: Individual characteristics such as age, occupation, economic situation,
lifestyle, and personality influence buying behavior. Each person’s unique circumstances
and traits guide their purchasing decisions.
4. Psychological Factors: These include motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and
attitudes. Psychological drivers help explain why consumers choose certain products
over others based on their mental and emotional states.
5. Situational Factors: The context of the purchase, such as the physical environment,
social surroundings, time factors, purchase reason, and buyer’s mood and condition,
also affect buying behavior.

INFLUENTIAL FACTORS - CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (Expanded)

Several factors affect consumer behavior, influencing how individuals make purchasing
decisions. These factors can be broadly categorized into psychological, social, cultural,
personal, and situational influences.

Psychological Factors
1. Motivation: The internal drive that prompts a consumer to fulfill a need or desire.
2. Perception: How consumers interpret information and form opinions about a product or
service.
3. Learning: Past experiences that shape future behavior and decision-making.
4. Beliefs and Attitudes: Personal beliefs and attitudes towards products, brands, or services.

Social Factors
1. Family: The influence of family members on purchasing decisions.
2. Reference Groups: Groups that individuals look to for guidance and approval, such as
friends, colleagues, or celebrities.
3. Social Roles and Status: A person's role and status within society affect their buying choices.
Cultural Factors
1. Culture: The shared values, beliefs, and customs within a society that influence buying
behavior.
2. Subculture: Distinct groups within a culture that have their own unique values and behaviors.
3. Social Class: The division of society based on economic status, which affects preferences
and consumption patterns.

Personal Factors
1. Age and Life Cycle Stage: Different stages of life influence preferences and purchasing
habits.
2. Occupation: A person’s job can dictate buying power and needs.
3. Economic Situation: The financial status of an individual affects their spending capacity.
4. Lifestyle: How individuals live their lives. Includes activities, interests, and opinions.
5. Personality and Self-Concept: The characteristics and self-image of an individual influence
their choices.

Situational Factors
1. Purchase Situation: The context of a purchase, including the time and place.
2. Physical Environment: The surroundings where a purchase occurs, such as store layout and
ambiance.
3. Temporal Effects: The timing of a purchase, such as seasonality or time constraints.
4. Psychological State: The mood or condition of a consumer at the time of purchase.

Understanding these factors provides valuable insights for businesses aiming to influence
consumer behavior and improve their marketing strategies.

Understanding these factors allows marketers to predict consumer behavior better and tailor
their strategies accordingly.

Chapter 3.2 Level of Involvement

The level of involvement reflects how important or interested you are in consuming a product
and how much information you need to decide.

Low-Involvement Buying Decisions -

● Characteristics: These decisions are typically routine, involve low risk, and
require minimal information processing.
● Examples: Frequently purchased, low-cost items such as groceries or household
products.
● Decision Process: Consumers often rely on habitual buying behavior and are
influenced by marketing tactics like in-store promotions and packaging.
 ● Related terminology
○ routine response behavior when they make low-involvement decisions—
that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based on limited
information or information they have gathered in the past
○ Impulse Buying - Little or no previous thought

High-Involvement Buying Decisions

● Characteristics: These decisions are complex, involve significant risk, and

require extensive information processing.
● Examples: High-cost, infrequent purchases such as cars, homes, or expensive
electronics.
● Decision Process: Consumers engage in thorough research, evaluate multiple
options, and consider personal preferences and brand reputation.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

1. Problem Recognition: Identifying a need or problem that requires a solution.

2. Information Search: Gathering information from various sources to make an
informed decision.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives: Comparing different products or brands based on
specific criteria.
4. Purchase Decision: Selecting a product and making the purchase.
5. Post-Purchase Behavior: Reflecting on the purchase decision, leading to
satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Factors Influencing Decision Making

● Psychological Factors: Motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes.

● Social Factors: Family, social roles, peer groups, and status.
● Cultural Factors: Culture, subculture, and social class.
● Situational Factors: Physical environment, time, and the consumer’s mood and
condition at the time of purchase.

Marketing Implications

● For Low-Involvement Products: Marketers should focus on visibility,

convenience, and creating habitual buying behavior through promotions and
packaging.
● For High-Involvement Products: Marketers should provide detailed
information, build brand trust, and highlight unique selling propositions to assist
consumers in decision-making.

Chapter 4: Business Buying Behavior

4.1 The Characteristics of Business-to-Business (B2B) Markets
 KEY TAKE AWAY (Rewritten): B2B markets differ significantly from B2C
markets. In B2B markets, there are more transactions, often involving high-dollar,
complex items, as business products tend to be costly. Although there are fewer
buyers in B2B markets, they spend considerably more than typical consumers
and adhere to stricter product standards. The demand for business products is
derived from consumer demand, meaning that changes in consumer preferences
can significantly impact the entire supply chain. Additionally, B2B markets
experience fluctuating demand, where minor changes in consumer demand can
lead to substantial effects throughout the business supply chain.
● Interesting: Thus, there are a lot more college marketing graduates going into
B2B companies than in B2C
● Identify the ways in which business-to-business (B2B) markets differ from
business-to-consumer (B2C) markets.
○ Takes into account the different components to create a single product.
(Think parts of a computer)
○ Each sale requires a sale person
○ Business products can be very complex. Some need to be custom built or
retrofitted for buyers.
○ A single customer can account for a huge amount of business.
○ Not only can business products be complex, but so can figuring out the
buying dynamics of organizations. Many people within an organization can
be part of the buying process and have a say in ultimately what gets
purchased, how much of it, and from whom.
○ Because of the quantities each business customer is capable of buying,
the stakes are high.
○ The more high-dollar and complex the item being sold is, the longer it
takes for the sale to be made.
○ Purchases such as these are risky for companies. The buyers are
concerned about many factors, such as the safety, reliability, and
efficiency of the planes.
■ Take for example the Five Guys burger chain, based in Virginia.
The company taste-tested eighteen different types of mayonnaise
before settling on the one it uses.
○ Another characteristic of B2B markets is the level of personal selling that
goes on
● Explain why business buying is acutely affected by the behavior of consumers.
○ B2B sellers carefully watch general economic conditions to anticipate
consumer buying patterns.
○ Derived demand is demand that springs from, or is derived from, a
source other than the primary buyer of a product.
 ■ When it comes to B2B sales, that source is consumers. If
consumers aren’t demanding the products produced by
businesses, the firms that supply products to these businesses are
in big trouble.
○ Fluctuating demand is another characteristic of B2B markets: a small
change in demand by consumers can have a big effect throughout the
chain of businesses that supply all the goods and services that produce it.
Often, a bullwhip type of effect occurs.
○ Joint demand occurs when the demand for one product increases the
demand for another. For example, when a new video console like the
Xbox comes out, it creates demand for a whole new crop of video games.

4.2 Types of B2B Buyers

B2B buyers are organizations that purchase goods or services for use in production,
operations, or resale. Understanding these different types of B2B buyers helps
businesses tailor their marketing strategies and sales approaches to meet the unique
needs of each category effectively. The main types of B2B buyers include:

1. Producers

● Definition: Organizations that purchase goods and services to use in the

production of other goods and services.
● Examples: Manufacturers, construction companies, and service providers.
● Purpose: These buyers acquire raw materials, components, and supplies to
create products or deliver services.

2. Resellers

● Definition: Intermediaries that buy finished goods and resell them to other
businesses or consumers without altering them.
● Examples: Wholesalers, distributors, and retailers.
● Purpose: Resellers focus on the logistics of purchasing, storing, and selling
products for a profit.

3. Governments

● Definition: Local, state, and national government entities that purchase goods
and services.
● Examples: Federal government agencies, state departments, and municipal
offices.
● Purpose: Governments buy a wide range of products and services for public
use, infrastructure projects, and administration.
4. Institutions

● Definition: Non-profit and for-profit organizations that provide services to the

public.
● Examples: Hospitals, educational institutions, charities, and religious
organizations.
● Purpose: These buyers acquire goods and services to fulfill their organizational
missions and operational needs.

5. Large Organizations

● Definition: Big corporations with significant purchasing power and specialized

procurement departments.
● Examples: Multinational corporations like Amazon, IBM, and General Electric.
● Purpose: They engage in bulk buying and long-term contracts to support large-
scale operations and complex supply chains.

Key Characteristics and Buying Behavior:

● Volume and Value: B2B transactions often involve higher volumes and values
compared to B2C transactions.
● Professional Purchasing: B2B purchases are typically made by trained
procurement professionals.
● Derived Demand: Demand in B2B markets is often derived from consumer
demand for final products.
● Decision-Making Process: The buying process is more complex and involves
multiple stakeholders and longer decision cycles.
● Relationship Focus: B2B buyers emphasize building long-term relationships
with suppliers.

4.3 Buying Centers

● Buying centers are groups within organizations responsible for making
purchasing decisions. In large organizations, these groups often form permanent
departments consisting of professional buyers who essentially shop for a living.
○ May have different titles: purchasing agents, purchasing managers, or
procurement officers, merchandisers

4.4 Stages in the B2B Buying Process and B2B Buying Situations
4.5 International B2B Markets and E-commerce
4.6 Ethics in B2B Markets
4.7 Discussion Questions and Activities
From STOKES, 2020 (Stokes, 2020)
Chapter 2 -Understanding customer behavior
Chapter 4 - Market research

References
Akaeze, C., & Akaeze, N. (2017). Exploring factors that influence consumer loyalty to
automobile dealerships in New York. Journal of Business Theory and Practice
5(6), 35–47.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316320629_Exploring_Factors_That_In
fluence_Consumer_Loyalty_to_Automobile_Dealerships_in_New_York

Courtright, M. (2019, July 25). The "Why" behind the buy: Integrating consumer behavior
into your marketing strategy. American Marketing Association.
https://www.ama.org/2019/05/20/the-why-behind-the-buy-integrating-consumer-
behavior-into-your-marketing-strategy/.

Furaiji, F., Latuszynska, M., & Wawrzyniak, A. (2012). An empirical study of the factors
influencing consumer behavior in the electric appliances market. Contemporary
Economics, 6(3), 76-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.52
Principles of marketing. (2015). University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.1901 (Original work published 2010)
Stokes, R. (2020). eMarketing - the essential guide to marketing in a digital world.
LibreTexts. https://biz.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Marketing/Book
%3A_eMarketing__The_Essential_Guide_to_Marketing_in_a_Digital_World_(Sto
kes)