Analyzing Consumer

Markets
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Outline
What Influences Consumer Behavior
Factors that Influence Buying Behavior
 Cultural Factors
 Social Factors
 Personal Factors
Key Psychological Processes that influence consumer
responses
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The Buying Decision Process: The Five-Stage Model
What Influences Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals,
groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose
of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy
their needs and wants.
Factors that Influence Buying Behavior
A consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by
the following factors:
Cultural
Social
Personal
Cultural factors have broadest and deepest influence
on consumer buying behavior.
Cultural Factors
Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s
wants and behavior which are acquired through
socialization processes with family and other key
institutions.
Each culture consists of subcultures that provide
more specific identification and socialization for their
members.
Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial
groups, and geographic regions.
Cultural Factors
All human societies have some form of social classes
which are relatively homogeneous and enduring
divisions in a society, hierarchically ordered and with
members who share similar values, interest, and
behavior.
Social class members show very similar product and
brand preferences in many areas such as clothing,
home furnishing, leisure activities and automobiles.
Social Factors
Reference groups are all groups that have a direct (face-to-
face) or indirect influence on a person’s attitude or behavior.
Groups that have a direct influence on a person are called
membership groups.
Types of Membership groups:
Primary groups are groups that a person interacts with
regularly and informally, such as family, friends, neighbors,
or coworkers.
Secondary groups are groups that a person has less
continuous and more formal interaction with. Examples:
Religious and professional groups.
Social Factors
Aspirational groups are groups that a person hopes
to join.
Dissociative groups are groups whose values or
behavior a person rejects.
Social Factors
An opinion leader is a person who offers informal
advice or information about a specific product or a
product category, such as which of several brands is
best or how a particular product may be used.
Marketers try to reach opinion leaders by identifying
their demographic and psychographic characteristics,
identifying the media they read, and directing
messages to them.
Social Factors
Family is the most important consumer buying
organization in society and family members constitute
the most influential primary reference groups.
Two families in a buyer’s life:
Family of orientation- is made up of parents and
siblings.
Family of procreation- A person’s wife and children.
Personal Factors
Age and stage in the life cycle-Affects consumers’
taste in food, clothes, and recreation.
Occupation and Economic circumstances-
Influences consumption patterns.
Marketers try to identify the occupational groups that
have above-interest in their products and services and
customize products and services from them.
Discussion Question
In your opinion, who has the most influence on
buying decisions in a family. Explain.
Personal Factors
Personality which is a set of distinguishing human
psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent
and enduring responses to environmental stimuli
(including buying behavior).
Brand personality are the specific mix of human
traits that consumer attribute to a particular brand.
Consumers often choose brands that match their own
personality.
Personal Factors
Lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living in the world as
expressed in activities, interests, and opinions.
Marketers search from relationships between their
products and lifestyle groups.
Lifestyles are shaped partly by whether consumers are
money-constrained or time constrained.
Consumer decisions are also influenced by core
values, the belief system that underlie attitudes and
behavior.
Key Psychological Processes that influence
consumer responses
Motivation-The process that initiates, guides and
maintains goal-oriented behaviors.
Motivation has both direction- people select one goal
over another- and intensity-people purse the goal
with more or less vigor.
Abraham Maslow sought to explain why people are
driven by particular needs at particular times.
His answer is that human needs are arranged in a
hierarchy from most to least pressing needs.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-actualization needs-Self-development and
realization.
Esteem needs- Self-esteem, recognition, and status.
Social needs- Sense of belonging and love.
Safety needs- Security and protection.
Physiological needs- Hunger and thirst.
A person tries to satisfy the most important need
first.
Key Psychological Processes that influence
consumer responses
Perception- is the process by which people select,
organize, and interpret information.
In marketing, perceptions are more important than
reality, because perceptions affect consumers’
behavior.
Learning-Induces change in people’s behavior.
The Buying Decision Process: The Five-
Stage Model
1. Problem Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Postpurchase Decision
Consumers do not always pass through all five stages-
they may skip or reverse some.
1. Problem Recognition

The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a

problem or a need is triggered by internal (hunger or
thirst) or external stimuli (advertisement).
Marketers need to identify the circumstances that
trigger a particular need by gathering information
from a number of consumers.
Marketers can then develop marketing strategies that
will spark consumer interest.
2. Information Search

Two levels of engagement in the search:

 1. Heightened attention- A consumer simply becomes more receptive to
information about a product.
 2. Active information- A consumer begins to actively look from information about a
product.
Major information sources to which consumers will
turn to:
Personal: family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.
Commercial: Advertising, Web sites, salespeople,
packaging, and displays.
Public: Mass media, consumer-rating organizations.
Experiential: Handling, examining and using the product.
2. Information Search
By gathering information, the consumer learns more
about competing brands and features.
Consumers will choose from the competing brands
through a process:
Total Set-All brands available in a category
Awareness Set- All the brands that a consumer is aware
of.
Consideration Set- All the brands that a consumer will
consider.
Choice Set-The consumer will choose from two or three
brands in a category
3. Evaluation of Alternatives

Some basic concepts help explain the consumer

evaluation processes:
First, the consumer is trying to satisfy a need.
Second, the consumer is looking for certain benefits
from the product solution.
Third, the consumer sees each product as a bundle of
attributes with abilities to deliver the benefits.
Consumers will pay attention to attributes that
deliver the sought after benefits.
4. Purchase Decision

Two general factors can intervene between the

purchase intention and purchase decision:
1. Attitudes of others: The influence of another
person depends on two things:
 A) The intensity of the other’s negative attitude towards a preferred
alternative.
 B) The buyers' motivation to comply or listen to the other person’s
wishes.
4. Purchase Decision
 2. Unanticipated situational factors: Factors that may emerge to change
the purchase decisions. Examples: Losing a job or some other purchase
becomes more urgent.
 A consumer decision to postpone, or avoid a purchase decision is
influenced by one or more perceived risks:
 Functional risk: The product does not perform to expectation.
 Physical risk: The product poses a threat to the physical well-being or
health of the user or others.
 Financial risk: The product is not worth the price.
 Social risk: The product results in embarrassment in front of others.
 Psychological risk: The product affects the mental well-being of the user.
 Time risk- The failure of the product results in an opportunity cost of
finding another satisfactory product.
5. Postpurchase Decision

Postpurchase Behavior-Consumer may experience

dissonance from noticing certain disquieting features
or hearing favorable things about other brands.
Marketers must monitor postpurchase satisfaction,
postpurchase action, and postpurchase product use
and disposal.