Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services by the consumer for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior.
1. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility.
2. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend.
3. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume.
Buying behaviour of consumers is influenced by four major factors:
1) Cultural
2) Social
3) Personal
4) Psychological.
These factors causes consumers to develop product and brand preferences. Although many of these factors cannot be directly controlled by marketers. Understanding of their impact is essential, as marketing mix strategies can be developed to appeal to the preferences of the target market.
When purchasing any product, a consumer goes through a decision process. This process consists of up to five stages:
Stage 1: Problem recognition
Stage 2: Information search
Stage 3: Evaluation of alternatives
Stage 4: Purchase decision
Stage 5: Post purchase behaviour.
Consumers buying behaviour & the resulting purchase decision are strongly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics. An understanding of the influence of these factors is essential for marketers in order to develop suitable marketing mixes to appeal to the target customer.
"We will look into the cultural factor that influences the behaviour of the consumer".
Cultural Factors
Culture is crucial when it comes to understanding the needs and behaviors of an individual. Basically, culture is the part of every society and is the important cause of person's wants & behavior.
The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to country therefore marketers have to be very careful in analyzing the culture of different groups, regions or even countries. Throughout his existence, an individual will be influenced by his family, his friends, his cultural environment or society that will teach him values, preferences as well as common behaviors to their own culture.
For a brand, it is important to understand and take into account the cultural factors inherent to each market or to each situation in order to adapt its product and its marketing strategy. As these will play a role in the perception, habits, behavior or expectations of consumers.
Example: In the West, it is common to invite colleagues or friends at home for a drink or dinner, whereas in India, on the contrary, inviting someone home for drinks wont fit into the local customs. Dinners will be acceptable though.
Another Example will be McDonalds who is Well aware of the importance to have an offer with specific products to meet the needs and tastes of consumers from different cultures, such as McBaguette in France and Chicken Maharaja Mac and a Masala Grill Chicken in India (with Indian spices).
Sub-cultures
Subculture is defined as distinct culture, group that exists as an identifiable segment within a larger and more complex society.
A society is composed of several subcultures in which people can identify. Subcultures as groups of people who share the same values based on a common experience or a similar lifestyle in general.
Each culture contains different subcultures such as religions, nationalities, geographic regions, racial groups etc.
Marketers can use these groups by segmenting the market into various small portions. Brands often communicate in different ways, sometimes even create specific products (sometimes without significant intrinsic difference) for the same type of product in order to specifically target an age group, a gender or a specific subculture. Consumers are usually more receptive to products and marketing strategies that specifically target them
Social classes
Social classes are defined as groups more or less homogenous and ranked against each other according to a form of social hierarchy. Even if there's a very large groups, we usually find similar values, lifestyles, interests and behaviors in individuals belonging to the same social class.
Every society possesses some form of social class which is important to the marketers because the buying behavior of people in a given social class is similar. In this way marketing activities could be tailored according to different social classes. Some studies have shown that social perception of a brand or a retailer plays a greater role in the behavior and purchasing decisions of consumers. In addition, the consumer buying behavior may also change according to social class.
Such as: A consumer from the lower class will be more focused on price. While a shopper from the upper class will be more attracted to elements such as quality,innovation, features, or even the social benefit that he can obtain from the product.
Cultural trends
Cultural trends is defined as something that is widely followed by people and which is amplified by their popularity & by conformity or compliance.
"The more people follow a trend, the more others will want to follow it"
Example- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, even Tik Tok has become a cultural trend. The social network has widely grew to the point of becoming a must have, especially among young people.
Well done 👍