Importance of Consumer Behaviour in Marketing Strategy

Subject Class Session Topic : : : : Consumer Behaviour M.com (Final) IV Consumer Behaviour Importance and Process I.B (PG) College , Panipat College : Affiliated to Kurukshetra University , Kurukshetra Prof. Lata Arora Prepared By:

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Definition : Consumer behaviour 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. Marketers expect that by understanding what causes the consumers to buy particular goods and services, they will be able to determine which products are needed in the marketplace, which are obsolete, and how best to present the goods to the consumers.

FEATURES Undergoes a constant change. It Varies from consumer to consumer. Influenced by various factors. It varies from region to region and country to county. It helps in purchase decision.

Factors that influence the consumer behaviour Marketing factors such as product design, price, promotion, packaging, positioning and distribution. Personal factors such as age, gender, education and income level. Psychological factors such as buying motives, perception of the product and attitudes towards the product. Situational factors such as physical surroundings at the time of purchase, social surroundings and time factor. Social factors such as social status, reference groups and family. Cultural factors, such as religion, social class caste and sub-castes.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Consumer Differentiation: In marketing, consumer differentiation is a way to distinguish a consumer from several other consumers. This helps to make a target group of consumers with the same or similar behaviour. Retention of Consumers: Consumer behavior is of most importance to marketers in business studies as the main aim is to create and retain customers. Consumer behavior is not just important to attract new customers, but it is very important to retain existing customers as well. When a customer is happy about a particular product, he/she will repeat the purchase.

CONTINUE Design Relevant Marketing Program: Understanding consumer behavior allows you to create effective marketing campaigns. Each campaign can speak specifically to the separate group of consumers based on their behavior. Predicting Market Trend: Consumer behavior analysis will be the first to indicate a shift in market trend. For example, the recent trend of consumers is towards environment friendliness and healthy food.

CONTINUE Competition: Studying consumer behavior facilitates in understanding and facing competition. Based on consumers expectations, your brand can offer competitive advantages. Innovate New Products: Companies consistently strive hard to improve the success rate of their new products or new ideas. One of the most important ways is to conduct sound and thoughtful consumer behavior study.

CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS Step one: Recognition of needs and wants: You can't make a purchase decision unless you actually know what you want or need. A need is an essential product or characteristic of a product that you must obtain. Needs often arise because of problems, such as breaking the cell phone you use for business. For example, you may need a new cell phone, but after watching countless colleagues use their smartphones, you really want to upgrade to a smartphone.

CONTINUE Step two: Information search After you determine your needs and wants, you will start to search and gather information about potential product choices that may meet them. Sources of information may come from print, radio, television, and Internet advertising. You may also do independent product research on the Internet, looking at product review sites and consumer reviews on retail sites, such as Amazon. Finally, you may seek the opinions of friends, family, and colleagues.

CONTINUE Step three: Evaluation of choices If you performed your research correctly, you should have some options from which to choose. You use your needs and wants as criteria in evaluating and comparing each product against each other and pick the product that best matches your needs and wants based upon the budget available to you for the purchase.

CONTINUE Step four: Purchase At this point, you will purchase the product. Your purchasing decision may be influenced by the manner in which you can purchase and receive the product. For example, you may purchase a product through a particular store because the product can be financed, is available immediately, or can be delivered quickly.

CONTINUE Step five: Post-purchase evaluation After you have made your purchase and have had some time with the product, you will evaluate your decision. This evaluation may be conscious or unconscious. Your evaluation will play a large role in your loyalty to the product and the company that produced it.

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