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Section Three
Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is defined by Blackwell, Miniard and Angel (2001) as activities people undertake when obtaining, consuming, and disposing of products and services (p. 6). It is this behaviour, and how it can be influenced that will be analysed in this section.
The primary objective is to find out how potential customers respond to different advertising techniques. This is because, a company in order to achieve its marketing and advertising goals needs to create and promote a USP (Unique Selling Point) to its target audience. To maximum its return on marketing and advertising it must understand consumer behaviour.
A company will therefore, design their marketing strategies around the factors that will, ultimately, influence consumer behaviour. According to the model of consumer behaviour devised by Assael, 1992, the consumer’s buying decision is influenced by a number of factors i.e. the individual’s previous buying experiences, their current desires, environmental influences (e.g. culture, social class) and the impact of various marketing and advertising campaigns.
The individual consumer’s choice is determined by such things as age, occupation, demographics, personality and lifestyle. Also, brand loyalty, preconceived thoughts about the products and services and competitors also contribute to this factor. The environmental issues that may affect consumer decisions can include culture. According to Kotler culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behaviours (p. 124) and embodies the norms, beliefs, artefacts and customs that are learned from society and that constitute its values (Fill, 2002, p. 83).
Psychological Factors Affecting Consumer Decisions
Consumer decisions are influenced further by four psychological factors:
Motivation One of the most popular theories about motivation was devised by Abraham Maslow. His theory bases human motivation upon a hierarchy of needs a person faces. Ranging from basic needs such hunger, thirst and sex all the way through to self-actualisation. Maslow sought to explain why people are driven by particular needs at particular times (Kotler, 2000, p. 101).
Perception We define perception as the selection, organisation, and interpretation of marketing and environmental stimuli into a coherent picture (Assael, 1998, p. 205). In marketing, perceptions are more important than reality, as it is perceptions that will affect the consumer’s actual behaviour (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p. 186).
Learning Assael (1998) describes consumer learning as a change in behaviour occurring as a result of past experience.
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