Factors Influencing Consumers' Intention to Purchase - Example

Internal factors Impact on Consumer Decision making process Name: Institution: Date: Internal factors impact on consumer decision making process Introduction There are a number of factors that affect the consumer buying behavior. When it comes to purchase decision making, there are many factors that an individual looks at when he is making a purchasing decision. Need recognition triggers the purchasing making process. An individual has to identify that there is a need or a want that has to be fulfilled. The purchasing decision then sets the stage for search of information about the item or the service to be purchased. Need recognition can be as simple as feeling hungry or complicated as realizing that one needs a new car. Hoyer and MacInnis (2008) submit that Functional needs have to be attended to immediately while psychological needs time and planning before they are satisfied. Need for an iPhone is functional since it is not a necessity in life. Eating a banana when one is hungry, is satisfying a functional need which are more urgent and do not require extensive information search. Information search is done both internally and externally. Consumer behavior are the behavior which consumers demonstrate searching for, buying, using, disposing and evaluating products and services that they expectations of satisfying their needs (Noel, 2009). Consumer behavior has to be considered by marketers in their sales promotional activities such as advertising. Enough research has to be done in order to establish what is behind the purchasing decisions made by consumers. Both external and internal factors influence consumer decision making process. External factors come from the external realm like family and social fraternity that include friends have an impact on consumer decision making. However, the external factors do not precede the internal factors which are first considered before the customer or consumer consults his friends or family for advice. Internal factors have a big role to play when an individual seeks to buy certain services or goods. Internal factors are very important on consumer decision-making process when it comes to service and product purchase. Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2011) observe that internal factors are not easily influenced when it comes to marketing. Marketing strategists have to look for a strong way of influencing purchasing decisions of consumers. Internal factors play an important and basic role when it comes to consumer purchasing decisions. Some of these internal factors that can be considered when making a purchasing decision include perception, education, self-construction, and motivation. Motivation is normally a driving force that impacts on the humans to attain their goal. Motivation in learning photography and capturing the moments can be an internal influence for a purchase decision. The willingness of a person to learn professional photography will make him pick a different camera model as compared to someone who just wants the camera for leisure purposes. The motivation to acquire a certain item will be the driving force behind the purchase decision. Someone will acquire a camera according to the needs he have or the purpose or goal of using that camera. The existence of certain needs result into a motivation to fulfill these needs. One will go to buy a camera when there is need to use this camera and that will be the motivation behind his purchasing decision. It may be that one loves sightseeing and has realized that he needs a camera to capture the important moments. A professional photographer will need a specific model to capture and express what he has learnt in photography as well as contribute positively to the realm of photography. Another source of motivation is the perceived value for money by the consumer. This aspect has an impact on the purchase decision as well as the element of risk accompanied with it. A buyer will avoid a situation where he is remorseful about a purchase decision that he made. The consumer’s value of money is vital to address since it revolves around the post purchase attitude. According to Hoyer and MacInnis (2008) if there is a high degree of risk that comes with the purchase decision, the consumer will postpone the purchase decision until when he has enough information about the product. The idea of purchasing a camera can only be made possible when the consumer has enough information about the alternatives available in the market. Someone who values camera so much as an important part of his or her career will save money to buy a valuable phone that may be expensive than others. It also amounts to perception of value of money by the consumer. A consumer can form a certain attitude towards a brand with regard to past experiences. This may be in terms of reliability, efficiency, effectiveness, affordability, or ease of use of the item. Attitudes are usually learned predisposition and possess consistency. These attitudes occur in a given situation. Attitude has different components which represent different aspects. Affective component represents the consumers feeling’s or emotions towards a particular brand or product. Cognitive component represent the perceptions and knowledge that are acquired by a combination of direct experience and related information from other sources. The third component is referred to as the affective component which is the tendency or likelihood that an individual will undertake a specific action or behave in a certain manner with regard to the attitude object (Noel, 2009). Consumer attitude towards a particular brand or product is a function of the absence or presence and assessment of certain product-specific beliefs and/attributes. These factors play an important role when consumers make purchase decisions about sophisticated products or those products that require adequate information search and consultation before they are bought. Self construction is an individual’s self-perception or self-concept which entails evaluation of their habits, personalities, skills, and talents among others. Self-perception influences the purchasing decision. Freudian Theory states that unconscious drives or needs are at the heart of human motivation and personality. Personality is made up of the id, the superego, and the ego. The ego is the individual’s conscious control while the superego is the person’s internal expression of society’s ethical and moral codes of conduct. The id is crude and operates on the principle of pleasure (Se-Joon & Lerch, 2002). The ego has to check the demands of the id so as to avoid an individual acting on impulse. Personality is a reflection of individual differences and it is at the same time enduring and consistent. Nevertheless, personality can change. Purchase decisions are very much shaped by personality which is summed up as self-constructiveness. Trait theory focuses on the quantitative measurement and identification of personality in terms of particular characteristics (Dillon & Reif, 2004). Both consumer dogmatism and innovativeness are expressions of personality. When one goes to buying a camera regardless of the purpose, there is one who can embrace a new model and the other one will stick to what he is used to. Being dogmatic is sticking to the old order and finding it hard to let go. If a professional photographer is used to a certain camera and has traits of dogmatism, it will be hard for him or her to embrace a new model despite it being superior to what he is currently using. This is how powerful internal factors can influence purchasing decisions of consumers (Diecidue, Rudi & Wenjie, 2012). When it comes of self-perception, then a decision to buy a certain model of camera can portray the types of person who is using it or what purpose the camera was bought for. Self-concept is driving force under which millions of purchase decisions by consumers are made. Marketers exploit the aspect of self concept in their marketing and sales promotion activities. A certain model of a camera says a lot about the owner and therefore the user is careful when making the decision to buy the item. A camera can bring perception of sophistication, modernity, sensitivity, or dullness. It all depends on the person who is making the purchase decision (Lantos, 2010). When it comes to the purchase of a camera, perception is important. Professional photography would want a camera that portrays his professionalism and makes him accomplish his goal as a professional photographer. Self-concept is the manner in which a person views herself or himself. Perception reflects the identity of the person. A person will want to be identified with a certain trait. Perception will influence brand loyalty. Supraliminal perception is perception of stimuli which are above the degree of consciousness awareness. Subliminal perception is perception of stimuli that falls below the degree of conscious awareness. Selection perception allows individuals to block perception of painful or unfavorable stimuli while selecting the things that want or need. A consumer may believe that cameras from Sony are superior to other brands while another one believes that Philip’s products are superior. Negative motivation gives the user avoidance object hence behavior is directed away. Positive motivation provides users with an approach object hence behavior is directed towards it (Wright, 2006). Rational motives are the selection goals that give consumers the uttermost utility. Emotional motives involve selection of goals in accordance to the subjective or personal criteria. Frustration sets in if an individual is unable to achieve personal goals. Education is very important when it comes to consumer buying process. The experiences and knowledge of consumer have an influence on the decision making process. When a person what to buy a camera it will reflect on his education and whether or not he has knowledge of different models and makes of cameras. A person who is knowledgeable in the field will choose a camera according his needs despite other persuading factors being present. An educated person in regard to what he is going to buy knows exactly what he has to buy despite advertising and other forms of persuasion. A camera is a psychological need that requires search for information before someone settles on what he wants. A veteran in the field of professional photography will know exactly what kind of camera he requires and will even be aware of the range of prices that exist in the market from different manufacturers (Comegys, Hannula & Vaisanen, 2009). A person with the right knowledge is aware of the current technology in professional photography and understands what kind of camera he does need. A person will evaluate the alternatives available to satisfy his need according to the knowledge and experiences that he has about the product. Someone will search for further information in order to be certain about his purchase decision. A career photographer will have to consult with his colleagues in the field and get to know if there are some developments that he is not aware of. To be certain of one’s actions in important in making someone to feel satisfied about his purchase decision when coming to evaluation of the purchase (Bluschke, 2011). A camera is a sophisticated product with many parts that require adequate knowledge to tell whether it is an authentic product that serves the needs of the customer. Just a camera, a personal computer will require someone to have knowledge and experience about the product before one makes a purchase decision. Adequate knowledge and information is required to evaluate alternatives of buying a personal computer just like a camera. These products have more features that need to be evaluated with an individual who has enough knowledge of them. Past experience with the type of camera or personal computer will help the individual to make a conclusion when it comes to purchasing decision. Conclusion Internal factors play an important role in the consumer purchasing decision process. Internal factors are inbuilt and challenging to overcome through marketing strategies. However, with the right approach, these factors can be overcome. Various internal factors like perception, education, personality, self-construct and motivation play an important role when making purchasing decision. Consumers start with recognition of the need before they are motivated to look for the satisfaction of that need. Internal factors that influence consumer behavior are very consistent and a lot of effort is needed to overcome them. When it comes to purchasing sophisticated products like a personal computer and camera, internal factors come in with regard to the purpose of the purchase. References Bluschke, N. (2011). Factors Influencing Consumers' Intention to Purchase Clothing Online, London: GRIN Verlag. Comegys, C., Hannula, M., & Vaisanen, J. (2009). Effects of Consumer Trust and Risk on Online Purchase, International Journal of Management, 295-308. Diecidue, E., Rudi, N., & Wenjie, T. (2012). Dynamic Purchase Decisions under Regret: Price and Availability, Decision Analysis, 9 (1): 22-30. Dillon, T. & Reif, H. (2004). Factors Influencing Consumers’ E-Commerce Commodity Purchases, Information Technology, Learning and Performance Journal. 22 (2), 1-12. Hoyer, W.D. & MacInnis, D.J. (2008). Consumer Behavior, New York: Cengage Learning. Se-Joon, H. & Lerch, J. F. (2002). A Laboratory Study of Consumers’ Preferences and Purchasing Behavior with Regards to Software Components, ACM SIGMIS, 33 (3), 23-37. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. & McDaniel, C.D. (2011).Essentials of Marketing, New Jersey: Cengage Learning. Lantos, P.G. (2010). Consumer Behavior in Action: Real-life Applications for Marketing Managers, London: M.E. Sharpe. Noel, H. (2009). Basics Marketing 01: Consumer Behaviour, New Jersey: AVA Publishing. Wright, R. (2006). Consumer behavior, Melbourne: Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More