Consumer Behavior, Motivation Values and Lifestyle - Coursework Example

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR By Location Consumer Behaviour Shopping, Buying and Evaluating Introduction Several factors influence the consumer decision-making process. These factors are beyond the quality of products or service. Some of them operate during the time of purchase, and exhibit dramatic effects, altering the consumer’s decision-making process. Understanding these factors is of critical importance if a marketer is to describe the consumer purchasing process. Researchers have described the shopping experience as having similarities with the performance of a play. This means that the customer can be an active participant in the shopping experience, while a customer can be the audience in other scenarios. This means that, the shopping experience depends on several factors such as the people around, the store environment, or the store decorations. Three different issues determine the consumer’s decision-making process. One of the critical ones is the antecedent states of the consumer. The second category of issues is the purchase environment, while the third is the post purchase processes. This paper will discuss the factors that exhibit a dramatic effect on the consumer decision-making process. The effects on Antecedent States in the Consumer Decision-making Process Antecedent states are of critical importance as determiners of a consumer’s decision-making process. They refer to factors such as situational factors, usage context, time pressure, mood, and the shopping orientation. For many consumers, situational factors may serve to alter the mood of the physiological condition. This has a direct influence on the consumer decision-making process. They determine an individual’s evaluation of products. For example, two of the leading dimensions include pleasure and arousal and have the potential to determine whether a consumer will exhibit a positive or negative reaction to the consumption environment. Many moods emerge from a combination of these two dimensions in different levels. Therefore, pleasure and arousal are central dimensions in determining an individual’s physiological condition. The physiological condition may motivate an individual to develop either positive or negative biases when judging a certain product (Solomon et al 2013, p. 64). The physiological condition or the mood state is subject to factors such as weather, store design, music, and other factors depending on the specific consumers. Some mood states may promote an individual’s decision-making process when buying, such as exciting, pleasant, relaxing, and arousing moods. On the other hand, distressing, unpleasant, gloomy, and sleepy moods may discourage the individual from the buying process or alter the perception of the products. From a personal experience, I make poor buying decisions when I am depressed. I am usually more likely to misjudge some products. When in a depressed mood, buying cloths becomes a difficult experience. Each design I try out seems to look horrible to me. However, when I am in a pleasant mood, I make better choices of cloths that I feel comfortable wearing. The consumption situation is also dependent on factors that are beyond the individual or the product itself. For example, the presence of friends can result to behavioural situational effects. In my personal case, the company of friends alters the decision-making process regarding certain products. There are situations when I went shopping with my friends, and ended up buying a product that I would never consider buying on my own. For example, when buying cloths with my friends, they convince me that an outfit looks good on me and this alters my perception. On other occasions, their company makes the shopping experience more interesting and we compare products from different sores. When shopping alone, it may prove hard to undertake such a comparison of stores. These effects may cause a dramatic change in the decisions of the consumer. Other situational effects depend on perception. For example, an individual feeling depressed is likely to make different purchasing decisions. The social environment is of critical importance in determining an individual’s decision-making process before a purchase. This is the reason why the presence of other individuals at the time of purchase may exert a measure of influence on the decision made. The physical environment is of critical importance as well (p. 67). Factors such as the décor, temperatures, and even smell of the specific store may determine the consumer’s willingness to buy. When shopping, I have noticed that some stores lack enough lighting and fans, hence have very high temperatures. This makes me uncomfortable and may prevent me from buying a product that I like from that store. The amount of time that a consumer has also alters the decision-making process. For example, some consumers feel that they have limited time and are likely to engage in methodical shopping. Other consumers feel that they have a lot of time and may need to compare what different stores have in stock before making the final decision. The consumer’s perception of time is of critical importance to the final decision of the consumer. In a different aspect, the specific time when one goes shopping may also influence the buying decisions. When shopping on weekends, when there are many people in the stores, the shopping experience is likely to be different. For some people, it is arousing to find other customers in stores, especially when the other customers are people belonging to the same social group. This explains why I like shopping on weekends when the stores are full of people because it gives me an exciting experience (p. 77). The purchasing environment is also a determinant of the purchasing decision. The store image is one of the critical factors that may affect the consumer’s decision. Factors such as its location and the personality of the sales staff as well as its physical appearance influence customers. Moreover, the colour, sounds, smells, and space in stores may alter the decisions of the consumer concerning the products. The presence of sales promoters who exhibit expertise may help consumers choose the product they prefer (p. 81). Since they have a convincing power, and are available in the store during the time of purchase, they influence the final decision highly. For example, there are different occasions when sales promoters have prompted me to try out a new brand when I go shopping. Conclusion Evidently, numerous factors affect the decision-making process of a consumer during the time of purchase that does not concern its quality. As highlighted above, some of the factors are personal such as the mood, the time available, and self-image while others depend on the purchasing environment. The presence of other people as well as the company of friends during shopping alters the decision an individual makes. More recently, the physical environment of the store has potential effects on the consumer’s decision-making process. Motivation Values and Lifestyle Introduction Consumer lifestyles are becoming central to modern marketing strategies. This aspect defines the 21st century marketing strategies. Consumer marketing strategies denote the promotion approaches whose basis is the interest, attitudes, opinions, and activities of the consumers. The consumer lifestyle marketing strategies have their central focus on the way of life of the customers. The development of these strategies came after the recognition that consumers segment themselves into groups in accordance with the activities they engage in, leisure preferences, and how they spend their incomes. These factors determine an individual’s lifestyle. Therefore, marketers recognised the value of understanding different consumer lifestyles. Each group of consumer lifestyles is likely to have similar interests, opinion, and engage in the same activities. These similarities also stretch to their choice of products because they are likely to prefer products that match with their lifestyle. Therefore, consumer lifestyle marketers seek to give consumers an opportunity to enjoy their lifestyle, expressing their social identities with specific products that promote their interests. Marketers realized that 80/20 rule, which highlights that only 20% of consumers purchase 80% of the products in the market. Therefore, consumer lifestyle marketers carry out research in an effort to identify the 20% of the market that is likely to exhibit interest in a certain product. The 20% is likely to be a lifestyle group that exhibits similar interest. Consumer lifestyle marketing relies on three variables to identify the lifestyle of the consumers. These variables are activities, interests, and opinions (AIO). These three variables have the potential to determine a person’s lifestyle and hence determine the kind of products they are likely to choose in accordance with the lifestyle. Companies are likely to be more successful if they can appropriately identify the lifestyle segments of the consumers and launch products into the market that suit their lifestyle. Moreover, the strategies used in marketing should also conform to the lifestyle of the consumers. When companies understand different lifestyles, they are able to select a specific target market and focus on developing products that suit the specific lifestyle. Usually, companies that have adopted the consumer lifestyle marketing have developed lifestyle profiles as well as product-specific profiles that suit certain lifestyles (p. 227). Activities such as work, social events, hobbies, vacation, shopping, sports, and entertainment are some of the variables used under the category of activities. Under interests, marketers look out for factors such as family, homes, community, jobs, fashion, achievements, media, and food. Regarding opinions, marketers consider how consumers view themselves, their views about different social views, culture, future, education, and even economics. The political views also fall under the category of opinions. When marketers use the above variables, it becomes possible to categorize consumers into lifestyle groups and determine which product they may like. Consumer lifestyle marketing is of significant importance in defining the target market or in the development of a new view of the market. It proves critical to businesses when positioning products or when communicating different attributes of the product (p. 223). Marketers often carry out research, such as segmentation typologies by letting respondents answer some questions and use the questions to classify the individual under certain lifestyles. Companies that intend to have a specific target market and enjoy a competitive advantage in the market have realized the value of consumer lifestyle marketing strategies (p. 225). For example, an emerging segment of consumers is exhibit interest in healthy eating. Moreover, these categories of consumers give value to family and have a high opinion of them. Therefore, healthy eating practices define their modern lifestyle. Their lifestyle is a critical determinant of the products they are likely to buy in the market. These consumers are likely to make purchases of healthy products from a company such as Kellogg’s. Mothers who fit into this lifestyle will opt for Kellogg’s’ cereals as part of dietary requirements for their children. Kellogg’s has taken notice of this emerging lifestyle and has launched healthy products into the market. There is a range of special k protein products in the market, which present consumers with additional protein nutrients. Kellogg’s has used the consumer lifestyle marketing strategies and identified the health conscious consumers as its leading target market. Other products targeting this group of consumers with a healthy lifestyle include product 19 cereals. Evidently, the segment of the consumers with a healthy lifestyle who are concerned about social issues such as obesity and overweight cases are likely to take special interest in the company’s healthy products. They are likely to account for 80% consumption of the products. Consumer lifestyle managers’ marketers have identified an emerging lifestyle of a group of consumers called the Millennials. The needs of these groups of individuals are different from other segments of the market. This group of consumers has different preferences of foods. For example, they exhibit disinterest in the traditional tea, coffee, or juice served as traditional breakfast drinks. They prefer a better drink that expresses their personality and identity. These younger generations are also aware of the dangers of consuming high levels of caffeine. However, they have a need for an invigorating drink in the morning that can match their daily activities in school, work, or sports. This group of consumers with such a lifestyle welcomed the PepsiCo breakfast drink launched targeting the consumers who are bored with the traditional breakfast drinks. The drink has a lower level of caffeine and comprises of real fruit juice as well as a range of vitamins. Therefore, it attracted many consumers with the Millennials lifestyle. In addition, this group exhibits a technologically perceptive lifestyle. Therefore, Millennials are consumers of high-tech products such as computers, iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Other companies specializing in cars have understood the interests of this group of consumers (p. 228). For example, the launching of the Nissan Xterra satisfied the needs of the younger generation who work and can afford cars and are more likely to engage in adventures such as road trips. This is the reason why this sport utility vehicle came with increased horsepower and a stout body frame to suit the needs of the lifestyle exhibited by the younger generation. Conclusion Interestingly, different companies have identified different market segments depending on the people’s lifestyles. Some common three clusters include the family oriented lifestyle segment, the purchase interested lifestyle segment, and the innovative lifestyle segment. Specifically, the family oriented family segment spends a lot of time with family members and can buy anything for the family members irrespective of the price. They are not prone to social gatherings, social events, or voluntary activities. This group of consumer targets products that can make their families happy and they had a positive opinion towards life. The quality of the products is a critical factor to them. Marketers have designed different products for them. The purchase interested lifestyle segment is very keen on brand opinions, likes social gatherings, but are choosy when it comes to the stores. The third group, which is the innovative lifestyle segment, defines the trendsetters. They try out new products irrespective of the quality. These three groups of consumers prefer entirely different products. Individual Decision Making Introduction After a careful consideration of a special gift that I can buy for my best friend as a birthday present, it occurs to me that a trendy phone will be a big surprise, which will be highly appreciated. However, buying a mobile phone will mean that I will part with a considerable amount of money. As a graduate trainee, I am making enough money to afford a trendy phone for my best friend, considering their current phone is one of the older models. However, identifying the specific phone that I will buy will require a lot of time in research, and a wide range of information. There are three types of decision-making processes involved in individual buying decisions (p. 332). The three processes include habitual decision-making, limited problem solving decision, and extensive problem solving. The habitual decision making process is appropriate for the daily purchases that I know the brand need and I only need to get to a store and get the specific product. Limited problem solving is effective when I know the product I want and a variety of brands and only need to choose a specific one. The extensive problem solving seems to be the most effective in my case. I need to buy a trendy phone as a birthday present. It is likely to be expensive and I am unfamiliar with phone brands and product classes. Moreover, I do not buy a phone each day or very often, therefore, I need to carry out a rigorous research before making the purchase. This will involve extensive thought and diverse research in order to identify the phone with appealing features for my friend. The first step is that of problem recognition (p. 341). As highlighted above, my friends’ birthday is fast approaching and I need to get a trendy phone as a special gift on the special day. However, I have to study my friend keenly in order to identify her consumer behaviours and her need regarding a phone. Understanding my friend’s specific needs will help me understand the problem precisely. Moreover, with the rapid technological waves that have led to new models of phones, which have impressive designs and numerous features, my friend needs a trendy phone with appealing features that can match my friend’s specific needs considering the age. The second step in the decision making process is information search. In my information search process, I will give heightened attention to the specific products that seems to arouse the needs of my friend. A close attention to the specific need will help me gain some information that can help in the buying process. Moreover, I will consult other friends on the best model of a phone that suits the occasion. Other acquaintances who are more technologically perceptive will serve as potential informants (p. 342). The internet will also be a platform that I can rely on to get information concerning the latest phone models in our region. From the internet, I can analyse products from different companies such as Apple, Nokia, and Samsung. I can delve deeper into information search by identifying models from each company and their prices as well as their outstanding features. Commercials in newspapers and magazines that focus on communication products can also help me identify the type of phone I can buy for my friend. The information search stage should help me identify a number of phone brands, which are currently in the market. After a rigorous search for information, the third process will be the evaluation of the alternatives. Since I will have identified several products, with different features and benefits to the user, I will focus on identifying the best. Since I am looking for a trendy phone, it should be a touch screen because that is a feature of the latest models. Moreover, it should have a remarkable processor, a powerful camera, and large storage capacity (p. 354). Moreover, the size of the phone is a critical factor in modern models. Finally, the price should not be too high for me. In the evaluation stage, I will accord priorities/ weights to the different features in order to be able to determine the best. The most critical factors that will determine the model that I choose will be the functionality of the phone, its appearance, the outstanding features, and benefits of a user. The fourth stage is the purchase decision stage. This comes after a rigorous analysis of the possible alternatives depending on their features (p. 358). The purchase decisions that I am likely to make will depend on certain risks such as the functional risk, financial risk, social risk, and psychological risk. After a thorough analysis of the alternatives and with these risks in mind, I will have to make a decision between the Samsung models, Nokia products, and HTC models that I have identified. Evidently, the HTC models have recently been making a statement in the society, and I will opt for them as a special gift for my friend. I will choose the HCT Desire 816 models because of its powerful cameras, the remarkable design, its dual stereo speakers, and quad core processors. These features are outstanding and the phone cost price that I can afford for a special friend. Conclusion After making the purchase from an identified dealer during my research, I will be waiting to see the satisfaction of my friend from my phone. Notably, the post purchase behaviour is of critical importance I the buying process as it determines whether the product was worth the price. I will be hoping that my friend will like the phone and enjoy its outstanding features. Moreover, it is my hope that it will take a long time before the disposal of the phone. These aspects define the post purchase behaviour. Evidently, this decision-making process with five critical steps proves to be the most effective when buying a present for my friend’s birthday. Although it involves time, there is a salient need for proper research and a wide range of information before making the purchase decision. Group Influence and Social Media Introduction Marketers have highlighted that opinion leaders exert a measure of influence on the purchasing behaviours of others. An opinion leader is an individual who has a diverse range of information concerning products and has the potential to exert a measure of informal influence on either the actions or the attitudes that define the purchasing behaviour of opinion seekers. Opinion seekers are individuals interested in gaining advanced knowledge about certain brands and products. Although opinion seekers are people likely to exhibit a high level of product involvement, they lack the measure of information required to determine which product is the best. Other individuals qualify as opinion recipients. Although they may not seek information about brands and products, they are willing recipients of information from an opinion leader. Opinion leaders exhibit certain dynamics, which define their potential to influence others. Usually, opinion leaders are people trusted by others as credible sources of information. This credibility is of critical importance in opinion leadership because it determines whether the information shared by the opinion leader registers any impact in the opinion seeker. Moreover, opinion leaders have both negative and positive information about products. They gain such information from the mass media or from trying out a range of products. Since they are outgoing individuals, they are willing to share what they know about different brands and products. Some individuals qualify as market maven because they are ever willing to try out new products and introduce them to their friends and families (p. 413). Market mavens have a lot of general information about different products in the market. Several factors determine whether an opinion leader will prove influential with regard to a specific product category. The opinion leader must be a trustworthy source of information, and should exhibit similar purchasing patterns to the target opinion seekers and recipients. An effective opinion leader of a specific product category should have the same demographics and psychographics as the opinion seekers. This ensures that they have similar needs and lifestyles; hence, the opinion seeker is satisfied with similar products. Moreover, opinion leaders who have experimented with the specific product are likely to prove more influential. This is because the opinion seekers will view the opinion leader as an exemplar. More influence will result from the opinion leader if they have a lot of information concerning the specific product category. Other factors such as self-involvement, social involvement, product involvement, and message involvement determine whether the opinion leader will be effective in influencing the opinion seekers (p. 414). Opinion leaders should have information concerning the store where the specific product is available and knowledge on how to use the product. The personality of the opinion leaders is also a determinant factor of their level of influence. If the opinion leader exhibits a high level of self-confidence, proves to be non-conforming, is highly sociable and cosmopolitan, and exhibits a high level of innovation, then he or she is likely to exert more influence. Demographic characteristics of opinion leaders are also determining factors. For example, individuals who are young with a high level of education, remarkable income, and a prestigious occupation qualify as influential opinion leaders of a specific product category. For example, one of the opinion leaders who has highly influenced my attitude towards brands has attained a master’s degree, is young, and very informed on fashion issues. Therefore, this opinion leader qualifies as the first person I will seek an opinion from before buying clothes and shoes. The opinion leader knows the best brands and specific product categories that are likely to impress young people. The credibility is high as the information is a personal experience of the opinion leader. Notably, this opinion leader influences many young people, especially college students on the emerging products that define trendy dressing. Marketers can make use of opinion leaders in the promotion of their products and services. However, they need to identify the opinion leaders in different groups. There are different techniques of identifying opinion leaders. One of the common ones is the self-designating method, whereby individuals acknowledge themselves as opinion leaders depending on their level of influence. However, the influence must translate to purchasing decisions. A second technique is the key informant method, which identifies people of central importance in a certain group. Individuals from a certain social system take the responsibility of identifying potential opinion leaders (p. 419). The objective method is also reliable in identifying opinion leaders because it gives individuals the role of opinion leaders and assess their impact. The level of influence determines the most effective opinion leaders. The fourth method is the sociometric method, which allows members in a certain group to identify a reliable opinion leader. After the identification of the opinion leaders, marketers can integrate opinion leadership and marketing strategies. For example, one of the marketing strategies is designing advertisements that have the potential of triggering opinion leadership. Moreover, marketers can carry out viral marketing in online platforms using opinion leaders. The products created should have a buzz potential that can lead to opinion leadership and effective influence. For example, many online platforms have created blogs that allow opinion leaders to rate different products, specifically; I have read the ratings of movies from a diverse range of opinion leaders in the movie industry (p. 420). Before watching a new movie, I consider the opinion in these rating sites. The influence of these opinion leaders who are easily available on social platforms is diverse and compels many people to try out the products. Conclusion Evidently, opinion leaders may exert a remarkable measure of influence concerning a certain product category that they have tried out. Since they are social people, their word of mouth influence spreads easily (p. 422). Many opinion leaders are often willing to try out new products and influence their friends and neighbours. They give recommendations and approvals to people with similar consumer needs. Marketers have defined an adoption diffusion model, which determines the influence of opinion leaders. With the increasing use of the social media, blogging sites, and online marketing platforms, opinion leaders give their reviews and ratings of products. People interact with opinion leaders on such cites increasing the level of influence. Marketers can make use of opinion leaders in the promotion of their products and services if they can successfully identify influential ones. Bibliography Solomon, M. R., Askegaard, S., Bamossy, G. J., & Hogg, MK 2013, Consumer behaviour: A European perspective, London Pearson: Prentice Hall Europe. Read More