Consumer Decision-Making and Internal Factors - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Particulars Page No Introduction 2 Consumer Behaviour and Market Analysis 2 Internal Factors Affecting Consumer Decision Making Process 3 Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Mix 9 STP Strategy and Internal Factors 11 Diffusion of Innovation and Social Change 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Samsung Refrigerators have become successful in increasing their market share as better understanding of the consumer needs and wants has enabled to develop strategies which has helped to capture a huge market. Understanding the internal factors which have a role in consumer decision making determines the manner in which organizations look to attract people. This paper thereby looks to analyze the different internal factors which has an impact on consumer purchasing decision while looking to purchase Samsung Refrigerators. The paper will analyze different factors like consumer needs and motivation, personality and self-development, perception of consumers, consumers learning and involvement towards the products. In addition to it the paper will also look to link the different marketing mix elements with consumer behaviour keeping in mind the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy which has been used. Lastly, the paper will present the external factors like diffusion to innovations and social change which has resulted due to different changes in the consumer behaviour. Consumer Behaviour and Market Analysis The wants and needs of consumers are continuously changing and evolving which has made it difficult for the marketers to determine the strategy which they will use. Studies carried out in understanding consumer purchasing behaviour have brought forward five important steps which usually a consumer carries out before purchasing the product. The different steps are problem recognition, information seeking, evaluation of various alternatives available to the consumer, purchase decision and lastly post-purchase behaviour (Cateora, Mary & Graham, 2009). The different factors play crucial role in each step and determines the manner in which a consumer will be influenced towards purchasing the product. Both internal factors and external factors influences consumer purchasing habits but this paper will primarily focus towards internal factors which has an impact on consumer behaviour. Internal factors are that factor which are part of the consumer and includes different dimensions like age, education, self-concept, learning and knowledge, attitude, motive etc. External factors on the other hand are social environmental factors which has an impact on consumer purchase decisions. Both the factors have a significant impact on consumers and determine the manner in which their purchase habits will be shaped for the present purchases and future purchases. Marketers thereby need to analyze and understand the different internal and external factor which influences consumer and based on it has to develop strategies through which operational efficiency will be gained (Chew, Cheng & Petrovic-Lazarevic, 2006). Since, the previous paper analyzed the different external factors which are useful for marketers this paper will focus on internal factors so that marketers can use both while formulating strategies for Samsung Refrigerators. Internal Factors Affecting Consumer Decision Making Process Consumer behaviour is a subjective word as behaviour of consumer varies from one person to another as different internal and external factors influences consumer to act in a particular manner. Some of the internal factors which impacts consumer behaviour is perceptions, attitudes, learning styles, motivation and life roles which play a significant role in the purchase decision of any product/service. A detailed analysis of the different internal factors having an impact on consumer while purchasing Samsung Refrigerators are Consumer Needs and Motivation One of the most important internal factor influencing consumer decision towards a product or service is the need and motivation behind the purchase. The need for the consumer here in the context of the difference that exist between the desired state and the actual state of the product. Motivation is the desire of the consumer to purchase the product so that his urge and need can be satisfied. For example a consumer might look towards purchasing Samsung Refrigerators due to different features like double door refrigerator, faster cooling, ice instantly and other technology which creates the urge to purchase a new model. The need or the desire will motivate the consumer and direct his behaviour towards the purchase of Samsung Refrigerators as his different needs and wants are better met. Marketers can use it to influence consumers as creating marketing strategies which stresses on those factors will increase the chance of the product being purchased by the consumer. Marketers based on the factors can use the Maslow Need of Theory as it will help to identify the different aspect which needs to be stressed so that potential customers can be converted into final customers. For example suppose a person is looking for a high technologically advanced Samsung Refrigerators so marketers by understanding it can use the fact that it will help to meet his social status need and can stress on those in comparison to person who are looking for a normal Samsung Refrigerators to satisfy their basic needs (Carpenter and Nakamoto, 2009). This thereby helps marketers to understand the different level where consumers are based on Maslow Need of Theory and based on it can develop the required marketing strategies which will help them to improve their overall business potential and formulate strategy which helps to attract as well as retain customers. Consumer Perception The perception which the consumer has regarding the product also determines the manner in which the consumer will act while purchasing a product. Perception has to deal more with the awareness that is being generated and should look towards influencing the consumers in such a manner that they look towards purchasing the same products again and again (Chrisan, 2001). Consumers look to purchase a product when they perceive that the product matches their different needs and requirements. Consumer perception thereby has an impact and influences consumer decision to purchase a product or services. This thereby becomes imperative for marketing manages to look at so that better ways can be garnered through which people look to purchase the product. People while looking to purchase Samsung Refrigerators is thereby influenced by the perception which they about their product. If the consumer perceive that Samsung Refrigerators will help them to address their higher order needs then they will look to purchase the product again and again. The perception also gets influenced by different elements like customer’s beliefs, need and wants, experiences, moods and desired expectation from the product (Isabella, 2012). If the customer had a good experience with Samsung Refrigerators then it will influence him to purchase the same as the customer will perceive the product to be superior and will satisfy the different needs in a better way. This will provide marketers with the required opportunity through which they will be able to determine the steps they will undertake in the future to attract and retain people. Consumer Learning and Involvement Consumer learning and involvement involves a series of steps where consumer looks to gather and store information pertaining to the product so that it can help them while purchasing the products. Learning is the permanent change in the behaviour of consumer due to the different information which he gathers either directly or indirectly which influences his decision to purchase a product (Hollebeek, 2011). Samsung Refrigerators has worked on it and continuously look to advertise their product so that it gets involved in the consumer learning process and thereby influences them. Samsung Refrigerators through its advertisements look to bring forward the different benefits and tries to make consumers happy by that their usage towards the product increases and it creates the required internal stimuli through which reinforcement towards repeat purchase is ensured. Consumer involvement looks to determine the amount of information which a consumer gathers and the manner in which the information can be used for purchasing the final product. Operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning is of the view that consumers act as active participant in the learning process by enacting on all or some of the environmental aspects. The outcome of such could be either positive or negative which will determine the manner in which a person acts and will guide the person in determining his purchase actions (Cook & Dave, 2004). Samsung Refrigerators has looked towards working on the positive aspect and ensures a high degree of consumer involvement which has created a modulus operandi through which positive operant conditioning has become possible. This has influenced people in a positive manner and directs them towards repeat purchase of Samsung Refrigerators. Consumer Attitude Development and Change Attitude has a role in shaping the purchase decision as attitude deals with individual’s own likes or dislikes feelings about something. This thereby aims towards a degree of judgement which a person makes. The attitude which consumer demonstrates varies between products, brand, companies, celebrities and others. Attitude is very relevant while as it creates an impression in the mind of the consumer which can both be positive and negative and influences the manner in which the consumer will look to use the products (Bhatacharjee and Premkumar, 2004). Samsung Refrigerators on this front has looked at creating a positive attitude in the mind of the consumer so that they can influence people towards purchasing the product. In addition to it Samsung Refrigerators has looked towards creating a positive impact by looking to bring forward the key aspect like cooling, size, colour, design and so on. This is done with the intention that the required behavioural changes can be brought in the attitude of people so that the change in towards development of better business prospects. Samsung Refrigerators as a result has been able to bring about the required change and influence people to change their behaviour so that they look to purchase the same products again and again. Consumer Personality and Self-concept Consumer personality and self-concept is another important internal factor which influences consumer behaviour towards purchasing a product or services. Self-concept implies the set of perceptions towards one-self and how the perception of one’s abilities is in relation to perception of others and towards the products. This looks at highlighting the manner in which an individual looks at oneself. Self-concept looks at influencing consumer in a different way as it focuses towards working on self image i.e. the manner in which a consumer views himself; self esteem where the consumer looks to value himself and finally ideal self where the individual desires to accomplish different things. The consumer while looking to purchase Samsung Refrigerators keep those factors in mind and based on it determines the manner in which their buying pattern will be determined (Chen, 2003). If a customer feels that Samsung Refrigerators reflects the symbolic image which the customer is able to witness in the product then the customer looks to purchase the same product as it determines the manner in which the customer gets attracted towards those products. Consumers also look to develop their own concept regarding a product or services. Consumers might develop a concept that Samsung Refrigerators provides them more value than the actual amount they have paid for it. This will thereby make more and more people to purchase the product and will thereby reflect the manner in which different products are being purchased. If people develop the concept that it is a necessity and is required so their actions will be directed in that path and people will tend to purchase the product again and again. Personality is another important dimension which helps to understand the manner in which consumer behaviour is determined. Personality describes an individual’s disposition and how one individual is different from the other and encompasses unique traits as it exhibits the visible human internal traits and behaviours. People have different traits which guide them and determine their actions. If the product matches their personality traits people are likely to purchase the same again and again (Bateman & Snell, 2004). For example if people are able to ensure that their personality matched with those traits which Samsung Refrigerators denotes then people will purchase the same or else abstain from purchasing it. Personality thereby shapes the manner in which tends to look at purchasing the product and determines the different dimensions which will guide them towards purchasing Samsung Refrigerators. The manner in which people look to match their personality with the personality of the product determines the future potential and lays down the different areas which marketers need to focus on so that better development becomes possible. Marketers need to determine the manner in which personality influences people while purchasing Samsung Refrigerators and need to develop strategies so that proper targeting, positioning and segmentation becomes possible. Thus, the consumer decision making process gets influenced by different internal factors which shapes their purchasing decision. Samsung Refrigerators needs to include all the different factors in their planning process so that overall objectives is achieved and the business is better controlled and directed. This will help to use the different resources in the best possible manner and will guide towards accomplishing the objectives in the best possible manner. Samsung Refrigerators based on it can ensure a competitive advantage as compared to the competitors and ensure that their strategies provide them an edge in the market. Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Mix This section looks to establish the link between internal factors which has an impact on consumer decision making process with the different elements of marketing mix for Samsung Refrigerators. The details are as Price: The pricing strategy which Samsung Refrigerators has adopted has been identified after establishing the link and manner in which internal factors have an impact on consumer buying process. For example Samsung Refrigerators has priced the highest version of their product to be very high which might make customers perceive that high price is associated with better product quality and will thereby help to suffice better needs of the customers (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2004). Even marketers need to lay stress on the same dimensions and have to make people perceive that pricing strategy is competitive and has thereby helped them to ensure that the overall needs of the consumer are better met. The pricing strategy is also developed keeping in mind the internal factors and has thereby helped to identify the different mechanism which needs to be adopted so that the different needs are better met. Promotion: Promotion is an important element of marketing mix which has its association with internal factors and determines the manner in which consumer decision making process is carried out. Promotion deals with different factors like packaging, branding, advertisement and other aspect which is developed based on internal factors so that a long lasting impression can be created in the mind of consumers. Samsung Refrigerators has looked to ensure that their advertisements are developed based on the same fundamentals and has thereby been able to create a lasting image on the mind of consumers. In addition to it different design, packaging and colour is another part of promotion which has been developed based on internal stimuli (Cable & Judge, 2006). Promotions generally tend to have different elements like advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion which has been included by Samsung Refrigerators while developing their promotional activities and has thereby helped to attract and retain more and more customers. Place: This marketing factor has its association with consumer decision making process as it helps to ensure accessibility of the product or services. Samsung Refrigerators has worked on this dimensions and have ensured that their product is available both online and offline. Through the online method the product can be purchased through their website or other associated websites thereby helping easy accessibility and ensuring that the customers can search all information before purchasing it. Through the offline mechanism the product is available in stores and shopping malls where people can see, touch and understand the product. This helps them to match the product with their personality and based on the internal dimensions can determine whether purchasing the product would be beneficial for them or not. Product: This dimensions look to generate the required need for the product as organizations develop products after identifying the needs of customers so that it can be met and their motives can be created towards purchasing the product. Samsung Refrigerators has also identified the different needs of the customers and based on it has developed the product. This has helped to meet the different internal needs as it helps them to identify those in the Maslow Need of Theory. People while purchasing Samsung Refrigerators identify the need level which is met by that product and based on it look to purchase the product so that they are more satisfied and contend. It is thereby evident that internal factors have a role in marketing mix and helps to understand the different areas which needs to be focused on so that acceptance of the product or services becomes better. It helps to work on the different dimensions and develop process through which better segmentation and positioning becomes possible. STP Strategy and Internal Factors Samsung Refrigerators has also included internal factors while determining their segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy. The segmentation strategy by Samsung Refrigerators has been developed based on demographic, psychographic, location and culture. With regard to the demographics Samsung Refrigerators looks to tap people based on age, income and usage. It looks to target the middle and upper level segment of the society. On the basis of psychographic Samsung Refrigerators looks to bring about a change in the attitude of people by bringing forward the features, the usage of the product, the gains and self-concept which people has about the product (Brassington and Pettitt, 2001). With regard to culture and location Samsung Refrigerators has looked to work on the different needs and motives so that people perception is changed so that the overall needs of customer is better satisfied. This has helped them to position their product based on different dimensional aspect of internal factors affecting consumer decision making process. It has thereby helped Samsung Refrigerators to ensure that they stay ahead of competition and is able to position their product differently in the mind of the consumers. This will help them to provide the required leverage and will being about the change in behaviour through which people accept the product in a better way. Diffusion of Innovation and Social Change Innovation and social change are mostly regarded as external factors which impacts consumer decision making process but can also be linked to the manner in which it has an impact on internal factors. This has an association with the different personal factors which impacts consumer decision making process. Diffusion of innovation is the new ideas and developments which has been developed and has helped to improve the overall marketing environment. It has a high degree of risk but provides an opportunity through which business can ensure that the gains surpass the cost involved in it. Innovation and change in Samsung Refrigerators has been achieved through development of new and better products which meets the different needs of people (Azad and M. Safaei, 2012). Continuous innovation and development of new models of Samsung Refrigerators has ensured that in the product life cycle they don’t reach the maturity stage and has thereby provided new life in the manner different business activities are carried out. This has been matched by the social changes which have been witnessed as it has made more and more people to purchase Samsung Refrigerators as the perception of people has changed. People today think refrigerators as a necessity and look to have one so that they can use it and ensure that their different needs are better met. The process has thereby strengthened the manner in which different activities are carried out and has helped to maximize the opportunities through which better business development becomes possible. Conclusion This paper thereby looks to analyze the different internal factors which has an impact on consumer purchasing decision while looking to purchase Samsung Refrigerators. The paper will analyze different factors like consumer needs and motivation, personality and self-development, perception of consumers, consumers learning and involvement towards the products. In addition to it the paper will also look to link the different marketing mix elements with consumer behaviour keeping in mind the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy which has been used. Lastly, the paper will present the external factors like diffusion to innovations and social change which has resulted due to different changes in the consumer behaviour. Analyzing the same has helped to understand the different facets which marketers considers and develops strategies based on. This has led towards improving the opportunities and has reduced the degree of risk to a large extent. References Azad, N. and M. Safaei, (2012). The impact of brand value on brand selection: Case study of mobile phone selection. 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