Consumer Behaviour Research Report Issues Facing Consumers in Adopting The New Product - Article Example

? Consumer Behavior Research Report Issues Facing Consumers in Adopting This New Product A new product isa good, some kind of service or an idea that has been introduced to the market for the first time or has been there for a while and is perceived by a potential customer as new. Consumers go through a process of decision making that involves many stages in order to adopt a particular product. The adoption process is defined as the mental process through which a potential consumer of a product goes through from the first instance of learning about the product to when he/she makes the final decision of purchasing the product (Wright & Vanhuele, 2008, pp.2-67). The adoption process is a long one and which involves a variety stages. The first stage is awareness where the consumer becomes exposed to the new idea, good or service. The second stage is the Interest stage where the consumer seeks information related to the product. This is done through a variety of ways such as from brochures, from friends etc. The third stage is the evaluation stage where the consumer of the product considers the possibility of trying the new product. The fourth stage is the Trial stage where the consumer tries the new product on rather a small scale so as to improve his or her estimate of the product’s value. The last stage is the adoption stage where the consumer will make use of the product on a large scale and on a regular basis (Boone & Kurtz, 2011, pp.28-78). Therefore from the above discussion we have seen that adopting a particular product is not a simple task and so much has to be done on the part of the producer to make sure that the new product is adopted by his/her potential customers. There are a variety of issues that face consumers in adopting the new product, these include: the Internal/external environment, the socio cultural and psychological factors, attitudes, beliefs, learning and decision making (Solomon, 2010, pp.26-58). The above named factors are explained below. Internal/external environment The success of a new good or service is high dependent on the internal and external environmental factors of a particular company or organization. The internal environment of the organization comprise of the management, the staff, the methods of production involved in coming up with the product or service and its distribution channels. The management should come up with strategies of marketing the product to ensure that many people are aware of the product so that they increase the chances of consumers using it. The staff on the other hand should perceive the product positively so that they talk well of the product to potential consumers (Consumer Buying Behavior, n.d.). They should also be motivated so that they can find something positive to talk about. The production channels should be efficient such that they are able to produce the required number of products to meet demand. This can be through use of appropriate technology and manpower. The distribution channels should be such that they can reach many consumers of the product. If the consumer hears about a certain product he/she should be able to find it in the nearest shop. For Philip Island Nature Park, they should motivate the staff so that they are able to speak positively of the new project. The management should also design strategies that will make people know of the existence of this new project (Solomon, 2010, pp.26-58). The external environment also plays a big role especially with regards to perception. The consumers need to be aware of the company in a positive light so that they can feel proud being associated with their products. If this is done the adoption process is made easy because people will want to try out the new product and if they feel good they will adopt it. It will also reduce the cost of generating awareness and interest in the people before they begin to evaluate the product. The consumers will move directly to the trial stage and this saves a lot of money for the company as advertising costs will be highly reduced. Therefore Philips Island Nature Park should strive to create a good image for themselves, if they want the new product to be easily adopted by its customers (Reynolds & Olson, 2001, pp.12-62). Attitudes Attitudes can be defined as the tendency of an individual to behave in an unswervingly favorable or unfavorable manner towards another person idea or an object. Attitudes are learned behaviors that can change over time depending on the environment where an individual resides. They are observed and learned by an individual and therefore becoming part and parcel of their lives (Reynolds & Olson, 2001, pp.12-62). Every consumer has an attitude towards a certain good or service and this is a as a result of previous experience with the product or with the company offering the new product. Depending on this the consumer will select a product with depending on these predisposed thoughts. This affects products such that a consumer will select a product among others that have the same price depending on his attitude towards the product or company. Attitudes can be positive or negative and both affect how a consumer will select the product. The consumer might have a positive attitude towards the product but in the long run fail to select it because they do not have sufficient information about the product to warrant buying or using it (Solomon, 2010, pp.26-58). Beliefs A belief is defined as a descriptive thought which is held by an individual about something or someone. They can be positive or negative. An individual’s belief will influence to a greater extent what he or she consumes. Beliefs are acquired through learning and doing things. If a person believes that the company sells goods that are of low quality he/she may not buy the company’s products. On the other hand if the individual believes that the company can offer quality products at an affordable price chances are that he or she will buy products from that company. Therefore the way a company interacts with its consumers through its goods, services or any other way will make the consumer develop a certain belief about the company. This will affect how the consumers use goods or services from that company (Reynolds & Olson, 2001, pp.12-62). Socio cultural/ psychological factors There are many socio cultural factors that affect consumers during the adoption of a new product. These include the social class of an individual, their roles in the society, groups and status of the person in the society. People from a low social class such as poor people will try out products or use products that have a low price. Sometimes such products are of poor quality than the others meant for middle class or upper class people. Depending on the price of the product, it may create a class that some people may not afford it. A person’s role in the society will influence what that person will buy. If the new product or service is not in line with the person’s role in the society, he or she may not buy it. Roles are quite related with a person’s status. High status is associated with expensive products. If the product is new but does not conform to the individual’s status in the society, chances are high that the individual will not buy that product or even try it out. A person’s culture will also affect what that person buys or uses. Some cultures forbid use of certain products therefore people will not buy them. Psychological factors influence buying choices of individuals. The four key psychological factors include motivation, learning, perception, beliefs and attitudes. A person’s needs at any one time will dictate what that person does, buys or consumes. The need will drive a person to act influenced by his/her perception of the current situation. After the person has acted then they learn from that act and this will influence how they will interact with the product in future. The learning process will result in beliefs and attitudes that an individual will develop which in the long run affect his/her regular use or purchase of the product (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, pp.9-45). Learning Learning as explained above comes from acting. It is the change in individual’s behavior that arises from experiences the person has with a product. Most of human behavior is learned and therefore experience teaches people so many things. These result in beliefs and attitudes about a product that influence how people buy products. Learning is as a result of the interplay of so many factors that include drives, cues, reinforcement, responses and stimuli (Reynolds & Olson, 2001, pp.12-62). Decision making Before adopting a product the consumer has to make a decision. This process of decision making starts before purchasing the product to the actual purchasing and then extends after purchasing the product. The decision making process involves a number of stages. First is the need recognition where the consumer recognizes a problem or need to buy or use a product. The need can be internal or external. These factors will make someone go out looking for the product. The second stage is the information search that involves an individual searching for more information about the product. Depending on the level of need the person may buy the product to satisfy his/her need if the product is actually available (Solomon, 2010, pp.26-58). The information search is conducted through a variety of ways that include personal sources (friends and family), commercial sources (advertising dealers and displays), public sources (mass media) and experiential sources (examining and using the product). The third stage is evaluation of alternatives where the consumer uses the information gathered in the second stage to arrive at a given number of final brand choices. The process of choosing among the many brands is dependent on the individual consumer but factors such as attitudes and beliefs come into play. The evaluation is done through calculations and logical reasoning and sometimes they just depend on their intuition. The fourth stage is the purchase decision where the consumer will buy the most preferred brand among the many alternative brands identified. The last stage is the post purchase behavior where the consumer may or may not use the product. This will depend on the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction he/she will get after using the product. If the consumer’s expectations of the product were not met then chances are high that the user will not buy the product again (Perner, 2008). Consumer response Interview participants After a thorough review of literature, it was found out that a number of issues are involved before a consumer decides to buy a product. For the case of this assignment, the consumer goes through a tough process before selecting what place to visit for leisure. A variety of places exist in Australia that a person could possibly visit and therefore Philip islands park need to offer the best so as to attract more people. A one on one interview was carried out to ascertain how the target market felt about the introduction of this new wildlife park (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, pp.9-45). A number of participants were interviewed. The first one was Bill an international tourist, the second one was Tom a local businessman, the third Jean a student and the last one Harriet a retiree. Most of them agreed to the idea of another wildlife park as it increased places they could visit. Secondly that the place would have a variety of animals because most injured ones are treated here and would be allowed to stay in the park. Bill said “I love watching different animals at the same place instead of roaming around from one park to another.” This shows it would be a good idea and there is a possibility many people will enjoy seeing the animals there. Tom said “I don’t see the difference because am not such a fan of site seeing and watching animals, but it’s a good idea.” This shows he appreciates the idea though he will not be in a position to come watch the animals. He can be used to influence others to visit the place. Jean said “Wow! That is a wonderful idea, I love Philips Islands Park, and I come here with my parents during holidays. I would love another extension of the park. This shows that lots of people have a good impression of the park and its scenery, they love watching the animals and another park would do them great good. Harriet said “What else is left of us? Instead of sitting at home I could waste my time enjoying what that place has to offer. I love the scenes and the animals there.” At the end of the interview most of the respondents were actually excited about another park. They love the scenery and the animals they view located in different places at the park. They would love to have this one where most of the animals will be available for them to see since they would be recuperating at the wildlife park. This was a positive response that will guarantee the place visitors both domestic and international. Questions and responses The responses are in order beginning with Bill, Tom, Jean then lastly Harriet. 1. What is your name ( Bill, Tom, Jean, Harriet) 2. What is your occupation ( international tourist, businessman, student, retiree) 3. do you live in Australia or outside (not a resident, resident, resident, resident) 4. Do you know or have an idea about Philip Islands Park( Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes) 5. Have you ever visited Philip Islands park (Yes, No, Yes, Yes) 6. How you ever visited an animal park before (Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes) 7. What do you like watching, animals or scenery or both ( Animals, Scenery, Animals, Both) 8. Would you rather watch several animals at one place or each species in its own habitat ( same place, same place different place, same place) 9. Have you ever heard of an animal sanctuary before ( Yes, No, Yes, Yes) 10. How would you feel if Philip Islands introduced such a sanctuary( Good, Good, very good, Good) List of References Consumer Buying Behavior. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 25, 2011, from http://www.zainbooks.com/books/marketing/principles-of-marketing_15_consumer-buying-behavior.html Boone Louis E. & Kurtz David L. (2011), Contemporary Marketing, Cengage learning: London UK. 15th Ed, 28-78 Lamb Charles W., Hair Joseph F., & McDaniel Carl (2011), Essentials of Marketing, Cengage learning: London UK. 7th Ed, 9-45 Perner, Lars Ph.D. (2008). Introduction to Marketing Retrieved 8 25, 2011, from http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/marketing_introduction.html Reynolds Thomas John & Olson Jerry Corrie (2001), Understanding consumer decision making: the means-end approach to marketing and advertising strategy, Routledge: New Jersey. USA, 12-62 Solomon Michael R. (2010), Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being, Prentice Hall: New Jersey. USA. 9th Ed, 26-58 Wright East Malcolm & Vanhuele Marc (2008) Consumer behavior: applications in marketing. Sage publications ltd: London. UK, 2-67 Read More