The Definition of Consumer Buying Behavior - Assignment Example

According to Brown, consumer buyer behavior is usually influenced by five key characteristics or factors, cultural, social, psychological, product or personal. Cultural influences on buyer behavior come because of cultural values that the consumer places on the value of the product, for example, the religious importance of a product to the customer. Social factors that influence buyer behavior include group, family or status factors that help an individual determine whether to purchase a product in the market while psychological factors are the perceived benefits that might be derived from the use of the product.

Personal factors that influence buyer decisions include age, gender and other personal characteristics that determine the need for the product while product factors include the perceived value of the product.The buyer buying process is divided into five steps: problem recognition, information search and acquisition, evaluation of purchase options, the decision to make a purchase and the behavior of the customer after the purchase is made (Brown). The first two steps involve the customer’s conscious decision that a product is needed and the subsequent search for information about a product that will satisfy the need.

After the availability of information, the customer then evaluates purchase options and makes the necessary purchase, then after the purchase is made, the customer decides whether to purchase again. The main difference between business and consumer markets is derived from the end-use of the product being purchased; business markets make purchases for use in producing other final products while consumer markets purchase products for the ultimate use of final consumption. This means that business markets acquire goods as a means of producing another good while consumer markets acquire goods for as final products.

To identify the best source for laptops, the first step is the identification of the final use of the laptops, which is done to get the specification of the laptops to be acquired. The second step in the process is the search for information, followed by the evaluation of the available purchases to make a reasonable choice. The comparison between various sources is done to identify the source with the best pricing policy. ReferenceBrown, Alex. What is Consumer Buying Behavior? 2007. Web. September 23, 2011.