Marketing and Consumer Behaviour: Tommy Hilfiger - Essay Example

Marketing and consumer behaviour Assignment Task four Contents Bibliography 12 Tomy Hilfiger Company specifically produces and markets men, women & children’s wear, accessories and home furnishings. The company’s products are sold in over 55 countries and it operates in 15 specialty stores. Its tactical approach to reach its targeted audience is generally noticeable since the communication channels used are extensively utilized within the consumer market according to its database. Nonetheless, a possible scenario of targeting consumers in a specific geographical region of Tomy Hilfiger store in Saudi Arabia for instance seems to be ineffective. This is due to the weakness of lack of understanding of the cultural philosophy of company by the buyers. At this point, the urgent need to deeply look at consumer buying and its influence on the organisation in the market is respectfully essential. Distinguishing between business buyer and consumer purchasing behaviour The purchasing behaviour for business consumer and non-business consumer tends to be distinctively different; characteristics of each group can be summed up into few elements that have a power to draw a comparison between them. These elements include: Buying frequency Degree of involvement Demand Buyers’ numbers Responsibility for decision making Methods of communication Product standards These are examples of the ways to establish the differences of the term buyer conduct from consumer and business customers. For the company examined, the characteristic of buying quantity is related to other multi corporation companies. The brand Tomy Hilfiger has wide distribution channels over the world. The company spent more than three billion in 2002 to supply channels. Table 1 shows the differences between business buyer and consumer purchasing behaviour. Table 1:Business buyers and consumer purchasing behaviour. Business buyer Consumer purchasing behaviour The buying level is routinely high as manufacturing goods need to be done at specific time. Consumers purchasing behaviour can be described as less aggressive than business buying. Buying behaviour for personal shoppers tend to be subjected to emotional factors such as needs, wants and other psychological dimensions (Saylor.org). The number of people involved in setting the criteria required for production is higher than the buying process for consumers since the degree of complexity plays a significant role here. The nature of decision making process for each group is dissimilar. Business buyers should consider many factors before setting payment. Buying decision for non-normal consumers for example take longer time and many marketers need to work on making an ultimate decision than end user customers. Using personal selling when they contact their suppliers is one common method to reach business customers. Using numerous methods such as CPL advertising that ask consumers who are interested in their products to sign in for new newsletters so that the customers emails can be generated in order to reach targeted audience in consumer market. (www.panforix.com). Various concepts towards better marketers understanding of products visibility Culture, subculture and social classes: The capability of companies to sustain their consumers to buy more products with the purpose of generating more profits seems not to be characterized by simplicity. Culture, personality and motivation are three of several components of consumer’s influential factors which have a great impact on their purchasing behaviour (Yakup&Jablonsk,2012). Culture is defined as “sum of a shared purpose among members of societies, customs, norms and traditions “. Thus, buyers’ conduct is affected by this, when decisions are made. Saudi Arabia as an emergent market and most important market for foreign sourced products has become culturally more sensitive. Market segmentation and targeting are main issues raised by this. Saudi female buyers are more willing to buy smart clothes than buying American casual clothing style while Saudi males are more pleasant to buy branded casual clothes than buying smart clothes. This is a case of Saudi culture that is shaped by traditions and society norms. Fashionable clothes are more influenced by this idea and therefore, Tomy Hilfiger clothing stores focus on male casual clothes than women clothes that can be found and sold within its UK stores. Sub cultural impact is also an integral part of culture formation. Sub groups share the same nationality, religion, or geographic region are recognised as a sub group. Some products are known as best products in specific areas of Saudi. Lastly, social class factor is a determining factor in the buying behaviour of consumers. The behaviour for each social class structure, level of education, way of communication with others, living areas, and income are examples of social class variables. These variables are different from each other especially when each social class is examined. It is for this reason that communication channels and communication style need to be adopted to fit the social class of a country. Personality Marketing researches have shown that customers can buy products in order to enhance their feeling of themselves and their living patterns as a consequence. Cosmetic products for example, are being advertised in very attractive and ideal approach to show the uniqueness of the element of individual’s personality if they buy and use them. Consumer age as self-concept factor can affect the buying behaviour. Each age group has its own needs and own products of interest. Cognitive age is significant in the buying pattern. It is a clarification of each stage hence can be engaging and easy to capture interests. A teenager will not be interested in buying old fashioned clothes, which could be the preference for the elderly. “One for her and one for him” or gender factor have a role in this process. This process shows that men and women have different buying habits. They have different attitudes in terms of purchasing. Motivation Motivation can be described as a strong internal stimuli that direct a person to specific goal (Trehan,2009).This motivation plays significant role in influencing buying behaviour among consumers. It includes buying for convenience, prestige, and style as various kinds of purchasing behavioural purposes (Khan,2007). At this standing point, marketers can motivate consumers to buy something when the marketers understand what can influence the consumers towards purchasing a particular product (Smoke,2009).The theory of Maslow on human behaviour is motivated by needs, which are from lowest to highest. It applies in this context of buying behaviour. Decision making unit for consumers and what can have an influence on their purchasing decision Research indicates that consumers pass through five stages when they make a buying decision and these phases are: 1- Problem or need recognition: during the first, stage a buyer will decide what product or service he needs. It is worth to mention that this process is followed when low frequency purchasing products is intended to buy. 2- Search for information and seeking alternatives: in this stage, the consumer will seek more information, more details on product they tend to buy. In this case the consumer may seek information about Tomy Hilfiger and a source of information could be parents, family relatives or a neighbour, special newsletter and internet. Alternatively, asking sales people could help to make a decision, since the buyer would not be confident about his purchase until he examines the product. 3- Evaluation stage: consumers highlight several factors or set a criteria which reinforce their ability to make a decision. For some consumers, brand is more considered than price or features more important than benefits. The Tomy Hilfiger brand is seen as unique and this positively impacts on consumer buying behaviour. Some consumers prefer a brand that has a good reputation and reliable products while other prefer more luxury but not durable product etc. 4- Making purchase: The consumers will reach a final decision to make real through taking an action and buy a product and this can be through actual physical store or online store or by phone. 5- Post purchase decision: after buying a product, a consumer will try to compare its levels of performance and his expectation of the product. This will result in either satisfaction, if the product meets customer expectations or dissatisfaction, if a product performance is below customer expectations. Furthermore, consumers tend to find more supportive information about the product bought from advertising so that they can see whether they have made the right decision or not? Factors influencing buyer behaviour Researchers within marketing area associate the influence of a number of factors with consumer buyer’s behaviour. This might be because consumers are the intrinsic part of business and market dynamics including; psychological, cultural, social and personality as key factors that influence purchasing behaviour of the consumers. Social factors It is indicated that family, social rules, social statues and reference groups are most important elements to understand and analyse the impact of consumer behaviour. To start with, reference groups can be defined as a group of individuals who share culture, values and interests. Reference groups can have an impact on visible products and they are also controlled by an opinion leader. Families also have an influence on consumer buying behaviour. The relationship by blood has drawn the obligation that can be fulfilled through sharing needs and satisfying this need; husband, wife and children play integral part on buying decision making. Roles and statues also influence the buying process. A person who belongs to an organisation or family club is positioned to play a social role in order to perform activities that are expected to be done. The process of product selection is affected by economic circumstances. A buyer decision to buy a specific product can be due to the level of income, and thus, marketers always keep focusing on the trends of the in order to respond to the changes that can take place. Furthermore, lifestyle can affect the consumers’ values and their purchasing behaviour. Personal factors Age and life cycle: people usually change their goods according to their age or life cycle. In other words some brands segment their products on the basis of life cycle stages. Occupation: A lot of products nowadays specialise in making a product needed by a specific group belonging to a certain occupation. Psychological factors Perception is about how consumers response to their surroundings on the basis of their senses. Consumers subconsciously evaluate their needs and wants and then they use their evaluation to choose a specific product. Learning: “A change in attitude through the process caused by prior experience.” Beliefs and attitudes: product and brand image are more affected by individuals ways of thinking that affects consumer buying behaviour. The beliefs may be based on knowledge and faith, while attitudes could be based on religion, politics, music and food. These attitudes have an emotional dimension, because if potential buyers have unfavourable attitude towards a product, they will not buy it. The evaluation of internal marketing in establishing good internal and external relationship Internal communication is a process where the workforce of an organisation coordinates the working process each day to ensure the functionality of the organisation. Addressing each employee’s skills and roles is basic in establishing a self-secure module of communication. This is essential for Tomy Hilfiger. There are three methods that are used in internal communication. These include written communication, verbal communication, and gestural communication. Gestural communication as an interrelation of two main methods but is difficult to be predicted, understood, and interpreted in business life. Its effectiveness is realized when used together with verbal communication. Verbal communication is a formal or casual conversation. Non verbal or gestural communication is active when the sender of the information transfers the information to the receiver using body language. Body language could range from expressions, greetings, and solutions. Besides this, written communication involves all the written information that is transferred. Some of the examples include notifications, memos, posters, notes, and different information that is transmitted using texts. Communication in an organisation is a vital process.. It enables the management to be close to the employees. It helps the organisation to be able to acknowledge the employee’s effort. When management expresses regular interest in the work of employees, it provides the workers with the motivation of working harder to prove their abilities. Communicating in a group is an indication of efficiency at work because of the constant feedback that is presented by the employees to the representatives of the management level. Internal marketing can be proposed as “a management approach, which enables and motivates staff increasing their job satisfaction, their performance and lowering turnover” (VAREY, 1995). From this definition it can be understood that marketing strategies applied are adopted inside organisations to gain consumer satisfaction. These tactics can be effectively implemented through concentrating on employees, consumers and products. Companies which attempt to reduce the distance between its consumers and their organisation consider the satisfaction factor. Satisfying consumers and employing the best selling rate is considerably important. Decreasing the gap between consumer expectations and their experience on products will lead to consumer satisfaction. Rewarding, motivating and training can increase the level of satisfaction. The internal marketing strategies can achieve good relation with consumers and company employees if properly implemented. This can be done by focusing on internal support system, improving service quality and retain qualified people. The assurance of hiring people who meet the firm’s needs is important because if they are not in the right position, they will need to be trained. Training can include technical skills, and knowledge. Also, support system can lead to consumer satisfaction. Indeed, by measuring the quality of service delivered, consumer’s needs and wants can be identified. All these factors significant impact on the buying decisions of the consumers and Tomy Hilfiger should take note of them. Bibliography Read More