Consumer Behavior and Consumer Buying Decisions - Coursework Example

Promotion of both new and old products Introduction Promotion is a vital element of the marketing mix that refers to the process of improving customer awareness on either ad existing or a new product in the market. The main aims of promotion include generation of sales and building customer loyalty. Promotion is, therefore, a vital undertaking in marketing since it influences the profitability of a brand. Price has remained a vital feature in promotions as marketers attempted to use the price to influence customer loyalty and the profitability of a brand. However, such leading brands as Apple and Nike have succeeded in developing expensive brands that continue to enjoy immense profitability. The development of such brands shows that promotion of both new and old products can stand out and result in immense profitability without an element of price reductions. The development of such brands by Apple, Nike and Wal-Mart among others continues to show the position retail revolution that continues to influence the nature of brand-customer relationship as the discussion below portrays. As explained earlier, price is an equally significant element of the marketing mix that influences the profitability of a product since customers often consider the price of products. Despite such basic understandings, modern marketing trends such as the evolution of retail marketing coupled with retail revolution continue to restructure the market place. Currently, marketers have succeeded in developing effective brand loyalty with customers who can overlook the price of a product. Such developments show changing consumer behavior and the consumer purchasing decisions. Additionally, the inception and use of social media in the promotion has succeeded in enhancing the process of developing formidable brand loyalties. The form of new media provides both retailers and manufacturers with unique opportunities to interact with their target customers thereby influencing the trends in the society. Effective brands influence cultures in the society with customers purchasing the products of a particular brand irrespective of the price of the products. Understanding consumer behavior and consumer buying decisions are vital in the process of developing effective brands capable of overcoming the allure of price in marketing. Consumer behavior refers to the study of organizations, groups and individuals with the view to understand how they secure, use and dispose of both products and services. Understanding consumer behavior and their purchasing decisions is the basic drill in promoting either old or new products. The process begins with understanding the numerous stimuli among other environmental factors that influence the decisions and behaviors of a customer. In the process of developing a brand, the product is always the most basic stimuli. Successful marketers such as those at Apple have succeeded developing a brand that stands out and, therefore, entices consumers. Such are products that pride themselves in quality and longevity (Perrey & Spillecke, 2013). The marketers of such products promote the brands by promising value for the money that a consumer will spend in purchasing the product. Product is yet another essential element of the marketing mix and a stimulus that influences consumer behaviors. In order for the promotion of either an old or a new brand to stand out, the product must promise a number of values. Modern day marketers understand the need for this. Marketers continue to show preference for brands. A brand has a holistic appeal since it has a number of values, which each product under the brand upholds. Apple and Nike, for example, are brands. Such companies can introduce new products and would promote them easily without the price posing any threat to the profitability of the respective brands (Noel, 2009). As explained earlier, most of the products Apple sells are expensive but the company continues to enjoy immense profitability from the products. Consumer purchasing decision is a five-staged process that begins with need recognition (Parsons, 2009). In developing effective brands and in order to make promotion stand out without price reduction, a marketer must infiltrate every of the five stages of purchasing decision. As explained earlier, the process begins with a recognition of a need. Successful brands influence the need that a consumer would recognize. Apple has developed systematic products with numerous features and applications thereby influencing the need that a customer would want. IPhone 6, for example, has a number of features including a large display, a high quality camera, a payment application and long batter life. Anyone who wants to buy a smart would look for at least any of the features in the product. The second stage is information search. Such is a situation where a potential customer looks for information about a product that meets his or her demands. Consumers look for information in the media and on the internet. An effective marketer must avail information. Successful brands enjoy their success because they are popular with information about any of their products being readily available. Companies carry out extensive advertisements on the traditional media. They avail information about their products on the internet through their company websites and through their social media handles. Such dedicated attempts ensure that the information search is an easy process for the customer. This eases the decision making process. The successive stages include alternative evaluation, purchase decision and post purchase behavior. Each of the three stages is integral in influencing the profitability of a company. After carrying out an extensive information search on a product, consumers always consider the existing alternatives before deciding and settling on a product to purchase. Such is a challenging stage since consumers often consider a number of factors including the price. However, in order to position a product competitively without reducing the rice of the product, a market must present the product as the best alternative for the customer. This requires the marketer to present numerous other features of the product that would enhance its competitiveness besides the price. Apple for example prides itself in the quality and reliability of its products. Such features will forever make Apple products both for new and for returning customers. After deciding to purchase a particular product, the next stage is the purchasing process. Customers may change their decisions based on the nature of the purchasing process. One cannot buy a particular product if the product is not available locally. Just as was the case with information, marketers must avail their products thereby make the purchase process possible for their customers. Apple has opened a number of outlets in most of the major cities throughout the world in it attempt to avail its products. In cases where it cannot open outlets, the company collaborates with local dealers in order to avail its products. Furthermore, the company has an online shop where it retails its products throughout the world. The fact that manufacturers interact with their target consumers is a new wave that continues to influence the retail market thereby enhancing the profitability from businesses. Post purchase behavior influences the popularity and profitability of a brand. Effective marketers must interact with their customers even after they have purchased the products. The quality of the after sales services coupled with the quality of service a customer derives from a product influences his or her future purchasing behavior and decisions. Most companies have since set up customer service and call centers to enhance the interaction with their customers. Public relation is a strategy in marketing that help improve the consumer confidence in a brand. Companies provide warranties for their products coupled with free repairs. Other companies call their products in case they notice a defection. Such endeavors aim to enhance customer satisfaction with the view to influencing their future behavior. The word of mouth advertising is among the most effective and companies strive to benefit from such by providing high quality services. Retail marketing has increasingly changed from the previous “pull” technique with marketers striving to enhance customer satisfaction. Social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter provides a number of avenues for marketers in their quest for developing profitable brands without reducing prices. Social media introduced a level of interactivity between the marketers and their target customers. The interactivity enables marketers to undertake a number of vital marketing operations such as public relations, advertising, customer services and market research. Enhancing interactivity coupled with the low costs of using such media make it easier for marketers to develop appropriate products that would enjoy profitability even without reducing the price of the products. However, the marketers must appeal to customers by positioning the product strategically and influencing the entire purchasing process. Conclusion In retrospect, marketers can promote both new and existing products effectively and achieve immense profitability of such products without necessarily reducing the prices of the products. The process requires the creation of desirable brands that promise a number of values to the consumers. A marketer must have an appeal to the consumer and, therefore, influence their purchasing process. Additionally, the marketer must understand the consumers’ characteristics such their attitudes, lifestyles, perceptions, motivations and knowledge among others (Mullin & Cummins, 2008). A marketer must influence such characteristics by developing products and brands that can change such. As explained earlier, effective brands influence culture change in a society. This makes a product conspicuous thus easy for a customer to identify the products. Furthermore, such products create a need that compels the consumers to purchase them regardless of their prices. References Mullin, R., & Cummins, J. (2008). Sales promotion: How to create, implement & integrate campaigns that really work. London: Kogan Page. Noel, H. (2009). Consumer behaviour. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Academia. Parsons, E. (2009). Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Consumer Behavior. New York: Routledge. Perrey, J., & Spillecke, D. (2013). Retail marketing and branding: A definitive guide to maximizing ROI. Chichester: Wiley. Read More