Consumer Behaviour - Factors Affecting Consumers Purchasing Decisions - Coursework Example

Consumer Behavior Name: Subject: Institution: Instructor: Date: Introduction Psychological factors play a major role in influencing a consumer’s choices. Lautiainen (2015) has noted that four psychological factors usually influence a consumer’s choices. These include motivation, perception, attitudes and beliefs, and learning. These internal factors also influence a consumer’s decision making process as well as the extent of an individual’s engagement in using the product or service. This paper seeks to demonstrate how different internal factors (psychological factors) influence my decision making process and the extent of my engagement in using the SportUNE Café. Discussion Factors Affecting Consumer’s Purchasing Decisions Kotler & Armstrong (2010) noted that consumers have different types of needs that can be biological (e.g. hunger) or psychological, which arise from the need for belonging or recognition. These needs can be stimulated to a sufficient degree of intensity when they alter a motive. The motive is essentially a need that impels an individual to seek satisfaction. This explanation is in line with Abraham Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, which explains why people are impelled by various kinds of needs at different occasions or times (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). In selecting the SportUNE Café, a buyer will certainly have both biological and psychological needs. Some of the obvious biological needs that motivate an individual to make a purchase at the SportUNE Café include thirst and hunger. Besides serving great coffee, the SportUNE Café serves a variety of snack options like sandwiches, Turkish breads, toasties, fruit, sports drinks, healthy cakes and slices, as well as a standard range of confectionery and drinks. An individual can be motivated to go into the Café and buy any of the foods, drinks or snacks on offer by the need to satisfy hunger or thirst. On the other hand, one of the obvious psychological needs that would motivate an individual to go into the Café is the need for belonging or recognition. Since the SportUNE Café is highly popular with patrons, it is a great place to socialize with friends and this makes it an appropriate place to gain a sense of belonging. Perception is another element that usually influences an individual’s decision to make a purchase. According to Lautiainen (2015), people act according to their perceptions of the situation. Every individual receives a myriad of sensory stimuli such as color, smell, sound, texture, light, and taste at any particular moment. Perception is the course through which such feelings are chosen, organized and interpreted to create a meaningful image of the world. Kotler & Armstrong (2010) have noted that people can create different perceptions from the same stimuli because of different perceptual processes. The three perceptual processes include selective attention, selective retention, and selective distortion (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). The first perceptual process is selective attention, where a person focuses on a limited number of stimuli that he/she is exposed to because they are associated with his/her current needs. Selective distortion relates to how an individual interprets information in a manner that is consistent with his/her attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. The third perceptual process is selective retention, which means what people will retain from a certain situation or particular stimuli (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). These perceptual processes usually come into play when a consumer is making choices on what to buy or not to buy. In selecting the SportUNE Café, an individual will engage in all the perceptual processes. For instance selective attention is at play when an individual decided to neglect the need to socialize and only focus on the need to satisfy his hunger or quench his thirst. Secondly, selective distortion is at play when an individual believes or has had a prior experience that the only place to have a meal or snack while watching a sports match with some friends is the SportUNE Café. The individual will choose to forget about any other place that sells snacks, meals or beverages and shows some sporting matches and only remember SportUNE Café. Thirdly, selective retention is at play when an individual only chooses to remember the good experience he/she had while having a meal or snack and watching a sporting match at the SportUNE Café and forget about anything good about other alternative places where someone can have a snack and socialize with friends while watching a match. Learning is another factor that will influence a consumer’s decision to make a purchase. Lautiainen (2015) has noted that when an individual is motivated, he/she becomes ready to make a move or act, and learning is achieved through action. According to Kotler & Armstrong (2012), learning demonstrates the changes in an individual’s behavior that come out of experience. Additionally people can learn by observation and unconsciously through incidental learning. The knowledge that consumers have about the world is constantly changing as consumers are exposed to fresh situations and stimuli. They can also get feedback that enables them to change their behaviors whenever they find themselves in similar situations than before (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). In selecting to buy a snack or drink from the SportUNE Café, an individual will engage in various learning processes. For instance, once an individual has been motivated by hunger, thirst, or the the need to socialize with friends and he has formed a perception that the best place to satisfy his needs is the SportUNE Café’ he/she will be ready to act and make a move by going into the Café. Moreover, an individual may learn that the Café is a great place to have a snack and socialize by observing others. Alternatively, an individual may learn that the Café is a good place to satisfy his need for a snack, a drink or socialization by receiving feedback from friends, classmates or teammates. If the individual has already had a good experience with the Café, he/she will definitely reinforce his/her purchasing behavior at the Café. Lautiainen (2015) has pointed out that through learning as well as experience, consumers gain beliefs and attitudes. Beliefs refer to a vision that a person has on an object or idea. This vision can be grounded on real knowledge, opinion, or faith. External factors or influences such as neighbors or family along with learning will often generate beliefs that influence buying behaviors. Different people will have varying attitudes regarding music, food, religion, and politics. These attitudes describe the evaluations or feelings that consumers have toward an idea or object. Both attitudes and beliefs are difficult to change as they are deeply grounded in the mind of the consumer and can form part of an individual’s personality (Lautiainen, 2015). Beliefs and attitudes can play a significant role in influencing consumer behavior. In choosing to have a snack and socialize at the SportUNE Café, an individual may be influenced by beliefs and attitudes. An individual may form a belief that the Café is the best place for fulfilling the need to have a snack, drink, or socialize based on external influence from colleagues combined with learning. A consumer may also have the feeling that the Café is the best place to satisfy his/her need for a snack or a drink based on learning and experience. The Consumer Decision Making Process The consumer decision making process consists of five phases that a consumer engages in before making the actual purchase (Shrestha, 2016; Riley, 2012). These stages include need recognition and problem awareness, information gathering, evaluation of alternatives, making the purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. Kotler & Armstrong (2010) have suggested that a consumer may skip some of the stages when conducting a routine purchase. Nevertheless, the consumer has to go through all the five stages when faced with a new and difficult purchase situation in order to complete the purchase process (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). The problem or need recognition stage can be activated by external or internal stimuli. For instance, internal stimuli can be hunger or thirst that prompts a consumer to buy food. External stimuli can be an advertisement that gets the individual to think about food. In this phase the consumer usually sees a considerable difference between his/her current state and the state he/she desires (Riley, 2012). In the case of choosing to buy a snack at the SportUNE Café, an individual may recognize the need for a snack or drink by feeling hungry or thirsty. Alternatively, the need for a snack or drink can be aroused by images of the snacks and drinks that are sold in the Café’. Similarly, an individual’s need for recognition or belonging (socialize) can be triggered by a feeling of loneliness or by watching others socializing within the Café. The second phase of the consumer decision making process involves information search. Consumers engage in information search to identify alternatives. Consumers often get information from friends, the internet, magazines, and physically handling the product. Information search also helps the consumer to increase awareness about the available brands and select a particular brand (Shrestha, 2016). In the case of the SportUNE Café, an individual would conduct information search by talking to colleagues about what is on offer at the Café and other similar establishments near the campus and testing what is on offer at the Café as well as at the other establishments. The next phase is evaluation of alternatives. In some instances, consumers may make limited or no evaluation of alternatives and they will buy on intuition and impulse. However, consumers who are involved in a complex process of problem solving may engage in careful evaluation among several alternatives (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). In the case of making a purchase at the SportUNE Café, an individual may not engage so much in evaluating alternatives since the product is positioned at a strategic location to cater for a specific market segment. The alternatives are probably too far from the market segment that SportUNE is targeting. In the fourth phase, the consumer is ready to make the actual purchase and the purchase decision is typically to buy the preferred brand. Some of the factors that can affect the buying decision at this stage include the attitudes of other people and the beliefs concerning the brand that are created by the marketer. The consumer may also consider factors like price, product quality, and brand (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). In the case of purchasing from the SportUNE Café, an individual may make the final purchasing decision on the basis of the attitudes of colleagues (classmates or teammates). The consumer decision making process ends with a post purchase behavior. At this stage the consumer has already consumed the product and evaluates the level of satisfaction he/she received from consuming the product. If the product met the expectations of the consumer, the consumer will feel satisfied and will be willing to spend more on the product in the future. However, if the consumer felt his/her expectations of the product were not satisfied, he/she may feel disappointed with the product (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). In the case of the SportCafe’ an individual may evaluate things like whether he/she was satisfied with the product’s attributes (taste), the ambience of the café, and whether the price the price he/she paid was value for the product and service. Conclusion In summary, psychological factors have a significant influence on consumer behavior and consumer decision-making process. Psychological factors trigger the needs that motivate a consumer to make a purchase. Before making a purchase, consumers go through five stages. At each of the five stages of the decision making process, various internal and external factors come into play and these will affect the choice that a consumer will make. Marketers also play a big role in triggering the needs of consumers and helping consumers identify needs or problems. Marketers also play a role in influencing consumers to choose a particular brand in order to satisfy a need. References Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G., (2012). Principles of Marketing. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2010) Principles of Marketing 13th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Lautaiainen, T. (2015) Factors Affecting Consumers’ Buying Decision in the Selection of a Coffee Brand. Retrieved from: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/94486/Lautiainen_Tanja.pdf?sequence=1 Riley, J. (2012). Buyer Behavior -The Decision Making Process. Retrieved from: http:/ /tutor2u.net/business/marketing/buying_decision_process.asp Shrestha, S. (2016) Influencing Factors on Consumer Buying Behavior of Smart Phones-A Research on the Buying Behavior of Young Consumer in Kathmandu, Nepal. Retrieved form: https://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/109259/Shrestha_Sabnam.pdf?sequence=1 Read More