Consumer Purchase Behavior - Coursework Example

Consumer Purchase Behavior Name Institution Executive summary The nature of consumption among the consumers is often influenced by several factors. Business entities have been trying to establish the foundation of consumer behaviors as a factor of establishing a competitive advantage. An effective marketing strategy must aim at creating value or improving the value of existing product. Marketing strategy must create the required value among the consumers in order to attract purchase. Even though most producers are using the social media platform to interact with the customers, most businesses have not yet notice the impact of the changing marketing strategies. Throughout the social media, there are advertisement ads for different products, which makes it easier for manufacturers to navigate through the thoughts of the consumers and influence them. Recent studies have been able to show that consumers have become so skeptical with most businesses and cautious on how they spend. Therefore, business entities are working on new methods of influencing the purchasing behaviors of the consumers. Social media is one of the methods besides ensuring that the products are readily available for consumers within the stores and at the right time through the supply chain. This research will be focusing on establishing some of the factors influencing consumer behaviors and processes involved. Introduction With the rising levels of competition and consumer behaviors, businesses are using many resources to have marketing strategies for attracting the consumers. It is important to note that consumers play an important role in ensuring the sustainability of every business; therefore, business entities must ensure that their products and services have positive taste and preference among the consumers. Understanding behaviors is the fundamental prerequisite of ensuring effective marketing strategy. Some business entities often create competitive advantages which to some extend are not sustainable. As a result, they attract more consumers within a short period and finally the amounts of sales reduce indicating the fact that their marketing strategy did not consider consumer behaviors (Arslan & Altuna, 2010). The behaviors of the consumers change from time to time depending on the prevailing market conditions and the nature of the competitive advantage created by the business organizations. With all the marketing plans and strategies used by the businesses, the aim is only to influence the decision of the consumers. More importantly to note is that consider often consider certain factors before deciding to purchase particular products, thus, it is the responsibility of the business entities to identify these factors in order to influence the decisions made by the consumers. Currently, many businesses are using social media and other accessible marketing platforms to reach the consumers. All these methods of advertising the products are meant to increase brand awareness besides influencing the consumer purchasing power (Tahir, 2012). Studying consumer behavior is very important in the field of marketing since in one way or another, everyone is a consumer intentionally or unintentionally. Initially, businesses were focusing on creating positive taste and preferences using modification of the product technique, however, with the rising concept of consumer behavior, manufacturers are focusing on studying consumers behaviors and aligning the results with production process (Achtnicht, Bühler & Hermeling, 2008). It is from this background that the research would be focusing of consumer behaviors, understanding the underlying issues related to it, and processes involved while consumers are making decisions. It is also significant to note that the research would looking into different aspect of consumer behavior such as mental, physical, and emotional processes involved while consumers are selecting products for purchase which satisfy their needs. Concept of consumer behavior Consumer behavior is a process, meaning, organizations must take into consideration all stages while formulating a marketing strategy. Such processes include selection, purchase, and consumption of the product. In most cases, consumers make purchase decisions while buying products in smaller and quantities. Upon realization of their needs, consumers initiate the searching process for the products and services that meet the needs and evaluate the available options of similar products while taking into consideration the reputation of the brands in questions (Stahlberg & Maila, 2012). Consumers like associated with products of high quality, unfortunately, these products are quite expensive forcing them to settle on the products that they could afford. Establishment of an effective marketing system would depend on whether the marketers considered the criteria used by the consumers to arrive at their decisions. Organizations must also consider availability of resources within the institutions before designing a marketing strategy. Marketers must also have some idea on the time and efforts put across by the consumers while deciding on their product of purchase in order to successfully reach their target market. If any market practice were to reach the desired goal, then it would have to reach the consumers at the right time before they make their decisions in order to have an influence on previously made stands (Cadogan, 2009). For example, within electronic and electrical industry, marketers often ensure that their products like televisions are properly functioning within the stores but also vividly displaying pictures on high definition for the purpose of influencing the decision of the potential consumers. Marketing strategies have always sought for the moments and touch points within the consumers, which are open to influential activities. Moreover, marketing practices must take into consideration the price and the nature of the product itself. Some business entities reduce the prices in order to attract many customers as their methods of creating a competitive advantage within the market structure. The major challenge that occurs in most cases is that such methods are not sustainable since they reduce the profitability of the organizations (Ball et al., 2005). Any form of marketing should also consider the nature as the product as a means of attracting more consumers. If organizations improve the quality of products they are availing to the consumers, then they are likely to positively influence the decisions made by the consumers since the process would in turn change their taste and preference for the product in question (Elliott et al., 2008). Besides, establishing a positive brand among the consumers is more than just considering consumer behaviors. There is need to also focus on the prevailing technological conditions and economic conditions. Types of purchasing behaviors The processes used by the consumers to purchase their products tend to differ from one consumer to another. These categories have been categorized based on the consumers’ degree of involvement, difference between the existing brands, and motive behind the purchase. In some cases, consumers purchase products without planning but due to influence from either the friends or marketers. Every person faces purchase decisions each time, but the criteria used in arriving at a credible solution differ since people treat circumstances differently (Juraysī, 2005). Some decisions made are routine while others require the efforts of the consumer. The types of purchase include: Impulse purchase This type of purchase occurs whenever a consumer purchases a product without prior plans of buying because of influence from the fiends or the marketers. Such purchases are made without thought and reason. Generally, the low prices of the products are the major factor contributing to the impulse purchase. The culture of human consumption is a major factor enabling people to succumb to temptations originating from purchasing products without any consideration for the immediate consequences. Moreover, most researches have associated it with anxiety and unhappiness (Karunakaran, 2008). From psychological point of view, to control impulsive purchase, it is important to understand the factors encouraging impulsive purchase. Impulsive purchase sometimes are social, image concerned, and status conscious factors, thus, consumers engage in such activities for show offs or elevation of social status. Other impulsive byers also tend to find it difficult their anxiety and emotions towards the products they have been yearning for. Routine purchase Consumers have products that they purchase frequently. Such products range from morning coffee from the convenient shops and supermarkets. In this type of purchasing, the consumers spend very less time deciding on whether to purchase these products because they do not typically require reviewing. Besides, these products also have low costs and risks associated with their purchase. The consumers have the past experienced with purchasing certain products so the purchase process takes place automatically without thinking for recurrent purchase (Yoo, 2009). In this method of purchase, brand recognition plays an important role towards initiating a response behavior among the consumers. While marketing such products, it is crucial that the marketers take into consideration the time factor since routine purchase takes place at distinct time. For example, taking the girlfriend to the Ballarat anytime she is around is an example of routine purchase as there are no consultations made. Limited decision-making purchase This involve moments when consumers engage in purchase requiring limited decision-making process. To some extent, the consumers might seek suggestions from a friend. For example, buying of coffee and milk in which the decision took only some minutes to arrive at the decision as per the collected data. Considering the differences in the prices of similar products, consumers often conduct the cost-benefit analysis before deciding whether to purchase the products (Stahlberg & Maila, 2010). According to the collected data, cooking is more efficient and reliable than eating in a restaurant within Melbourne, hence the cooking is the most preferred method of acquiring food. Therefore, without thinking much, settling on cooked food was easier compared to visiting the hotel. Extensive decision-making purchase Consumers meet commodities of varying prices in the market. Those, which are highly priced often, take a lot of time to reach conclusion of purchase, as a result, consumers take considerable amount of time researching the available options before deciding to purchase a product. Moreover, it involves serious consultation with different people. For example, accepting the studio and making its payment online took much time as per data. Online payments sometimes are not convenient to some people especially if the transaction references are required. Value segment in purchasing behaviors Every company considering marketing its products needs to take into consideration both the demographic and psychographic analysis of the consumers. These are some of the factors influencing the decisions made by the consumers on whether to purchase the products or not. Each market offers segmentation to the organizations and allows them identify areas within the market structures that they are experiencing higher sales. Upon identify their segment of the market, business entities always come with marketing strategies that would enable them improve the amount of sales in areas experiencing low sales return. Businesses could use value segments to identify the leisure activities of the consumers besides their preferred products (Mort et al., 2004). Moreover, depending on the types of products that consumers purchase on a frequent basis, markers could use the knowledge to attract the consumers or alter their mindset on buying other products. Exploration of the values and attitudes of the consumers play an integral role when the marketers want to motivate the consumer behavior positively. According to the collected data, ‘Look at Me’ is the relevant segment value considering the spending trend. This type of segment value is associated with the youths who majorly spend on household commodities like food and issues relating to relationships. Fun is the distinct characteristic of this value since the consumers exhibiting this kind of purchasing behavior look for fun away from the family and tend to enjoy with their close friends. For example, from the collected data, adequate amount of time and purchases had been made whenever the girlfriend comes. Besides, more travelling expense is incurred travelling to the restaurant and playing with the girlfriend. There is need to control spending rates especially among the youths and embrace planning for purchase as a method of reducing their impulsive purchase. Another factor determining this type of segment value is the lifestyle of an individual, which encourages purchase among the consumers (Levine & Benjamin, 1997). Consumer decision-making process Predicting consumer behavior is one of the most difficult activities that most businesses are researching to understand. Marketers always try to predict consumer behaviors and ensuring that their activities are consistent with the expect behaviors of the consumers. With little information relating to consumer behavior, prediction is often difficult, as a result, marketers have to be familiar with basic concepts involved consumer behavior. Traditionally, businesses were offering goods and services to the consumers directly due to lack of information and competition (Nilsson & Umeå universitet, 2010). However, with the competitive market, organizations are moving towards understanding consumer behavior especially the decision making process to enable them establish a positive competitive advantage. Consumer decision making is a process, however, purchase is the only visible part within this complex process. There are several ways of analyzing the decisions made by the consumers including the economic, psychological, and consumer behavior models. Economic models involve taking into consideration the market factors based on assumptions of rationality and perfect knowledge of the prevailing market conditions (Johnston, 2013). According to this model, the consumers maximize their utilities; psychological models involve cognitive processes like motivation. Besides, the models focus on qualitative assumptions rather than quantitative sociological factors. The commonly used model is the consumer behavioral model that is more practical and based on integration of both economic and psychological models. There are several stages involved in consumer decision-making process. Recognition This is the first and most important step involved in the purchasing process. Without the need, purchase cannot exist. Recognition for purchase happens whenever there is a gap between the actual situation of the consumer and the desired condition. It is important to note that that not all recognized products end up being purchased. The recognized product must have the ability to satisfy the needs of the consumers. In order to ensure an effective recognition process, there must be an existence of a problem. Besides, there must be factors triggering the recognition of the product such as the stimuli. These include internal which the physiological needs expressed by the consumers like hunger and thirst and external stimuli that takes in consideration exposure to adverts, coming into contact products a consumer considers important and encountering beautiful or attractive products while window shopping. Recognition of purchase is further classified based on the reason behind the need. Functional need is a type of production recognition based of its specific function for addressing the problem in question. Social needs relates to the integration within the social context and social recognition. Another classification is based on the need for change in which consumers’ desires to change. Moreover, it involves changing the prevailing situation. Information search Upon recognizing the product, the next stage is information search in order to allow them find the best solution for their problems. This includes searching for both internal and external business environments for the purpose of identification and evaluation of the information sources related to their central decisions. Customers rely on different media for information ranging printed, visual, and online media. Information search offers consumers the chance of evaluating alternative products that would assist them deciding on the product with the ability of satisfying their needs (Brookins, n.d.). Internal information search involves utilizing information available with the consumers in terms of memory and experience. External information search relates to seeking information within the outside environment. It is initiated by asking close friends for information and market controlled sources like television and radios. The amount of time spent at this stage depends on the experience of the consumer, involved risks, and magnitude of interest. Evaluation of alternative The market is becoming more competitive within all the sectors; as a result, consumers are offered the opportunity of choosing the products from a wide range of existing products after evaluating all the available options. Evaluation would offer the most suitable product to the needs of the consumers. In order to evaluate the alternatives effective, it is important to consider the attributes. These attributes include objective characteristics, which involve features and functions of the product in question, and subjective characteristics relating to perception value of the brand. Consumers also value the reputation of the product in the market; therefore, marketers must create a positive brand within the market. Consumers consider different attributes while making decisions of the products to purchase. After evaluation, consumers often create a scenario identified as ‘evoked set’, which is a set of probabilities indicating a product likely to be purchased by the consumers. Purchase decision This is the most important part for all business entities; however, it depends on the outcome of the evaluation process. Since the consumers have evaluated different solutions and products, they need to respond to their needs. This stage allows the consumers to choose the product that meets their needs. Decisions would depend on the information and selection made in the previous steps. Moreover, decisions are made based on the perceived value, features of the product, and the ability of the consumer to afford such products (LaCour, 2012). Several factors might also compromise the quality the quality of the decisions made including the experience of the consumers, promotion availability, and terms and conditions involved in sales. It is important to note that the final decision might be disrupted by negative feedback especially when the consumers ask other customers regarding the product and the level of motivation of accepting the feedback. Moreover, unforeseen conditions like loss of money, job, or relocation might also interrupt the purchase process. Post-purchase behavior Upon the consumption of the product, the consumer would evaluate the adequacy with the original need and he/she made the right decision on choosing a particular product. In order to ascertain whether the consumer made the right decision by choosing the product, he/she must evaluate the outcomes of the consumptions. It is from the assessment that the consumer would feel a sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, there is a possibility of experiencing disappointment especially if the product did not the expectations of the consumers (Redsicker, 2014). The opinion at this point would influence future decisions made by the consumers while purchasing products and if the products satisfies the needs of the consumers, then there would be reduction in the numbers of stages involved in the decision making process. Additionally, post purchase evaluation might also have significant effects on the brand. If the consumers develop positive change and preference for the product, the consumer might become a loyal customer. Conclusion Satisfaction for the needs of the consumers is the major reason behind any marketing activities. However, marketing is quite difficult considering the fact that preferences of the consumers tend to change from one geographical to another. Marketing entails understanding the needs of the consumers, ever-changing market trends, and the level of competition within the market. In most cases, consumers often consider the prevailing economic conditions before deciding to purchase particular products. Within a market structure, there could many producers manufacturing similar products. As a result, consumers are forced to choose from the existing products, which at time might be difficult considering variability in in their prices and quality. To influence consumer before, every marketing strategy must include the relevant information regarding the product in question and takes into consideration the factors that control the decisions made by the consumers. Consumers vary in terms of thoughts; feelings, and decisions, hence, marketers must pay attention to these factors. References Achtnicht, M., Bühler, G., & Hermeling, C. (2008). Impact of service station networks on purchase decisions of alternative-fuel vehicles. (Impact of service station networks on purchase decisions of alternative-fuel vehicles.) Mannheim: ZEW. Arslan, F. M., & Altuna, O. K. (2010). The effect of brand extensions on product brand image. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 7(5), 121-126. 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