Consumer Behavior and Marketing - Essay Example

Consumer behavior and marketing Introduction Marketing is a multidisciplinary science that integrates many seemingly unrelated branches of science toattain some desired objectives. For example, a good marketing strategy may implement principles of human behavior to increase the market share of the intended product. The merger of different branches of science to attain marketing objectives have never been so intensive as in the modern days where every manager tries his/her best to attain and exceed their companys marketing objectives. Today, the distinction between marketing and selling is quite evident than a few years before, when both the terms were used interchangeably. In the modern business scenario, sustaining customer relation is more important that the old and often unsustainable "sell-it-forget-it" attitude. To build consumer loyalty and brand appreciation, marketing managers are increasingly turning to consumer psychology to create products and ad campaigns that are more compelling to the human psyche and easily retained in the human mind. In business, everything has a life cycle. Products, services, ad campaigns etc. have a vibrant period of activity after which it loses its sheen and becomes a liability on the company that promotes it. Even concepts have a life period after which they lose their relevance. This applies to ad campaigns as well. Ad campaigns have to be devised, modified, upgraded and dispersed at the right time and with optimum intensity in order to be of any value. Ad campaigns have to be devised keeping the consumer in mind. This means that each ad campaign will have an intended audience as its focus. Depending on the focus, ad campaigns will have to change its tone and tenor to attract the attention of the audience. A textbook definition of consumer behaviour is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society." 1 Ads and age groups Not every ad is suitable for all age groups. Ads that are targeted at the young must be suited to their style and concepts. In addition, a very important point that campaigners have to adhere to is that ads must also satisfy peer pressure and not only the demands of the individual. Many young customers are easily swayed by peer pressure while older folks are more practical while considering the services that they plan to buy. Hence, while ads with a practical message often work well with older people, younger consumers have to be lured with sights, sounds and sequences that conform to their ideas and perceptions. Targeting young customers Essentially, marketing involves the sum total of all activities that is used to make a product an undeniable part in the customer’s life. The strategies that have been traditionally used for this objective have changed with time. The strategies that have evolved over the decades were very much influenced by the prevailing business atmosphere and social issues of that time. Consumer behavior is once such concept that has to be considered while designing any marketing effort. A marketing campaign becomes effective only when it can finds a place in the consumer’s mind and compels him to buy the product. Consumer communication is a high-impact marketing tool that puts across the views of the company to the clients. Consumer communication can happen in many perspectives. Communication can happen between the company and the customer as a direct customer service effort or as advertisements, when the company propaganda is put across to the consumer. For example, in one of the advertisements that was observed in the POGO channel, a race bicycle was projected as the ultimate dream of a consumer. The ad shows a young boy contemplating how he drives an all terrain bike (ATB) and shows it to his friends. The targeted age group is 8-12 years. The ad clearly indicates that the ATB in question is superior to other ATBs in terms of power and performance. The boy in the ad first gets beaten by his teammates in a race and he is at the receiving end of his friends’ contempt. He buys a new ATB and beats his detractors who once chided his old bicycle. The ad reinforces the fact that to be acceptable in a group, one has to buy this particular ATB. For most kids in the age group that is targeted by the ad, bicycles are a dream and is a symbol of their identity. Hence, to have the best bike is the secret passion of each child. It is interesting to note that the ad reinforces the need of the bike in kids even though it may be not be a practical bike for every kid. Here, kids are targeted as a group and the ad does not segment its audience as those who may require a sports bike and those who may require a more practical cycle for their everyday needs. The bike will be considered as a dream, which the subject will try to realize in the near future. This is because of effective branding, quality, performance and market positioning of the bike no-compromise requirement. In this ad, the brand has an important to role to play in the ad. The brand is conveyed as the most important aspect and customers feel that the brand makes important changes to their lives. The advertisement reinforces the fact that having a unique identity, also called as branding, has a very powerful impact on the product image. 2 Another ad, which is promoting a toothpaste brand, shows two kids bargaining on the count of their favorite sweet while dividing it. The sweet is apportioned between the two depending on the number of germs that one’s toothpaste can fight. Obviously, the boy who uses the toothpaste that is being promoted gets the maximum number of sweets while his friend is seen sulking. In this ad, the advertisers use subtle messages to indicate that those who choose the toothpaste will get the maximum benefits from habits reinforces by the society. In a way, the ad specifies that using the toothpaste is accepted social behaviour. Since the targeted audience are young kids and their mothers, it is only obvious that the manufacturer promotes the fact that using a particular toothpaste brand promotes good habits that are advised by the society. Here, brushing is a habit that is strictly promoted by mothers on their kids. Hence, the best toothpaste that can offer maximum protection for the kids is the one that will be preferred by mothers. On the other hand, kids will prefer a toothpaste brand that seems to provide visible returns and earn them acclaims from their elders. Here, it is not the brand that carries importance, but the brand is subtly being projected as one that reinforces our sense of well being. Social factors play an important role in consumer behavior. Although the influence of social factors is more prevalent in younger people, even elderly people are seen to be very conscious of social acceptance, with regard to their likes, dislikes and decisions. In fact, the divide in preferences can be seen in other age groups as well. For example, the advertisements of the same company may vary according to the age group on which it is targeted. For example, advertisements for confectionaries that are targeted at kids and adolescents are very different. For example, ads meant for products that are targeted at young kids often lure them with free giveaways, but ads for chocolates meant for adolescents have ads that feature start who recommend it to the viewers. For example, a popular brand of chocolate in the Cartoon Network channel uses a popular actress to recommend it to the viewers. The difference lies in the image that each group tries to project about themselves. Young people always try to project a carefree, unbridled attitude, while elderly people would like to project a mature, understanding and powerful appeal. Therefore the elderly people would not like to project a reckless attitude, but would prefer to maintain a dignified and powerful profile. The same attitude difference holds true in all products and has compelled manufacturers to produce different products for different segments of the society. It may be said that consumer behavior is fleeting. This is because consumer attitudes changes as the person grow or matures. 3 Hence what is important for a consumer at a particular age is not anymore important to him at a different age. Similarly, consumer preferences vary across different cultures. The objective of a good marketing strategy is to ensure that the product is liked by the maximum number of people from various backgrounds. This will ensure the popularity of the product among a wide variety of consumers, which would ultimately help the company to sell its products to the maximum number of people. Marketing communication is a very important factor that determines the success of a brand. 4 An advertisement also creates lasting impression of a product in the minds of the consumer and is a very important aspect of branding. 5 The role of a marketer is to point out to the customer that a particular product would enhance his or her status. This has been the main idea behind branding. The brand name guarantees the quality and status of the product. Branding requires considerable resource allocation from the company particularly long-term investments. Almost all companies have positioned their products to satisfy a particular niche of customers. Therefore, the number of products produced by a single company has increased which cater to the requirement of different types of consumers. Exclusivity is a very potent marketing concept that can compel people to go for a product even if they do not need them. A powerful brand is said to have consumer franchise, which will ensure that consumers maintain their loyalty to that particular brand. The success of a brand also insures that future products of the company attract market appreciation without much effort. 6 The subdivision of a product segment into smaller segments is ample proof of the fact that consumers are being led to believe in the novelty of the goods that are being sold today. For example, most of the brands available as personal care products today, would have been marketed under toiletries a few years before. The segment has been divided into two or more segments so that customers can be goaded to buy products from all the three segments. The change in perspectives is very evident. 7 It is easy to notice that most ads influence consumer behaviour by influencing the way that customers develop an attitude about the product. In this regard it may be said that most ads follow the theory of reasoned action (TRA), developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen. 8 The theory says that a persons intentions are the best guide to his or her behavior. This means that we can predict how a person will behave if we know his or her attitude. In addition a persons intentions are guided by the persons attitude towards the behavior. This means that a persons voluntary behavior is predicted by his/her attitude toward that behavior. So if the the attitude can be modified, the response to the ad can also be modified. Hence, by developing an attitude associated with a product, product managers can influence the reaction of consumers to the product. In other words, it means that by understanding the customer, advertisers can modify repsonse to their products. For example, ads of Mcdonalds often has a nostalgic touch to it. The ads feature the fact that the price of the company’s products have not changed much since twenty years. The ads also feature foods that are popular with the young. By appealing to the cost factor, the ads also appeal to the elderly. The ads by Mcdonalds often influences the emotions of the customers rather than applying only to the practocal side of buying a product. The ad of Mcdonald in the POGO channel features an old man who reminisces about his old days when he hears that the cost of the product has not changed since twenty years. Here the advertiser is playing with attitude of the customer and is exploting the emotion of the customer. The fact to be noted here is not that the ad presents an economical touch to its products. The fact is that the company has maintained its price and quality for twenty years without changing it. Hence, products that appealed to people about twenty years ago still appeal to them. Another twist of the ad is that the product that is popular with old people will also be popular with the new generation because they have been tried and tested for twenty years. Ads that are seen in the TV channels also are strategic in that they are telecast to be seen by the maximum number of the intended audience. For example, food advertisements meant for kids and adolescents were telecast in the evenings when children tend to be tired and hungry after a game. Similarly ads that feature holiday bonanzas were telecast most during the time when children know that their holidays are near. All this shows that ads are targeted at specific customers in a variety of ways so that the environment also plays a role in influencing the buying patterns of the customer. Conclusion Advertisements are an important means to convey messages of companies and their products. This necessitates the use of novel ideas to impinge the messages on the minds of the consumer. A variety of consumer psychological elements need to be incorporated into ads to make them effective. As a result, companies have to devise a variety of measures to make their ads stand out among the crowd. It may be seen that Consumer behaviour follows specific psychological patterns and that these patterns can be exploited by companies to make their ad campaigns effective. Works Cited Kotler, Philip. 1991. Marketing Management, Seventh edition, Prentice-Hall of India: India. Aaker, A. David., Batra, Rajeev., and Myers, G. John. 1995. Advertising Management, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall Of India Ltd.: India. Solomon, Michael R. 2001. Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being. Prentice Hall. Henderson, Clarence. 2000. Strategic Branding in the 21st Century. Henderson Consulting International. Manila, Philippines. http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/columns/market3.htm (accessed on April 12, 2007). Harper, Jennifer. 1993. A Rose Is Still a Rose ... Unless Its Been Licensed. Insight on the News, August 1999. Schiffman, Leon. and Kanuk. Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall Inc, Engelwood Cliff. pp 32-69. Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., and Warshaw, P.R. 1988. The Theory of Reasoned Action: A Meta-Analysis of Past Research with Recommendations for Modifications and Future Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 325-343. Perner, Lars. 2006. The Psychology of Consumers. Consumer Behaviour and Marketing. http://www.consumerpsychologist.com (accessed on April 12, 2007). Read More