ANALYZING

CONSUMER
MARKETS
CHAPTER 6

JOSSA MAE ANN G BELLINO

WHAT INFLUENCES CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
• Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals,
groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of
goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs
and wants.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE
BUYING BEHAVIOR
A consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by the
following factors:
• Cultural
• Social
• Personal
• Cultural factors have broadest and deepest influence on
consumer buying behavior.
CULTURAL FACTORS

• Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants

and behavior which are acquired through socialization
processes with family and other key institutions.
• Each culture consists of subcultures that provide more
specific identification and socialization for their members.
• Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial groups,
and geographic regions.
CULTURAL FACTORS

• All human societies have some form of social classes which

are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a
society, hierarchically ordered and with members who share
similar values, interest, and behavior.
• Social class members show very similar product and
brand preferences in many areas such as clothing, home
furnishing, leisure activities and automobiles.
SOCIAL FACTORS

• Reference groups are all groups that have a direct (face-to-face) or

indirect influence on a person’s attitude or behavior.
• Groups that have a direct influence on a person are called membership
groups.
Types of Membership groups:
• Primary groups are groups that a person interacts with regularly and
informally, such as family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers.
• Secondary groups are groups that a person has less continuous and
more formal interaction with. Examples: Religious and professional
groups.
SOCIAL FACTORS

• Aspirational groups are groups that a person hopes to join.

• Dissociative groups are groups whose values or behavior a
person rejects.
SOCIAL FACTORS

• An opinion leader is a person who offers informal advice

or information about a specific product or a product
category, such as which of several brands is best or how a
particular product may be used.
• Marketers try to reach opinion leaders by identifying their
demographic and psychographic characteristics, identifying
the media they read, and directing messages to them.
SOCIAL FACTORS

• Family is the most important consumer buying

organization in society and family members constitute the
most influential primary reference groups.
• Two families in a buyer’s life:
• Family of orientation- is made up of parents and siblings.
• Family of procreation- A person’s wife and children.
PERSONAL FACTORS

• Age and stage in the life cycle-Affects consumers’ taste in

food, clothes, and recreation.
• Occupation and Economic circumstances- Influences
consumption patterns.
• Marketers try to identify the occupational groups that have
above-interest in their products and services and customize
products and services from them.
PERSONAL FACTORS

• Personality which is a set of distinguishing human

psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent and
enduring responses to environmental stimuli (including
buying behavior).
• Brand personality are the specific mix of human traits that
consumer attribute to a particular brand.
• Consumers often choose brands that match their own
personality.
PERSONAL FACTORS

• Lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living in the world as

expressed in activities, interests, and opinions.
• Marketers search from relationships between their products
and lifestyle groups.
• Lifestyles are shaped partly by whether consumers are
money-constrained or time constrained.
• Consumer decisions are also influenced by core values, the
belief system that underlie attitudes and behavior.
KEY PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT
INFLUENCE CONSUMER RESPONSES

• Motivation-The process that initiates, guides and maintains

goal-oriented behaviors.
• Motivation has both direction- people select one goal over
another- and intensity-people purse the goal with more or less
vigor.
• Abraham Maslow sought to explain why people are driven by
particular needs at particular times.
• His answer is that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy
from most to least pressing needs.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF
NEEDS
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF
NEEDS
• Self-actualization needs-Self-development and realization.
• Esteem needs- Self-esteem, recognition, and status.
• Social needs- Sense of belonging and love.
• Safety needs- Security and protection.
• Physiological needs- Hunger and thirst.
• A person tries to satisfy the most important need first.
KEY PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT
INFLUENCE CONSUMER RESPONSES

• Perception- is the process by which people select, organize,

and interpret information.
• In marketing, perceptions are more important than reality,
because perceptions affect consumers’ behavior.
• Learning-Induces change in people’s behavior.
THE BUYING DECISION PROCESS:
THE FIVE-STAGE MODEL
• 1. Problem Recognition
• 2. Information Search
• 3. Evaluation of Alternatives
• 4. Purchase Decision
• 5. Postpurchase Decision
• Consumers do not always pass through all five stages-they
may skip or reverse some.
1. PROBLEM RECOGNITION

• The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a

problem or a need is triggered by internal (hunger or thirst)
or external stimuli (advertisement).
• Marketers need to identify the circumstances that trigger a
particular need by gathering information from a number of
consumers.
• Marketers can then develop marketing strategies that will
spark consumer interest.
2. INFORMATION SEARCH

• Two levels of engagement in the search:

• 1. Heightened attention- A consumer simply becomes more receptive to information
about a product.
• 2. Active information- A consumer begins to actively look from information about a
product.

• Major information sources to which consumers will turn to:

• Personal: family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.
• Commercial: Advertising, Web sites, salespeople, packaging, and displays.
• Public: Mass media, consumer-rating organizations.
• Experiential: Handling, examining and using the product.
2. INFORMATION SEARCH

• By gathering information, the consumer learns more about

competing brands and features.
• Consumers will choose from the competing brands through a
process:
• Total Set-All brands available in a category
• Awareness Set- All the brands that a consumer is aware of.
• Consideration Set- All the brands that a consumer will consider.
• Choice Set-The consumer will choose from two or three brands in
a category
3. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES

• Some basic concepts help explain the consumer evaluation

processes:
• First, the consumer is trying to satisfy a need.
• Second, the consumer is looking for certain benefits from the
product solution.
• Third, the consumer sees each product as a bundle of attributes
with abilities to deliver the benefits.
• Consumers will pay attention to attributes that deliver the sought
after benefits.
4. PURCHASE DECISION

• Two general factors can intervene between the purchase

intention and purchase decision:
• 1. Attitudes of others: The influence of another person
depends on two things:
• A) The intensity of the other’s negative attitude towards a
preferred alternative.
• B) The buyers' motivation to comply or listen to the other
person’s wishes.
 4. PURCHASE DECISION

• 2. Unanticipated situational factors: Factors that may emerge to change the

purchase decisions. Examples: Losing a job or some other purchase becomes
more urgent.
• A consumer decision to postpone, or avoid a purchase decision is influenced
by one or more perceived risks:
• Functional risk: The product does not perform to expectation.
• Physical risk: The product poses a threat to the physical well-being or health of
the user or others.
• Financial risk: The product is not worth the price.
• Social risk: The product results in embarrassment in front of others.
5. POSTPURCHASE DECISION

• Psychological risk: The product affects the mental well-being of

the user.
• Time risk- The failure of the product results in an opportunity
cost of finding another satisfactory product.
• Postpurchase Behavior-Consumer may experience dissonance
from noticing certain disquieting features or hearing favorable
things about other brands.
• Marketers must monitor postpurchase satisfaction, postpurchase
action, and postpurchase product use and disposal.
REFERENCES

• Kotler, Philip and Kevin Lane Keller . Marketing

Management. Pearson Education Limited, 2012.