CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
INTRODUCTION TO CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR
WHAT IS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?
Consumer behavior as a field
Consumer behavior is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or
dispose of products, services, ideas of experiences to satisfy needs and desires.
Examples:
o What motivates people to buy a car?
o Why do people keep smoking?
o What do people use singe use coffee cups?
o What persuades people to donate blood?
CB is an interdisciplinary science
1. Microeconomics: consumer theory and consumer choice
2. Sociology: Groups, cultures and societies
3. Psychology: the decision process, the learning process, attitudes and motivations
4. Social psychology: cognitive and heuristic biases
Comparing consumers and shopper needs
Consumers Shoppers
Consumer’s needs : Shoppers needs:
Requirements that I need fulfilled by the products I Requirements that I need fulfilled as part of the
buy for me and my family shopping process
(exp: healthy, durable, filling, tasty) (exp: variety, value, convenience)
Consumers buying roles:
Initiators : initiates the idea: having a drink
Influencers : influence the decisions : bring
you in contact with a product you don’t
know
Decider: ultimate buying the decision:
boyfriend goes to the supermarket but
girlfriend makes the shopping list
Buyer: actual purchase
User: consumes
Gatekeeper: controls access
CB as a process
Pre-purchase Purchase Post-Purchase
How do consumers decide that How do consumers experience Does the product perform its
they need a product or a service? acquiring a product or service? intended function?
What are the best information What does the purchase say How is the product eventually
sources to learn more about about the consumer? disposed of, and what are the
alternative choices? environmental consequences of
this act?
CB as subjective and situational
1
, Subjective Situational
Consumer Organizational influences
Personal influences Product
Psychological influences Place
Social influences Price
Situational influences Promotion
Consumers impact on marketing strategies
1. Good business: basic marketing concepts rely on satisfying consumer needs
2. Marketers can only satisfy needs to the extent that they understand consumers
3. Marketers have to understand the wants and needs of different consumer segments
4. No “one size fits all”: Consumers are (predictably) irrational
4 types of market segmentation
Process of dividing the mass market into subsets of consumers who share common
needs, characteristics and behavior
o Psychographic segmentation
Categorizing of people based on their lifestyle in combinations
with measures of attitudes, beliefs, and personality.
Focus: Why people buy the product
Lifestyle
Attitudes
Interests
Beliefs
Emotions
Values
Aspirations
o Behavioral segmentation
Exploring groups, audiences and consumers by their actions and behaviors
Focus: who buys the product, what the customer does
Purchasing behavior
Usage behavior
Benefit sought
Consumer satisfaction
Customer loyalty
WHY SHOULD WE STUDY CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?
Selling concept
Marketing concept
2
,What is marketing about?
Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want
through creating and exchanging products and value with others.
What is value?
Costumer value is consumer’s assessment of the overall capacity of offerings to satisfy needs and wants
Pick one as your USP. Your unique point of view
Ex: apple, tesla
Ex: Dell, bol.com
Ex: colruyt, ikea, Ryanair
3
, Two types of value
Utilitation: helps to accomplish a task. Hungry and you don’t want to cook? -> fast food
Hedonic value: immediate gratification and relies on experience and emotion
WHAT DOES THE BUYERS DECISION PROCESS LOOK LIKE?
Booking a vacation
1. Dates
2. Places that you
want to visit
3. Budget;
4. Look for the
flights and book
it
5. Look for an
accommodation
4
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