The Importance of Consumer Behavior in Marketing
Javier Ramirez
Liberty University
BUSI 520: Strategic Marketing Management
Muriel Wilson
January 10, 2022
The Importance of Consumer Behaviour in Marketing
Having a fantastic product isn't enough to ensure long-term sales stability. Yes, you
heard that right!
In fact, it's all about addressing customers' wants, getting to know their needs, and
speaking to them in ways that entice them to engage. In order to achieve these, marketers
use a variety of reports, surveys, and tools to gain a better understanding of one
thing: consumer behaviour. We've seen time and time again that those who make the best
use of the understanding of customers' behaviour and connect their marketing
strategies with the data are the ones who succeed. But what is consumer behaviour, and
why is it important to your company?
What Is Consumer Behaviour?
Consumer behaviour is the psychological study of people and what are the processes
they use to make decisions, buy, use and discard items and services to satisfy their own
wants and needs. It refers to the consumer's actions in the marketplace and the motivations
behind those actions. It also studies their emotional, mental, and behavioural responses and
how they affect their buying behaviours.
There are a few aspects to consider when it comes to consumer behaviour,
including:
What a customer thinks about a certain brand, product, or service.
What drives a customer to choose one product over another, and why do
they do so?
What elements influence a consumer's purchasing decisions or brand views,
and why?
When customers are in groups or alone, how they make decisions?
Why is Consumer Behaviour So Important?
Recognising the factors that impact consumers' purchase decisions, whether in
person or online, can help companies to portray their brand and products in the best
possible light. Customers will be more willing to part with their money if they have a
great customer journey that is smooth and uncomplicated. Not only that, marketers can fill
the gap in the market and identify the items that are needed and the ones that are
outmoded by studying how customers decide on things.
According to a survey by Salesforce, there are up to 76% of consumers expect
organisations to understand their requirements and expectations as a customer. This means
that if you don't figure out what your customer wants before they can tell you, they'll most
likely go somewhere else that can satisfy their wants and needs.
Consumer behaviour insights are the foundation on which successful companies
develop their marketing strategy. They're not just coming up with products and marketing
strategies based on their own ideas; they're also bringing in external data to figure out what
customers want and how they want it, and then connecting with them accordingly. It assists
marketers in determining how to promote their products in a way that has the most
influence on customers. Understanding consumer buying behaviour is the key to connecting
and engaging with your customers, as well as convincing them to make a purchase from
you, which will help in increasing revenue. This is the essence of providing a great customer
experience (CX), which is critical in building a loyal client base.
Think about it, how many times have you been in line at the grocery store and tossed
one of those candies placed near the checkout counter into your cart? This is actually one of
the strategies marketers came up with to get you into buying a product from them.
Types of Consumer Behaviour
In order to further understand consumer behaviour, we have to first identify what
are the types of consumer behaviour that individuals tend to have. The sort of goods a
consumer requires, the level of involvment, and the distinctions across brands all influence
consumer behaviour. There are four types of consumer behaviours namely complex buying
behaviour, habitual buying behaviour, dissonance-reducing buying behaviour, variety
seeking behaviour.
Complex Buying Behaviour
When customers purchase expensive, seldom purchased goods, they will be heavily
involved in the purchasing process and very likely to do a lot of research before making a
high-value buy.
Consider the purchase of a home or a car; these are examples of complex buying
behaviour.
Habitual Buying Behaviour
Habitual buying behaviour is shown when the buyer has virtually little engagement in
the product they purchase or brand category.
For example, you buy new socks on a regular basis. Either because you lose them all
the time or because they constantly have holes in them. You constantly running out of
socks, therefore, you keep buying the one pair of socks that costs the least amount of
money. It's almost become a habit for you.
Dissonance-Reducing Buying Behaviour
The customer is actively involved in the purchasing process, yet has difficulty
distinguishing the differences between brands. When a customer is concerned that they
may regret their decision, this is known as 'dissonance.'
For example, you're looking to purchase a vacuum cleaner. You'll pick one based on
price and convenience, but once you've made your decision, you'll want to know if you
made the correct choice in purchasing.
Variety Seeking Behaviour
In this case, a customer buys a different product because they want variety, not
because they were dissatisfied with the prior one.
For instance, you would tend to purchase a simple black t-shirt that comes in
different designs from various retailers. The reason is just that you don't want to wear the
same black t-shirt every day. The price of the t-shirt is pretty reasonable everywhere, so
getting three or five of them should not be a problem.
The Nature Of Consumer Behaviour
The study of how individual customers, groups, or organizations pick, buy, use and
dispose of ideas, commodities, and services to meet their needs and wants is known as
consumer behaviour. It refers to the consumer's actions in the marketplace and the
motivations behind those actions.
Marketers expect to be able to decide which products are needed in the
marketplace, which are outmoded, and how best to offer the commodities to consumers by
understanding what motivates people to acquire specific goods and services.
To further understand this, here are some of the nature of consumer behaviour.
Constantly changing
Consumer behaviour is always changing. Depending on the nature of the product, it
undergoes changes from time to time. Children, for example, enjoy colourful and
extravagant footwear, whereas teens and young adults want fashionable footwear, and
middle-aged and older persons choose more comfortable footwear. Several additional
factors, such as a rise in income level, education level, and marketing considerations, might
cause a shift in buying behaviour too.
Varies from one customer to another
Consumers do not all act in the same way. Different consumers will behave in a
variety of ways. Individual characteristics such as consumer nature, lifestyle, and culture
explains why there are different consumer behaviour.
Results in buying decision
Positive consumer behaviour will eventually result in buying decisions. A consumer's
choice to buy a product can be influenced by a variety of factors. As a result of the
purchasing choice, demand will rise, as well as marketers' sales rise. For that reason,
marketers must influence consumer behaviour in order to boost sales.
Varies from item to item
Consumer behaviour will result differently with different products. Some customers
may purchase a large number of one item while purchasing a little or no quantity of
another. Teenagers, for example, may spend a lot of money on items like electronic devices
and branded clothing, but not on academic reading. A middle-aged individual may spend
less on fashionable goods but invest in savings, insurance, retirement funds and more.
Varies From Place To Place
Consumer behaviour differs significantly between states, regions, and countries. The
behaviour of urban customers, for example, differs from that of rural consumers. A large
majority of rural consumers are cautious in their purchasing decisions.
Despite having ample finances, wealthy rural consumers may hesitate to spend on
luxuries, but wealthy urban consumers may take out bank loans to purchase luxury products
such as vehicles and houses. It varies based on one's upbringing, lifestyle, and
developmental stage.
What Are The Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour?
Generally, there are five key aspects that influence consumer behaviour, such as
whether or not a target client purchases a product. Psychological, social, personal, and
economic considerations are among them.
Psychological Factors
Human psychology, surprisingly, is an important component that determines
consumer behaviour. The few psychological factors that influence consumer behaviour are:
Motivation
It is a significant determining element that influences consumer behaviour. Maslow's
theory of hierarchy of needs is a prominent motivation theory in which he constructed a
model that sets the foundation for 5 different levels of human requirements, starting with
psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and ultimately self-
actualization needs. Therefore, when we are purchasing a product, our fundamental and
security needs are often being considered first.
