Consumer behavior is a mix in Marketing
Javier Ramirez
Liberty University
BUSI 520: Strategic Marketing Management
Muriel Wilson
January 9, 2022
Consumer behavior is a mix in Marketing
To ensure stable growth, a business has to meet consumer needs. This means adapting
to emerging trends in the market, understanding ever-changing consumer demands and
needs, experimenting with strategies that work, and continually looking for ways to engage
with consumers and potential clients. To optimize consumer engagement, marketers need
to understand buying behavior, purchase decisions, and other psychological factors. For
this, they rely on reports, data, and surveys. Marketers use this information to align their
strategies and deci What Is Consumer Behavior? What Makes It So Important for
Marketers?
Consumer behavior is a mix of the following:
The psychological study of consumer needs and wants.
Understanding consumer’s buyer behavior and how consumers arrive at a purchase
decision.
Analyzing personality factors regarding how a consumer feels about a brand,
product, or service, and what motivates them to choose one brand over another.
Other than the psychological factors, the consumer decision process arises from social
media, personality factors, and prior customer experience. For example, a young single
woman will choose a hatchback or sedan, instead of a truck, or a minivan, because of
perceptions that a minivan or truck should be driven by a male or someone middle-aged.
sions. Understanding consumer behavior is important for marketers because:
76% of consumers expect companies to understand and cater to their needs and
expectations.
On the S&P 500 Index, organizations leading in customer experience outperformed
organizations that do not take consumer feedback into account.
Marketers need to understand buying behavior, what prompts customers to purchase
particular products and services over others, and what stops them from purchasing certain
products or services or approaching certain brands. The importance of consumer behavior
and the factors that influence it are further explained in this blog:
Some Patterns of Consumer Behavior That Marketers Depend Upon Are:
Complex buying behavior: Where consumers purchase expensive and infrequently
bought products; for example, a luxury car
Habitual buying behavior: For products such as fast-moving consumer goods,
frequently purchased by consumers; for example, tea or coffee
Variety seeking behavior: Where consumers want to experiment with a range or
variety of the same product; for example, flavors of tea or coffee
Dissonance reducing buying behavior: Where consumers continue to purchase
goods or services they already use to lessen the discomfort of choosing new items, instead
of buying something new; for example, buying the same brand of coffee or tea and not
trying something new in the market.
What Are Some Factors that Affect Consumer Behavior?
Psychological—perception, learning, belief
Personal—occupation, economic circumstance, purchasing power
Social—family, roles, status
Cultural—subculture, class
These factors also influence consumer purchase decisions and buying behavior.
What Are the Steps Involved in a Consumer’s Purchase Decision Process?
The decision-making process that a consumer goes through comprises the following
steps:
Problem recognition
Search
Evaluation of alternatives
Purchase decision
Post-purchase evaluation
Satisfaction or dissatisfaction associated with a purchase or consumption affects post-
purchase consumer behavior. The buying process begins with the consumer identifying a
need or a problem activated by internal or external stimuli.
What is Customer Loyalty? How Do You Build Loyalty?
A consequence of consumer behavior is customer loyalty, which is a measure of a
customer’s likelihood to continue to do business with a company or continue to purchase a
product or service as regards a brand. Customer satisfaction leads consumers to make
repeated purchases, which also affects the overall value of the product. Thus, customer
retention and customer acquisition go hand in hand in understanding how deep a
customer’s loyalty is to a brand or a company.
Customer loyalty arises when companies or brands pre-emptively meet consumer
needs and expectations. Loyal customers lead to the following:
Higher conversion rates that increase with time and help a brand increase its public
value and image
Boosts overall company profits
Helps the company effectively plan and unders So what is consumer behaviour and
how does the internet affect this?
Influence: The internet is a strong influence on consumers. Social media channels
impact the way consumers are exposed to products and services today. These channels
study consumer patterns, buying behavior, and psychological tendencies, and generate
relevant advertisements, product pages, and information for consumers just by studying
algorithms. This greatly influences how consumers are exposed to information, which
ultimately affects their consumer knowledge and buying behavior. According to a Deloitte
report, 29% or more consumers are likely to make purchase decisions based on social
media.
Decision-making: The internet affects consumer decision-making thoroughly.
Consumers are more likely to ask the opinions of others through social media channels
regarding products and services. They are more likely to undertake surveys on products,
research things they may need or things that tickle their fancy, and browse through
different websites and pages to understand alternatives for products they may be looking to
purchase.
Safety and trust: Safety and trust in digital marketing are increasing day by day.
Consumers find it easier to purchase online from within the confines of their homes. The
percentage of people making purchases online has drastically increased in the last few
years, owing to safe and secure measures adopted by most sales and marketing agents,
companies, and brands.
To understand consumer behavior by studying data What is the Role and Importance
of Consumer Behavior in Marketing?
Consumers flock to an organization or a brand that not only solves but also
communicates that they solve customer issues in real-time. People are looking to make
purchases that act as investments, rather than frivolously spend money. Most consumers
believe that every purchase they make should ideally give them some value in return.
Therefore, consumer behavior insights are generated based on a brand’s marketing
strategy. Brands rely strongly on studying, analyzing, and incorporating consumer behavior
into their marketing strategies. This includes factors such as, what a marketer should create
for their digital platforms, like blogs and other content mediums, the kind of stories one tells
through their brands such as still and video content, display advertisements, or even how a
brand adjusts their product lines to deliver what the consumer wants.
Collection of Consumer Data through Online and Offline Channels
Companies use various online and offline channels to collect information about
consumers, which is then used as an insight to further a brand, product, or service. What are
some sources of such data collection?
Online sources: Data stored in consumer relationship management systems, third-
party information sourced from secure websites, social media channels, data collected from
campaigns and platforms, website clickstreams, etc.
Offline sources: Contact information, loyalty information, emailers, purchase
histories, etc.
What is Social Intelligence?
Social intelligence is listening to a consumer, understanding what they want, their
needs, and their expectations from a brand as regards product pricing, value, and
utility. How a consumer perceives a brand, even the advertising and digital collateral of a
brand can help businesses increase their profits. Marketers spend money on generating
advertisements, social media campaigns, emailers, etc., to boost sales. However, it’s always
better to hear what a person wants and needs, instead of shooting in the dark. Informed
marketing is a direct result of gauging and understanding social intelligence.
