Organic Cosmetics: Shaping Consumer
Behavior
Introduction
Despite an amazing increase in the number of
products that are supposedly organic but which,
actually, contain synthetic components,
consumers of organic products are increasingly
using these products.
This has made brand owners of inorganic
products face insurmountable challenges in
marketing these products since their products
are competing with products whose prices can
be comfortably lowered without their owners
making losses. This paper uses the theories of
consumer behavior to explain the reason behind
the popularity of organic products among
consumers and proposes the strategies that
marketers can employ to reach more consumers.
European cosmetic facts
The distribution of natural and organic cosmetic
and their demand in Europe have steered an
exponential increase in the volumes of natural
and organic cosmetic sales. Cosmetic companies
are realizing doubled revenues after every year
courtesy of natural and organic cosmetic sales.
This turn can be associated to the consumer
preference shift in the cosmetic industry.
Previously, organic cosmetics were demanded
by people with abnormalities like rashes and
irritation of the skin. However, with time, the
consumers of cosmetic products realized that
organic cosmetics had low levels of substances
that may be harmful to the human body and the
functionality that is characteristic of natural
ingredients in organic cosmetics.
This has been the reason behind the overnight
shift toward consumption of organic cosmetics
(Folkes, 2004, p. 11). Another reason for the
same is the superiority of the quality of organic
cosmetic products from certain companies. An
example of a brand of superior quality is Aveda.
Despite the high growth of the organic cosmetic
market in Europe, individual businesses are not
getting the best out of the prevailing growth.
This is because individual businesses get a low
share of the cumulative sales in the continent.
German and France enjoy a comparatively large
part of the market. This is due to the relatively
good distribution channels in Germany and
public awareness of the dangers of consuming
synthetic products made possible by the media
in France.
The aforementioned characteristic low share of
organic cosmetic sales enjoyed by individual
retailers in Europe has necessitated a revolution
to the approaches used by these retailers to
market their products (Bosmans, 2006, p. 37).
The following paragraphs analyze the reasons
for the popularity of organic cosmetic products
in European markets based on the theories of
consumer behavior.
Understanding cosmetic-consumer behavior
A proper mastery of the dynamics of consumer
behavior is very crucial in the development of
strategies for effective marketing. Traditionally,
owners of cosmetic brands have always had a
good understanding of the habits of consumers.
These habits were based on a number of
parameters which include income, gender, age
and income.
Such knowledge was very instrumental in aiding
them to establish efficient and definite strategies
for attracting consumers of their products
(Desmond, 2003, p. 17). Since the cosmetic
market is popularly known for its virtual rigidity
even during economic recessions, it is apparent
that marketing strategies were central to the
success of these brand owners.
After the global recession that began in 2008, the
cosmetic industry was slightly impacted by the
crisis. It was the introduction of another
economic factor that made the economic
recession have the impact it had on the cosmetic
industry, specifically the organic cosmetic
industry.
This factor was the increment of the public
awareness of consumers about the dangers of
synthetic cosmetics. A survey conducted to
study the impact that the recession had on the
cosmetic industry showed that, during the
recession, a significant number of private brands
emerged. The number of such brands was
increased by the fact that people were migrating
from other industries to the cosmetic industry
since it was the least affected by the recession.
This was due to the fact that even in difficult
economic times, everyone likes to spend on
small things that help in making their lives more
interesting. People are usually interested in
goods that increase their well being, pleasure,
health and the like. This was the reason for the
virtual rigidity of the cosmetic industry during
recession and the rapid growth of the organic
cosmetic industry during and after the recession
since organic cosmetic products are normally
associated with increased well being and health.
The discussed virtual rigidity of the cosmetic
industry together with the resultant increase in
the number of individuals developing personal
brands also led to more public awareness about
the benefits of using organic cosmetic products
and why people should avoid using synthetic
cosmetic products (Osselaer, and Alba, 2000, p.
11). This is one of the reasons why the organic
cosmetic market has been on the rise in the last
couple of years.
As stated above, there was an increase in the
awareness of the dangers facing the usage of
synthetic products in Europe during and after
recession. This led to a massive shift of customer
preference from the use of synthetic cosmetic to
the use of organic cosmetics. After the recession,
the impact of the shift was most felt with an
exponential rise in the total sales of organic
cosmetics in Europe.
Besides the aforementioned dangers of the
synthetic products on the bodies of the
consumers, the products also have a significant
contribution to environmental degradation. It is
indubitable that people are becoming more eco-
aware with time. This makes people be very
selective on what they spend their money on by
considering the effects that the products have on
the environment (Percy, 2004, p. 421).
Thus the integration of environmental concerns
with health and budgetary considerations has
made a number of consumers be dedicated to
using organic cosmetics. In a nutshell
environmental awareness has been one of the
major influences of customer behavior in the
cosmetics industry.
Consumers are spending their money on
cosmetic products that have minimal or no
effects on the environment which is one of the
reasons why organic cosmetic products are
gaining increased popularity among consumers
of cosmetic products. This obviously translates
to more organic cosmetics being bought by
consumers and, therefore, it explains why
organic-cosmetic sales have been increasing in
the last couple of years.
Another reason for the increased popularity of
organic products is the benefits associable with
the use of specific organic products. An example
of such organic products is the organic makeup
that is common in the contemporary cosmetic
markets. The makeup is available in a wide
range of tastes differentiated in terms of colors
and textures. These enable customers to produce
attractive effects after using the products and
also soothe their skin with the natural
ingredients contained in the makeup.
Organic makeup prices are highly variable and
they accommodate virtually all budgets (Braun,
1999, p. 329). This makes the makeup accessible
to a large number of consumers and hence its
popularity. Organic makeup, like the other
organic cosmetics, does not affect the skin
negatively. This gives consumers the chance to
try new products without worrying about
irritations or allergies. This is one of the reasons
why organic cosmetic products are realizing
more sales.
To explain this, it is very easy to make an
informed transition from using synthetic
products to using organic cosmetic products.
This is because the consumer will just buy the
organic cosmetic product that he/she is
interested in and try it out without worrying
about negative effects on the skin/body of the
consumer.
This has, therefore, facilitated numerous
transitions from using synthetic cosmetic
products to the consumption of organic cosmetic
products. In fact, organic makeup is
recommended by dermatologists to people with
skin allergies and/or generally sensitive skin.
It contains multifunctional ingredients that
benefit the skin in different appealing ways like
helping in curing allergies, moistening the skin,
softening the skin etc (Percy, 2004, p. 425). This
is just one of the organic products and the
benefits it has which can explain its popularity.
Other organic cosmetic products are equally
beneficial and this is why the organic cosmetic
industry is growing fast in Europe.
The aforementioned limited market share of
every individual brand owner in the cosmetic
market is a major problem in the cosmetic
industry. Brand owners have resulted in using
brand differentiation and marketing campaigns
to win a better share of the cosmetic market
(Blythman, 2005, p. 16).
The competition is very stiff and thus there is
need for the formulation of strategies that are
capable of achieving good results. Individual
brand owners and companies have therefore
employed different strategies in a bid to woo
more consumers of organic cosmetic products to
their stores.
A number of strategies have also been used to
change the preferences of the users of synthetic
cosmetic products and make them users of
organic cosmetic products in order to increase
the total market share of organic cosmetic
products and consequently increase the market
share of individual brand owners and that of
individual companies (Belk, Wallendorf and
Arnold, 1988, p. 61 – 89).
These efforts have however faced major
setbacks caused by a variety of factors in the
cosmetic market. Let us have a look at the
challenges that these brand owners and
companies face in marketing organic cosmetic
products.
Challenges faced in marketing organic
cosmetics
The cosmetic industry is faced by a myriad of
problems that make the marketing of organic
cosmetic products a challenging task. Most of
these problems are related to the difficulty
associable with the identification of genuine
organic cosmetic products by consumers
(Blackwell, 2006, p. 37).
Since genuine organic cosmetic products have
won unequalled consumer preference, brand
owners and producers of cosmetic products are
misleading the market by using fake
descriptions of their products as being organic.
They do this in a bid to make consumers of
cosmetic products to be attracted to their
products so that they can get a reasonable share
of the cosmetic market.
It is sad that these tricks used by some producers
of cosmetic products have got a good number of
consumers of genuine organic cosmetic products
fooled (Pincus, 2004, p. 380). This has led to a
great difficulty in the marketing of genuine
organic cosmetic products since they compete
with other “organic” cosmetic products which
can easily be offered at low prices. This is one
of the reasons why brand owners of cosmetic
products are getting an increasingly limited
market share of the total cosmetic market.
Due to the above stated fact, consumers of
organic cosmetic products are advised to be
more selective on the products they buy form
cosmetic stores. This will help to make
manufacturers of such fake products grow some
ethical values and it could lead to a more
transparent cosmetic market.
Users and producers of genuine organic
cosmetic products are also advocating for the
introduction of an effective regulatory body in
the cosmetic market to be checking the
authenticity of products claimed to be purely
organic by their producers (Maclnnis, Moorman,
and Jaworsky, 1991, p. 151).
Another challenge that the cosmetic industry is
facing is the lack of adequate regulations and
lack of harmony in the European organic
cosmetic market. The market has stayed for a
very long time without sufficient EU
regulations. As stated earlier, the result of this is
the competition of genuine organic products
with some cosmetic products which are
considered natural/organic because they have a
small proportion of organic ingredients.
This is regardless of the fact that such products
are mainly composed of synthetic substances.
The stated fact has led to the aforementioned
slight decline in the demand of genuine organic
cosmetic products which are the most demanded
of all cosmetic products due to their health
benefits and the increased public awareness of
the dangers of synthetic products in Europe
(Muehling, and Sprott, 2004, p. 29).
Strategies for marketing organic cosmetics
The fact that the organic cosmetic industry is
booming in Europe has made a good number of
brand owners of organic cosmetic products seek
to reap the benefits of the boom. This has led to
a lot of marketing strategies being adopted by
these people and companies in order to give their
products a competitive edge. The following is a
discussion of some suggestions of marketing
Marketers of organic cosmetic products have a
variety of choices for the marketing of their
products. One of the strategies that these
marketers can employ is the emphasis of the
quality of organic cosmetic products in their
campaigns. The marketers can use the variety of
benefits that are associable with the quality of
organic cosmetic products like the ability of
consumers to try new organic cosmetic products
without being worried about the effects they
may have on their bodies (Kotler et al., 2005, p.
15).
Marketers can therefore be carrying free
samples during their campaigns in order to
cultivate interests to prospective consumers of
organic cosmetic products. This will definitely
yield good results since the first-hand interaction
of a prospective consumer of organic cosmetic
products with the products will definitely
achieve a significant level of trust in the
consumer.
This will make more and more consumers join
the organic cosmetic products consuming
community and even make some of the
consumers using other organic cosmetic
products to change to using the goods being sold
by the marketer (Evans et al., 2006, p. 41).
Another strategy that can be used by marketers
of organic to win a better cumulative proportion
of the organic cosmetic consumers is by
advocating for the formation of better regulating
bodies to ensure that every product that is
labeled organic is essentially organic. The
regulating body should set strict rules on the
labeling of products as being organic and it
should be able to identify products which are not
organic but are said to be organic by their
producers.
The regulating body should also be able to
impose tough penalties on defaulters of its laws
in order to force compliance by producers who
are used to deceiving consumers. This way the
competition of authentic organic cosmetic
products with false organic cosmetic products
will be reduced and thus the authentic organic
cosmetic products will have a better share of the
cosmetic market (Perlman, 2009, p. 27). This
will, in turn, increase the share of the market
enjoyed by each individual brand owner of
authentic organic cosmetic products.
Producers and brand owners of organic cosmetic
products should also make sure that they
adequately differentiate their products. This is
because counterfeit organic cosmetic products
are normally designed to be similar to authentic
organic cosmetic products in appearance but
they are inferior in quality.
Thus an approach aimed at differentiating
authentic organic products and stressing the
differences in of authentic and counterfeit
organic products in marketing campaigns will
indubitably work for the best of the organic
cosmetic market.
It will enable these consumers to correctly
identify genuine organic cosmetic products and
therefore the competition posed by synthetic
cosmetic products in the organic cosmetic
market will be significantly reduced (Belk,
1985, p. 271). This will lead to an increase in the
market share enjoyed by individual organic
cosmetic companies and individual brand
owners of organic cosmetic products.
The producers of genuine organic cosmetic
products can also organize a campaign aimed at
creating more public awareness on the dangers
of synthetic products. Since there are many
dangers associated with the consumption of
synthetic products, this will lead to more people
switching from using synthetic cosmetic
products to using organic cosmetic products
(Solomon et al., 2004, p. 24). They can also use
this opportunity to market their organic cosmetic
products which will lead t more customers
demanding their products.
This is because, more and more people are
becoming selective on the products they use in
order to mitigate the effects that their lifestyle
may have on their health (Braun-LaTour, et al.,
2004, p. 17). Therefore, since, the use of
synthetic products poses a threat to the health of
consumers, public education on the dangers of
using these products will automatically lead to
more demand of organic cosmetic products.
The producers and brand owners of organic
cosmetic products can also utilize the internet
which has become the contemporary marketing
tool. A lot of consumers of cosmetic products
and other products are increasingly using the
internet to obtain information related to the
products they are interested in (Braun, 1999, p.
329).
The internet is thus a potential marketing tool for
organic cosmetic products. It can be used to
educate consumers of cosmetic products on the
aforementioned dangers associated with the use
of synthetic cosmetic products and products that
are just marked as organic but which are
essentially synthetic (Peck, and Wiggins, 2006,
p. 13).
Consumers of cosmetic products can be given
clues on the identification of such products so
that they do not get fooled. The internet can also
be used to provide information of organic
cosmetic products so that they get acquainted
with the products and make informed choices.
The internet can also be used to make customers
aware about companies that produce organic
cosmetic products and also make them make
informed choices of the company of their
preference.
They can also be provided with the wide range
of products that organic cosmetic companies
offer in order for them to perform an analytical
comparison of the various brands of organic
cosmetic products (Percy, 2004, p. 421). This
will lead to additional customers and make
companies win dedicated customers.
The strategic use of the internet will, therefore,
help to increase the customer base of organic
cosmetic products and also increase the
individual market share of individual companies
producing organic cosmetic products and that of
brand owners.
Companies producing organic products and
individual brand owners may also conduct
gender-based campaigns aimed at securing more
consumers from a certain gender. For instance,
cosmetic products are mainly consumed by
women. The companies and brand owners may
take campaigns to women audiences in order to
reach more consumers of organic cosmetic
products (Goffman, 1999, p. 23).
Conclusion
Despite the challenges that the organic cosmetic
market is facing, the market has experienced a
significant growth in the last couple of years.
This is particularly true with Europe where there
has been increased awareness on the dangers of
using synthetic cosmetic products. A number of
other factors responsible for the shift in
consumer preference from synthetic cosmetic
products to organic cosmetic products have been
discussed in the paper.
Generally, the organic cosmetic market is
growing in Europe but individual market shares
of individual brand owners are not that
rewarding. This has necessitated the adoption of
various marketing strategies aimed at increasing
the competitiveness of specific brands, brand
owners and companies.
Several marketing strategies have been adopted
in Europe without much success. Producers and
brand owners of synthetic cosmetic products
have increasingly used deceptive means to win
good proportions of the cosmetic market. This
paper has suggested a number of strategies that
can be used to reduce the problem and win a
better proportion of the cosmetic market to
consume organic cosmetic products.
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Blackberry Smartphone Consumer Behavior
Background
This report elaborates consumer purchase
behavior issue related to Blackberry
Smartphone. The report seeks to ascertain the
best marketing strategy that can fit the consumer
behavior in the Smartphone industry.
Blackberry Smartphone store
Market Segmentation
The market for Smartphone should be
segmented based upon the individuals’
purchasing power and the age bracket. The
products should be designed to match the needs
of the respective market segment. For example,
the phones designed for the youth population
should include interactive applications that
facilitate sharing, message sending, reading of
documents, access to internet and sending
photos.
On the other hand, the designs for professionals
should have email functionalities, QWERTY
keyboard and additional business features. Users
must be provided with innovative technology in
addition to style. These features will provide
memorable experience and promote the demand
for the products.
Product Positioning
The Blackberry Smartphone devices are
positioned on grounds of quality, as a company,
RIM offers high quality products that are not
only user friendly but also offer competitive
prices to both business and personal users. The
company enjoys significant competitive
advantages given the global presence of its
stores.
Variables under Study
A number of internal and external variables that
affect Blackberry consumer behavior will be
analyzed. External factors include demographic
characteristics, reference groups, social status,
and family. Internal variables on the other hand
include personality, learning, self-concept,
learning, memory, and motives.
Analysis of the Consumer Decision Process
Description of the External Variables
Demographics
The demographics of its current market
indicates that it targets majorly the middle to
upper income individuals aged from 30 to 35
and working in business and managerial sectors.
The mainstream consumer market presents
significant opportunities that the company can
tap into.
The company can join this market segment
through bringing in and integrating changes
from the consumers’ point of view. The
additional features that the company has
introduced in its smart devices that include
applications like Twitter and Facebook in
addition to multimedia functionalities will
attract the youth segment of the population
including students and appeal to their interactive
lifestyles.
The company should focus its marketing
attention on the young generation who are well
acquainted with social media, technology and
can influence the consumption patterns of their
parents.
Social Status
The demographics for this population are
individuals who belong to the lower to the upper
middle class. To this segment, ownership of a
blackberry device is a symbol of status. They
make use of these devices not only to
communicate, but also to send emails, receive
email notifications, and chat with friends.
Culture
The product targets all cultures because unlike
other products, the use of smart devices is not
strongly affected by culture. The product is used
by individuals across all cultures.
Reference Groups
Many of the individuals falling within the 30-35
age brackets are workers in the middle of the
careers. Their purchase decisions are mainly
influenced by the opinions of the family
members, friends, and peers.
They are equally influenced by the purchase
decisions made by their closest friends and
peers, who refer them to the specific stores
where they bought their blackberry devices. The
group also seeks information from the internet
and social media before making purchase
decisions.
Description of Internal Variables
Consumer Personality: the personality of the
consumer especially that of the middle class has
a significant influence on the purchase
decisions.
Individual perceptions: a personal view of
thins is very important as it dictates how this
population segment interpret the appearance and
feel of the products.
Learning: this population segment can be best
explained by cognitive theory of learning. They
learn through observation by seeing the
purchase decisions made by their closest friends,
family members, co-workers, and peers. This in
turn influences how they behave.
Motives: consumer motives for purchasing a
Smartphone (blackberry) arise mainly due to the
need for self-actualization. Other motives
include the type of customer service extended
and the availability of after sales services.
Memory: past experience on the exemplary
quality of the device influences the customer
purchase decision. The attractiveness of the
stores in addition to ease of navigating through
the stores are equally important determinants of
purchase decisions.
Statement of the Consumer Behavior Issue
Consumers are often confronted with the need to
make purchase decisions on products and
services almost on a daily basis. Some of these
decisions are of utmost importance to consumers
and involve great effort, while others are made
based on impulse.
The view points on decision making vary from
focus on habits that an individual develops to a
focus on fresh events that involve a high degree
of risk where buyers have to carefully gather and
assess information before making choices
(Papaoikonomou, Ryan & Ginieis, 2011).
Consumer behavior issue for this project is ‘how
do consumers make Smartphone purchase
decisions.
The topic is of importance because individuals
no longer base their purchase decisions on a
phone’s functions and features alone. Every
year, Smartphones’ sales increase at a faster rate.
It is important to understand Smartphones’ sales
drivers.
Previously, buyers focused on phones that were
well designed and contained latest technology
features such as GPS, Wi-Fi and high-resolution
camera. However, today, the development of
mobile hardware has been accorded secondary
importance. Today, greater focus is on the
experience that Smartphone offers, the
possibilities that it makes possible and the
specific needs that they meet (Zarantonello &
Schmitt, 2010).
According to GFK Custom Research (2012),
approximately 37 percent of individuals who
own mobile phones in key global markets intent
to upgrade to a Smartphone in their subsequent
upgrade cycle. Similarly, a large percentage of
individuals who use Smartphones (56 percent)
express preference to a particular brand and very
few of them have declared loyalty to their
current Smartphone brand.
Methodology Employed
The project will adopt primary research methods
specifically surveys. Approximately five
students who identify themselves as Blackberry
(RIM) users will be requested to complete a
survey. The questions will be about their
Smartphone preferences and it will take
approximately 5 to 8 minutes to complete the
survey.
Participation will be on voluntary basis and all
respondents are requested to disclose as much
information as possible. The responses gathered
from the survey will be treated as confidential
and all data will be reported in aggregate and not
individually.
Analysis of Consumer Behavior Using
Theory Concepts
In making a decision on whether to purchase a
Blackberry Smartphone or not, consumers
undergo a number of processes that include
recognizing the problem before a consumer buys
a Smartphone, he or she first realizes that there
is a need which the phone will satisfy (Court,
Elzinga, Mulder & Vetvik, 2009).
It is because of this that the consumer identifies
a specific brand (Blackberry) for which s/he has
developed an emotional attachment and s/he
believes the phone can meet the needs identified.
Because of this, people have different brand
preferences for Smartphones namely: Apples,
Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Nokia Symbian
and Android.
Once a customer has developed a brand
preference based on the need s/he believes the
brand satisfies, it becomes very difficult for a
competitor to gain his or her patronage. In
making a Smartphone purchase decision, a
number of factors will influence the individuals
decision.
These include the brand performance of the
Smartphone, availability of the product,
personal emotions, normal depletion and
individual development.
Information search; once the need for the
Smartphone has been identified, the consumer
embarks on the search for information. This is
done both internally and externally to get a
product that can address the identified need on
an ongoing process.
The Smartphone customers develop relevant
criteria for solving the problem. As information
search advances, external information search
tends to gain more importance. Market features
that influence the choice of the product include:
the Smartphones price, availability and
distribution of the companys stores, available
substitutes and price.
Product features for example, the level of
differentiation and the price have a significant
influence on the external search for information.
Evaluating the choices and selecting an
alternative after gathering sufficient information
about the available Smartphones that can meet
the identified need, an evaluation of the various
brands (Apples, Blackberry, Windows Mobile,
Nokia Symbian and Android) is done and the on
e best fit to address the need is selected.
A consumer evaluates the products based upon
the features that can best respond to his problem
and the criteria differs from one consumer to the
other. Smartphone consumers base their
decision criteria on the quality of the device, the
price, the incentives, and the applications it
supports.
Smartphone selection and purchase; the
selection criteria that the consumers employ in
selecting a brand is almost the same with the one
they use in selecting the retail outlet. For many
Smartphone buyers, the manner in which the
products are displayed (store image), the type
and volume of retail advertising significantly
influences the evaluation criteria adopted by the
customer.
Store image does not only include the display of
the Smartphones but also the service delivered,
merchandise, physical facilities, level of
convenience, store atmosphere, promotional
campaigns and the number of clientele.
Smartphone consumes tend to exhibit a
shopping orientation which is the approach the
consumer adopts in acquiring both the non-
purchase satisfaction and brand preference in
different retail outlets.
In some cases, consumers may end up
purchasing a Smartphone brand when in fact
they did not have that plan in mind before they
entered the store. This is called impulse
purchase and this can be the result of the
customer processing additional information
induced by in store attractiveness. With the
brand and the specific outlet in mind, a
consumer makes a purchase of the Smartphone
device.
After purchase process, it is a common
experience that after making some purchases,
consumers tend to question the wisdom behind
the purchase. Whether or not the consumer
experiences dissatisfaction with the product, the
purchase of the Smartphone will most definitely
be followed by use to fulfill the need identified
in the first stage (Keinan & Kivetz, 2008).
However, a negative evaluation may result from
the use. It is at this stage that the marketing
aspects become more relevant. Through a
consistent follow up on how consumers make
use of the product, the company can device new
methods of using their current products, they can
develop catchy advertisements, create demand
for new products, and change their existing
products to conform to the customer
requirements.
Some consumers of Smartphone devices may
not be satisfied with the devices and they may
end up disposing them. When a product fails to
meet the expectations of the consumer post-
purchase, dissatisfaction follows and this will
have a significant influence on how the
individual evaluates his next purchase process.
Because of this, they may decide to take no
action at all, switch between stores, brands or
products or warn their friends about the demerits
of the product. These represent the effects of a
negative purchase evaluation process. Some
companies offer companies some level of
repurchase motivation following a negative
evaluation process.
Recommendations for Marketing Actions
Based on Analysis
Need for Change in the Marketing Strategy
Price; a company that offers the most
competitive prices in the market can capture a
significant portion of the current market share
especially during the hard economic times. If the
prices of Smartphones can be set based upon the
pricing strategies pursued by the competitors,
consumers can benefit immensely.
Place; as noted earlier in the analysis one of the
factors that determine the type of a Smartphone
brand that consumers purchase is the availability
of the product. Because of this, Smartphone
companies must expand their regional, national
and global presence.
Promotion; product promotions influence the
demand for Smartphone devices. For companies
in the industry to capture the market and
convince consumers with their innovative
technologies, they must explore modern ways of
promoting the products to the mainstream
consumer segment (Lee & Liqiang, 2010).
The new marketing styles should be formulated
in a manner that attracts the younger generation
by promoting interactive lifestyle applications.
Product; to effectively market the products and
attract the masses, phones must have detailed
features and trendy. Phones should have
enhanced capabilities that include functions like
multimedia capabilities and redesigning the
phones to attract the consumers and capture
substantial market share.
Penetrating the Market
Producers of Smartphones must focus on
boosting their share in the Smartphone industry
at both consumer and enterprise levels. The
marketing team must formulate strategies aimed
at creating and increasing brand awareness by
selling the benefits of the brand. In the same
way, firms should improve their delivery efforts
and launch more service stations. This will
provide them with an upper hand in entering
new markets and capturing the market share.
Application of the Recommendations to
Blackberry
From the above analysis, it is clear that
Smartphone is a global leader in the cell phone
device industry. Companies like Research in
Motion (RIM) should redefine their target
market from the traditional focus on business
users to include even student customers. By
redefining its target market, the company can
easily increase its revenues.
To achieve revenue expansion, the company
must undertake a number of marketing
initiatives that include repositioning itself to
cater for the diverse needs of the consumers. The
company needs to produce lower-end phones
but with similar capabilities like the high-end
Blackberry Storm that will appeal to the younger
population more so students.
Smartphones are associated with business
professionals who need to communicate quickly
regardless of whether they are on the move or in
the office. However, given the increased
popularity of smart devices and a decline in the
price of mobile technology, Smartphone
companies have been forced to expand their
product lines to include features such as
communication, data transfer and entertainment.
These companies must move ahead and market
the aesthetic aspects of the phones as an integral
component of selling the Smartphones. In
addition, the number of applications that a
Smartphone has dictates its sales market
boundaries.
References
Court, D., Elzinga, D., Mulder, S. & Vetvik, O.
(2009). The consumer decision
journey. McKinsey Quarterly, (3), 96-107.
Gfk Custom Research. (2010). The Smartphone
market is there to be won. Web.
Keinan, A. & Kivetz, R. (2008). Remedying
Hyperopia: The Effects of Self-Control Regret
on Consumer Behavior. Journal of Marketing
Research (JMR), 45(6), 676-689.
Lee, S. M. & Liqiang, C. (2010). The Impact of
Flow on Online Consumer Behavior. Journal of
Computer Information Systems, 50(4), 1-10.
Papaoikonomou, E., Ryan, G. & Ginieis, M.
(2011). Towards a Holistic Approach of the
Attitude Behaviour Gap in Ethical Consumer
Behaviours: Empirical Evidence from
Spain. International Advances in Economic
Research, 17(1), 77-88.
Zarantonello, L. & Schmitt, B. H. (2010). Using
the brand experience scale to profile consumers
and predict consumer behavior. Journal of
Brand Management, 17(7), 532-540.
Consumer Behavior in the Context of
Restaurant Domino Pizza
Introduction
The plan for the day was to have an outing
within town. However, we wanted to
complement the outing with some snacks. We
settled on having vanilla, the ice cream we
realized was only offered at Domino Pizza. As a
matter of fact, Domino Pizza is one of the
restaurants in town that offer variety of fast food
products and a mixture of services. We settled on
Domino Pizza due to the exemplary services
delivery, affordability, and the quality of
services being offered.
According to services consumption, the pre-
procurement phase in the restaurant services
consumption starts from touching the
requirements of the clientele, which continue
through the examination of info, as well as
assessing the available options to the final
decision concerning the procurement of specific
services (Marsden & Littler, 1998). The final
decision to buy the service will depend on the
level of the need of the consumer to buy that
service (Hunt, 2004).
The need awareness
We wanted something that was more of a snack
and suitable for the outdoor outing. Moreover,
we wanted a snack that is fashionable and
affordable according to our pre-planned outing
within the town center. When we were setting
out, we had not decided yet on which restaurant
we will visit or what kind of snack we will buy.
However, we knew that at some point we would
need some snacks. Our need for a snack was not
only aroused by the physical well-being, but also
in the manner by which Domino Pizza has been
advertizing its ice creams on the television
(Shashikala & Suresh, 2013).
The advert claims that it is stylish and
fashionable only when an outing was
complemented with the ice creams.
Nevertheless, our need for the ice cream was
motivated by combined factors. According to
McColl-Kennedy and Fetter (1999), the
consumer needs can be aroused by the physical
well-being or condition of the individual,
aspirations, as well as external sources.
However, we could shift our wants depending on
the situation on the ground and the type of
services the ice cream dealers will provide.
Gabbott and Hogg (2005) argue that fast food
dealers’ knowledge of shifting the attitude of the
consumer offers an opportunity to understand
and meet the changing needs of the consumer.
Information search
Once we already agreed on the ice cream, we
embarked on the search for the type of ice
creams available and the restaurants that offered
such types of the ice creams. The information
search we embarked on was in line with Kim et
al. (2010) assertions that once the customer has
identified the need, he will be driven to search
for information and evaluate the alternatives
before the final decision could be made. In
addition, the recognition that we wanted an ice
cream motivated our search for the resolution.
The process of looking for the best restaurant
that offers the best ice cream is what constituted
our information search (Marsden & Littler,
2008). We were not only looking for the best
restaurant but also restaurants that were
affordable and offered quality services.
Exploring solutions
The fact that we wanted affordable ice creams
that were of high quality prompted us to look for
a restaurant that offered vanilla. Thus, the
recognition of this need motivated us to look for
the best solutions. According to Alba and
Hutchinson (2008), the solution should suit our
need.
We were looking for a restaurant that not only
serve Vanilla flavors but also had better services.
After identifying the need, we began looking for
the best restaurant.
We came up with various options and started to
look for the pros and cons of each restaurant.
The process took some time before settling on
the final restaurant. From the available internet
information, we decided to settle on Domino
Pizza because of its quality vanilla and services
rendered to the clients. In fact, their prices were
affordable according to the amounts we wanted
to spend on the ice creams.
Evaluating various alternative service
providers
Vanilla and other types of ice creams were
served on various restaurants around town.
However, we settled on Domino Pizza because
of its quality and prices. We found out that the
vanilla we wanted was affordable and was
served with candy-coated creams, an extra
flavor that other restaurants did not have.
In addition, the physical environment, the
furnishings of the rooms, the packages, and the
quality of supportive services met our
expectations. Hirschman (2003) asserts that
customers will have to evaluate different service
offerings when faced with various alternatives.
Besides these attributes, we realized that the
restaurant was safer as opposed to what we
expected. Hogg (2004) argues that most of the
restaurant customers are risk averse and will
always prefer safer options.
The purchase decision
We decided to purchase the Domino Pizza
products after we had already assessed the
physical environment including the furnishings
and other attributes such as the prices and the
quality of supportive services. However, prices
were fundamental consideration before making
the final purchasing decision.
We compared the prices of various Vanilla
flavors and settle on the one that was affordable.
According to Hjorth-Andersen (2007), the final
decision to purchase the services comes after the
customers have assessed the performance of the
important attributes of the competing services
providers, the perceived risks, and the predicted
level of the satisfaction with the service. In fact,
the quality of services within Domino Pizza was
beyond our expectation.
The service encounter stage
The stage is amongst the core of the services
consumption experience. In this stage, the
customer experience direct interaction with the
services providers. The duration of interaction
will depend on the type of services being
consumed (Holbrook, 2007). In fact, our
encounter with the Domino Pizza personnel
began from the point we made an inquiry of the
available choices of ice cream flavors. The
decision to buy the Vanilla, a type of ice cream
that we wanted was because of the way the
steward presented herself. The Vanilla was
elegant and was served with candy-coated
creams that explode in the mouth.
Generally, the restaurant personnel, furnishings,
equipment, packaging, and the type of flavors
were beyond reproach. We decided immediately
that this is the place to visit whenever we need
ice creams. The steward serving us decided to
offer another type of vanilla with dried fruit for
free to find if it tasted good.
She explained that they wanted to introduce the
new flavor and the flavor was found only in
Russia. We were so pleased and the flavor tasted
so good that we decided that we would buy
immediately when on sale. In this first visit, we
already developed long-term relations with this
restaurant.
Throughout our stay within the restaurant,
consumption experience was appealing in terms
of the physical environment and the interaction
with the restaurant personnel. As expected,
during the stay in the restaurant, the physical
clues about the restaurant became
distinguishable.
Indeed, everything was appealing. The
equipment and furnishings, the behavior and
appearance of the restaurant personnel were
beyond criticism. In fact, the restaurant has
utilized the “moment of truth” model to ensure
that they provided satisfactory services to their
customers.
Post-encounter stage
In this stage, consumers evaluate the
performance of the experienced services against
their expectations (Holbrook & Hirschman,
2002). In the context of restaurant services, the
affirmation or non-affirmation of the pre-
utilization prospects become indispensable co-
determinants of consumer contentment.
In other words, consumers of the services have
predetermined levels of satisfaction before the
consumption (Holbrook, 2007). The predicted
levels of services are the result of the
information search and choice processes. The
post service satisfaction depends on the pre-
consumption expectations.
Going to Domino Pizza was informed by the
expectation that they offered the best ice creams
around town. Besides, apart from various brands
of ice creams that met our expectations, the
restaurant had the best services. The restaurant
stewards are very fast in their services delivery.
No queues and crowding that characterize the
normal ice cream shops within town. From the
information received from the internet, Domino
Pizza packages are attractive and sparkling
clean.
Within the restaurant, tables, service equipment,
and even the way the personnel presented
themselves are beyond reproof. The expected
extra services Domino Pizza was offering were
drawn from the information that was searched
about the restaurant rooms. In fact, it was
pleasurable to find out that Domino Pizza
offered such services beyond our expectations.
The likelihood that the restaurant will be
revisited and recommended to other students is
high.
Recommendations
Since Domino Pizza has services with high-end
attributes, consumers have difficulties in their
evaluation processes before they make their
purchases (Hudson & Murray, 2006). Most of
the products and services offered by Domino
Pizza have increased amount of acceptance
characteristics that it becomes a problem for
most of customers to appraise before making the
final decision for purchase (Gould, 2005).
Since most of the customers could not evaluate
the products before making purchase, they felt
that it would be risky to buy what they have not
tasted. Therefore, Domino Pizza should
occasionally offer gifts particularly on the new
products they introduce in the market since
customers would prefer going for their usual
brands instead of new brands of pizza.
In addition, the services being offered by
Domino Pizza are high-end and therefore they
are challenging to the customers (Barry &
Howard, 2000). Domino Pizza personnel have
many points in which they interact with the
customers. Therefore, the management should
ensure that the personnel manage these various
points of contact properly to ensure satisfactory
services delivery.
Proper management can be achieved by
developing appropriate services delivery
system. When developing their services delivery
system, Domino Pizza should ensure that the
backstage activities are well coordinated with
the front state activities to increase the
satisfaction experience to the customers.
Domino Pizza should be aware of the shifting
attitude of its customers in order to offer services
that meet their changing needs. Satisfied
customers will make repeat purchases and
recommend such services to other people. In
fact, Domino Pizza should ensure that their
services are pleasurable and surprising, offer
positive disconfirmation, and exceed the desired
levels of their customers.
Conclusion
Restaurants like Domino Pizza should
understand how individuals recognize the need
for services they provide, seek out for alternative
solutions, attend to the apparent threats, choose,
utilize, and experience particular services.
Finally, Domino Pizza must comprehend how
customers assess their services experiences
depending on the perceived outcome.
In essence, managing the behavior of customers
within the three stages of services consumption
is central towards creating value to meet the
needs of customers. In the context of restaurants
that need repeat business, satisfying customers
is vital in building the required long-term
relations.
References
Alba, J. & Hutchinson, J. (2008). Dimensions of
consumer expertise. Journal of Consumer
Research, 13 (2), 411-454.
Barry, T. & Howard, D. (2000). A review and
critique of the hierarchy of effects in
advertising. International Journal of
Advertising, 9(3), 121-135.
Gabbott, M. & Hogg, G. (2005). Consumer
behavior and services: A review. Journal of
Marketing Management, 10(4), 311 – 324.
Gould, S. (2005). Researcher introspection as a
method in consumer research: Applications,
issues and implications. Journal of Consumer
Research, 21(4), 719-722.
Hirschman, E. (2003). Ideology in consumer
research 1980 and 1990: A Marxist and feminist
critique. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3),
537-555.
Hjorth-Andersen, C. (2007). Price as a risk
indicator. Journal of Consumer Policy, 10 (3),
267-281.
Hogg, M. (2004). Anti-constellations: Exploring
the impact of negation on consumption. Journal
of Marketing Management, 14(1), 133-158.
Holbrook, M. & Hirschman, E. (2002). The
experiential aspects of consumption: Consumer
fantasies, feelings, and fun. Journal of
Consumer Research, 9(1), 132-140.
Holbrook, M. (2007). What is consumer
research? Journal of Consumer Research, 14(2),
130.
Hudson, L. & Murray, J. (2006). Methodological
limitations of the hedonic consumption
paradigm and a possible alternative: A
subjective approach. Advances in Consumer
Research, 13(2), 343-348.
Hunt, S.D. (2004). On rethinking marketing:
Our discipline, our practice, our
methods. European Journal of
Marketing, 28(3), 13-25.
Kim, M, Wang, C. & Mattila, A. (2010). The
relationship between consumer complaining
behavior and service recovery: An integrative
review. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 22(7), 975–991.
Marsden, D. & Littler, D. (2008). Positioning
alternative perspectives of consumer
behavior. Journal of Marketing Management,
14(1), 3-28.
Marsden, D. & Littler, D. (1998). Positioning
alternative perspectives of consumer
behavior. Journal of Marketing Management,
14(3), 3-28.
McColl-Kennedy, J. & Fetter, R. (1999).
Dimensions of consumer search behavior in
services. Journal of Services Marketing, 13(3),
242 – 265.
Shashikala, R. & Suresh, A. (2013). Role of
‘servicescape’ in influencing service consumer
behavior: A literature review. ZENITH
International Journal of Multidisciplinary
Research, 3(4), 2231-5780.
Consumer Behavior and Culture
Failures and successes of any business
enterprise depend on the behavior of its
consumers. The behavior of the end-user
consumer affects both the producer of final
goods as well as the intermediaries who
distribute the products from the point of
production to the point of consumption.
Understanding consumer behavior can play a
great role in a business enterprise as it helps
identifying its weak points and reflect on the
positive aspects which can enable it to win the
confidence of the consumers (Sinha, 2012). The
consumer behavior and the purchasing decision
are closely related. Information about consumer
product usage therefore enables organizations to
come up with effective ways of designing their
products (Turner, 2012).
The amount and types of goods that producers
produce depend on the level of consumption of
the consumers. The trends in consumer behavior
have also been known to reflect the performance
of the national economy. When the level of
consumption is high, businesses tend to increase
in size and profitability (Perner, 2010). An
economy that has well performing businesses is
able to realize significant growth. Therefore,
with a high level of consumption in the
economy, the level of economic growth is also
high and vice versa.
In order for business enterprises to increase their
profitability, they need to develop a strategy that
can enable them to market their products to
consumers effectively. Most organizations
devise marketing strategies whose goal is to
enable them understand the consumption trends
in the areas where they operate. In order to
succeed in this process, businesses need to
employ a team of marketers who would focus on
learning about the consumption behavior of
consumers in different markets (Turner, 2012).
When marketers gain a better understanding of
consumers in a particular region, they are able to
give relevant market information to their
organizations. Organizations are therefore able
to make adjustments to the products that they
produce thereby making them more appealing to
the consumers.
Understanding consumer behavior entails
knowing what the real wants of consumers are.
This way, a business enterprise can be able to
design a product that meets the exact needs of its
consumers (Reference for Business, 2012).
Therefore, it is the responsibility of all marketers
to ensure that they take time to understand the
consumption behavior of consumers so that they
can manage to come up with the appropriate
marketing strategies that would assist in
capturing the attention of the consumers. This
way, they would be able to win a large number
of consumers thereby increasing the profitability
of their organization.
Marketers need to understand that the purchases
consumers make are meant to address a number
of problems that face them. Whenever a
customer consumes a product that addresses his
basic needs, he is said to be driven by necessity.
Therefore marketers should analyze the
behavior of such a consumer based on his needs.
However, there is a different group of consumers
who purchase goods based on the attractiveness
of the products. It is therefore true that different
groups of consumers have varying needs and
wants (Delbert, Roger, & Kenneth, 2002).
Based on the different motives for which
consumers demand for goods and services, it is
the responsibility of marketers to ensure that
they understand the unique attributes that
consumers look for in the products that they
purchase.
They should therefore ensure that their
organizations incorporate the attributes that they
observe from the customers in order to make the
products more appealing to the customers thus
increasing the number of sales of the products
(Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2011).
There are certain products that make it difficult
for customers to choose between alternatives
because of similarity in the features of them
(Sinha, 2012). In this case, it becomes difficult
for marketers to sell products to customers since
they are not aware of the exact product features
that are appealing to the customers.
Sellers often find it difficult to sell their products
to customers because they focus a lot of
attention on the products that they desire to sell.
It is therefore difficult for many business owners
to fully understand the reasons why certain
customers remain inclined to specific products
that are offered by other business enterprises.
This issue brings in the need for businesses to
hire marketers who would concentrate on
identifying the reasons why consumers remain
inclined to certain product types (Turner, 2012).
The marketers are able to carry out an in depth
analysis of the various types of consumer
behaviors.
The marketers are also able to give the producer
of a particular product the types of features that
customers look for in a product. The producer
can therefore change the manner in which he
produces his products and instead introduce new
features which seem to be more appealing to the
customers. This makes the sales revenue of the
business enterprise to go up (Reference for
Business, 2012).
However, this would not be possible if a
business enterprise does not take time to study
the behavior of its customers. The marketers of
any type of business can therefore be said to
have a very significant impact in terms of
influencing the consumption pattern of
consumers (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2011). In
the case of the businesses that do not take time
to study the consumption behavior of their
customers, their sales revenue either remain
constant or decrease because of the increased
competitiveness in the business environment.
The consumption pattern of consumers keeps
changing once in a while based on the lifestyle
that people adopt. For example, the consumption
pattern today is not the same as the consumption
pattern that existed in the early 1990s. As
technology advances and people’s lifestyles
change, the consumption behavior also changes.
As a result, marketers should ensure that they
keep abreast with the consumption patterns of
the consumers so that their marketing strategies
can remain relevant to the consumers. This way,
they would be able to implement marketing
strategies that would influence the consumption
patterns of consumers thereby ensuring that the
organizations continue receiving a significant
number of consumers.
This would have the net effect of increasing an
organizations profit margin (Delbert, Roger, &
Kenneth, 2002). By understanding the
consumption pattern of consumers, the
marketers would be able to implement future
marketing strategies that would enable them to
remain relevant in the eyes of the consumers.
The marketers should therefore be able to come
up with effective promotional offers and
marketing tactics which would ensure that their
organization continues to experience significant
growth.
In the world today, organizations are introducing
new products to enable them cope with the
competitive pressure in the business
environment. As a result, marketers are being
faced with the problem of deciding whether they
should introduce new products in the market or
whether they should keep up with their current
products.
When organizations realize that there is an
increase in the competitive pressure because of
the introduction of new products in the market,
they start carrying out market surveys aimed at
determining whether the introduction of a new
product would be effective in raising their profit
margins (Sinha, 2012).
Marketers therefore carry out a study of the
consumer’s buying behavior in order know
whether the introduction of a new product would
be welcome by the consumers. Therefore, when
marketers carry out a study of consumers’
behaviors, they are able to determine whether
the introduction of a new product would be
effective in meeting the needs of the consumers.
Therefore, if consumers are observed to make
purchases of a particular product regularly,
marketers get to understand the consumption
habits of the consumers. Once consumers
demonstrate that they have an interest in a
particular product, it is time for the marketers to
introduce a new product in the market (Agadoni,
2012).
A company may lose its reputation as a result of
engaging in the production of goods that are
unfriendly to the customers. In order for such an
organization to earn a good reputation, it should
hire marketers whose goal would be to ensure
that they conduct a study of the products that
seem to be more appealing to the consumers.
The producing firm can therefore manage to
come up with a strategy that would enable it to
produce products which would meet the needs
of consumers adequately (Agadoni, 2012). The
company can therefore be able to provide quality
goods to its customers thereby enabling it to be
in line with its mission statement.
In any country, there exist people who come
from different cultures. There are people who
consume certain products whereas it is a taboo
for other communities to consume the same
products. It is therefore the responsibility of a
business enterprise to ensure that the goods
being marketed to a particular society are
acceptable.
Therefore, before marketing any products in any
society, it is important for marketers to ensure
that they fully understand the product
preferences of the members of that particular
community (Blythe, 2008). After a critical study
of the consumers, the marketers would be able
to understand the type of products to offer to the
society in order to ensure that they increase their
customer base significantly.
Therefore, it is true that marketers are capable of
providing a business enterprise with an
understanding of the types of products that
should be offered to certain communities (Lamb,
Hair, & McDaniel, 2011). This way, the level of
demand would be high in such communities
thereby increasing the overall profitability of the
business enterprise.
Products that can meet the needs of consumers
effectively are very important. In this
perspective, it is true that most consumers
demand for goods and services in order for them
to survive. Other reasons why consumers
demand for goods and services include prestige,
security, or love.
For example, the promotion of women’s
perfumes implies that women are likely to
receive love if they use the perfumes. This is the
same case with the advertisement of men’s
cologne. In addition, prestige products are
treated as very important by marketers.
Marketers convince consumers that the products
are important by giving the products bold
advertisements (Blythe, 2008). Most prestige
products are charged high prices.
Therefore, when luxury products are sold at
expensive prices, the consumers give them more
significance by assuming that they are of high
quality. Marketers therefore need to ensure that
they are proficient in marketing tactics and in
analyzing consumer behavior in order to know
which products they should offer at expensive
prices and which products they should sell at
cheaper prices
It is important for marketers to understand
consumer’s psychology in order to know why
they buy certain products. There are instances
when marketers need to know the reasons why
consumers purchase certain products. This is in
order for them to know whether they can be able
to influence the buying pattern of consumers
(De-Mooij, 2010).
When marketers engage in the study of
consumer behavior, they get to understand that
there are those people who buy products out of
the influence of other people while there are
people who buy products in order to satisfy
themselves.
For example, a shoe company that wishes to
successfully market its products to consumers
who wish to satisfy their own needs would
mostly advertise about the comfort that the shoes
would offer the customer. However, in the case
where a company wishes to market its products
to those people whose buying decisions are
influenced by the decisions of others, the
company can tell the consumers about how good
they would look by wearing the shoes (De-
Mooij, 2010).
The shoes should therefore be displayed
differently in stores so that the different types of
consumers can be able to easily identify the
shoes that meet their needs adequately. In
addition, since the green movement is gaining
momentum, the marketing strategies that
organizations adopt will have to reflect more on
environmentally friendly lifestyles in order to
influence the purchasing decisions of
consumers.
Reference List
Agadoni, L., 2012, Why Do Marketers Need to
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2002, Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing
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De-Mooij, M., 2010, Consumer Behavior and
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