Consumer MarketsPurchasers and individuals in households

Purchases are for personal consumption, not profit

Business MarketsIndividuals and groups that purchase

products for resale, direct use to produce other products, or use in daily business

operations

Purchasers classed as producers, resellers, government, and institutional

markets

• Buying Behavior– The decision processes and acts of people

involved in buying and using products

• Consumer Buying Behavior– Buying behavior of people who

purchase products for personal use and not for business purposes

Model of Consumer Behavior

What Influences Consumer Behavior?

Cultural FactorsCultural Factors

Social FactorsSocial Factors

Personal FactorsPersonal Factors

Subcultures

Nationalities Nationalities

ReligionsReligions

Racial groupsRacial groups

Geographic regionsGeographic regions

Social Classes

Upper uppersLower uppersUpper middlesMiddle class

Working classUpper lowersLower lowers

Social Factors

Referencegroups

Social roles

Statuses

Family

Roles and Status

What degree of status is associated with various occupational roles?

Personal Factors

Age

Values

Life cyclestage

Occupation

Personality

Self-concept

Wealth

Lifestyle

The Family Life Cycle

Key Psychological Processes

Motivation

MemoryLearning

Perception

Motivation

Freud’sTheory

Behavioris guided by subconsciousmotivations

Maslow’sHierarchyof Needs

Behavioris driven by the lowest, unmet need

Herzberg’sTwo-Factor

Theory

Behavior isguided by motivating

and hygienefactors

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Perception

Selective Attention

Subliminal Perception

Selective Retention

Selective Distortion

LearningChanges in an individual’s thought processes and behavior caused by information and experienceBehaviors that produce satisfying consequences are likely to be repeated.

Consumers learn about products byexperiencing the products personally.gaining additional product knowledge from seller-provided information.indirect information from other purchasers/users

Level of Involvement and Consumer Problem-Solving

Processes• Level of Involvement

– An individual’s intensity of interest in a product and the importance of the product for that person

• Routinized Response Behavior– The process used when buying frequently

purchased, low-cost items that require little search-and-decision effort

• Limited Problem Solving– The process that buyers use when purchasing

products occasionally or when they need information about an unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category

• Extended Problem Solving– The process employed when purchasing

unfamiliar, expensive, or infrequently bought products

• Impulse Buying– An unplanned buying behavior resulting from

a powerful urge to buy something immediately

Consumer Buying Process

Problem Recognition

Information Search

Evaluation

Purchase Decision

PostpurchaseBehavior

Consumer Buying Decision Process• Problem Recognition

– Occurs when a buyer becomes aware of a difference between a desired state and an actual condition

– May occur rapidly or slowly

• Information Search– Internal search

• Buyers search their memories for information about products that might solve their problem

– External search• Buyers seek information from outside sources

• Evaluation of Alternatives– Consideration set

• A group of brands that the buyer views as alternatives for possible purchase

– Evaluative criteria• Objective and subjective characteristics that are

important to a buyer

– Framing the alternatives• Describing the alternatives and their attributes in a

certain manner to make a particular characteristic appear more important especially to the inexperienced buyer

• Purchase– Choosing the product or brand to be bought

based on the outcome of the evaluation stage– The choice of seller may affect the final

product selection.– Factors such as terms of sale, price, delivery,

and warranties may affect the sale.

• Postpurchase Evaluation– Cognitive dissonance

• A buyer’s doubts shortly after a purchase about whether the decision was the right one

– Buyers are mostly likely to seek reassurance after the purchase of an expensive, high-involvement product