Understanding consumer buying behaviour

Why has marketing to consumers become more complicated over the years? The answer is simple. Our understanding of consumer buying behavior is constantly improving, forcing marketers to refine their efforts. And because marketing success largely depends on the ability to anticipate what buyers will do before buying. Before we start analyzing the factors that influence the buying behavior of the consumers, let us have an idea about the forces that influence the buying bahaviour. So let us develop an overview with a description of the buying decision process. Then we need to have the information used by consumers as no information means no decision. After that, let us look at the various social and group forces in the society that influence decision-making, followed by the psychological characteristics of the individual consumer. Finally, it is the situational factor that plays an important role.

Consumers engage in a decision process to deal with the marketing environment and make purchases. The process has six elements: need recognition, choice of involvement level, identification of alternatives, evaluation of other options, decision, and post-purchase behaviour. Though this model is a useful starting point for purchasing decisions, the potential consumer can withdraw at any stage before purchasing. Suppose the strength of the need diminishes or no satisfactory alternatives are available. In that case, the process will come to an abrupt end. It is not uncommon for some stages to be skipped. All stages are likely to be used in a particular situation – for example, when buying high-priced, infrequently purchased items. However, purchasing items of routine nature, such as essential stages like ‘identification of alternatives and evaluation of alternatives’, is mostly bypassed. Some stages may be performed consciously in certain purchases and subconsciously in others. Yet the fact that we spend more time on some purchases and less on others indicates that choice of involvement level is part of the process.

Need recognition: This process begins when an unsatisfied need creates tension or discomfort. This condition may arise internally, or the need may be dominant until it is aroused by an external stimulus such as an advertisement or sight of the product. Another possible source of tension is dissatisfaction with a currently used product.

Choice of an involvement level: Very early in the process, the consumers consciously or subconsciously decide how much effort to exert to satisfy a need. When a need arises, a consumer is dissatisfied with the quantity or quality of information about the purchase situation and decides to collect and evaluate more. These are high-involvement purchases that cover all stages of the buying decision process. On the other hand, if the consumer is satisfied with the information available, the purchase situation is viewed as low involvement. However, all consumers are different. Involvement tends to be greater under the following conditions:

The consumer lacks information about the purchase.

The product is viewed as necessary.

The risk of making a wrong decision is perceived to be high.

The product has considerable social importance

The product has the potential to provide significant benefits.

Identification of alternatives: Once a need has been recognized and the consumer has decided how much effort to exert, both product and brand alternatives must be identified. This may involve a memory scan or an extensive search.

Evaluation of alternatives: Once all the reasonable options have been identified, the consumer should evaluate each choice before making a decision. The evaluation process involves establishing some criteria against which each alternative is compared. The criteria consumers use in the evaluation result from past experience and feelings toward other brands. Consumers also consider the opinion of their family members and friends.

Purchase decision: There are several possible outcomes of the buying process. The consumer, after evaluation decides whether to buy or not to buy. If the decision is to buy, a series of related decisions are to be made. They are features, where and when to make the actual payment, method of payment, how to take delivery, and other issues, if any.

Post-purchase behaviour: Buyers, after purchase, suffer from some anxieties in all but routine purchases. The theory of Cognitive Dissonance explains this state of anxiety. People strive for internal harmony and consistency among their cognitions (knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and values). And any inconsistency in these cognitions causes cognitive dissonance.

Pre-purchase information: Before purchase, consumers must find certain information such as what products and brands are available in the market, what features and benefits they offer, who sells them, and at what prices. Without all that information, there would not be a decision process because there would be no decision to make. The commercial environment consists of all marketing organizations that attempt to communicate with consumers. This includes manufacturers, retailers, advertisers, and salespeople whenever they are engaged in efforts to inform or persuade. The other source is the social environment of family members, friends, and acquaintances who directly or indirectly provide product information. When all the different types of information are considered, it becomes apparent that there is enormous competition for the consumer’s attention. Coincidentally, the consumer’s mind must be an efficient machine to sort and process the barrage of information.

Consumer buying decision at times is influenced by social and group forces. Usually the way we think, believe, and act is determined to a great extent by social forces and groups. Our individual buying decisions and how we evaluate them are affected by social forces surrounding us. The social group has two directions –one to the individual’s psychological makeup and the buying decision process. Here culture plays an important role. Culture is a complex of symbols and artifacts created by a given society and handed down from generation to generation as determinants and regulations of human behaviour. In any culture, subcultures exhibit characteristic behavior patterns sufficient to distinguish them from other groups. A subculture takes on marketing importance if it constitutes a significant portion of the population, and specific purchasing pattern can be traced to it. Immigrants also carry different cultures. Where a social class exists, there are substantial differences among classes concerning their buying behaviour. Because of the diversity, different social classes respond differently to a seller’s market.

The reference group is composed of people who influence one’s attitudes, values, and behavior. Each group develops its own standard of behavior that then serves as guides, or frames of reference, for the individual members. Members share these values and are expected to conform to the group’s behavioural patterns. Consumer behavior is partly determined by the reference groups to which consumers belong or aspire to belong

A family is a group of two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption living together in a household. During their lives, many people will belong to at least two families---one by birth and the other by marriage. The birth family generally determines core values and attitudes. The marriage family, in contrast, has a more direct influence on specific purchases.

Psychological factors influencing consumer behaviour is important for marketers to visualize. One or more motives within a person activate goal-oriented behaviour. One such behaviour is perception, and the others are psychological factors.

Situational influence is also a factor in the determination of a consumer’s buying behaviour. Situational influences are temporary forces that affect behavior in the immediate purchase environment. Marketers should be able to answer some time-related questions. Is it influenced by season, week, day, etc.? They should be aware of where consumers buy, how consumers accept (terms and condition), why consumers buy, and conditions under which consumers buy.

From the detailed discussion above, it may be concluded that a consumer goes through a series of decision-making processes before moving on to a purchase. As such, marketers consider all those aspects discussed before approaching a consumer to buy.

The writer is former Director General of EPB. He can be contacted at [email protected]