Week 8 Notes

Consumer Buying Behaviour

Consumer Buying Behaviour - the behaviour that consumers display in searching for,
purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect
will satisfy their needs.
Consumer Buying Roles
Key Family Decision Roles
1. Initiator – the person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a
particular product or service.
2. Influencer – a person whose views or advice influences the buying decision.
3. Decider – the person who ultimately makes the decision to buy (or any part of it);
this decision includes whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, and where to buy.
4. Buyer – the person who makes the actual purchase.
5. User – the person who uses the product or service.
Buying Behaviour Tasks
1. Problem Recognition – during this stage, the consumer becomes aware of an
unfulfilled need or want. For example, their old laptop may be broken and a need
arises for a new laptop. (**BONUS: RELATES TO “Customer Pain Points”)
2. Information Search – the consumer gathers information relevant to solving his
problem. Example, collection of information about various laptop models.
3. Evaluation – the various alternatives are evaluated against the consumer’s
wants needs, preferences, financial resources etc.
4. Purchase – the consumer will commit to a particular choice and make the final
decision. The choice maybe influenced by price and availability.
5. Post Purchase Evaluation – the consumer evaluates whether the purchase
satisfies their need or not.
Seven Consumer Buying Behaviour Steps
1. Need Recognition
2. Situational Factors
3. Search for Information
4. Pre-Purchase Evaluation of Alternatives
5. Purchase
6. Consumption/Post Consumption Analysis
7. Divestment
Three Factors that Influence Consumer Behaviour
1. Personal Factors – a person’s interests and opinions
2. Psychological Factors – everybody’s response to a particular marketing
campaign will be based on their perceptions and attitudes.
3. Social Factors – peer groups, from family and friends to social media influence.
Four Marketing Theories using Psychology
1. The Decoy Effect – a cognitive bias is the tendency of the human mind to make
inaccurate judgments or believe distortions or other fallacies.
2. Illusion of Scarcity – consumers perceive an item as more valuable or favorable
when they view it as scarce.
3. Loss Aversion – teaches that people would rather avoid a loss than reap a
reward.
Ex. Creating Ownership – When customers feel like they own an item (ie. Try it
for 30 days!)
Ex. Art of Scarcity - Consumers feel like they’re missing out, they buy just to
avoid being the loser.
Ex. Gift with Purchase – more likely to choose an item with the free gift, even if
the value of the gift is less than that of the discount,
Ex. Loss Analysis – the sense of loss a consumer might feel if he or she doesn’t
make the purchase.
4. Reciprocity – a form of cooperation between two or more people that involves
the exchange of something valued between the parties involved.