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Running Head: CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

Name:

Institutional Affiliation:

Date:
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Consumer Buying Process and Organizational Buying Process

Describe the different tastes, needs, and customs of your intended customers.

Entry to the Chinese market has been a challenging one for the American and

European companies of all sizes (Cravens & Piercy, 2006). The Chinese economy has

continued to rise by double-digit rates over the last couple of decades despite hard economic

environments in Europe and the United States. With the country on the edge to bypass the

U.S as the second largest global economy by 2020, and China is predetermined to remain the

international growth engine for the years to come. Within China, quickly changing

population, increasing revenues, increased customer spending, and open business climates

have all ensured the markets in China remain attractive to the businesses of the United States

across different industries. While it is a reality that China is representing a huge potential for

our business, it is vital for the management of the company to comprehend where to invest.

According to surveys conducted by the government bodies, the Chinese expenditures in fast

foods are in the continuous increase. According to 2017 surveys, the spending on fast foods is

on the rise. The Chinese have a preference for fast foods such as potato chips. In general,

over the past five years, there have been improvements in the fast food industry. More

establishments of food courts and centers of healthy food have been seen in China (Hair et al.

2008). Most of the citizens of China love window shopping. As they walk around shopping

or retail malls and shops, they have to eat fast food and this would enable us to expand our

company in China. Chinese workers in the offices no longer carry packed food. Therefore,

they opt for fast foods such as potato chips in their vicinity.

Would these differences be consistent or different among multiple countries in a geographic

region? Explain why.

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These differences would remain consistent among different nations in geographic

regions because different countries have different cultures and consumer behaviors (Cravens

& Piercy, 2006). In some nations prefer fast foods while in other countries, such foods are

viewed as unhealthy. Guardians, as well as parents, offer more money to their children to buy

lunch. Fast foods are majorly the choice of these students due to brand building efforts that

primary target the youthful population. For most Chinese, eating out still remains a common

habit of life (Hair et al. 2008). The Chinese do not view fast foods as luxuries. Chinese enjoys

taking the members of the family and during such outings, they consume fast foods.

Therefore, our company can basically target the Chinese market, especially the youthful

demography.

Explain how culture influences the way consumers view the different attributes of a product.

Also, explain how the culture in which individuals are raised has an impact on the products

they buy. How can a seller use culture to sell a product successfully? Provide two examples

showing how culture influences the purchasing process.

Businesses which are expanding are often on the search for new opportunities, some of which

present themselves in new nations. Growth and diversification of the products may require

the company to introduce a new product on an international level (Cravens & Piercy, 2006).

To establish an effective strategy of marketing, a firm must consider the cultural influences of

the community where the new products are being launched. The consumers make choices

about product consumptions based on cultural factors.

Cultural Values

Society values dictate the unacceptable and acceptable behaviors are. Certain nations, like the

U.S, are more individualistic. The citizens of the United States make buying decisions based
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on individual preferences (Hair et al. 2008). In other nations, like Japan, consumers tend to

make buying decisions based on group welfare like the families. The ways these play out in

the strategies of marketing is that group advertising works better in nations with collective

group values while ads concentrated on individuals work better on the individualistic nations.

Symbols and Symbolism

Symbols related to the cultural influences include both unspoken and spoken language.

Language is a cultural pride symbol. Cultures may need to preserve their particular cultural

heritages while certain foreign influences could be acceptable (Cravens & Piercy, 2006). The

marketer would have to comply with the advertising in such nations into symbols of language

acceptable to that specific nation population. Other culture symbols forms include music,

dance, drama, and folklore.

Rituals

A ritual is a behavior pattern which is learned and repeated. Ritual plays a significant role in

the way events of life such as funerals, graduations, marriages, and births are carried out in

various cultures (Hair et al. 2008). Life is also full of smaller rituals like having dinner on a

particular day at your favorite hotel or viewing TV shows at a specific time. Ritual plays

significant roles in the strategies of marketing as they concentrate on the everyday

interactions of the consumers and the way the interactions shall play into selling and

promotions of services or products.

Thought process

Thought process could differ among various cultures. This may influence the manner a

strategy of marketing is viewed. Individuals who are part of a given culture could accept the

entire photo in advertisements and be able to account particular information of what they
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have observed (Cravens & Piercy, 2006). They can even report things on the backgrounds.

The people from a different culture only view and identify with the major figures. They

ignore items in the background. This would influence the manner marketers to present their

messages based on cultural processes of thought.

References

Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. (2006). Strategic marketing (Vol. 7). New York, NY: McGraw-

Hill.

Hair, J. F., Celsi, M., Ortinau, D. J., & Bush, R. P. (2008). Essentials of marketing research.

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Higher Education.