Customer Insights

SESSION III

Learning Outcome:

Understand the key factors that

influence customer behavior
 Assessment Criteria

At the end of this session you should be able to:

• Assess the individual factors and group influences on buyer
behaviour
• Discuss the adaptation of the marketing mix in the context of different
consumer requirements
 Influences on buyer behavior
B2C decision process:

Need Identification

Information Search

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post-Purchase Evaluation
 Influences on buyer behavior
Influences on consumer (B2C) buying:

Personal: Social: Environmental: Psychological:

• Age • Culture • Political • Learning
• Lifestyle • Family • Economy • Perception
• Occupation • Roles • Technology • Beliefs
• Personality • Reference groups • Environment • Attitudes
• Legal • Motivations

Need Information Evaluation of Post Purchase

Purchase
Identification Search Alternatives Evaluation
 Influences on buyer behavior
Influences on organizational buying:

Internal Factors External Factors Interpersonal Individual

• Objectives • Macro Environment • Personality • Experience
• Systems • Micro Environment • Perception • Age
• Structures • Motivation • Gender
• Politics • Beliefs & attitudes • Income
• Risk tolerance

Problem Need Search & Performance

Decision
Recognition Specification Selection Review
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Lifestyle:
This refers to the factors that come together to constitute a person’s distinct mode
of living i.e. how one lives. These factors can include interests, opinions,
behaviours and behavioural orientations, moral standards, and demographic
characteristics.
Marketers will use lifestyle to differentiate market segments and use this to
associate organizations and brands with desirable lifestyle variables in a bid to
appeal to consumers. This approach is commonly referred to as ‘lifestyle
marketing’
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Personality
The American Psychology Association defines personality as the individual differences
in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling or behaving i.e. typical responses (APA,
2019). In marketing, we are interested in the typical patterns that target audiences
display (thoughts, feelings, and behaviours), in response to marketing activities and
personality science can be applied to brands.
According to Kotler and Armstrong, (2010), a brand’s personality is a specific mix of
human traits that may be attributed to a brand, something to which consumers can
relate.
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Personality:
Aaker (1997), defined five key traits in brand personality:
1. Sincerity: Down-to earth, honest and cheerful
2. Excitement: Daring, imaginative and contemporary
3. Competence: Reliable, intelligent and successful
4. Sophistication: Upper class and charming
5. Ruggedness: Outdoorsy and tough
 Influences on buyer behavior
Influences on consumer & organisational buying:
Personality:
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Occupation:
Referring to the job, profession, or role in society that is often associated with
earning one’s living. This will also have an influence on the consumer’s economic
situation
Family:
Loosely referring to a group of people who are associated with each other.
Marketers are interested in the structure, interactions, roles and social positions of
members of a family
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Perception:
Customer perception refers to the opinions of a product/business held by
customers as a result of both direct and indirect experiences with the
product/business. It is made up of the meaning and associations made with all the
elements of a brand. A brand’s icon, name, and logo are the core starting points of
perception and is built over time.
Brands can be differentiated by how customers perceive a brand, what they think
and say about the brand e.g. quality and value. Perception is reinforced by
experience, advertising, word of mouth, customer service as well as endorsement
by credible sources. Perceptual Maps help to plot a Brand’s perception status
relative to competition
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Perception:
Brand Equity:
Refers to the commercial value that derives from consumer perception of
the brand name of a particular product or service, rather than from the
product or service itself
According to Aaker, brand equity stems from several attributes including:
• Brand Awareness
• Brand Loyalty
• Brand Association
• Perceived Quality
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Perception:
Brand Equity:
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Reference groups:
Consist of individuals with common values, interests, and beliefs etc., who
influence the attitudes, beliefs, opinions and behaviours of customers as they often
serve as a point of reference for e.g. inspiration and role models. Reference groups
can be classified as:
• Aspirational
• Associative
• Dissociative groups
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Culture:
This is made up of the values, and ideologies of a specific community or
group of individuals live by and will include those basic values, needs,
wants, preferences, beliefs, attitudes, religious beliefs etc. that are observed
and learned by individuals within the community or group
 Influences on buyer behavior

Influences on consumer & organizational buying:

Opinion formers and leaders:
Individuals who have the potential to influence consumer behaviour of others
within their network. Opinion formers do this through their position (strategic
location), knowledge (competence), and/or regard (personification of values) held
in the network, while opinion leaders receive and pass on information to others
within their network
R
OLs &
SENDER MESSAGE R
OFs
R

Two Step Communication Model with Opinion Leaders (Smith et al, 2011)
 Thank you!

Any Questions?