LECTURE HAND-OUT

MARKET RESEARCH AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

OVERVIEW:
Consumer behavior is the key to making informed marketing decisions. By delving into the
psychology behind why consumers make certain choices, you can create targeted strategies that
resonate with your audience and drive sales.
We are all consumers. As such, we can relate to the innumerable issues surrounding the buying,
spending, utilization, and disposal of commodities. What makes it interesting is that, as
consumers, we all have different ways of looking at things.
Since human behavior is being scrutinized here, the discussion will mostly be from personal
experiences and even of the others.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the session, students are expected to
1. Realize how consumers are unique and how and why they have needs and wants that
are varied and diverse.
2. Demonstrate why consumers have consumption patterns and consumption behavior.
3. Recognize the importance of consumer behavior and its connection with marketing.
4. Appreciate the essence of studying consumer behavior.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Understand what consumer behavior is all about.
2. Identify the nature, scope and application of consumer behavior.
3. Know the evolution of consumer behavior as a field of study and its relationship with
marketing.
4. Learn the interdisciplinary nature of consumer behavior.
QUOTE TO PONDER
“If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough” – Vicki Robin Your Money or Your
Life
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…
1. Lower prices are needed to motivate people to buy.
2. When there is a need, there is a demand.
 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
You have been a consumer since you were young, consuming food, clothing, and shoes
bought by your parents. As you became more knowledgeable, you made your own decisions,
such as choosing which discipline to study, which university to enroll in, and which to attend. In
your current life, you watch movies, buy music, and make decisions about your social life,
including which pubs to frequent, celebrities to follow, political parties to support, sports to
participate in, jobs to work in, and whether to donate time or money to a fund-raising appeal.
You may also decide to be a responsible consumer, buy organic food or environmentally friendly
goods, complain about advertisements, participate in company product development activities,
and engage in masochistic behavior. This world of consumer behavior and the organizational
world is constantly engaging you with technology and services.
Consumer behavior is a central part of your life. It is a changing process where you could
be a user, buyer, seller, influencer and an environmentally conscious consumer during different
stages of your life. You may be involved in the process individually or collectively. You may buy
goods or raffle tickets on impulse. You may buy brands habitually or accept alternatives in an
out-of-stock situation. You may take some time deciding on high-priced purchases, rationally
evaluating the options.
Customers and Consumers
The terms customer and consumer are interchangeably used, but there are trivial difference
between the two in terms of marketing aspect. In the world of business, these words are used
score of times a day.
Key points:
- Customers are considered the ‘king” of business.
- Consumers purchase goods for personal use or consumption.
- Customers purchase and pays for products.
- Consumers are end-users
Can a customer be a consumer and vice versa? The table below best illustrates the comparison
between these two terms.

CUSTOMER CONSUMER
Classification Purchaser End-user
Trading/Selling Maybe in the business of No. It is simply for personal
selling similar products; consumption.
therefore he can purchase it
for whole sale for purpose of
retail selling.
Purchasing Yes Yes – if he bought it for
personal use
No – if it was given by
someone else.
 Purpose Reselling, Gifting, or Consumption
Consumption
Payment Paid by user May or may not be paid by
the consumer – specifically if
it was given as a gift.
Persona Individual or Organization Individual or Group of
People.

To make it short, the customer is the purchaser of goods while the consumer is the end-user.
DEFINING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Before we define consumer behavior, think and imagine the scenario below:
1. You went shopping for cosmetics in a famous department store, say SM Cabanatuan. You
searched some colors and quietly searched for one that would match your skin tone while
the beauty consultant is having a little chit-chat with her colleague instead of assisting
you and giving some suggestions.

2. Jin went to into a half-empty coffee and pastry shop and patiently waited while the
service crew “seem” busy doing everything but take his order.

3. Matthew went into a laundry shop to ask about a missing shirt while the staff was busy
with her cellphone while trying to pretend to listen to his inquiry.

What would be the instinctive reaction?

We can define Consumer Behavior with the illustration below:
Consumer Behavior
For the purpose of discussion, the term Consumer Behavior is synonymously related to the
following jargons:
1. Individual Buying Behavior
2. End-user Behavior
3. Consumer Buying Behavior

Consumer behavior May be defined as the “interplay” of forces that takes place during a
consumption process. Within a consumer’s self and his environment. This interaction takes place
between three elements:
1. Knowledge
2. Affect
3. Behavior

Consumer behavior is both a decision process and a physical activity.

Physical activity – evaluate, acquire, use and dispose goods and services to satisfy ones needs
and desires.
Decision process- consumer behavior starts with pre-purchase activity and ends with post
purchase experience.
The term “consumer” does not only depict an individual but

PERSONAL CONSUMERS
CONSUMER

BUSINESS/OEGANIZATIONAL / INDUSTRIAL CONSUMERS

 Moreover consumer behavior rationalizes the reasons and logic that bring about
purchasing decisions and consumption patterns.
Consumer Interests
Each consumer in us demonstrates preference towards certain commodities and services.
However, as consumers our interests vary. Though somewhat, similar, consumers are unique in
themselves; our needs and desires are varied and diverse from one another; and we have different
consumption patterns and behavior. . While we all want to have what we want and need in life,
circumstances do not make it possible at all times . Generally speaking, we are bounded by
limitations. For most part of it, it is always the case of 2hat our pockets.
The Intelligent consumer
Decides on the basis of the following questions:
1. What to buy
2. When to buy
3. Where to buy
4. How to buy it?
5. How much to spend?
“to buy or NOT to buy?”
NATURE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
1. Consumer Behavior is subjective.
a. Psychological
b. Social
c. Mental
d. Emotional
2. CB is a cycle.
 a. Involves several decision making units
b. It is a dynamic interaction
3. CB undergoes a methodical practice.
a. Involves sensible assessment before procurement
b. The buying process comprise of the following phase:
1) Need identification
2) Information search
3) Alternative evaluation
4) Purchase Decisions
5) Post-purchase evaluations
4. CB is influenced by a number of factors.
a. Personal
b. Psychological
c. Situational
d. Advertising
e. Social
f. Cultural
5. CB varies in consumers’ attitude.
6. CB is “spread effect” factor.
7. CB has a “reflect status” attached to it.
8. CB is subject to change.
9. CB relies on familiarity and discernment of a commodity or service.
10. CB have the tendency to accommodate “Brand Loyalty “
In summary, CB deals with the following related issues:
a. Cognition – “knowledge” part
b. Affect – the “feelings” or emotion part
c. Behavior – the “visible” part