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1. Culture – This refers to the general or overall

culture of group of people. For instance, there is a
thing called as Filipino culture, but there are also
distinct, cultural behaviors within and among sub-
cultures of the Filipino culture. These differences,
however , lead to distinct tastes and preferences for
products and services.

2. Social factors – This is all about the norms of

behavior among even smaller groups, namely the
social groups where a consumer belongs to. The
market many also look up to certain groups that they
want to dissociate from. All these affect the market’s
behavior in terms of deciding on what they should
wear, what should they eat, who to aspire to be like,
where to go and more.
3. Personal factors - Aside from external social
factors, the demographic of the individual also affect the
manner by which products and services are viewed and
treated. The and preferences of younger people will be
different from that of more senior individuals. Men and
women tend to look so different things on many types of
products. Disposable income defines what people can and
cannot buy, while physical location limits access to
services.

4. Psychological factors – This is how an individual

behaves and behavior is a very intimate thing. It is the
result of how we raised, who we interact with, what our
histories are, and much more. This includes our personal
preferences, opinions, and overall behavior.
Income vs. Socio-Economic Class
First of all there is income which is a personal demographic
factor then there is socio-economic class, which is a social factor.
They may seem to refer to the same thing, they are quite different.
Income is a large number. It answers “ How much did you ear”.

On the other hand, socio economic class or SEC is an indicator

of the financial group that consumer feels he or she belongs to.

Age vs. Lifecycle

In the same token that income is a number while SEC is a way
of life, the same can be said for age as compared to one’s lifecycle
stage. Age is just a number, whereas where consumers currently are
in their lifecycle pretty much determine what products and services
they will likely spend on.
Buying Roles
You buy products for yourself. But you also buy products for
other people in which case you are merely functioning as the buyer
while someone else are up using it. In fact, there are five generally
identified roles in the buying person:

• Initiator - This is the person who first suggest the idea of buying a
particular product or service.

• Influencer – These people’s views or advices can influence the

consumer what to buy.

• Decider – The person (or persons) who ultimately has the final
decision what to buy.

• Buyer – The person who makes the actual purchase.

• Users – The person or persons who end up actually using the
product.
Types of Buying Roles
• Complex buying behavior – arise for important purchases where
there are so many different features and attributes with each brand
having different manifestations of each feature. A consumer undertakes a
lot of searching and analyzing before any purchase happens.

• Dissonance reducing behavior – occurs when a consumer

wants to begin with simple and yet the risks faced with the buying
decision for an important product are perceived to be high. The
consumer may therefore resort to decision of living simply life, such as
buying the brand that most people choose, relying and decisions of a
trusted friend, or relying on the word of the salesperson.

• Variety-seeking behavior – occurs when the product involves

minimal evaluation but there are so many choices, each with its own
features and attributes consumer may opt to try each product at least
once, leading to the trying of a multiple products.
• Habitual buying behavior – happens when consumers feel that
learning about the different competing products is not worth it, so
they would rather select the product that they are most comfortable
with. This is the outcome that is hoped for many fast-moving
consumer goods, such as personal care products, that seek to make
consumers buy their products out of habit.

Emotional vs. Logical Decisions

We would like to think that all our purchases are the result of rational
and logical decisions on our part. But this is not necessarily true.

We have two brains. One is an emotion-driven brain that we

have inherited from out ancestors and it is highly attuned to our
sensory experiences. The other is our logical brain which is rational,
very objective and with which we hope and assume manages to control
all of our decision-making.
 Personal Determinants Of Consumer Behavior
Need and Motives - Individual purchase behavior is driven by the
motivation to fill a perceived need.

Motives are inner states that direct a person toward the goal of
satisfying a need.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

1. Physiological needs - these are biological requirements for human
survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sleep.
If these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot function optimally.
Maslow considered physiological needs the most important as all the
other needs become secondary until these needs are met.

2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability,

freedom from fear.

3. Love and belongingness needs - after physiological and safety

needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human needs is social and
involves feelings of belongingness. The need for interpersonal
relationships motivates behavior
Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving
and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family,
friends, work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two categories: (i)
esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and
(ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status,
prestige).
Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most
important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or
dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-
fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. A desire “to
become everything one is capable of becoming”.

Perceptions
Perceptions is the meaning that a person attributes to incoming stimuli
gathered through the five senses- sight ,hearing ,touch , smell and taste.
Certainly a buyer’s behavior is influenced by his or her perceptions of a
good or service.
• Stimulus factors- characteristics of the physical object such as size,
color, weight, and shape.
• Individual factors- unique characteristics of individual, including not
only sensory processes but also experiences with similar inputs and
basic motivations and expectations.
Attitudes – Perceptions of incoming stimuli is greatly affected by
attitudes. In fact a consumers decision to purchase an item is
strongly based on his or her attitudes. Attitudes are a person’s
enduring favorable and unfavorable evaluations, emotions and
actions toward some objects or ideas

Attitude Components
• Cognitive
• Affective
• Behavioral components