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Home , Consumer behaviour

Factors influencing behaviour

Pinki Rani*

Institute of Law Kurukshetra, University Kurukshetra, India Corresponding author

KEYWORDS A B S T R A C T

Toxoplasma, Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate Pregnancy, consumer. Many factors, specificities and characteristics influence the Diagnosis, individual in what he is and the consumer in his decision making process, Treatment shopping habits, purchasing , the he buys or the retailers he goes. A purchase decision is the result of each and every one of these factors. An individual and a consumer is led by his , his , his , his membership groups, his , his , his psychological factors, etc.. and is influenced by cultural trends as well as his social and societal environment.By identifying and understanding the factors that influence their customers, brands have the opportunity to develop a strategy, a message (Unique Value Proposition) and campaigns more efficient and more in line with the and ways of thinking of their target , a real asset to better meet the needs of its customers and increase sales.

Introduction

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the and acts of people involved in buying and buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer. using products. to understand the Many factors, specificities and concept is characteristics influence the individual in what he is and the consumer in his decision Why consumers make the purchases making process, shopping habits, purchasing behavior, the brands he buys or the retailers that they make? he goes. A purchase decision is the result of each and every one of these factors. An What factors influence consumer individual and a consumer is led by his purchases? culture, his subculture, his social class, his membership groups, his family, his The changing factors in our society. p e r s o n a l i t y , his psychological factors, etc..

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and is influenced by cultural trends as well their impact is essential as as his social and societal environment. strategies can be developed to appeal to the preferences of the target market. By identifying and understanding the factors that influence their customers, brands have When purchasing any product, a consumer the opportunity to develop a strategy, a goes through a decision process. This marketing message (Unique Value process consists of up to five stages: Proposition) and advertising campaigns Stage 1: problem recognition, more efficient and more in line with the Stage 2: information search, needs and ways of thinking of their target Stage 3: evaluation of alternatives, consumers, a real asset to better meet the Stage 4: purchase decision needs of its customers and increase sales. Stage 5: post purchase behaviour.

Consumer behavior refers to the selection, The length of this decision process will vary. purchase and of goods and A consumer may not act in isolation in the services for the satisfaction of their wants. purchase, but rather may be influenced by There are different processes involved in the any of several people in various roles. The consumer behavior. Initially the consumer number of people involved in the buying tries to find what he would like decision increases with the level of to consume, then he selects only those involvement and complexity of the buying commodities that promise greater . decision behaviour. After selecting the commodities, the Consumer s buyer behaviour and the consumer makes an estimate of the available resulting purchase decision are strongly money which he can spend. Lastly, the influenced by cultural, social, personal and consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of psychological characteristics. An commodities and takes the decision about understanding of the influence of these the commodities he should consume. factors is essential for marketers in order to Meanwhile, there are various other factors develop suitable marketing mixes to appeal influencing the purchases of *Pinki Rani, to the target customer. Assistant, LIC, Kurukshetra. Cultural Factors - Culture and societal Consumer such as social, cultural, personal environment and psychological. The explanation of these factors is given below. Culture is crucial when it comes to understanding the needs and of an Consumer s buyer behaviour is influenced individual. Basically, culture is the part of by four major factors: every society and is the important cause of 1) Cultural, person wants and behavior. The influence of 2) Social, culture on buying behavior varies from 3) Personal, country to country therefore marketers have 4) Psychological. to be very careful in analyzing the culture of different groups, regions or even countries. These factors cause consumers to develop Throughout his existence, an individual will product and preferences. Although be influenced by his family, his friends, his many of these factors cannot be directly cultural environment or society that will controlled by marketers, understanding of teach him values, preferences as well as

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common behaviors to their own culture. For cosmetics has greatly expanded. These are a brand, it is important to understand and products more suited to non-Caucasian take into account the cultural factors populations and to types of skin inherent to each market or to each situation pigmentation for African, Arab or Indian in order to adapt its product and its populations for example. . As these will play a role in the , habits, behavior or It s a real brand with a well- expectations of consumers. defined target in a sector that only offered makeup products to a Caucasian target until For example, in the West, it is common to now (with the exception of niche brands) invite colleagues or friends at home for a and was then receiving critics from drink or dinner. In Japan, on the contrary, consumers of different origin. Brands often invite someone home does not usually fit communicate in different ways, sometimes into the local customs. It is preferable to do even create specific products (sometimes that this kind of outing with friends or without significant intrinsic difference) for colleagues in restaurant. the same type of product in order to specifically target an age group, a gender or While if a Japanese offer you a gift, the a specific sub-culture. Consumers are courtesy is to offer him an equivalent gift in usually more receptive to products and return. McDonald s is a brilliant example of marketing strategies that specifically target adaptation to the specificities of each culture them. and each market. Well aware of the importance to have an offer with specific Social classes products to meet the needs and tastes of consumers from different , the fast- Social classes are defined as groups more or food giant has for example: a McBaguette in less homogenous and ranked against each France (with french baguette and Dijon other according to a form of social mustard), a Chicken Maharaja Mac and a hierarchy. Even if it s very large groups, we Masala Grill Chicken in India (with Indian usually find similar values, lifestyles, spices) as well as a Mega Teriyaki Burger interests and behaviors in individuals (with teriyaki sauce) or Gurakoro (with belonging to the same social class. Every macaroni gratin and croquettes) in Japan. society possesses some form of social class which is important to the marketers because Sub-cultures the buying behavior of people in a given social class is similar. In this way marketing A society is composed of several sub- activities could be tailored according to cultures in which people can identify. different social classes. Some studies have are groups of people who share also suggested that the social perception of a the same values based on a common brand or a retailer is playing a role in the experience or a similar lifestyle in general. behavior and purchasing decisions of Each culture contains different subcultures consumers. In addition, the consumer such as religions, nationalities, geographic buying behavior may also change according regions, racial groups etc. Marketers can use to social class. A consumer from the lower these groups by segmenting the market into class will be more focused on price. While a various small portions. For example in shopper from the upper class will be more recent years, the segment of ethnic attracted to elements such as quality,

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innovation, features, or even the social products and brands. For example if the benefit that he can obtain from the product. product is visible such as dress, shoes, car etc then the influence of reference groups Cultural trends will be high. Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who influences Cultural trends or Bandwagon effect are other because of his special skill, knowledge defined as trends widely followed by people or other characteristics). and which are amplified by their mere popularity and by conformity or compliance More generally, reference groups are with social pressure. The more people defined as those that provide to the follow a trend, the more others will want to individual some points of comparison more follow it. or less direct about his behavior, lifestyle, desires or consumer habits. They influence For example, Facebook has become a the image that the individual has of himself cultural trend. The social network has as well as his behavior. Whether it is a widely grew to the point of becoming a must membership group or a non-membership have, especially among young people. group. Because the individual can also be influenced by a group to which he doesn t It is the same with the growth of the tablet belong yet but wishes to be part of. This is market. Tablets such as i-Pad or Galaxy Tab called an aspirational group. This group will have become a global cultural trend leading have a direct influence on the consumer many consumers to buy one. who, wishing to belong to this group and look like its members, will try to buy the Social Factors same products.

It includes groups (reference groups, For example, even if he doesn t need it yet, aspirational groups and member groups), a surfing beginner may want to buy family, roles and status. This explains the advanced brands or products used by outside influences of others on our purchase experienced surfers (aspirational group) in decisions either directly or indirectly. Social order to get closer to this group. While a factors are among the factors influencing teen may want the shoe model or smart consumer behavior significantly. They fall phone used by the group of popular guys into three categories: reference groups, from his high school (aspirational group) in family and social roles and status. order to be accepted by this group. Some brands have understood this very well and Reference groups and membership communicate, implicitly or not, on the groups social benefit provided by their products.

The membership groups of an individual are Within a reference group that influences the social groups to which he belongs and which consumer buying behavior, several roles will influence him. The membership groups have been identified: are usually related to its social origin, age, place of residence, work, hobbies, leisure, The initiator: the person who etc. Reference groups have potential in suggests buying a product or forming a person or behavior. The The influencer: the person whose impact of reference groups varies across point of view or advice will

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influence the buying decision. It may Social roles and status be a person outside the group (singer, athlete, actor, etc..) but on The position of an individual within his which group members rely on. family, his work, his country club and his The decision-maker: the person group of friends etc. All this can be defined who will choose which product to in terms of role and social status. A social buy. In general, it s the consumer but role is a of attitudes and activities that an in some cases it may be another individual is supposed to have and do person. For example, the leader of according to his profession and his position a soccer supporters group at work, his position in the family, his (membership group) that will define, gender, etc. and expectations of the people for the whole group, which around him.. supporter s scarf buy and bear during the next game. For example, a consumer may buy a Ferrari The buyer: the person who will buy or a Porsche for the quality of the car but the product. Generally, this will be also for the external signs of social success the final consumer. that this kind of cars represents. Moreover, it is likely that a CEO driving a small car like Family a Ford Fiesta or a Volkswagen Golf would be taken less seriously by its customers and The family is maybe the most influencing partners than if he is driving a factor for an individual. It forms an German luxury car. And this kind of environment of socialization in which an behaviors and influences can be found at individual will evolve, shape his personality, every level and for every role and social acquire values. But also develop attitudes status. Again, many brands have understood and opinions on various subjects such as it by creating an image associated with their politics, society, social relations or himself products reflecting an important social role and his desires. Buyer behavior is strongly or status. influenced by the member of a family. Therefore marketers are trying to find the Personal factors roles and influence of the husband, wife and children. If the buying decision of a It includes such variables as age and particular product is influenced by wife then lifecycle stage, occupation, economic the marketers will try to target the women in circumstances, lifestyle (activities, interests, their advertisement. opinions and demographics), personality and self concept. These may explain why our Here we should note that buying roles preferences often change as our `situation' change with change in consumer lifestyles. changes. Decisions and buying behavior are For example, if you have never drunk Coke obviously also influenced by the during your childhood and your parents have characteristics of each consumer. described it as a product full of sugar and not good for health . There is far less chance Age and way of life that you are going to buy it when you will grow up that someone who drinks Coke A consumer does not buy the same products since childhood. or services at 20 or 70 years. His lifestyle, values, environment, activities, hobbies and

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consumer habits evolve throughout his life. The lifestyle of a consumer will influence on Age and life-cycle have potential impact on his behavior and purchasing decisions. For the consumer buying behavior. It is obvious example, a consumer with a healthy and that the consumers change the purchase of balanced lifestyle will prefer to eat organic with the passage of time. products and go to specific grocery stores, Family life-cycle consists of different stages will do some jogging regularly (and such young singles, married couples, therefore will buy shoes, clothes and unmarried couples etc which help marketers specific products), etc. to develop appropriate products for each stage. For example, during his life, a Personality and self-concept consumer could change his diet from unhealthy products (fast food, ready meals, Personality is the set of traits and specific etc.) to a healthier diet, during mid-life with characteristics of each individual. It is the family before needing to follow a little later product of the interaction of psychological a low cholesterol diet to avoid health and physiological characteristics of the problems. individual and results in constant behaviors. It materializes into some traits such as The factors influencing the buying decision confidence, sociability, autonomy, charisma, process may also change. For example, the ambition, openness to others, shyness, social value of a brand generally plays a curiosity, adaptability, etc. While the self- more important role in the decision for a concept is the image that the individual has consumer at 25 than at 65 years. The family or would like to have of him and he life cycle of the individual will also have an conveys to his entourage. For example, since influence on his values, lifestyles and its launch, Apple cultivates an image of buying behavior depending whether he s innovation, creativity, boldness and single, in a relationship, in a relationship singularity which is able to attract with kids, etc. as well as the region of the consumers who identify to these values and country and the kind of city where he lives who feel valued in their self-concept by (large city, small town, country side, etc.) buying a product from Apple. For a brand or a retailer, it may be interesting to identify, understand, measure Occupation The occupation of a person has and analyze what are the criteria and significant impact on his buying behavior. personal factors that influence the shopping For example a marketing manager of an behavior of their customers in order to will try to purchase business adapt. For example, it is more than possible suits, whereas a low level worker in the that consumers living in New York do not same organization will purchase rugged have the same behavior and purchasing work clothes. habits than the ones in Nebraska. For a retailer, have a deep understanding and Economic Situation adapt to these differences will be a real asset Consumer economic situation has great to increase sales. influence on his buying behavior. If the income and savings of a customer is high Lifestyle then he will purchase more expensive products. On the other hand, a person with The lifestyle of an individual includes all of low income and savings will purchase its activities, interests, values and opinions. inexpensive products.

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Lifestyle want to satisfy it. It is usually working at a subconscious level and is often difficult to Lifestyle of customers is another import measure. The level of also factor affecting the consumer buying affects the buying behavior of customers. behavior. Lifestyle refers to the way a Every person has different needs such as person lives in a society and is expressed by physiological needs, biological needs, social the things in his/her surroundings. It is needs etc. The nature of the needs is that, determined by customer interests, opinions, some of them are most pressing while others activities etc and shapes his whole pattern of are least pressing. Therefore a need becomes acting and interacting in the world. a motive when it is more pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction. Motivation is Personality directly related to the need and is expressed in the same type of classification as defined Personality changes from person to person, in the stages of the consumer buying time to time and place to place. Therefore it decision process. To increase sales and can greatly influence the buying behavior of encourage consumers to purchase, brands customers. Actually, Personality is not what should try to create, make conscious or one wears; rather it is the totality of behavior reinforce a need in the consumer s mind so of a man in different circumstances. It has that he develops a purchase motivation. He different characteristics such as: , will be much more interested in considering aggressiveness, self-confidence etc which and buy their products. They must also, can be useful to determine the consumer according to research, the type of product behavior for particular product or service. they sell and the consumers they target, pick out the motivation and the need to which Pschological factors their product respond in order to make them appear as the solution to the consumers It affecting our purchase decision includes need. motivation (Maslow's hierarchy of needs), perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes. Perception Other people often influence a consumer s purchase decision. The marketer needs to Perception is the process through which an know which people are involved in the individual selects, organizes and interprets buying decision and what role each person the information he receives in order to do plays, so that marketing strategies can also something that makes sense. The perception be aimed at these people. Among the factors of a situation at a given time may decide if influencing consumer behavior, and how the person will act. Selecting, psychological factors can be divided into 4 organizing and interpreting information in a categories: motivation, perception, learning way to produce a meaningful experience of as well as beliefs and attitudes. the world is called perception. There are three different perceptual processes which Motivation are selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention. In case of selective Motivation is what will drive consumers to attention, marketers try to attract the develop a purchasing behavior. It is the customer attention. Whereas, in case of expression of a need is which became selective distortion, customers try to pressing enough to lead the consumer to

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interpret the information in a way that will exactly in the same way by consumers. And support what the customers already believe. that everyone may have a different perception of it. That s why it s important to Selective Attention: The individual focuses regularly ask consumers in order to know only on a few details or to which he their actual brand perception. Selective is subjected. The type of information or distortion often benefits to strong and stimuli to which an individual is more popular brands. Studies have shown that the sensitive depends on the person. For brands perception and brand image plays a key role and advertisers successfully capture and in the way consumers perceived and judged retain the attention of consumers is the product. Several experiments have increasingly difficult. For example, many shown that even if we give them the same users no longer pay any attention, product, consumers find that the product is unconsciously, to banner ads on the Internet. or tastes better when they ve been told that This kind of process is called Banner it s from a brand they like than when Blindness. The attention level also varies they ve been told it s a generic brand. depending on the activity of the individual and the number of other stimuli in the Selective Retention: People do not retain all environment. For example, an individual the information and stimuli they have been who is bored during a subway trip will be exposed to. Selective retention means what much more attentive to a new ad displayed the individual will store and retain from a in the tube. It is a new stimuli that breaks the given situation or a particular stimulus. As trip routine for him. Consumers will also be for selective distortion, individuals tend to much more attentive to stimuli related to a memorize information that will fit with their need. For example, a consumer who wishes existing beliefs and . For to buy a new car will pay more attention to example, consumers will remember car manufacturers ads. While neglecting especially the benefits of a brand or product those for computers. Lastly, people are more they like and will forget the drawbacks or likely to be attentive to stimuli that are new competing products advantages. or out of the ordinary. For example, an innovative advertising or a marketing Learning message widely different from its competitors is more likely to be remembered Learning is through action. When we act, we by consumers. learn. It implies a change in the behavior resulting from the experience. The learning Selective Distortion: In many situations, changes the behavior of an individual as he two people are not going to interpret an acquires information and experience. For information or a stimulus in the same way. example, if you are sick after drinking milk, Each individual will have a different you had a negative experience, you associate perception based on his experience, state of the milk with this state of discomfort and mind, beliefs and attitudes. Selective you learn that you should not drink milk. distortion leads people to interpret situations Therefore, you don t buy milk anymore. in order to make them consistent with their Rather, if you had a good experience with beliefs and values. the product, you will have much more desire to buy it again next time. The learning For brands, it means that the message they theories can be used in marketing by brands. communicate will never be perceived

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Beliefs and attitudes A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the A is a conviction that an individual evoked set. Hungry, want to go out and has on something. Through the experience eat, evoked set is he acquires, his learning and his external o Chinese food influences (family, friends, etc..), he will o Indian food develop beliefs that will influence his o burger king buying behavior. Customer possesses o Klondike kates etc specific belief and attitude towards various o products. Since such beliefs and attitudes 3. Evaluation of Alternatives--need to make up brand image and affect consumer establish criteria for evaluation, features buying behavior therefore marketers are the buyer wants or does not want. interested in them. Marketers can change the Rank/weight alternatives or resume beliefs and attitudes of customers by search. May decide that you want to eat launching special campaigns in this regard. something spicy, Indian gets highest To change the brand s marketing message or rank etc. adjust its positioning in order to get 4. Purchase decision--Choose buying consumers to change their brand perception. alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc. Stages of the Consumer Buying Process 5. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product Six Stages to the Consumer Buying availability. Decision Process (For decisions). 6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Actual purchasing is only one stage of the Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. process. Not all decision processes lead to a , have you made purchase. All consumer decisions do not the right decision. This can be reduced always include all 6 stages, determined by by warranties, after sales communication the degree of complexity. etc. After eating an Indian meal, may think that really you wanted a Chinese The 6 stages are: meal instead.

1. Problem Recognition (awareness of Types of Consumer Buying Behavior need)--difference between the desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in The four type of consumer buying behavior assortment of products. Hunger--Food. are: Hunger stimulates your need to eat. Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--buying low involvement 2. Information search frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision o Internal search, memory. effort; purchased almost o External search if you need more automatically. Examples include soft information. Friends and relatives drinks, snack foods, milk etc. (word of mouth). Marketer dominated Limited Decision Making--buying sources; comparison shopping; public product occasionally. When you sources etc. need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar

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product category, perhaps. Requires 5. of Consumer a moderate amount of time for Behavior by Michaela Wanke information gathering. Examples 6. Consumer Psychology by Cathrine include Clothes--know product class Jansson-Boyd but not the brand. Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High degree of economic/performance/psychologica l risk. Examples include cars, homes, computers, education. Spend alot of time seeking information and deciding. Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of the buying process. buying, no conscious planning.

Conclusion

For a successful consumer oriented market service provider should work as to procure consumers. By keeping in mind affecting factors things can be made favorable and goal of consumer satisfaction can be achieved. Study of consumer buying behaviour is gate way to success in market.

References

1. Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy, 12th Edition by Delbert Hawkins and David Mothersbaugh 2. Consumer Behavior by Wayne D. Hoyer, Deborah J. MacInnis and Rik Pieters 3. Consumer Behavior (10th Edition) by Leon Schiffman and Leslie Kanuk 4. Consumer Behavior (11th Edition) by Leon G. Schiffman and Joseph Wisenblit

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