Customer Buying Behavior - Essay Example

Customer Buying Behavior Name Unit Class Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 2 Internal factors 3 Perception 3 Memory 4 Learning 4 Attitudes 4 Motivation 5 External factors 5 Culture 5 Reference groups 6 Family 6 Social status 7 Conclusion 8 References 8 Introduction Consumer serves a very vital part in the economy. For marketers, consumer behavior plays an important part in their decision making. The way in which the consumers behave and make their decision of purchase is important in coming up with efficient marketing methods (Jobanputra, 2009). When making their purchase decision, consumers are affected by both internal and external factors. Decision made by consumers varies from simple decisions like buying bread to major decisions such as buying a car or making a holiday location. My family was involved in such a situation where they had to make a choice for the holiday. This is a major decision that involved a lot of time and affected by both internal and external influences. There were a lot of holiday locations that could be chosen which reflects how the consumers are faced with a lot of choices. This report will look at the influences of internal and external factors in making a consumer decision based on real life example of my family case which I have involved them in doing the research. Internal factors Perception This refers to how individuals interpret and organizes information to create their view of world. As a consumer, information provided is more than one can process. Evaluating decision for the holiday, the family was faced with a lot of information about holiday camps and the best venue. To process the information, perception plays an important part. This leads to three types of defenses that are found in perception. The defenses are selective attention, selective retention and selective perception (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). Since the family could not be able to process all information that was available, selective attention played a big part. There is also a tendency that the information received is manipulated in a way that it fits consumer preconception. Selective retention occurs when the consumer forgets about information if it doesn’t align with their beliefs (Solomon et al., 2006). In making the decision, all these defenses played a part. For example, the family was inclined to take a holiday that was in line with eco-tourism and any information that was not related to ecotourism was ignored and forgotten. According to Malhotra & Birks (2007), our perceptions are also influenced by the way we interpret information. Memory This is total prior learning and experiences that can be remembered (Malhotra & Birks, 2007) Memory is made up of both long term and short term memory. Short term memory is the memory in use and stores limited information. Long term memory is the quantity and quality of memory that is capable of being stored (Kotler, 2003). Both types of memory played part in coming up with decision according to family. This is due to fact that short term memory was used in web information search which was related to an advert read previously. Long term memory was mostly used when the family members remembered their experiences in various holiday locations they had visited. This had an influence on the final decision. Learning This refers how consumer memory is changed due to information processing which can occur consciously or non-consciously (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Memory is made of both declarative and procedural learning. Declarative learning involves facts while procedural involves how these facts can be utilized (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). In deciding the holiday location, everyone knew that they needed a place to relax but the process of getting it was where procedural learning was involved. Learning can be low involving or high involving. In the case of deciding the holiday location, the family was involved in high learning. This was due to fact that information processing was done in a thorough manner. Attitudes This is the favorable or unfavorable behavior towards products, services or situations. Attitudes have cognitive, affective and behavioral components. Cognitive part involves the knowledge and existing beliefs about an object. This was presence in decision making on holiday. It was manifested by the belief held by family that best holiday sites are located in Australia. Affective component is the personal feeling towards goods or services. Every member in the family had their feeling about a certain holiday location. Behavioral tendencies towards a products or service are in the behavioral component of attitude. The behavioral component is influenced by the other two components. Behavior is also affected by other factors such as social influences (Jobanputra, 2009). Attitudes played a great part in coming in the final decision. Some of the holiday destinations had to be canceled due to family attitudes. Motivation This is unobservable internal force that compels a consumer towards making a decision. A motivated consumer is aroused to make a certain decision to satisfy their goals. The urgency to satisfy a goal is determined by the drive. According to my parents, there was need for a holiday as everyone in the family needed a change of environment. There was a need to look for a place to relax and take a break from job and education. This was the main drive towards looking for a holiday destination. According to Maslow theory, consumers begin by meeting the basic needs before being gaining motivation to meet other needs (Solomon et al., 2006). External factors Culture This involves belief, law, morals customs and others habits that human being exercise by being part of a certain society. Our attitudes and values are affected by our culture. Culture involves norms which the members of a society have to abide with. Human being learn their culture as they grow hence it’s an acquired concept. In making a holiday decision, culture played a part. There were areas in which the family could not choose for holiday due to their beliefs that the culture practiced was not right. This is due to fact that what is right in one culture is different in another. Each society has their own norms and while some are acceptable in one community, they may be perceived by another community as wrong (Jobber, 2007). Reference groups These are groups whose the consumer identifies with and uses them as basis in decision making. Young consumers are the most affected by the group influence in making purchase decision. According to Malhotra & Birks (2007), reference groups are primary, secondary, aspiration and dissociative. The main group that affected family decision making was primary group. This is due to fact that friends and all members of immediate family participated in decision making. Friends provided tips on the best holiday locations while the family members played different roles. This is the most influential group due to frequent contact. For secondary group, we have less contact and had a low level of influence. Dissociative groups are those that we try to avoid copying while aspiration groups are those whom we desire their behavior or lifestyle. These two groups did not play part in decision making process. According to Jobber (2007), group influence in decision making is very vital since decisions are not made in isolation. Family This refers to people related by blood. This definition have changed of late and become more complex as different types of families exist in modern era. Holiday decision was a family decision. This meant that family influence was immense. Another aspect that is looked when family is analyzed is the family lifecycle. Family moves through various stages in life hence it’s evolving. This means that the needs and desires of the family changes with time (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Family decisions involve two or more members which make them different from those made by an individual. Each family member takes part in coming up with the final decision (Jobber, 2007). In making the holiday decision, parents were the financers while other members played the roles of initiators. The role of deciding was played by everyone through contribution of ideas. During decision making process by the family, disagreements are common. This is due to the fact that each member wants to play a role and there are conflicting information and ideas. Bargaining was the method used to solve these disputes (Quester, Pettigrew & Hawkins, 2011). The influence of the family was the most significant factor that led to the final decision. Social status This involves ranking individuals or family based on what the society values. This leads to expectations on lifestyle and honor estimation. According to Jobber (2007), occupation has been the main indicator of the social class among most societies. This is due to the fact that occupation determines salary and consumption. What one owns determines what one can purchase (Jobber, 2007). Holiday destinations are expensive and the choice is determined by the amount of cash available. The family had enough money to afford a trip to any holiday destination in Australia. This was due to their social class which is determined by the income earned and wealth possessed. It’s important to note that depending on special class not all people can afford an expensive holiday (Sirakaya & Woodside, 2005). There are also social expectations on a certain social class. For the affluent, they are expected to live an expensive lifestyle and can afford a holiday in any part of them world. This goes with their social status and expectations (Jobber, 2007). Conclusion Consumer decision making involves a long process which is affected by both internal and external factors. Internal factors that affect consumer decision making are Perception, learning, motivation, personality and attitude. External factors are group influence, culture, family and social class. In making a consumers decisions, I have used a real life example of my family decision making process for a holiday. This is a process that was affected by listed internal and external factors. References Jobanputra, K 2009, Global marketing and consumer decision making. Jaipur, India, Paradise Publishers. Jobber, D 2007, Principles and Practice of Marketing.(5thEd), Maidenhead: McGraw Hill. Kotler, P & Keller, K 2009, Marketing Management, (13thed). New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice- Hall. Kotler, P 2003, Marketing Management, (11th ed)., Prentice-Hall International Editions, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Malhotra, N. K., & Birks, D. F 2007, Marketing Research: An Applied Approach (3rd ed.) Essex: Prentice Hall. Quester, P., Pettigrew, S. & Hawkins, D.I 2011, Consumer Behavior, (7th ed), McGraw-Hill, Australia. Sirakaya, E & Woodside, A 2005, ‘Building and testing theories of decision making by travellers’, Tourism Management, Vol.26, no.1, p.815-832. Solomon M., Bamossy G., Askegaard, S. & Hogg, M 2006, Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective, (3rd) Harlow, Prentice Hall. Read More