CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

1) PlanetFit is an international fitness company planning to construct gym and yoga centres
across the country. PlanetFit is looking forward to take up a marketing strategy to
promote their services but first they need to find their “target audience”. Target audience
can be found through “Market Segmentation”. “Market segmentation” is the research that
determines how your organization divides its customers or cohort into smaller groups
based on characteristics such as, age, income, personality traits or behaviour. There are
four types of market segmentation- Demographic, Behavioural , Psychographic,
Geographic. PlanetFit would use Demographic and Psychographic segmentation for their
marketing strategy.

Reference :
https://www.google.co.in/search?tbm=isch&q=market+segmentation&chips=q:market+segm
entation,g_1:demographic:9GLfF4Sl19o%3D&usg=AI4_-
kSZkyRxwUp1QUufyE5ce5uoHNwr9w&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyxpTWt7biAhVYf30KHU2
hA94Q4lYIKigB&biw=1366&bih=608&dpr=1#imgrc=2telhBffYvQLeM:

i) Demographic segmentation : The 5 main types of variables used for Demographic

segmentation are as below.

a) Age
One of the first variable of demographic segmentation is age. This is because consumer needs
and wants change with their age. A youngster might want to visit a gym but an elderly will
prefer to visit a yoga centre. Thus even though the basic functionality of the commodity is
same, the wants are different.

b) Life cycle stage

Closely connected to age, the life cycle stage of a consumer group defines what will be the
need of that particular customer. Example – a toddler will need infant food, a child will need
dolls and toys, a middle age customer will need insurance and investment plans and finally an
old age person might need retirement plans.

c) Gender
Men are from mars and women are from Venus. So naturally their preferences differ. Where
men might want the latest in technology, women might desire the latest in Fashion (point is
debatable nowadays). There are several products which are gender focused such as
deodorants, clothing, accessories, footwear and even automobiles. Nowadays, it is a trend for
the men to attend gym and build their bodies whereas women are more inclined in dieting and
fashion.

d) Income
BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, these cars have customers who are much more quality and luxury
conscious then others. So the target group of such products will be high income customers.
Similarly,the middle class income group and effluent class would have the purchasing power
to afford a gym or yoga classes.

e) Religion, Race, Nationality

The advertising of a mass brand like Coca cola or Pepsi. Although, these two brands have
their own global advertising, but they also have specific advertising in each country which
they enter. The messages of these advertisements are completely different and are based on
the local customs, religions as well as nationality.

ii) Psychographic segmentation

Here are some factors which help divide a population based on psychographic segmentation.

Reference :
https://www.google.co.in/search?tbm=isch&q=market+segmentation&chips=q:market+segm
entation,g_1:psychographic:4y_1Fhf6sBM%3D&usg=AI4_-kQAsBOeU6d1I_DIZVKlyvt2-
E-
i_g&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyxpTWt7biAhVYf30KHU2hA94Q4lYILCgC&biw=1366&bih=
608&dpr=1#imgrc=E7D6Fxb1L-PRsM:
a) Lifestyle
One of the most popular segments is the lifestyle segment. Everyone has different fitness
habits based on their lifestyle. Similarly, the lifestyle of a rural area customer might be
different from urban areas. Such as villagers will not prefer to go to gyms or yoga centres
whereas urban citizens would look for something like that.
b) Activities interests and opinions
A subset of lifestyle, activities interests and opinions also affect consumer buying behaviour.
Different customers might have different activities and interests. Similarly, exercising is a
kind of interest that not everybody would prefer. So it depends upon person to person.

c) Social class
Different consumers fall in different social classes. This depends mainly on their buying
power. The buying power is affected by the background of the customer, his income as well
as his spending habits. The customer will always buy to maintain his social class. Such as
someone who will prefer to go to Gold Gym won’t go local gym.

d) Personality
Personality in psychographic segmentation is dependent on both – lifestyle as well as social
class. A person will have a rich personality only if he has high buying power as well as the
taste in clothes to maintain such a lifestyle. So therefore, a rich person will afford to go to an
international gym rather than a normal individual.

The demographic Segments that would apt for PlanetFit are – Age group, income, gender;
And the psychographic segments are – lifestyle, Activities interests and opinions, social class
and personality. This is because these are the only categories that will determine the will-
power and purchasing power of the target segment. PlanetFit is an international gym which
will pull the effluent class of individuals within a certain age group and not normal folk. The
personality, lifestyle, interests of an individual would pull him/her towards PlanetFit. An
international gym is also promoted by word of mouth and publicity within a social class.
Therefore, all of these factors will help in segmentation for PlanetFit.

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2) Consumer Decision Journey (CDJ) is a model that describes how consumers make
purchase decisions. This is a process used by marketers to identify and track the decision
making process of a customer journey from start to finish. The Consumer decision
making process consists of a series of steps that a buyer goes through in order to solve a
problem or satisfy a need. They are as follows:

Reference: https://www.google.co.in/search?q=consumer+decision-
making&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0vNSmxbjiAhVXfSsKHdO3AG04
ChD8BQgPKAI&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=kV9BfBrETCGHxM:

i) Need/Problem Recognition – A purchase process starts with a need, a problem or a

motive within a consumer`s mind. Any internal or external stimulus may drive a
customer to believe that he lacks something and motivates him to look for something
that will satisfy his need or solve his problem.

a) Sugar is a necessity good. A day to day need based product. Sweetness is the need ,
used in our daily food and sugar is what resolves it. One cannot avoid it.

b) A men’s aftershave is gender biased. It is meant for the men who shaves at home.
Again, this is an essential good nowadays for gentlemen but not for women. The need
for an antiseptic agent to prevent infection of cuts and irritation of skin after using the
razor , is fulfilled by an aftershave- Old Spice, Eau De Cologne, etc.

c) Smartphone, needless to say, are more like a life partner to all of us. We cannot live
without smartphones. We are very much dependent on it and can’t afford to lose it at
 any cost. Therefore, we can term it as our basic necessity again like sugar. The need
for communication through messaging services, email, video calls and social
networking apps, in addition to standard text messaging and phone calls, is fulfilled
by a smartphone.

ii) Information Search – When a need/problem receives heightened attention from a

buyer, he become more receptive about information that may solve his problem and
starts gathering data about products/services that will satisfy this need.

a) & b) Sugar and Aftershave lotion is available in both local shops as well as
departmental stores. Nowadays, online stores are there for delivery- Amazon Pantry,
Bigbasket, Grofers, etc.
c) Smartphones are available online, electronic stores, malls, etc.

iii) Evaluation of Alternatives – After collecting information from various sources, the
customer evaluates the benefits and disadvantages of various product alternatives and
develops a set of choices regarding the product attributes, brand, store etc. that suit
his/her needs, taste & preference, personality, lifestyle etc.

a) Sugar is sold by many ways. Some we get packets some we get in paper bags sold
separately in local shops. Now it is one’s choice whether to get local sugar or maybe
packaged sugar such as spencer sells.

b) Aftershave lotion – Old spice, Eau De Cologne, Axe, etc., are some brands. These are
available at online stores, shops, etc. One should evaluate and choose from where he/she
should buy.

c) Some flagship phones are available online. Others are available in stores of brands such
as- Samsung, Xiomi, Oneplus, I phone, etc. Now , the person who will choose, he/ she
will select accordingly to purchasing power, brand loyalty, features, etc.

iv) Selection and Trial – After keeping a set of choices in mind the customer makes the
first product trial. He may buy different products in small quantities (1 kg, 1 packet, 1
bottle) or actually use products individually for some time (tasting food, inspecting
phones, taking a test drive) to form an opinion and develop an attitude towards the
product.

a) The consumer will choose where he would go and buy sugar from and whether that
will be a paper bag local sugar or packaged one.
b) All the alternatives have been found out. Now the selection process for the brand of
aftershave and the shop begins.
c) The same with smartphones. The alternative brands, features, price has been taken
into account. Here, mostly the latest version of software and model gets the priority.

v) Purchase Decision – When the customer believes that a product or service offers the
best solution to his need or problem, he makes the actual purchase. This includes
making a product choice, choosing a brand, a dealer and deciding the amount and
time of purchase.
 a) Sugar is purchased now maybe from Bigbasket along with other groceries. The
consumer chose this as it is convenient and time saving.
b) Supposedly, an Aftershave lotion is bought from a cosmetic shop by comparing with
other lotions.
c) Lets assume, a consumer bought the smartphone from an online store as he/she
wanted the flagship latest version which aren’t available at stores.

vi) Post Purchase Dissonance/Behaviour – A person seeks reassurance after making a

purchase. A purchase generally has the following three outcomes:

Actual Performance is equal to expected performance – Customer`s behaviour is natural

as the product performed according to his expectations. This leads to repeat purchases.

If the consumer loves the brand and company for sugar, aftershave and smartphone he/she
will repeat their purchases accordingly.

Actual Performance is less than expected performance – The customer is dissatisfied as

the product did not meet his expectations and hence he rejects the product.

The consumer didn’t like quality, performance, longevity, etc., the preferred brand or
company or store, he/she will change their taste and preferences for sugar, aftershave and
smartphone. Hence, ending up with the second purchase form a different brand or store.

Actual Performance is more than expected performance – This leads to customer

delight/satisfaction as the product performance is better than his expectations. This leads to
customer loyalty.

The consumer becomes brand loyal when he/she experiences that the sugar, aftershave lotion,
and smartphone he/she has bought has exceeded the expectation. Brand loyal consumers
sticks to one brand and store for a long period of time.

Hence, Consumer decision making journey has been explained as per the steps for sugar,
aftershave lotion and smartphones.

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3) A Reference Group is the group whose perspective we consider. Now our reference
could be very large or very small including few of our family members or few close
friends. We rely on reference groups to understand social norms, which then shape our
values, ideas, behaviour, and appearance.
There are several types of reference group. Some of them are explained below:

a) Aspirational Groups – These are groups in which people are not members but desires to
become one on a future date. The aspiration may become true once they are ready to join
the group at the future point of time. The influences exerted by such group members on
consumers make them join many groups every now and then.

b) Formal and Informal Groups – While formal groups are bound by set rules and
regulations Informal groups lack the same. The unstructured nature of Informal groups
tends to exert lesser influence over consumer preferences than the Formal Groups which
are highly structured. Due to the structure nature of Formal groups, the influence on the
group members with respect to various aspects is generally high.

Therefore, an informal reference group is a group that has no set structure or designed roles. I
would like to describe about such an informal group of school friends in my home town. We
all have friends since school, and we were very much into fashion and had a interest in brands
such as- Gucci, Armani, Prada, Forever21, etc. Our interest for fashion grew through digital
media and also due to non- uniform days at school. We use to enact style and get clothes
which are in fashion at the most possible way we could. The one who will be complimented
by all friends and peers around would be the winner. The loser is the one wore the weirdest
clothes among us and was ridiculed by most of us as he/she cannot wear something decent.
Hence, due to my friends and peers, I had a sense of fashion when I became an adult. I feel
that my purchasing behaviour has been heavily influenced by my friends’ judgements. I am
always conscious about what to wear and what not to, for getting a social approval.

Formal group can include our colleagues, membership groups, clubs, and religious groups and
so on. I use to go a “Church Care Group” where there were teachers who preached the gospel
and singers who sang and prayed. There were certain rules in that group. Firstly, we needed to
pray for the initiation of the group meeting. Then we sang a handful of gospel songs. Then a
particular teacher preached about some chapter, verses, some psalms, referring to the Bible.
Post this; each member was compelled to share their experiences throughout the week. Due to
this group, I started reading the Bible and understood the word of God. I am quite influenced
by this group in my day to day life as I keep buying spiritual and religious books and
literature to acquire knowledge.
Hence, these two group that influence my purchases.

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c) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was developed by Abraham Maslow, a specialist in human
behavioural psychology. It is a motivation theory designed to account for most human
behaviour in general terms, stipulating a natural progression from physiological needs to
self-actualisation needs.

Reference: https://consumerbehaviourjeremiah.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/maslows-
hierarchy-of-needs.jpg?w=665

There are five levels explained below :

Physiological needs: These are the underlying needs we as humans can’t live without. E.g.
Food, water, sleep, oxygen etc.

Safety needs: We need to feel safe. Whether that be physically, financially or job security
and health.
Social needs: We look for social connections in friends and family.

Esteem needs: We all desire to have respect and be respected by others, this includes self-
esteem, confidence and a sense of self achievement.

Self-actualisation: This is realising one’s full potential and this will differ from person to
person. This is the highest level on the hierarchy and what we are all striving for.

Self-Actualization is can be thought of as the full realization of one’s creative, intellectual, or

social potential. This stage is where a person considers their potential ability and becomes
successful in his/her life. A person attains his/her social status with their profession and
lifestyle, affecting one’s buying habit too. One will tend to purchase products which define a
high class. Whether those are fashion products or daily necessities.
Fitness products are generally targeted towards the effluent class consumers. Here I state an
ad campaign for Running shoes below:

a) Identification of target audience: Let’s take that company “X” is making running shoes.
The strategy of X is targeting the effluent class and the successful consumers of the
society. Through online and offline surveys they have concluded that youths, middle aged
and some old age customers will be interested in their product.

b) Where to find them: These target audiences will be found at different places mostly in
urban areas. Therefore, metropolitan cities will be the best places to advertise running
shoes of X.

c) Appropriate medium: Digital media- television, radio, outdoor displays, internet,

mobile, etc., will be the best for placing the advertisement. Nowadays, social media-
facebook, instagram is a good media for displaying ads which will pull a lot of young
target audiences.

d) Ad budget and campaign time : An ad budget needs to be set for company X and the
campaigning must be done within that. Company X can keep 20-25 % from their
investment or revenue to execute the ad budget.

The campaign time is important as because to target the particular audience. Such as
running ads during prime time of the television would bring more positioning in the
customers mind.

e) Message is the Key: Company X should make a good message or tagline to run the ad.
For running shoes, they can use “Run with the Generation”. The poster can portray a
green land where people of different ages are running wearing the shoes of company X.
This tagline implies that the shoes belong to this generation and also everyone can wear
it- from youngsters to old people.

The above is an example of an ad campaign with running shoes of company X.

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