4(a)-MARKETING MANAGEMENT.

INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER
BUYING BEHAVIOUR, CONSUMER
DECISION MAKING& VIEWS OF
CONSUMER DECISION MAKING.

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 Consumer behavior
The study of CB as a separate mkt’g discipline began when:-
1. Marketers realized that consumer’s did not always ACT or
REACT as mkt’g theory suggested
2. Due to “Me too” approach to fads and fashions by Marketers,
many consumer rebelled at using the identical products.
3. They preferred differentiated products that they reflected their
own special needs, personality & lifestyle.
• Accelerated rate of new product development
• The consumer movement
• Public policy concern
• Environmental concern
• Opening of national market through the world

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 Definition of CB
• CB can be defined as study of individuals, groups or
organizations & the processes they use for
1. Acquiring & organizing information
2. In the direction of purchase decision &
3. Further applying the information to use & evaluate
the goods & services.
• CB involves the use & disposal of products
• How they are purchased
• Product USE is of greater interest to the marketer.
• This may Influence:-
1. How a product is best positioned
2. How we can encourage increased consumption 3
 The marketing concept
• The field of CB is rooted in a mkt’g strategy in late
1950’s
• Sell more goods easily
• If they produce only those goods consumers would
buy
• Mkt’g oriented firms found that it was a lot easier to
produce only products they had confirmed thru
research, that consumer wanted.
• consumer needs & wants became the firm’s primary
focus.
• The “consumer oriented” mkt’g philosophy came to
be known as a “mkt’g concept”.
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• Company must determine the needs and wants
of specific target market.
• Deliver the desired satisfaction better than
competitor
• A marketer must make what he can sell
• Instead of trying to sell what he has made
• The selling concept focuses on
• “the needs of the seller”
• The marketing concept focuses on
• “the needs of the buyer”

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To identify unsatisfied consumer needs
1. Co. should engage in extensive mkt’g
research
• Consumers are highly complex individuals
• Subject to variety of psychological & social
needs
• Needs & priorities of diff. consumers differed
dramatically
• Have to study consumers & their consumption
behavior in depth
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The scope of
consumer
behavior?
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 The scope of consumer behavior
• CB focuses on how individuals make decision
to spend their available resources (Time,
money, effort) on consumption related items
• That includes:-
1. What they buy?
2. When they buy it?
3. Where they buy it?
4. How often they buy it?
5. How often they use it?
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 Personal fax machine
• CB wants to know what kind of consumers buy fax?
• What features they look for?
• What benefits do they seek?
• What type of document do they fax?& for what
reason?
• How likely are they to replace their old model with
new model if added features become available?
1. Above information can provide mfg with imp input
for
• Product scheduling
• Design modification
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• Promotional strategy
 CB
• In addition to studying consumer uses & post
purchase evaluations
• CB is also interested in
1. How individuals dispose of their once new
purchases?
2. Do they store it?
3. Throw it or give it away?
4. Sell it, rent it,?
5. What do consumers really do with their
obsolete cell phone & laptop ?
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 Why the information is imp to
marketer?
• Match their production to the frequency with
which consumers buy replacements
• Also imp to society because:-
• Solid waste has become a major environmental
problem
• Marketer should address during New Product
Development & packaging
• Re-cycling is no longer a sufficient solution to
the problem
• Re-mfg is often cheaper 11
•CB has interdisciplinary roots

CB was a new field of study in

mid late 1960’s
because
It had NO history
or Body of research of it’s own

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 Mkt’g theorist borrowed from concept
developed in scientific discipline
1. Psychology: The study of the individual
2. Sociology: The study of group
3. Social psychology: The study of how
individual operates in a group
4. Anthropology: The influence of society on
individual & Economics to form the basis of
this new marketing discipline

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 Early theories concerning CB were
based on economic theory
1. That individuals act rationally to maximize their
benefit (satisfaction) in purchase of goods & services
2. Later research discovered that:-
• Consumers are like to purchase impulsively
• Influence not only by family, friends, advertiser, role
models, BUT
• Also by MOOD, SITUATION & EMOTION
3. All of these factors combine to form comprehensive
model of consumer behavior that reflect both
• Cognitive (knowing / perceiving)
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• Emotional aspect of consumer decision making
 Consumer decision making
1. A person to make decision, a
choice of alternative should be
available
• A choice between brand x & y
2. If consumer has NO
Alternative he is forced to
make a particular purchase.
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 Models of consumers
4 views of CDM
1.An Economic view
2.Passive view
3.Cognitive view
4.Emotional view
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 Economic view
• In the field of theoretical economics, which
portrays the world as perfect competition
• The consumer has often been characterized
as making RATIONAL (sensible) decisions.

• This model called the Economic man theory

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 Criticized by CR
• To behave rationally in economic sense , a
consumer would have to:-
1. Be aware of all available product alternatives
2. Be capable of correctly ranking each
alternatives in terms of it’s benefits &
advantages
3. Be able to identify the one best alternative
• Realistically, however consumers rarely have
all the information

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 Rational consumer is unrealistic
• People are limited by their existing skills,&
habits.
• People are limited by their existing values &
goals
• People are limited by the extent of their
knowledge
• Consumers operate in an imperfect world in
which they do not maximize their decision in
terms of eco. consideration

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 Passive view (acted upon)
• Opposite to economic view
• Describes the consumer as basically
Submissive (Humble / Obedient) to the self
servicing interests and the promotional efforts
of the marketers.
• Consumers are perceived as impulsive (sudden
desire) & irrational purchasers
• Ready to yield to the aims & arms of the
marketers.
• Regarding consumer as an object to be
manipulated. 20
 Limitation of the model
• Fails to recognize that consumer plays an equal
if not dominant role in many buying situations.
• Seeking information by product alternatives
• Select product that offer greater satisfaction
• By impulsively selecting a product that satisfies
mood or emotion of the moment.
• “Consumers are rarely object of manipulation”,
this single minded view should be rejected as
unrealistic.

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 Cognitive view (perceiving)
• This model portrays the consumers as thinking
problem solvers.
• Consumers seek and evaluate information about
selected brands and retail outlets.
• Information processing leads to formation of
preferences & ultimately to purchase decisions.
• Consumers are unlikely to even attempt to obtain all
available information about every choice, INSTEAD
consumers are likely to stop their information seeking
efforts when they perceive that they have sufficient
information about some of the alternatives to make a
satisfactory decision.
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• The cognitive or problem solving view describes
a consumer who falls somewhere
between
The extremes of economics & passive views
• Who does not or cannot have total knowledge
about available product alternatives therefore
cannot make perfect decision
BUT
Who nonetheless actively seeks information &
attempts to make satisfactory decisions.

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 An Emotional view
• Marketers frequently prefer to think of consumers in
terms of either economic or passive model
• However each of us is likely to associate withdeep
feelings or emotions , such as joy, fear, love, hope,
sexuality, fantasy with certain purchases or
possessions.
• Less emphasis is placed on current mood & feelings
• Many make impulsive purchases because we are
emotionally driven.
• Buying products that afford emotional satisfaction is
perfectly rational consumer decision
• Eg:- branded designer clothes (status label make
them feel better)
• Some retailer attempt to create a MOOD for shoppers.
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