Psychological Factors-Consumer Behavior

We talk about Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior---Introduction ,CRM as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to crm. In our previous post, we talk about Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User and factor influencing consumer behavior.


Consumer Needs and Motivations
We all have needs and we consume different goods and services with the expectation that they will help fulfill these needs. When a need is sufficiently pressing, it directs the person to seek its satisfaction. It is known as Motive. All our needs can be classified into two categories-primary and secondary.

Primary need or motives are the physiological need which we are born with, such as the need for air, water, food, clothing, shelter and sex.

The secondary needs are our acquired needs which we have developed in response to the society and environment in which we live. The secondary needs are the result of the individuals’ psychological make-up and his relationship with other members of the society.

The secondary need may include the need of power, prestige, esteem, affection, learning, status etc. Clothing is a primary need for all of us but the need for three piece tweed suit or jean pant o silk kimono are expressions acquired needs. The man wearing a three piece tweed suit may be seeking to fulfill his status need or his ego need by impressing his friends and family.

The theory of hierarchy of need was propounded by Abraham Maslow. We talk on this in our next post.


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Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour

We talk about Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior---Introduction ,CRM as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to crm. In last two post, we talk about Types of Consumers and Buyer Vs User. Today, I m going to talk different factors influencing consumer behavior.

Consumer behavior is affected y a lost of variables, ranging from personal motivations, needs, attitudes and values, personality characteristics, socio-economic and cultural background, age, sex, professional status to social influences of various kinds exerted by family, friends, colleagues and society as a whole.

The combinations of these various factors produce a different impact on each one of us as manifested in our different behavior as consumers. You may think that the best way of utilizing your annual saving is to have a Christmas vacation, but your wife thinks it is wisest to invest in jewellery, while your colleague considers buying shares as the best way of spending savings. Thus you would find that each person has his or her own standards of judgments and distinct behavior in every aspect of his role as a consumer.

But at the same time, underlying the individual differences are similarities which help explain behavior of specific types or groups of people. It is these similarities which make it possible for us to classify and analyze the behavior of individual consumers.

Psychological factors such as individual consumer needs and motivations, perceptions, attitudes, the learning process and personality characteristics are the similarities which operate across different types of people and influence their behaviour. Amongst the social influences affecting behaviour, we can classify the influences of family, friends, leaders and the social class to which the consumer belongs.

We shall discuss these factors one by one and see how they influence the individual’s behaviour as a consumer.


Ref: Customer relationship management & lead management software