Understanding Consumer Behavior

A consumer’s decision to purchase a product influenced by a number of variables which can be classified into four categories, namely psychological, personal, social, and cultural. Consumer Behavior effect demand of product with the area also. For example consumer in city area preferred to use vertical blinds, roller shades or faux wood blinds. Which villages or rural area consumer preferred to buy curtains.

Man is a many faceted, complex psychological being. His consumer behavior is influenced by his motives, perceptions, attitudes and learning. Each of these psychological factors provides a unique mental framework for each consumer within which he makes his purchase decisions. For the marketer it is essential to associate his product with the motives and positive perceptions of his consumers. Also he must ensure that the product concept fits in with the consumer’s existing attitudes and beliefs. Owner of lifequotecenter.com says that they are provider of instant life insurance rates and life insurance quotes online, it is easy for them to sell their Term life insurance products to educated and literate consumer rather than uneducated and illiterates. Perceptions, attitudes and learning are most important of consumer behavior.

Consumers differ from one another in terms of their sex, age, education, income, family life-cycle stage, personality and life style, and other personal characteristics which influence their buying behavior. The needs of elderly consumers are different from those of young consumers. Newly married couple has needs which are totally different from older retired married couples. To successfully market to consumers with differing personal characteristics, the marketer must accordingly modify his marketing strategies.

Social Class-1

Social class is a complex variable which is determined by a persons’ income, occupation, education, personal performance and possession of different types of products. Social classes can be categorized on the basis of number of different bases such as blue collar workers and white collar workers, educated and uneducated and so on. Consumer behaviour is the study of why, how, what, when, where, and how often do consumers buy and consume different products and services.

Knowledge of consumer behaviour is helpful to the marketer in understanding the needs of his different consumer segments and developing appropriate marketing strategies for each. It is also useful for the marketer in developing and understanding of how consumers responds to the various marketing stimuli, which he provides in terms of the product, price, promotion and place. If the marketer can correctly identify those stimuli that evoke a positive response in the consumer he can very easily design effective marketing strategies using these stimuli.

The study of consumer behaviour also provides an insight into how consumers arrive at the purchase decision and the variable which influences their decision. Once the influencing variables have been identified, the marketer can manipulate them so as to induce in his consumers a positive purchase decision.