Time Pressure

There are three factors which influence the degree of active reasoning that is undertaken by the consumer in his process of decision-making. There are:

1. involvement,
2. alternative differentiation, and
3. time pressure.


We talked about Involvement and Alternative Differentiation in our previous talk. Let’s talk about Time Pressure Today.

When you are under pressure to make a decision quickly, you connot afford to spend a long time finding out about the various products or brands. You would probably buy whatever is readily available. When you are planning to buy a term life insurance, user can go on net and find out different available options. While traveling in you car to a hill station you car tyre bursts and you need to new one. At that time you would buy the brand that is available at whatever price without giving it too much thought. But under a different situation, when you need to buy new tyres, you would certainly like to find the features of nylon and radial tyres and evaluate various brands e.g. Modi, MRF, Dunlop and Apollo etc. on their individual advantages and disadvantages.

Process of decision making-2

In our last post we have discussed on important factor of decision making and that is involvement. Involvement is always reflected in production or productivity. We can take example for an instant life insurance rates company who is providing life insurance quotes online, if their agents more involve in the businesses they can have more business. More involvement reflected in more productivity. Today we are going to discuss one another important factor Differentiation.

Differentiation: When the consumer perceives that the various alternatives which are available are very different from one another in terms of their features and benefits offered, he is likely to spend more time in gathering information about and evaluating these different features. On the other hand, in case of products which are not very different from one another either in terms of their features or benefits offered, the consumer is bound to perceive them as being almost the same and buy the first available product/brand which satisfies his minimum expectation. He will not like to spend much time in evaluating the various alternatives. The various brands of washing powder available in the market today are an excellent example of low level of differentiation with the consumer perceiving the different brands to be offering almost identical benefits. All the brands, such as Nirma, Vimal, Vijay, etc. look similar with identical packing and carry almost the same price tag.

Process of Decision Making-1

Making a decision is a rational and conscious process in which the consumer evaluates each of the available alternatives to select the best amongst them. Each decision you make involves an elaborate mental thought process, a degree of active reasoning, though on the surface it may not always seem to be so.

There are three factors which influence the degree of active reasoning that is undertaken by the consumer in his process of decision-making. There are:
1. involvement,
2. alternative differentiation, and
3. time pressure.

Involvement: When a product is perceived to be of great personal importance to the customer, such as personal clothing, or its purchase involves a great deal of money or risk such as jewellery, car, house, company shares, the level of involvement in making the decision is likely to be very high. The consumer is likely to spend a great deal of time before arriving at the final decision. In contrast, when buying items which do not reflect much on the consumer’s personality or their purchase involves small amounts of money or the risk associated with them is not high, the degree of involvement of the consumer is likely to be low. Product such as shoes, polish, toilet soap, toothpaste, biscuits etc. would fall in this category.

PROCESS OF DECISION-MAKING

This may be because over a period of time you have taken certain decisions so many times that they now seem to be made almost automatically but that is not true at all. Even your daily decision of buying o loaf of bread involves the element of active reasoning as buying a new sofa set for your drawing room. However, in the former case, the extent and intensity of active reasoning may be much less as compared to the latter case. Decision making is more important part when it comes to online business. Owner of online blinds store who are selling vertical blinds and roman shades online, says that for them decision making is more important than anything else.

In the case of bread, the only decision variables may be which brand, quantity and retail outlet. But in case of buying a sofa set the decision variables are far more in number.
These may be:
· ready-made or made to order
· from a furniture shop or to be built at home
· type of material for frame: blinds, vertical blinds, roman shades
· type of material for cushion: cloth, rexine, leather,
· design: with or without arm-rests, height, depth of seat, seating capacity, loose or fixed cushion.

Thus, depending on the type of decision being made, the degree and strength of active reasoning will vary.

MODELS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR-1

LEVELS OF CONSUMER DECISIONS
As a buyer or consumer you are all the time making decisions such as what product to buy (a book or a shirt as a birthday present for your friend), which brand (Lux, Liril, Hamam, Rexona or OK toilet soap) from where (Super Bazar, nearby corner shop, chemist), etc.

PROCESS OF DECISION-MAKING
The most basic and important requirement for the marketer is to understand how consumers make choices. Ajzen and Fishbein have attempted to explain human choice behaviour in their theory of reasoned action which states that:

“Generally speaking-human beings are usually quite rational and make systematic use of information available to them. People consider the implications of their actions before they decide to engage or not to engage in a given behaviour.”

Thus, making a decision is a rational and conscious process in which the consumer evaluates each of the available alternatives to select the best amongst them. Each decision you make involves an elaborate mental thought process, a degree of active reasoning, though on the surface it may not always seem to be so.

MODELS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

We shall examine how a consumer actually arrives at the decision to purchase a specific product or brand out of the so many available in the market. Or, in other words, we shall study the process of consumer decision-making.

In the precious init we had discussed a simple model of consumer decision-making, comprising an input, process and an output. A consumer receives stimuli from the environment and the specifics of the marketing strategies of different products and services, and responds o these stimuli in terms of either buying or not buying the product. In between the stage of receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the consumer goes through the process of making his decision. For example, home décor products blinds are there in the market. Consumer behavior is directly affected by environment. Ruler areas people love to have curtains as window treatment while city consumer love to have vertical blinds or roman shades or faux wood blinds as their window treatment.

WHAT IS A DECISION?A decision is the selection of an alternative out of the several numbers of alternatives available. It is only when there are two or more alternatives available that there is the need to make a choice. There are many companies who are providing instant life insurance rates or life insurance quotes online. Consumer need to take decision from different options available online. We can take the example of Motels in California or California motels, there are many options and alterative available for California motels, consumer needs to take decision which they want to use or stay. In the field of consumer behavior, we are only concerned with situation in which the consumer has to take a purchase decision where there is a choice available.

Understanding Consumer Behavior-1

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. Man is social animal and is influenced by the people with whom he interacts. Each person interacts with and is a member of many groups. These groups provide a point of reference of comparison for the consumer and are known as reference groups such as family, friends, social organizations, professional associations; the strongest influence is exerted by the family.

Culture is the most pervasive influence on our lives and influences all aspects of our behavior; consumers operate within the cultural framework of their society and purchase only those products which fit in with their cultural norms. Within each culture there exist many sub-cultures comprising distinct nationality groups, religious groups, racial groups, geographic groups that have their own unique values and life-style. Social classes are group of people who have similar income, education, wealth, social status, value and beliefs. The marketer must understand that people with different cultural, sub-cultural and social class background have different product and brand preferences and need suitably modified products and marketing strategies.

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.

Social Class

In every society there is inequality in social status amongst different people and the people are categorized into different social classes. Social classes can be defined as relatively permanent and homogeneous divisions in a society in which individuals or families sharing similar value, life-styles, interests and behavior can be categorized.

Social class is a concept based on distribution of status and the categories are usually ranked in a hierarchical order ranging from low status to high status. People belonging to a particular class tend to restrict their interaction to people belonging to the same class, unless it is for a very specialized purpose. Within a social class there are shared values, attitudes and behavioral patterns of consumption of certain products and services. But if we compare different social classes, we would find differences in values, attitudes and behavior between each class, as also a pattern of consumption behavior unique to each class. For example, upper classes use vertical blinds and roman shades as window treatment, while lower class of society use curtains. So, when someone talked about blinds it’s having a label that it’s for upper class.

Social class is an ideal basis for segmenting the market, as different social classes exhibit distinct product and brand preferences. Within the same social class, there is sharing of information on different products and brands, while between the different social classes there is little communication. For example, social classes helps term life insurance companies to have their term life insurance policies as per the social class.

Cultural Factors-3

iii) Physical Appearance: Physical fitness, good health, and smart appearance are on premium today. Slimming centers and beauty parlors are mushrooming in all major cities of the country. Cosmetics for both women and men are being sold in ever increasing numbers. Exclusive shops retailing designer clothes at fancy process are doing brisk business.

iv) Materialism: There is a definite shift in the people’s cultural value from spiritualism towards materialism. People are spending more money than ever before on acquiring products such as air-conditioners, cars, scooters, video cassette recorders, etc. which add to both physical comfort as well as status. A company which wants to grow must keep a tab on such major cultural trends to ensure that its products fit in well with these new trends.

Sub-cultureWithin the large framework of a society there exist many sub-cultures. A sub-culture is an identifiable distinct, cultural group, while following the dominant cultural values of the overall society also has its own beliefs, values and customs that set them apart from other members of the same society.

Cultural Factors-2

Today we discuss some of these changes for cultural factors are as follows:
i) Convenience: With more women joining the work-force there is an increasing demand for products that help lighten and relieve the daily household chores, and make life more convenient. This is reflected in the soaring sale of gas stove, mixes, washing machines, roller shades, woven wood shades, blinds, vacuum cleaners, ready to eat/cook packets of dehydrated frozen/precooked foods, fast food outlets etc.

Fifteen years ago when Hindustan Lever first introduced the concept of dehydrated vegetables and marketed Hima peas, the concept did not succeed. The cultural value was of eating fresh and freshly cooked food. But today that cultural value does not have successfully marketed.

ii) Education: People in our society today wish to acquire relevant education and skills that would help improve their career prospects. This is evident from the fact that so many professional, career-oriented educational centers are coming up, and still they cannot seem to meet the demand. As a specific instance count the number of institutions offering courses and training in computers that has opened in your city. The establishment of IGNOU is also a result of this cultural trend.

Cultural Factors-1

Though a marketer can influence all the three types of learning through his company’s advertising strategy, it is informal learning which is most amenable to such influences. Children learn much more about products and services through advertisements in mass media (especially TV) than they do either from their parents or teachers. Brand loyalties and images developed in the early formative years of childhood tend to be deep-rooted and affect the child’s consumer behaviour even in later years of adulthood. Marketers’ interest lies in identifying the potential consumer segments and ‘catching them young’.

The kind of products and advertising appeals that can work effectively in a society depend largely on its cultural background. In the American Society, individualism, freedom, achievement, success, material comfort, efficiency and practicality are values which are followed and imbibed by the younger children. Products and services which fulfil these values are most successfully marketed in America.

In the Indian society, on the contrary, conformity, spiritualism, respect for the elderly, traditionalism and education are some of the dominant cultural values. However, our society is undergoing a cultural metamorphosis and you can discern some major cultural shifts which have far reaching consequences for the introduction of a vast variety of new products and services.

Cultural Factors

Culture
Culture is an extremely critical and all pervasive influence in our life. “It is a mould in which we are all cast, and it controls our daily lives in many unsuspected ways” (Edward T. Hall-T. Hall-The Silent Language). The study of culture encompasses all aspects of a society such as its religion, knowledge, language, laws, customs, traditions, music, art, technology, work patterns, products, etc. We can understand with the example of curtain and blinds. In many Asian countries curtains are part of their culture. Those countries are still using curtains as part of their window treatment. Which in other countries blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades blinds has taken place of curtains. So, culture is extremely important factor for consumer behavior. All these factors make up the unique, distinctive ‘personality’ of each society. For our purpose of studying consumer behavior, culture can be defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs which serve to guide and direct the consumer behavior of all members of that society.

1. Formal learning in which parents and elders teach children the proper way to behave; for instance a child may be taught that too many toffees and chocolates are bad for his teeth. This learning may influence his response, both as a child and adult, towards these products.
2. Informal learning in which we learn by imitating the behavior of our parents, friends, or by watching TB and film actors in action;
3. Technical learning in which instructions are given about the specific method by which certain things have to be done such as painting, dancing, singing, etc.

Diffusion of Innovation

Still today we have discussed on some Social factors like reference group, family, roles, status, group norms, etc……In our last post we have discussed on Opinion leaders as a part of reference group. Today we are going to discuss on Diffusion of Innovation which is another factor of the reference group.

Diffusion of Innovation
Opinion leaders are usually innovators. They are always trying out new products and brands, and recommending them to the opinion receivers. The acceptance of new products, brands, and ideas is known as the diffusion of innovation. In a narrow sense, innovation is defined as something new or modified which has a relative advantage over the existing products, brands, and ideas is known as the diffusion of innovation. In a narrow sense, innovation is defined as something new or modified which has a relative advantage over the exiting products. Marketers are concerned with the pread or diffusion of this innovation which is a two-step process. The first step is the spread of awareness of an innovation from its sources to the consumers. The second step is the individual consumer decision-making process which leads up to the acceptance or rejection of the innovation. We will discuss on cultural and sub culture factors in our next post.

Opinion Leader-2

Both opinion leaders and followers receive information on all kinds of products and services from the mass media. But the opinion receivers are more influenced by the opinion leaders rather than the media. In the eyes of the opinion receiver, the opinion leader has more credibility than the mass media. The opinion leaders become a sort of ‘middleman’ receiving information from mass media and passing it on to opinion receivers.

Advertisers and marketers are concerned with reaching the opinion leaders and ensuring that they receive the intended information which they can, in turn, pass on to opinion receivers. Thus the first task of the marketer is to identify the opinion leaders. In a particular society, persons who are members or participants in a number of social organisations and have a high social activity participation are likely candidates for opinion leaders. Having identified the opinion leaders, the next task is to reach them through the media which they patronise. Direct mail pieces, magazines and journals of clubs and social organisations and special interest magazines (for speciality products) are some of the appropriate channels for this purpose.

blinds, roller shades, woven wood shades

Opinion Leaders-1

Apart form the family, a consumer is influenced by the advice he receives from his friends, neighbours, relatives and colleagues about what products and services he should buy. This process of influencing is known as the opinion leadership process and is described as the process by which one person (the opinion leader) informally influences the actions or attitudes of others (opinion receivers).

The influence is informal and the setting in which the influencing process takes place has nothing to do with the actual buying or selling of the product in question. For instance, during lunch hour you casually ask your colleague to recommend a good scooter mechanic. Or you discuss with your relatives and neighbours what brand of TV they possess and try to ascertain which is the brand recommended by most, before purchasing a TV for your own home. Further, the process often occurs between two persons rather than in a large group setting. Thus, the opinion leadership process can also be thought of as the ‘word-of-mouth’ communication.

The advice of opinion leaders is sought in case of specific products. People who have acquired considerable knowledge and experience in a particular field are thought of as opinion leaders in that area.

Other Social Factors-1

As out talk on Social factors we have discussed on some social factors like Family, Status, Roles and today we are going to discuss on Group norms and Conformity.
Group norms
The norms of a group are the implicit rules of conduct and behavior that are expected of its member. For instance, in certain multi-national companies in India, the norm for office wear includes a full-sleeved shirt and tie, notwithstanding the terrible heat conditions. If marketers can identify the various groups to which potential consumers belong, they can successfully market those products and services whose consumption is dictated by the group norms.

Conformity
Conformity implies that members of a group have adopted attitudes and behavior patterns that are consistent with the group’s norms. In the context of consumer behavior it refers to the percentage of members who knowingly use the same brand or product. Example group a working for project a have same work environment and identical dress code. Their office window has same vertical window blinds and other group has different colors vertical window blinds. These ways they are trying to show conformity towards their group within the company.
We will discuss on Opinion Leaders in our next post.

vertical blinds, window blinds

Other Social Factors

Today we continue our talk on Social Factors like Roles and Status.
Roles
An individual may participate in many groups. His position within each group can be defined in terms of the activities he is expected to perform. You are probably a manager, and when in your work situation you play that role. However, at home you play the role of spouse and parent. Thus in different social positions you play different roles. Each of these roles influences your purchase decisions.

As a manager, you would like to buy clothes which reflect your status within the organization, such as safari suit, three-piece suit, tie, leather shoes etc. But at home where you are in a relaxed and informal situation you may wear shirts or any comfort dress.

Status
Each role that a person plays has status, which is the relative prestige accorded by society. Status is often measured by the degree of influence an individual exerts on the behavior and attitude of others. People buy and use products which reflect their status. The managing director of a company may drive a Mercedes to communicate his status in society. He may go to Europe or U.S.A. for a holiday, rather than going to Mussoorie or Ooty.

Social Factors - Family-1

Today we continue our discussion on one important social factor and which is a family. Traditionally, it has been the wife’s role to purchase food, clothing and other household sundries, while the husband played a dominant role in the purchase of automobiles and life insurance. But with the emergence of the working woman, these lines of traditional role demarcation have been getting increasingly blurred. Husbands now have to shoulder a greater part of the household duties while women are asserting themselves in areas so far treated as the husband’s domain. Thus, the same decision, in different families may be made either by the husband or wife, or both may have an equal voice. Children are also beginning to exert their influence on the family’s purchase decision. This is especially true in case of products such as television, stereo music systems, records, personal computers, etc. where the children are likely to have more updated information about various brands and product attributes.

Commenting on the consumer behavior trends in the hi-fi stereo music today, Vice-president of Peico Electronic (Consumer electronics division) said, “It is teenagers who select sets, and their papers just buy them” (as reported in ‘India Today’ July 31, 1987).

In our next post we will discuss on other social factors like Roles, Status, Group norms etc.

mini blinds, discount motel, term life insurance

Social Factors - Family

As our talk on social factors we continue our discussion on one important factor and that is Family. The family is the most important of all these groups and we shall discuss it in detail. The family, as a unit, is an important consumer for many products which are purchased for consumption by all members. It is a source of major influence on the individual members’ buying behavior. We can identify two families which shape an individual’s consumption behavior. One is the family of orientation that is the family in which you are born and consists of your parents, brothers and sisters. It is from parents that we imbibe most of our values, attitudes, beliefs and purchase behavior patterns. Long after an individual has ceased to live with his parents, their influence on the sub-conscious mind still continues to be great. In India, where children continue to live with their parents even after attaining adulthood, the latter’s influence is extremely important.

The second type of family is the family of procreation consisting of the consumer’s spouse and children. Within the family, different members play different roles. Marketers are interested in finding out exactly the role played by individual members so that they can appropriately design their promotion strategy to suit these differing roles.

Reference Group -2

Reference groups are used in advertising to appeal to different market segments. Group situation with which potential customers can identify are used to promote products and services. Hidden in this appeal is the subtle inducement to the customer to identify himself with the user of the product in question. The three types of reference group appeals most commonly used are:

a) celebrities,
b) experts, and
c) the ‘common man’.

Celebrities are well known people (in the specific field of activity) who are admired and their fans aspire to emulate their behavior. Film stars and sports heroes are the most popular celebrities. Soft drinks (Thums Up), shaving cream (Palmolive), toilet soap (Lux), textiles (Dinesh, Graviera) are advertised using celebrities from the sports and film fields. Experts such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and authors are sued for establishing the benefits of the products. Colgate and Forhans toothpastes are examples of products which use the expert reference group appeal for promotion.

Another reference group appeal is that which uses the testimonials of a satisfied customer. It demonstrates to the prospective customer that someone just like him uses and is satisfied with the product.

Direct reference groups which exert a significant influence on consumer’s purchase decision and behavior can be classified into six categories. These are:

i) The family,

ii) Friendship groups,

iii) Formal social groups,

iv) Formal shopping groups,

v) Consumer action groups,

vi) work groups.

wood blinds, premierinns

Reference Group -1

Formal and informal groups:
A formal group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority positions and specific goals. Rotaty, Lions, Jaycees are some of the well-known social groups in our society. Labor unions, social clubs and societies are other types of formal groups to which individuals may belong.

In contrast, an informal group is loosely defined and may have no specified roles and goals. Meeting your neighbors over lunch once a month for friendly exchange of news is an instance of an informal group.

Membership and symbolic groups:
A membership groups is one to which a person belongs or qualifies for membership. All workers in a factory qualify for membership to the labor union. A symbolic group is one which an individual aspires to belong to, but is not likely to be received as a member. A head clerk in an office may act as if he belongs to the top management group by adopting their attitudes, values and modes of dress. Both membership and symbolic groups influence consumer behavior but membership groups have a more direct influence. Primary, informal and small groups exert the maximum influence on consumers and are great interest for marketers.

Any of these groups can serve as a reference group for a consumer if it serves as a point of reference or comparison in the formation of the values, attitudes and behavior. As a part of one women social reference group, all member women are eligible to have a free medical insurance or maternity coverage. Different kinds of groups, whether small or large, formal or informal or symbolic qualify as a reference group. The concept of reference group is a very wide one and includes both direct and indirect or group influences.

Indirect reference groups comprise those individuals or groups with whom an individual does not have any direct face-to-face contact. Such as film stars, TV stars, sportsmen, politicians.

Reference Groups

We are talking consumer behavior and factors affecting it. We talked personal factors like learning, beliefs and attitudes, family life cycle, education and occupation, income and personality in our previous post. We talked social factor Lift Style and today we are going to talk about reference groups.

Reference Groups
As a consumer, your decision to purchase and use certain products and services, is influenced not only by psychological factors, your personality and life-style, but also by the people around you with whom you interact and the various social groups to which you belong. The groups with whom you interact directly or indirectly influence your purchase decision and thus their study is of great importance to marketers. If your friend is going to buy a cheap life insurance policies from agent a, then we are going to buy from same agent.

A group is defined as two or more people who interact to achieve individual or common goals. The three categories of groups which are important for the marketer to understand are:

• Primary and secondary groups
  
• Formal and informal groups
  
• Membership and symbolic groups

Let’s talk on each group in details.
1) Primary and secondary groups:
A primary group is one with which an individual interacts on a regular basis and whose opinion is of importance to him. Family, neighbors, close friends, colleagues and co-workers are example of primary groups. Secondary groups are those with which an individual interacts only occasionally and does not consider their opinion very important.

2) Formal and informal groups:
Rotaty, Lions, Jaycees are some of the well-known social groups in our society. Labor unions, social clubs and societies are other types of formal groups to which individuals may belong. A formal group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority positions and specific goals.

Social Factors - Consumer Behavior

We are talking consumer behavior in our blog. In our previous talk we talked different factor effecting consumer behavior. We talked Personality, income, Education and occupation, family life cycle as factor having effect on consumer behavior. Today we are going to talk about Social factors.

Social factors also have effect on consumer behavior. Social factors include Life-Style, Reference Groups, Family, Roles, Status, Group norms, Conformity etc. Today we talk on Life Style as social factor effecting consumer behavior.


Life-Style
Life-styles are defined as patterns in which people live, as expressed by manner in which they spend money and time on various activities and interests. Life-style is a function of our motivations, learning, attitudes, beliefs and opinion, social class, demographic factors, personality etc. While reading this unit, you are playing role of a student. But at the same time you also have your career, family and social roles to play. The manner in which you blend these different roles reflects your life-style.

Life-style is measured by a technique known as psychographics. It involves measuring consumers’ responses to Activities, Interests and Opinions (AIO), along with collecting information on demographic factors. Different individual’s responses are collected and analyzed to find distinctive life-style groups. Based on the AIO technique, different life-styles have been identified and described. The different life-styles are then used for market segmentation, product positioning and for developing promotion campaigns, including new products.

online consumer Behavior -1

I was surfing on net for consumer behavior and I found very interesting article on online consumer behavior. I like to share with you all. Share of online selling is increasing in total sales of any product. Product like mobile phone, hardware, wood blinds, window treatment online, gift article, books etc.

This report will outline the most relevant behavioral characteristics of online consumers and examine the ways they find, compare and evaluate product information. Comparison of the newly collected survey data with the existing consumer behavior theory resulted in detection of a number of issues related to a specific consumer group. The purpose of this report is to translate these findings into a set of implementation activities on strategic and technological level. Execution of these recommendations will result in better conversion of visitors into customers and encourage customer loyalty and referrals.

The focus group of this study will be young adults aged between eighteen and thirty-four interested in buying a mobile phone or a related product. We will talk more in next post.

Ref: agents website design analogik, guaranteedblinds

Personality - Consumer Behavior

Personality is sum total of an individual’s psychological traits, characteristics, motives, habits, attitudes, beliefs and outlooks. Personality is the very essence of individual differences. In consumer behavior, personality is defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how person responds to his environmental stimuli. Personality is enduring and ensures that a person’s responses are consistent over time. Person able to do Hindi Translation is having different personality.

There has been a great dl of research into the concept of personality with the objective of predicting consumer behavior, in terms of product and brand choice. The assumption in all personality related research has been that different types of personalities can be classified and each type responds differently to the same stimuli, and personality can be used to identify and predict that response. In case of products such as cigarettes, beer and cars, Personality has been used to segment the market.

Personality research to predict consumer behavior has either focused on total personality profile or a specific trait and attempted to find a correlation with product brand choice. But both these approaches assume that individuals with a given personality profile or trait are homogeneous in all other respects such as age, income, education, occupation etc. We have seen how all these factors strongly influence a consumer’s decisions.

Income - Consumer Behavior

The income which a person earns is an extremely important influence on his consumption behavior. He may aspire to buy certain goods and services but his income may become a constraint. Income in this context really refers to the income available for spending (i.e. income after tax, provident fund and other statutory deductions). The person’s attitude towards spending versus saving and his borrowing power are also important influencing factors. Small size packaging in sachets for products such as tea, shampoo, toothpaste are meant for the lower income customers who cannot afford a one time large outlay of money on such products.

Products which are considered luxuries are more income sensitive than products which fall in the category of necessities. If you are marketing a luxury product you must keep a close watch on income and saving trends to avoid decrease in sales resulting from recession. To avoid sales decline you may need to re-position the product, change the marketing mix or both.

ref: Insurance CRM Software, SFA Software, Insurance Agency Management Software

Education and Occupation - Consumer Behavior

We talked Family life cycle, it's different stages and it's relation with buying patter of consumer. Today we are going to talk about effect of education and occupation on consumer behaviour. We all know that educated person get easily ready to adopt crm software or sfa software.

Education widens a person’s horizons, refines his tastes and makes his outlook more cosmopolitan. An educated person, as compared to somebody less educated, is more likely to consume educational facilities, books, magazines and other knowledge oriented products and services. For instance, an educated insurance agent gets ready to use agency management software, insurance crm software, and insurance sfa software. While less educated person my not easily adopt such insurance software.

The occupation also shapes the consumption need. People following specialized occupations such as photography, music, dance, carpentry, etc need special tools and equipment. But, apart from this specific need the status and role of a person within an organization affects his consumption behavior. Chief executives would buy three-piece suits of the best fabric, hand made leather briefcase and use services of airline and five start hotels. A junior manager or blue collar worker in the same organization may also buy a three-piece suit but he compromise on quality.

Family Life Cycle and Buying Pattern - 1

Why CRM, we are talking here and we talked aspect related with consumer behaviour in our past posts. CRM Software is part of Agency Management System. We are talking Family Life cycle and buying pattern of consumer in last post. Today we continue with that.

Full Nest - Old married couples with dependant children, when a person is in this phase financial positions still better. Spend on education, more tasteful furniture, cars, non-necessary appliances etc.

Empty Nest 1- older married couples, no children living at home, household head still working when a person is in this stage spend on travel, recreation, self-improvement, home-improvement, health care.

Empty Nest 2 - older married, no children at home, head retired - when a person is in this stage drastic reduction in income. Buy medical appliances and medi-care products which aid good health.

Solitary Survivor - In Labor Force - when a person is in this stage likely to sell home, but income still good.

Solitary Survivor - Retired when a person is in this stage Reduce income, spend on medical product.

ref: Insurance CRM Software, SFA Software, Agency Management System

Family Life Cycle and Buying Pattern

Stage in family life cycle is directly related with buying pattern of consumer. Agency Management System or CRM Software can help businessman to understand buying pattern of consumer.

Single Stage----
When a Person is in single stage that is young, unmarried people living away from home their buying pattern could be few financial burdens. Spend on ret. Food. Very basic kitchen equipment and furniture, recreation and leisure time accessories such as Mobile or CD player.

Young Newly married
When a person is in this stage of life with no children, better off financially than they will be in near future, wife is usually working, highest purchase rate. Spend on furniture, durables such as refrigerators, gas stoves, and vacations etc.

Full Nest1—
Youngest Child under 6, when a person is in this stage, spend maximum on home purchase. Interested in new products and influenced by advertising. Buy Tv, baby foods, cough medications, toys such as tricycle.

Full Nest2—
Youngest Child over 6, a person some wives return to work. Better financial position, less influenced by advertising. Buy large size packages, various kinds of food, bicycles, education, house purchasing.

ref: agency management system, Insurance CRM

Personal Factors - Consumer Behavior

Agency Management System include CRM. we are talking here why crm and we talked consumer behavior in our last talk.
consumer’s purchase decisions are also affected by his personal characteristics such as age, sex, and stag in family life-cycle, education, occupation, income, life-style, his overall personality and overall self-concept. We shall now discuss some of the influences.

Demographic factors and life-cycle stage

The first factor influencing buyer’s decision is his age. The need for different products and services changes with age. Babies and children have special needs for products such as milk powder, baby foods and toys. Young adults need cloths, recreational and educational facilities, transportation and a host of other age and fashion related consumption needs.

There are certain physiological differences between men and women which result in their having different consumption needs. Women need specialized medical facilities for pregnancy and delivery. Their requirement of cloths and cosmetics is different from that of men. Each gender thus has its own need for specific products and services.

Consumption behavior is also influenced by the specific stage of the family life cycle. We talk about it in our next post.

ref: agency management system, Insurance CRM & SFA software

Beliefs and Attitudes - Consumer Behavior

Why CRM, we are talking here which is a part of agency management system, as part of our talked we talk consumer behavior. In last post we talked about Learning

A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something. A person may believe that a certain cooking oil 'x' has the lowest fat content and is best for health. This belief may be based on some real facts or it i my merely be a notion or opinion that the person has.

The belief that the customer has about a brand is important because it determines his behaviour towards buying and using it. The beliefs constitute the brand image, and if the customer has the wrong beliefs he is likely to generate a negative image about the brand. The marketer must ensure that consumers have all relevant and correct information about the brand to facilitate formation of a positive brand image.


Attitude is a person's enduring feeling, evaluation and tendency towards a particular idea or object. Starting from childhood, attitudes develop over the time with each fresh knowledge input, experience and influence. Attitudes get settled into specific patterns and are difficult to change. It is easier to market a product which fits in well with the existing patterns of attitudes rather than change the attitudes to fit a new product concept.


ref: Insurance CRM Software, , agency management system

Learning - Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior we are taking here as a part of Insurance CRM Software and agency management system. We talk Perception in our past posts. Today we are going to talk Learning as important aspect of consumer behavior.

Learning

A new born infant’s sucking at the feeding bottle is instinctive behavior, but a five-year old clamouring for chocolate or chewing gum is the result of learned behavior. Much of an adult’s human behavior is learned behavior.

This is a very significant fact for marketers, because it implies that consumers can be made to learn the desired behavior through interplay of motives, stimuli, cues, responses and reinforcements. A housewife has the need for cutting down the time she spends for cooking in the kitchen. When this need is strong enough to propel her to take action it becomes a motive. The motive is directed towards the stimulus object - a pressure cooker. The stimuli are the various advertisement about the product which she sees and hears. Cuse are minor stimuli that determine when, where and how the hosewife responds.

We talk more on Learning in our next post.


ref: Insurance CRM, Insurance SFA Software, agency management software

Perception - Selective Retention

we are talking here Perception as part of consumer behavior with why crm and agency management system. Today we are going to talk abot Selective Retention as important aspect of Pereception.

Selective Retention:

People forget much of the stimuli which they receive and only remtain that information which reinforces their values and decision. You are more likely to remember the positive features of brand pressure cooker since they help reassure you that the decision which you had made was correct.

ref: Insurance Software Insurance SFA, agency management system

Perception - Selective Distortion -

Perception we are talking here as part of consumer behavior with why crm and agency management system.

Today, we are going to talk about Selective Distortion.

Let us suppose you have decided to purchase a specific brand ‘A’ of pressure cooker. Since you have already made your decision you would seek only that information which reinforces the correctness of your decision.

If you hear some positive remarks made about brand ‘B’ you would tend to find some shortcoming or flaw in that brand so that you do not feel that you have made a wrong decision by buying brand ‘A’. When to fit information to suit your own ideas or personal meaning, the process is known as selective distortion. Thus, a marketer may find that his message is often not received in the intended manner but it is twisted in different ways by different consumers.


ref: crm software and sfa applications, agency management system

Perception - Selective Exposure - CRM

Perception we are talking here as part of consumer behavior which is a part of any agency management system. We talked Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User, factor influencing consumer behavior, psychological factors , Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs -1.

We start our talk with CRM and lead organizer software and we talked CRM, Importance of Consumer Behavior , and Consumer Behavior-Introduction.

Today we are going to talk on Selective Exposure as part of Perception with reference to Consumer Behavior.

You must have noticed that when you are on the look-out for purchasing a specific product, be it camera, refrigerator, television or any other high value product or service, you suddenly, seem to notice more than the usual number of advertisement pertaining to that specific product. This is because of your selective exposure. People are more likely to notice stimuli which relate to their immediate needs. For the marketer, the implication is that he has to carefully and accurately identify his potential customers since other customers are not at all likely to notice the stimuli. Having identified the potential customers, the marketer has to ensure that the stimuli are interesting enough to attract and hold their attention.


ref: CRM & CRM Software, agency management system

Perception - Consumer Behaviour and CRM -3

CRM and lead organizer software we are talking here as a part of agency management system. In our initial post we talked CRM, Importance of Consumer Behavior , and Consumer Behavior-Introduction .
As part of Consumer Behavior, we talk Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User, factor influencing consumer behavior, psychological factors , Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs -1 and Perception.

Everyday, every hour of our life we are being bombarded with a variety of stimuli. If we were to analyze and interpret each one of these stimuli, it may drive us crazy. But we all have in-built screening system which helps us to ‘select; and recognize’ only the relevant stimuli and ignore all the others. As a person involved in marketing, you would like to ensure that the stimuli which you are providing are not ignored by the consumers. But rather they are recognized, interpreted and retained in the consumer memory. In this context, there are three aspects of perception which are of immediate interest to the marketer. These are selective exposure, selective distortion and selective retention.
We talk on each of them in our next post.

ref: crm, lead organizer , agency management system & lead management software

Perception - Consumer Behaviour and CRM - 2

We are talking here consumer behavior as part of our talk on Why CRM. We talked CRM, Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior-Introduction as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to Why CRM and agency management system. In our previous post, we talk about Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User, factor influencing consumer behavior, psychological factors effecting consumer behavior, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs and Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs - Consumer Behaviour -1.

Today we talk Perception as psychological factor.

Perception is the second major psychological factor that influences consumer behavior. Perception can be described as “how we see the world around us”. All the time we are receiving messages through our five organs viz., eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin, The different sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations that we feel are knows as stimuli.

Each person recognize, selects, organizes and interprets these stimuli in his own individual manner based on his needs, values and expectations and this is knows as perception. Since each individual’s need, motives and expectations are unique therefore each individual’s perception is unique.

Perception helps to explain the phenomenon of why different individuals respond differently to the same stimulus under the same condition. As a marketing manager, you are providing stimulus to your consumers through the physical shape, colour, size, fragrance, feel, taste of your product, it’s package, advertisements and commercials.

Your interest is to understand why and what different types of perceptions are associated with each of the stimuli so that you can highlight that particular stimulus or combination of stimuli which evokes the most favorable perception in the maximum number of consumers.

ref: CRM Software with leadorganizer, agency management software

Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs - Consumer Behaviour -1

CRM we are talking here and we talk CRM, Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior-Introduction as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to Why CRM. In our previous post, we talk about Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User, factor influencing consumer behavior, psychological factors effecting consumer behavior and Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs.

Today we are continuing our talk on maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of human needs helps us understand consumer motivations. It is useful for the marketer who can identify what generic level need h is product is capable of fulfilling and accordingly position his product and back it up with relevant marketing inputs.

Products such as food and cloths are purchased because they fulfill safety needs; most personal care products such as soap, toothpaste, shaving cream, perfume are bought primarily because they serve social needs. And luxury products such as jewellery, expensive clothing, fancy house and cares are bough mainly to serve ego and self-actualizations needs.

The same product can be sold to entirely distinct customer segments provided the marketer can correctly identify the need which the product is fulfilling. For instance, a cycle may be bough by different customer segments for entirely different reasons. One segment may buy to use it as a mean of commuting, for another segment, a cycle serves a recreational/leisure need while for a third segment, it fulfils the need of a health aid. Still another customer segment buys a cycle for use in competitive sport.


ref: CRM and SFA software leadorganizer

Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs - Consumer Behaviour

Why CRM? We are talking here. We talked about CRM, Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior---Introduction as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to Why CRM. In our previous post, we talk about Types of Consumers, Buyer Vs User and factor influencing consumer behavior and psychological factors effecting consumer behavior.

Today we are going to talk about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

All human need can be classified into five hierarchical categories and this hierarchy is universally applicable. These five categories are as under.

1) Physiological Needs.
2) Safety & Security Needs.
3) Social Needs.
4) Ego Needs.
5) Self actualization Needs.
The theory of hierarchy of need was propounded by Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow’s hierarchy all needs can be ranked in order of importance from the low biological need to the higher level psychological needs. Each level of unfulfilled need motivates the individual’s behaviour and as each successive level of need is fulfilled people keep moving on to the next higher level of need.
The different levels of need have been depicted as being water tight compartments. But in reality there is always overlap amongst the different levels of need. Since no need is ever totally satisfied. There is always scope for further fulfillment.

We continue our talk in next post.

ref: crm & sfa software

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.


ref: crm, sfa, lead management, leadorganizer software for insurance industry.

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

Buyer Versus User- Consumer Behavior

In my pervious post i talk abou Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior---Introduction ,CRM as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to crm. In last post i talk about Types of Consumers. Today, I am going to talk about Buyer Vs User.

Often the person who purchases the product is not the person who actually consumes or uses the product. A Father buys toys and cloths for his young children. The father is the buyer but the actual consumers are the children. A car is purchased by the husband or the wife but it is used by all the members of the family. Thus, in the family context, you may either have the situation where the buyer is distinct from the consumer or the buyer is only one of the many consumers.
The question that arises is: Who should be the subject of study in consumer behavior? Should we study the buyer or the consumer? To overcome this problem, in many instances it is the household or the family and not the individual who is considered the subject of the study.

However, a person involved in marketing, should have a very sharply defined focus for marketing strategy, especially promotional strategy. You must identify the best prospect for your products-whether it is the buyer or the user. But even when the consumer is distinct from the buyer, the consumer's likes and dislikes, taste, etc influence the buyer's decision to purchase a specific product or brand. Thus many companies play it safe and focus their promotion at both the user and the buyer.


ref: customer relationship management software

Types of Consumers

In my pervious post i talk abou Importance of Consumer Behavior , Consumer Behavior---Introduction ,CRM as a part of leadorganizer and lead management with reference to crm. Here i like to talk about Types of Consumers.

All consumers can be classified into two types-personal and organizational. When you buy a shirt for your own use- you are buying in your capacity as a personal consumer. However, when you are buying a printer or a scanner for use in office than you are making the purchase in your capacity as an organizational consumer.

Whenever you buy goods and service for your own or for family use, you are a representative of a personal consumer. All individuals thus fall the category of personal consumer. All business firms, government agencies and bodies, non-business organization such as hospital, temples, and trusts are organizational consumers of goods and services purchased for running the organization.