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.
Showing posts with label Customer Relationship Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Customer Relationship Management. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, December 29, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
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.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, December 12, 2008
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
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
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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.
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
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
Monday, December 1, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
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
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
Friday, December 7, 2007
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
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
Monday, December 3, 2007
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.
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
Monday, November 26, 2007
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
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
Friday, November 23, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Importance of Consumer Behavior
To successfully market to different market segments and for a successful marketing campaign management the marketing manager needs appropriate marketing strategies which he can design only when he understand the factors which account for those differences in consumer behaviors and tastes.
In today’s world of rapidly changing technology, consumer tastes are also characterized by fast changes. To survive in the market, a firm has to be constantly innovating and understand the latest consumer trends and tastes. Consumer behavior provides invaluable clues and guidelines to marketers on new technological frontiers which they should explore. For example, Mobile Phones, Lap Tops, LCD Monitors, etc.
Consumer behavior is a process, and purchase forms one part of this process. There are various endogenous psychological and exogenous environmental factors which influence this process. All these factors and the type of influence which they exert on an individual’s consumption behavior can be understood and analyzed.
ref:
customer relationship management
In today’s world of rapidly changing technology, consumer tastes are also characterized by fast changes. To survive in the market, a firm has to be constantly innovating and understand the latest consumer trends and tastes. Consumer behavior provides invaluable clues and guidelines to marketers on new technological frontiers which they should explore. For example, Mobile Phones, Lap Tops, LCD Monitors, etc.
Consumer behavior is a process, and purchase forms one part of this process. There are various endogenous psychological and exogenous environmental factors which influence this process. All these factors and the type of influence which they exert on an individual’s consumption behavior can be understood and analyzed.
ref:
customer relationship management
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