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Consumer behaviour is the foundation upon which the entire marketing approach is built. In-depth knowledge of consumers is a prerequisite for successful marketing activities. Successful strategic development of the company depends on understanding the motivations of potential consumers, as well as the ability to competently analyse the decision-making process of consumers when purchasing goods and services.
Purchasing is a rational and emotional process
It used to be thought that people, as participants in the economic marketplace, acted in a purely rational way: they had clear goals and achieved them in the best way for themselves. When a person makes a decision to buy, he knows exactly what he wants, calculates all the options in his head and makes the best decision.
However, anyone who has ever shopped knows that this is not always the case. We can go to the store and buy something we never intended to buy. Often our decisions are impulsive and influenced in some way. For a long time, this aspect was not taken into account in various economic models and theories. It was only in the 70s of the twentieth century that such factors began to be studied in economics. It was then that behavioural economics began to emerge. Many studies have been carried out that include economic, philosophical and psychological components. Some of them have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
What influences consumer behaviour?
The main factors influencing consumer behaviour are generally divided into four groups.
Cultural
- Culture, the traditions of a country or region. These are the basic rules of behaviour for people who share the same way of life. A view of the world with a system of values and norms shared by most people.
- Subculture. A system of norms and values that distinguishes a group of people from the wider society. For example, bikers, anime fans, sports fans, etc.
- Social class. Hierarchically structured, homogeneous, stable social groups united by shared values and interests.
Social
- Social status – a person’s position in society. Luxury goods are bought not only to fulfil functional needs (e.g. to carry things in a bag) but also to demonstrate one’s status to others.
- The influence of the peer group. The values and position of the reference group on which the consumer’s current behaviour is based. Simply put, these are the opinions of the people we are guided by.
- Roles. This is a set of actions that others expect a person to perform.
Personal
- Level of wealth. A person makes a decision to buy a particular product taking into account his or her financial means.
- Lifestyle is the way the consumer lives and uses resources: time, money, information.
- Personality type is a set of distinctive psychological characteristics of an individual that determine his or her relatively constant and consistent responses to environmental influences.
Psychological
- Motive – an internal force that motivates a person to perform certain actions.
- Assimilation – certain changes in a person’s behaviour that occur as they gain experience. In other words, it is the consumer’s perception of the marketing communication that the company wants to deliver.
- The consumer’s attitude towards the product they are about to buy. That is, the positive or negative evaluation of the product and the feelings it evokes in a person.
Turning need into demand
The buying process is influenced by both internal and external factors. Internal factors are a person’s desire to satisfy a need. Companies use external factors to influence the consumer. For example, one of the marketer’s tricks is to create the conditions for impulsive, emotional purchases.
To turn a need into a demand, companies try to study how a consumer makes a purchase decision and influence that process. Such work requires research and analysis of the data obtained. Stelvel Ltd actively applies and helps implement various techniques to increase sales through marketing. Stelvel Ltd specialists optimise existing sales, perform ABC XYZ analysis – a method that helps identify 9 groups of goods (or customers, users, channels, depending on the analysis) and formulate tactics to work with them.