Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behavior for:
· Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success.
· The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy.
· Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.
Stages of the Consumer
Buying Process
Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). The 6 stages are:
1.
Problem Recognition(awareness of need)--difference
between the desired state and the actual condition. Deficit in assortment of
products. Hunger--Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat.
Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information--did not know you
were deficient? I.E., see a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your
recognition that you need a new pair of shoes.
2.
Information search--
Internal search, memory.
External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth).
Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc.
A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set.
Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is
· Chinese food
· Indian food
· burger king
· klondike kates etc
3.Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation, features the buyer wants or does not want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, Indian gets highest rank etc.
If not satisfied with your choice then return to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to influence by "framing" alternatives.4.Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc.
5.Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product availability.
6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome:
Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance, have you
made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales
communication etc.
After eating an Indian meal, may think that really you wanted a Chinese meal instead.
Types of Consuming Behavior:
The four type of consumer buying
behavior are:
· Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--buying low involvement frequently purchased low cost items; need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc.
· Limited Decision Making--buying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering. Examples include Clothes--know product class but not the brand.
·
Extensive Decision Making/Complex high
involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and/or infrequently bought products. High
degree of economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars,
homes, computers, education. Spend alot of time seeking information and
deciding.
Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc.
Go through all six stages of the buying process.
· Impulse buying, no conscious planning.