Four theories stand out as influential for marketers. Instead, their strategies focused on mass promotion. Often the changes may be to split one factor into two to recognise variance in this particular field, or sometimes lists may be condensed to make them easier to understand.Â. They were less focused on customer satisfaction with goods and services. In the end, no-one really “wins”, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to keep the game going for the hell of it. Derived from psychological models of general human behaviour and a plethora of other disciplines, consumer behaviour emerged shortly after the Second World War as marketing shifted away from its reliance on economic theory … Understanding your demographics can put your brand in a fantastic position, but one thing that cannot be predicted about someone is how they are feeling at any given time. (1990: 22) and Schiffman & Kanuk (1997: 8), consumer buying plane tickets) or the consumer may be unable to unpick the nature of their problem (e.g. Similarly, different channels will have differing levels of efficacy dependent on a target audience.Â. While much of this decision may lie with the performance of the product itself, the role of the brand must not be underestimated.Â, Providing support on how to use a product and following up to confirm that it was received in good condition may seem like housekeeping, but considering that the consumer has already gone through many stages to arrive at this juncture, it is a waste to assume that they will buy again moving forward. © 2021 Husson University Online Imagine that KFC wants to run a new promotion. The mode of initiation is essential, as self-initiation before a purchase will have a different effect to initiation from an advertisement. Nope – and if anything, at this point Netflix was far worse off from an inventory perspective. However, the important point here is that not every shift will be so obvious, and even then, it’s easy for us to say we saw this trend coming with hindsight.Â, A fascinating example about failing to switch channel comes from QVC, the live TV retailer. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. When establishing or reinventing a brand, marketers can use this knowledge to help create or change consumer habits, or reinforce brand elements that are associated with positive customer experiences. Many already do, exploiting the impressionable tendencies of some people by using celebrity promotion or even an odious influencer or two to hawk their product and encourage particular trends. Brand switching will happen when the factors by which a consumer evaluates their purchases become outweighed by another. The science of marketing is increasingly important to success in the modern marketplace. If only there were a way we could medicate the masses to be in a 100% predictable mood. I know you are because it’s f*** or walk. In this article, we’ll take you through the reasons people purchase in the first place, why the purchase process might change, and how brands can build loyalty to encourage repeat purchases. The point is that brands and products will always come and go like the tides, but the one thing that never truly changes is behaviour. Two tables were set out at a food market in the USA, one with six types of jam and the other with 24. Extending beyond supply chain issues, how readily available the product is, and how it is delivered can be as crucial as the product itself. The theory of buyer behaviour is a complex process … If a consumer has a negative impression of your brand, the decision will be over before additional factors like quality and price are even taken into account. price comparison site), Perceived quality is then weighed against the perceived value, What’s more, it reminds us that pricing is a part of the marketing process, and deciding how a product is priced shouldn’t be in the hands of the product development team alone. No reference, no reason. Much more scarily, a lot of the time, people don’t buy things simply because they are in a different mood.Â, How horrifying. A major part of the unconscious mind is comprised of strong urges and desires. As with the example given in the first paragraph, what is important to note is that a single ad or promotion may seem like the exact trigger for a switch, but you must also consider that the reason for the switch will be built into a slow build of brand equity for the consumer. However, If a person is in a bad mood, the inverse will be true, and this can be tough to predict. Frederick Herzberg stated that behaviour is guided by two factors that go hand in hand. proved that offering fewer products will lead to more purchases rather than less. The issue for marketers is that it can take just one thing to go awry, and the whole transaction falls apart. They may be content with their brand of supermarket, but after getting a pay rise and noticing a few ads showcasing superior alternatives, they may decide to change brands.Â. In a list of the ten most-liked and loathed brands in 2018, Amazon was the only one to feature in both lists. In this theory, … Consumer theory is not flawless, though, as it based on a number of assumptions about human behavior. Example: Consumer attitudes influence purchasing behavior, where cognitive theory comes into play. If you’re advertising fast food, rather than covering the risks (of which there are many), the best way to sell your product is to present it as something beneficial in spite of the risks. For anyone who didn’t and points out that the scales aren’t even because the one on the left stops in July 2010, it’s because that’s when Blockbuster went into liquidation.Â, Were their products any different? Concerning online paid advertising, this is an essential factor to consider. The company. Psychological theories 3. In a famous experiment, Pavlov discovered that if he rang a bell immediately prior to feeding a dog, he could eventually get the dog to salivate just by ringing it. Understanding human behavior — how people think and make decisions — can be illuminating for marketers. While consumer behaviour is not pseudoscience, it is still a social science and thus sempiternally changing and evolving. Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions. 2001). Consumer behavior involves the purchasing, and other consumption related activities of people engaging in the exchange process. “helping the group while harming oneself”, which makes for a tricky realisation that we aren’t really talking about loyalty in the same way as you would otherwise use the term. Theories of consumer behavior are a natural extension of human behavior theories. These include psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology and economics, the University of Pretoria in South Africa explains. Bastards. A person may have a positive brand perception of Co-op but may deem it inappropriate for them to advertise their, . Pricing is actually part of the marketing mix – one of the most fundamental models in all of marketing theory, indicating that marketers, being close to the market and all, must have an active say in how things are priced in relation to competitors.Â. Businesses use consumer behavior theories to optimize marketing and advertising campaigns. This being said, an important point to consider at this juncture is that there’s a big difference between brand switching and impulse purchases. The results showed that subjects were likely to discriminate against those not in their own category, even if it came at the cost of losing objectively identical advantages.Â, While the study horrified many as it showed humanity’s propensity for prejudice, it illustrated that brands could make it more likely that consumers will refrain from switching by indicating that other products are intrinsically “different”. Having a schtick or hook is all-important for a brand, but simply being different isn’t enough, as the majority of consumers won’t notice a vague sense of differentiation. a paid social promotion for a betting site), it is naive to think that all purchase decisions will begin this way. The first marketing theory is called Consideration. In contrast, human behaviour is rooted in an evolutionary process that has taken millions of years to develop. QVC registered $6.1 billion in revenue in 2017, with 92% of its US sales coming from repeat customers, highlighting that for all its gimmicky price reductions, it doesn’t need to push sales promotions to one-time consumers to keep the business going. Veblen focused his theory on members of society’s “leisure class,” whom he hypothesized were influenced by the desire for prestige rather than utilitarian need fulfillment. Other examples of changing consumer values include: decreasing tolerance for marketer… Consumers do not buy products. The solution in this respect is to move from being the hunter and to being hunted by building a brand that consumers feel a sense of loyalty towards. The initiation can come from a few different sources. Considering where consumers want and expect to see ads is essential, as all too often, marketers are keen to use the tools they like best even when they aren’t appropriate. Social norms are often more of a factor when purchasing with other people present (i.e. After all, you’re unlikely to decide to order from a new pizza place that you’ve never heard of, but you may choose to go for another that’s been on your radar, especially if your last few orders have been a bit dodgy. Marketers are now using these foundational theories of consumer behavior in innovative ways. But, if you ask if they still use Amazon, and the answer will invariably be yes. The table with fewer jams made a higher profit, as consumers were frozen in the face of the quantity of choice from the other table. behavioural orientation. Which means they’re in the same situation as we are. If a product’s price is lower, the sales of that product will be higher. This is a particularly prudent point for large-scale retailers, as consumers should be given a chance to evaluate a product during this phase, but only from the perspective of the product itself rather than a round-the-houses means of showing lots of alternatives. The Internet is a very powerful yet cost-effective tool for marketing research. Macs were positioned as something more than PCs, building on the positive rather than attacking the negative.Â. Two Marketing Theories. Likewise, this theory asserts that consumers … Although critics of Veblen’s theory argue that it may be overstated in scope, the theory still proves useful. Forging this abstract sense of uniqueness can come from something as simple as positioning against a competitor who is diametric to your values*. For this reason, marketers must be aware of how social norms influence purchase decisions. According to psychoanalytic theory, consumers respond to symbolic concerns as much as they respond to those of economics and function. Unfortunately for lazy ecommerce managers, loyalty points programmes are not the answer. However, the purchase process model reinforces the fact that the decision may not be derived from an ad, but rather self-identification of a need. Marketers are now using these foundational theories of consumer behavior in innovative ways. If you’ve found it engaging, I would urge you not to stop here. Unfortunately, there is no holy grail that answers all of your questions, as every brand and every person you’re trying to market to is different.Â, The fact that each brand is different is what truly separates consumer behaviour from the other strands of psychology. Home → Blog → Top Consumer Behavior Theories. What’s worse, the insurgence of misinformation on the topic has grown in the past few years as people scramble to explain what’s happening to their industries.Â, This isn’t to say that approaching the topic isn’t tricky. Furthermore, problem identification is far from a simple process, as it may occur over a long period (e.g. Originally I’d planned to use some ABBA lyrics here rather than in the previous section, but fittingly, I changed my mind. (And it's not socks). Section 2.2.2 will provide greater clarity on the origin and importance of consumer behaviour, especially from a marketing point of view. Is the product going to be good quality? Understanding Consumer Theory Individuals have the freedom to choose between … The traditional theorists would believe that consumers behave mechanistically. “But what about Coke/Apple/Google/Tax-Dodger Inc.?”, Firstly, stop. Once the vital information on the product has been ascertained, the pre-purchase evaluation begins. The speed of delivery is now treated as part of the product itself, and longer delivery time is construed on a similar footing to unavailability. Nope, in 2007 Blockbuster reported that they had, In fact, its business is doing better than ever. This is a particularly prudent point for large-scale retailers, as consumers should be given a chance to evaluate a product during this phase, but only from the perspective of the product itself rather than a round-the-houses means of showing lots of alternatives. Two tables were set out at a food market in the USA, one with six types of jam and the other with 24. Hopefully, you’ve been able to learn a lot about the basic structures underpinning consumer behaviour from this article. Consumers are different from marketers, but they aren’t freaks. But what can’t be ignored is that consumers have preferred channels, and if your product isn’t on there, you’re history.Â. The company going out of business? Not our fault mate, consu…you get the idea. Was it because Blockbuster had poor brand equity? While it is handy for marketers to understand the mechanics of consumer behaviour, the real value comes with being able to influence it rather than merely being reactive. This is due to the way the purchase process has changed because of technology.Â, Asos has been around for over ten years, and they managed to disrupt the online clothing market with their offering of next day delivery, setting the bar high for other online retailers. Conversely, if you’re trying to get clients for a cybersecurity firm, you’ll need to show you’ve thought of everything that could go wrong. Want to be at the top of the search ranks? For the sake of ease (and because I’ve already used the word loyalty a lot before stumbling across this particular definition), we’ll keep on with it for now, but perhaps moving forward it is better to refer to “loyalty” as something akin to patriotism, as the reciprocal benefit to the individual is vastly skewed in favour of the brand.Â, Having a schtick or hook is all-important for a brand, but simply being different isn’t enough, as the majority of consumers won’t notice a vague sense of differentiation. For example, if it has been determined that time constraints played a significant role in the purchase, those factors must be clearly viewable to the consumer.Â, One of the most important phases then comes after the purchase, and this is one phase fatally ignored by the sales funnel. In keeping with the Veblenian model, for example, they are beginning to understand that our face-paced, technology-saturated culture means that consumers are placing an even higher value on their time. To paraphrase from Rory Sutherland’s’s summation of multiplicative systems, failure to succeed more often equals failure than diminished success. The. In the early 1950s, marketers began to recognize the benefits of selling to customers already inclined to buy certain products. QVC registered. As such, the best way to truly grasp it is to read contrasting theories that not only dispute one another but also challenge your understanding of the subject. Created by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in the late 1960s, the Theory of Reasoned Action centers its analysis on the importance of pre-existing attitudes in the decision-making process. The main issue with the sales funnel is that applying its language to consumer behaviour doesn’t work, yet it shapes the way ads and campaigns are formed. Bangor, ME 04401 Other examples of changing consumer values include: decreasing tolerance for marketers who abuse personal data, rising expectations for interaction with brands and the desire to build long-term relationships with companies. The reason for this is that we tackle risk by adopting a multiplicative decision-making system, and in any multiplication, anything times zero is always zero.Â. It suggests that marketers should understand the social influences that impact consumers in order to better comprehend product demand. This may come in the form of reading product reviews, comparing to other products (potentially through comparison sites) or considering personal factors such as cost. Understanding, analyzing, and influencing consumer behavior … Studying consumer behavior can provide professional marketers with the knowledge they need to develop effective communications that motivate people to purchase goods and services. While an ad may initiate a purchase decision, the quality of the ad, both in terms of implicit and explicit value, will have a significant bearing on whether or not a purchase is made. For example, an email campaign from a news service could attempt to highlight issues of poverty for young people by providing details of an offline support network. The core of the theory posits that consumers act on behavior based on their intention to create or receive a particular outcome. Marketers must find ways to make their advertisements both shorter and more impactful, according to Direct Marketing News (DMN). Instead, marketing messages that contain an emotional appeal to consumers’ feelings, hopes, aspirations and fears are often more effective than rational appeals. This is partly because the cost of a product has so many subfactors, including price comparison to other products, personal financial solvency, long-term financial goals and potential price changes, to name just a few. In reality, a better way to describe “uniqueness” would be less passive and more aggressively different from others, almost bordering on isolation or, categorised people at random and then offered rewards based on these categorisations. The job for marketers is thus twofold: Both options are tricky, and depending on your product, one may be a more appealing option than the other. Related to this, the efficacy of communication of the product or service offering also refers to the medium of communication. You have the money, the time, a good hotel, a top location, everything. buying plane tickets online for a family holiday). The point is that brands and products will always come and go like the tides, but the one thing that never truly changes is behaviour. A person rolls two dice. Some include: Ultimately, the Marshallian model offers a way for marketers to understand the behavior of consumers when they are making purchases that require rational consideration. Pre-purchase knowledge is crucial as factors such as brand perception can make or break a purchase before the consumer even arrives at the initiation phase. The main factors that influence a purchase are as follows: It’s important to remember that this list isn’t exhaustive and that psychologists and marketers alike are continually tweaking and adding to lists like this*. In the long term, brand building yields far better returns than sales promotions, as demonstrated in the seminal work of Field and Benet. Freud’s work implies that external factors such as age and income cannot fully account for consumer behavior because motivations lay deep in the psyche. — have you made your decision for Christ?!! Psychoanalytic theory traces back to Sigmund Freud, the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis. They buy motive satisfaction or problem solutions. 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