In the highly specialised study of "BUSINESS MANAGEMENT", "BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION" or just "MANAGEMENT" today, "MARKETING MANAGEMENT" function plays a very critical role. This is because this functional area of management (1) "EARNS" the revenue, & (2) "WORKS" in the close proximity with the public or persons outside the organisation. Controlling these two attributes to have the desired benefits are the most difficult part of the management, because none of these two are within the direct control of the marketers. This doesn't mean that the other functional areas are not useful, but they are not "DIRECTLY" involved in the activities mentioned above.
Similarly, within the study of Marketing Management, the "Consumers" or the "Customers" play a very critical role as these are the people who finally BUY the goods & services of the organisation, and the firm is always on the move to make them buy so as to earn revenue. It's crucial from both the points of view as given below :
How can they possibly decide where to spend their time and money, and where they should give their loyalty ?
The global marketplace is a study in diversity, diversity among consumers, producers, marketers, retailers, advertising media, cultures, and customs and of course the individual or psychological behaviour. However, despite prevailing diversity, there also are many similarities. The object of the study of consumer behaviour is to provide conceptual and technical tools to enable the marketer to apply them to marketing practice, both profit & non-profit.
The study of consumer behaviour (CB) is very important to the marketers because it enables them to understand and predict buying behaviour of consumers in the marketplace; it is concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with why they buy it, when and where and how they buy it, and how often they buy it, and also how they consume it & dispose it. Consumer research is the methodology used to study consumer behaviour; it takes place at every phase of the consumption process: before the purchase, during the purchase, and after the purchase. Research shows that two different buyers buying the same product may have done it for different reasons, paid different prices, used in different ways, have different emotional attachments towards the things and so on.
According to Professor Theodore Levitt of the Harvard Business School, the study of Consumer Behaviour is one of the most important in business education, because the purpose of a business is to create and keep customers. Customers are created and maintained through marketing strategies. And the quality of marketing strategies depends on knowing, serving, and influencing consumers. In other words, the success of a business is to achieve organisational objectives, which can be done by the above two methods. This suggests that the knowledge & information about consumers is critical for developing successful marketing strategies because it challenges the marketers to think about and analyse the relationship between the consumers & marketers, and the consumer behaviour & the marketing strategy.
Consumer behaviour is interdisciplinary; that is, it is based on concepts and theories about people that have been developed by scientists, philosophers & researchers in such diverse disciplines as psychology, sociology, social psychology, cultural anthropology, and economics. The main objective of the study of consumer behaviour is to provide marketers with the knowledge and skills, that are necessary to carry out detailed consumer analyses which could be used for understanding markets and developing marketing strategies. Thus, consumer behaviour researchers with their skills for the naturalistic settings of the market are trying to make a major contribution to our understanding of human thinking in general.
The study of consumer behaviour helps management understand consumers' needs so as to recognise the potential for the trend of development of change in consumer requirements and new technology. And also to articulate the new thing in terms of the consumers' needs so that it will be accepted in the market well.
The following are a few examples of the benefits of the study of consumer behaviour derived by the different categories of people :
Consumer behaviour has become an integral part of strategic market planning. It is also the basis of the approach to the concept of Holistic Marketing. (See the article on "HOLISTIC MARKETING " written by the author). The belief that ethics and social responsibility should also be integral components of every marketing decision is embodied in a revised marketing concept - the societal marketing concept - which calls on marketers to fulfil the needs of their target markets in ways that improve society as a whole.
Introduction to Consumer BehaviourThe study of Consumer Behaviour is quite complex, because of many variables involved and their tendency to interact with & influence each other. These variables are divided into three major sections that have been identified as the most important general influences on Consumer Behaviour. Imagine three concentric circles, one at the outer most, one in the middle & one at the inner most, and they represent the following :
Marketers are frequently uncertain about the variables that are at play influencing & affecting consumers. Sometimes this occurs because they don't clearly understand the extent of variables that might be having an influence. The details of all external, internal, environmental, economical etc. are discussed above. Sometimes some variables are not directly observable. Other times variables are known to the marketers but their exact nature & relative strength of influence is not apparent. In these circumstances, it is useful to understand the above mentioned concepts and how the consumers behave, so that their decision making process can be predicted to a reasonable extent. The human mind being as complex as it is, the understanding of the buying behaviour of the consumers becomes a continuous activity of application of various theories & concepts by the marketers.
The Consumer Behaviour TheoryAn understanding of how the theory of consumer behaviour and its application tools evolved over the years will enable us to appreciate the validity of the theory and give us a guidance in its practical application. Consumer behaviour, like all human behaviour is very complex. But the consumer behaviour theory, like all theories is a simplified & abstract representation of reality. The more simplified picture of consumers provided by the theory helps us enormously to understand the consumers. It not only helps us to think about consumers, but also provides us with a language to talk about them. This language is very useful, because to be effective in an organisation - for profit or non-profit - one has to persuade others to accept his ideas. And in fact, lack of this language has been one of the greatest drawback of the modern marketers.
Market Research or Marketing Research (MR) has been developing since "MARKETING" which brings together all customer elements, grew out of the concept of "SALES" in the early fifties. The theory of consumer behaviour draws heavily upon the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, particularly with respect to the emotional, psychological, mental, subjective or non-utilitarian aspects of buying decision or behaviour of a consumer. The theory represents the hidden order in this very complex activity, which we call consumer behaviour. On the surface, this highly complex & varied display of behaviour by consumers seems essentially unexplained. But slowly as the theory develops, the hidden pattern emerges, describing the order we suddenly see, and explaining why the behaviour pattern takes place.
Now, what is the magic stuff called consumer behaviour theory that does all these wonderful things. It's not just a theory, as explained earlier, but more than that. It helps us to make better marketing decisions for profit & non-profit organisations. Thus we can examine the characteristics of a theory that enables us to do so. Researchers G Zaltman and M Wallendorf have came out with the most important attributes of a good & sound theory, after very close and careful thought. These are the following :
Consumer Behaviour (or Buyer Behaviour) is broadly defined by various scholars & researchers as :
The study of consumer behaviour involves search, evaluation, purchase, consumption and post purchase behaviour of the consumers and includes the disposal of purchased products keeping environment and personal characteristics in mind.
Key Words :Users Customers Internal FactorsConsumer ResearchBuyers Consumers External Factors Problem RecognitionCulture Social Class Holistic MarketingSocial ResponsibilityMemory Involvement Purchase Decision Marketing AdmissionAttitude Sub-Culture Societal MarketingConsumer Behaviour LearningSocial GroupInformation Search Environmental InfluenceMotivation Self-ConceptMarketing Strategy Evaluation of ApplicationPerception Marketing PlanPersonal Attributes Post-purchase Behaviour References :Consumer buyer behavior is the process of understanding why consumers buy the products they purchase. Managers typically study consumer needs and pricing strategies for insight.
Relationship between consumer behavior and marketing concept is that consumer behavior is the study of how individual make decision to spend their available resource (time, money, effort) on consumption related time
1.commodity approach
Consumer behaviour audit means that to find the product according to need in a proper way
¡Consumer Behavior is the study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources(time,money,effort) on consumption related items.
Consumer behavior is the study of people: how we buy, consume and dispose of products.
Psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics have all contributed to the study of consumer behavior. These disciplines provide insights into how individuals make purchasing decisions, the influences that shape consumer preferences, and the societal and cultural factors that impact consumer behavior.
Consumer buyer behavior is the process of understanding why consumers buy the products they purchase. Managers typically study consumer needs and pricing strategies for insight.
Studying consumer behavior can help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions, understand their own consumption patterns, resist manipulative marketing tactics, and ultimately improve their overall well-being and satisfaction with their purchases.
To predict new trends so businesses can create what the consumers want.
Relationship between consumer behavior and marketing concept is that consumer behavior is the study of how individual make decision to spend their available resource (time, money, effort) on consumption related time
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1.commodity approach
Consumer behavior is the study of the way consumers respond to or utilize a particular product. The analysis of consumer behavior has become mandatory to marketing strategy. It enables for manufacturers and merchandisers to better direct marketing to a particular group.
Some challenges in the study of consumer behavior include the complexity of human decision-making processes, the influence of external factors such as culture and social norms, and the rapid changes in technology that impact how consumers interact with businesses and make purchasing decisions. Additionally, gathering accurate data on consumer behavior can be challenging due to privacy concerns and the increasing amount of information available.
Consumer behaviour audit means that to find the product according to need in a proper way
Frederick George Bricker has written: 'A scientific study of consumer buying patterns' -- subject(s): Consumer behavior