Why would a consumer ever buy a product? The answer lies in at least one of the levels described in a pyramid popularly called Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
It is one of the factors mentioned in the pyramid above (with the more basic needs mentioned near the bottom of the pyramid and more complex ones as the pyramid tapers towards its apex) that influences a buyer to go for a particular product depending on his current need and the way the product will be useful in the scenario.
The actual process of buying a product is heavily influenced by two factors, the Consumer Behavior and the Buying Decision Process. We will try and demystify the two seemingly complex terms in this post!
Consumer Behavior:
Consumer Behavior is defined as "the study of how individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants".
So we can say that consumer behavior is the study of how a marketeer should position the image and the offering from his product, taking into consideration his target audience and how this group might think, act and react to whatever he decides to project of his product. It will include a detailed study of the profile of his target consumer and his behavioral traits. This includes a study of the following with respect to the consumer:
1. Cultural factors
2. Social factors
3. Personal factors
Cultural factors:
We can say that the unspoken and unwritten rules/code adopted by a group of people may be termed as a culture pertaining to that people. Therefore, anything that falls under that set of rules or habits might influence the buying habits of the people following that culture. Someone who has been an element in the environment defined by such a culture is conditioned by influences of a culture, be them familial, peer or workplace related. Therefore, studying and targeting a particular aspect of the culture of a particular group becomes necessary for a marketer.
Social factors:
In addition to cultural factors, social factors like reference groups, family and social roles and statuses also affect the buying behavior of a consumer.
Personal Factors:
Age and Stage-
The selection process of any commodity for personal use of a consumer more than often depends on how old the consumer is. The choices of color, shape, size taste change according to a person's age and are often driving factors in the buying decision of a consumer. Also, by stage, we should refer to changes that come due to emotionally critical events in a person's life like marriage, childbirth, illness, job change, job ending etc. Due to changing mental states in such phases, buying decisions may change accordingly.
For example, considering a Mc'Donalds combo meal, an adult (except the odd case where the toy matters) would hardly go for a 'Happy Meal' and would prefer selecting the burger of his choice depending on factors like his willingness to spend, current preference of vegetarian versus non-vegetarian cravings etc.
The ultimate buying decision is based on a methodical evaluation of alternatives by a consumer even if it does not seem so when we ourselves act as consumers.
It usually looks something like-I require (need/want/desire) something-which I will get (from places/persons/entities/product lines)-of which I think I will shortlist these-of these I will select a single product which relatively fits my expectations the most-I will use this product-I will decide how I like it and if I would use it again or recommend it to someone.
Depending on the factors like research behind the product and the intensity of requirement, few of the above stages will take either too long or too short. But this can be summed up using a 5 stage model which proposes the same thing:
1. Problem recognition:
The inception of the buying process comes from the consumer realizing that he requires something. This realization later translates into a purchase.
2. Information search:
After realizing the problem, the consumer sets out to search for potential solutions i.e. product/s which might satisfy his current need. This is called the information search phase. This information can be obtained from following sources-
a. Personal: Family, friends, neighbors etc.
b. Commercial: Advertisements, Flyers, Salespersons, Websites etc.
c. Public: Mass media, ratings etc.
d. Experiential: Contact with the product, use, feeling the product etc.
3. Evaluation of alternatives:
At this stage, the consumer is aware of what options he has when it will actually comes to the buying part. So the next difficult process is that of making the choice. The consumer usually has in mind what exactly is he expecting from his potential buy. So it is on the basis of a few parameters that he evaluates and eliminates choices, coming down to a select few in order to make his final decision.
For example, if I am looking for a quick bite which would not cost me a bomb at Mc'Donalds, I would rather go for a Mc'Aloo Tikki or a Mc'Chicken Sandwich in my combo meal rather than a burger in the Mc'Spicy range which does not qualify as both (cheap and quick)!
4. Purchase decision:
This is the stage where the consumer actually makes the decision that is being contemplated so far! This decision comes after consideration of factors such as brand, dealer, quantity, timing and mode of payment.
This is a stage when the marketer has to be extremely wary of the product positioning from the point of view of perceived risks. These may be:
a. Functional risk: Product performance
b. Physical risk: Product may cause physical harm or discomfort to user
c. Financial risk: Worth of the product
d. Social risk: Using the product brings embarrassment to user
e. Psychological risk: Product affects mental well being of the user
f. Time risk: Product is not worth the time invested in it and in cases, time that would be invested later looking for a better replacement.
5. Post-purchase behavior:
The behavior of a consumer post making a purchase may be termed as post-purchase behavior.
This is based on how was his experience with the product, did the product perform according to the promise, how satisfying was it. Could be termed as "Post-purchase Satisfaction".
The satisfaction level is what determines what the "Post-purchase Actions" might be. If the consumer is very happy with his experience, he might end up as a repeat buyer for the product and also lead to recommendations to potential buyers. At the same time, if the experience of a buyer is not very good, he might do what is called negative publicity for the product leading to the sales getting marred.
Apart from the reaction of a customer to a product and what it offers, post-purchase behavior should consist of a study of how the buyer gets rid of his product. The below figure illustrates how a consumer may go about disposing off a product.
In the end, we may conclude that the whole circle that starts with a thought that says "I think I want to have a combo meal.." may end with either "Okay-I am going to go and get another combo meal again whenever I feel hungry!" or "What did I just eat!". The phases in between include checking your mood, deciding if you want to have a hot coffee or a glass of Coke to go with it, what burger to have (depending on how fat your wallet is!) and who am I going to have the meal with (if it is a similar thinking friend-go ahead. But if it is an important business colleague, in comes the social risk factor!). And thinking of all this from the point of view of a marketer-one who will understand who your consumer is, where is he from, what would be his expectations, how much is he willing to spend on this purchase and all the inferences that follow is a marketer who might just end up being the better seller!
Until the next post where we will discuss Competition then! Think of what you need RIGHT NOW and WHY and HOW you are going to go and get WHICH on of it!
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