Consumer Behavior Individual Case Analysis Report
Subject : Consumer Behavior
Individual Case Analysis Report
Table
OF Contents :
Consumer Behavior(definition)
Part-1 Consumer
Decision Making Model Process
Need Recognition......................................................................................................
Post-Purchase
Search
Evaluation Process
Purchase
Post-Purchase Evaluation
Part-2 Reflection and analysis of Internal
and External Influences
Internal Influences……………………………………………………………………………………………………7
Consumer Motivation
Motivational Theories
Personality
Theories
Consumer
Perception
External Influences…………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
Social
Acceptability
Cultural
Influences
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Consumer Behavior:
Consumer behavior
is the study of individuals, groups and organization and all the activities
associated with purchase, use and disposal of goods and services and how the
consumer’s attitudes, emotions and preferences affect buying behavior.
Part- Consumer
Decision Making Model Process
Consumer decision
making model is a model that reflects the cognitive(or problem solving) and to some degree the emotional consumer. This model
is designed to tie together ideas on consumer decision making and consumption
behavior.
This report
analyses that how an individual recognizes the need to buy a product and how
certain factors affects him to make decisions about the purchase of the product.
The process
component of the model is concerned with the is concerned with how consumers
make decisions. The consumer making decisions consist of three stages:
Stage 1: Need
Recognition:
The recognition of
need is likely to occur when a consumer is faced with a “problem”.
Person A is a Young
part owner and a manager of the restaurant, who lives and works in Melbourne
Australia . He has a desktop computer at
office as well as at home. Up to now he never had the desire for a laptop
because he considers them to be too big to break too often (from what he has
observed from his friends with laptop) and to be somewhat uncomfortable to use
(that is small keyboards without much “feel” to the keys and touch pad rather
than mouse).
The perceived problem
is that the consumer can’t get information about the sites he is visiting on
the spot (like price, location etc) while travelling to another city. The purchase
of the laptop is satisfying the need that he can get information on the spot
and he can work while travelling. The actual state is that the consumer has desktop
computer both at home and at office and its his desire state that he wants to
purchase a laptop so that he can work while travelling. This actual and desired
state can be explained through the Mas low's hierarchy of needs where Ma slow has
defined five different stages of a individual needs and wants from physiological
stage to self-actualization state. Ma slow has defined that a consumer has
firsts needs that are basic necessities of life (food,water,clothing and
shelter). He states that consumer decision making for purchasing a product and
his buying behavior is influenced by his needs and desires. When a consumer fulfills
his basic necessities of life, then his wants and desires takes place so
according to the individual Person A his actual state is that he already has a
desktop computer for his work but the to purchase a laptop is hi desire and
want not a basic need. The consumer desires to have something in order to reflect
a social class as well and his decision for purchasing a certain product is concerned
with the emotion phase as well in which one wants to buy something in order to
tell that he belongs to a certain social class.
This purchase of
laptop was not a ritual purchase but something that he has not bought before.
Stage 2: Pre-purchase Search /Information source
Pre-purchase
search begins when a consumer perceives a need that might be satisfied by the purchase
and consumption of a product. This information is based on past/ prior experiences
and when there are no previous experiences the consumer searches about the product.
Person A has internal
sources that means he has previous experiences of the purchase of laptop because
his friends has purchased it but he wants to conduct an external research as
well because he wants to find a product with such specifications that satisfy his
desire and it is easy to use for him as well. Because of the experience based
on the usage of laptops by his friends he says that the are easily breakable
and they are uncomfortable to use because of small keyboards and there is touch pad
rather than mouse.
In case of Person A our restaurant manager and real estate investor, while there is no need to rush
into the purchase of computer, he would like to have it in two weeks when he is
planning to take another overnight trip to examine condos. As personal search
he asked some of his friends and coworkers what they knew about laptops and he
also did external researches whether computer magazines as PC Quest and Digital
might have rated the various brands and models of laptops.
Alternative Pre-purchase
Information sources :
Personal
Friends , Neighbors,
Relatives, Coworkers, Computer sales people, Membership discussion form.
Impersonal:
Newspaper
articles, Magazine articles, Consumer Reports, Direct-mail brochures,
Information from product advertisements, Online electronics retailers website.
Stage 3: Evaluation
process
When evaluating
potential alternatives consumers tend to use two types of information 1) “list”
of brands (or models) from which they plan to make their selection (the evoked
set) and 2) the criteria they will use to evaluate each brand or model. Making a
selection from a sample of all possible brands is a human characteristic that
helps simplify the decision-making process.
Evoked set :
It refers to the
specific brands a consumer considers in making a purchase within a particular
product category. This set is also called consideration set. A consumer’s
evoked set is distinguished from his or her inept set which consists of brands that
consumer’s exclude from purchase consideration because they are felt to be unacceptable
and from the inert set, which consists of brands the consumer is indifferent
towards because they are perceived as not having any particular advantages.
Lets return for a
moment to Person A and his search for small, light weight portable computer. As a
part of his search process, he has acquired information about a number of
relevant issues that could influence hi final choice. He has learned that the overall
size of a computer is very much a function of the features that it contains
such as the speed of the processor, whether or not the computer has optical
drive, the size of its hard drive and
screen and its battery life, still further he realizes that since he his
planning to use his PC almost exclusively for e-mail and for surfing the ‘internet
he is more interested in small size( but not too small screen or keyboard) than
in hard drive size or whether the machine has built in optical drive. Consequently, Person A decides that a netbook is what he needs.
As a part of his
search process Person A has acquired information about other relevant issues that
could influence hi final choice. He has also learned that dome models of
netbooks have much hard drives than other models and that some offer larger
screens. Based on his informative research he has to evaluate which model of
netbook he wants .
Output portion
of the consumer decision making model:
The output portion
of the consumer decision making model concerns two closely associated kinds of
post-decision activity:
Purchase Behavior
and Post Purchase Evaluation:
Consumers make
three types of purchases : trial purchases, repeat purchases and long-term
commitment purchases. When a consumer purchases a product for the first time he
buys a smaller quantity than usual, this purchase would be considered a trial,
a trial is an exploratory phase of purchase behavior in which consumers attempt
to evaluate a product through direct use. When a new brand in a established product
category is found by trial to be more satisfactory or better than other brands,
consumers are likely to repeat the purchases. A repeat purchase usually signifies
that product meets with the consumer’s approval and that he is willing to use
it again in larger quantities.
Again considering Person A and decision concerning the selection of netbook. Since he lives and
works in Melbourne , it was easy for him to visit several large computer/
electronics store. He stopped at one store where three to four he was considering
were on display. He was able to hold each one of the netbooks at the store, get
the feel of keyboard and take note of the screen size and image quality and
since the stores keeps its computers plugged into rechargers, he was able to
surf the web with each one. The sales person was neutral in his opinion,
feeling that all three netbooks were essentially equivalent and that it was
just a matter of personal taste. A few days later he stopped at another store on
the way to his home. This store also sold three to four netbooks that he was
considering including the one that was not available on the previous store. He examined
these three netbooks and surf the web on each of them. When he thought about
his experiences with net books it seemed to him that Acer keyboard was easier for
him to type on based on the key placement and key “feel”, the 8-9 inch screen
was large enough and sharp enough to make emails and web pages easy to read and
he liked the fact that this netbook had SD card slot and several USB ports. Then
he again went on internet as he had been told by a coworker that there were no
of computer discussion groups on internet and some of them probably contained
consumer evaluation of specific netbook models. He learned what some owners liked
and disliked about each of the four net books that he was considering. He also learned
how much battery will last in each netbook. Person A is now convinced that the Acer
is the netbook he should purchase. He felt comfortable using its keyboard, be
finds its screen bright and sharp, it has more hard disk storage than he needs
and it weighs just about a kilo. So he checks for this netbook both a Lahore retailers
and online. He find the lowest price for the netbook at e-tailor site that
includes free shipping and orders it.
Post-purchase
Evaluation:
As consumers use
the product, particularly during the trail phase they evaluate its performance in
the light of their own expectations. There are three possible outcomes of these
evaluations: 1) actual performance matches expectations leading to a neutral
feeling, 2) performance exceeds expectations causing what is known as positive
dis confirmation of expectations(which leads to satisfaction) and 3) performance
is below expectation causing negative dis confirmation of expectations and
dissatisfaction. For each of these three outcomes, consumers
expectations and satisfactions are closely linked that is consumers tend to
judge their experience against their expectations when performing a post-purchase evaluation.
An important component
in post-purchase evaluation is the reduction of any uncertainty or doubt that the
consumer might have had about the selection. As a part of this evaluation
consumers assure themselves that they have made a wise choice and that they attempt
to reduce post-purchase cognitive dissonance. It occurs in consumer decision
making when there is a discrepancy in decision making process and final choice of
the brand made by the consumer.
What was the post-purchase
evaluation of his new netbook? He was thrilled with his purchase. Shortly after the delivery of the
netbook he took it with him to his overnight trip. Over the two day period he checked his email
often and spent at least two hours looking up potential information about the
new residential construction site. He had no problem in using wireless internet
service in the hotel and he accomplished all this without the need to recharge
the netbooks battery. He’s convinced that his Acer Aspire One will be with him
on all trips of Lahore area whether business or vacation.
Part-2
Reflection and analysis of Internal and External Influences
Internal Influences:
Consumer
Motivation: Motivation is a
dynamic constraint that is constantly changing in reaction to life experiences.
Needs and goals change and grow in response to individuals physical condition, environment,
interaction with others and experiences. An individual attains a goal and then
develop new ones. If they cannot attain their
goals the continue to strive for old goals or they develop substitute goals. Needs
are never fully satisfied, they continually impel actions designed to attain or
maintain satisfaction. As needs become satisfied, new and higher order needs emerge
that cause tension and induce activity. People who achieve their goals set new
and higher goals for themselves.
In 1938, the psychologist
Henry Murray prepared a detailed list of 28 psychogenic needs.( Stephen F. Pirog,III&
James. A Roberts, Summer,2004) research
was the first systematic approach to the understanding of non-biological human
needs. Murray believed that everyone has the same set of basic needs but that
individuals differ in their priority ranking of these needs. Murray's basic
needs included many motives that are assumed to play an important role in
consumer behavior such as acquisition, achievement, recognition and exhibition.
The second theory of motivation was the Mas low's hierarchy of needs theory
developed by Dr. Abraham Ma slow.(.Ma slow Abraham,1943), It identifies five
basic levels of human needs, which rank in order of importance from lower level
(biogenic) needs to higher level (psychogenic)needs. The theory postulates that
individuals seek to satisfy lower-level needs before higher level needs
emerges.
The consumer buying
behavior is influenced by the personality of an individual, in the study of personality
there are three distinct important properties: 1) personality reflects
individual differences, 2) personality is
consistent and enduring, 3) personality can change. Because the inner characteristics
that constitute an individual’s personality are unique combination, no two
individuals are exactly alike. An individual’s personality tends to be
consistent and enduring, even though consumers personality may be consistent
their consumption behavior often varies considerably because of the various
psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and situational factors that
affect behavior.
There are three
different theories of personality that influence the consumer buying behavior:
1) Freudian theory, 2) Non-Freudian theory and 3) Trait theory. Sigmund
Freud psychoanalytic theory, ( Jonathan Deschenes & Alain d’ Astous,
Jan,2005) of personality is
the theory that was build on the premise that unconscious needs or drivers and
other biological drivers are the heart of human motivation and personality. Based
on this theory he proposed that human personality consist of three systems: 1)
Id 2) the Super Ego 3) Ego. Id is the “warehouse” of primitive and impulsive
drives whereas super ego is conceptualized as the individual’s internal
expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of conduct and finally the ego
is the individuals conscious control, it functions as an internal monitor that
attempts to balance the impulsive demands of id and socio-cultural constraints
of super ego.
Neo- Freudian theory
proposed that individuals can be classified into personality groups: 1) Complaint
individuals are those who move towards other, 2) Aggressive individuals are
those who move against others and 3) Detached individuals are those who move
away from others.
Trait theory is a
quantitative or empirical theory that measures the personality in terms of
specific psychological characteristics called traits. ( Belk Russell, Dec,1985)
Consumer
Perception is defined as a process by which an individual selects, organizes
and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. Consumers
subconsciously exercise a great deal of selectivity as to which aspects of
environment they perceive. People usually see what they expect to see based on familiarity,
previous experience or pre-conditioned set if experiences. In marketing concept,
people tend to perceive products and product attributes according to their own
expectations.
External Factors :
Social acceptability:
consumers buying behavior are influenced by the social class. There are six social classes in the society
and every individual wants to be social acceptable in a certain class and his purchases
affect or influence how they reflect themselves that they are the are part of
particular social class.
Cultural factors: An
individual purchase a product based sometimes on ritual purchase and considering
the culture they live in.
Conclusion:
This overall
report states the individual buying behavior or purchases in the light of
Consumer Decision making Process Model that through which steps and how the consumers
make decisions and evaluations in buying certain products and what influences
and their buying behavior in the light of different theories like motivation,
personality, perception etc.
References
James A Roberts and Stephen F. Pirog,III,Personal Goals and their roles in
Consumer Behavior: The Case Of Compulsive Buying, ”Journal of Marketing Theory and
Practice”(Summer,2004)
Abraham H. Ma slow,: A Theory of Human Motivation”, Psychological
Review,50,1943.
Alain d’ Astous and Jonathan Deschenes, ”Consuming in One’s Mind :An
Exploration,” Psychology and Marketing,22,(January,2005).
Russell Belk,” Three Sales To Measure Constructs Related
To Materialism”, and “Materialism: Trait Aspects Of Living In Material World,”
Journal of Consumer Research ,12(December,1985)
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