Consumer Buying Behavior

Consumer Buying Behavior

MKT305

Strayer University

Introduction

Consumer behavior entails the examination of consumers and the procedures they utilize to select, use, and do away with products and services. Fundamentally, consumer behavior integrates ideologies from various disciplines like psychology and economics. Before introducing new products and services or expand and improve existing brands, it is crucial for consumer behavior analysis to be conducted. This analysis can be done through a comprehensive research and development process, where markers try to assess the market and get inputs from the target consumers. In other words, assessing consumer behavior is essential since it allows marketers to acknowledge the components that influence the buying decisions of the target market. This paper will address some key elements of consumer behavior analysis.

Message Appeal and Rationale

The message appeal to be used in the advertising is ‘for the natural healthy-looking skin.’ This message appeal is appropriate because it talks about the consumer’s skin and how using the product will make one’s skin to be natural and at the same time, be healthy. The organization plans to launch a product line for personal care products for men. These products range from lotions, sunscreen for body, lip balm, cologne, moisturizer, and perfumes, among other skincare products. The message mentioned above appeal tries to inform the consumers of the benefits of using the product and also persuade them to purchase the brand. Therefore, by buying personal care products, the consumers (young men) will be able to have natural but healthy skin free from dryness, cracks, and patches (McConnell & Rydell, 2019).

Cultures

The personal care products will appeal to consumers from different cultural backgrounds. Studies show that for companies to sell their products in the target market, they should adapt to different cultures. This is achieved by engaging in multicultural marketing and utilizing adaptability and flexibility during marketing. Global marketing techniques for established firms, particularly those in the beauty industry, focus on conducting research and development in markets to determine the consumers’ personalities, traditions, beliefs, and culture. The key objective of these entities is to cater to the needs of the diverse population by offering them high-quality products designed for their unique requirements.

The United States is made up of people from different cultural backgrounds. Essentially, the US culture is shaped by the multicultural ethos of African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians, among others. The men from these cultures are potential consumers for the company’s personal care products. Moreover, the three cultures that the product will appeal to mostly are Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics. This decision is based on the consumers’ economic position and population distribution. A recent statistics show that whites consist of 49% of the US population, whereas Hispanics and African Americans comprise 24% and 13% of the population, respectively. With this number, the company’s potential market is high. Furthermore, over 60% of this population comes from low-class and middle-class income earning households (De Mooij, 2019).

Micro-cultures and Additional Demographics

The primary target market for the product is males between the age of 18 and 35 who come from lower and middle-class income levels. The company can, however, include additional demographics, thus the secondary target market. With demographic segmentation, the company should expand the age bracket of the target market to include men between the age of 36 and 60. Men from this age bracket are still working and, therefore, can easily afford the personal care products being offered by the organization. Furthermore, regarding the education level, the firm should target individuals in high schools, colleges, and universities. Consumers within this education level bracket prefer ‘looking good,’ and thus, products such as colognes and perfumes will please them (Stephen, 2016).

The company should also include individuals based on their psychographic segmentation. Consumers’ psychographic traits, such as lifestyles, personalities, and attitudes, should be considered during consumer behavior analysis. In terms of geographic segmentation, the company should target consumers living and working in towns and cities. In addition to whites, African Americans, and Hispanics, people of Asian origins and American Indians should also be considered as potential consumers. In a nutshell, by expanding its target market, the organization is likely to increase its potential market share and customer base.

Group Influence

All consumers belong to different groups. Their membership is influenced by their beliefs, culture, and social class. Fundamentally, since people (consumers) are ‘social animals,’ their choice of the association is based on how they perceive themselves. The company will adopt group influence as a marketing technique to advertise its product. The company will utilize reference groups, where they serve as a knowledgeable source in influencing the consumer purchase decision. For instance, the business can use celebrity endorsement, where a celebrity acts as an aspirational reference group (Haugtvedt, Herr, & Kardes, 2018).

The business can also use members of clubs and religions as associative reference groups. Unlike the aspirational reference group, the associative reference group entails the individuals that potential consumers can relate to like coworkers. For instance, when a potential customer sees his colleague using perfume from the company, he will likely purchase it due to the influence of associative reference. It should be noted that reference groups have varying levels of influence. For example, primary reference groups bring a significant level of influence, such as famous athletes and celebrities. On the other hand, secondary references usually bring less influence (Stephen, 2016).

Need Recognition

Need recognition arises when a consumer notices a difference between the actual state and the desired state. The company can trigger need recognition by utilizing reference groups as a marketing avenue, engaging in social media marketing, and using telemarketing techniques, among others. The decision-making process often begins when the consumer acknowledges the difference between the actual and desired state. It’s because of the need recognition that the consumer search behavior starts. Essentially, consumer search entails the various behaviors consumers exhibit as they seek information to satisfy their needs. With technological development, the business can enhance search behavior. For instance, the company can create a website that contains all the required information about the 4Ps of marketing- product, price, promotion, and place.

Consideration set is the subgroup of brands consumers assess when making a purchase decision. To curb competition and to enhance consideration set, the business should utilize techniques like offering high-quality products at an affordable price. Consumers are sensitive to price changes and the quality of products. Therefore, when the products are affordable but at the same time are of high-quality, the potential consumers are likely to consider them hence purchasing the brand (McConnell & Rydell, 2019).

Conclusion

Consumer behavior analysis examines the buying behavior of consumers and the motivating factor that influence their buying decisions. To ensure that the product reaches the target market, a company should design effective marketing techniques. These techniques should consider the cultural backgrounds of the target market, the market’s economic level, and their preference. Extensive research and development should be conducted to determine consumer purchasing behavior.

References

De Mooij, M. (2019). Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising. SAGE Publications Limited.

Haugtvedt, C. P., Herr, P. M., & Kardes, F. R. (Eds.). (2018). Handbook of consumer psychology. Routledge.

McConnell, A. R., & Rydell, R. J. (2019). Implications for Understanding Consumer Behavior. Handbook of Research Methods in Consumer Psychology, 143.

Stephen, A. T. (2016). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology10, 17-21.

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