Introduction
Proper understanding of consumer behavior based on the principles of sovereignty, namely the consumer is independent, the motivation and consumer behavior are learned through research, and consumer behavior is susceptible to, the impact on consumers is of social laws. One of the most important tasks that should be decided by the retailer in the workplace, and which can be classified as marketing, is the task of establishing contact with the buyer. And it must be done so that the potential buyer, even if he did not make a purchase right now, in his first visit to the store, felt (strengthened) a strong belief that the necessary thing should be bought at the store. Properly respond to the actions of the buyer and to join with him in a productive contact the seller would be easier if he could identify at what stage of the buying the buyer is.
The human is a social being. This is especially true with regard to consumer behavior. Our behavior is dictated primarily by a genetic predisposition, environment, or kind, unique, a combination of many factors. This makes it unique. Therefore, it is essential to understand the nature and importance of culture, particular attention should be paid to the impact of ethnic factors on consumer behavior. The influence of individual characteristics of the individual, family and situation are no less important.
There are five stages of the decision process of buying, namely awareness of the need, information retrieval, assessment of options, buying decision and reaction to buy. Theoretically, the buyer goes through all five stages with every purchase. However, in practice, the consumer often misses or reverses some of the steps (re-buy).
Type of Decision in the Decision-Making Process
For high involvement purchase, consumers will usually engage in extensive problem solving. They will spend a lot of time searching for information and evaluating the alternative products available. It is usual for a high involvement purchase to be expensive and to occur less frequently than low involvement purchases. High involvement purchases are also referred to as extensive problem-solving purchases.
The decision-making process is the backbone to understanding how buyers decide the amount of time, energy and money to spend on their purchases. There are five basic parts to the model: problem/need recognition; information search; evaluation of alternatives; purchase process/decision and post purchase behavior.
Thus, the high involvement purchase was Apple iPhone 6, then the first step of problem recognition as the difference between the desired and the actual state of affairs was considered through the necessity of this device and the ability to buy it (the money was being collected for several months). After deciding to buy Apple iPhone 6 I began to observe various information sources – the Internet, advertisements, friends’ opinions and consumer advisory services – to look for the best price, quality and time-saving. The next step was evaluation of alternatives. Also the Internet, advertisements, friends’ opinions and consumer advisory services were involved in this process. Thus, the search of alternatives was based on the price, brand name, date of issue, memory, design and other functions’ criteria. The actual purchase process/decision was made via the Internet store (Cnet Marketplace) and paid by credit card. Finally, post purchase behavior stage was in form of satisfaction (product met my expectations).
For example, jeans are low involvement purchase because evaluation process was very simple without wasting much time and thinking over. An impulse purchase was magazine when I had chosen jeans I noticed magazines’ layout and bought one.
Motivation and Values
Motivation is a need that has become so urgent that causes a person to seek ways and means to meet. Psychologists have developed a number of theories of human motivation. The most popular of them are the theory of Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow, which suggest completely different conclusions for action on consumer research and marketing. Freud believed that people generally are not aware of the real psychological forces that shape their behavior as a person grows, while suppressing a lot of drives. This attraction is never completely disappear and is never under control. It appears in dreams, reservations, neurotic behavior, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. Thus, a person does not fully understand the origins of own motivation.
Abraham Maslow tried to explain why at different times people are driven by different needs. The scientist believes that human needs are arranged in a hierarchical order of importance from most to least urgent. On the severity of the needs the order is following, namely physiological needs; the need for self-preservation; social needs; the need to respect; and the need for self-affirmation.
Person seeks primarily to satisfy the most important needs. As soon as it is able to meet some important need, it ceases to be at the time of motive. At the same time there is the urge to meet the needs of the next in importance. Thus, motivated person is ready for action.
For example, if the person is thirsty, he will be motivated to buy a bottle of water.
The Power of Attitudes
Almost to everything – politics, clothes, music, food, etc. – the person has own attitude. Attitude is developed on the basis of existing knowledge the stable individual evaluation of any object or idea, experienced feelings to them and direction of possible actions. Attitude allows the individual to behave relatively stable in relation to each other similar products. So the company would be more profitable to make products in the framework of the existing relations than trying to change them.
The two components of the attitude are the belief about the product and its evaluation. Belief about the product is the characteristics attributed to product by this person. Evaluation characterizes the positive or negative opinion of the individual about the relevant product, service or idea. Needs, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs of its components and evaluation work closely together, influence the behavior of buyers and consumers. This effect must be constantly taken into account in the formation of marketing strategies.
The best example of attitude is customers’ attitude to Apple brand, which is considered the most trustful and of high quality. Consumers’ attitude allows the company masterfully gaining more market share.
The Type of Message
Slogan is a short motto of the company, which reflects the main direction of the campaign. Life of product in advertising is not without good slogan. Handsome and successful slogan is a beautiful surname in a successful marriage. Slogans change frequently or live for many years next to the name of the company; it depends on how the company has positioned itself and its product in the market. If positioning was made for a long time and the image of the company firmly entrenched in the minds of consumers, the slogan, as a rule, does not change. If the firm is developing dynamically, actively (or aggressive) behavior in the market, expanding its sphere of influence extends the target audience – that slogan may change frequently. A striking example of this is the story of the Coca-Cola brand. Over a hundred years of existence it changed its slogan a hundred times.
Issues Related to Purchase and Post-Purchase Activities
It is necessary to identify the circumstances that push person to realize the problem. It is necessary to find out what kind of felt needs or problems arose, what caused their appearance, how they brought a person on a particular product. The stimuli that more likely attract the interest of the individual to the product can be identified and used.
Sources of information used by consumers need to be carefully identified and their relative value of information should be determined. Consumers should, first of all, ask how they first heard about the product, what else have information, the weight given to each of the used sources of information. This information is crucial for effective communication with the target market.
Consumers tend to create a set of beliefs about brand loyalty when every single grade is characterized by a degree of presence in it each individual property. Set of beliefs about particular brand-name of goods is known as brand image. The user can know the real properties of the goods from their own experience or knowledge of it may be the result of selective perception, and memory distortion.
The Family and Culture
Culture is transmitted from generation to generation, especially public institutions such as the family, school, religion. Previous experience and communication with peers are also sources of cultural values. Prediction of values, which in the future will be crucial in consumer behavior, based on an understanding of the most important directions of development of human institutions. The influence of culture on the decision to buy is very large. Culture selection affects both the individual consumer and the consumption patterns of society. Buying goods, the consumer thinks of its function, form and content. Sellers should pay attention to all three aspects, due to the cultural context of consumption.
Social factors also influence buying behavior of consumers; in particular, these are group of consumers, family, social roles and statuses. Many companies invest their capital in activities that contribute to an increase in sales of goods. Parties arranged at home or in the office can be occasions of demonstrations and subsequent sale of goods.
If a person decides to purchase public luxury goods, such as yachts, it basically falls under the significant influence of others. Many people will notice a yacht, because not many people can buy it. In addition, they will pay attention to the brand, as many are interested in. Thus, both product and brand may have a significant impact on the buyer’s decision to purchase the yacht and the choice of its brand. On the other hand, the groups have less of an impact on the essentials, as others do not pay any attention to these products nor their brands.
Family is the most important consumer group of society, so marketers have extensively studied it: they are interested in the distribution of roles in the family and the impact that has on choice of products and services of different views of its members – husband, wife, and children. For example, when buying bedroom furniture and interior compositions for the home, as well as a washing machine and curtains the influence of wife will be a decisive, and when choosing a car, TV, electric tools, insurance companies, signaling solution it is more likely to depend on husband. Of course, some decisions are made in equal weight categories, but again, this division is arbitrary and ensures that everything is just so and not otherwise impossible.
Conclusion
Consumer, given the value of the product offered to him, will make the final decision about purchasing based on how the real cost of this product corresponds to the expected cost to them of its acquisition and subsequent operation (cost of operation and possible repair). Points of view of the producer and consumer on the value of the product are different. The smaller the difference between opinion of the consumer and the manufacturer, the more successful the organization operates.
References
Anderson, E. W., Fornell C. and Rust R. T. (1997). Customer Satisfaction, Productivity, and Profitability: Differences between Goods and Services, Marketing Science, 16(2), pp. 129 – 145.
Cengiz, E. (2010). Measuring Customer Satisfaction: Must or Not? Journal of Naval Science and Engineering, 6(2), pp. 76-88.
Hanif, M., Hafeez, S. and Riaz, A. (2010). Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction, International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, pp. 44 – 52, Retrieved from http://www2.ju.edu.jo/sites/Academic/abbas.alrefai/Lists/Published%20Research/Attachments/36/Abstract.pdf
Naghibi, S. and Sadeghi, T. (2011). Factors of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Industrial Market (B2B), Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 8(5), pp. 902 – 907, Retrieved from http://www.idosi.org/mejsr/mejsr8(5)11/9.pdf
Tuomi, M. H. (2009). Customer Satisfaction, International Business/Business Economics and Tourism, Retrieved from http://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/6433/Tuomi_Marjo.pdf?sequence=1
