Business
Thesis Statement
Consumer buying behavior has been researched a number of times and there are enough research papers available that focus on consumer buying patterns. This paper takes a different perspective to address what guides consumers to buy a product or service. The difference is that it is easy for marketers to understand what influences consumers today and work out strategies to address them. However, understanding what guides consumers is farther complex, and to understand this, a number of theories and articles by scholars are researched, and a few governmental efforts in place to guide consumers are evaluated and added to show how consumers can be guided.
Because of the advancement in technology and development in terms of the economy, there are a large number of emerging products and services which are being promoted constantly in the market. However, there has been a perceived change in the way products are marketed today. Earlier, marketers used to influence consumers by promoting their products and services to attract consumers to them, but now, the emphasis has shifted from influencing consumers through advertisements, to understanding consumer needs and focusing on delivering them through marketing strategies. Based on successful enterprises and consumer psychology, there is a need to understand that guiding consumers is more important than catering to the demands of organizations.
Consumer behavior, as a function, includes a number of factors such as psychology, product information and functionality of the products or services. Consumers rely on information they get from media and other sources before they plan to buy a product or service. When it comes to propagating a product, manufacturers, producers, and service providers emphasize on the positives their product or service has over other competitors, and why they should buy their products and services. However, with the information available to them, consumers are changing their buying patterns. Most consumers today use their needs as the standard to purchase products or services, and this is what drives customer satisfaction. Culture plays an important role in shaping the consumer behavior, and so does their social, emotional, and individual traits. For example, factors that influence the cultural level of a consumer could be his or her freedom, individualism, and achievement among other factors. The social level of influence considers a consumer’s level of education, income, taste, and esteem. It can be said that the aspect of social class is not static, and is bound to shift periodically. Therefore, once marketers conduct research to trace these factors, they are in a better position to guide the consumers in making an informed decision (Armstrong, Adams, Denize & Kotler, 2012).
Consumers are influenced by a number of issues such as their economical or social status for example, and when they behave rationally in an economic sense, they are far more knowledgeable and understand the various consumption options available to them. This enhances their buying behavior and they are capable of rating all alternatives before making their choice. While economic situations do influence purchase decisions, it is highly unlikely that consumers are completely knowledgeable of all the options available to them, and so, are more often than not, guided by their less rational influences such as their social relationships and values.
In order to maintain an inveterate relationship with consumers, organizations must feed on the pain points our consumers. Pain points are those that reflect the necessities of consumers when they plan to buy a product or source. As consumers have become ever more conscious of their needs and what is available to them in the market, organizations and marketers find it difficult to influence them with what they have, and instead, have to concentrate on what guides them. Therefore, developing an inveterate relationship with consumers would require understanding their needs, and offering it to them. By developing an emotional bond with consumers, organizations and marketers can create a significant impact on them. One way of doing so, is by word-of-mouth. Consumers tend to believe words from friends and relatives, and so when organizations are able to build a strategy that focuses on personal rapport through friends and relatives, it signifies the closeness the person is with the product and company, thus creating an aura of trustiness. Understanding their demographic segment of consumers is paramount to success. Any product or service must identify their targeted audience and plan their strategy to guide them to their product or service. The idea behind this move is to understand the ‘state of the mind’ of their consumers.
Organizations and marketers need to ask themselves questions; questions such as would young men and women, and students be the right consumers to guide, and if so, what are their pain points? Do young women and men consider buying a product or service if it was costly, or would they just think about the value the product has in the market? Are they worried about what their friends or peers would think of them if they bought a product that was different or unheard of by others? It is the answer to such questions that address the needs and pain points of consumers, and that which guides consumers.
Secondary Research
Secondary data will be sought from the library and research databases. Some of the sources that cover consumer guide and psychology have been discussed below:
According to Barry L. Bayus (1985) in Word of mouth: Indirect Effects of Marketing Efforts, communication plays an extremely important role in marketing, and marketers use communication to guide consumers. Schiffman and Kanuk’s (2000) Consumer Behavior lists out the various advertisement tools that marketers use to guide consumer buying behavior. They say that by understanding a consumer’s buying decision process, organizations, in unison with advertising agencies, can develop strategies to guide their consumer’s through the stages of their decision-making exercise. Shukla (2008), in Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand antecedents, says “psychological and brand awareness are extremely important among middle‐aged consumers,” and they view this as a very important part of their buying behaviour, while Kosciulek (1999) gives an input on how government organizations guide consumers. He quotes the example of UK’s Food Standards Agency. Kosciulek (1999) writes about the Consumer-Directed Theory of Empowerment and how it guides people with physical disability to take full control of their lives. Condeluci & Gretz-Lasky (1987) says that empowerment provides disabled people the privilege that reflects their ‘autonomy, identity, and individuality,’ and Kiernan & Hagner (1995), supports this theory and says hat the right to make independent choices and decisions are necessary for people with disabilities to empower and enhance the quality of their lives.
References
Armstrong, G., Adams, S., Denize, S., and Kotler, P. (2012). Principles of Marketing, 5th Edition, Sydney, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 146-174.
Bayus, B. (1985). Word of mouth: Indirect Effects of Marketing Efforts. Journal Of Advertising Research, 25(3), 31.
Condeluci, A., & Gretz-Lasky, S. (1987). Social role valorization: a model for community re-entry. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 2(1), 49-56. doi:10.1097/00001199- 198703000-00008
Kiernan, W. E., & Hagner, D. (1995) in Karan, O., & Greenspan, S. (1995). Community rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Kosciulek, J. (1999). The Consumer-Directed Theory of Empowerment. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 42(3).
Rothstein, H. (2005). Escaping the Regulatory Net: Why Regulatory Reform Can Fail Consumers*. Law & Policy, 27(4), 520-548. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9930.2005.00210.x
Schiffman, L., & Kanuk, L. (2000). Consumer behavior. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice- Hall.
Shukla, P. (2008). Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand antecedents. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 17(1), 25-36. doi:10.1108/10610420810856495
