For MBA students

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
ANTONY KOLANCHERY
FACULTY OF
MANAGEMENT

2. Consumer Behaviour
Consumer Behavior is the study of when, why, how
and where people do or do not buy a product. It
basically depends on the psychology of the
consumer. It attempts to understand the buyer
decision making process both individually & in
groups. It studies the individual consumers such as
demographics & behavioural aspects to understand
the people’s wants.
In the study of Consumer Behaviour main focus is
the customer satisfaction because customer is the
only person with whose presence businesses
actually exists

3. Types of consumer
Ultimate
Consumer
Institutional
Buyer
Customer
Consumer
Buyer

4. Consumer : According to International Dictionary of
Management “Consumer is a purchaser of goods
and services for immediate use or consumption”.
Buyer: He is the person who purchase goods either
for resale or for use in production or for use of
somebody else.
Customer: He is the one who purchases goods for
his own use or for the use of others or else he is
regular customer of a particular product and he is a
regular customer of particular shop.
Institutional buyer : These are either govt. institutions
or private organizations.

5. Characteristics of consumer behaviour
It is a process where consumer decide what to buy, when to
buy, how to buy, where to buy & how much to buy.
It comprises of both mental and physical activities of consumer.
Consumer behaviour is very complex and dynamic which
keeps on changing constantly.
Individual buying behaviour is affected by various internal
factors like his needs, wants, attitudes & motives and also by
external factors like social groups, culture , status,
environmental factors etc.
Consumer behaviour starts before buying and even after
buying.

6. Importance/Need of study of consumer
behaviour
To make better strategies for increasing profits.
To take into consideration customer’s health,
hygiene & fitness.
To know the buying decisions and how consumer
make consumption.
Consistent change in Consumer’s tastes or
preferences.
Consumer behavior study is necessary to make
pricing policies.
To avoid future market failures.

7. Types of Consumer
Behaviour
Complex
Dissonance
Reducing
Variety
seeking Habitual

9. Complex buying behavior:-
When the consumer is highly involved in the
buying and there is significant differences
between brands, then it is called complex buying
behavior. So in this case the consumer must
collect proper information about the product
features and the marketer must provide detailed
information regarding the product attributes.
For eg. Consumer while buying a motor cycle is
highly involved in the purchase and has the
knowledge about significant differences between
brands.

10. 2) Variety seeking behavior:-
In this case consumer involvement is low while
buying the product but there are significant
differences between brands. Consumers generally
buy different products not due to dissatisfaction
from the earlier product but due to seek variety.
Like every time they buy different washing
detergent just for variety. So it is the duty of the
marketer to encourage the consumer to buy the
product by offering them discounts, free samples
and by advertising the product a lot.

11. 3) Dissonance Reducing buying behavior:-
Here consumer is highly involved in the
purchase but there are few differences
between brands.
Like consumer while buying floor tiles, buy
them quickly as there are few differences
between brands.

12. 4) Habitual buying behavior:-
In this case there is low involvement of the
consumer and there are few differences between
brands. The consumer buys the product quickly.
For e.g.. Toothpaste.

13. Buying Motives
According to D.J.Ducan, “Buying Motives
are those influences or considerations which
provide the impulse to buy, induce action or
determine choice in the purchase of goods
and services”.

14. Types of Buying Motives
A. Product & Patronage Motives
1.Product Motives
Primary
Secondary
2.Patronage Motives
Price
Quality
Location
Services
Variety
Personality of the owner

15. B. Emotional & Rational Motives
1. Emotional Motives
Love of others
Social acceptance motive
Vanity Motive
Recreational motive
Emulate motive
Comfort & convenience motive
2. Rational Motives
Monetary gain
Efficiency in operation
Dependability

16. 1. Inherent motives are those which come from
physiological & basic needs such as hunger,
thirst, sleep etc. If these motives are not
satisfied then consumer feels dissatisfied and
feels mental tension.
2. Learned motives are those which are learned
or acquired by a person from environment and
education like social status, acceptance, fear,
security etc.
C. Inherent & Learned motives

17. D. Physiological & Social buying
Motives
1. Physiological motives are those which are
driven by learning, perception or attitude.
2. Social buying motives are those which are
influenced by the society in which the
consumers live.

18. CONSUMER DECISIONS:
Theory and Reality in Consumer Buying
IDENTIFICATION OF
ALTERNATIVE/
INFORMATION
SEARCH
PROBLEM
RECOGNITION/
Recognition of
unsatisfied
need
EVALUATION OF
ALTERNATIVES
PURCHASE
POSTPURCHASE
EVALUATION/
BEHAVIORS

19. Factors influencing consumer
behaviour
Psychological factors
1. Consumer needs &
motivation (Maslow’s need
hierarchy theory
2. Perception
3. Learning
4. Beliefs & attitudes
Cultural factors
1. Culture
2. Sub culture
3. Social class
Social Factors
1. Reference group
2. Role and status
3. Family
Personal factors
1. Age
2. Stages in life cycle
3. Occupation in economic
status
4. Life style
5. Personality

20. Economic factors
1.Personal income
2.Family income
3.Income expectations
4.Savings
5.Liquidity position
6.Consumer credit
Environmental
Factors
1.Political situation
2.Legal forces
3.Technological
advancement
4.Ethical considerations

21. The black box model of consumer behaviour identifies
the stimuli responsible for buyer behaviour. The stimuli
(advertisement and other forms of promotion about
the product) that is presented to the consumer by the
marketer and the environment is dealt with by the
buyer’s black box. The buyer’s black box, comprises
two sub components - the buyer’s characteristics and
the buyer decision process.
The black box theory is fairly popular method to
describe psychology. It is not possible to open the
human mind to look inside, we can only do something
to the mind.
BLACK BOX MODEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR