Consumer Behaviour

1.  
Buyer Behaviour
Dr. Pooja
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Commerce
AMPGC, BHU
Buying Motives and Buying Process

2. Introduction
 The modern marketing management tries to solve the basic problems of
consumers in the area of consumption. To survive in the market, a firm has to
be constantly innovating and understand the latest consumer needs and
tastes.
 It will be extremely useful in exploiting marketing opportunities and in
meeting the challenges that the Indian market offers. It is important for the
marketers to understand the buyer behaviour and their motives.

3. Consumer Buying Decision-Making
Process
 Consumers' buying decision and consumption process of products or
services always take place in the context of some specific situation. Depending
on the set of circumstances, consumers' behaviour may take any number of
directions.
 For example, the type of gift the consumer may purchase for his son's
birthday might well be different from the type of gift on the occasion of friend's
marriage.

4. Consumer Buying Decision-Making
Process
Problem
Recognit
ion
Informatio
n Search
Evaluation of
Alternatives
Purchase
Decision
Post-
purchase
Evaluation

5. Steps in Consumer Decision-Making Process
I. Problem Recognition
 Purchase decision-making process begins when a buyer becomes aware of an unsatisfied
need or a problem. Problem recognition is a critical stage in consumer decision-making
process because without it, there is no deliberate search for information.
 The process of problem recognition combines some highly relevant consumer behaviour
concepts such as information processing and the motivation process. First of all, consumers
must become aware of the problem through information processing arising as a result of
internal or external stimuli. This leads to motivating consumers. Secondly is the importance of
the problem for the concerned consumer. The discrepancy and/or importance should be of
sufficient magnitude to start the purchase process.
Marketing Strategy at this Steps
 Marketers use a variety of approaches to determine consumers’ problems. Generally, they
conduct surveys or use focus groups to determine the problems consumers face.

6. Steps in Consumer Decision-Making Process
II. Information Search
 After problem or need recognition, consumers generally take steps to gather adequate
information to select the appropriate solution. Information search refers to what consumer
surveys in her/his environment for suitable information to make a satisfying purchase decision.
 Sources of external information include:
1. Relatives, friends, neighbours, and chat groups.
2. Professional information from handouts, pamphlets, articles, magazines, journals, books,
professional contacts, and the Internet.
3. Direct experience through trial, inspection, and observation.
4. Marketer initiated efforts included in advertisements, displays, and salespeople.
Marketing Strategy at this Steps
 The type of purchase decision affects the amount of information search and
 The nature of consumers’ evoked set determines the direction of search.

7. Steps in Consumer Decision-Making Process
III. Evaluation of Alternatives
 Consumers’ evaluative criteria refer to various dimensions; features, characteristics and
benefits that a consumer desires to solve a certain problem. For example, a consumer’s
evaluative criteria for a laptop computer may include processor speed, operating system,
memory, graphics, sound, display, software included, cost and warranty, etc. However, for
another consumer the set of evaluative criteria may be entirely different from the same product.
Marketing Strategy at this Steps
 Marketers targeting consumers who are likely to use compensatory decision rules for
products and services should nevertheless have performance level at or near the level of
competition on the key features as these are given more weight than important features. In case
of compensatory decisions, the marketer must consider the total mix of the relevant attributes to
offer superior product compared to those of the competitor.

8. Steps in Consumer Decision-Making Process
IV. Purchase Decision
 Making a purchase is often a simple, routine matter of going to a retail outlet where the
consumer looks around and quickly picks out something needed. All consumers like to view
themselves as intelligent shoppers and make decisions regarding the retail outlet choice in
which they will shop. Frequently, it happens that consumers choose the retail outlet first
and this influences their choice of the brand. For example, when consumers shop for
clothes, they generally decide about a retail outlet first, or go to a market area where
several such stores exist. Similarly, they often make a brand decision in the retail store
when they shop for appliances.
Marketing Strategy at this Steps
 The company has undertaken several marketing activities to enable consumers reach
to this stage. However at this stage, the atmosphere of the outlet, the ambience, the
Point of Purchase Sale, the sales personnel, availability of the products would matter a
lot.

9. Steps in Consumer Decision-Making Process
V. Post Purchase Behaviour
 Consumers’ favourable post-purchase evaluation leads to satisfaction. Consumers choose a
particular brand or retail outlet because they perceive it as a better overall choice than other
alternatives that were evaluated while making the purchase decision. They expect a level of
performance from their selected item that can range from quite low to quite high. Expectations
and perceived performance are not independent and consumers tend to perceive performance in
line with their expectations.
Marketing Strategy at this Steps
 To meet consumer expectations, marketers need to focus on
1. Creating reasonable expectations among consumers through appropriate promotional efforts
and
2. Ensure consistency in product quality so that whatever expectations are created among
consumers through marketing communications are fulfilled.

10.  Buying motive is the urge or motive to satisfy a desire or need that makes people buy goods
or services. Behind every purchase there is a buying motive. It refers to the thoughts, feelings,
emotions and instincts, which arouse in the buyers a desire to buy an article. A buyer does not
buy because s/he has been persuaded by the salesman, but s/he buys for the aroused desire in
him or her. Motives should be distinguished from instincts.
 A motive is simply a reason for carrying out a particular behaviour and not an automatic
response to a stimulus, whereas instincts are pre-programmed responses, which are inborn in
the individual and involuntary. Thus hunger is an instinct whereas desire to purchase pizza is a
buying motive.
 According to Prof. D. J. Duncan, “Buying Motives are those influences or considerations
which provide the impulse to buy, induce action and determine choice in the purchase of goods
and services.”

11. Buying
Motives
Product
Buying Motive
Emotional Product
Buying Motives
Rational Product
Buying Motives
Patronage
Buying Motive
Emotional
Patronage Buying
Motives
Rational
Patronage Buying
Motives

12. A. Product Buying Motives
 Product buying motives refer to those influences and reasons, which prompt (i.e. induce) a
buyer to choose a particular product in preference to other products. They include the physical
attraction of the product (i.e. the design, shape, dimension, size, colour, package, performance,
price etc. of the product) or the psychological attraction of the product (i.e. the enhancement of
the social prestige or status of the purchaser through its possession), desire to remove or reduce
the danger or damage to life or body of the possessor, etc. In short, they refer to all those
characteristics of a product, which induce a buyer to buy it in preference to other products.
 Product buying motives may be sub-divided into two groups, viz.,
1. Emotional product buying motives
2. Rational product buying motives

13.  When a buyer decides to purchase a product without thinking over the matter logically and
carefully (i.e., without much reasoning), he/she is said to have been influenced by emotional
product buying motives. Emotional product buying motives include the following:
1. Pride or Prestige
2. Emulation or Imitation
3. Affection
4. Comfort or desire for comfort
5. Ambition
6. Desire for distinctiveness or individuality
7. Desire for recreation or pleasure
8. Hunger and desire
9. Habit

14.  When a buyer decides to buy a certain thing after careful consideration (i.e. after
thinking over the matter consciously and logically), s/he is said to have been influenced by
rational product buying motives. Rational product buying motives include the following:
1. Safety or Security
2. Economy
3. Relatively low price
4. Suitability
5. Utility or versatility
6. Durability of the product
7. Convenience of the product

15.  Patronage buying motives refer to those considerations or reasons, which prompt a
buyer to buy the product wanted by him from a particular shop in preference to other
shops. In other words, they are those considerations or reasons, which make a buyer,
patronise a particular shop in preference to other shops while buying a product.
 Patronage buying motives also may be sub-divided into two groups viz.
1. Emotional patronage buying motives
2. Rational patronage buying motives.

16. 1. Emotional Patronage Buying
Motives
 When a buyer patronises a shop (i.e. purchases the things required by him from a
particular shop) without applying his mind or without reasoning, he is said to have been
influenced by emotional patronage buying motives. Emotional patronage buying motives
include the following:
1. Appearance of the shop
2. Display of goods in the shop
3. Recommendation of others
4. Imitation
5. Prestige
6. Habit

17.  When a buyer patronises a shop after careful consideration (i.e. after much logical
reasoning and careful thinking) he is said to have been influenced by rational patronage
buying motives. Rational patronage buying motives include the following:
1. Convenience
2. Low price charged by the shop
3. Credit facilities offered
4. Services offered
5. Efficiency of salesmen
6. Wide choice
7. Treatment
8. Reputation of the shop