Introduction and overview to study of Consumer Behaviour – Definition of Consumer Behaviour – Significance – Development of the concept & The discipline of Consumer Behaviour – Marketing impact on Consumers – Marketing ethics and Social Responsibility – Understanding consumer and Market Segments.

1. Consumer Behaviour _E-
Notes
Venkat.P
Introduction and overview to study of Consumer Behaviour – Definition of Consumer Behaviour – Significance –
Development of the concept & The discipline of Consumer Behaviour – Marketing impact on Consumers – Marketing
ethics and Social Responsibility – Understanding consumer and Market Segments.
Venkat. P 8/28/20 Consumer Behaviour

2. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
Unit-1
Introduction and overview to study of Consumer Behaviour – Definition of Consumer Behaviour
– Significance – Development of the concept & The discipline of Consumer Behaviour –
Marketing impact on Consumers – Marketing ethics and Social Responsibility – Understanding
consumer and Market Segments.
Consumer Behaviour:
Definition:
“Consumer behavior is the process where by individual decides what, where, when,
how, from whom to purchase the goods and services.”
-Walter
“Consumer behavior is the psychological, social & physical behavior or potential
customer as they become aware of evaluation, purchase, consume and tell others about
product and services.
-Webster
“Consumer Behavior refers to the actions and decision processes of people who purchase
goods and services for personal consumption.”
James F Engel, Roger D Blackwell and Paul W Miniard, “Consumer
Behaviour” (Dryden Press, 1990)
Consumer Behavior refers to “the mental and emotional processes and the physical activities of
people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants.”
Bearden et al. “Marketing Principles and Perspectives.”
“The Behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and
disposing of, if products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs.”
Leon G Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk,
‘Consumer Behaviour’, Prentice-Hall of India, 4th ed.
1991
How consumers make decisions to spend their available resources such as money, time and
effort on consumption and use related items is the subject of consumer Behaviour study.
Consumer behaviour has two aspects: the final purchase activity which is visible to us and the
decision process which may involve the interplay of a number of complex variables not visible

3. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
to us. In fact, purchase behaviour is the end result of a long process of consumer decision
making.
The study involves what consumers buy, why they buy it, how they buy it, when they
buy it, where they buy it, how frequently they buy it and how they dispose of the product after
use.
The Indian Consumer
The Indian consumers are noted for the high degree of value orientation. Such orientation to
value has labeled Indians as one of the most discerning consumers in the world. Even, luxury
brands have to design a unique pricing strategy in order to get a foothold in the Indian market.
Indian consumers have a high degree of family orientation.
This orientation in fact, extends to the extended family and friends as well. Brands with
identities that support family values tend to be popular and accepted easily in the Indian market.
Indian consumers are also associated with values of nurturing, care and affection.
These values are far more dominant that values of ambition and achievement. Product
which communicate feelings and emotions gel with the Indian consumers. Apart from psychology
and economics, the role of history and tradition in shaping the Indian consumer behavior is quite
unique. Perhaps, only in India, one sees traditional products alongside modern products. For
example, hair oils and tooth powder existing with shampoos and toothpaste.
Elements/ Aspects of Consumer behavior:
The core of consumer behavior is to answer the questions related to the following aspects:
 Who buys?
 i.e. Who makes the purchase decision? Who does the actual
buying?
 What does he actually buy?
 When does a consumer buy?
 Season, festival, event, holidays, Day of the week, Time of the day, Buying
frequency?
 How does a consumer buy?
 Buying habits of the consumer, Level of Involvement, Selection criteria,
market trends
 Where does he buy from? Buying Convenience? Buying experience? Situational factors
affecting purchase decision

4. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
 Why does he buy? Buying motives of the Customer, Customer needs and expectations,
User taste and preferences
Significance of Studying Consumer Behaviour:
(i) Realistic Implementation of the Marketing Concept:
 The modern marketing concept is consumer-oriented.
 To give a realistic implementation to this concept, a study of consumer behavior is
imperative.
 More specifically, a study of consumer behavior is a must for developing an ideal
marketing-mix; which is the cornerstone of the concept of marketing.
 It is, in fact, very true to state that unless the marketer knows what consumers buy and
why; it is not possible to design and implement a successful scheme of marketing-mix to,
beat the completive elements.
(ii) Planning Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation:
 For planning product differentiation strategies (i.e. making the product so differentiated
and unique that consumer may be tempted to buy only that product due to its unique
features); a study of consumer behaviour is very significant or necessary.
 Again, for designing schemes of market segmentation (a process of dividing a potential
market into distinct sub-markets of consumers with common needs and characteristics),
a study of consumer behaviour is very necessary.
(iii) Selection of Distribution Channels:
 A study of consumer behaviour not only includes what consumers buy; but also, the
source from where they buy’.
 For example, men of status in society may never buy things from ordinary shops and
ordinary markets. They may prefer to buy from prestigious stores and markets; even
though they may have to pay a higher price and so on for various categories of
consumers.
(iv) Designing Promotional Techniques:
 Promotional techniques include advertising message and media, personal selling
approaches and special sales promotional devices.

5. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
 Designing promotional techniques is much facilitated by a study of consumer behaviour;
which may throw light on the psychology of people as to the factors which affect their
buying decisions.
(v) Trade-Off between Price and Quality:
 A study of consumer behaviour is likely to reveal whether target consumers of the
enterprise emphasize more on the price of the product or its quality.
 On this basis, the marketer can device suitable pricing strategies and programmes
aimed at upgrading the quality of organization's products to suit the needs, habits and
behaviour of consumers.
Development of Marketing Concept:
Marketing concept evolved in late 1950s and the field of consumer behaviour is deeply
rooted in this concept. After World War II, there was great demand for almost all sorts of
products and the marketing philosophy was to produce cheap goods and make them available at
as many places as possible. This approach suited the marketers because demand exceeded
supply and consumers were more interested in obtaining the product rather than in any specific
features.
1) THE PRODUCTION CONCEPT:
• The production concept assumes that consumers are mostly interested in product
availability at low prices; its implicit marketing objectives are cheap, efficient product and
intensive distribution.
• It makes sense when consumer is more interested in buying what’s available rather than
wait for what they really want.
• The main objective is to expand the market.
2) THE PRODUCT CONCEPT:
• The product concept assumes that consumers will buy the product that offers them the
highest quality, the best performance, and the most features.
• It ensures the company to improve the quality of its product and add new features.
• The product concept often leads to “marketing myopia” that is focusing on the product
rather than the customer needs.
3) THE SELLING CONCEPT:

6. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
• The assumption of the selling concept is that consumers are unlikely to buy the product
unless they are aggressively persuaded to
do so – mostly through “hard sell”
approach.
• The problem in this concept is that it fails
to satisfy a customer.
• Today the selling concept is utilizing be
marketers of unsought products – that is which people are not willing to buy it (such as
life insurance).
4) THE MARKETING CONCEPT:
• It started in 1950’s when some marketers realized we can sell more products by
determining what consumer would buy.
• Consumer need and wants became the firm’s primary focus.
• The marketers should made product what t can sell, instead of what it has made.
5) THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT:
The societal marketing concept holds that the
organization's task is to determine the needs, wants,
and interests of a target market and to deliver the
desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently
than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances
the well-being of both the individual consumer and society
Disciplines involved in the Study of Consumer Behaviour:
Consumer behaviour was a relatively new field of study during the second half of 1960s without
a history or research of its own. It is in fact a subset of human behaviour and it is often difficult
to draw a distinct line between consumer-related behaviour and other aspects of human
behaviour. The discipline of consumer behaviour has borrowed heavily from concepts developed
in other disciplines of study such as psychology, sociology, social psychology, cultural
anthropology and economics.
1. Psychology is the study of the individual which includes motivation, perception, attitudes,
personality and learning theories. All these factors are critical to an understanding of consumer
behaviour and help us to comprehend consumption related needs of individuals their actions and
responses to different promotional messages and products and the way their experiences and
personality characteristics influence product choices.

7. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
2. Sociology is the study of groups. When individuals form groups, their actions are sometimes
quite different from the actions of those very individuals when they are operating alone. The
influences of group memberships, family and social class on consumer behaviour are important
for the study of consumer behaviour.
3. Social psychology is a combination of sociology and psychology and studies how an individual
operates in a group. It also studies how those whose opinions they respect such as peers,
reference groups, their families and opinion leaders influence individuals in their consumption
behaviour.
4. Cultural anthropology is the study of human beings in society. It explores the development of
core beliefs, values and customs that individuals inherit from their parents and grandparents,
which influence their purchase and consumption behaviour. It also studies subculture and helps
compare consumers of different nationalities and cultures.
5. Economics: An important aspect of the study of economics is the study of how consumers
spend their funds, how they evaluate alternatives and how they make decisions to get maximum
satisfaction from their purchases.
Despite the fact that consumer behaviour, as a field of study, is relatively of recent origin, it has
grown enormously and has become a full-blown discipline of its own and is used in the study of
most programmes of marketing study.
Strategic Applications of Consumer Behaviour:
Consumer behaviour principles are applied in many areas of marketing as discussed below:
1. Analyzing market opportunity: Consumer behaviour study helps in identifying the
unfulfilled needs and wants of consumers. This requires examining the trends and
conditions operating in the marketplace, consumers’ lifestyles, income levels and
emerging influences. This may reveal unsatisfied needs and wants. The trend towards
increasing number of dual income households and greater emphasis on convenience and
leisure have led to emerging needs for household gadgets such as washing machine,mixer
grinder, vacuum cleaner and childcare centres etc. Mosquito repellents have been
marketed in response to a genuine and unfulfilled consumer need.
2. Selecting target market: A review of market opportunities often helps in identifying
distinct consumer segments with very distinct and unique wants and needs. Identifying
these groups, learning how they behave and how they make purchase decisions enables
Notes the marketer to design and market products or services particularly suited to their
wants and needs. For example, consumer studies revealed that many existing and
potential shampoo users did not want to buy shampoo packs priced at 60 or more and
would rather prefer a low-priced sachet containing enough quantity for one or two

8. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
washes. This finding led companies to introduce the shampoo sachet which became a
good seller.
3. Marketing-mix decisions:
Once unsatisfied needs and wants are identified, the marketer has to determine the right
mix of product, price, distribution and promotion. Here too, consumer behaviour study is
very helpful in finding answers to many perplexing questions.
(a) Product: The marketer designs the product or service that would satisfy
unfulfilled needs or wants. Further decisions regarding the product concern to size, shape
and features. The marketer has also to decide about packaging, important aspects of
service, warranties and accessories etc. Example: Nestle first introduced Maggi noodles
in masala and capsicum flavors. Subsequently, keeping in view the consumer preferences
in some regions, the company introduced garlic, Sambar and other flavors.
(b) Price: The second important component of marketing mix is price. Marketers
must decide what price to charge for the product or service. These decisions will influence
the flow of revenue to the company. Should the marketer charge the same, higher, or
lower price in comparison to competition? Is the consumer price sensitive and would a
lower price stimulate sales? Should there be any price discounts? Do consumers perceive
lower price as being indicative of poor quality? To answer such questions, the marketer
must understand the way the company’s product is perceived by consumers, the
importance of price as a purchase decision variable and how different price levels would
affect sales. It is only through consumer behaviour study in actual buying situations that
the marketer can hope to find answers to these important issues.
(c) Distribution: The next decision relates to the distribution channel, that is,
where and how to offer products and services for sale. Should the products be sold
through all the retail outlets or only through selected ones? Should the marketer use only
the existing outlets, which also sell competing brands, or should new exclusive outlets
selling only the marketer’s brands be created? Is the location of retail outlets important
from consumers’ point of view? Should the company think of direct marketing? The
answers to these questions are furnished by consumer behaviour research.
Example: When Eureka Forbes introduced its vacuum cleaners many years ago,
few stores knew anything about this product and most were not willing to buy it.
Consumer awareness about the product was also low and no retail shops carried the
product. Under these circumstances, the company decided to sell the product only
through personal selling, with salespeople calling directly on the consumer at her/his
home. These salespeople had enough time to explain and demonstrate the vacuum
cleaner and convince prospects about its usefulness. Retail outlets would not have been
suitable for this sales approach. This strategy was based on understanding of consumer
behaviour and yielded good results.

9. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
(d) Promotion: Promotion is concerned with marketing communications to
consumers. The more important promotion methods are advertising, personal selling,
sales promotion, publicity and direct marketing. The marketer has to decide which
method would be most suitable to effectively reach the consumers.
4. Use in social and non-profits marketing:
Consumer behaviour studies are useful to design marketing strategies by social, governmental
and not-for-profit organizations to make their programmes such as family planning, awareness
about AIDS, crime against women, safe driving, environmental concerns and others more
effective. UNICEF (greeting cards), Red Cross and CRY etc. make use of consumer behaviour
understanding to sell their services and products and also try to motivate people to support these
institutions.
SEGMENTATION OF MARKET – CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR:
Segmentation of Market (Market Segmentation) is concerned with dividing the total
heterogeneous population into smaller homogeneous groups of customers who share similar
needs and wants. Through market segmentation organizations identify different groups of
customers in the market that can be targeted effectively with specific products and services and
through a specific marketing mix (4p`s strategy).
A market segment is a subset of the market which consists of individuals or organizations
which have similar needs and demand similar products. and services due to their specific
demographic, psychographic, behavioral or socio-cultural characteristics.
The process of segmentation of market starts with research and analysis of the market to
identify key target groups and then each group is evaluated in order to find out the most potential
segments or groups. An organization makes specific product, price, distribution and promotion
decisions that cater to their target audience; therefore, it is important to carefully evaluate each
segment on the basis of its future profit potential and only the most profitable segments should
be targeted.
Techniques of Segmentation of Market
(1) Priori segmentation – It is the most basic way to segment a market. A priori segmentation
involves division of the market according to existing demographic criteria such as age, gender,
occupation, lifestyle etc. A prior segmentation technique is generally used when a product or
service has a strong relationship any demographic criteria e.g. there is a strong relationship
between age and use in case of baby products, toys, higher education etc.

10. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
(2) Usage Segmentation – It involves segmenting the customers according to their frequency of
usage of a product or service like heavy users, light users, ex-users, potential users, regular
users etc. This type of
segmentation focuses on the activities of a customer related to a product and his level of
involvement in the product. It is usually considered in terms of time and place for example,
clubs offer free drinks and discounts for few hours a day (happy hours) or a day of the week on
the basis of frequency of visits and number of customers present at a time or day.
(3) Attitudinal and Cluster segmentation – It is concerned with dividing the market into
customer segments with similar attitude toward a product, service, industry etc. Usually likert
scales are used to determine how different attitudes affect a purchase decision and then
Cluster analysis is
conducted to group people with similar attitudes. Thus, market is segmented into
homogeneous groups on the basis of what customers think, how they feel and how they
behave towards a particular set of
marketing mix.
(4) Need based Segmentation – This technique of market segmentation focuses on the needs,
wants and motives of the consumers. Conjoint analysis is used to divide people into different
groups on the basis of key drivers and specific needs & requirements that motivate a person to
make a purchase. After identifying the target audience, they are segments into customers with
similar needs and preferences through cluster analysis.
Need based segments are the most actionable and stable groups that help in estimating
existing and future market share.

11. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
Basis of Segmentation of Market
(1) Geographic Segmentation –
Region – North, South, East, West
Population density – Metropolitan areas, small cities, villages, towns
Type of Area – Urban, suburban, exurban, rural
Climate – Cold, hot, humid
(2) Demographic Segmentation –
Age and Life cycle stages – Baby, teenager, bachelor, parent, grandparent
Gender – Male, Female
Marital Status – Single, married, divorced, living together, widowed
Income – Lower, middle, upper
Education – High school, graduate, post-graduate
Occupation – Salaried worker, businessmen, professionals
(3) Psychological/Psycho-graphic Segmentation –
Needs – Shelter, safety, security, love, self-esteem, self-actualization
Personality – Extrovert, introvert, aggressive, compliant
Perception – Safe players, moderate risk takers, high risk takers
Learning- Low involvement, high involvement
Attitudes – Positive attitude, negative attitude

12. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
Lifestyle – Achievers, Strugglers, Strivers, Makers
(4) Socio-cultural Segmentation –
Culture – Indian, American, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican
Subculture – Shia and Sunni, Brahmin and Kshatriya
Religion – Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity
Social Class – Lower class, middle class, upper-middle class, upper class
Family Role – Buyer, Initiator, User, Disposer, Lifecycle Stage – Bachelors, young
marrieds, empty nesters
(5) Use-Related Segmentation –
Usage Rate – Heavy users, regular users, light users, 1-time user, nonusers
Awareness – Unaware, aware, informed, interested, desire, intend to buy
Brand Loyalty – Brand Loyalists, Brand Switchers
(6) Behavioral Segmentation –
Occasion – birthdays, marriages, festivals, national events, holidays
Benefits – Convenience, prestige, economy, value-for-the money,
Quality, specialty.
Ethical Marketing:
Ethical Marketing is a philosophy that focus focuses on honesty, fairness and responsibility.
Though wrong and right are subjective, a general set of guidelines can be put in place to ensure
the company’s intent is broadcasted and achieved. Principles of this practice include:
 A shared standard of truth in marketing communications
 A clear distinction between advertising and sensationalism
 Endorsements should be clear and transparent
 Consumers’ privacy should be maintained at all times
 Government standards and regulations must be adhered and practiced by marketers.
The American Marketing Association has designed a statement of ethics that governs
marketers’ actions. The introduction of the statement reads in summary that values are the
representation of the collective idea of desirable and morally correct conduct. And that the
values outlined in the document serve as the standard by which individuals measure their own
actions and those of others including marketers. These values facilitate best practices when
transacting business with the public and all involved.
There are 6 ethical values that marketers are expected to uphold, and these are:

13. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
1. Honesty – Be forthright in dealings and offer value and integrity.
2. Responsibility – Accept consequences of marketing practices and serve the needs of
customers of all types, while being good stewards of the environment.
3. Fairness – Balance buyer needs and seller interest fairly, and avoid manipulation in all forms
while protecting the information of the consumers.
4. Respect – Acknowledge basic human dignity of all the people involved through efforts to
communicate, understand and meet needs and appreciate contributions of others.
5. Transparency – Create a spirit of openness in the practice of marketing through
communication, constructive criticism, action, and disclosure.
6. Citizenship – Fulfill all legal, economic, philanthropic and societal responsibilities to all
stakeholders as well as giveback to the community and protect the ecological environment.
ETHICAL ISSUES FACED IN MARKETING
So far, we have seen that ethical marketing can guide advertising, research and data
use, strategies for gaining an edge over the competition and company polices. However,
there can also be some problems that arise from trying to employ an ethical marketing
strategy.
1) Irresponsible Market Research: Improper market research and grouping can lead to
stereotyping that shapes undesirable beliefs and attitudes and consequently affect
marketing behavior. For example, assuming that all women like pink and therefore
basing an entire advertising campaign on that belief could be a costly mistake.
2) Selecting Specific Market Audience: According to Boundless.com, the use of
selective marketing practice is to weed out the consumers considered by companies
as less than ideal, but often causes social disparity and unrest. Practices such as
Victoria Secrets’ “Perfect Body Campaign,” which came under a lot of fire from
consumers for excluding every woman but those shaped like the long legged, thin and
well-endowed supermodels in their ad, can turn people away from a company.
3) Unethical Advertising and Promotion: Making false claims about what the product
does and its importance is an unethical way to gain profit. For many years, Nestlé has
been the target of many boycotts for predatory and aggressively marketing baby
foods, especially to women in poorer countries as a better substitute to breastfeeding.
This manipulative marketing technique has caused a lot of damage and loss to these
children and their families.
4) Delivery Channel practices: Marketing in ways like cold calling through
telemarketing companies that purchase leads are not only annoying, they are
disruptive and untrustworthy. Unsolicited approaches are these days almost
synonymous with direct marketing and has left the industry with a tainted reputation.
So have television commercials, email spam and direct mail, which people are going
to significant lengths to avoid.

14. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
5) Dealing with competitors: Many companies advertise cheap prices as a “bait” and
then once they draw in the customers, “switch” them over to a more costly product,
because the advertised good was not available, insufficient or not of any value to the
customer. Many online surveys and work at home opportunities use this unethical
marketing technique.
6) Pricing strategies: Predatory pricing or pricing beneath the competition so as to
cannibalize the market and restrict the competition is an unethical pricing strategy.
And setting up barriers that prevent smaller companies from entering the market is
unethical as well.
Benefits of Integrating Ethics into Your Marketing Strategy
#1: Moral Marketing Compass: This is especially important in economic downturns, when
unethical practices become tempting.
#2: Win-win Marketing: The focus on customer value will increase company value.
#3: Keeps marketing legal: Reduces the risk of cutting corners and turning a blind eye.
#4: Goodwill: Goodwill and strong reputation among clients and associates are the benefits
which companies cannot afford to overlook. Not only will customers believe that the company
cares for them, but will also associate the brand with pleasant feelings and experiences and
spread the word.
#5: Improved quality of recruits and increases retention: A good company attracts good
employees, suppliers, investors, and customers, who will be happy to help the company to
achieve its goals. Great marketing practices make new marketers feel like their time on the
job will make a difference and so will be less likely to change jobs, as will suppliers and other
people have involved.
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MARKETING
Marketers get the right products to the right people at the right time. Ethical marketers ensure the
products meet and exceed their needs, back up their claims and offer value to the customers over
time while finding opportunities to pay it forward. A company that uses ethical and socially
responsible marketing strategy will gain the respect and trust of the customers they target and
interact with. Over long term, this will translate to greater benefits all round. Today’s firms can
make their practices more ethical and responsible by perfecting the following characteristics.
Characteristics of Socially Responsible Marketing
1) Safety: Any product or service that could be hazardous to the health conditions of
people, animals or the environment should have clear advisories and warnings. Once the
problem is identified the company can collect data to help improve the product and
reduce or eliminate the danger. An example would be fast food restaurants eliminating
the use of hydrogenated oils even before trans fats were banned.

15. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
2) Honesty: Ensuring a product satisfies a need it promises to, or aids in providing a lifestyle
it advertises. Advertising should be transparent about possible side effects and not puff
up results, so clients come to respect the honesty of your advertising.
3) Transparency: Any techniques to manipulate and hide facts and information customers
need could harm a company. Just think of the way people regard a company such as Enron
that hid information and was not open to the stakeholders about what was happening.
4) Ethical Pricing: Gathering data about your target market will give you information on
how much they are willing to pay for your product. The rest of the pricing strategy, in a
simplified manner, should be based on overhead costs and supply and demand. Creating
fake shortages and bad mouthing the competition are considered unethical marketing
practices.
5) Respecting Customer Privacy: When customers trust enough to allow you access to
their information, selling it to lead companies or obtaining prospective customers’
information without permission is unethical and breaks trust. Nobody wants to buy from
the creepy guys, no matter how beautifully packaged their products are.
MAIN ASPECTS OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MARKETING
Social conscious marketing addresses the shortcomings of traditional marketing practices and
follows the philosophy of mindfulness and responsibility. This philosophy states according
to Chron.com, that company-marketing practices should be based on consumer satisfaction,
innovative ideas and offer society long-term value and benefit.
Below is the list of main aspects socially responsible marketing practice rely on.
Consumer Orientation
This socially responsible practice teaches that companies should base policies and operations on a
consumer perspective. Not only will the marketer discover the customers’ needs, they will also,
look at their plans as if they were the users. As an example, an over crowded website with lots of
ads dumped onto it will be easily spotted if the marketers were to practice this method.
Innovation
Improving products and services in innovative manner improves the experience for users. And
improving marketing strategies, polices, and brand personality, on an ongoing basis will position
your company as an innovative experience to be repeated and passed on.
Value of the product
A company that produces valuable products and focuses on offering the customer great pricing,
excellent experiences and great customer service will not have to resort to pushy sales tactics and
gimmicks. Apple brand is famous for having people happily wait in line overnight to be first to
own an upgraded product.

16. Consumer Behaviour _E-Notes | Venkat. P
Sense of Mission
A clearly defined corporate mission will help companies be clear about their plans, goals, and
practices. By putting the good of the community and associates over profit, companies will indeed
see an increase in the number of consumers willing to pay premium prices for their products.
Impact on Society
Unlike traditional marketing focus, which was cost reduction and profit increase, socially
responsible marketers are more focused on providing goods and services consumers want, gaining
feedback for improvement and giving back to the communities that helped them become who they
are.
SUMMARY OF (UN)ETHICAL MARKETING
To sum this all up, in order to be ethical in marketing attempts, businesses should make honest
claims, and excel at satisfying the needs of their customers. This practice over time builds trust
and customer confidence in your brand’s integrity and therefore leads to loyalty, customer and
employee retention, greet public relations and increase in business from customers spreading the
word.
Unethical marketing behaviors will achieve the exact opposite and in time could even lead
companies into legal troubles and dissemination of a bad reputation and worse customer
experience. Below are practices of unethical marketing, which you should avoid in order not to
ruin your company.
1) Exploitation – avoid using scare tactics and hard sell and protect the vulnerable consumer.
2) Spam – avoid flooding a customer’s voicemail, mailbox, email or any other means of
communication with unsolicited messages or aggressive advances.
3) Bad mouthing Competition – focus on the value and benefit of your product and point out its
unique selling point, the consumers are smart enough to choose the better product.
4) Misleading Advertisement and Information –any exaggerated claims or dishonest promises will
cause the customers to mistrust you and even determine the failure of the brand.
*********The End**********