Consumer Behavior & Marketing

Communication
Specialization: Marketing
MBA II Year / III Semester
KMBNMK01

By :
Mr.Rajeev Rawal
Assistant Professor , FMS
M.Com, MBA,
 Preface

Consumer behaviour is a field of knowledge that explains

and predicts how consumers buy.
The marketers have to go through a number
of challenges in selling products like „cosmetics‟ as they
have to be applied directly on human skins, body and
other parts. There is a perceived risk of dissatisfaction in
the consumers as far as its benefits are concerned. It is
necessary to study the consumer buying decision process
in this regard.
 Introduction of The Subject Matter

It is well known fact that the success of any business

organization stems from company's ability to
understand and influence consumer behaviour. This
study is needed to consider when designing and
implementing marketing programs.
There are three sections of consumer
behaviour that need to be addressed carefully:
psychological influences, socio-cultural influences and
situational influences.
 Course Objective

1. To Understand consumer behaviour and explain the

consumer decision making process.
2. To define external and internal influences on buying
behaviour.
3. To provide an understanding of integrated marketing
communications (IMC) and its influences on other
marketing functions and other promotional activities.
4. Help to understand what advertising is and its role in
advertising and brand promotion.
5. Understand the importance of message design and
creativity involved in message designing.
 Unit-I

Introduction: Consumer Behavior & the Marketing Mix,

Consumer Goals, Consumer Decision Making Process:
Need Recognition, Search for information, Pre purchase
evaluation of alternatives, Purchase, Consumption, Post
consumption Evaluation & Divestment, Interrupts in
buying process & their effects, Customer involvement,
Consumer Journey through the World of Technology
 Introduction to Consumer Behaviour

Meaning of Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals,

groups, or organizations and all the activities associated
with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and
services, including the consumer's emotional, mental
and behavioral responses that precede or follow these
activities.
 Definition of Consumer Behavior

“The Consumer Behavior is the

observational activity conducted to study the behavior
of the consumers in the marketplace from the time they
enter the market and initiate the buying decision till the
final purchase is made.”
 Buying Roles

For making strategic decisions the

marketers have to identify the buyers who make the
final buying decisions. It is truly a big task before the
marketers to identify the target buyers of the particular
service.
Influencer: Several people may be involved in
a particular purchase decision, but all of them are
not consumers. A person who has influence, whose
views or advice is given wheightage while taking
the final decision.
Continued……………..
 Continued……………..

Gatekeepers: Family members who control the flow of

information about a product or service into the family.
Initiator: The person who is the first to suggest or
think of the idea of purchasing a product or service.
Decider: The person who finally takes the decisions of
whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy and from
where to buy.
Buyer: The person who actually buy the
product/service after making payments.
User: The person who actually uses or consumes the
product or service.
 Application of Consumer Behaviour Knowledge in Marketing

 Analyzing market opportunity:

 Selecting target market:
 Marketing-mix decisions:
 Use in Social and Non-profits Marketing:
 For Framing Marketing Strategy
 Use In Social marketing
 Consumer Behavior & Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix
Marketing mix is the combination of
strategies and activities that companies use to
sell their goods and services.
Consumer behavior analysis is an
important domain for a marketing manager as it
gives insight into a number of factors which affect
sales and relationships that are not in the control
of a company.
 Consumer Decision Making Process

Consumer decision making process involves the

consumers to identify their needs, gather
information, evaluate alternatives and then make
their buying decision. The consumer behavior may
be determined by economic and psychological
factors and are influenced by environmental factors
like social and cultural values.

Continued…………..
 Continued…………

Every consumer has different needs in their daily

lives and these are those needs which make than
to make different decisions. Decisions can be
complex, comparing, evaluating, selecting as
well as purchasing from a variety of products
depending upon the opinion of a consumer over
a particular product.
Continued…………..
 Continued……….

This renders understanding and realizing the

basic problem of the consumer decision making
process for marketers to make their products and
services different from others in the marketplace .
5 Stages of Consumer Decision Making
Process
 Need Recognition

Need recognition occurs when a consumer

exactly determines their needs. Consumers may
feel like they are missing out something and
needs to address this issue so as to fill in the gap.
When businesses are able to determine when
their target market starts developing these needs
or wants, they can avail the ideal opportunity to
advertise their brands.
Continued…………….
 Continued………..

An example who buys water or cold drink

identifies their need as thirst. These consumer
decision making steps are considered to be
important when an expensive brand is under
buying consideration such as cars, laptops,
mobile phones, etc.
 Information Search

The information search stage in the buyer

decision process tends to change continually as
consumers require obtaining more and more
information about products which can satisfy their
needs. Information can also be obtained through
recommendations from people having previous
experiences with products.

Continued…………
At this level, consumers tend to consider risk
management and prepare a list of the features of
a particular brand. This is done so because most
people do not want to regret their buying
decision. Information for products and services
can be obtained through several sources like:
Commercial sources: advertisements,
promotional campaigns, sales people or
packaging of a particular product.
Personal sources: The needs are discussed with
family and friends who provided product
recommendations.
Public sources: Radio, newspaper and
magazines.

Experiential sources: The own experience of a

customer of using a particular brand .
 Evaluation of Alternatives

This step involves evaluating different alternatives

that are available in the market along with the
product lifecycle. Once it has been determined by
the customer what can satisfy their need, they will
start seeking out the best option available. This
evaluation can be based upon different factors like
quality, price or any other factor which are
important for customers. They may compare prices
or read reviews and then select a product which
satisfies their parameters the most.
 Purchase Decision

When all the above stages have been passed, the

customer has now finally decided to make a
purchasing decision. At this stage, the consumer
has evaluated all facts and has arrived at a
logical conclusion which is either based upon the
influence from marketing campaigns or upon
emotional connections or personal experiences
or a combination of both.
 Post Purchase Behavior

The purchase of the product is followed by post-

purchase evaluation which refers to analyzing as to
whether the product was useful for the consumer or not.
If the product has matched the expectations of the
customer, they will serve as a brand ambassador who
can influence other potential consumers which will
increase the customer base of that particular brand. The
same is true for negative experiences; however, it can
halt the journey of potential customers towards the
product.
 Customer Journey
The customer journey is the complete sum
of experiences that customers go through when
interacting with your company and brand.
Instead of looking at just a part of a transaction or
experience, the customer journey documents the
full experience of being a customer.
Cont…
 Cont…

Customer journey maps can help you

illustrate the overall experience a customer has
with a service, a physical or digital product, or
even a brand. A journey map can help you and
your team in different ways when it comes to
improving and optimizing your customer
experience.
What is customer onboarding?

Customer onboarding is the

start to finish process that
enables customers to find,
evaluate and eventually
purchase your products
through a sales process. An
excellent customer
onboarding program helps
customers to first understand
the benefits of your product
or service, guides them on
setup and use, and provides
helpful ongoing support.
 The 5 phases of the customer journey

There are Distinct phases in which your

potential customer passes through and should be guided
accordingly in order to be introduced to and “buy into” your
product. The five phases are Awareness, Consideration,
Purchase, Retention, and Advocacy. Each has its
challenges which we will discuss here.
Awareness (pre-sale)

The discovery stage, via

various marketing methods,
information gathering, research
phase, looking for clear
messaging and initial problem-
solving.
Your marketing will
usually denote which entry
point your customer arrived at,
whether enterprise or
individual – the messaging
should reflect the phase they’re
in.
 Consideration (pre-sale)

Debating options, perhaps yours vs another product,

considering pricing, which is the best solution, weighing
features and benefits.
Brand awareness can play an important part here,
brand familiarity, known history, and perceived quality and
service can sway a sale to the more familiar or more favored
brand. Look to increase brand awareness in this product
space.
 Purchase (post-sale)

The decision is made, and the purchase has gone ahead,

this is now the tie for immediate action. Do not leave a
void in between this phase and first contact. The customer
needs to be acknowledged. Startup your welcome and
messaging machine to progress the journey with a great
experience and a chance to move them into further phases.
 Retention

Retaining a customer is difficult, this is where many

will fall off the process if they’re not sufficiently
supported.
Maintain customer satisfaction and “approval rating”
by continuing to solve this problem – and anticipate future
hurdles you can help your client with. This is where our
customer experience team helps our clients to improve their
experience with CommBox still further. It’s a great
opportunity to look after your customer’s needs.
Constant communication is key to developing
customer loyalty.
 Advocacy

If all the other phases are handled correctly, then your

customers will become fans, fans will provide the best
marketing you can get. Their influence on the purchasing
decisions of others should facilitate further sales. At this
point recommendation and reward is a great boost to
improve sales.
Affiliate and referral schemes (where
appropriate) mean that customer have already been
recommended your product, this can facilitate and expedite
the customer onboarding process.