In today's competitive environment, marketers are faced with informed and highly complex consumers. The consumer is becoming more powerful and difficult to predict in their everyday purchase decisions. This has forced marketing to pay attention to specific research techniques aiding to the success of the performance of the organization. An on going need for information and examining buying behavior is very important to the success of an organization.
Branding and Consumer Behavior
An impulse trigger formed by well informed marketers allows consumers to quickly refer to their memory and make the purchase decision. This behavior comes almost naturally in our everyday purchases due to certain set of rules predetermined in the consumer mindset. This occurs when a brand has created strong brand resonance amongst its target niche. The Consumer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model from Strategic Brand Management by (Keller, 2003) suggests that for a brand to reach the Brand Loyalty stage it has to at least have some salience and points of parity to be able to compete in the market place however, it is essential that a brand distinguishes itself from the competition by having unique points of difference to be able to perform above and beyond the various choices available to the consumer in today's competitive market. This model illustrates and stresses the important of being the preferred brand in the mindset of the consumer since branding has played the key role in an environment which is saturated with hundreds of choices from a product or service stand point.
Consumers actively want to associate themselves with certain brands and this makes a large influence on their buying behavior. The impulse customers may not care about brands as much unless influenced by other variable however, generally a planned purchase decision can be significantly influenced by different brands. Marketers create a lifestyle with these brands which triggers the consumer buying behavior.
In these instances the prediction of behavior becomes more important since for marketers to really understand the consumer and achieve specific results the study of consumer behavior becomes vital in every organization. This could be done in different forms of quantitative research such as surveys or qualitative research such as detailed interviews or focus groups. These research techniques allow marketers to understand consumer and compete in the market place.
Technology in Consumer Behavior
Due to the significant advancements in technology the consumers have become savvier with various tools available for extensive research before making purchasing decisions. These tools allow consumers to go on the web and do price comparisons and quickly find the cheapest possible deal or in other situations find the best possible value compared to the cost. However, these tools have also allowed marketers to indulge with customers and allow an interactive space such as the web as a communication medium. Marketers can now use the ability of sound and visual elements to create mood and settings that fit best with their target audience. Marketers are able to allow consumers to interact and create a custom preference based on each individual customer. This allows both parties to make the most out of the buying decision and buying trigger. This allows a two way communication between the parties.
Memory and Time
Planned purchases are very similar to impulse purchasing since they both may recall memory and make a buying decision. However, planned purchases may have a longer research cycle before they are made while an impulse may take just a few minutes before the product or service is purchased. This may be due to the fact that sometimes planned purchases require a much higher investment than an impulse buy. A consumer will probably not spend the same time for purchasing a chocolate bar as purchasing a motor vehicle or a big screen TV.
Income and Consumer Behavior
Income plays a significant role in consumer buying behavior. One could safely assume that an individual with higher disposable income may spend a lot more than an individual with a tighter budget. Generally consumers that have a specific budget may be more involved in larger scale research before buying. Consumers with higher disposable income may have less risk versus someone with a smaller income may have to compromise before making a buying decision. The impulse trigger from marketers may directly target a certain income group due to its positive response towards that particular product or service. Consumers actively refer to memory and research either the long term memory generally in large investments or short term memory for impulse purchases. A favorable image about a product or service may be the key decision factor for a purchase decision if it's not entirely a necessity.
Cultural Influences on Purchasing Behavior: Collectivists vs. Individualists
The Theory
The notion of collectivists and individualists often arise when considering cultural influences in purchasing behavior. For example, a person who is in a store to purchase a beverage in the presence of others, whether they are strangers, family, or friends, is faced with a decision. The buyer, whom would normally purchase a low-priced drink, may or may not opt for the more prestigious and expensive beverage; determined exclusively by the fact that the purchase is being observed by the witnesses. The dilemma is whether the consumer should buy the fancier drink to appear as one who is not thrifty for the sake of status, or not. To further explore this phenomenon, we will explore the theory of collectivists and individualists relative to impulse and planned purchases.
