1

Chapter 5
Consumer Markets and Consumer
Buying Behavior
2
Consumer Buying Behavior
(p. 171)
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the
buying behavior of final consumers -
individuals & households who buy goods
and services for personal consumption.
All these consumers make up the
consumer market.
The central question for marketers is:
How do consumers respond to various
marketing efforts the company might use?
3
Model of Buyer Behavior
(Fig. 5.1, pp. 171-172)
Marketing and
Other Stimuli

Marketing
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Other
Economic
Technological
Political
Cultural
Buyers Black Box


Buyer Characteristics
Buyer Decision Process







Buyer Responses


Product Choice
Brand Choice
Dealer Choice


Purchase Timing
Purchase Amount


4
Factors Influencing
Consumer Behavior
(Fig. 5.2, p. 172)
Social


Reference
groups


Family


Roles
and
status

Personal

Age and
life-cycle
Occupation
Economic
situation
Lifestyle
Personality
and
self-concept
Psycho-
logical
Motivation
Perception
Learning
Beliefs and
attitudes
Buyer



Culture


Sub-
culture


Social
class
Cultural
Most basic
Broadest
Most specific
Most individual
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Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior: Cultural Factors
Subculture (pp. 173-176)
Group of people with shared value systems based on
common life experiences and situations
Represent important market segments
e.g., Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American;
e.g., Gen Y, Gen X, Baby Boomers, Mature
Culture (pp. 172-173)
The most basic cause of a person's wants and behavior.
the set of values, perceptions, wants & behavior learned by a member of
society (learned from family & social institutions)
achievement & success, activity & involvement, efficiency & practicality,
progress, material comfort, individualism, freedom, humanitarianism,
youthfulness, fitness & health
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Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior: Cultural Factors
Social Class (pp. 176-177, Table 5.1)
Societys relatively permanent & ordered divisions
Based on resources, power, prestige
Members of a social class share similar values, interests, and
behaviors (including buying behavior)
Measured by:
Occupation
Wealth and income (both amount and source)
Education
Housing, neighborhood, possessions, values
In U.S., loosely defined
Lines between social classes are not fixed and rigid
High social class mobility can move up or down
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U.S. Social Classes
(Table 5.1, p. 177)
1.7%
Lower
-
upper
Upper-
upper
7%
Lower
-
lower
Upper
middle
Middle class
(white-collar)
.3%
12%
32% 38%
9%
Upper lower
Working
class
(blue-collar)
Sources: Coleman, Journal of Consumer Research, 1983
Fussell, Class, 1983, 2000
Inherited
wealth
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Reference Groups Most influence on visible purchases
Membership has direct influence (e.g., friends, family)
Aspirational does not belong, but still influenced by
Opinion leaders influential individuals
(skills, knowledge, personality often product/category specific)

Family (most important)
Consumption roles decider, buyer, user, influencer
Changing roles & changing family structures
Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior: Social Factors
(pp. 176-180)
9



Personal Influences



Age and life
cycle stage

Occupation
Personality &
self-concept
Economic
situation
Activities Interests
Lifestyle Identification Psychographics

Opinions

Factors Affecting Consumer
Behavior: Personal Factors
(pp. 180-184)
e.g., VALS Typology (pp. 181-183)
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Achievers
(14%)
Actualizers
(10%)
Strugglers
(10%)
Strivers
(14%)
Fulfilleds
(10%)
Believers
(17%)
Experiencers
(13%)
Makers
(12%)
SRI Values and Lifestyles
(VALS)(Fig. 5.3, pp. 181-183) Psychographics
Minimal Resources
Principle Oriented Status Oriented Action Oriented
Abundant Resources
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS

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Factors Affecting Consumer
Bhvr: Psychological Factors
(pp. 184-188)
Motivation driving force behind behavior, resulting from
tension
Motive = a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct a person
to seek satisfaction
Freud unconscious motives (p. 186 & Highlight 5.2 on pp. 188-189)
Maslow hierarchy of needs (p. 186 & Figure 5.4 on p. 187)
Perception process by which we select, organize, and
interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world
Selective attention
Selective distortion (misinterpret to support existing attitudes)
Selective retention


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Physiological Needs
(hunger, thirst, shelter, air, sex)
(security, protection, emotional safety, order, familiarity)
Social Needs
(belonging, love, relationships, family, friendship)

Esteem Needs
(self-esteem, recognition, admiration, status, prestige)
Self Actualization
(self-development, fulfillment,
self-realization)

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
(Fig. 5.4, p. 187)
Most
Pressing
Least
Pressing
Progress
up the
hierarchy
Safety Needs
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Associative learning r attitude g r behavior
Reinforcement learning r behavior g r attitude

Factors Affecting Consumer
Bhvr: Psychological Factors
(pp. 188-191)
Learning associative learning
(information, imagery - advertising)
reinforcement learning
(actual behavior trial use, sampling)

Beliefs -- what we think
Attitudes -- what we think
how we feel
behavior tendencies
Resistant to change
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High Consumer
Involvement *
Significant
perceived
differences
between
brands
Few
perceived
differences
between
brands
Low Consumer
Involvement
Types of Buying Decision
Behavior (Fig. 5.5, pp. 191-193)
Complex
Buying
Behavior
Variety-
Seeking
Behavior
Dissonance-
Reducing Buying
Behavior
Habitual
Buying
Behavior
Cognitive dissonance (p. 197)
(buyers remorse)
* expensive, infrequently purchased, important, risky, and/or self-expressive
Influences the buyers decision process
Suggests appropriate marketing strategy
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Buyer Decision Process
(Fig. 5.6, pp. 193-197)
5 Postpurchase
Behavior
4 Purchase
Decision
2 Information
Search
1 Need
Recognition
3 Evaluation
of Alternatives
Actual state vs. desired state
Triggered by internal or external stimuli
Personal sources most effective
Commercial sources most used
Public sources
Experiential sources
Sequence influenced by
decision type:
Complex
Dissonance-reducing
Variety-seeking
Habitual
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The Buyer Decision Process:
Postpurchase Behavior
(pp. 197-199)
- Dissatisfied
Customer

+ Satisfied
Customer !

Perception of Product Performance
- Expectations
Customer Satisfaction
Retention
Positive w-o-m (tells 3+)
Lost customer
Negative w-o-m (tells 11+)
Cognitive
Dissonance
Create moderately high (realistic, not exaggerated)
expectations & exceed them
Encourage complaints care, respond constructively
(exceeds expectations)
Discussion Connections
Form small groups to discuss a specific
major purchase that one of you has
made recently.
What type of buying decision was it?
(slide #14)
Discuss the Buyer Decision Process (slide
#15) and what major factors influenced
your decisions.

18
Chapter Review
Describe the four major categories of factors
that influence consumer buyer behavior, and
the major influences within each factor.
Understand the major theories discussed
under each influence.
Describe the four major types of buying
decisions and the suggested marketing
strategies for each.
Understand the stages in the buyer decision
process and how the type of buying decision
influences the process.