Consumer Buying Behavior

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Consumer purchasing decisions are often affected by factors that are outside of their control but have direct or indirect impact on how we live and what we consume.

Culture

Culture represents the behavior, beliefs and, in many cases, the way we act learned by interacting or observing other members of society.  In this way much of what we do is shared behavior, passed along from one member of society to another.  Yet culture is a broad concept that, while of interest to marketers, is not nearly as important as understanding what occurs within smaller groups or Sub-Cultures to which we may also belong.  Sub-cultures also have shared values but this occurs within smaller groups.  For instance, sub-cultures exist where groups share similar values in terms of ethnicity, religious beliefs, geographic location, special interests and many others.

Marketing Implications:
As part of their efforts to convince customers to purchase their products, marketers often use cultural representations, especially in promotional appeals.  The objective is to connect to consumers using cultural references that are easily understood and often embraced by the consumer.  By doing so the marketer hopes the consumer feels more comfortable with or can relate better to the product since it corresponds with their cultural values.  Additionally, smart marketers use strong research efforts in an attempt to identify differences in how sub-culture behaves.  These efforts help pave the way for spotting trends within a sub-culture, which the marketer can capitalize on through new marketing tactics (e.g., new products, new sales channels, added value, etc.).

Other Group Membership

In addition to cultural influences, consumers belong to many other groups with which they share certain characteristics and which may influence purchase decisions.  Often these groups contain Opinion Leaders or others who have major influence on what the customer purchases.  Some of the basic groups we may belong to include:

• Social Class – represents the social standing one has within a society based on such factors as income level, education, occupation
• Family – one’s family situation can have a strong effect on how purchase decisions are made
• Reference groups – most consumers simultaneously belong to many other groups with which they associate or, in some cases, feel the need to disassociate 

Marketing Implications:
Identifying and understanding the groups consumers belong to is a key strategy for marketers.  Doing so helps identify target markets, develop new products, and create appealing marketing promotions to which consumers can relate.  In particular, marketers seek to locate group leaders and others to whom members of the group look for advice or direction.  These opinion leaders, if well respected by the group, can be used to gain insight into group behavior and if these opinion leaders accept promotional opportunities could act as effective spokespeople for the marketer’s products.