2. There are three important terms in marketing that are
commonly used as interchangeable terms.
(I) Consumer
(II) Buyer
(III) Customer
3. Consumer
The term consumer represents human beings, animals
birds trees and all those who have a capacity to
consume.
4. Buyer
Buyers are those who buy goods or services. All buyers
are human beings. Buyers also represent those
consumers who can’t become buyers on their own.
Therefore all consumers are not buyers and all buyers
need not to be consumers.
5. Customer
The term customer finds meaning from the point of
view of seller. We can find a customer for a company,
shop, brand, product, class and so on. If a buyer
repeatedly purchases products of one company he is
called customer of company. Similarly if he buys from
same shop, he is customer of shop.
6. Factors influencing consumer
behavior
The behavior of consumer is influenced broadly by
three important factors. They are:
(I) Cultural and social factors
(II) Personal and physical factors
(III) Psychological factors
7. Cultural and social factors
Cultural factors have deepest influence on the
behavior of human beings. Culture is acquired. There
are three sources of cultural learning . Parents,
grandparents, elders and other members of a family
teach and train a child how to behave. This is called
formal learning.
The child observes in society the behavior of others
with whom he interacts and tries to intimate their
behavior. This is called informal learning.
8. The third is technical learning where the child learns
many things in educational institutions and the
environment, developing analytical abilities.
9. Another important dimension of culture is social
class- social classes are relatively homogenous and
follow a hierarchical order. The most popular variable
that decides the hierarchy of social class is income.
However other variable such as occupation, education
and place of residence can also be used, either
separately or in combination, to decide social
hierarchy.
10. Based on income a society can be divided into nine groups
(I) Upper upper class
(II) Middle Upper class
(III) lower Upper class
(IV) Upper middle class
(V) Middle Middle class
(VI) Lower middle class
(VII)Upper lower class
(VIII)Middle lower class
(IX) Lower lower class
11. The major social groups that influence consumer
behavior are family and reference groups.
Family: A family is very close social group, within
which individuals interact regularly. Members of
family share values, habits, life styles and so on.
Relationship within family are mutually inspiring,
influencing the managing of the life pattern of each
and every individual.
12. Reference groups: A reference group is any person or
group that serves as a point of comparison for an
individual while forming either general or specific
values, attitudes or a specific guide of behavior.
Consumers are generally influenced by primary group,
secondary group, aspirational groups, associative
groups and disassociative groups.
13. Primary group: It consists of family, relatives, friends,
neighbors and co-workers.
Secondary group: It consists of people connected with
religion, regional and professional.
Aspirational group: It consists of those persons with whom
an individual develops an interest to join. Individuals try to
associate themselves formally with some groups, with
whom opinions and attitudes can be shared.
Disassociative groups: It consists of those persons whose
behavior is against the value system and life styles of an
individual.
14. Personal and physical factors
Education
Occupation
Status
Economic position
Personality and self concept
Life style
Age
Sex
Health
Height and weight
beauty
16. How do customers develop
expectations
Level of service performance Customer response
Exceeding maximum expected level Highly satisfied or delighted
Maximum service level Satisfied
Adequate service level Indifferent
Minimum service level Dissatisfied
Below minimum level Highly dissatisfied
17. Maximum service level
Zone of tolerance
Minimum service level
18. Maximum service level is blend of what the customer
believes ‘can be and should be’. For example if you take
the services of your college placement cell, your
expectations in all likelihood would be a right job in
right location for the right salary.
However you are aware of the constraints in obtaining
jobs – the vacancy position in various companies, the
competition and the changing expectations of market.
Due to this reason you may hold a lower level of
expectation for the acceptance of the service. This
lower expectation is called minimum service level.
19. The zone of tolerance is the extent to which customers
recognize or are willing to accept the variation
between the two levels of expectations, that is the
maximum level and the minimum level. If the
performance of the service is below the minimum level
the customer will be frustrated and highly dissatisfied.
20. Consumer purchase decision
process
Problem Evaluation of
identification service Post purchase
and definition alternatives evaluation
Information Service
search purchase and
consumption
21. Problem identification
This is the first step in the consumer decision making
process. Problem identification represents a perceived
gap between the existing level and the desired level of
customer living. Every gap identified by consumer will
not become a need. The perceived level must cross a
level, called threshold level, to become felt need.
22. Consumers do not react similarly for every felt need .
The reaction of the buyer depends upon the level of
involvement in the problem solving. At least three
types of behaviors can be identified in this respect.
HIPS: High involvement problem solving
LIPS: Low involvement problem solving
ZIPS: Zero involvement problem solving or routinised
response.
23. Information search
Research for information depends upon certain
properties of the market offers. Economists have
identified two categories of properties of consumer
products. They are:
(I) Search qualities: the attributes of the offer can be
determined by the consumer before purchasing a
product. For example, color, style, price, feel and
smell.
(II) Experience qualities: the attributes of the offer can
be known either during consumption or after the
purchase. E.g. taste wearability etc.
24. Later on third category was identified as credence
qualities
Credence qualities: The attributes of the offer that
consumer may find impossible to evaluate even after
the purchase and consumption.
25. Evaluation of service alternatives
Customer evaluate the services of various companies
and then take the decision accordingly.
Service purchase and consumption
Post purchase evaluation
