2. AGENDA POINTS
Why so much focus on this entity called the “Consumer”: what is
her/his significance to Marketing?
Consumer Behavior Essentials: what does it comprise?
What do we mean by buzz-phrases like “Customer Orientation”,
“Understanding Consumer Needs”, “Customer Value”, “Customer
Satisfaction”, “Life-time Value”
Is understanding the consumer a complex process? If so, why?
What do we mean by Diversity of Consumer Behavior? What do
we mean by Market Segmentation?
3. WHO IS A CONSUMER?
General Discussion
“All those who buy or could potentially buy & use any good or
service generated in the economy”
Individuals
Households
Organizations
Therein also lies the subtle difference between Consumer &
Customer
4. WHY SO MUCH CONSUMER FOCUS?
General Discussion
Consumer at the very heart of the Marketing concept that
evolved in the late 1950s
Production of only those goods & services that the consumers would buy
Hence, consumer understanding began assuming huge
significance for businesses at large
Terms such as Understanding Consumer Needs, Customer
Orientation & Customer Value started becoming buzzwords
Customer Needs: Understanding what Consumers want
Customer Orientation: Thinking “Consumer” at all times & orienting one’s
business accordingly to deliver as per Consumer & Customer Needs
Customer Value: Difference between a Customer’s perceived benefits &
the resources used to obtain those benefits
5. WHY SO MUCH CONSUMER FOCUS?
Further, in the context of Brand Marketing, Brands are valuable to
companies because they are valuable to consumers
People will pay more for a branded product than a generic one & more for
a favored brand than the alternatives
Obvious then that a brand that has forged a strong, enduring
bond with consumers should provide a financial advantage to a
company
Particularly in the context of increasing competitiveness
Hence, terms such as Customer Satisfaction & Customer
Retention an integral part of Marketing lexicon today
Customer Satisfaction: Customer’s perception of the performance of a
product in relation to his/her expectation
Customer Retention: Retaining satisfied customers
In short, our Consumption related behavior impacts New Product
Development & Success/Failure of Businesses
6. QUESTIONS MARKETERS FACE?
WHAT products & brands do people buy?
WHY do people buy the products & brands that they do?
WHEN do they buy them?
WHERE do they buy them?
HOW OFTEN do they buy them?
HOW do they actually use them?
HOW OFTEN do they use them?
HOW do they evaluate them after the purchase? What do
consumers think about our products & those of our competitors?
What do they think about possible improvements in our
products?
WHAT are their attitudes towards our products & our
promotional efforts?
7. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?
“The Behavior that people display in searching for, purchasing,
using, evaluating & disposing of products & services that they
expect will satisfy their needs.”
“The mental & emotional processes & the physical activities of
people who purchase & use goods & services to satisfy particular
needs & wants.”
“The mental & emotional processes & the observable behavior of
people during searching, purchasing & post consumption of a
product or service.”
In short, the term “Consumer Behavior” subsumes the entire
process…
From Planning to Acquire something, to Actual Consumption
through till Post Consumption & even Disposal
8. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?
Discuss Consumer Behavior across Products & Services
Car / Motor Bike
Toilet Soap
Casual Shirt
Formal Shoes
Refrigerator
House
Career choice
Insurance
Music System
Eating Out
Vacation
9. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?
Study of Consumer Behavior for a product/service will reveal
answers to critical questions such as:
What kinds of consumers buy that product/service?
Why do they buy it? What do they look for in it? What benefits do
they seek?
How much are they willing to pay?
How many are likely to buy now?
Do they wait for prices to come down? Do they look for some
freebies?
These have a DIRECT bearing on Marketing - designing the product
as well as the marketing mix
10. SO, IS CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING COMPLEX ?
Discuss
Is it really a complex process at all?
If so, in what way is it complex?
What makes it so complex?
11. NEEDS
All of us have different kind of needs:
Physiological / Biological Needs: Air, Water, Food, Clothing, Shelter, Sex
Acquired / Psychological Needs: Self-Esteem, Prestige, Affection, Power,
Achievement
Broadly similar Biological Needs: however, vastly different
Acquired Needs
12. DIVERSITY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
All of us consumers are unique
Different Attitudes & Beliefs about Life in general
Different things that drive us, interest us, engage us
Different Needs & Wants
Different Roles that we play in life & in the entire Consumption
process – varies from one product to another
13. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIVERSITY - UNIQUENESS
All of us consumers are unique
Different Attitudes & Beliefs about Life in general
Different things that drive us, interest us, engage us
Different ways in which we process various things that we get exposed to
Different Needs & Wants
These are conditioned by:
The Culture that we belong to
Our Upbringing & Education
Environment (People around us that we interact with regularly)
Experiences
Age & Stage in Life
Amidst this diversity, many of us are also similar to one another
“Segmentation”: Dividing one whole mass into groups based upon similarity of
Needs & Wants
“Targeting”: Addressing specific segments
“Positioning”: Developing a distinct image for an offering in their minds
14. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIVERSITY - BUYING ROLES
We also play Different Roles in life & in the entire Consumption
process – varies from one product to another
Initiator: Determines un-fulfilled Need/Want
Influencer: One who (somehow) influences a Buying decision, Actual
Purchase and/or Use of the Product
Decider: One who actually determines what will be finally chosen
Gatekeeper: Influences a Family’s processing of information
Buyer: One who actually makes the Purchase transaction
User/s: One who is directly involved with the Use or Consumption of the
purchased product
Buyer Roles: Exercise
Car / Motorbike / House / Computer / Detergent / Toothpaste
Why need to understand ALL ROLES? (Discuss)
15. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIVERSITY – CUSTOMER TYPES
There are also different Customers Types – according to Usage
Loyalists: Highly Satisfied & Highly Loyal
Apostles: Experiences exceed Expectations & who actively spread the word
Defectors: Low Satisfaction & Low Loyalty; Neutral but likely to shift
Terrorists: Defectors with negative experiences & who will spread the word
Hostages: Unhappy, but who stay due to either lack of competition or price
Mercenaries: Highly satisfied, but Low Loyalty & may defect due to lower
price elsewhere or on impulse
16. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIVERSITY – CUSTOMER TYPES
High Apostle
Mercenary Loyalist
SATISFACTION
Medium
Defector Hostage
Terrorist
Low
LOYALTY
Low Medium High
17. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR DIVERSITY – CUSTOMER TYPES
Apostle Most Desirable
Loyalist
Mercenary
Hostage
Defector
Terrorist Least Desirable
18. CB IMPLICATION ON MARKETING
Analyze Market opportunity: Identifying unfulfilled Needs &
Wants
Examining Trends & Conditions
Consumers’ Lifestyles
Income levels
Emerging Influences
E.g. Convenience & Leisure products thanks to Dual income households
Selecting Target Market: Review of Market Opportunities helps
identify distinct Consumer Segments
Identifying them & how they make purchase decisions
enables the marketer to design & market products/services
as per needs/wants
19. CB IMPLICATION ON MARKETING
Marketing-mix Decisions: Once unsatisfied needs/wants
identified, determining the right mix of the 4 Ps
Product:
Specific decisions w.r.t. Shape, Size, Variants, Features..
Also Packaging, key aspects of Service, Warranties..
Price:
What Price to charge? Is the consumer price-sensitive?
Should Discounts be given?
Do consumer equate lower price with lower quality?
Distribution:
Should one sell through all retail outlets or selected ones?
Existing multi-brand outlets or create Exclusive ones?
Is location a key criterion?
Is there a case for Direct marketing?
20. CB IMPLICATION ON MARKETING
Marketing-mix Decisions: Once unsatisfied needs/wants
identified, determining the right mix of the 4 Ps
Promotion:
Which among Advertising, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion & Direct
Marketing most suitable to effectively reach consumers?
Should it be one approach alone or a combination?
Understanding Consumer habits in the context of the Category the key
(Industrial products v/s Consumer products v/s Pharma v/s Insurance)
Use in Social & Non-profits Marketing
Designing Marketing Strategies for social programs
21. CHALLENGE TODAY
Consumers hold more power
Have access to more information
Exchange between Marketers & Customers increasingly
interactive & instantaneous
Marketers can gather more information about consumers more
quickly & easily
Impact reaches beyond PC-based connection to the Web
22. CONSUMER BLACK BOX MODEL
ENVIRONMENTAL
BUYER’S BLACK BOX
FACTORS
BUYER’S
Buyer RESPONSE
Marketin Environment
Characteristi Decision Process
g Stimuli al Stimuli
cs
Economic Attitudes Problem recognition
Product choice
Product Technological Motivation Information search
Brand choice
Price Political Perceptions Alternative
Dealer choice
evaluation
Place Cultural Personality
Purchase timing
Purchase decision
Promotion Demographic Lifestyle
Purchase
Post-purchase
amount
Natural Knowledge behavior
23. Session 1
Introduction to Consumer; Significance & Essentials of
Consumer Behavior
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
24. Session 1
Introduction to Consumer; Significance & Essentials of
Consumer Behavior
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
25. Session 1
Introduction to Consumer; Significance & Essentials of
Consumer Behavior
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR