Different Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour - Principles of Marketing | Principles of Marketing - B Com PDF Download

Personal Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour
Consumer Behaviour helps us understand the buying tendencies and spending patterns of consumers. Not all individuals would prefer to buy similar products.
Consumer behaviour deals with as to why and why not an individual purchases particular products and services.
Personal Factors play an important role in affecting consumer buying behaviour.

1.Occupation

The occupation of an individual plays a significant role in influencing his/her buying decision. An individual’s nature of job has a direct influence on the products and brands he picks for himself/herself.

Tim was working with an organization as Chief Executive Officer while Jack, Tim’s friend now a retired professor went to a nearby school as a part time faculty. Tim always looked for premium brands which would go with his designation whereas Jack preferred brands which were not very expensive. Tim was really conscious about the clothes he wore, the perfume he used, the watch he wore whereas Jack never really bothered about all this.

That is the importance of one’s designation. As a CEO of an organization, it was really essential for Tim to wear something really elegant and unique for others to look up to him. A CEO or for that matter a senior professional can never afford to wear cheap labels and local brands to work.

An individual’s designation and his nature of work influence his buying decisions. You would never find a low level worker purchasing business suits, ties for himself. An individual working on the shop floor can’t afford to wear premium brands everyday to work.

College goers and students would prefer casuals as compared to professionals who would be more interested in buying formal shirts and trousers.

2.Age

Age and human lifecycle also influence the buying behaviour of consumers. Teenagers would be more interested in buying bright and loud colours as compared to a middle aged or elderly individual who would prefer decent and subtle designs.

A bachelor would prefer spending lavishly on items like beer, bikes, music, clothes, parties, clubs and so on. A young single would hardly be interested in buying a house, property, insurance policies, gold etc.An individual who has a family, on the other hand would be more interested in buying something which would benefit his family and make their future secure.

3.Economic Condition

The buying tendency of an individual is directly proportional to his income/earnings per month. How much an individual brings home decides how much he spends and on which products?

Individuals with high income would buy expensive and premium products as compared to individuals from middle and lower income group who would spend mostly on necessary items. You would hardly find an individual from a low income group spending money on designer clothes and watches. He would be more interested in buying grocery items or products necessary for his survival.

4.Lifestyle

Lifestyle, a term proposed by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929, refers to the way an individual stays in the society. It is really important for some people to wear branded clothes whereas some individuals are really not brand conscious. An individual staying in a posh locality needs to maintain his status and image. An individual’s lifestyle is something to do with his style, attitude, perception, his social relations and immediate surroundings.

5.Personality

An individual’s personality also affects his buying behaviour. Every individual has his/her own characteristic personality traits which reflect in his/her buying behaviour.A fitness freak would always look for fitness equipments whereas a music lover would happily spend on musical instruments, CDs, concerts, musical shows etc.

 

Psychological Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour
Consumer Behaviour deals with the study of buying behaviour of consumers.
Let us understand the effect of psychological factors on consumer behaviour:

Motivation
Nancy went to a nearby restaurant and ordered pizza for herself.

Why did Nancy buy pizza ?
Answer - She was feeling hungry and wanted to eat something.
In the above example, Hunger was the motivating factor for Nancy to purchase pizza. There are several other factors which motivate individuals to purchase products and services. An individual who is thirsty would definitely not mind spending on soft drinks, packaged water, juice and so on. Recognition and self esteem also influence the buying decision of individuals.

Why do people wear branded clothes ?
Individuals prefer to spend on premium brands and unique merchandise for others to look up to them. Certain products become their status symbol and people know them by their choice of picking up products that are exclusive. An individual who wears a Tag Heuer watch would never purchase a local watch as this would be against his image.

Perception
What is Perception ?
What an individual thinks about a particular product or service is his/her perception towards the same. For someone a Dell Laptop might be the best laptop while for others it could be just one of the best brands available.

Individuals with the same needs might not purchase similar products due to difference in perception.

Catherine and Roselyn had a hectic day at work and thus wanted to have something while returning from work. Catherine ordered a large chicken pizza with French fries and coke while Roselyn preferred a baked vegetable sandwich. Though both Catherine and Roselyn had the same motivation (hunger), but the products they purchased were entirely different as Roselyn perceived pizza to be a calorie laden food. Individuals think differently and their perceptions do not match.

Individuals perceive similar situation differently due to difference in the way they interpret information.

There are three different processes which lead to difference in perception:

1. Selective Attention - Selective attention refers to the process where individuals pay attention to information that is of use to them or their immediate family members. An individual in a single day is exposed to numerous advertisements, billboards, hoardings etc but he is interested in only those which would benefit him in any way. He would not be interested in information which is not relevant at the moment.

2. Selective Distortion - Consumers tend to perceive information in a way which would be in line to their existing thoughts and beliefs.

3. Selective Retention - Consumers remember information which would be useful to them, rest all they forget in due course of time. Michael wanted to purchase a watch for his wife and thus he remembered the RADO advertisement which he had seen several days ago.

    

Learning
Learning comes only through experience. An individual comes to know about a product and service only after he/she uses the same. An individual who is satisfied with a particular product/service will show a strong inclination towards buying the same product again.

Beliefs and Attitude
Beliefs and attitude play an essential role in influencing the buying decision of consumers. Individuals create a certain image of every product or service available in the market. Every brand has an image attached to it, also called its brand image.

Consumers purchase products/services based on their opinions which they form towards a particular product or service. A product might be really good but if the consumer feels it is useless, he would never buy it.


Social Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour
Consumer Behaviour is an effort to study and understand the buying tendencies of consumers for their end use.

Social factors play an essential role in influencing the buying decisions of consumers.
Human beings are social animals. We need people around to talk to and discuss various issues to reach to better solutions and ideas. We all live in a society and it is really important for individuals to adhere to the laws and regulations of society.

Social Factors influencing consumer buying decision can be classified as under:

• Reference Groups

• Immediate Family Members

• Relatives

• Role in the Society

• Status in the society

1. ​Reference Groups.
Every individual knows some people in the society who become their idols in due course of time.

Every individual has some people around who influence him/her in any way. Reference groups comprise of people that individuals compare themselves with

Co workers, family members, relatives, neighbours, friends, seniors at workplace often form reference groups.
Reference groups are generally of two types:

a. Primary Group - consists of individuals one interacts with on a regular basis.
Primary groups include:

• Friends

• Family Members

• Relatives

• Co Workers

All the above influence the buying decisions of consumers due to following reasons:

They have used the product or brand earlier.

They know what the product is all about. They have complete knowledge about the features and specifications of the product.

Tim wanted to purchase a laptop for himself. He went to the nearby store and purchased a Dell Laptop. The reason why he purchased a Dell Laptop was because all his friends were using the same model and were quite satisfied with the product. We tend to pick up products our friends recommend.

A married individual would show strong inclination towards buying products which would benefit not only him but also his family members as compared to a bachelor. Family plays an important role in influencing the buying decisions of individuals.

A consumer who has a wife and child at home would buy for them rather than spending on himself. An individual entering into marriage would be more interested in buying a house, car, household items, furniture and so on. When an individual gets married and starts a family, most of his buying decisions are taken by the entire family.

Every individual goes through the following stages and shows a different buying need in each stage:

• Bachelorhood: Purchases Alcohol, Beer, Bike, Mobile Handsets (Spends Lavishly)

• Newly Married: Tend to purchase a new house, car, household furnishings. (Spends sensibly) 

• Family with Children: Purchases products to secure his as well as his family’s future.

• ​Empty nest (Children getting married)/Retirement/Old Age: Medicines, Health Products, and Necessary Items.

​A Ford Car in the neighbourhood would prompt three more families to buy the same model.

b. Secondary Groups - Secondary groups share indirect relationship with the consumer. These groups are more formal and individuals do not interact with them on a regular basis, Example - Religious Associations, Political Parties, Clubs etc. 

2. Role in the Society
Each individual plays a dual role in the society depending on the group he belongs to. An individual working as Chief Executive Officer with a reputed firm is also someone’s husband and father at home. The buying tendency of individuals depends on the role he plays in the society.

3.Social Status
An individual from an upper middle class would spend on luxurious items whereas an individual from middle to lower income group would buy items required for his/her survival.