How to improve your knowledge of consumer behavior in purchasing

If you’re launching your new start-up or if you already have one, but you’re afraid of falling into destructive mistakes.

Before nowadays, there were many successful and popular companies, but their success didn’t stand too long because they didn’t study consumer behavior.

I sometimes wonder if this was their fault as they neglect this point in their study and it’s the most important point that will lead to a huge success or there wasn’t a guide that showed them the path of this point.

It’s their fault because any business or start-up that produces product or service whether its idea is good or super good.

Its success won’t be achieved without customers although, studying consumer behavior is very hard and tough, it needs time and plans but definitely, it’s worth it.

What is consumer behavior?

It’s the study of the factors, preferences, decisions, and intentions that make the consumers select, buy, use or dispose of goods or services so, they satisfy their needs and wants.

The five factors that affect consumer behavior in purchasing

Social factors

They’re factors that affect your consumer due to the existence of some people that he/she sees them daily which means they’re in his/her same environment.

So, we can talk about these factors from different perspectives.

Family

It’s the most effective factor in the consumer because we trust their opinions.

They have a great impact on our characters so we’ve their beliefs, attitudes, and way of thinking.

Reference groups

This factour includes different types of criteria

“User”

Someone who uses the product or the service.

For example, you had a college-mate was using a fiber-castle eraser.

“Leader”

According to our human nature, we follow each other even if we don’t have enough information or knowledge about this product or service.

For example, we see that many teens use“Apple”. Although, the main audience of Apple is businessmen/women.

This phenomenon is known as peer pressure or herd mentality and almost all of the time, the one who takes the decision is the one who has authority.

It’s very rare when you find someone takes a different path.

Last but not least, Reference groups have two types of impact.

• The direct impact such as your friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
• Indirect impact as influencers.

There are also positive impacts and negative impacts.

Role and status

It’s about VIPs such as politicians. Their decisions are taken carefully.

Cultural factors

We’re living in an environment that creates our mind-set the traditions, customs, habits, and values, culture factors vary from country to other one and from society to the other.

Subculture

It differs according to your nationality or religion or geography or ethnicity.

Certainly, the behavior of “Egyptian” consumers in purchasing is completely different from the behavior of the “Spanish” consumer in purchasing.

Social class

Any society is divided into subclasses: “class A” or “class B” or “class C” or “class D”.

Each class has its behavior in purchasing.

Personal factors

This factor is the strongest one.

Income

All of us are constrained by our income.

when your income increase, your ability to buy products or use service increase and vice versa.

Age

It’s is an easy point.

Every stage in our life has its requirements and needs.

For example, A child wants toys and games and needs tombs while a teenager and mature man need completely different kinds of stuff and both of them are different from each other too.

Profession

Each profession has its requirements and purchases.

For example, doctors’ needs are different from engineers’ needs and teachers’ needs are different from scientists’ needs.

Lifestyle

Each person has his/her lifestyle.

For example, healthy food is a lifestyle, fast food is also a lifestyle.

Each of them has its own needs and wants.

Psychological Factor

It’s the hardest factor.

As you study the human mind and his behavior in the given context. Here, we go through four processes.

Motivation

It’s the small hidden thing inside each of us that creates the need. It could be for the short term.

For example: If you’re hungry, you’ll buy food to fulfill your need which is hunger, for the long term; if you need a new mobile phone because your old one isn’t working anymore, you’ll buy a new one.

Therefore, every businessman/woman should know the things that motivate their consumers to fulfill the needs effectively and efficiently and to avoid any conflict that occurs inside the minds of your consumer.

The conflict could be in the form of hesitation.

For example, if there are two similar products but different brands.

It could be in the form of a necessary need.

For example, I need to buy a specific product but I don’t like this feature in the products such as its color.

In this case, the consumer will have to buy the product, although he isn’t satisfied.

Perception

It’s considered as the most important point in the psychological factor.

In this process, the consumer gets his attention to your products due to the features that attract him such as the color, size, number or shape

Then he starts to analyze the product.

Here comes the most important step that he is eager to know information about your product.

You should know that too much information will get him confused so you should write a specific and good word on the label.

One of the most common thoughts that are existed in our minds that when we see a company has reduced the price of its product, we think that its quality is getting worse.

In case it may have made new studies and good statistics that lead it to reduce the price.

On the other hand, the companies that raise the price of their products, the customers get their attention to it. Although it could be in debt or have taxed so they have to raise the price.

Learning

In this case, the customer becomes fully aware of the product, he has enough information, knowledge, and experience.

Its reasons could be as the following:

• He used this product before
• One of his relatives or friends have used it
• He knows about it from social media or influencers.

Knowing that when the customer knows much about your product doesn’t mean he’s loyal to you.

Beliefs and values

In this process, that consumer creates a thought and an idea towards your product.

Your role is to take their feedback and work on your weaknesses because their feedback will be very beneficial.

Economical factor

This factor isn’t related to the consumer only but the government has a role in it too.

Family Income

When the income of your family increase, your purchasing increase, and vice versa.

Each member of the family has his/her requirement so food, water, and necessary needs are bought then luxuries.

Savings

when the consumer increases his savings, his expenditures will decrease and vice versa.

he saves from his income.

The external factors that affect consumer behavior in purchasing regardless of his income

The black market and Inflationary have a huge effect on consumer expenditures, they are considered as the most two popular external factors that obstacle consumer behavior in purchasing.

The black market

It’s an illegal and non-official market, the way that the black market could affect the consumer.

For example: If there is a concert and the ticket is “150 L.E” then a citizen buys more than “90%” of a ticket at a higher price like “300 L.E”.

So some people who were willing to attend the concert, won’t do for sure.

Inflationary

It means raising the price of products, it affects the consumer’s decisions.

sometimes the consumer will give up on some of his preferences and will start to look for alternatives.

For example, If the consumer behavior is banana and he pays “15 per kilo” and its price becomes “30 per kilo”.

So he will start to look for an alternative to compensate for this lack.

All of these factors will help you to know your customers very well.

You’ll feel a great confidant and guarantee success when you launch a marketing campaign because simply you’ve put a strong base.

In Conclusion, when you’re self-aware of your customers, you’re self-aware of yourself.

The Process of consumer behavior in purchasing

Recognize

Through this process, the customer has a problem.

This problem could be a lack of money or the product he bought unfulfilled his need or want it would be due to lack of quality.

For example, the consumer wants to buy a fan, but he doesn’t have enough money.

Research

Looking for information to solve your problem, he starts to research on the internet.

He may find a fan with good prices, but bad features or fans with a high price and catchy features or good price and considerable features.

Evaluate the information

That he gathered about the fans and he decided which one meets his wants and needs.

Purchasing

He decided to buy the fan that meets his needs and wants.

Post purchasing evaluation

He evaluates his purchase which is the fan whether it was worth or not and whether he was satisfied after using it or not.

Types of consumer behavior in purchasing

Routine response or habitual buying behavior

This type of customers responds normally because they buy necessary things like fruits, meat, vegetables or any indispensable need.

So, they don’t look for the brand and they don’t do much research for it.

Limited decision making or Dissonance Reducing Buying Behavior

Through this process, the consumers buy a product that is highly recommended by his/her friend or relative or a neighbor.

It could for luxury such as accessories.

They won’t do much research about it because the difference between brands is limited too.

Extensive decision making or complex buying behavior

When consumers want to buy an expensive but necessarily product like television, laptop or mobile phone.

Then, they start to do research and read the reviews to find the best one that suits their financial status and the one that its features are cool.

They also start to ask his family or friends or excellent salesmen.

Impulse buying

This type of consumer didn’t have any kind of intention to buy a specific product.

For example, if you are hanging out with your friends outdoors and suddenly you see a chic and cool bag then you buy it at once.

Another example, if a child sees a beautiful toy and he insists on having it, his parents will buy it for him although they don’t have the intention to buy him one.

So consumer behavior isn’t stable.

It changes every time due to the current changes surrounding our lives such as Technology.

Technology changes consumer behavior and our lives as well.

Besides, the customers become aware of everything.

They don’t believe in any product easily.

They ask many questions and they take feedback from ex-users.

So, don’t underestimate their mentality.

Why is consumer behavior in purchasing important?

Studying consumer behavior is a strong base for your business

This base will give you the ability to know your target and segmentation.

For example, you have a car agency and you sell a fancy, luxurious and nice car.

Who wants the car?

A college student.

Who influences buyer decisions?

The boy influences his dad because he wants the car.

Who takes the decision?

His dad because he has the money, so he’s the decision-maker.

Knowing your target and segmentation will help you to know other important points, much knowledge, and more information.

• It’ll help you to create an accurate business model canvas.
• It’ll also be easy for the salesmen to perform their job effectively and efficiently.
• Choosing catchy trends.
• You’ll be able to choose the right place.
• You’ll also be able to choose the price of your product effectively
• It’ll help you if you want to launch a marketing campaign.

These two points will help you in designing the marketing mix which is the product, price, promotion, and place.

So, you’ll increase your revenues and profits by sales because you’ll know who buys, needs and wants your products.

Conclusion

Consumer behavior is the study of the factors, preferences, decisions, and intentions that make the consumers select, buy, use or dispose of goods or services.

To know consumer behavior well, you should know:

First: The factors that affect consumer behavior internally and externally

Second: The process of consumer behavior in purchasing

Third: Type of consumer behavior

Finally: The importance of studying consumer behavior in purchasing