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When you go shopping, do you ever stop and wonder why you are buying
what you are buying? What influenced you to buy these products? Do you really
need them, or do you simply want them? Has a friend recommended a product to
you? We are all consumers in a world of the constant flow of money received,
and money spent; we all contribute to the churning economy. In the marketing
world, the focus is how to sell products, services, and ideas to the
consumers. The consumer needs to be analyzed, and their behavior needs to be
observed in order to know exactly how to appeal to them.
In whatever form it may be, we are bombarded with marketing every day;
whether it be TV commercials, billboards, radio ads, and newspaper
and magazine ads. An example of what we frequently do; go grocery shopping.
In today's society, obesity is of significant concern and many of us have
made the decision to live healthier lifestyles. Currently, even processed
foods such as Kraft cheese, have now taken out artificial preservatives to
appeal to the health conscious movement many consumers are no on-board
with. More than ever, when you look at certain food products, the company
makes sure certain words pop out and catch your eye in order for you to think
you are making a good choice (even if the food item itself is still
relatively unhealthy).
The actions taken by the buyers in the selling market is referred to
as consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is not officially defined, but
according to Lars Perner, Ph. D Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing at
Marshall School of Business, it is the study of individuals, groups, or
organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose

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of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts
that these processes have on the consumer and society. To further break down
what consumer behavior is in marketing, it is important to see each consumer
as one individual, group, or an organization.
For example many individuals are
influenced on what they buy depending on what their friends buy. Consumer
behavior also stems from the consumers concern on how the product impacts the
environment and their health, going back to Kraft's decision to remove
artificial preservatives from their products. Lastly, consumer behavior also
involves services and ideas, such as insurance agencies, as well as physical
products themselves.
Firms and organizations use marketing strategy, which is a strategy
used to maximize limited resources of an organization to increase its
opportunities in sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. They
study consumers in order to improve their marketing strategies by
understanding issues such as how the consumers think, feel, reason, and
select between different alternatives, such as brands; how the consumer is
influenced by their environment, such as their culture; the behavior of the
consumer while shopping; the knowledge and information the consumer has; how
customer motivation and decision making differ between products, and the
products level of importance or interest to the consumer; how marketers can
adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more
effectively reach the consumer.
The psychologically of a consumer comes from various influences, as
mentioned before. The primary psychological influences on consumer behavior
are perception, motives, learning, attitudes, personality, and self-concept,
and lifestyles. Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and
interpreting information inputs to produce meaning. There are three steps in
the perception process: selection, organization, and interpretation. Every

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consumer has a difference perception on brands, products, sellers, and
packaging that in turn affects their decision in the buying process.
Marketers are constantly trying to twist and shape what consumers will learn,
to influence what they will buy. Research shows that consumers will buy
products that reflect and enhance their self-concepts; and what they buy will
match their individual lifestyle.
Social influences are forces that other people exert on buying
behavior. There are a variety of social influences including family, roles,
leaders, social class, culture, and subculture. Everyone has a position
within a group, organization; each position has a role of set actions and
activities that the individual is supposed to perform based on expectations
of both the individual themselves and from the people surrounding them. When
it comes to families, children learn from their parents and older siblings
how to make decisions, including purchase decisions; this leads to consumer
socialization, which is the process through which a person acquires the
knowledge and skills to function as a consumer.
Social class is very significant when it comes to consumer behavior.
Social class is often tricky to define because many people do not believe in
the existence of social classes in the United States. The reality is, people
are grouped into social classes according to their income, wealth, education,
and their career. Most of us are familiar with the three-tiered approach to
social class; the rich, the middle class, and the poor. Many people dispute
this model and consider many more levels.
The social class effect on consumer behavior in the market is quite
obvious; those with higher income have more at their disposal and tend to buy
high quality items with high price tags, while those with low income tend to
'get by' and focus more on what is needed, as opposed to what they want.
Marketers must be aware of their social class target; effective marketers
must understand and tailor their approach to appeal to a specific class.

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When dissecting the importance of consumer behavior in marketing,
there are four main aspects. The first, and most important, is for marketing
strategy. For example, companies learn to schedule snack advertisements late
in the afternoon because this is the time when consumers are usually most
hungry during the day. The second aspect is public policy; which is simply
action taken by the administrative executive branches of the state to a class
of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. For
instance there are surgeon general warnings on cigarettes, and some are also
now showing graphic pictures of tobacco-related cancer. Third is social
marketing; this involves getting ideas across to consumers rather than
selling something. An example of social marketing is the problem of dirty
needles being shared among drug users; the realistic view is that you cannot
simply convince addicts to stop, so you educate them on the importance of
clean needles. Finally, studying consumer behavior should make us better
consumers. An example of this is doing price comparisons while shopping, and
making sure you are getting the better bargain.
What is the importance of observing consumer behavior? Naturally, we
are all consumers; it is simply the ideology of needs and wants. Consumers
will purchase products that give them the ultimate satisfaction to fulfill
those needs and wants; this is where the marketing strategy comes into play.
When consumer behavior and the marketing strategy are intertwined,
organizations see success in their sales, higher profit margins, and
competitive sustainability in the market place. Not only is it benefiting the
organization, but also the consumers themselves.
So how does an organization predict consumer behavior? Information is
gathered through surveys and studying data from various sources. In order to
predict future sales, organizations study past consumer behavior to determine
future sales. This method estimates the expected sales for a particular
market during a specified time period; usually sales forecasts fall short so

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this is not the best method. Another method of research is through surveys.
This helps companies learn what consumers want, as well as how they respond
to advertising; this also helps pinpoint potential problems. Web-based
research monitors the behaviors of consumers online. Organizations determine
the right prices, attributes, and sales promotions for their products. Web-
based research is the most promising method because it is cost-effective and
flexible to adapt to the changing demands of consumers.
The consumer buying decision process includes five stages; problem
recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and
post-purchase evaluation. When it comes to this process, the purchase stage
may not happen, nor does it always involve all five stages. In the first
stage of problem recognition, the consumer realizes the differentiation
between what they want, and what they actually need. Second, the consumer
then will search for information about what they need to purchase in order to
resolve their problem. In the internal search, consumers recall their
memories for information; if this is not possible, the consumer then searches
for information through an external search. The consumer then evaluates
products that are available chooses what they deem best; the third stage. In
the fourth stage, purchase, the consumer selects products of which they
chose. The consumer also chooses the seller of a particular product, whether
they go to their local grocery store, or Wal-Mart. After the consumer
purchases their product, the consumer then rates the product to determine if
it met expectations. This is the final stage, post purchase. In some
instances, the consumer may not be happy with their purchase, especially if
it was expensive, and will consider choosing another product in the future.
Advertising is one of the biggest influences on consumer behavior, and
marketers rely very heavily on their advertising to draw in customers and
increase their sales. Advertising comes in many forms and research shows that
brand image and advertisements have strong positive influence and significant

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relationship with consumer buying behavior. Consumers have favorite brands,
companies, organizations, and products; and also go to particular sellers to
purchase these products. For example, an individual may go to a superstore to
buy certain foods by certain brands because they are sold at a larger
quantity for a lower price; and then drive to another store for certain
products not sold in other stores, disregarding the price since there is no
local competition.
Advertising has a significant psychological role in consumer behavior
due to its many factors. First off, many consumers today hardly buy anything
that they 'need'. For example there are many cosmetic products available and
easily become expensive. Many of us consumers have had that experience where
we walk into a store with a list of things needed and sometimes come out with
more than we need. Next is affordability; consumers tend to go with a
generic, less expensive brand then the pricier well-known brand. Some
consumers are not affected by price; rather they are loyal to a brand.
Perhaps the product meets the consumers’ expectations, or maybe they are
simply fond of the company that owns the brand. Peer group is when a consumer
is buying a product for the first time and needs an external source in order
to make a decision; whether it be a sales-person or a friend. The referral
they receive will ultimately influence their buying decision. Also, it is
said that advertising on television has just as much as an effect on a
consumers purchasing habits as peer group does. Consumers may purchase a
product they don't necessarily need, or lean towards a certain brand because
they consciously find their ad 'attractive'.
While most advertising is meant to 'attract' and 'appeal' to the
consumer in order to draw up sales, some organizations like to push the
envelope with their marketing strategies. More and more we are seeing
commercials and ads that are creating a bit of controversy and are sometimes
seen as 'too provocative'; especially in a day and age where what we see and

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hear on television does not have too many restrictions. We are all too
familiar with a lot of companies coming under fire for photo shopping their
models to make them an unrealistic version of the 'perfect' woman, but
recently Cadillac has gotten a lot of criticism for their new commercial;
it's been labeled as being Xenophobic and is creating a political firestorm.
The commercial shows a middle-aged man clearly well-off and in a
comical manner, but not obviously, hinting that Europeans do not work 'as
hard' as Americans. He says things such as, "Other countries work. They
stroll home. They stop by a cafe. They take the entire month of August off”;
to imply that Americans would never do this because we are too busy working
for what we want, and implying that it's unheard of in the American culture.
The ad is obviously meant to take a "playful poke at the European luxury car
makers who have dominated the market for decades"; but after the commercial
aired during the Sochi Olympics, the majority did not see it this way.
Liberals are calling it 'too conservative' while the conservatives see
it "as an unapologetic ode to American values". Beyond the political argument
is that it is also creating a negative perception of the wealthy being
egotistical, while others argue it's a "tremendous celebration of profit-
seeking, productivity and, yes, enjoyment of material goods.” Craig Bierley,
Cadillac’s advertising director said that “The spot’s targeted at customers
who make around $200,000 a year. They’re consumers with a “little bit of grit
under their fingernails” who ‘pop in and out of luxury’ when and how they see
fit. These are people who haven’t been given anything. Every part of success
they’ve achieved has been earned through hard work and hustle. One of the
ways they reward themselves for their hard work is through the purchase of a
luxury car". He also continued to say, "The strategy was really to play off
the consumer insights around this notion of achievement earned through hard
work and hustle -- and celebrating that. Since it's a U.S.-based spot, we

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used metaphors to talk about other people who received their success through
hard work."
Social media is a huge beneficial tool for marketers. A majority of
people today use at least one social networking site, if not multiple; and
with the variety of social networking sites and apps available, the
possibilities for marketers to reach their target consumers are wide. This
nearly guarantees the company's message is received and allows communication
to go both ways; allowing customers and businesses to interact. Social
networking has now gone beyond the old MySpace days of simply interacting
with friends, family, and coworkers. Familiar names such as Facebook, and
LinkedIn are creating endless possibilities for businesses and their
marketers, and also benefitting the consumer. These websites also give small
businesses the opportunity of free 'advertisement' and the opportunity to
reach a big audience of potential costumers.
When it comes to social networking and consumer behavior, there are
plenty of positives and negatives. For one, the consumer now has the access
of feedback to a specific company, which is also publicly available for many
people to see. So, depending on the consumer has negative or positive
feedback, it can either draw people in, or push people away. Consumers are
now researchers when it comes to purchasing. Before settling, a consumer can
log into a social media network and see what other people think about your
products and how customer service is handled. Again, either benefitting or
hurting the company.
No ad is as convincing as having someone a consumer trusts recommend a
product or service. In social media, word-of-mouth advertising can go
worldwide in an instant with a single message sent from a single consumer. In
the networking world, the consumer can communicate with thousands of people
at the click of a button, easily spreading a message about a particular
company. This is even better for small businesses, as they do not like to

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waste their finances on advertising. Of course, depending on the feedback, it
could be negative or positive.
A controversial new method of studying consumer behavior came to be in
2002; neuromarketing. The idea is simple, use science to study the consumer.
The field is gaining credibility quite fast among advertising and marketing
professionals. Each year, over $400 billion is invested into advertising
campaigns. The investments generally fail because they depend on the
consumers’ willingness and competency to describe how they feel when they are
exposed to an advertisement. Neuromarketing is an innovative new approach for
getting through to the consumer by directly probing minds without requiring
demanding cognitive or conscious participation.
Neuromarketing is looking at consumer behavior, from the perspective
of the brain. In 2003, Professor Read Montague of Neuroscience at Baylor
College of Medicine conducted a study where he asked a group of people to
drink either Pepsi or Coca Cola while their brains were scanned in an fMRI.
The study revealed that different parts of the brain light up if people are
aware or not aware of the brand they consume. It showed that a strong brand
such as Coca Cola has the power to "own" a piece of our frontal cortex. The
frontal lobe of our brain manages are attention, short-term memory, and does
the majority of our thinking, specifically planning. So, according to the
study, when consumers know they are drinking Coca Cola, they actually did say
they prefer the Coke brand over Pepsi, and their frontal cortex lights up.
When consumers didn't know which brand they were consuming, they reported
that they prefer Pepsi instead.
When it comes to neuromarketing, studying the brain circuits in
seeking, choosing, and buying a product excite many marketers; the brain is
responsible for all of our consumer behaviors. To look even more in depth at
our brain function, we look further into science. We only use approximately
20% of our brains consciously, and do not control the majority of our

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attention because we are constantly scanning the environment for potential
threats. This is because we are controlled by the most ancient part of our
brains known at the R-complex, or reptilian brain. Though it has developed
over millions of years, it does not understand complex messages, and makes us
very cautious. It also makes us very selfish and drives us to look for the
easy way out in everyday life. Now, as related to consumer behavior, the most
powerful aspect of this part of the brain is that it is able to process
visually stimulating images without the use of the other part of the brain
that aids in our vision. This is why we prefer images over words and
experiences over explanations.
In conclusion, consumer behavior in marketing is definitely nothing
short of complex. While our society is constantly changing and our technology
and science progresses, our needs will change as well. Advertising and
targeting the consumer is being taken to new levels of innovation in order to
make sales and achieve high profits. Perhaps some consumers will take the
time to evaluate their own behaviors while they shop, and maybe it will
ultimately affect how and what they buy. Only time will tell how the
marketing world will change; but as of now it is already making big strides.