Download Consumer Behavior Paper MKT/435 Consumer Behavior Paper The

Consumer Behavior Paper
MKT/435
Consumer Behavior Paper
The transformation of inputs from being an idea into outputs such as goods and
services, and their subsequent reach to the end user is facilitated by marketing. In the
business jargon, marketing is all about identifying and satiating the needs of the consumer.
To recognize these demands, there needs to be a structured approach involving analysis.
Any product can become a success when the 4P’s of marketing namely price; product,
promotion and place are properly used. In this paper, the consumer behavior’s relation to
the marketing is studied and described. A case of a writer’s acquisition decision and how
the 4P’s influenced the choice is detailed.
The objective of marketing is to channel and build consumer behavior. The authors
of “Consumer Behavior Building Marketing Strategy” define consumer behavior as “the
analysis of the actions of individuals, sections, and organizations along with the steps
undertaken to select, guarantee, implement and discard goods, services, new ideas or
unique experiences in order to satiate the demands and ensure positive effect that these
activities may have on the consumer and society as such (Hawkins, 2007).” Consumer
behavior is a complex yet necessary aspect of marketing. Consumer behavior completes the
marketing task. There are several strong influences like external presences like the
consumer culture, life at home, demography, and social status. The internal influences
include consumer attitudes, emotions, the learning, perceptions, and memories. But these
are highly moldable attributes that may be changed to other directions. The business
formulates a marketing strategy by assimilating necessary data related to consumer
behaviors that meet the needs of the target market. In the process of understanding the
behavior of consumers, the behavioral principles that lead to spending patterns have to be
appreciated. A sound marketing strategy takes into consideration all consumer behavior.
This includes present and previous experiences and learning. Consumer behavior can be
ascertained by observing the trend in purchasing. The marketing strategy must involve
diverse research techniques in this analysis. To better gain an insight into consumer
behavior and coming up with a successful product, resources like the internet, specific
groups, surveys, instinct, one on one interactions, logic, and product concept validation
exercises can be made use of.
How are we to construct the right message and what means are to be used to reach
the customer are the questions that are to be answered by a company in the first phase.
Then the answers to questions like the spark to a positive consumer decision process
resulting in the inclusion of the products and persistent satisfaction of demands have to be
found. Based on the consumers’ likings and standard of living, the marketing device can be
altered and implemented. For instance, a car company trying to promote their products to
consumers who prefer comfort, agility, affordability or highly aesthetic qualities, it may
choose the medium of television advertisements or magazine advertisements. This makes
the products more visible to the customers. In the product life cycle, there needs to be a
continual change based on the consumer behavior. The basic idea is to retain the customer
base by satisfying them as it is simpler and cost effective than finding new customers. In
order to do this, there should be sound knowledge on the behavior patterns of the
consumers.
In the marketing strategy, the competitors' strengths and weakness ought to be
studied. This is very vital in any business practices as it helps decide on the changes that
should be brought to the business’s product to stay in the market. The consumers are
naturally inclined towards the better and bigger deal. To bring out a successful product in
the market, keeping up with the changing needs of the customer in every stage of the
process becomes crucial. Understanding consumer behavior gives a competitive edge over
the competitors who are not aware of the importance of the activity. Given below is a flow
chart that best shows the process of meeting a consumer’s demand.
Our Whole
Good
Customers
Assessment
Quality
Value
Anticipated
Transaction
Recognized
Value
Distributed
Consumer
Approval
Competitors
Whole Good
The health of her children is the primary concern of Melissa. As in the case with children,
they are not very concerned. The children have varied needs as against that of Melissa.
Recently, Melissa children wanted “Cheetos” (cheese flavored puffed snacks). “Cheetos”
were very common and obtainable. They are available in almost every convenience store,
gas station and drug store. The producers aggressively promote “Cheetos” to adolescents
through radio, television, and magazine or newspaper advertisements. Chester the cheetah
which is the cartoon character associated with the product appealed highly to Melissa’s
children and they were very much eager to get the regular “Cheetos”. Being a responsible
consumer she is, Melissa went through the product label information as necessitated by the
NLEA (Nutritional Labeling and Education Act) on the packaging. Melissa observed that the
regular Cheetos had lots of fat content. Instead of going for the regular Cheetos, Melissa
went with the baked Cheetos, thereby satisfying both her and her children’s needs. The
slightly higher pricing of the baked Cheetos did not affect her choice to keep her children
healthy and safe.
The consumer behavior analysis becomes very vital in developing a marketing plan.
This is evident in everyday activities. The marketers have to abide by ethics while
promoting their goods and services. Numerous social issues like smoking cigarettes, drug
abuse, or alcoholism can be worsened or eliminated by matching consumer behavior and
marketing. The 4P’s of marketing are very significant in day to day life and are part of every
purchase decision.
References
Hawkins, D. I., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (2007). Consumer behavior: Building marketing
strategy. University of Phoenix custom e-book.
Business dictionary.com. (2009). Marketing. Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing.html