The best way to satisfy the needs of our clients is to know their behavior
Orientations in the study of consumer behavior.
The study of consumer behavior and knowledge of their needs is a basic question and an initial starting point to be able to effectively implement marketing actions by companies.
A person is known as a consumer who consumes a good or uses a product or service to satisfy a need.
Consumer behavior is that part of people's behavior and the decisions that this implies when they are purchasing goods or using services to satisfy their needs.
The consumer is considered from marketing as the "king", since in a way companies have to meet their needs in a process of constant adaptation, through which experts intuit these needs and implement the appropriate strategies to satisfy them. Therefore, there are a number of questions that marketing managers should ask themselves when studying the consumer:
- What buy? It involves analyzing the type of product that the consumer selects from all the products he wants. Who buys? Determine who is the subject who truly makes the decision to purchase the product, whether it is the consumer, or who influences it. Why buy? Analyze the reasons why a product is purchased based on the benefits or satisfaction of needs that it produces to the consumer through its acquisition. How do you buy it? It is related to the purchase process. If the purchase decision is made in a rational or emotional way. If you pay with money or card… When do you buy? You must know the time of purchase and the frequency of purchase in relation to your needs, which are changing throughout your life.Where do you buy? The places where the consumer buys are influenced by the distribution channels and also by other aspects related to the service, treatment, image of the point of sale, etc. How much do you buy? The physical quantity that you acquire of the product, either to satisfy your desires or your needs. This indicates whether the purchase is repetitive or not. How do you use it? Regarding the way in which the consumer uses the product, a specific packaging or presentation of the product will be created.How do you use it? Regarding the way in which the consumer uses the product, a specific packaging or presentation of the product will be created.How do you use it? Regarding the way in which the consumer uses the product, a specific packaging or presentation of the product will be created.
It should also be added that the consumer will become more or less aware in the decision process depending on the duration of the good, and will emphasize his analysis on those goods that, due to their characteristics, will need a maintenance service to be used during the period of his normal life.
The study of consumer behavior has been the subject of reflection for many years, however, its methodology has varied towards a more scientific foundation in order to improve marketing decisions in the face of the communication process with it. It has been analyzed from the following orientations:
- Economic orientation. It is based on economic theory, and in this sense the key piece is the concept of "economic man" who feels desires, acts rationally to satisfy their needs and guides their behavior towards the maximization of utility. Psychological orientation. The studies in this orientation, in addition to considering economic variables, are also influenced by psychological variables that collect the internal characteristics of the person, with their needs and desires and the totally external social variables that the environment exercises. Motivational orientation. It is based on the study of the reasons for consumer behavior based on the causes that produce them. Needs are the cause that stimulates the human being, and he acts accordingly to satisfy them.
The purchase decision process.
The purchase of a product by a consumer is not an isolated event, but its action will be the result of a process that will go beyond the purchase itself. This process is made up of a series of stages, which are:
- Recognition of the problem or need to be met. Search for information in the sense of finding out what products or services are on the market that meet your need. It is carried out by means of advertising campaigns, questions to third parties or observation. Evaluation of the alternatives that are most convenient for them among the existing ones. Priority setting. Consumer perceptions also play a role, which may or may not be real. Purchase decision, acquiring the product or brand you have selected, this phase usually occurs in the establishment, which is influenced by a seller. Product use and post-purchase evaluation, whose study and knowledge of the buyer's behavior - satisfaction or not - is very important for marketing managers in relation to future purchases.Satisfaction determines the fact that the repeat purchase occurs.
This basic scheme of the consumer's purchasing process will naturally depend on the way of being of each consumer, their economic position and, of course, the product they are going to purchase.
Influences on the purchasing process.
Consumer behavior is influenced by a series of variables that are divided into two large groups:
- External variables, which come from the economic, technological, cultural, environmental field, social class, social groups, family and personal influences Internal variables, which are mainly of a psychological nature, and could be, motivation, perception, experience, characteristics personal and attitudes.
External variables. a) Economic environment: situation of the economy (Y, ti) b) Technological environment: innovations in the entire product category c) Cultural environment: set of values, ideas, behaviors, beliefs, norms and customs of each society d) Environment: use of recycled products… e) Social class: it is a very important influence, since there are a series of variables that induce to guide consumption in relation to economic possibilities or, in some cases, above them. f) Reference groups: groups with which the individual relates. g) The family: important in decision making. h) Personal influences: which are exercised by the "prescribers" (doctor, teacher…)
Internal variables. a) Motivations: psychological expression of needs, accounting for the reasons why you need something b) Attitudes: predisposition to act or not to act in a certain way against a certain object or good. c) Behavior: way of acting of the individual in society d) Learning: change in the conduct or behavior of the individual as a result of the experience. e) Lifestyles: set of ideas and attitudes that differentiate one social group from another and characterize the relationships of the individuals that make it up with their environment.
Market segmentation.
The set of people or organizations that make up the market constitute what we call a consumer society, and in that great mass of consumers homogeneity does not reign, there is a wide variety of desires and preferences that are driven by unique motivations and very varied influences typical of the Rapid technological change of our time, all this aggravated by a product offer far superior to the needs that consumers really have. In a market with these conditions, the company has no choice but to apply segmentation.
Segmenting is differentiating the total market of a product or service into a certain number of elements (people or organizations) that are homogeneous with each other and different from the others, in terms of habits, needs and tastes of its components, which are called segments, obtained through different statistical procedures, in order to be able to apply to each segment the most appropriate marketing strategies to achieve the objectives established by the company.
This is ultimately dividing the market into a series of groups with common characteristics in order to better meet your needs.
In order to obtain satisfactory results, it is necessary that the segments obtained from the segmentation meet some basic requirements:
- Easily identifiable and measurable. They must be able to measure and / or identify the number of people that make up each segment. Ease of access. Every segmentation strategy has a cost associated with it, so it should be taken into account, when choosing the segmentation criterion, the ease and adequacy of the cost of locating the people who make up each segment. Adequate dimension. The chosen subgroups must be made up of such a number of subjects as to economically justify the adoption of a strategy by the company. It is important that the segmentation criteria are easy to use in practice. Segmentation criteria:
| GENERAL | SPECIFIC | |
| OBJECTIVES | Demographic variable
Socioeconomic criteria Geographical criteria |
Product use:
intensity, variety, fidelity 1st purchase or repeat Place of purchase Purchase situation |
| SUBJECTIVES | Personality: leadership, authority, etc.
Lifestyles |
Benefit sought
Attitudes preferences |
- Demographic segmentation: age, sex, marital status, family size… Geographical segmentation: country, region, size of municipality, habitat, climate… Socio-economic segmentation: income level, social class, professional activity, educational level… Personality segmentation: conservatism, autonomy, authoritarianism… Segmentation by benefits sought: consumers find different advantages in products and therefore consume them. Segmentation by lifestyles: the consumer tends to buy products that are consistent with their lifestyle and therefore also with those individuals who have a similar lifestyle.
Segmentation strategies
After analyzing the market segments, the company will already know its target groups, and the next step will be to apply the strategy it deems appropriate to penetrate or consolidate the market and, for this, it must choose three types of strategies:
- Undifferentiated strategy. The company does not consider differences between the different market segments and treats all of them with the same strategy. The most important advantage is the reduction in cost. The downside is that it cannot satisfy the desires of all consumers with the same product and marketing mix. Differentiated strategy. The company offers each segment the products it needs and the right marketing mix. The main advantage is the increase in sales, the greater participation in the market and customer loyalty. The drawback is the increase in production costs and commercial variables. Concentrated strategy. The company only serves a few market segments, and its efforts are concentrated on them. The advantage is that it achieves a high market share, but it has the disadvantage of dedicating itself to very few segments, which is a great risk.
