Consumer Behavior

1. Describe the interrelationship between consumer behavior as an academic discipline and the marketing concept.

The term consumer behavior refers to the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. The study of consumer behavior is the study of how individuals make consumption-related decisions. The key assumption underlying the marketing concept is that a company must determine the needs and wants of specific target markets, and deliver the desired satisfaction better than the competition. The marketing concept is based on the premise that a marketer should make what they can sell, instead of trying to sell what they have made. Thus, a company which adopts the marketing concept must continuously research and monitor its customers’ and potential clients’ needs and consumption-related behavior in order to develop, effectively promote, and deliver products and services which satisfy clients needs better than the competition.

2. Describe the interrelationship between consumer research, market segmentation and targeting, and the development of the marketing mix for the manufacturer of HDTV sets.

Consumer research describes the process and tools used to study consumer behavior. Broadly speaking, there are two theoretical perspectives that guide the development of consumer research methodology: the positivist approach (objective and empirical causal research) and the interpretivist approach (qualitative and based on small samples).

The focus of the marketing concept is consumer needs. Three elements for creating a strategic framework for discovering and analyzing those needs are market segmentation, market targeting, and positioning. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics. Because most companies have limited resources, few companies can pursue...