Notes on Consumer Behaviour

Customer Behaviour

Understanding Consumer Behaviour

Customer behaviour is all about exploring the hidden mechanisms and motivations of buying behaviour.

1. How is consumer behaviour defined?

Consumer behaviour reflects the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of offerings [goods, services, activities, experiences, people, and ideas] by (human) decision-making units (over time).

2. What 3 broad categories of consumer activity do marketers and researchers study in consumer behaviour?

Marketers are intensely interested in consumer behaviour related to acquiring, using and disposing of an offering.

3. What are some of the factors in the psychological core that affect consumer decisions and behaviour?

* Having motivation, ability and opportunity

* Exposure, attention and perception (information available, advertisements, websites and travel agents)

* Categorizing and comprehending information

* Forming and changing attitudes (views may change when you encounter new information)

* Forming and retrieving memories

4. What are some of the external processes that influence consumer decisions and behaviour?

* Diversity influences (ethnicity, religion, age, gender educational background and residing location may play an indirect role in decisions)

* Social class and household influences (status could influence type of offering)

* Values, personality and lifestyles (interests and opinions can be influential)

* Reference groups and other social influences (entrusting the opinions of fellow friends, colleagues or family etc. or musicians, athletes etc.)

5. How is ‘Marketing’ defined?

According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Q. What affects customer...