Consumer Behavior

Question:

1) What you write in your first assignment, then consider how your point of view has changed. You may wish to actually quote what you wrote to reflect on it.

2) What set reading have had the biggest impact on your understanding of marketing and why?

3) If you have studied other marketing units or have past experience, you may wish to reflect on how you would do things differently to how you done in the past.

4) Consider what marketing specialist currently do and what they should be doing differently.

5) Comment on how your readings have changed. What you would do as a marketing specialist of the future.

Answer:

Introduction

A consumer behavior is a term which deals with the different stages through which a consumer goes in the course of purchasing commodities or services for the end use of the individual. It is mainly the study which describes that how an individual makes a decision regarding the commodities and services they wish to buy desire or demand in regards to a commodity or a company. In order to understand how a probable individual reacts to a new product, it is crucial to understand the consumer behavior. I have learned from the previous assignment that the “consumer behavior emanates from learning values”. Previously, another assignment which I did was regarding the topic “how marketers are responsible for influencing consumers to buy products”. 

Change in the Point of View

The previous assignment, which I did, was regarding the topic “How Marketers Change Consumer Behavior”. This assignment was not able to give the broad idea regarding marketing. The concept, which I had, was not precise. I learned that marketers are held responsible for manipulating the behavior of the consumers in order to buy a product. However, I did not have the idea the cultural, as well the psychological factors are also responsible. 

Impact of Reading on the Understanding of Marketing

After going through this theoretical course the knowledge and the ideas, which I had, regarding marketing changed completely. Previously, I used to think that marketing and selling are synonyms. Marketing, according to me was quite similar to that of sales. I was not very clear about the concept of marketing until I came across this segment. Marketing is mainly a management process with the help of which the commodities as well as the services moves from perception to the consumers. Marketing also includes the harmonization of the four P’s that is included in the marketing mix. The four P’s are price, product, place and promotion. I have also gained the idea that marketing is based on the thinking about the trade in terms of the requirements of the customers and their happiness. As an approach, marketing has a comparatively wider base and the concept is dynamic as the focus is mainly on the consumers rather than the manufactured goods (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick 2012)

Selling is completely different from that of marketing as selling is concerned with the tricks and the methods of exchanging their products with the cash of the consumers. Selling is not concerned with the significance that is related to exchange. It mainly circles around the requirements as well as the interest of the marketer (Ragland et al. 2015).

Reflection on how to do things differently 

This course deals with the different units of marketing. The diverse units of marketing which I came across deals with the product knowledge of the consumer and their involvement, attention and comprehension, consumer decision marketing, influencing the behavior of the consumer, classical conditioning and operating condition, market segmentation and product positioning and Consumer behaviour and product strategy (Armstrong et al. 2014).

Product Knowledge of the Consumer and Their Involvement

By going through this assignment, I have come across the fact that product knowledge plays a vital role as far as consumer behavior is concerned. The recollections of knowledge of the consumers are termed as the product knowledge. The product knowledge relies on the awareness of the consumers as well as understanding of the particular product. I have also learned that product can be divided into three parts, which includes the professed knowledge, the objective knowledge, and the understanding based knowledge (Solomon 2014).

The above paragraph was all related to the product knowledge of the customer which I learned from this course. This paragraph is all about the product involvement. The term involvement has been derived from social psychology. While going through this course I have come across the term low involvement, which has an effect of television commercial. However, it only brings a huge influence on advertisement but also on the market research. As I have already learned about low involvement, there is a term called high involvement, which is also involved with the course. The high involvement takes place when the consumer consideration of the product is high. It can thus be stated that the goods related to the brand Patagonia are connected strongly with the cost as well as the principles. Thus it can be concluded that the brand Patagonia is a high involvement (Wang and Hazen 2015).

Attention and Comprehension

While going through this course, I have learned about the term exposure that deals with the understanding processes of concentration and comprehension. I have understood that attention and comprehension are influenced strongly by two factors. Those factors are the commencement of the knowledge structure in the exposure situation and the level of the involvement of the consumer. These factors in turn manipulate the ability of the consumer as well as the incentive to understand the information. This concept can be explained with the help of an example. Suppose the behavioral process of exposure of the brand Patagonia assists its consumers to get in touch with the marketing records (Felt et al. 2012).

Consumer Decision Marketing

In this division I have learned that the needs of the consumers are identified is termed as the consumer decision making process. It mainly comprises of five stages that includes the want recognition, information exploration, estimation of alternatives and the purchase and post-purchase actions (Solomon 2014).

The first step involved in this process is that of want recognition, which occurs when a consumer faces a problem, related to the difference between the real and the desired state. Generally it occurs when the disparity takes place that in turn creates the need and hence a consumer will look for product in order to purchase (Betsch and Haberstroh 2014).

The second step, which I came across in this process, is that of information exploration. The information exploration takes place after the consumer has developed a desire regarding the goods that he wants. Information exploration is required in this process so that the consumers can decide among the different goods so that they can decide which goods can give more satisfaction. 

The third step that is the estimation of alternatives takes place after the consumers have recognized their wants and carried out information exploration. I have learned that once the information has been explored, the consumer needs to evaluate the diverse alternatives that are offered to them. 

The fourth and the last stage involved in this process is that of the purchase and post purchase action. In the purchase decision, the consumer will be able to purchase the goods from the alternatives after exploring the information and estimating the alternatives. In the purchase decision criteria he will be able to choose among the alternatives that will satisfy his demand. 

In the post-purchase decision criteria, the consumer will calculate the sufficiency of the goods with his original needs after using the goods he purchased. He will decide on the fact that whether he made the correct decision by choosing the good. In this case the tag line of the brand Patagonia manipulates the consumers about their choice making which in turn helps the consumers to make the choice (Han and Ryu 2012).

Influencing the Behavior of the Consumer

In this division I have learned that how the various factors influenced the behavior of the consumers. These are as follows:

1. Cultural factors – when it comes to the understanding of the requirements and the behavior of the consumers, cultural factors are very crucial. As far as a brand is concerned it is very vital to take into account the cultural factors that inbuilt into each market for the purpose to become accustomed to the goods and the marketing policies (Solomon et al. 2012).

2. Social factors – the purchasing behavior of the consumer is influenced by the social factors that includes the family. If a wife influences a particular product then the marketers will aim the women in their commercials (Gifford and Nilsson 2014).

3. Personal factors – some of the personal factors that influence the behavior of the consumer are the age and profession as well as the financial system. The financial system of a particular consumer has a great influence on the consumer behavior (Oliver 2014).

4. Psychological factors – the behavior of the consumer is influenced by the psychological factors that includes the motivation as well as the awareness. 

Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

The concept of classical conditioning deals with the reflexive or spontaneous responses, which includes emotional or poignant responses. On the other hand I have learned that operant conditioning deals with the spontaneous behaviour which includes the energetic behaviour that functions on the environment. In case of the brand Patagonia, this concept helps to categorize the demands of the consumers based on their measures and passion (Henton and Iversen 2012).

Market Segmentation and Positioning of Product

In this segment I have learned that market segmentation is concept of marketing that deals with the division of the absolute market set up in the smaller subsets that comprises of consumers who possess the similar taste as well as preferences. It mostly comprises of compatible individuals (Wedel and Kamakura 2012).

On the other hand I have also gained knowledge regarding the positioning of product. It is mainly a marketing method that is proposed to present products in the best likely ways to diverse aimed consumers. The method of positioning of product is related to that of market segmentation. Due to the good product positioning, the brand Patagonia is spread on worldwide basis (Akpoyomare et al. 2013).

Consumer Behaviour and Product Strategy

The information, which I gained regarding product strategy, is that it is a plan for marketing a good that has been founded upon an investigation of the nature of the proposed market. It deals with the fact that how the good is marketed and how much profit is predictable. 

On the other hand, consumer behaviour deals with the study of the individuals and the goods and services they purchase in order to satisfy their demand. In this case, the consumers will rely on the product policy of the brand in order to decide whether to buy the product. 

Marketing Specialist Functions 

As far as the marketing specialists are concerned, the primary responsibility they possess is to proofread, handle and coordinate corporate events. The marketing specialists are also known as the research analyst and their main role is to examine the market data on a domestic and provincial level. They are also responsible for determining what the individuals are buying and what gaps are there in the market (O’Hair and Kreps 2013).

They are responsible for executing a day-day delivery of email promotion campaigns and  to organize and direct timelines for marketing the assignments. In today’s world, the marketing specialists have the responsibility to supervise the website with the help of the content administration system. Their role also involves the generating of campaign analytics information. 

Conclusion

After going through this assignment, my view related to marketing has completely changed. I have understood that marketing is associated with those activities that are related to planning, pricing as well as the promotion and allocation of the goods and the services. I have learned that profits are assembled on a long term basis. As a marketing specialist, I would plan and develop the promotion policies in order to support the objectives relate to sales. I would give suggestion related to the elements of the marketing mix to the executives as well as the clients. 

References

Akpoyomare, O.B., Adeosun, L.P.K. and Ganiyu, R.A., 2013. Approaches for generating and evaluating product positioning strategy. International Journal of Business Administration, 4(1), p.46.

Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P., 2014. Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia.

Betsch, T. and Haberstroh, S. eds., 2014. The routines of decision making. Psychology Press.

Felt, A.P., Ha, E., Egelman, S., Haney, A., Chin, E. and Wagner, D., 2012, July. Android permissions: User attention, comprehension, and behavior. InProceedings of the Eighth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (p. 3). ACM.

Gifford, R. and Nilsson, A., 2014. Personal and social factors that influence pro‐environmental concern and behaviour: A review. International Journal of Psychology, 49(3), pp.141-157.

Han, H. and Ryu, K., 2012. The theory of repurchase decision-making (TRD): Identifying the critical factors in the post-purchase decision-making process.International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3), pp.786-797.

Henton, W.W. and Iversen, I.H., 2012. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning: A response pattern analysis. Springer Science & Business Media.

Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Principles and practice of marketing(No. 7th). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

O’Hair, H.D. and Kreps, G.L., 2013. Applied communication theory and research. Routledge.

Oliver, R.L., 2014. Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge.

Ragland, C.B., Brouthers, L.E. and Widmier, S.M., 2015. Institutional theory and international market selection for direct selling. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(4), pp.538-555.

Solomon, M., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J., 2012. Consumer behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wang, Y. and Hazen, B.T., 2015. Consumer product knowledge and intention to purchase remanufactured products. International Journal of Production Economics.

Wedel, M. and Kamakura, W.A., 2012. Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations (Vol. 8). Springer Science & Business Media.

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