Definition of Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour can be defined as the decision-making process and physical activity involved in acquiring, evaluating, using, and disposing of goods and services.
This definition clearly brings out that it is not just the buying of goods/services that receives attention in consumer behaviour but, the process starts much before the goods have been acquired or bought. A process of buying starts in the minds of the consumer, which leads to the finding of alternatives between products that can be acquired with their relative advantages and disadvantages.
This leads to internal and external research. Then follows a process of decision making for purchase and using the goods, and then post-purchase behaviour which is also very important because it gives a clue to the marketers whether his/her product has been a success or not.
To understand the likes and dislikes of the consumer, extensive consumer research studies are being conducted. These researchers try to find out:
- What the consumer thinks of the company’s products and those of its competitors?
- How can the product be improved in their opinion?
- How the customers use the product?
- What is the customer’s attitude towards the product and its advertising?
- What is the role of customer in his family?
The following key questions should be answered for consumer research.
A market comes into existence because it fulfills the needs of the consumer.
Consumer behaviour which leads to a consumer to react in certain ways and he/she makes a decision, keeping the situations in mind. The process of decision-making varies with the value of the product, the involvement of the buyer, and the risk that is involved in deciding the product/service.
The consumer and his life style are influenced by a number of factors shown all around the consumer. These are culture, subculture, values, demographic factors, social status, reference groups, household and also the internal make up of the consumer, which are a consumer’s emotions, personality motives of buying perception and learning. Consumer is also influenced by the marketing activities and efforts of the marketer.
Nature and Scope of Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour obviously refers to behaviour of consumers in deciding to buy and not to buy or use or not to use and dispose or not to dispose of the products that satisfy their needs. Consumer behaviour also refers to the use of scarce resources like time, money, and effort on consumption items.
Consumer behaviour tries to answer the following questions.
- What products and services consumer buy?
- What makes them to buy?
- When these are brought?
- From where?
- What is the frequency of buying? How often are they used?
Buying Roles of Consumer
For making strategic decisions the marketers have to identify the buyers who make the final buying decisions. It is truly a big task before the marketers to identify the target buyers of the particular service.
- Influencer: Several people may be involved in a particular purchase decision, but all of them are not consumers. A person who as influence, whose views or advice is given weightage while taking the final decision.
- Gatekeepers: Family members who control the flow of information about a product or service into the family.
- Initiator: The person who is the first to suggest or think of the idea of purchasing a product or service.
- Decider: The person who finally takes the decisions of whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, and from where to buy.
- Buyer: The person who actually buy the product/service after making payments.
- User: The person who actually uses or consumes the product or service.
For citing this article use:
- E, D. (2015). Consumer behaviour in purchasing of life insurance products.
