Use behavior
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English; see spelling differences) is the
actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in
conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms
around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment. It is the computed response of the system
or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious,
overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary.
Consumers behavior
Consumer behavior refers to the processes consumers go through, and reactions they have towards
products or services[10] (Dowhan, 2013). It is to do with consumption, and the processes consumers
go through around purchasing and consuming goods and services. (Szwacka-Mokrzycka, 2015).
Consumers recognise needs or wants, and go through a process to satisfy these needs. Consumer
behavior is the process they go through as customers, which includes types of products purchased,
amount spent, frequency of purchases and what influences them to make the purchase decision or
not. There is a lot that influences consumer behavior, with contributions from both internal and
external factors (Szwacka-Mokrzycka, 2015). Internal factors include attitudes, needs, motives,
preferences and perceptual processes, whilst external factors include marketing activities, social
and economic factors, and cultural aspects (Szwacka-Mokrzycka, 2015). Doctor Lars Perner of the
University of Southern California claims that there are also physical factors that influence
consumer behavior, for example if a consumer is hungry, then this physical feeling of hunger will
influence them so that they go and purchase a sandwich to satisfy the hunge (Perner, 2008).
Consumer decision making
There is a model described by Lars Perner which illustrates the decision making process with
regards to consumer behavior. It begins with recognition of a problem, the consumer recognises a
need or want which has not been satisfied. This leads the consumer to search for information, if it
is a low involvement product then the search will be internal, identifying alternatives purely from
memory. If the product is high involvement then the search be more thorough, such as reading
reviews or reports or asking friends. The consumer will then evaluate his or her alternatives,
comparing price, quality, doing trade-offs between products and narrowing down the choice by
eliminating the less appealing products until there is one left. After this has been identified, the
consumer will purchase the product. Finally the consumer will evaluate the purchase decision, and
the purchased product, bringing in factors such as value for money, quality of goods and purchase
experience (Model taken from Perner, 2008). However, this logical process does not always
happen this way, people are emotional and irrational creatures. People make decisions with
emotion and then justify it with logic according to Robert Caladini Ph.D Psychology.
How the 4P's influence consumer behavior
The 4 P's are a marketing tool, and stand for Price, Promotion, Product and Place or Product
Placement (Clemons, 2008). Consumer behavior is influenced greatly by business to consumer
marketing, so being a prominent marketing tool, the 4 P's will have an effect on consumer's
behavior. The price of a good or service is largely determined by the market, as businesses will set
their prices to be similar to that of other business so as to remain competitive whilst making a
profit (Clemons, 2008). When market prices for a product are high, it will cause consumers to
purchase less and use purchased goods for longer periods of time, meaning they are purchasing
the product less often. Alternatively, when market prices for a product are low, consumers are
more likely to purchase more of the product, and more often. The way that promotion influences
consumer behavior has changed over time. In the past, large promotional campaigns and heavy
advertising would convert into sales for a business, but nowadays businesses can have success on
products with little or no advertising (Clemons, 2008). This is due to the Internet, and in particular
social media. They rely on word of mouth from consumers using social media, and as products
trend online, so sales increase as products effectively promote themselves (Clemons, 2008). Thus,
promotion by businesses does not necessarily result in consumer behavior trending towards
purchasing products. The way that product influences consumer behavior is through consumer
willingness to pay, and consumer preferences (Clemons, 2008). This means that even if a company
were to have a long history of products in the market, consumers will still pick a cheaper product
over the company in question's product if it means they will pay less for something that is very
similar (Clemons, 2008). This is due to consumer willingness to pay, or their willingness to part
with their money they have earned. Product also influences consumer behavior through customer
preferences. For example, take Pepsi vs Coca-Cola, a Pepsi-drinker is less likely to purchase CocaCola, even if it is cheaper and more convenient. This is due to the preference of the consumer, and
no matter how hard the opposing company tries they will not be able to force the customer to
change their mind. Product placement in the modern era has little influence on consumer behavior,
due to the availability of goods online (Clemons, 2008). If a customer can purchase a good from
the comfort of their home instead of purchasing in-store, then the placement of products is not
going to influence their purchase decision.
References;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior