Consumer and Business
Buyer Behavior
Model of Buyer Behavior
Factors Influencing Consumer
Behavior
Culture

Culture is the most basic cause of a person's
wants and behavior, and it includes basic
values, perceptions, wants, and behaviors.
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Chinese: 孝順、風水、4 or 10
Taiwan: appreciation of the hair → PANTENE ProV
Esso in Japan & Thailand
中國白象牌電池 → white elephant
Subculture
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Subculture: Groups of people with shared
value systems based on common life
experiences.
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Hispanic market (35 million)
African-American market (35 million)
Asian-American market (12 million)
Social Factors
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Reference Groups
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Family
Roles and Statuses
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Reference Group
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Primary
Secondary
Opinion leader
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1/10
Marketing implication
Aspirational group & dissociative group
Congruity theory
Family
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Whereas women make up 40% of drivers,
they influence more than 80% of car-buying
decisions.
In all, women make almost 85% of all
purchases, spending 6 trillion each year.
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Lowe’s
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Anti-smoking campaign in Thailand
Children’s influence
Roles and Status
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A role consists of the activities people are expected
to perform according to the people around them.
Each role carries a status reflecting the general
esteem given to it by society.
People often choose products that show their status
in society.
Marketers must be aware of the status-symbol
potential of products and brands.
Examples: Singapore’s 5 Cs; Mitsukoshi.
Personal Factors

Age and life-cycle stage
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Occupation
Economic situation
Lifestyle

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Baby boomers, generation X or Y
Family life cycle
SRI’s VALS
Personality and self-concept

Brand personality, ex. sincerity, excitement, competence,
sophistication, ruggedness.
VALS
Psychological Factors
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Motivation
Perception
Learning
Beliefs and Attitudes
Motivation
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A motive (or drive) is a need that is
sufficiently pressing to direct the person to
seek satisfaction.
Freud’s theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Freud’s Theory

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Assume that people are largely unconscious
the real psychological forces shaping their
behavior.
Motive research: qualitative research
designed to probe consumers’ hidden,
subconscious motivations.
Marketing at Work 5.2
Ads with Sexual Hint
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Human needs are
arranged in a hierarchy.
A person tries to satisfy
the most important
need first.
Perception
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Perception is the process by which people
select, organize, and interpret information to
form a meaningful picture of the world.
Country-of-origin effect
Beer in China
Selective attention, selective distortion, and
selective retention.
Subliminal advertising
Learning
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Learning describes changes in an individual’s
behavior arising from experience.
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
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Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement,
and punishment.
Cognitive Learning
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Rehearsal and Elaboration
Beliefs and Attitudes
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A belief is a descriptive thought that a person
has about something.
Attitudes describe a person’s relatively
consistent evaluation, feelings, and
tendencies toward an object or idea.
Ex. National Milk Processors Education
Program – 01, 02, 03.
Buyer Decision Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Need recognition
Information search
Evaluation of alternatives
Purchase decision
Postpurchase behavior
Decision Rules –
Compensatory
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Simple Additive Rule
Weighted Additive Rule
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Fishbein-Ajzen Model
Akj  i 1Wki Bkij
n
k: consumer, j: brand, i: attribute, n: number of attribute, W:
weight, B: belief, A: attitude.
A Consumer’s Brand Beliefs
about Computers
Computer
Attribute
Memory
Capacity
Graphics
Capability
Size and
Weight
Price
A
10
8
6
4
B
8
9
8
3
C
6
8
10
5
D
4
3
7
8
Ads for Consumers Who Use
Weighted Additive Rule
Marketing Strategies
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Redesign the product: repositioning.
Alter beliefs about the brand: psychological
repositioning.
Alter beliefs about competitor’s brands:
competitive positioning.
Alter the important weights.
Call attention to neglected attributes.
Case: Beaujolais (薄酒萊)
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產地：South of Burgundy
品種：Gamay Noir
一般品嚐葡萄酒常強調陳年、厚實。
薄酒萊強調新鮮、果香，利用行銷策略、舉辦
「新酒節」等方式，使消費者接受其訴求。
Decision Rule –
Noncompensatory
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The Lexicographic Rule
The Elimination-by-Aspects Rule
The Conjunctive Rule
A Consumer’s Brand Beliefs
about Computers
Computer
Attribute
Memory
Capacity
Graphics
Capability
Size and
Weight
Price
A
10
8
6
4
B
8
9
8
3
C
6
8
10
5
D
4
3
7
8
Postpurchase Behavior

Consumer satisfaction is a function of consumer
expectations and perceived product performance.
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Performance < Expectations → Disappointment
Performance = Expectations → Satisfaction
Performance > Expectations → Delight
Cognitive dissonance: a buyer’s doubts shortly after
a purchase about whether it was the right decision.
Toll-free numbers & Web sites
Stages in the Adoption
Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Awareness
Interest
Evaluation
Trial
Adoption
Three Basic Stages
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Cognitive stage: what the receiver knows or
perceives about the particular product or brand.
Affective stage: the receiver’s feelings or affect
level for the particular product or brand.
Behavioral (or Conative) stage: the receiver’s
action toward the particular product or brand.
Implications of the Traditional
Hierarchy Models

Potential buyers may be at different stages in
the hierarchy, so the advertiser will face
different sets of communication problems.
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Cognitive: DHC, 斯斯, 南山人壽, 安泰人壽,
Rejoice
Affective: 全國電子, 保誠人壽, 泰國人壽, 三菱
Savrin, San Miguel
Behavioral: Heineken, 肯德基
Think

In spite of C→A→B, is there another type of
response process?
Figure 5.6: Adopter Categorization on the Basis of Relative Time
of Adoption of Innovations
Characteristics of Innovators
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Relatively younger, better educated, higher
income.
More receptive to unfamiliar things, rely more
on their own values and judgment, more
willing to take risk
Less brand-loyal, more likely to take
advantage of special promotions such as
discounts, coupons, and samples.
Influence of Product Characteristics
on Rate of Adoption
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Relative Advantage: Is the innovation superior to
existing products?
Compatibility: Does the innovation fit the values
and experience of the target market?
Complexity: Is the innovation difficult to understand
or use?
Divisibility: Can the innovation be used on a limited
basis?
Communicability: Can results be easily observed
or described to others?