Model of consumer purchasing behavior. Buying behavior of buyers. Basic types of purchasing behavior

INTRODUCTION

1. Consumer market in the marketing system

1.1 Consumer and buyer. Typology of consumers

1.2 Consumer stratification

2. Buying behavior: factors, phases, types

2.1 Model purchasing behavior

2.2 Factors influencing consumer behavior

2.3 Consumer decision-making process

2.4 Types of consumer behavior when making purchasing decisions

Conclusion

List of sources used


Introduction

In the process of development of market relations, there was a change from the market in which the dominant place was occupied by the manufacturer to the buyer's market. Traditional sales policy(to sell what they were able to produce) changes to a qualitatively different one - to produce what can be sold. The starting point in organizing a business is to study market needs and develop plans to meet them. Key view management activities commercial organization becomes marketing.

“Marketing is a planned system of organizing and managing production, sales and trading activities enterprises oriented to market demand.”

Philip Kotler gave another definition: “Marketing is a type of human activity aimed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange.

There are other definitions of marketing, more than a thousand of them.

The goal of marketing, according to one of the leading management theorists, Peter Drucker, is “to make sales efforts unnecessary. His goal is to know and understand the client so well that the product or service will exactly suit the latter and sell itself.”

To better promote products on the market, it is necessary to carefully study this market, as well as the factors influencing buyer behavior. For this purpose, a number of concepts and principles have been created in marketing science, such as the consumer market, purchasing behavior, market segmentation, product positioning, etc.

The purpose of this test work is the study of the above categories, namely, much attention is paid to models, factors, types of consumer behavior.


1. Consumer market in the marketing system

1.1 Consumer and buyer. Typology of consumers

The word “buyer” is more impressive than “consumer”. After all, for a market economy, the most important thing is who can buy. The difference in these seemingly similar concepts is obvious: anyone can be a consumer, only one who is able to pay can be a buyer. Of course, in a developed economy, these two categories largely overlap.

When a person spends his own money to satisfy his own needs, the marketer’s tasks are quite simple: to study, understand and predict these needs and satisfy them through a product or service. In other words, the consumer (the person who satisfies the need) and the buyer (the one who makes purchasing decisions and spends money) have merged into one person. And yet, for marketers, the real picture is in many cases far from so simple.

So, consumers of goods, services, ideas are people, groups of people, organizations of various sizes and profiles of activity that use goods, services, ideas.

For marketing purposes, for product development, its positioning in a profitable market segment, and carrying out a competent product promotion strategy, it is very important to identify the most significant, large target groups of consumers that differ from each other, but have intra-group similarities in significant characteristics of consumption and consumer behavior.

There are five types of consumers that differ significantly in their behavioral strategies in markets:

1. Individual consumers, that is, those who purchase goods exclusively for their personal use. This is what single citizens who live separately from their families do. Their share in Russia is ≈1/5 of the total adult population.

As a rule, clothes, shoes, and personal items are purchased individually. First of all, individual consumers are interested in the consumer qualities of a product: usefulness, relative price, external data, packaging. In Russia this market is narrow. In the USA these are the wealthiest consumers.

2.Family or household is the main type of consumer of food and non-food products, with the exception of clothing and personal items. Decisions are made either by the spouses jointly or by the head of the family.

3. Intermediaries make purchases not for consumption, but for subsequent resale. They deal in both consumer goods and industrial products. They are mainly interested not in the consumer qualities of goods, but in profitability, speed of circulation, transport packaging, shelf life, etc. They are more professional buyers than families and individuals. The range of goods for which they are in demand can be either wide or narrow.

4.Suppliers or representatives of companies make decisions on the purchase of industrial goods. This is usually high professionals narrow profile, knowledgeable about the product no worse, and perhaps even better than the manufacturers themselves. The purchasing process, starting from awareness of the problem and ending with the assessment of the supplier’s work, is subject to clear formalization. At the same time, everything that can be taken into account is taken into account: price, quality characteristics of each product, speed of delivery, transportation costs, completeness of the range, reputation of the manufacturer, qualifications of personnel, consultations and reference literature, speed of response to client wishes, the possibility of obtaining a loan or installment payment .


1.2 Consumer stratification

Social stratification– implies perceived hierarchies in which consumers evaluate each other as having a higher or lower status (economic concept).

There are four main dimensions of stratification - income, power, education, prestige. Income is measured in rubles or dollars, which an individual receives over a certain period of time. Education is measured by the number of years of education in public or private school or university. Power is the ability to impose your will or decision on other people regardless of their desire. Prestige is respect for status that has developed in public opinion. There are four main types of stratification - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the last type – open ones. A closed society is one where social movements from lower strata (a social layer of people who have similar objective indicators on four scales of stratification) to higher ones are either completely prohibited or significantly limited. An open society is a society where movement from one stratum to another is not officially limited in any way. Slavery – economic, social and legal form enslavement of people, bordering on complete lack of rights and extreme inequality. Caste is a social group in which a person owes membership solely by birth. Estates are a social group with inheritable rights and responsibilities enshrined in custom or legal law. In modern society, such a system of inequality is expressed in unequal treatment of people, which is manifested in the means mass media, in professional sports and some organizations. Among the latter are trade unions, political parties, government agencies.

Social class is defined as a relatively stable and homogeneous social entity that includes individuals or families who have similar values, lifestyles, interests and behavior. This is a group of people with approximately the same behavior based on their economic position in the market.

The societies of all countries, except the smallest and most primitive, are stratified or have formal systems of inequality known as social or social classes, castes or estates.

In the social class system, the family has a different place than the individual. A family combines numerous characteristics of its members that influence its interaction with the outside world. These include living in the same house, using the same income, professing the same values, which means that the purchasing behavior of family members will be largely similar. When a large number of families have approximately the same characteristics that distinguish them from all others, they can be said to form a social class.

Marketing specialists focus Special attention social class variables because the range of goods that consumers are able to purchase is determined primarily by their social status.

There are nine social class variables. These nine variables (aspects) fall into three categories.

In consumer analysis, of the nine variables presented, only six are most useful for classifying a person into a particular social class: profession, personal achievements, social connections, property, value orientation and class consciousness.


Table 1 – Variables characterizing social class

Profession.

Occupation, or occupation, is the best measure of social class used in most consumer research. The work that consumers do undoubtedly affects their lifestyle. Consumption also varies depending on the type of activity.

Personal achievements.

A person's status is also influenced by the success he has achieved in comparison to the achievements of others who have the same job. Personal achievements can also include other achievements not related to work. For example, the president of a corporation who simultaneously heads and charitable foundation or is a trustee of a university, may achieve higher status than the president of the same company who is not employed social activities A reputation as a good mother or a good father can also have a positive effect on status.

Chapter 5. Consumer markets and consumer purchasing behavior

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Explain the relationship between marketing incentives and consumer response.

Name four main factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior.

List the stages in the consumer purchasing decision process.

Describe the process of consumer perception of new products.

DuPont's Corfam is a costly product failure

The giant DuPont corporation, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, was confident that its new artificial leather "corfam" for men's and women's shoes will be successful. DuPont began searching for a substitute back in the 1930s, recognizing that one day natural leather would become scarce. In 1955, the company's scientists successfully synthesized a material called "corfam" and which had the necessary properties of leather raw materials: permeability, strength, elasticity and durability. In 1958, a special pilot plant was built to produce this material for evaluation by consumers. The new product met with an enthusiastic reception from consumers, and in 1959 DuPont built a more powerful plant, which began producing Corfam in 1961. In total, the corporation invested $25 million in the project.

17 leading women's shoe companies and 15 leading men's shoe companies were selected and agreed to buy the new material from DuPont and use it in the manufacture of elegant footwear. Realizing that corfam has certain advantages over genuine leather, such as higher durability and ease of care, DuPont set a high price for the new product. The material had to be used in the manufacture of expensive shoes so that consumers would gain confidence in its high quality. DuPont intended to enter the inexpensive footwear market with the Corfam later.

Corfam products were first introduced at the 1963 National Shoe Fair, and many shoe retailers placed orders for them. DuPont has formed a special trade assistance team. Team members were required to attend major shoe stores and teach sellers how to sell shoes made from corfam. At the same time, the company created point-of-sale advertising materials, window displays, and carried out nationwide advertising for Corfam, which initially cost $2 million.

DuPont was very pleased with the results. In 1964, consumers purchased 1 million pairs of Corfam shoes, in 1965 - 5 million, and in 1966 - 15 million pairs. But in 1967, sales of corfam shoes began to fall. What happened?

Repeat purchase rates were alarmingly low. DuPont did not deeply enough analyze the consumer footwear market and the behavior of people purchasing shoes, and did not take into account a number of nuances in a timely manner.

“Corfam” was advertised as a material that does not stretch, which means that shoes made from it will always fit on the foot the same way as it did when first tried on. However, many consumers still bought slightly tight shoes in the hope that they would break in.

Consumers chose primarily the style, not the material. They never developed an interest in corfa that was acute enough to ask the seller to show them shoes made from this material.

Corfam might have been much more successful if it had been used to make cheap house shoes. Buyers of high-quality shoes were increasingly inclined to purchase fashionable leather shoes and boots imported from Italy and several other countries.

In 1971, DuPont recognized the situation as hopeless and decided to stop producing corfam shoe material. This one of the most expensive product failures in history brought DuPont losses of $100 million.

The story of Du Pont's Corfam suggests that there are many factors that influence people's decisions about what to buy. Buying behavior is never simple. And yet, understanding it is an extremely important task for marketing management within the framework of the marketing concept.

This chapter will take a detailed look at the dynamics of the consumer market.

Consumer market- individuals and households purchasing or otherwise acquiring goods and services for personal consumption.

In 1981, the American consumer market included 230 million people who annually consumed goods and services totaling about $1.8 trillion, i.e. by $7,826 per man, woman, and child. Every year this market increases its population by several million people, and its turnover by more than $100 billion. This is one of the most profitable consumer markets in the world.

Consumers differ sharply from each other in age, income and education levels, propensity to move, and tastes. Marketers have found it useful to isolate different consumer groups and create products and services specifically designed to meet the needs of these groups. If a market segment happens to be large enough, some firms may develop separate marketing programs to serve that segment. Here are just two examples of distinct consumer groups.

Black consumers. Twenty-eight million African Americans, with a combined personal income of over $100 billion, are an important consumer group. According to a number of researchers, blacks spend proportionately more than whites on clothing, personal care, household supplies, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products and proportionally less on medical care, food, transportation, education and public utilities. Blacks are less likely than whites to shop around and are more likely to be regular customers of stores and discount stores close to their place of residence. Blacks listen to the radio more than whites, although they are less likely to listen to VHF stations. Some firms develop special marketing programs for these consumers. They advertise in Ebony and Jet magazines, attract black performers to participate in commercials, create distinctly different products (for example, black cosmetics), packaging, and develop a special argument. At the same time, these firms recognize that there are several subsegments within the black market, each of which may require the development of a separate marketing approach.

Young adult consumers. This market includes 30 million people aged 18 to 24 years. The young adult consumer market is divided into three subgroups: college students, young singles, and newlyweds. Young adults spend disproportionately on books, records, stereo equipment, cameras, fashionable clothes, hair dryers, personal care products and toiletries. They are characterized by a weak degree of brand loyalty and increased interest in new products. Young adults are an attractive market for several reasons: they are receptive to the idea of ​​trying new products; are more inclined to spend rather than save money; will act as buyers longer.

Similarly, other submarkets—seniors, women, Hispanic Americans—can be explored to see whether it would make sense (from a competitive standpoint) to develop targeted marketing programs for each.

Buying behavior model

In the past, salespeople learned to understand their customers through day-to-day sales interactions with them. However, the growth in the size of firms and markets has deprived many of them of direct contact with their customers. Managers are increasingly having to resort to research into consumer behavior. They are spending more than ever before on consumer research, trying to figure out who is buying, how they are buying, when they are buying, where they are buying and why they are buying.

The key question is: How exactly do consumers respond to the various marketing incentives that a firm can employ? A company that truly understands how consumers react to various product characteristics, prices, advertising arguments, etc. will have a huge advantage over its competitors. This is why both firms and academics spend so much effort researching the relationships between marketing incentives and consumer responses. Starting point all these efforts is a simple model presented in Fig. 5.1. It shows that marketing incentives and other stimuli penetrate the black box of the buyer's mind and cause certain responses.

In Fig. 5.2 the same model is presented in a more expanded form. In the left rectangle there are two types of motivating factors. Marketing drivers include four elements: product, price, distribution and promotion methods. Other stimuli consist of the main forces and events in the buyer's environment; economic, scientific, technical, political and cultural environment. Having passed through the "black box" of the buyer's mind, all these stimuli cause a series of observable consumer reactions, represented in the right rectangle: product choice, brand choice, dealer choice, choice of time of purchase, choice of purchase volume.

Rice. 5.1. A simple model of purchasing behavior

Rice. 5.2. Detailed model of purchasing behavior

The task of a market worker is to understand what happens in the “black box” of the consumer’s consciousness between the arrival of stimuli and the manifestation of responses to them. The "black box" itself consists of two parts. The first is the characteristics of the buyer, which have a major influence on how a person perceives and reacts to stimuli. The second part is the process of making a purchasing decision, on which the result depends. In this chapter, we will look at both these parts to understand purchasing behavior.

Buyer characteristics

Consumers do not make their decisions in a vacuum. The purchases they make are greatly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors (Figure 5.3). For the most part, these are factors beyond the control of market actors. But they should definitely be taken into account. Let's look at how each influences buyer behavior using hypothetical shopper Betty Smith as an example.

Betty Smith is a college graduate, married, and in charge of branded merchandise production for a leading consumer packaged goods company. At the moment, she is busy looking for a new activity in her free time, an activity that would contrast with the usual work atmosphere. This need gave Betty the idea to buy a camera to take up photography. How she will look for a camera and how she will choose a specific brand of camera depends on many factors.

Rice. 5.3. Factors influencing purchasing behavior

Cultural factors

The largest and most profound influence on consumer behavior is exerted by cultural factors. Let's consider the role played by culture, subculture and social status of the buyer.

CULTURE. Culture is the main root cause that determines human needs and behavior. Human behavior- the thing is basically acquired. The child learns a basic set of values, perceptions, preferences, manners and actions that are characteristic of his family and the main institutions of society. Thus, a child growing up in America becomes acquainted with or encounters the following value concepts: accomplishment and success, activity, efficiency and practicality, moving forward, material comfort, individualism, freedom, external comfort, philanthropy, youthfulness.

Betty Smith's interest in cameras is a result of her upbringing in modern society, with its advances in photographic technology and the associated consumer skills and values. Betty knows what cameras are. She knows how to understand the instructions for their use, and her social circle has already embraced the idea of ​​​​women photographers. In another cultural setting, say in a tribe lost in the wilderness of central Australia, a camera may mean nothing at all, but simply be a “curious thing.”

SUBCULTURE. Any culture includes smaller components, or subcultures, that provide its members with the opportunity to more specifically identify and communicate with their own kind. In large communities there are groups of people of the same nationality, say Irish, Polish, Italian or Puerto Rican, who exhibit distinct ethnic tastes and interests. Separate subcultures with their own specific preferences and prohibitions are religious groups, such as groups of Catholics, Mormons, Presbyterians, and Jews. Clearly distinguishable cultural inclinations and attitudes characterize racial groups, say, blacks and natives of the East. In each individual case, geographical areas, such as the states of the extreme South, California, and the states of New England, also have their own distinct subcultures with their own specific way of life. Box 5.1 provides some examples of the influence of geographic location on product choice patterns.

Betty Smith's interest in various products will certainly be affected by her nationality, race, religion, and geographic environment. These factors will influence her choice of food, clothing, leisure and entertainment, and career goals. The subculture to which she belongs will also affect her interest in cameras. Different subcultures place different emphasis on photography, and this may also influence Betty's interest.

SOCIAL STATUS. In almost every society there are various social classes, which we define as follows.

Social classes- relatively stable groups within society, located in a hierarchical order and characterized by the presence of similar value ideas, interests and behavior among their members.

Sociologists distinguish six social classes in the United States, presented in table. 5.1.

Social classes have several characteristics: individuals belonging to the same class tend to behave in almost the same way; depending on their belonging to a particular class, people occupy a higher or lower position in society; social class is determined not on the basis of any one variable, but on the basis of occupation, income, wealth, education, value orientation and similar characteristics of the persons belonging to it; individuals can move up to a higher class or drop into one of the lower classes.

Social classes are characterized by clear preferences for goods and brands in clothing, household supplies, leisure activities, and cars. Therefore, some marketers focus their efforts on one social class. The target social class presupposes a certain type of store in which the product should be sold, the choice of certain means of disseminating information for its advertising and a certain type of advertising message.

Box 5.1. Buying habits depend on where you live

If you live in New York, you probably like vermouth much more than people in St. Louis. This conclusion was reached by the marketing research firm Mediamark based on the results of an extensive survey identifying regional differences in the purchasing habits of residents of 10 large American cities - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Washington, Cleveland and St. Louis.

The purpose of the study was to collect information on regional consumer behavior for broadcast networks that rely on advertising revenue. These 10 study cities contain one third of the country's population, and major broadcast networks operate their own television centers there. A study by the Mediamark company revealed the presence of regional consumer preferences even for goods whose estimated purchase intensity is uniform throughout the country. One of the unexpected results of the study was the establishment of regional preferences in the consumption of various alcoholic beverages, another was the establishment of the fact that residents of different cities prefer different shapes capital investments.

Another surprising discovery was that in different parts of the country people prefer different over-the-counter medications. If we take the national rate of sleeping pills as 100, the figure for Washington is 122 and Cleveland is 64. Laxative consumption in St. Louis is slightly above average at 112, while in Boston it is just barely above average. 60. In the spirits category, Los Angeles residents prefer Mexican tequila, as indicated by an index of 274, while the purchasing habits of New Yorkers show much less love for this drink, which has an index of just 49.

Another area of ​​unexpected regional variation is private investment, with Washington residents seeing a particularly specific approach. While Los Angeles residents overwhelmingly prefer investing in Treasury Tax Certificates (index 338), Washington residents are less inclined (index 13), according to the study. While Detroiters prefer to invest in common stocks (index 204), Washingtonians are not inclined to do so (index 50). Residents of Washington seem much more likely to invest their money in gold, precious metals or stones (index 280) than residents of Chicago or St. Louis, who resort to this form of investment much less often (index 40).

A study conducted by Mediamark shows that consumer behavior is often affected by regional specifics. Sometimes the reasons for geographic differences are clear: Detroiters, say, who are most likely to have personal ties to the American auto industry, should not be expected to buy large numbers of Japanese Datsuns. By the way, this is so: the index for purchasing Datsun cars in Detroit, as one would expect, is low - only 25. A number of other regional differences are not so easy to explain.

Table 5.1. Characteristics of the six main social classes in the United States

Upper upper class (less than 1% of population)- The elite of society, coming from eminent families and living on inherited wealth. They donate money to charities, own more than one house, send their children to private schools, and are not used to displaying their wealth. Serve as a reference group for other classes. Market for jewelry, antiques, houses, leisure and travel services

Lower upper class (about 2%)- Faces liberal professions or businessmen who receive high incomes due to their exceptional abilities. They are active in social and civic affairs, crave recognition of their social status and spend ostentatiously. They strive to move into the upper upper class. Market of expensive houses, yachts, swimming pools, cars

Upper middle class (12%)- Professionals making a career, managers, businessmen. Show concern for education, spiritual life, culture and civic affairs. Market for good homes, furniture, clothing and household appliances

Lower middle class (30%)- Employees, small entrepreneurs, “labor aristocracy” (plumbers, average engineering and technical staff of factories). They are concerned about observing the norms and rules of culture, creating an aura of respectability for themselves. Market for DIY goods, household supplies, formal clothing

Upper lower class (35%)- Small employees, skilled and semi-skilled workers. They are concerned about the problems of a clear division of gender roles and strengthening their position in society. Market of sporting goods, beer, household goods

Lower Low Class (20%)- Unskilled workers, people living on benefits. Market for food products, televisions, used cars

Betty Smith probably comes from one of the upper classes. In this case, her family probably had an expensive camera and family members dabbled in photography. The fact that she is thinking of “becoming a real professional” also corresponds to the views of people in her circle, who, like her, belong to one of the upper classes.

Factors social order

Consumer behavior is also determined by social factors, such as reference groups, family, social roles and statuses.

REFERENCE GROUPS. Numerous reference groups have a particularly strong influence on human behavior.

Reference groups- groups that have a direct (i.e., through personal contact) or indirect influence on a person’s attitudes or behavior.

Groups that have a direct influence on a person are called membership groups. These are the groups to which an individual belongs and with which he interacts. Some of these groups are primary, and interaction with them is quite constant. These are family, friends, neighbors and work colleagues. Primary teams are usually informal. In addition, a person belongs to a number of secondary groups, which, as a rule, are more formal and interaction with which is not permanent. It's a different kind public organizations such as religious associations, professional associations and trade unions.

An individual is also influenced by groups to which he does not belong. A desirable collective is a group to which a person wants or aspires to belong. For example, a young soccer player may hope to one day play for a major league team and identifies with that team even though there is no direct contact. An undesirable collective is a group whose value ideas and behavior the individual does not accept. The same teenager may be seeking to avoid any association with a group of followers of one of the Indian cults.

Marketers strive to identify all the reference groups of a particular market in which they sell their products. Reference groups influence people in at least three ways. Firstly, the individual is faced with new behavior and lifestyles. Secondly, the group affects the individual's attitudes and self-image, since he, as a rule, strives to “fit in” with the group. And third, the group pushes the individual toward conformity, which can influence his or her choice of specific products and brands (Box 5.2).

Group influence tends to be stronger when the product is a reality for those the buyer respects. Betty Smith's decision to buy a camera and her choice of a particular brand of camera may be strongly influenced by members of her reference groups. Under the influence of friends who are members of a photography club, she may decide to buy a good camera. The more united the team is, the more effectively the communication process is established in it, the higher the individual places this team, the greater will be its influence on the formation of the individual’s ideas about the merits of goods and brands.

Box 5.2. The idea of ​​home selling relies on the concept of a reference group

An increasingly popular form of out-of-store sales is the organization of “sales meetings” at home with a demonstration of the product offered to friends and acquaintances specially invited for this purpose. The masters of this form of trade are the companies "Mary Kay" - a seller of cosmetics, and "Tupperware Home Parts" - a seller plastic dishes who have achieved great success in growing their sales and profits. Here's how the home sales "sales meeting" sales system works.

A cosmetics consultant (Mary Kay has 46,000 of them) approaches several local residents with a request to organize small cosmetics demonstrations in their homes. The hostess invites her friends to such a meeting, treats them to soft drinks, and they communicate in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. In this welcoming atmosphere, a Mary Kay consultant spends two hours talking about cosmetics and giving free makeup lessons to those present, with the expectation that most guests will purchase some of the cosmetics just demonstrated. The owner is paid a commission of 15% of the sales amount and is given a discount on the price of cosmetics she personally purchased. About 60% of guests will definitely buy something, partly due to the desire to look good in the eyes of other women.

“Trading meetings” at home are used to sell cosmetics, kitchen utensils, household goods, dresses, shoes, and linen. Tupperware Home Parts, which has been around for 32 years, sells 140 different products through 80,000 independent salespeople and has an annual turnover of about $200 million (1981 data). The cosmetics company Mary Kay uses a deeply thought-out motivational approach to rewarding saleswomen for attracting new consultants. The best of them are honored at the annual general meeting, giving them the title of “Personal Selling Queen” and providing each of them with a pink Cadillac car at their disposal for the whole year. The Mary Kay company is based on an understanding of the psychology of women on the Atlantic coast of the United States and their mutual influence when shopping.

FAMILY. Family members can have a strong influence on buyer behavior. The mentoring family consists of the individual's parents. From them a person receives instructions about religion, politics, economics, ambition, self-respect, love. Even when the buyer no longer interacts closely with his parents, their influence on his unconscious behavior may still remain quite significant. In countries where parents and children continue to live together, parental influence may be decisive.

A more direct influence on everyday purchasing behavior is the individual's family background, i.e. his husband and children. The family is the most important consumer purchasing organization within society and has been the subject of extensive study. Marketers are interested in the roles of husband, wife, and children and the influence that each has on the purchase of a variety of goods and services.

The balance of influence between husband and wife varies widely depending on the product category. The wife traditionally acts as the main buyer for the family of food, household items and basic clothing items. However, with the increase in the number of working wives and the increased willingness of husbands to make more family purchases, the situation is changing. So retailers of basic goods will make the mistake of continuing to think of women as the main and only buyers of their products.

When it comes to expensive goods and services, husband and wife usually make joint decisions. A marketer needs to find out whose opinion is more significant when it comes to purchasing a specific product or specific service. Here's how everyone's influence is most often distributed across a range of goods and services.

Husband's opinion: life insurance, cars, television.

Wife's opinion: washing machines, carpets, furniture, except for living room furniture, kitchen utensils.

General solution: living room furniture, holidays, choice of accommodation, entertainment outside the home.

In Betty Smith's case, her husband would be her main influential advisor when purchasing a camera. Perhaps he will have his own opinion about this purchase in general and a specific type of camera in particular. At the same time, Betty herself will be the main manager, buyer and user.

ROLES AND STATUSES. An individual is a member of a set social groups. His position in each of them can be characterized in terms of role and status. Let's say that Betty plays the role of a daughter in relation to her parents, in her own family - the role of a wife, and within the company - the role of the manager of the production of a branded product. A role is a set of actions that are expected of an individual by those around him. Each of the roles Betty plays will influence her purchasing behavior in one way or another.

Each role is assigned a certain status, reflecting the degree of positive assessment of it by society. The role of the manager of the production of branded goods has a higher status in the eyes of this society in comparison with the role of the daughter. As a branded product manager, Betty will purchase clothing that reflects her role and her status.

A person often chooses goods that indicate his status in society. Thus, the presidents of companies drive Mercedes or Cadillac cars, wear expensive, well-tailored suits and drink Cutty Sark whiskey. Marketers are aware of the potential for goods to become status symbols. However, such symbols turn out to be different not only for different social classes, but also for different geographical areas. In New York City, status symbols include jogging to work, fishing, hunting, and cosmetic surgery for men; in Chicago - buying goods from catalogues, bagels, tacos (a Mexican version of cheburek), telephone in the car; in Houston - social evenings, caviar and the appearance of a private graduate educational institution; in San Francisco - skydiving, freshly cooked spaghetti and Izod shirts.

Personal factors

The buyer's decisions are also influenced by his external characteristics, especially such as age, stage of the family life cycle, occupation, economic status, personality type and self-image.

AGE AND STAGE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE. With age, changes occur in the range and range of goods and services purchased by people. In the first years a person needs products for baby food. During the years of growing up and maturity, he eats a wide variety of foods, and in old age - special dietary foods. Over the years, his tastes in clothing, furniture, recreation and entertainment also change.

The nature of consumption also depends on the stage of the family’s life cycle. In table Figure 5.2 lists nine stages, indicating the financial situation and typical product preferences of the family at each of them. Marketers often define their target markets based on this criterion and develop products and targeted marketing plans that correspond to the interests of a particular stage.

In some recent works, classification is carried out according to psychological stages family life cycle. An adult experiences certain transitional periods, periods of transformation in his life. Thus, Betty Smith can go from a satisfied brand manager and a satisfied wife to a dissatisfied person looking for new way manifestation and development of their abilities. Perhaps it was this circumstance that stimulated her increased interest in photography. Marketers must take into account the changing consumer interests that may be associated with transitions in adult life.

OCCUPATION. The type of goods and services a person purchases has a certain influence on his occupation. A worker can buy work clothes, work shoes, lunch boxes, and bowling equipment. The president of a company can buy himself expensive blue serge suits, travel by plane, become a member of privileged country clubs, and buy himself a large sailing yacht. The marketer seeks to identify groups by occupation whose members show increased interest in his goods and services. A firm may even specialize in the production of goods needed by a specific professional group.

Table 5.2. Life cycle stages and family purchasing behavior

Single life stage; young singles living separately from their parents have few financial burdens. Fashion opinion leaders. Ready for an active holiday. Buyers of basic kitchen equipment, basic furniture, cars, holiday packages

Young newlyweds without children The financial situation is better than it will be in the near future. The highest intensity of purchases, the highest average indicators of purchases of durable goods. Buyers of cars, refrigerators, cookers, basic and durable furniture, vacation packages

Full nest, 1st stage: youngest child less than 6 years Peak home buying. Working capital is low. Dissatisfaction with one's financial situation and the amount of money saved. Interest in new products. Lovers of advertised products. Buyers of washing machines, dryers, televisions, baby food, cough medicine, vitamins, dolls, strollers, sleds, skates

Full nest, stage 2: youngest child is 6 years old or older Financial situation has improved. Some wives work. Advertising has less impact. They buy goods in larger packages and enter into deals to purchase many product units at once. Buyers of a variety of food products, cleaning materials, bicycles, music teachers, pianos

Full nest, stage 3: elderly couple with children in their care The financial situation has become even better. More wives work. Some children get jobs. Advertising has very little impact. High average intensity of purchases of durable goods. Buyers of new, more elegant furniture, participants in car trips, buyers of appliances that are not absolutely necessary, boats, dental services, magazines

Empty nest, stage 1: elderly spouses, whose children already live separately, the head of the family works. The largest number of owners of their own homes. Most are satisfied with their financial situation and the amount of savings they have. They are interested in travel, active recreation, and self-education. They make gifts and charitable contributions. Not interested in new products. Buyers of holiday packages, luxury goods, services and home improvement products

Empty nest, stage 2: elderly spouses whose children live separately, the head of the family is retired. A sharp reduction in income. Mostly they preserve their homes. Buyers of medical devices, medical products that promote health, sleep and digestion

Dowager, working Income is still quite high, but they are already inclined to sell the house

Widowed person, retired The needs for medical care and goods are the same as for other groups of pensioners. Sharp reduction in income. A strong need for attention, affection and well-being.

ECONOMIC SITUATION. The economic situation of an individual greatly affects his product selection. It is determined by the size of the expenditure side of income, the size of savings and assets, creditworthiness and views on spending money as opposed to saving it. So, if Betty Smith has a fairly large expendable part of her income and savings, is creditworthy and prefers to spend rather than save, she may think about purchasing an expensive Nikon camera. Sellers offering products that depend on consumer income must constantly monitor trends in personal income, savings, and interest rates. If economic indicators talk about a recession, the manufacturer must take steps to change the design, positioning and price of its product, reduce production volumes and inventory, and do everything necessary to protect itself financially.

LIFESTYLE. Individuals belonging to the same subculture, the same social class, and even the same occupation can behave completely different image life. Betty Smith, for example, may prefer the life of a skilled housewife, a businesswoman, or a carefree person. She plays several roles, and the way she combines them is the outer side of her lifestyle. If she becomes professional photographer, this will further affect her lifestyle.

Lifestyle- established forms of human existence in the world, which are expressed in his activities, interests and beliefs.

Lifestyle paints a “comprehensive portrait” of a person in his interaction with the environment. It reveals more than the fact of belonging to a certain social class or personality type. Knowing that a person belongs to a particular social class, we are ready to draw certain conclusions about his expected behavior, but we will not be able to imagine him as an individual. Knowing a person's personality type, we can draw certain conclusions about his distinctive psychological characteristics, but we are unlikely to learn much about his activities, interests and beliefs. And only a lifestyle will paint us a comprehensive portrait of a person in his actions and interaction with the world around him.

During development marketing strategy A product marketer will seek to reveal the relationship between an ordinary or branded product and a certain way of life. A yogurt manufacturer may find that among its active consumers there are many successful professional men. Having figured this out, he can more clearly target his branded product at these people.

PERSONALITY TYPE AND SELF-IMAGE. Each person has a very specific personality type that influences his purchasing behavior.

Personality type- a set of distinctive psychological characteristics of a person that ensure the relative consistency and constancy of his responses to the environment. Personality type is usually described based on traits that an individual has, such as:

self confidence,

influence,

independence,

impermanence,

respectfulness,

lust for power

sociability,

alertness,

attachment,

aggressiveness,

consistency,

desire for success,

love of order

adaptability.

Knowledge of personality type can be useful in analyzing consumer behavior when there is a certain connection between personality types and the choice of products or brands. For example, a beer company may determine that many active beer consumers are overly sociable and aggressive. And this suggests a possible image for her beer brand and character types for use in advertising.

Many marketers base their activities on an idea that is directly related to personality - a person’s idea of ​​himself (also called self-image). We all have complex mental images of ourselves. For example, Betty Smith may see herself as an extrovert, a creative and active person. Based on this, she will prefer to opt for a camera that focuses on the same qualities. And if Nikon is advertised as a camera for outward-oriented, creative and active people, the image of the brand coincides with the image of Betty's own self. Marketers should strive to create a brand image that matches the self-images of members of the target market.

Psychological factors

An individual’s purchasing choice is also influenced by four main psychological factors: motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.

MOTIVATION. We know that Betty Smith was interested in purchasing a camera. But why? What is she really looking for? What need is it trying to satisfy?

At any given time, a person experiences many different needs. Some of them are of biogenic nature, i.e. are consequences of such states of internal physiological tension as hunger, thirst, discomfort. Others are psychogenic, i.e. are the results of such states of internal psychological tension as the need for recognition, respect, spiritual intimacy. Most of these needs are not intense enough to motivate a person to take action at any given time. A need that has reached a sufficiently high level of intensity becomes a motive.

Motive(or motivation) - a need that has become so urgent that it forces a person to look for ways and means to satisfy it.

Satisfying a need reduces the internal tension experienced by an individual.

Psychologists have developed a number of theories of human motivation. The most popular of these, Sigmund Freud's theory and Abraham Maslow's theory, offer very different implications for consumer research and marketing activities.

Freud's theory of motivation. Freud believed that people are generally unaware of the real psychological forces that shape their behavior, that a person grows while suppressing many drives. These urges never completely disappear and are never completely under control. They manifest themselves in dreams, slips of the tongue, neurotic behavior, obsessive states and, ultimately, in psychoses, in which the human “ego” is unable to balance the powerful impulses of its own “id” with the oppression of the “superego”.

Thus, a person does not give himself full report in the origins of one’s own motivation. If Betty Smith wants to buy an expensive camera, she might describe her motive as wanting to satisfy a hobby or a career need. If you look deeper, it may turn out that by purchasing such a camera she wants to impress others with her creative abilities. And if you look even deeper, she may be buying a camera to feel young and independent again.

When studying the camera, Betty will react not only to its operational properties, but also to other minor stimuli. The shape of the camera, its dimensions, weight, the material from which it is made, color, case - all this evokes certain emotions. A camera that gives the impression of being durable and reliable may give Betty a desire to be independent, which she will either cope with or try to avoid. When designing a camera, the manufacturer must be aware of the impact of its appearance and texture on the arousal of emotions in the consumer, which can either facilitate or hinder the purchase.

Motivation researchers have made a number of interesting, and sometimes strange, conclusions regarding what can influence the mind of a consumer when making certain purchases.

Consumers are reluctant to buy prunes because they are wrinkled and look like old people.

Men smoke cigars as an adult alternative to thumb sucking. They like cigars with a strong smell that emphasizes their masculinity.

Women prefer vegetable oil animal fats, which make them feel guilty about slaughtered animals.

A woman takes the process of baking cupcakes very seriously, because for her it is subconsciously associated with the process of childbirth. She doesn't like easy-to-make cake mixes because living an easy life makes her feel guilty.

Maslow's theory of motivation. Abraham Maslow tried to explain why people are driven by different needs at different times. Why does one person spend a lot of time and energy on self-preservation, while another spends a lot of time on gaining the respect of others? The scientist believes that human needs are arranged in order of hierarchical importance from most to least urgent. The hierarchy developed by Maslow is presented in Fig. 5.4. In order of importance, the needs are arranged in the following order: physiological needs, self-preservation needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-affirmation needs. A person will strive to satisfy the most important needs first. As soon as he manages to satisfy some important need, it temporarily ceases to be a driving motive. At the same time, an impulse appears to satisfy the next most important need.

For example, a starving person (need no. 1) is not interested in what is happening in the world of art (need no. 5), nor in how others look at him and to what extent he is respected (needs no. 3 and no. 4), nor in whether he is clean. he breathes air (need no. 2). But as the next most important need is satisfied, the next one comes to the fore.

What light does Maslow's theory shed on Betty Smith's interest in purchasing a camera? One can guess that Betty has already satisfied her physiological, self-preservation and social needs, which do not motivate her interest in cameras. And interest in a camera can stem either from a strong need for respect from others, or from a need for self-affirmation. Betty wants to realize her creative potential and express yourself through photography.

Chapter 1. Helping behavior 1.1. What is helping behavior? If we summarize many definitions of helping behavior, it all boils down to the fact that this is prosocial behavior associated with providing assistance (assistance) in its various manifestations to those who are in it

author Ivanova Natalya Lvovna

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The consumer and his purchasing behavior are the object of the closest attention of the commodity producer, working on the basis of the principles and methods of marketing. Since the consumer, expressing his likes and dislikes, purchasing preferences, can decide the fate of the manufacturing company as a seller, the firm strives to use to the maximum extent all its capabilities for a comprehensive and in-depth study of the consumer (potential buyer), including issues of motivation for purchasing notifications to consumers, making decisions on purchase, formation of consumer preferences, brand loyalty, etc. (Fig. 6.5, 6.6, Table 6.3, 6.4).

The most difficult task associated with studying the purchasing behavior of consumers is identifying their implicit, non-obvious needs, which will become obvious after some period of time, foresight, anticipating emerging needs and identifying the process of dying out of existing needs.

The company's task is not only to foresee the nature of changes in consumer needs, but also to timely offer the latter products and services created on the basis of such foresight. This is the key to the company’s current and future success in the market.

As American manager and consultant John F. Little emphasizes, “The more you know about what the customer really needs, the more successful your business will be... If you listen long enough and carefully enough to the customer, and if you ask the right questions and If you analyze the answers correctly, a miracle will happen. You will discover information that will be so valuable and important that it can transform your business. This is the nugget that every organization is always looking for but rarely finds, the nugget that leads to a gold mine.”

In the process of deciding on a purchase, consumer behavior can be divided into five stages: awareness of the need to purchase; search for information; evaluation of alternatives; purchase decision; post-purchase behavior. At each stage, the consumer acts as an active decision maker.

It is important not to reduce the concept of a good or a product only to physical objects, because everything that can provide satisfaction can be called a good, including people, organizations, ideas, services, etc.

According to the theory, consumption is an activity within which goods are selected in order to “create” services that provide utility. From this point of view, goods are considered as a set of properties (attributes), and the consumer is considered as the creator of final satisfaction.

As Professor J.-J. emphasizes. Lamben, the concept of a product considered as a collection or set of properties, is very important for marketing. The basic ideas of such a model, although very simple, are very fruitful; they are theoretical basis for benefit-based segmentation and positioning, as well as appropriate product policies.

According to one of the basic ideas of marketing, the buyer is not looking for a product, but for a service or solution to a problem that the product can provide. This simple idea has an impact on product policy, which is visible when establishing the practical range of application of the concept “product - solution”, based on the following premises:

  • miscellaneous goods can satisfy the same need;
  • each product represents a certain set of properties;
  • the same product can satisfy different needs.

The strategy of “benefit segmentation” (or functional segmentation) is a constant search for new sets of properties (attributes) that do not have a competitive offer on the market, but meet the expectations of a certain group of consumers. So, a market segmentation strategy begins with identifying the benefits that different groups of buyers are looking for, then developing product concepts aimed at meeting specific requirements or expectations. target group potential buyers.

Fundamentally important for commodity producers in their practical activities is knowledge and enforcement of consumer rights (Fig. 6.12). First of all, it is providing consumers with the right to choose options to meet their needs.

In world practice, consumer sovereignty is recognized, i.e. his right and real opportunity, within the means available to him, to acquire everything that he considers necessary for consumption, in conditions of free choice of place, time, seller, product (service), and other conditions of consumption. First formulated in the USA in 1961, consumer rights were expanded and specified, and in 1985 they were approved by the UN.

The protection of fundamental consumer rights in Russia is ensured by the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights,” adopted in 1992, and is supported by the activities of the State Standard of the Russian Federation, the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy, the Federation of Consumer Societies of Russia, and the International Confederation of Consumer Societies.

The law gave consumers the right, when purchasing a product, to know its manufacturer, standard, quality certificate, and a list of basic consumer properties. Products whose consumer properties may deteriorate over time are indicated with an expiration date and production date.

Food products, household chemicals, cosmetics, perfumes, products for children, mineral fertilizers, pesticides, mechanical engineering and instrument making products for household use are subject to mandatory certification.

Rice. 6.5.

Rice. 6.6.

The main stages and channels for disseminating information about new products: dissemination by the enterprise of information about a new product, advertising of new goods and services in prospectuses and catalogues;

information about products in the media; the judgment of an expert whom the consumer knows and trusts, or the opinion of an acquaintance.

Stages of the process of consumer perception and approval of innovation: providing the consumer with information about the state of the market and the place that the new product occupies in the market;

the consumer’s expression of interest in a new product, the desire to gain a complete understanding of its character;

the consumer's assessment of a new product (having, in his opinion, collected a sufficient amount of information, he turns to an expert for advice - usually one of his friends, relatives, acquaintances whom he trusts most);

making a conclusion regarding the advantages and (or) disadvantages of the product;

approval or rejection of a new product, i.e. making a final decision on the possibility of using a new product in specific conditions.

Of course, a consumer on the market can reject a new product at any of the stages considered.

Consumer targeting copying equipment V Novosibirsk region on sources of information

I - based on the results of a telephone survey,

II - according to a survey of visitors to the exhibition of copying equipment as a percentage of the total number of respondents.

An approximate set of motivations when choosing goods (based on the priority of motivation)

Table 6.3

Durable goods

Textile and light industry products

1. Level of consumer properties

2. Fashionable

3. Popularity of the brand (model)

4. Quality of material (fabric)

5. Reliability level

5. Quality of tailoring

6. Dimensions

6. Compliance with body features

7. Convenience of placement in residential and industrial premises

7. Composition of raw materials

8. Quality of fittings (finishing)

9. Power consumption level

10. Security

10. Batch size

Note. Data from a social survey conducted in 13 industrial cities in 1992 are presented.

Classification of buyers according to their willingness to accept

new product

Table 6.5

Aspects

marketing

Consumers

Organizations

End-user

Acquisition

1. For use in subsequent production or for resale

For personal, home or family use

2. Equipment, raw materials, semi-finished products are purchased regularly, and in significant quantities

Usually buys finished goods, not equipment or raw materials

3. Buy products based on technical specifications

Buys goods based on fashion, his own preferences, and the advice of friends

4. They usually make collective purchasing decisions, having previously analyzed prices, quality, and suppliers

Often rents premises, living space

Differences in markets

1. Their demand is derived from the demand of final consumers

Demand is determined by the consumer himself

2. Geographically more concentrated

Geographically more dispersed and numerous

3. Usually specialized supply services are used

Uses specialized supply services less often

4. Distribution channels are short

Distribution channels are longer

Consumer experience when purchasing a product and possible options marketing actions of the manufacturing enterprise

Previous experience of the consumer

Consumer

Commodity producer

client reaction

result

the most acceptable brand ting actions

grounds

One positive experience

Satisfaction

requests

Desire to make a repeat purchase

Providing free product samples, delivering coupons by mail

Improving the company's image

Repeated positive experience

Repeated

satisfaction

Formation of the product image

Strengthening

prestige

enterprises

Single negative experience

Dissatisfaction

requests

Desire to change product brand

Maintenance, replacement of goods, explanation of the reasons for dissatisfaction with the product

Try to regain prestige

Repeated negative experience

Repeated

dissatisfaction

The desire to no longer buy the product

Refund of money, offering the market better analogues

Start releasing new products

Model of purchasing behavior of consumers from different segments of the Russian market

Segments

market

Family

INCOME

(USD/month)

Only

foreign

goods

Foreign and Russian goods

Only

Russian

goods

(low income)

  • 46 15%

Medium-low

  • 424 92%

Middle segment

Medium high

  • 23 15%

(highly profitable)

Note.

Consumers in high- and low-income segments are loyal to a specific product group.

Consumers in the middle segment are more likely to experiment with different brands of products.


Rice. 6.


Rice. 6.8.


Rice. 6.9.


Rice. 6.10.


Rice. 6.11.


Rice. 6.12.

  • Lambin J.-J. Strategic Marketing. - M., 1996.

Introduction……………………………………………………………..………………………….3

1. Consumer purchasing behavior…………………………………….5

1.1. Types of purchasing behavior………………………..…………...5

1.2. Model of purchasing behavior………….……………………….8

1.3. Psychological aspects of purchasing behavior…………..12

1.4. Methods of influencing the consumer……………………………15

2. Research of consumer attitudes………………………………….....19

2.1. Attitude and its components…………………………………………...19

2.2. Research methods for cognitive, affective and

behavioral components of consumer attitudes…. …….……….22

3. Characteristics of the private enterprise “Hummingbird”……..…………………..…………..……....25

3.1. Analysis of the marketing situation in the private enterprise “Hummingbird” ……………........25

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………34

References………………..…………………………………….….36

Applications (1,2,3)

Introduction

The object of study is the private enterprise "Hummingbird" as well as the theoretical foundations of consumer behavior.

The purpose of writing this course work is to study the purchasing behavior of consumers.

Consumer behavior is influenced by various factors, primarily environmental factors. Important factors of individual differences in consumers acquire: income, motivation, level of knowledge, passions and hobbies, demographic characteristics, etc. A special place in the formation of consumer behavior in the market has the so-called psychological process, which characterizes consumer responses.

The social legitimacy of consumer rights serves as a guarantee of comprehensive satisfaction of consumer needs. Deception, poor quality of goods, lack of response to legitimate claims, insults and other actions constitute nothing more than a violation of legal rights and must be punished.

A private enterprise will not be able to achieve market success if it ignores consumer requests.

The most important task is to use the retail space to strengthen the relationship between the brand and customers, which is only possible as a result of studying consumer behavior during the purchase process, directly at the point of sale.

It often turns out that a correct change in the location of products within a category without increasing the volume of display, grouping products of the same line, or a slight change in packaging characteristics based on the characteristics of the display, lead to fantastic results, and move products from the category of ordinary to stellar.

Traditionally, when allocating space for each product, it is based on:

1) the expected sales volume of a given group or type of product;

2) participation of a product group or department in generating the enterprise’s profit;

3) the size of the expected inventory of each group;

4) maintaining the desired direction of consumer flows;

5) number of floors of trading floors, location of escalators and interfloor stairs, main entrances and exits;

6) the influence of a number of other factors.

Currently, not a single enterprise engaged in trade in the system of market relations can function normally without developing marketing strategies for the best functioning of its activities.

The specificity of the goods market is that these markets are divided into numerous segments that have certain categories of buyers with their own requirements, tastes, requests, traditions, cultural characteristics, and limits of effective demand. In practical marketing, consumers are divided into two groups: final consumers and consumer organizations.

Relationships with consumers have become the most important area of ​​activity for organizations in developed countries. Often this is the area of ​​activity that takes the most time and effort of trading companies. Good relationships with consumers allow you to sell products and services more successfully.

Consumer satisfaction with a product/service is a priority in the activities of the manufacturer in the buyer's market.

It is the consumer who, by deciding what and where to buy, determines what goods to produce and what business will be successful. The freedom of choice of goods by the buyer has now especially increased due to his mobility and better information through advertising, the media, and the Internet. Market researchers study the influence of numerous factors on buyer behavior when making purchasing decisions.

Consumption is the final stage of the reproduction process, which comes down to using the produced product to satisfy certain needs.

The combination of these circumstances determines the relevance of the chosen topic of the course work.

IN course work The first part discusses the following issues: types of purchasing behavior, model of purchasing behavior, psychological aspects of purchasing behavior, ways of influencing the consumer before and after making a purchase.

In the second practical part of the course work, a characteristic of the private enterprise “Hummingbird” is given, an analysis of the marketing situation in the store is made, and approximate directions for studying the behavior of the buyer and seller in the store are considered.

    Consumer purchasing behavior

1.1. Types of purchasing behavior.

There are 4 types of purchasing behavior based on the degree of buyer involvement in the purchasing process and awareness of the differences between product brands.

1) Complex purchasing behavior.
Complex purchasing behavior is said to occur when the consumer is highly involved in the purchasing process and is aware of significant differences between brands. This usually applies to rare purchases of expensive goods. Most often, the buyer does not have sufficient information about the product category and needs additional information. For example, a person buying a computer may not know what these symbols mean. specifications, such as “32 MB RAM”, “monitor resolution”, “hard disk capacity”. Such details mean nothing to the buyer until he understands them himself.
Complex purchasing behavior is a three-step process. First, the buyer forms a certain belief in relation to the product. Then he develops an attitude towards it and finally, after careful consideration, the person makes a purchase.
Manufacturers of products whose purchase requires a high degree of consumer involvement must be aware of how seriously the consumer will collect information about the proposed purchase and evaluate it. Marketers need to develop strategies to help consumers understand the relative importance of product attributes and to educate consumers about the differences between one brand and another using printed media mass media.

2) Buying behavior that smooths out dissonance.
Sometimes the purchasing process occurs with a high degree of involvement of the consumer, who does not always notice small differences between similar products from different manufacturers.
A high degree of involvement is based on the fact that the purchase itself is risky, occurs very rarely, and the cost of the product is high. In this case, the buyer will try to go around all the stores to compare the products on offer, but he will make the purchase quite quickly, based mainly on the level of price and service in the store. For example, buying a carpet involves a high degree of consumer involvement, since it is an expensive purchase, and also reflects the buyer’s taste. On the other hand, most carpets from different manufacturers, but at approximately the same price, may seem very similar to each other to the consumer. After the purchase, the consumer may experience a feeling of some dissonance, noticing some shortcomings in the carpet or hearing favorable reviews from colleagues about other carpets. But he will listen very carefully to information confirming the correctness of his choice.
In this example, the consumer first makes a purchase, then develops a new belief, and then an attitude. That's why marketing policy should be aimed at providing the consumer with information that would help him remain satisfied with the purchase.

3) Habitual purchasing behavior.
Typically, purchasing products involves a low degree of consumer involvement in the purchasing process and there are no significant differences between brands.
Let's consider the process of buying salt. Here the degree of consumer involvement is low. What could be easier than going to the store and buying a pack of salt? If someone is used to buying salt of a certain brand, then such consumer loyalty in this case is rather an exception.
So, when buying cheap everyday goods, the degree of consumer involvement is very low. When purchasing a product that does not require a high degree of consumer involvement, his behavior does not fit into the usual “belief-attitude-behavior” pattern.
There is no need to actively search for information about different brands, evaluate their characteristics and carefully consider the purchasing decision.

In this case, the consumer passively perceives the information from commercials and newspaper advertisements.
Repeated repetition of the names of the same brand in advertising leads to the fact that the consumer only gets acquainted with it, and is not convinced of the need to buy it.
Buyers do not develop a stable relationship with a particular brand; they choose her, most likely, because they are familiar with her. After the purchase, they cannot evaluate their choice due to low involvement in the process.
Thus, the purchasing process with a low degree of consumer involvement begins with the formation of beliefs towards the brand through passive assimilation of information. Buying behavior is then formed. This may be followed by an assessment.
Manufacturers of these types of goods with slight differences between brands effectively use the practice of discounts and sales to increase sales, since buyers do not attach much importance to a particular brand. Advertising should describe only the most basic features of the product and use only easily memorable visual or figurative symbols associated with a specific brand of product. An advertising campaign should be aimed at repeated short messages. In this sense, television is more effective than print advertising

4) Choice-oriented purchasing behavior

prod.
Some purchases are characterized by low consumer involvement but significant differences between brands. In this case, the consumer ceases to focus on any particular brand.

Consider the example of buying cookies. The consumer has formed certain beliefs about this product; without much hesitation, he chooses a brand and evaluates it during consumption. But next time, out of a desire to try something new or just out of curiosity, he buys a different type of cookie. Switching from one brand to another is caused by a wide range of products, and not by dissatisfaction with a particular brand.
In this situation, the strategies of market leaders and other market participants differ. Leaders will strive to maintain habitual purchasing behavior by increasing the share of their products on store shelves and investing in regular intensive advertising.
Competitors will encourage customers to switch brands by offering special prices, coupons, free samples, and advertising to try something new.
To increase consumer involvement in the purchase of a particular product, manufacturers use four strategies:
1. They associate product use with solving a problem—for example, Colgate toothpaste and preventing tooth decay.
2. The product is tied to a certain personal situation - for example, a coffee advertisement uses the story that the aroma of morning coffee helps the consumer shake off the remnants of sleep.
3. An advertising campaign is developed that evokes a strong emotional reaction to the themes of personal values ​​or protection of the consumer’s “I” raised in it.
4. Products are being improved (for example, a fortified drink is added to a simple soft drink).
But each of these strategies, at best, increases the degree of buyer involvement in the buying process - from low to medium (but not to high).

      Buying behavior model

In the past, market leaders learned to understand their customers through their day-to-day interactions with them. However, the growth in the size of firms and markets has deprived many marketing executives of direct contact with their customers. They are spending more now than ever before on consumer research, trying to figure out who is buying and why they are buying.

The key question is: How exactly do consumers respond to the various marketing incentives that a firm can employ? A company that truly understands how consumers react to various product characteristics, prices, advertising arguments, etc. will have a huge advantage over its competitors. This is why both firms and academics spend so much effort researching the relationships between marketing incentives and consumer responses. The starting point for all these efforts is the simple model shown in Fig. 1. It shows that marketing incentives and other stimuli penetrate the “black box” of the buyer’s mind and cause certain responses.

Rice. 1 Model of purchasing behavior.

In Fig. 2 the same model is presented in a more expanded form. In the left rectangle there are two types of motivating factors. Marketing incentives include four factors: product, price, distribution and promotion methods. Other stimuli consist of the main forces and events in the buyer's environment; economic, scientific, technical, political and cultural environment. Having passed through the “black box” of the buyer’s mind, all these stimuli trigger a series of observable consumer reactions represented in the right rectangle: product choice, brand choice, dealer choice, purchase timing, purchase quantity selection.


Rice. 2. Detailed model of purchasing behavior

The Marketer's Task- understand what happens in the “black box” of the consumer’s consciousness between the arrival of stimuli and the appearance of responses to them.

The “black box” itself consists of two parts. The first is the characteristics of the buyer, which have a major influence on how a person perceives and reacts to stimuli. The second part is the process of making a purchasing decision, on which the result depends.

Buyer characteristics.

Purchases made are greatly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors (Fig. 3). For the most part, these are factors beyond the control of market actors. But they should definitely be taken into account.

Rice. 3. Factors influencing purchasing behavior.

Cultural factors

Culture- the main root cause that determines human needs. Human behavior is largely a learned thing. From childhood, a person acquires a basic set of values, perceptions, preferences, manners and actions that are characteristic of his family and the main institutions of society.

Subculture. Any culture includes smaller components, or subcultures, which provide its members with the opportunity for more specific identification and generalization with their own kind. In large communities there are groups of people of the same nationality and religious groups. In each individual case, geographical areas also have their own distinct subcultures with their own specific way of life.

Social status. In almost every society there are various social classes, which can be defined as relatively stable groups within society, arranged in a hierarchical order and characterized by the presence of similar values, interests and behavior among their members.

Factors of social order

Reference groups- groups of people that have a direct (i.e., through personal contact) or indirect influence on a person’s relationships or behavior. This could be friends, family, neighbors, work colleagues, etc.

Roles and statuses. An individual is a member of many social groups. His position in each of them can be characterized in terms of role and status. A role is a set of actions that are expected of an individual by those around him. Each role is assigned a certain status, reflecting the degree of positive assessment of it by society.

Personal factors

Age and stage of the family life cycle. With age, changes occur in the range and range of goods and services purchased by people, so in the first years a person needs products for baby food. During the years of growing up and maturity, he eats a wide variety of foods, and in old age - special dietary foods. Over the years, his tastes in clothing, furniture, recreation and entertainment also change.

Occupation. The type of goods and services a person purchases has a certain influence on his occupation. The market operator seeks to identify groups by occupation whose members show increased interest in his goods and services. A firm may even specialize in the production of goods needed by a specific group.

The economic situation of an individual largely affects his product choice. It is determined by the size of savings and assets, creditworthiness and views on spending versus saving.

A person’s lifestyle paints a “comprehensive portrait” of a person in his relationship with the environment. When developing a marketing strategy for a product, the marketer will seek to uncover the relationship between the product and a certain lifestyle.

Personality type and self-image. Each person has a very specific personality type that influences his purchasing behavior. Personality type is a set of distinctive psychological characteristics of a person that ensure the relative consistency and constancy of his responsible reactions to the environment. Knowledge of personality type can be useful in analyzing consumer behavior when there is a certain connection between personality types and the choice of products and brands.

1.3. Psychological aspects of purchasing behavior

Psychological factors determining consumer behavior.

The marketing system aims to determine the entire complex of motivating factors that guide consumers when choosing a product. For example, marketing mix factors are a powerful stimulus influencing the purchase decision, but are not sufficient for the consumer to make his choice. It is also influenced by psychological, socio-cultural and situational factors.

Psychological factors include: motivation, personality type, perception, values, belief, attitude and lifestyle.

There are different views on the nature of different ways of human behavior. From the standpoint of the psychoanalytic approach, a person’s mental life in general, his behavior in the market in particular, is built mainly on irrational, unconscious motives. According to Western advertising psychologists, a person is strongly influenced by the motives of fear of death and subconscious complexes. This is widely used when advertising individual products. It is not surprising that the feeling of fear is used in advertising campaigns, especially by those companies that sell medicines, medical supplies, and patient care items.

Motivational consumer psychology is supported by Freud's theory of subconscious complexes. Understanding purchasing behavior from the point of view of S. Freud is facilitated by turning to the human unconscious - the most powerful part of a person’s psychological nature. The psychoanalytic model focuses on people's attitudes towards things and, accordingly, recommends influencing or changing this attitude in such a way as to motivate the purchase of a product or service.

A distinctive feature of most psychoanalytic approaches is that one unconscious basic need is taken as the basis for human behavior. For A. Adler, this is compensation for shortcomings; for K. Horney, it is the need to avoid feelings of fear and achieve security.

Managing purchasing behavior, according to D. Skinner, also means influencing the behavior of a potential buyer.

D. Skinner's method is based on the conscious in the psychological nature of a person, which in itself is no less strong, but easier to activate. Here, effective techniques are those that depend on the seller’s ability to talk about the product, show it, and encourage the buyer to act as the seller wants. It gently encourages the buyer to call, compare, try and ultimately buy the product offered.

A person who is driven by motive is ready for action. The nature of this action depends on his perception of the situation.

Perception- the process of selection, organization and interpretation by an individual of incoming information and the creation of a meaningful picture of the world. Perception depends not only on physical stimuli, but also on their relationship to the environment and on the characteristics of the individual. The key word in defining the concept of perception is “individual”. People perceive the same situation differently. This is explained by the fact that the processes of perception occur in the form of selective attention, selective distortion and selective memorization. As a result, the consumer does not always see or hear the signals that manufacturers send to him. Therefore, when developing a marketing campaign, it is necessary to consider all three perception processes.

Beliefs and the individual's attitudes are formed through actions and learning and influence consumer behavior. A belief is a mental characteristic of something. Of course, manufacturers are very interested in consumer beliefs about products and services that create images of products and brands. People take actions based on their beliefs. If some beliefs are incorrect and prevent a purchase from being made, marketers need to campaign to correct them. Of particular importance to manufacturers is the fact that certain consumer beliefs about brands and products depend largely on the country in which they were produced.

Attitude- a stable positive or negative assessment by an individual of an object or idea, the feelings experienced towards them and the direction of possible actions in relation to them.

People have attitudes towards everything: religion, politics, clothing, music, food, etc. An attitude towards an object makes people love it or hate it, move closer to it or move away from it. The formed stable assessment determines approximately the same attitude of a person towards similar objects, because in this case there is no need to react in a new way to each individual stimulus. Relationships save the physical and mental energy of the individual and that is why they are very stable. Human relationships are a logically connected chain in which a change in one link will require transformation of other links. Therefore, when developing new products, it is advisable to take into account existing customer attitudes without trying to change them. But we should not forget about exceptions when a change in attitude justifies itself.

The study of this mechanism involves the analysis of human actions determined by his purchasing behavior under the influence of advertising. The behavioral component includes both conscious behavior and behavior at an unconscious, unconscious level. At a conscious level, the motivations, needs, and will of a person are manifested and reflected in purchasing behavior. At the unconscious level - a person’s attitudes and intuition. Consumers generally do not want to admit that their actions are part of

consumer behavior is the result of influence in one form or another, including even targeted programming. It seems to them that they had a need for the product long before they learned about it from advertising. Very rarely do buyers admit to themselves or other people that they have actually been “exploited” by imposing on them a need that did not exist before, and forced to buy something, deprived of the opportunity to make a conscious choice. Although in fact this is the purest truth. Effective advertising is aimed at both the unconscious and the conscious, that is, at thoughts, feelings, relationships, and human behavior. This approach changes attitudes by changing behavior. He influences the buyer from all sides - he convinces, forces, attracts, compels, orders to fulfill the wishes of the seller.

Sometimes people think, especially in their youth, that they are independent, free to act, that society cannot influence their decisions or their behavior. As soon as such a person is asked to perform actions that do not correspond to his social status or social role, he experiences a very unpleasant feeling of shame, which is one of the most powerful regulators of behavior.

The greatest control of consumer behavior occurs when famous television announcers handle advertising. The image of such people is perceived in association with the psychological attitudes that Soviet people received from the party and government through the media. This phenomenon is very well fixed in the brain at the reflex level.

Advertising– this is precisely the psychological programming of people. The paradox of human thinking lies precisely in the fact that he perceives better and trusts more not the advertising that is clearly trying to influence him, but the one that, it would seem, only informs.

Advertising works executed at a high creative level can have great artistic value and aesthetic expressiveness. Often they develop into symbolic images that influence the spiritual and emotional world of a person and influence the formation of his beliefs, value orientations of aesthetic images. The expressiveness and semantic richness of an advertising work influences a person’s consciousness, forcing him not only to become familiar with the advertising message, but also to accept the advertising idea as a guide to action.

1.4. Ways to influence the consumer before and after committing

purchases

The study of all factors influencing consumer behavior, purchasing motives, and product perceptions help marketers model the purchase decision-making process. The following steps are considered: awareness of the need, searching for information, evaluating alternatives, making purchasing decisions, and post-purchase behavior. The purchase process model assumes a sequential passage of its stages. In practice, their order may be violated, especially when it comes to a product that requires a low degree of buyer involvement in the purchasing process. The user may omit or interchange process steps.

The buying process begins with the buyer's awareness of a problem or need, when he perceives the difference between the present and the desired state. His need can be caused by an external or internal stimulus. One of the usual human needs is hunger and thirst.

Marketers must determine under what circumstances a particular human need arises. By receiving information from consumers, manufacturers can determine the most common irritants that arouse interest in a particular product category. Based on this data, they develop a marketing strategy designed to generate consumer interest in certain products. Most often, a consumer who is interested in a product begins to search Additional information about the product. Either these are personal sources, or commercial, public ones. Obviously, the company must develop a marketing strategy that would ensure the presence of this product. In addition, the manufacturer needs to determine what other products are included in the consumer choice set, identify consumers' information sources, and establish their relative value. It is necessary to conduct a survey of buyers and find out when they first heard about the product, what information they have about it and how they evaluate various information sources. Their answers to questions will help the company maintain effective communication with the target market.

Analysis of consumer assessment of information about alternative brands is based on several basic principles. Firstly, the consumer seeks to satisfy his need, secondly, he seeks a certain benefit by choosing a specific brand, thirdly, each product is considered as a set of properties necessary to satisfy his need. Each product has certain properties that interest the consumer. Consumers identify those properties that are important to them and determine the weight of each of them. The greatest attention is paid to characteristics that can bring the desired benefit. Therefore, the market for a particular product can always be segmented according to its properties that are of paramount importance to different consumer groups.

The buyer’s desire to change or postpone the purchase decision largely depends on the risks he perceives. The magnitude of the risks is influenced by the amount of money required for the purchase, the doubts that the buyer has regarding the properties of the product, and the degree of his self-confidence. In order to reduce the risks associated with the purchase, consumers postpone it until better times, and in the meantime collect additional information, focusing on the country of origin and the guarantees provided. Marketers must be aware of the factors that make a purchase seem risky and proactively provide consumers with information that reduces their perceived risk of a purchase.

Having purchased a product, the consumer will experience either a feeling of satisfaction or a feeling of dissatisfaction. Once the consumer purchases the product, the work of the manufacturer does not end; it continues into the after-sales period. The marketer must study the degree of consumer satisfaction with the purchase, his reaction after purchasing the product and the future fate of the product. After purchasing a product, the consumer may stumble upon some previously undetected defect. Some will refuse to deal with a defective item, others will remain indifferent to its shortcomings, and still others may consider that the existing flaw only increases the value of the item. For example, if the first edition of a book by a famous writer contains a page printed upside down, over time it becomes a bibliographic rarity that can be sold for many times its original cost. On the other hand, some defects pose a real danger to the user. Companies producing cars, toys, and medicines must urgently withdraw from sale any product that could cause even the slightest harm to the consumer. Satisfaction with a purchase is the relationship between the buyer's expectations and the actual performance characteristics of the product. If purchases do not meet the consumer's expectations, he remains disappointed, and if the buyer's expectations are met, he feels satisfied. When the characteristics of a product exceed the consumer's expectations, the latter experiences a feeling of admiration. The buyer’s level of satisfaction determines his decision to repurchase and reviews of it among friends and acquaintances. In order for the buyer to be satisfied with the purchase, the manufacturer’s advertising must reliably reflect the real and probable characteristics of the product. Some sellers may even lower them to some extent so that the buyer receives guaranteed satisfaction from the purchase. The consumer's satisfaction or disappointment determines his subsequent actions. If he is satisfied with the purchase, then, most likely, he will buy this product again. For example, research results on consumers' choice of brands when buying a car indicate that there is a direct relationship between customer satisfaction and his desire to purchase the same product. A dissatisfied customer reacts very differently. He may refuse to use the product by returning it to the store, or begin searching for information that would confirm the value of the product. In addition, he can write a complaint to the company that produces this product, seek help from a lawyer or government bodies. The buyer can simply stop buying this product and warn his friends and acquaintances. Manufacturers must minimize consumer dissatisfaction with the purchase. IN Lately As a result of increased post-sale communication with customers, returns to stores and order cancellations have decreased. The manufacturer should also be interested in the following question: how the buyer uses his product, what he ultimately does with it. If the buyer keeps it in a closet, they may not be very happy with the purchase. If he sells or exchanges the disappointing product for something more useful, sales of new products will decrease. If customers find a new use for a product, manufacturers should use it in their advertising. Someday the buyer will have to part with the product, and the manufacturer must ensure that what is left of his product does not harm the environment.

2. Consumer attitude research

2.1. Attitude and its components

What motivates consumers? What are his motives for consuming a particular product or service? Why do consumers line up for some goods and refuse to consume others that are not inferior to the first in basic physical parameters? What factors influence the purchase of a particular product? The fourth generation of marketing specialists is already struggling to answer these questions.

One of the most common opinions related to marketing is that the main role in consumer behavior is played by the potential buyer’s attitude towards a product, company or brand, and there is a reason for this. Marketers tend to emphasize the importance of this relationship, since it determines not only the consumer's individual choice, but also his overall loyalty to the company.

The consumer's attitude can be considered as an intermediate state between stimulating information, on the one hand, and consumer behavior in the process of market choice, on the other.

Attitude has a direct impact on purchasing decisions, and these decisions, in turn, themselves influence the formation and change of consumer attitudes. Therefore, the consumer's attitude is not, apparently, some kind of innate feeling, but arises through the learning process (including habits, experience, cognitive and operational learning). This suggests that analysis of consumer attitudes can serve as initial information both for diagnosing consumer behavior and for constructing its forecast, which is the methodological basis for developing a strategy for managing consumer decisions about purchasing a product.

The concept of attitude requires, first of all, an analysis of the essence of this concept, its properties, components, methods that are used to measure consumer attitudes towards goods, services, and enterprises. The classic definition of attitude was given in the 1930s. G. Allporg: “The mental process by which a person—on the basis of previous experience and stored information—organizes his perceptions, assumptions, and feelings about a particular object and directs his future behavior.”

According to this definition, attitude consists of three components: cognitive (opinion), emotional (feelings), volitional (intention), which corresponds to the definitions of attitude in the West (J. Lambin, G. Assel, F. Kotler, etc.) and domestic (I Aleshina, E. Golubkov and others) researchers.

It should be noted that D. Angel, R. Blackwell and P. Miniard have a special view of attitude; according to them, a relation exists independently of its components, while each component is associated with the relation.

Rice. 1. A modern view of attitude formation.

This approach allows us to better understand both the process of attitude formation and the mechanism of its influence on the buyer’s behavior, which is important for the latter to take control.

Attitude depends in a certain way on previous mental and emotional acts. In other words, volitional actions are determined by the attitude of consumers, and this attitude itself is formed due to opinions and feelings. This explains why it is difficult to change attitudes as well as directly influence behavioral intentions. The most effective way to do this is to use attitude components such as knowledge and evaluation. Therefore, the study of consumer attitudes towards a product, service, or enterprise is determined, first of all, by determining their opinions and feelings.

For analytical purposes, the authors of many studies of consumer behavior consider attitudes from the point of view of certain properties: direction, intensity, resistance to change, resistance to destruction, and consumer confidence in the correctness of his attitude. These properties give an idea of ​​the types of relationships and directions of its study. Thus, the components and properties of the attitude determine the composition of the information necessary to control consumer behavior in the process of market choice.

Relationship concept- one of the most common in Western countries.

Attitude shows a predisposition to act, but does not guarantee that such behavior will actually occur. It simply demonstrates that there is a willingness to respond to an object in a certain way. Something must be done to trigger this response.

Relationships are permanent and stable over time. They can change, of course, but major changes in attitude require significant intervention.

There is a correspondence between attitude and behavior, and people act in ways that maintain this correspondence.

Attitudes result in preference and evaluation of an idea or object. They manifest as positive, neutral or negative feelings towards an idea or object. All this indicates that consumer attitudes can determine both the success and failure of an enterprise, which, in turn, determines the need to find effective means of measuring it.

Thus, we can say that an attitude is the feeling that some object is from environment we like it or don't like it. An attitude has three components:

The cognitive component reflects an assessment of the characteristics of an object;

The emotional component is the feeling of favorability or unfavorability resulting from the evaluation;

A component that represents the resulting intention or disposition to act.

From a marketing perspective, consumers have attitudes towards products, brands, places retail sales, sellers and advertising. Clearly, marketers are interested in creating a certain attitude among consumers.

It is important for them to remember that an attitude can only be formed after the consumer learns about the existence of the product and what properties it has (cognitive component). The emotional component of an attitude is formed through the perception of information about an object and through the evaluation of this information. And consumer attitudes towards products such as wine coolers will only develop once awareness has increased – and so far consumers have not adopted them. The consumer's attitude towards a product arises from an assessment of the product's ability to meet evaluation criteria. When we like a product, we tend to see only its good sides; we selectively reject information about its shortcomings. Therefore, while our attitude influences our behavior, our behavior (in this case, purchasing a product and using it) also influences our attitude.

Marketers are concerned with consumer attitudes because favorable attitudes lead to favorable exchange behavior. But in addition, they must care about the intentions of consumers. If a consumer develops a favorable attitude, he will develop a purchase intention, and this intention will lead to an actual purchase. In many cases, however, certain barriers arise between attitude and behavior that can cancel out the influence of the attitude. For example, a person may have a favorable attitude towards that same BMW Z3 sports car, but he may not buy it. The reason is simple: this car is too expensive for him. Or a person may feel that it is unwise to spend so much money on a car.

Much of what marketers do is aimed at creating favorable consumer attitudes. Attitude is formed in stages; nothing can be sold or bought until the consumer goes through this process, step by step. The ultimate goal of marketing can thus be seen as ensuring that the consumer moves through the stages of the process. And integral to this effort is looking inside the black box of human behavior.

2.2. Methods for studying the cognitive, affective and behavioral components of consumer attitudes

Let's consider some methods used to measure buyer attitudes towards goods, services, and enterprises. Since attitude is a central concept in social psychology, methods for measuring attitudes of various types have been developed.

The literature offers various methods aimed at collecting and analyzing information about the opinions, feelings, significance of the object of evaluation, as well as the buyer’s intentions (Table 1).

Methods for measuring relationships.

Table 1

Name

Definition

Features of use

Self-report

A method where people are simply asked about their feelings towards an object

The simplest approach, but it is not very objective

Behavior Observation

Based on the assumption that the behavior of the subject is determined by his attitude and that from the observed behavior one can draw a conclusion about his attitude towards the object

The behavior that the researcher wants to observe is often caused by an artificial situation.

Indirect methods

Methods using non-standardized stimuli - verbal - association tests, sentence completion tests, story composition, etc.

Questions are not asked directly

Solving real problems

A method based on the assumption that the subject's performance of a specific task (for example, remembering a series of facts) will depend on his personal attitude

Used in addition to self-report

Psychological reaction

A method where the researcher observes respondents' responses using electrical or mechanical means.

Shows only the intensity of individual feelings, and not their negative or positive nature

The self-report method is probably the most widely used in attitudinal marketing research because it is simpler than the others. However, this method, which involves collecting information about subjective opinions, feelings, and intentions, requires the use of a variety of scales. The most effective of them are the total rating scale and the semantic differential scale. The first, used to identify the degree of agreement or disagreement with each of a number of proposed statements, was developed by R. Likert. The semantic differential scale, proposed by Charles Osgood, is considered today perhaps the most popular technique for measuring attitudes in marketing research. The popularity of both of these scales can probably be explained by the ease with which they are created, the clarity with which they produce results, and the fact that they allow respondents to clearly express the intensity of their opinions and feelings.

Of course, not all methods are listed here. The characteristics of a product, service or enterprise vary in degree of importance for the consumer, so obtaining more objective information about attitudes requires the use of rating scales. In marketing research, graphic, dotted and comparative scales are most often used, which make it possible to rank the characteristics of the object of relationship according to the degree of their importance for the consumer and assign them a certain weight (significance coefficient). These scales differ in the subtlety of the differences that allow them to be measured.

Since any attitude object can be described as a set of various properties (attributes), multifactor attitude models are of greatest interest to a marketer. A variant of this model is used more often than others. It assumes that the attitude towards a given object is the sum of the products of opinions about its characteristics and the estimated value of these characteristics. Information is collected using the methods discussed above. However, for the measurement of some attributes, the use of characteristics such as “more-less” can be considered suitable only to a certain extent, and further expansion of their use reduces the quality of the analysis. In such a situation, a certain “ideal point” is introduced into the multifactor model. A unique and very important feature of the model is that it allows one to obtain information both about the “ideal brand” and about consumers’ views on actually existing brands. Multifactor models make it possible to create perceptual maps that give managers meaningful ideas about how their businesses, products, and services look in comparison to other competing businesses, products, and services. The advantage of multi-attribute models and perception maps is that they allow us to better understand what a consumer’s attitude is based on, which, in turn, makes it easier to assess the current and potential marketing activities of an enterprise.

The choice of method depends on the nature of the problem, the characteristics of the respondents, their attitude to the task at hand, their experience and ability to answer questions, and the level of qualifications of the personnel.

3. Characteristics of the private enterprise "Hummingbird"

Private enterprise "Kolibri" has been on the market for about 5-6 years. The store consists of six departments: perfume and cosmetics department, food department, stationery, household goods, chemistry department, photocopy. The owner of each department, having received it for rent from the direct owner of the entire retail space, hires staff to work. The salesperson's working day is from 10 am to 6 pm with lunch. The number of staff is twelve people. “Hummingbird is a private enterprise. The store should be classified as a universal type of store, since it houses a wide variety of products sold, consisting of many product groups. “Kolibri” operates on the product principle of constructing an organizational structure, in which the activities of store sellers are concentrated on a specific group of goods. This trading enterprise does not have a marketer or manager who should be involved in such types of work as marketing research, carrying out advertising events.

The location of the store on the corner of the house is quite advantageous, especially since the store is located near a bus stop. "Hummingbird" is clearly visible, and the fairly spacious premises are very convenient for sale. It is very important that there are good access roads and parking for cars.

There is a tough competitive situation in this area, there are shops at every turn. But the contingent of consumers that the store targets is relatively wide and belongs to the middle-income group of the population.

3.1. Analysis of the marketing situation inPrivate enterprise "Kolibri"

Store layout is one of the main elements. When developing it, methods are thought out to stimulate the promotion of buyers through trading floor so that they buy more goods than they previously planned. Stimulating promotion activities are external diversity - placement commercial equipment, its views, showcases, lighting, smells, sound background, etc. The atmosphere of the store corresponds to its image and overall strategy, and the design contributes to the purchase decision. First of all, you need to identify your target customer and develop a store concept that meets their needs.

The Kolibri store is a department store with an average number of product items. Sales method is only through the counter. Average equipment of the trading floor. The floor is light tiles. Lighting is a combination of natural and artificial lighting. Two combined inputs and outputs. The distance between all departments is different. The store is constantly full of customers, as it is located in a house, near a bus stop, in a place with a fairly large crowd of people.

Free-form layout, as in "Kolibri" is the most expensive, used in small stores, as well as in boutiques within large shopping centers. The atmosphere here is relaxed and encourages shopping. The directions of movement of buyers are not limited in any way; people can freely move from one section of the hall to another, approach the racks, counters, display cases, and inspect the goods in any order. Most shoppers like the open layout because they prefer to feel at ease in the store. Proper stocking of shelves with goods is of great importance. It is important to remember that the principle “the more the merrier” is true up to a certain point. If you endlessly increase the display in a store, this will inevitably lead to a clutter of goods and price tags, which will be difficult for the buyer to understand (the area of ​​the shelves remains constant). In some cases, it is even necessary to reduce the nomenclature. The reduction occurs due to the goods that are present for the assortment. It is not always easy to calculate such groups offhand. To do this, it is necessary to analyze the turnover, shelf life and demand for positions scheduled for “liquidation”. In this example of the Kolibri store, the shelves are evenly filled with goods, all goods are comprehensively laid out and take their place, and all of them, without exception, are important for the consumer.

Comprehensive display of goods- a powerful means of stimulating impulse purchases. In one place you can place the entire range of products for similar purposes. For example, if a customer goes to the shaving cream aisle in the chemicals department and sees that the department also offers soap, shampoo, gels and hair styling foams, then he may remember that he needs more than just cream.

Next impact factor- appearance of the offered product. This includes the name of the brand, the shape and color of the packaging, the inscriptions on it, etc. Bright and beautiful packaging is used to attract attention to the product, touches a thin chord in every consumer, which psychologists call “the child living inside us,” so that he wants to reach out and pick up something beautiful and bright, and then try it. For example, a colorful stationery department in a store stops an interested buyer at any time of the year, not necessarily during the school period. Artfully designed display cases are filled with notebooks, pens, pencils, notepads and other educational supplies. But still, it is the store employees who have the main influence on the visitor. The image of a retail establishment and its ability to retain customers largely depend on the knowledge and experience, friendliness, and appearance of its employees. Today the store is experiencing great difficulties with staff. On the one hand, employees of most stores are not ready for effective sales. On the other hand, they often do not attach much importance to training and motivating their salespeople; it is not profitable to train them, because The sales staff of most stores changes very often. At the same time, well-trained and motivated staff is one of the important components of the success of any retail outlet.

An advertisement for the Hummingbird store can be heard on the radio, but the best advertising for a store is not radio messages, promotions, billboards and bright color posters in magazines. The best advertising is a satisfied customer who will recommend your store to dozens of their friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Conversely, there is nothing worse than an unhappy or deceived customer. For the store, this is a walking anti-advertising. Live communication is more meaningful for people than “official” media reports. Therefore, advertising influence on a person is carried out not directly, but through authoritative people who are significant to him, familiar to him - transmitters of opinions and rumors. Opinions on each issue (from the simple - where and what kind of washing powder to buy, to the complex - who to vote for) are formed and approved under the influence of certain authorities (opinion leaders): parents, spouses, friends, just acquaintances who are considered experts in some sphere.

Consumer research has the main goal of understanding their needs to ensure their fullest satisfaction.

To most fully satisfy needs, it is necessary to identify and deeply analyze already existing needs, study the patterns of their development and the formation of new needs.

Studying the value system of consumers and the level of satisfaction of their Requests.

Consumers, based on their value system, choose alternative products, evaluating them according to a set of attributes and thus determining the product they will buy. It is usually not easy for a consumer to formulate his value system. So instead of forcing consumers to think about each individual attribute, a special analysis called conjugate analysis forces consumers to make judgments about products as a whole. To do this, consumers need to rank products that have different sets of attributes. Then, based on mathematical analysis, determine the value system underlying their choice. At the same time, it is also possible to assess the extent to which the consumer is willing to “sacrifice” a certain value of one attribute to obtain a higher value of another, i.e. establish his value system. As a result, a significant difference is revealed between what the manufacturer thinks the consumer expects and what he actually wants, i.e. between consumer demands that exist, according to the manufacturer, and their real demands. Consumers base their expectations on information they receive from sellers, friends, and other sources. If the seller exaggerates the characteristics of the product, then the consumer's expectations are not met, and he experiences disappointment and dissatisfaction.

In general, it should be expected that achieving a high value for an indicator that is more important to the consumer is valued more highly by the consumer. If the deviation is the worst side is too large, the product is considered unsatisfactory by the consumer.

The results of such marketing research, with a small degree of transformation, can also be used to segment the market based on the benefits that consumers are looking for when purchasing goods.

To do this, the following data is required:

1. a list of properties or benefits associated with the product category being studied; assessments of the relative importance that consumers assign to each attribute;

2. grouping of consumers who give the same assessments of the properties in question;

3. assessment of the number of consumers and the profile of their reaction to the proposed product and individual elements of the marketing mix for each identified segment.

For example, in the chemistry department, an analysis of dental hygiene products revealed that customers were attracted to the following benefits: white teeth, fresh breath, pleasant taste, cavity prevention, gum protection, low price. If you ask a buyer which of these six properties they are looking for, the answer usually given is that they are all. If you ask him to distribute 100 points between these properties based on their value to him, the differences that allow the formation of market segments become obvious.

Therefore, it is so important to take an active position in this matter: regularly measure the degree of satisfaction/dissatisfaction of the clientele and identify the causes of dissatisfaction. Keep in mind that in many businesses where demand is not growing, 80 to 90% of revenue may come from existing customers. It is easy to understand how important it is to maintain their satisfaction with the organization as a whole, its products and services.

A very significant procedure is the division of all consumers of certain products into categories according to the degree of their loyalty to these products. It is advisable to then subdivide these categories into a number of subgroups depending on the volume of consumption (for example, regular and heavy coffee drinkers and occasional coffee drinkers). Data from such studies make it possible to more clearly outline the circle of potential consumers and develop a program for expanding the circle of loyal consumers.

Studying consumer intentions and behavior. It is advisable to study consumer intentions and behavior by linking it to a certain stage of the consumer’s purchase decision. The purchasing decision process includes several stages:

1. obtaining initial information about the product (awareness);

2. emergence of interest; deciding whether to try a product;

3. possible testing of the product;

4. product acceptance, when the consumer decides to regularly buy this product. Studying how quickly and on the basis of what information and arguments the consumer makes a purchase decision helps the marketer develop measures to help the consumer move through these stages in a direction beneficial to the marketer.

The abundance of goods especially attracts buyers. When a person sees a large amount of goods, he always wants to choose something from this colorful, beautiful mass - the instinct of consumption and elementary greed are triggered. Therefore, you need to display tempting products in a prominent place and in large quantities, which is called bulk. For example, in the cosmetics and perfumery department of the Kolibri store, sets of various budget items are piled on shelves at eye level. It attracts the attention of visitors. In general, the most “impulse” places are the shelves located at the buyer’s eye level. From the point of view of classic merchandising, they are the most convenient to perceive and provide the lion's share of sales of any store. These shelves, the most profitable from a psychological point of view, are usually occupied by goods that need to be sold urgently, or goods that have a good turnover. But as for the postcards available in the department, on the contrary, they are located too high, on the very top shelf, so it is very difficult for the buyer to notice them.

The department also has a large selection of elastic bands, combs, varnishes, perfumes, various gift sets, and hair dyes, which have a relatively high turnover. As a result of observing the behavior of buyers focused on a wide selection of products when purchasing hair dyes, the following conclusions were drawn: firstly, the majority of buyers are women, and secondly, if a customer came to the department with the intention of buying hair dye, then even if not If it's the brand she usually uses, she's more likely to buy a different brand of paint than go elsewhere. The seller just needs to skillfully present other options for hair coloring products. Thirdly, there is no limited age category when selling paint. The leading positions in the market of hair coloring products are occupied by foreign companies: Wellaton, Garnier, Palette. These Western companies operate in the middle and upper price segments and are distinguished by high advertising activity. The Rocolor company leads mainly due to the low price segment. In terms of the level of recognition of the company's paint, Garnier is the leader. Information about the purchasing behavior of different categories of consumers, as well as the behavior of consumers after the purchase, is useful for correctly interpreting sales data and assessing the results of product positioning. In addition, it is much more difficult to attract new customers than to retain existing ones.

As can be seen from the previous sections, the store does not have a marketing department, but gradually in practice there comes an awareness of the need to plan the activities of the marketing service. Planning encourages management to constantly think about the future, makes them more clearly define their goals and policies, leads to better consistency in work and provides objective measures of performance. In retail trade, all marketing usually comes down to measures to promote a product, which are carried out spontaneously, depending on its receipt, overstocking, or on the eve of a holiday. This is not to say that they do not bring a certain increase in trade turnover. However, in the event of spontaneity, it is difficult to plan a budget; actual costs may far exceed those planned.

It is necessary to create a marketing department in the store, or hire a marketer whose goals are: to understand the motivations and needs of customers; understand the role of various product categories in store strategy; manage assortment in competition; understand the economic levers in category management; be able to build an assortment strategy and implement it; turn the approach to assortment formation into a strategic and operational management tool. The formation of a marketing activity plan is carried out by the entire marketing service or the established creative team of the enterprise. For example, for the department “Perfumes and cosmetics”, the following proposals are put forward.

By the summer season, you need to create a complex of household goods, including mosquito bite repellents and shopping bags on wheels.

It is proposed to create an additional specialized department, which will accommodate all the goods necessary for recreation and travel - these are travel bags and belt bags for storing cash and documents; all tanning products, gels, shower sponges, etc.; haberdashery – soap dishes, toothbrushes, massage brushes, etc.; various souvenirs for those traveling abroad and CIS countries.

During the holidays, you can use all types of promotion: advertising, sales promotion, propaganda, consulting sellers; but only they must be better than those of competitors, since in these cases the buyer goes to the stores to buy goods, but only he is faced with a choice: which store to go to, therefore, you need to help him make a choice.

It is necessary to add more bright colors to the interior of the store: blue, red, yellow. Color has a physiological effect on a person, causing bad or good health, increasing or decreasing the effectiveness of advertising.

After conducting analytical and creative work, it is necessary to immediately begin drawing up a marketing action plan, which consists of the following sections:

1. overview of the marketing plan - provides the main points of the proposed plan for a quick review by management;

2. current state of the market - provides basic information about the market, products, competitors and distribution of products;

3. threats and opportunities – describes the main threats and opportunities that may affect the goods;

4. objectives and problems – briefly formulates the company’s objectives by product (group, category), including issues of sales, market share, profit, as well as problems that the company may encounter when performing these objectives;

5. marketing strategy - represents the overall marketing approach that will be used to achieve planned goals;

6. action program - determine what, by whom, when it will be done and how much it will cost.

Also important is the behavior of the seller. They must understand the comparative features of the goods presented in the hall. They must communicate with customers and recommend that they make this or that purchase, and must be able to talk about the advantages of this or that product. The seller's friendliness evokes a feeling of sympathy for him. Many buyers use these signs to judge the seller’s ability to provide good, quick service. Neat, energetic, friendly sellers always enjoy the authority of buyers. The seller must remember all this and be aware that, as a rule, no little thing escapes the critical eye of the buyer. The greeting addressed to the buyer largely determines his first impression of the store. This impression should be positive, then a pleasant atmosphere is created that promotes trust. The buyer's response will be favorable if he is clearly convinced that the seller is attentive to his interests. This gives the buyer a feeling of sympathy and he becomes more sociable. « Good morning, afternoon, evening » - much the best option greetings than dry and neutral « Hello».

The buyer’s mood and his decision to purchase largely depend on what product the seller showed him.

For example, a situation where a buyer cannot choose one product from several, it is necessary to some extent make a choice for him. You need to prove to him that all the goods in the store are of high quality. An involuntary reduction of one product in favor of another cannot be allowed. Answer pattern: “Both products are good, but in your situation it is better to take this one... because....” For example, the buyer is considering two lamps, blue and green, and does not know which one to choose. In this case, the seller should advise: “Take the green one: you They said you have curtains in greenish tones - one will go well with the other." The seller must be able to take into account the age, appearance of the buyer, possible profession and a number of other factors. It is advisable for a regular buyer not to ask many questions about the product: he will be pleased that his tastes they know and care about him.The liveliness and specificity of the seller’s speech are extremely important.

It is very important to show the product in action. The statement is absolutely true: showing correctly is the same as selling half. When handing over the purchase, the seller should thank the buyer and offer to visit the store in the future. It is very important to emphasize the advantages of the item purchased by the buyer.

The art of communicating with the buyer requires that every seller must ensure that the impression he makes on others is good. This impression is determined primarily appearance seller. The Kolibri store does not have special workwear, so measures need to be taken to introduce it. For food department sellers, the best example of workwear is a dress, overalls or robe made of light-colored fabrics and a headdress to match the dress. In non-food departments, the choice of work clothes is much wider. For women - dresses, suits, skirts with a blouse, for men - suits or trousers with a shirt and tie. The basic rule: work clothes should be the same for all employees of a given retail enterprise so that the staff stands out among customers. Its desirable addition is a patch with the store’s emblem and a mandatory one is a tag or badge with the seller’s name and surname. Customers should always be able to know who served them well or poorly. Such clothing, as practice shows, strengthens the discipline and corporate culture of staff.

Conclusion

Summarizing the above, we will draw the main conclusions and conclusions on the work.

Buying behavior has changed dramatically over last years. With the expansion of the assortment, the volume of requests has increased. Big box stores and trade groups have increased their influence over consumers; A number of new forms of trade have emerged, such as consumer stores and self-service department stores. The variety of forms is an expression of different marketing concepts used by enterprises to solve their problems. We are talking about the desire to take into account the interests of consumers and at the same time stand out from the competition.

Marketers are concerned with consumer attitudes because favorable attitudes lead to favorable exchange behavior. But in addition, they must care about the intentions of consumers. If a consumer develops a favorable attitude, he will develop a purchase intention, and this intention will lead to an actual purchase. In many cases, however, certain barriers arise between attitude and behavior that can cancel out the influence of the attitude.

The study of all factors influencing consumer behavior, purchasing motives, and product perceptions help marketers model the purchase decision-making process.

This way, with the help of internal architecture, a special atmosphere is created that keeps customers in the store. It is clear that with length of stay, the number of eye contacts with products and the likelihood of further impulse purchases increase. At the same level is the assumption that the sales area - the contact area allocated for the product - increases the chances of purchase.

Placing products on shelves is a common form of presentation. Double and special placement are used to draw the attention of buyers to a specific product. The offer of goods in the form of a pile refers to the diverse possibilities of activating latent needs with the help of optical stimuli, which, in combination with lower prices, leads to an increase in sales of up to 800%.

High brand loyalty and relatively low store loyalty can be explained in terms of consumer psychology. The lack of a product in trade or its irregular sale leads to a revaluation of the blocked alternative and additional efforts to still obtain this product. A prerequisite for this is the perception of the lack of goods as a significant limitation on freedom of choice.

Changing a proven brand to a well-known one represents a certain risk factor for the buyer. It can be assumed that changing the familiar atmosphere of your permanent store is also not particularly pleasant for the buyer.

Changes in the main economic factors, such as income level, cost of living, interest rates, household savings and credit availability, have a significant impact on store performance.

Research shows that when deciding on the preference for a particular place of purchase (store, supermarket, hypermarket, etc.), the most significant influence is the quality of the service provided (49% of the total number of respondents), the next factor is the level of service (26, 5%), then the speed of service provision (13%), taking into account individual characteristics (8%), and only 3.5% included the cost of the service among the most significant factors.

In modern conditions, marketing must be treated as a global management function on which all other activities depend. It is necessary to create at each enterprise such marketing services that would help stores influence the purchasing behavior of consumers in order to carry out their activities effectively, increase profits and create conditions for their further progressive development.

Bibliography

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    consumers purchasing behavior consumers company products Abstract >> Marketing

    On consumer behavior consumers company products. (discipline Marketing) Introduction 3 1. Factors determining behavior consumers 5 ...to define a strategy behavior consumer behavior you need to have an in-depth understanding...

Research into consumer behavior will answer a number of important questions.

  1. What kind of target audience needs and expectations?
  2. What financial capabilities do consumers have?
  3. How much are potential and existing customers willing to spend on the products or services offered?
  4. What needs to be taken into account when developing a development strategy aimed at increasing consumer activity?

Professional research helps companies solve the following problems.

  • Determination of the socio-demographic portrait of buyers. This is necessary for conducting effective targeted marketing campaigns. The research allows you to optimize costs and launch advertising aimed at a specific target audience or its segment.
  • Studying the capabilities and needs of existing and potential clients. This information is needed for optimization trade offers and creating an attractive service.
  • Launch effective advertising with geographic targeting. The research will reveal where the target audience is concentrated.
  • Determination of criteria and factors influencing buyer activity. This data is needed to prepare the most relevant offers and increase loyalty through effective BTL and ATL events.

Consumer purchasing behavior research

It is extremely difficult to analyze the purchasing behavior of consumers, since in the process of work it is necessary to determine the motivation for choosing a place of purchase, study the factors (external and internal) that influence the purchase of a product or service and the process of making a decision on concluding a transaction. This can be accomplished through well-designed qualitative market research. Quantitative methods For this task, they are practically used only in combination with high-quality ones.

Professional research into the purchasing behavior of potential and existing consumers suggests:

  • drawing up a detailed portrait of the target audience or its individual segments;
  • study of buyer behavior;
  • dividing the target audience into groups according to various characteristics and 5W methodology;
  • assessment of the financial capacity of segments;
  • analysis of consumer sensitivity to price dynamics;
  • identifying the needs of the target audience (including using the Kano method);
  • determining the media preferences of the target audience;
  • TRP and GRP assessment.

During the research process, specialists use three main methods.

  1. Observation. Allows you to understand what the choice is based on, how it happens, and what pushes consumers to make a purchase. Based on the collected data, forecasts and hypotheses are built.
  2. Measurements and surveys. At this stage, the assumptions made are tested.
  3. In-depth interviews. They are carried out in conditions of complex consumer choice.

As practice shows, the use of the results of professional research on consumer behavior helps companies increase sales of goods and services by 15–20% in a short time.

Detailed model of purchasing behavior

Buying behavior is a whole series of patterns. The same factors cause similar reactions in consumers.

The purchasing behavior model consists of:

  • marketing incentives, these include the product, its cost, methods of product promotion and sales promotion.
  • economic, social, political, scientific, technical and cultural stimuli;
  • personal characteristics of consumers;
  • features of the purchase decision-making process;
  • customer responses (choice of a specific product, time and place of purchase).

External and internal factors of purchasing behavior

Consumer behavior is influenced by various factors. External ones include:

  • cultural (social class, culture, subcultural affiliation);
  • social (reference group, status and role, family).

Internal factors are divided into personal and psychological. The first group includes:

  • age;
  • personality type;
  • self-esteem;
  • Job;
  • economic conditions;
  • character traits;
  • style and lifestyle.

Psychological factors include needs, attitudes, perceptions and motives.

People choose specific products or services as a result of exposure to all the above factors. The degree of their influence varies. Status and family have the strongest influence on consumer behavior; culture is less significant.

Basic types of purchasing behavior

Building a model involves determining the type of purchasing behavior. It could be:

  • uncertain, most often manifests itself in the case of a high cost of products/services and in the presence of offers on the market with similar characteristics;
  • search engine, is formed if there are products on sale in the same category that differ significantly from each other; people are eager to try something new;
  • habitual, observed when purchasing everyday goods;
  • complex, manifests itself when making a decision to purchase an expensive product; customers are fully involved in the selection process and are looking for additional information about products/services and the brand.

Stages of studying purchasing behavior

The process of shaping purchasing behavior potential consumers consists of the following steps.

  1. Influence on important selection factors. Under the influence of internal and external factors potential buyers have a need to buy a product or order a service.
  2. Search stage. Interested consumers are looking for the most suitable offers. Various commercial, personal and public sources of information are used.
  3. Formation of attitude towards the brand and brand. At this stage, consumers study the products of the selected company in detail. Effective marketing campaigns improve brand awareness and loyalty.
  4. Concluding a deal or purchasing. Potential client makes the final decision to make a purchase. At this stage, buyer behavior is also influenced by external factors.

After the purchase/transaction, it is important to determine the consumer's reaction. Satisfaction is a sign of repeat business. Negative attitude is a bounce rate.

Managing consumer reactions is difficult, but not impossible. When choosing a new product, buyers pay special attention to the following factors:

  • advantages;
  • degree of compliance with existing experience and preferences;
  • communication visibility;
  • difficulty of operation.

Perception is also influenced by:

  • public approval;
  • degree of uncertainty;
  • possible risks;
  • cost of production.

Correctly conducted marketing research will help the company in its daily work with consumer behavior, as well as in competently forecasting changes in customer preferences.