Unit 3: Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior principles support the development of effective marketing strategies. Consumers are complex individuals influenced by multiple factors when considering and responding (or not responding) to marketing initiatives. The challenge for a marketer is to develop a comprehensive understanding of consumers to best approach them, capture their attention, and earn their loyalty through marketing strategies. In this unit, we will review the importance of consumer behavior. We will include descriptions of the influences of situational, social, personal, and psychological factors on consumer behavior. The motivation theories of Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow, and Frederick Herzberg will provide frameworks for interpreting the links between individual motivations and potential responses to marketing messages. Consideration is also given to the five-stage model that outlines general consumer thoughts and actions when buying. The level of consumer involvement in the buying process can vary from low to high. Product characteristics, brands, and other factors influence involvement. Comprehension of relevant influences, models, and theories will support evaluating strategies for influencing consumer behavior.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain the importance of consumer behavior for developing marketing strategies;
- assess cultural, social, and personal factors that influence consumer behavior;
- relate the motivation theories of Freud, Maslow, and Herzberg to consumer behavior;
- explain the five steps in the consumer buying decision process;
- differentiate low, limited, and high levels of consumer involvement in the buying process; and
- recommend four marketing strategies for influencing consumer behavior.
3.1: Consumer Behavior
Read this article excerpt for a definition of consumer behavior and the history of the concept. Recognize that wants and needs drive consumer behavior. In this unit, you will explore the complex factors that affect consumer behavior when the buying process is approached, and various influences result in satisfying wants and needs. An understanding of consumer behavior has an impact on the marketing planning process, including determining the optimal marketing mix. Consider a point from Unit 2: research supports efforts to better understand consumer behavior.
Read this chapter about the importance of consumer behavior. Marketers must understand the influences on consumer behavior to reach customers effectively. An example of a new consumer highlights the marketing he is exposed to from a young age and likely influences his buying behavior. Can you explain how a specific marketing organization has influenced your buying behavior?
Watch this video about the importance of consumer behavior in the marketing planning process. The connections between the 3 Cs (customer, company, and competition), STP, and the 4 Ps are discussed. Carefully review the chart Consumer Behavior in the Marketing Process Framework. If asked by a marketing team, how would you explain the role of consumer behavior within this framework?
Read this chapter about the exchange process between the buyer and the seller of products and services. Carefully review the chart The Exchange Process and note that the exchange presents value for the buyer and the seller. Also, recognize that both parties have needs, wants, and trade-offs. In this chapter, there are introductions to selected models to describe consumer behavior. Carefully review Figure 1, which summarizes the Black Box Model. Later in this unit, you will explore selected internal and external factors listed in the figure.
3.2: The Buying Process
Watch this video, which includes a summary of the five stages in the consumer decision-making process. A consumer follows this process when deciding to purchase a product or service. The level of involvement in the process can vary depending on the relative level of importance of the purchase. In some situations, the consumer may abandon the process at any stage. Compare your decision-making process to the process defined in the video.
Read this chapter, which will reinforce your knowledge about the consumer decision-making process when purchasing a product or service. Carefully review the consumer decision-making process. What can you infer about key activities during each stage of the process?
Read this chapter to understand how a consumer may be involved in the buying process, ranging from low to high. Two situations are presented to support points about the levels of involvement. What can you infer about a high-involvement decision as it relates to elements of the marketing mix?
This chapter will reinforce your understanding of consumer involvement levels in the buying process. Low, high, and limited involvement levels are discussed. Review the table, which includes examples of low- and high-involvement products, marketing mix factors, and consumer activities in the buying process. Selected strategies are recommended for increasing consumer involvement with supporting examples. After reviewing information about the buying process, think about your approach to buying key products and services. How would you categorize your level of involvement in buying these products and services (low, limited, or high) and why?
3.3: Influences on Consumer Behavior
Read this brief chapter about influences on consumer decisions, including some situational, personal, psychological, and social factors.
Read this chapter, which covers key factors that influence consumers' buying behavior. The social situation, time, reason for the purchase, and lifestyle are among the multiple factors covered. Evaluate the most influential factors on your buying behavior.
Watch this video to learn how cultural, psychological, social, and personal factors influence consumer behavior. The factors are applied to many people's daily decisions to consume coffee. As the speaker asks at the end of the video, which factors influence you when buying a morning coffee? If you are not a coffee drinker, think about tea, juice, or another beverage of choice.
3.4: Situational Influences
Read this chapter for general information about situational factors influencing the buying process. Situational factors include:
- consumer involvement in the buying process;
- familiarity with a product or brand; and
- the extent to which products and brands are available.
An example is used of purchasing a smartphone. Compare the example and questions in this section to your purchase process for a smartphone.
Read this chapter about the in-store shopping experience and how characteristics of the store influence buying decisions. Review the table with store atmospheric variables that impact shopping outcomes. Are all of these variables relevant to your in-store shopping experiences? Determine the factors that would impact your shopping outcomes for an online shopping experience.
3.5: Social Influences
Read this chapter for information about social factors that influence consumer behavior. The influences of culture, subculture, social class, and family are reviewed with selected examples. What are the possible outcomes when marketers are sensitive to the social influences on consumers?
Read this chapter for a definition of culture, the key characteristics of a culture, and the relevance of culture to marketing. Culture is recognized as a combination of beliefs, values, and customs that govern certain people's behavior. Practices and beliefs are among the factors that differentiate cultures. Marketers must understand the cultural influences of specific groups to properly target them. What are key characteristics of your culture that will influence your behavior as a consumer?
Read this chapter to learn about the influence of subcultures on consumer behavior. Each person can belong to one or more subcultures based on beliefs, languages, race, ethnicity, or other factors. Review the chart of American/Western sub-cultures from 1900 to 2010. Select one of the subcultures with which you are familiar. What are the subculture's key characteristics, and how do those factors influence consumer behavior?
Read this chapter about Consumer Culture Theory. Four areas of research about Consumer Culture Theory are consumer identity projects, marketplace cultures, socio-historical patterning of consumption, and consumers' interpretative strategies. What are the possible outcomes of reviewing results from these research approaches for the marketer?
3.6: Personal Influences
Read this chapter for information about personal factors that influence consumer behavior. The influences of demographics, life stage, lifestyle, and personality are reviewed. List three reasons the marketing team should assess the relative significance of personal factors when determining marketing strategies.
Review this chart which includes classifications of Western generations. Certain characteristics and behaviors are associated with each category. This information is important to marketers as they determine optimal strategies for reaching specific generations. What is the description for your generation? What values, beliefs, practices, and more are apparent in your generation? How do these factors affect consumer behavior?
Read this article about Generation Z and associated consumer behavior. This notable consumer group is composed of digital consumers. They are receptive to buying products and services online. In addition, they rely on technology, such as smartphones or tablets, to support multiple steps in the buying process: information search, identification and evaluation of alternatives, and purchase decision. What information would you use to prioritize Generation Z among target segments for a new, innovative technology product?
Read this chapter about marketing implications concerning lifestyle and psychographics. Lifestyle factors include activities, interests, and opinions. Psychographic factors include motivations, values, interests, and other personal factors. How would you justify to a marketing team the importance of consumer lifestyles and psychographics in the marketing planning process?
3.7: Psychological Influences
Read this chapter to learn about the influences of needs, wants, and goals on consumer behavior. A need is an essential item, while a want is a personal preference for how to fulfill the need. Needs are classified as utilitarian and hedonic, essentially practical and luxurious. A goal is defined as the desired state. Motivation has an impact on a goal. Review the table that lists sample items for utilitarian/hedonic needs to understand the application of the concepts to product categories. Also, review the lists of sample products to address prevention and promotion orientations relative to goals. What are the potential outcomes when the marketing mix is modified to address different needs?
Read this chapter to learn about psychological influences on consumer behavior. Motivation, learning and socialization, and attitudes and beliefs are covered. Review the chart and related discussion about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Provide the marketing team with three reasons for assessing the psychological influences on consumers as marketing strategies are determined.
Watch this short video about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a major motivation theory. As discussed in the video, Abraham Maslow believed that there are five levels of needs that individuals try to fulfill:
- Basic needs (physiological needs)
- Safety and security (psychological needs)
- Belonging and love (psychological needs)
- Esteem (a psychological need)
- Self-actualization (a self-fulfillment need).
Evaluate the potential marketing implications of each level of need.
Read this chapter about selected theories of personality that have an impact on consumer behavior. Review the section on Sigmund Freud's personality theory with definitions of the id, ego, and superego, which influence motivations and other behaviors. Also, review the sections about the personality theories of Erik Erikson and Carl Jung. What are the key similarities and differences among the three personality theories?
Watch this short video with additional information about the personality theory of Sigmund Freud. The speaker explains Id (the unconscious mind), Superego (the preconscious mind), and Ego (the conscious mind). How would you relate Freud's personality theory to marketing?
Watch the noted sections of this video with audio and slides for more information about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and an introduction to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, another motivation theory. Play the video from the beginning through the comparison of Maslow and Herzberg, which ends at 5:57. How does Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs relate to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory?
Read this article, which applies the motivational theories of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory to consumer behavior and expected consumption patterns in China before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. How would you apply the theories to your behaviors and consumption during the pandemic? Based on what you learned about the research process in Unit 2, what do you think about the research approach described in the article?
3.8: Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategies
Read this chapter with an example of a consumer buying decision, specifically buying a pet. The process is assessed from the consumer's and marketer's perspectives, with consumer behavior and marketing concepts applied to the situation. Review the consumer decision-making process and relate the steps to the example. Do you agree that this high-involvement decision required a methodical approach? If yes, why?
Unit 3 Study Resources
This review video is an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and is presented by one of the professors who created the course.
Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.
- Unit 3 Review Slides File PDF document
You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.
We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 3 Assessment.
Unit 3 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.