When it comes to making decisions about buying products or services, consumer behaviour plays a crucial role.
While it is virtually impossible to deal with all aspects of consumer behaviour in this column there are a number of key factors that can be touched upon to give you some understanding of how they can affect your business.
There are five main factors that come into play ranging from psychological to cultural. Understanding them is key to the development of marketing and communication strategies.
Psychological factors such as motivation, perceptions and beliefs as well as learning and attitudes will determine how consumers react to your product or service. Also under the umbrella of this psychological grouping comes the inherent basic needs such as shelter, food, clothing, comfort and well-being.
Social factors also play a major role in impacting decision making. In today鈥檚 world social networking, whether on-line or off-line, highlight the importance of this factor as people share information, put forward opinions and make recommendations about products and services.
As globalization and immigration come into play the importance of having some sensitivity to this mix of cultures with their beliefs and customs can help determine marketing strategies. Understanding the overall context of these cultural factors within your target groups will go a long way in ensuring you are helping them to make the right decision.
Personal factors are historically one of the cornerstones of understanding your customers. Age, occupation, lifestyles and even personality traits such as being an introvert or extrovert will influence how and why they purchase. Much emphasis is being placed on generational marketing as there are dramatic differences between the Silent Generation, those born before 1945 and the latest Alpha Generation born after 2013. Knowing where your primary customer fits within these groupings will determine how you approach communicating with them.
Not the least of these decision making factors is economic. Income will have a strong effect on determining what consumers can afford. In general high income households with more discretionary income are key targets for such things as luxury items while those with more constrained budgets will gravitate to such items as no-name products or the basic model of a car or appliance.
While I mentioned there are five main factors there is another one that plays a key role in the decision making process and that is technological. The reality is that technology is at the forefront of today鈥檚 marketing. It has transformed the way not only how we do business but has greatly impacted how consumers interact with businesses, brands and do research in making their purchasing decisions.
While I have only touched on the surface of the proverbial iceberg, it behooves you to delve deeper into how each of these factors and your understanding of them in respect to how they impact on your target group will bring clarity and success to your marketing strategies.
