T
he aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers’ needs and wants. The
field of consumer behavior studies how individuals, groups, and organizations
select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their
needs and desires. Understanding consumer behavior is never simple, because cus-
tomers may say one thing but do another. They may not be in touch with their deeper
motivations, and they may respond to influences and change their minds at the last
minute.
Still, all marketers can profit from understanding how and why consumers buy.
For example, Whirlpool’s staff anthropologists go into people’s homes, observe how
they use appliances, and talk with household members. Whirlpool has found that in
busy families, women are not the only ones doing the laundry. Knowing this, the com-
pany’s engineers developed color-coded washer and dryer controls to make it easier
for kids and men to pitch in.^1
In fact, not understanding your customer’s motivations, needs, and preferences
can lead to major mistakes. This is what happened when Kodak introduced its Advanta
camera—a costly bust. The company proudly touted it as a high-tech product, but the
marketplace was dominated by middle-aged baby-boomers. In midlife, fancy new tech-
nology generally loses its appeal, and simplicity begins to edge out complexity in con-
sumer preferences, so Advanta sales did not skyrocket.
Such examples show why successful marketers use both rigorous scientific proce-
dures and more intuitive methods to study customers and uncover clues for develop-
ing new products, product features, prices, channels, messages, and other marketing-
87
Analyzing
Consumer Markets
and Buyer
Behavior
We will address the following questions:
■How do cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors influence consumer buying
behavior?
■How does the consumer make a purchasing decision?