Core Concepts of Marketing

CHAPTER4

UNDERSTANDING BUYERBEHAVIOR

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Havingreadthis cha~ter,yousrould beableto:

• Understandthebehavicroftheindividualconsumersinthe
  marl:e~place.


• Examinethemanyfactorsthatinfluenceconsumerbehavior.


• Recogni zethevariousprinciplesofpsychology,sociology,and
  socialpsychologythatare(Ifvalue inexplainingconsumer
  behavior.


• Examinet h erelationshi pofconsumerbehaviorto marketing
  management.decisions-particularly,targetmarketselectionand
  t h edesign ")fthe marketingmix.


• Understandhoworganizationalmarketbehaviordiffersfrom con-
  sumer marketbehavior.


• Examinehoworganizationsmak epurchasedecisions.

TILL DEATHDOUSPART

At 1 :58P.M.onWednesday,May5,in Houston's St.Luke's EpiscopalHospital,a

consumer wasborn.Her namewas Alyssa1.NedeE,andbythetimeshewenthome

threedayslater, someofAmerica'sbiggestmarketerswerepursuingherwithsamples,

coupons,andassorted freebies. Proctor&GamblehopeditsPampersbrandwouldwin

thebattlefor Alyssa'sbottom. Johnson&Johnsonoffereda tinysampleofitsbabysoap.

Bri stol-MyersSquibb Co.sentalong~omeofits Enfamilbabyformula.

Likenogenerationbefore, Alyssaentersaconsumerculturesurroundedbylogos,

labels, andacts almost fromthemomentofbirth.Asaninfant. AlyssamaywearSesame

Street di apersandminiaturepro-basketballjerseys.Bythetimeshe's 20 monthsold,she

willstarttorecognizesomeofthethousandsofbrandsflashedinfrontofhereach day.

At age7,if she's anyth inglike thetypicalkid, shewillseesome20,000TVcommer-

cials a year.By thetimeshe's12,shewillhaveherownentryinibemassivedatabanks

ofmarketers.M ultiplyAlyssaby 30 million-trenumberofbabiesborninthiscountry

since 1990 -andyouhavethelargestgenera,iontofloodthemarketsincethebaby

boom.Moreimpressivethantheirnumben,though,istheirwealth.Theincreaseinsin-

gle-parent anddual-earner householdsmeansthatIc.;dsaremakingshoppingdecisions

once left toMom.Combiningallowance,earnings, andgifts,kidsaged 14 andunderwill

directlyspendanestimated$20billionthisyear,andwillinfluenceanother$200billion.

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