BUYERBEHAVIORASPROBLEMSOLVING 75
marketer,analysisofthesetrade-offsisguidedbycompanypolicesandobjectives.Forexam-
ple,a companymayengageinexchangesonlywhentheprofitmarginis10%orgreater.
Thebuy~r,theothermemberintheexchange,alsohaspersonalpoliciesandobjectivesthat
guidetheirresponsesinanexchange.Unfortunately,buyersseldomwritedowntheirper-
sonalpoliciesandobjectives.Evenmorelikely,theyoftendon'tunderstandwhatprompts
themtobehaveina particularmanner.Thisisthemysteryorthe"blackbox"ofbuyerbehav-
iorthatmakestheexchangeprocesssounpredictable anddifficultformarketerstounderstand.
Buyersareessentialpartnersintheexchangeprocess.Withoutthem,exchangeswould
stop.Theyarethefocusofsuccessfulmarketing; theirneedsandwantsarethereasonfor
marketing.Withoutanunderstandingofbuyerbehavior,themarketofferingcannotpossi-
blybetailoredtothedemandsofpotentialbuyers.Whenpotentialbuyersarenotsatisfied,
exchangefaltersandthegoalsofthemarketercannotbemet.Aslongasbuyershavefree
choiceandcompetitiveofferingsfromwhichtochoose,theyareultimatelyincontrolof
themarketplace.
Amarketcanbedefinedasa groupofpotentialbuyerswithneedsandwantsandthe
purchasingpowertosatisfythem.Thepotentialbuyers,incommercialsituations,"vote"
(withtheirdollars)forthemarketofferingthattheyfeelbestmeetstheirneeds.Anunder-
standingofhowtheyarriveata decisionallowsthemarketertobuildanofferingthatwill
attractbuyers. Twoofthekeyquestionsthata marketerneedstoanswerrelativetobuyer
behaviorare:
- Howdopotentialbuyersgoaboutmakingpurchasedecisions?
- Whatfactorsinfluencetheirdecisionprocessandinwhatway?
Theanswerstothesetwoquestionsformthebasisfortargetmarketselection,and,ulti-
mately,thedesignofa marketoffering.
Whenweusetheterm"buyer,"wearereferringtoanindividual,group,ororgani-
zationthatengagesinmarket exchange.Infact,therearedifferencesinthecharacteristics
ofthesethreeentitiesandhowtheybehaveinanexchange.Therefore,individualsandgroups
aretraditionallyplacedintheconsumercategory,whileorganizationisthesecondcate-
gory.Letusnowtuntoconsumerdecisionmaking.
BuyerBehaviorasProblemSolving
Consumerbehaviorreferstobuyerswhoarepurchasingforpersonal,family,orgroupuse.
Consumerbehaviorcanbethoughtofasthecombinationofeffortsandresultsrelatedto
theconsumer'sneedtosolveproblems.Consumerproblemsolvingis triggeredbytheiden-
tificationofsomeunmetneed. Afamilyconsumesallofthemilkinthehouseorthetires
onthefamilycarewearoutorthebowlingteamisplanninganend-of-the-seasonpicnic.
Thispresentsthepersonwitha problemwhichmus t besolved.Problemscanbeviewed
intermsoftwotypesofneeds:physical(suchasa needforfood)orpsychological(for
example,theneedtobeacceptedbyothers).
Althoughthedifferenceisa subtleone,thereissomebenefitin distinguishingbetween
needsandwants.Aneedisa basicdeficiencygivena particularessentialitem.Youneed
food,water,air,security,andsoforth.Awantis placingcertainpersonalcriteriaastohow
thatneedmustbefdfilled.Therefore,whenwearehungry,weoftenhavea specificfood
iteminmind.Consequently,a teenagerwilllamenttoa frustratedparentthatthereis noth-
ingtoeat,standinginfrontofa fullrefrigerator.Mostofmarketingis inthewant-fulfilling
business,nottheneed-fuifillingbusiness.Timexdoesn'twant youtobuyjustanywatch,
theywantyoutowanta Timexbrandwatch.Likewise, RalphLaurenwantsyoutowant
