82 CHAPTER 4 UNDERSTANDINGBUYERBEHAVIOR
InfluencingFactorsofConsumerBehavior
Whilethedecision-makingprocessappearsquitestandardized, notwopeoplemakea deci-
sion inexactlythesameway.Asindividuals,wehaveinheritedandlearneda greatmany
behavioraltendencies:somecontrollable,somebeyondourcontrol.Further,thewaysin
whichallthesefactorsinteractwithoneanotherensuresuniqueness.Althoughit is impos-
siblefora marketertoreac~totheparticularprofileofa singleconsumer,it ispossibleto
identifyfactorsthattendtoinfluencemostconsumersinpredictableways
Thefactor~thatinfluencetheconsumerproblem-solvingprocessarenumerousand
complex.Forexample,theneedsofmenandwomenaredifferentinrespecttocosmetics;
theextentofinfonnationsearchfora low-incomepersonwouldbemuchgreaterwhencon-
sideringa newau::omobile3.:>opposedtoa loafofbread;a consumerwithextensivepast
purchasingexperiencein8.productcategorymightwellapproachtheproblemdifferently
fromonewithnoexperience.Suchinfluencesmustbeunderstoodtodrawrealisticcon-
clusionsaboutconsumerbehavior.
Forpurpose;;ofdiscussion,it maybehelpfultogroupthesevariousinfluencesinto
relatedsets.Figure4.2providesSucha framework.Situational,external,andinternalinflu-
encesareshownashavinganimpactontheconsumerproblemsolvingprocess.Situation
influencesincludetheconsumer'simmediatebuyingtask,themarketofferingsthatareavail-
abletotheconsumer,anddemographictraits.Internalinfluencesrelatetotheconsumer's
learningandsocialization,motivationandpersonality,ane:lifestyle.Externalinfluencesdeal
withfactorsoutsidetheindividualthathavea strongbearingonpersonalbehaviors.Cur-
rentpurchasebehavioris~hownasinfluencingfuturebehaviorthroughtheinternalinflu-
enceoflearning.Letusnowtumtothenatureandpote~tialimpactofeachofthesesets
ofinfluencesonconsumerproblemsolving.Figure4.2focusesonthespecificelements
thatinfluencetheconsumer's decisiontopurchaseandevaluateproductsandservices.
SituationalInfluences
BuyingTask Thenatureof:hebuyingtaskhasconsiderableimpactona customer's
approachtosolvinga particularproblem.Whena decisioninvolvesa low-costitemthatis
SI TUATIONALINFLUENCES
E
- Marketofferings
- Demographics
- Complexity
XTERNAL INFLUENCES INTERNALFACTORS ANDPROCESSES
Cultural Psychological DecisionMaking
Socialclass Characteristics - Recognizeneeds
Reference groups Motivation - Searchfor
- Learning/socialization information
- Personality - Evaluatealternatives
- Attitudes - Makepurchase
- Lifestyle - Postpurchase
Experience
IPurchaseandEvaluationI
FIGURE4.2 Amodelofconsumer
