102 CHAPTER5ANALYZINGCONSUMERMARKETS ANDBUYERBEHAVIOR
think about introducing a new, refillable bottle fragrance line. This is a more creative,
satisfying response to an element that could potentially cause dissatisfaction among
buyers.
Just as firms that target consumers must understand how and why consumers
buy, those that target businesses and other organizations must be aware of the differ-
ences between consumer and business buying behaviors and the way that businesses
make buying decisions. These topics are covered in the next chapter.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Before developing their marketing plans, marketers need to use both rigorous scien-
tific procedures and more intuitive methods to study consumer behavior, which is influ-
enced by four factors: cultural (culture, subculture, and social class), social (reference
groups, family, and social roles and statuses), personal (age, stage in the life cycle, occu-
pation, economic circumstances, lifestyle, personality, and self-concept), and psycho-
logical (motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes). Research into all of
these factors can provide clues as to how to reach and serve consumers more effectively.
To understand how consumers actually make their buying decisions, marketers
must identify who makes and influences the buying decision. People can be initiators,
influencers, deciders, buyers, or users, and different marketing campaigns might be
targeted to each type of person. Marketers must also examine buyers’ levels of involve-
ment and the number of brands available to determine whether consumers are engag-
ing in complex buying behavior, dissonance-reducing buying behavior, habitual buy-
ing behavior, or variety-seeking buying behavior.
The five-stage consumer buying process consists of problem recognition, infor-
mation search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and postpurchase behav-
ior. The marketer’s job is to understand the buyer’s behavior at each stage and whatFigure 3-4 How Consumers Use or Dispose of Products