Influences On Consumer Buying Behaviour Marketing Essay

Principles – your unit 4. The case presents a scenario that reflects on the illustration of the concept and process of marketing from which you are required to elaborate further. You are required to use theoretical and practical arguments discussed in the unit. Your elaboration should provide evidence for learning outcomes 1 and 2 and their relevant assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 respectively.

Scenario

Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying the customers’ needs and wants. Critics, however, maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before. According to these critics, marketers encourages consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services the really do not need.

Task

Using the scenario above, you are required to do the following:

Explain the various elements of the marketing process (1.1)

Evaluate the benefits and costs of a marketing orientation for a selected organisation (1.2)

Show macro and micro environmental factors which influence marketing decisions (2.1)

Propose segmentation on criteria to be used for products in different markets (2.2)

Choose a targeting strategy for a selected product/service (2.3)

Demonstrate how a buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in different buying situations (2.4)

Propose new positions for a selected product/service (2.5)

1. (1.1)

Marketing is defined in many different ways but all of them have the same goal.

Marketing is about indentifying and meeting human and social needs and wants, anticipating and satisfying customers profitably.

Marketing elements:

Needs are basic human requirements as physical, social and individual.

Wants are needs when they are directed at specific objects that will satisfy the need, they are shaped by society and steer purchasing decisions.

Value and satisfaction it is an organisational function and a set of processes for creating, indentifying, communicating and delivering to customer relationships in ways that benefit and satisfy the customer.

Demands are wants for specific products backed by the ability to pay.

Offering are a set of benefits that companies offer to customers to satisfy their needs.

Brand is defined from one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

Supply chain is a system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer. In sophisticated supply chain systems, used products may re-enter the supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable.

Marketing Channels are aimed at reaching the target market through three kinds of marketing channels:

Communicating channels delivering and receiving messages from target buyers (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, mail, telephone, posters, etc.) Firms communicate through the look of their retail stores, the appearance of their websites, etc. Marketers are increasingly using dialogue channels such as e-mails, blogs and free phone numbers.

Distribution channels displaying, selling or delivering the physical product or service to the buyer (distributors, wholesalers, retailers, agents.)

Service channels are carrying out transactions with potential buyers (warehouse, transportation companies, banks and insurance companies.)

Competition includes all the actual and potential rival offerings and substitutes a buyer might consider.

2. (1.2)

Anthea Letting’s is a highly successful letting agency with properties throughout the North London area. Anthea Letting’s mainly operate in the Haringey, Barnet, Islington, Camden, Hackney and most of North London Boroughs.

The professional and enthusiastic staffs have over 20 years combined experience offering sales, lettings, management, maintenance, renovations and conversions of properties. The agency is constantly acquiring new properties for their needs and offers various services to Landlords from Management to Guarantee Rents. Property Management is an area of expertise which drives the success of the organization. Landlords are confident that their properties are in safe and trustworthy hands. The main objective is to offer a pleasant environment for all to live and co-habit that meets a high standard and offer a safe environment.

Landlords are guaranteed rental incomes and offered full management including maintenance and services.

Tenants let fully furnished flats and houses throughout the North London area.

For safety, all managed properties are CORGI gas safety certificated, and inspected for electrical safety and furniture fire safety.

The main objective is to offer affordable accommodation with long term tenancies that could only be achieved by creating a pleasant living environment, offering value and satisfaction with affordable and realistic rents.

All properties are assessed for fair rents with the Local Rent Services and fully comply with Environmental and Health and Safety Regulations.

The aim is to cover the needs of Local Communities thus working closely with the Local Authorities in order to meet their needs.

3. (2.1)

The Marketing decisions are influenced by two major factors:

External environment-Macro environment

Internal environment-Micro environment

Macro forces: Political, Economic, Social and Technological

Micro forces: Customers, Competitors, Distributors, Local Communities, Trading Partners, Shareholders, Directors, Managers, Employees, Planning, Activities, Banks, Suppliers, National Government, Law and social practice, Media.

4. (2.2)

I have identified that there is a need of accommodation for people who are receiving housing benefits from the government.

I’m proposing to divide the market into demographic and psychographic segments and offer this service based on different criteria.

Identifiable – It sets apart from overall market.

Recognizable – Recognition among organisations.

Profitable – Being able to achieve our goal.

Accessible – Easy to reach.

Measurable – Knowing the size of the segment before and during service.

Reliable and stable – Proven cooperation with Local Housing Association.

Sustainable – Offering long term accommodation.

The segment projects the company image and objectives and offers this service to the targeted market.

5. (2.3)

To reach the target market the company is using different communication channels such as: Local radio, E-mail, Newspapers, Magazines, Mail and Telephone, Posters and small adverts in local shops, listing the services in Local Housing Association office but also through the look of the agency office and website.

6. (2.4)

There are four types of buying behaviour:

Complex Buying Behaviour – Many

Variety Seeking Behaviour – Many

Habitat Buying Behaviour – Few

Dissonance Buying Behaviour – Few

http://www.grin.com/object/document.183448/16704a2a41b1d200b337f71a1aaf5f2f_LARGE.png

It is said that today’s wants are tomorrow’s needs and a great deal of marketing effort has been put into trying to make this the case where buyers are concerned.

Also it can be said that if the behaviour is not understood, marketers are unlikely to be successful in reaching their objective and overcoming conflict.

Influences on Consumer Buying Behaviour:

Cultural, Social, Personal and Psychological.

Cultural influences

Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behaviour. Growing up, children learn basic values, perception and wants from the family and other important groups.

Marketing are always trying to spot “cultural shifts” which might point to new products that might be wanted by customers or to increased demand. For example, the cultural shift towards greater concern about health and fitness has created opportunities (and now industries) servicing customers who wish to buy:

• Low calorie foods

• Health club memberships

• Exercise equipment

• Activity or health-related holidays etc.

Each culture contains “sub-cultures” – groups of people with share values. Sub-cultures can include nationalities, religions, racial groups, or groups of people sharing the same geographical location. Sometimes a sub-culture will create a substantial and distinctive market segment of its own.

For example, the “youth culture” or “club culture” has quite distinct values and buying characteristics from the much older “gray generation”

In the UK’s socioeconomic classification scheme, social class is not just determined by income. It is measured as a combination of occupation, income, education, wealth and other variables:

Class name

Social Status

Occupational Head of Household

% of UK Population

A

Upper middle

Higher managerial, administrative or professional

3

B

Middle

Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

14

C1

Lower middle

Superiors or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional

27

C2

Skilled working

Skilled manual workers

25

D

Working

Semi-skilled and un-skilled manual workers

19

E

Those at lowest level of subsistence

State pensioners or widows, casual or lower-grade workers

12

Author: Jim Riley  Last updated: Sunday 23 September, 2012

Social Influences

Consumers are communicating more than ever online and making more of their choices based on the opinions of others – sometimes friends, family, and reference groups sometimes experts and sometimes complete strangers. The individual status and role of the buyer is also influence. The way we want others to see us;

Personal Influences

Personality

Lifestyle

Lifecycle and age.

Physiological needs.

Esteem and status.

Self actualization.

Beliefs and attitudes.

Psychological Influences

It is difficult if not impossible to plan marketing activities without some understanding of how ordinary people behave when they are in the marketplace as consumers and as customers.

There are two theoretical theories on the nature of needs as influence behaviour:

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Is represented in a hierarchical pyramid with five levels. The four levels (lower-order needs) are considered physiological needs, while the top level is considered growth needs. The lower level needs need to be satisfied before higher-order needs can influence behaviour. (see figure)

Ultimate satisfactionhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png

Basic Needs

Hertzberg’s two factor theory. It represents the Hygiene factors (also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction) and cannot be regarded as motivators. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. And Motivational factors also called as satisfiers. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit.

Different Market situations:

Extended problem solving: provide information rich marketing mix, salesman should adopt problem solution approach to selling.

Limited problem solving: Non brand aligned customers should be stimulated to conduct a search. If already buying the brand then the offer of a warranty should be used to reduce the risk of brand switching.

Habitual problem solving: Repetitive advertisements are used to reinforce the already favourable attitudes.

6. (2.5)

Positioning is the act of designing an offer so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the mind of the target customer (Kotler)

Anthea Lettings is positioning its services in the mind of customers with psychological needs, offering long term tenancies, value and satisfaction with affordable and realistic rents and filling up the gap in the market.