Consumer behaviour refers to how people make purchasing decisions based on different factors. These factors include the product specifications, the price, the customer service and other related aspects. It is basically the sum total of all the information that a consumer takes into consideration when making a decision and finally decides to purchase. This article highlights the various factors of buying behaviour that can help individuals make better decisions before buying products.
Research has shown that people who go into buying decisions with too much information end up getting ripped off. They end up getting duped by vendors who sell sub-standard or even fake products. On the other hand, people who make too little informed decisions end up not being helped by the products they buy. For example, a consumer may decide to purchase a DVD player on the basis of the price it has compared to others in the same category. However, the consumer may get duped into thinking that he will get a high quality product at a cheap price when in fact the DVD player has defects and that it will need a lot of maintenance in the future. Such examples help explain why the process of consumer buying behaviour needs to be thought out carefully.
Satisfaction is one of the key elements of customer buying behaviour. Satisfaction occurs when a person gets what he wants. A satisfied customer goes a long way in boosting the company’s reputation and as a consequence the company’s image also gets quite significant. Studies have shown that people generally like to do business with companies that they consider to be well reputed. Therefore, if a company’s reputation is built through good customer behaviour then it will be quite significant in ensuring that the company’s products are sold in large volumes.
Price is another factor of customer buying behaviour. As we have discussed above, consumers base their decisions on various factors. However, when deciding whether to purchase a particular product or not, most consumers do not take into account the retail store prices. If the price of the item is high or the quality low then consumers will likely choose the cheaper alternative. However, if the price of the item is high but the quality is high then the consumers will only go for the expensive item.
There is another element of customer buying behaviour, which is also important. Studies have revealed that most consumers base their decision to purchase from a particular retail store on the visual experience which is provided by the shop. If the customers are comfortable and the staff talk warmly and cheerfully with them, then this is an indication that the store is doing a great job and the consumer will visit that particular store again. Therefore, a store can build its reputation only through good customer experience.
In addition, most consumers buy according to various other factors that are not under their control. For instance, some consumers buy on special occasions and other types of holidays. Therefore, it is obvious that some consumers buy on these occasions and other types of holidays and seasons. When looking at the customer buying behaviour, one should not focus on the consumer behaviour of purchasing the product on special occasions, as this will likely be unprofitable in the long run.
Most of the studies on consumer buying behaviour have revealed that women are more rational than men when it comes to purchasing. Therefore, most of the consumer buying behaviours can be explained by the gender level of the consumer. Generally, women do not conduct as many comparisons as men when it comes to pricing or quality, thus they tend to base their purchase decisions on purely rational grounds.
Therefore, there are certain things which can be done by the management to increase the volume of sales: increase the quality and the price of the products; provide attractive and effective sales promotion and discounts and loyalty schemes and so on. A good manager should be able to identify which factors among various customers influencing the purchasing decisions are valid and which are not. In addition to that, the manager should also be able to adjust the purchasing behaviour of the different groups of customers depending on the varying demands and opportunities in the market. The key to achieving this goal would be to create an environment which is favorable for all the groupings of customers, including the groups that are more rational and the groupings which are not affected by the demand and competition.
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