Unit 9 P4 Consumer Behaviour Context
Consumption Behaviour Context
Why people buy Iphones People buy Iphone 's for many different reasons. Some of the common factors as to why people buy Iphones is because of premium quality, excellent performance, smooth operating software, designed to perfectly fit the palm of your hands, position in smart phone industry, excellent camera. External factors that affect consumers behaviour to purchase the Iphone are factors such as trends in society, friends/peers/ families owning the product, previous purchase experience with the same brand leading to satisfaction.
(Iphone consumer behaviour): Brand loyal customers make up a lot of the consumers of the Iphone. Some Consumers love to be the first ones to get their hands on the newest …show more content…
Iphone at the early stages of it 's product life cycle while others like to follow the trend that friends and peers are following. Another reason people tend to purchase Iphones is to fulfil psychological beliefs that they just have to buy it. A large portion of consumer 's are brought in by the excitement stemming from Apple ( the way they advertise the Iphone in commercials and in-store, the buzz caused by apple when they announce the newest edition of Iphone). All this adds up to make consumers all around the world curious as to what owning this product would feel like. A considerable portion of Iphone users are loyal to the brand because they have been with the company and bought other products like MAC, IPOD, IPAD and Apple allows for interconnection between the products resulting in their being incentives for users to buy the latest Iphone to connect with their other Apple products. These consumers have been sufficiently satisfied with products from Apple to want to continue to purchase products that they come out with to this day due to the level of satisfaction they received.
Apple has a very unique way of creating hype through the media and advertising of their products. Relating to the Iphone, they market it in such a way as to make the consumer absolutely want to purchase it. They show all kinds of up-to-date specifications, new additions which make this Iphone that much more superior to the previous Iphone (not to mention other smart phones on the market).
During their annual unveiling conferences (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference), they have a way of creating hype by leaving their newest releases until the end of the conference as to make it more dramatic. Some Consumer 's love to be among the first ones to buy the newest Iphone so much that they will spend the night prior to release standing in lines outside the stores. Reasoning behind the idea to purchase a product early in it 's product life cycle is that they want to have the prestige of being one of the first to own the product and to be able to brag to people who do not own the product. Opposite to the early purchasers are another group of consumers who follow the trend. This group follows whatever the majority of people (peers, friends and family, society) are into and want to fit in. They are influenced in their smart phone buying habits by psychological motives. The way that Apple advertises it 's products causes a lot of excitement and buzz.
For example, in advertisements they tend to show the newest Iphones in such a way that makes the user believe that it is indeed a new revolution in smart phone technology when in actuality it is a similar phone to it 's predecessor with a few technological/dimension upgrades. This causes a lot of people to buy it believing that they absolutely have to own it to be up to date with the advanced society we live in today. It has come to a point where if you own a phone that is more than a year since release you are considered to be living in the …show more content…
past.
Decision Making Process (Concepts)
Problem Recognition
“Problem recognition occurs when the consumer identifies a difference between how they are now and a desired state or an ideal state” (CB :buying having and being pp 266) .
This stage occurs when the consumer has identified that there is a problem, be it small or large. In the case of Iphones, the consumer runs into the first stage of the decision making process when one of the following 3 scenarios take place. The first scenario is when friends/peers/ society in general is going towards the trend of Iphones. In this scenario, consumers want to be socially accepted and “fit in” with the crowd and so they want to solve this problem and achieve the desired state to fit in with their friends. The second scenario is when the consumers current phone is unsatisfactory and they need to purchase a new phone. With the way Apple tends to advertise their products, the consumer is very likely to consider purchasing the Iphone at some point during their problem recognition stage of the decision making process. The third scenario is when there is a new Iphone being released. The consumer is convinced that the new Iphone will give them their desired/ideal state. This last scenario could be a blend of all three scenarios: friends and society might all be wanting to purchase this new release and their current phone could pale in comparison to the new
release.
Information Search
Once the consumer has come to the conclusion that there is a problem that needs to be resolved, the second stage, referred to as the “Information Search” begins. In this stage, the consumer must go through a process of identifying relevant data in their environment to help them make a reasonable decision. The types of information search, Prepurchase and Ongoing, are both relevant in the consumers information search to purchase the Iphone. A large section of consumers will tend to
undergo a prepurchase information search to help increase their knowledge of the product and market which in turn will help them make better choices in their purchase decision. These consumers want to make sure they know all there is to know before making a decision. The other type of information search, known as Ongoing, is conducted by veteran shoppers or in the case of Iphones it would be technically savvy people who like to keep up to date with the current technology/specifications in the smart phone market. This type of information research involves the consumer with the product rather than the purchase. The purpose is to build a pool of information which the consumer believes will help them in the future. Other reasons why consumers conduct ongoing product research is for entertainment purposes. In the smart phone industry, this would be people who like to be aware of the newest technologies in hardware, software, camera 's and such. The consumer 's prior expertise also plays a big role in determining how much information search will need to be conducted. If a consumer has previously owned an Iphone than they have a certain store of knowledge about the product from expeirience. These consumers are not as motivated to conduct a thorough information search prior to purchase because their previous purchase has led them to have an expertise in Iphone 's. The research they conduct is likely to be selective search which tends to focus on a specific area of the product which they have less knowledge of. The newer technical advancements on the new release is an example of information that they are less likely to know about so that would be their area of research. Sources that consumer 's use to gather their data include online websites, reliable youtube videos, and store employees. Another source is information gathered from friends/peers however this source information is more likely than the first 3 sources to contain bias due to personal preferences and beliefs.
Evaluation of Alternatives
The stage at which the consumer must make a choice between several products is the point where most of the effort must be used. In an age where every year there is new product advancements and technologies, consumers want to make the right choice which they will not end up regretting in the near future. Possible alternatives to the Iphone include products from their main competitor Samsung which tend to have products with specifications just as good as the Iphone (Galaxy series). Other main alternatives to the Iphone 's latest model (5s and 5c) include HTC One, Sony Xperia, Google Nexus 4, Blackberry Z10/Q10. Once the consumer has identified the possible alternatives, they must go through a process of narrowing down and carefully evaluate several alternatives. This step can involve setting weighted criteria for specifications of the phone, adding them all up, and evaluating which phone has the most points. Other methods include choosing a phone based on prior experience with company or choosing to go with the phone that will give them the ideal/desired state the consumer wishes to achieve based on factors like social image, trends, psychological determinants.
References
http://lbesone.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/iphone-5-craze/
http://behaviorchange.net/inside-mind-of-iphone-consumer/
Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being 5th Canadian edition by Solomon, Zaichkowsky, Polegato 2011 Pearson Toronto, Canada.
Why people buy Iphones People buy Iphone 's for many different reasons. Some of the common factors as to why people buy Iphones is because of premium quality, excellent performance, smooth operating software, designed to perfectly fit the palm of your hands, position in smart phone industry, excellent camera. External factors that affect consumers behaviour to purchase the Iphone are factors such as trends in society, friends/peers/ families owning the product, previous purchase experience with the same brand leading to satisfaction.
(Iphone consumer behaviour): Brand loyal customers make up a lot of the consumers of the Iphone. Some Consumers love to be the first ones to get their hands on the newest …show more content…
Iphone at the early stages of it 's product life cycle while others like to follow the trend that friends and peers are following. Another reason people tend to purchase Iphones is to fulfil psychological beliefs that they just have to buy it. A large portion of consumer 's are brought in by the excitement stemming from Apple ( the way they advertise the Iphone in commercials and in-store, the buzz caused by apple when they announce the newest edition of Iphone). All this adds up to make consumers all around the world curious as to what owning this product would feel like. A considerable portion of Iphone users are loyal to the brand because they have been with the company and bought other products like MAC, IPOD, IPAD and Apple allows for interconnection between the products resulting in their being incentives for users to buy the latest Iphone to connect with their other Apple products. These consumers have been sufficiently satisfied with products from Apple to want to continue to purchase products that they come out with to this day due to the level of satisfaction they received.
Apple has a very unique way of creating hype through the media and advertising of their products. Relating to the Iphone, they market it in such a way as to make the consumer absolutely want to purchase it. They show all kinds of up-to-date specifications, new additions which make this Iphone that much more superior to the previous Iphone (not to mention other smart phones on the market).
During their annual unveiling conferences (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference), they have a way of creating hype by leaving their newest releases until the end of the conference as to make it more dramatic. Some Consumer 's love to be among the first ones to buy the newest Iphone so much that they will spend the night prior to release standing in lines outside the stores. Reasoning behind the idea to purchase a product early in it 's product life cycle is that they want to have the prestige of being one of the first to own the product and to be able to brag to people who do not own the product. Opposite to the early purchasers are another group of consumers who follow the trend. This group follows whatever the majority of people (peers, friends and family, society) are into and want to fit in. They are influenced in their smart phone buying habits by psychological motives. The way that Apple advertises it 's products causes a lot of excitement and buzz.
For example, in advertisements they tend to show the newest Iphones in such a way that makes the user believe that it is indeed a new revolution in smart phone technology when in actuality it is a similar phone to it 's predecessor with a few technological/dimension upgrades. This causes a lot of people to buy it believing that they absolutely have to own it to be up to date with the advanced society we live in today. It has come to a point where if you own a phone that is more than a year since release you are considered to be living in the …show more content…
past.
Decision Making Process (Concepts)
Problem Recognition
“Problem recognition occurs when the consumer identifies a difference between how they are now and a desired state or an ideal state” (CB :buying having and being pp 266) .
This stage occurs when the consumer has identified that there is a problem, be it small or large. In the case of Iphones, the consumer runs into the first stage of the decision making process when one of the following 3 scenarios take place. The first scenario is when friends/peers/ society in general is going towards the trend of Iphones. In this scenario, consumers want to be socially accepted and “fit in” with the crowd and so they want to solve this problem and achieve the desired state to fit in with their friends. The second scenario is when the consumers current phone is unsatisfactory and they need to purchase a new phone. With the way Apple tends to advertise their products, the consumer is very likely to consider purchasing the Iphone at some point during their problem recognition stage of the decision making process. The third scenario is when there is a new Iphone being released. The consumer is convinced that the new Iphone will give them their desired/ideal state. This last scenario could be a blend of all three scenarios: friends and society might all be wanting to purchase this new release and their current phone could pale in comparison to the new
release.
Information Search
Once the consumer has come to the conclusion that there is a problem that needs to be resolved, the second stage, referred to as the “Information Search” begins. In this stage, the consumer must go through a process of identifying relevant data in their environment to help them make a reasonable decision. The types of information search, Prepurchase and Ongoing, are both relevant in the consumers information search to purchase the Iphone. A large section of consumers will tend to
undergo a prepurchase information search to help increase their knowledge of the product and market which in turn will help them make better choices in their purchase decision. These consumers want to make sure they know all there is to know before making a decision. The other type of information search, known as Ongoing, is conducted by veteran shoppers or in the case of Iphones it would be technically savvy people who like to keep up to date with the current technology/specifications in the smart phone market. This type of information research involves the consumer with the product rather than the purchase. The purpose is to build a pool of information which the consumer believes will help them in the future. Other reasons why consumers conduct ongoing product research is for entertainment purposes. In the smart phone industry, this would be people who like to be aware of the newest technologies in hardware, software, camera 's and such. The consumer 's prior expertise also plays a big role in determining how much information search will need to be conducted. If a consumer has previously owned an Iphone than they have a certain store of knowledge about the product from expeirience. These consumers are not as motivated to conduct a thorough information search prior to purchase because their previous purchase has led them to have an expertise in Iphone 's. The research they conduct is likely to be selective search which tends to focus on a specific area of the product which they have less knowledge of. The newer technical advancements on the new release is an example of information that they are less likely to know about so that would be their area of research. Sources that consumer 's use to gather their data include online websites, reliable youtube videos, and store employees. Another source is information gathered from friends/peers however this source information is more likely than the first 3 sources to contain bias due to personal preferences and beliefs.
Evaluation of Alternatives
The stage at which the consumer must make a choice between several products is the point where most of the effort must be used. In an age where every year there is new product advancements and technologies, consumers want to make the right choice which they will not end up regretting in the near future. Possible alternatives to the Iphone include products from their main competitor Samsung which tend to have products with specifications just as good as the Iphone (Galaxy series). Other main alternatives to the Iphone 's latest model (5s and 5c) include HTC One, Sony Xperia, Google Nexus 4, Blackberry Z10/Q10. Once the consumer has identified the possible alternatives, they must go through a process of narrowing down and carefully evaluate several alternatives. This step can involve setting weighted criteria for specifications of the phone, adding them all up, and evaluating which phone has the most points. Other methods include choosing a phone based on prior experience with company or choosing to go with the phone that will give them the ideal/desired state the consumer wishes to achieve based on factors like social image, trends, psychological determinants.
References
http://lbesone.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/iphone-5-craze/
http://behaviorchange.net/inside-mind-of-iphone-consumer/
Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being 5th Canadian edition by Solomon, Zaichkowsky, Polegato 2011 Pearson Toronto, Canada.