Most successful companies have adopted the basic philosophy of the marketing concept: "satisfy your consumer needs and wants to make profits". To do so, one must understand his customer, and his attitude should be reflected by the whole organisational set up of the company. Sophisticated consumer behaviour research is a prerequisite of such comportment.
What is consumer behaviour?
= thoughts and feelings people experience and the actions they perform in consumption processes. It also includes all the things in the environment that influence these thoughts, feelings, and actions consumer behaviour is therefore dynamic, involves interaction, and involves exchanges:
Consumer Behaviour is dynamic
because thinking, feelings and actions of consumers are constantly changing (e.g. think of effect of the internet on information searching behaviour) consumer research must keep up with this development
Consumer Behaviour involves interaction
among peoples thinking, feelings, actions, and the environment. The more marketers know about these interactions, the better they can satisfy the consumer
Consumer behaviour involves exchanges
mostly between customers and sellers. Marketing's role is to help create exchanges by formulation and implementing marketing strategies.
Approaches to Consumer Behaviour Research
Consumer behaviour is a complex field. The three major approaches to study are shown in exhibit 1. All of the approaches are (of course;) valuable. We focus, however, on the traditional one.
Uses of Consumer Behaviour Research
Three groups use the knowledge:
Consumer Behaviour's Role in Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy = design, implementation, and control of a plan to influence exchanges to achieve organizational objectives. involves developing and presenting marketing stimuli directed at selected target markets to influence