Internal Influences - Personality

Some marketers believe we choose products that express our personalities. Personality is defined as the thoughts, emotions, intentions and behavior that people express as they move through their environment. Personality is unique to individuals, but may be applied to groups, is a combination of characteristics and traits and influences purchasing behaviors. Marketers will use interviews and focus groups to understand personality and how it relates to the purchase of certain products.

The Five Factor Model Approach to personality identifies five core traits and how they manifest into behavior.

TRAIT	MANIFESTATION	PRODUCT / SERVICE
Extroversion	Prefer to be with others, talkative, bold, outgoing	Airline tickets, beer
Stability level	From even tempered to and moody and temperamental	Time share vacation home, fast sports car
Agreeableness	Kind, sympathetic, polite	Products that give money to charity
Openness to Experience	Imaginative, creative, open to new ideas	Art
Conscientiousness	Careful, precise, organized	Washing machine

Other personality traits that translate into consumer behavior purchases:

• Frugality—consumers restrain themselves and think heavily about purchases
• Impulsiveness—purchases are made without much thought beforehand
• Anxiety—a person with lots of anxiety may have more post-purchase dissonance and feel upset about purchases after they get them home
• Bargaining—some consumers prefer to bargain for purchases, it gives them a sense of control over their spending
• Vanity—taking excessive pride in one’s appearance and accomplishments
• Competence—being responsible and dependable
• Excitement—craving daring and spirited purchases
• Ruggedness—craving products that are tough and strong
• Sincerity—honest and genuine
• Sophistication—desiring products that are glamorous and prestigious

Value and Relationship Quality

Consumers choose goods and services based on the assumption that they will be rewarded with value and satisfaction. Consumption is the process by which goods and services are used and assigned a level of value by the consumer.

Quality + Price + Customer Service = Value and Satisfaction\

 That level could be positive, if the customer was satisfied, or it could be negative if they did not find any value in their purchase. Marketers have to provide the right combination of quality, price and customer service in order to give customers positive value and satisfaction. That will in turn create happy, loyal customers. The formula looks like this:

If a product/service is provided that has low quality, and a high price, that does not create a happy, satisfied customer. At the same time, having a great product at the best possible price means nothing if the customer is treated badly, or not provided with the opportunity to return unwanted items.

by Mkt Teachers

What is Consumer Behavior?

How many times throughout the day do people make product decisions? If you stop to think about it, many product decisions are made every day, some without much thought. What should I wear? What should I eat? What am I going to do today? Many product decisions are answered routinely every day and they help move the economy of cities, countries and ultimately the world.

Product decisions also shape life for the consumer. How can simple decisions be so important? Why do marketers spend millions of dollars to uncover the reasons behind these decisions?

To define consumer behavior: it is the study of consumers and the processes they use to choose, use (consume), and dispose of products and services. A more in depth definition will also include how that process impacts the world. Consumer behavior incorporates ideas from several sciences including psychology, biology, chemistry and economics.

"All marketing decisions are based on assumptions and knowledge of consumer behavior," (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh, 2007). 

 Researching consumer behavior is a complex process, but understanding consumer behavior is critical to marketers-they can use it to:

• Provide value and customer satisfaction.
• Effectively target customers.
• Enhance the value of the company.
• Improve products and services.
• Create a competitive advantage
• Understand how customers view their products versus their competitors' products.
• Expand the knowledge base in the field of marketing,
• Apply marketing strategies toward a positive affect on society (encourage people to support charities, promote healthy habits, reduce drug use etc.)

by Mkt Teachers