What is Consumer Behaviour in Marketing – Consumer Psychology

Individuals’ steps and decisions while making purchases are known as consumer behaviour. The phenomenon of consumer behaviour can be identified in a series of steps, which include:

• Recognition of the needs or demands regarding a particular product
• Evaluating the necessary information
• Consideration of various substitutes for the product
• Selecting the product that satisfies the maximum needs of the consumer
• Further evaluation of the purchased product
• Repurchase of the product only after it can exceed the consumers’ expectations.
• If the product fails to perform, the consumer will immediately discard it, creating a negative image for the brand.

Consumer behaviour in marketing is essential in the business world. It helps companies understand the factors that influence consumers’ decisions about which goods or services to purchase. By analyzing customer behaviour, marketers can obtain valuable insights into the elements that drive purchasing decisions.

Understanding the factors that cause a change in consumers’ purchasing decisions enables companies to design campaigns that effectively target their target audience, create products, and implement marketing strategies that satisfy the needs of the consumers.

The degree of customer participation in a purchasing choice determines their buying behaviour. By observing the patterns displayed while purchasing a product, the types of consumer behaviour in marketing can be categorised into four important categories.

1. Habitual Buying Behaviour

When purchasing items for everyday use, people tend to purchase them without much consideration.

• Preferred choice of brand
• Easy availability in the local shops
• A frequently used brand
• The most important factor, i.e., the least expensive one.

When a customer rarely participates in the decision-making process, it is recognised as habitual buying behaviour.

2. Complex Buying Behaviour

When purchasing a costly product or one they are unfamiliar with, consumers respond somewhat differently.

Customers who purchase pricey products are more likely to indicate complex purchasing behaviour.

3. Variety-Seeking Buying Behaviour

Consumers who do not have a high level of engagement with a particular product or brand, tend to display a propensity to purchase products with a strong inclination toward variety.

Customers that exhibit this type of behaviour tend to have an increased purchase of a huge range of goods.

4. Dissonance Reducing Buying Behaviour

A lack of harmony is referred to as dissonance. Hence, when customers find it difficult to distinguish between brands during the purchase process, this behaviour is recognised as dissonance-reducing buying behaviour.

Customers experience dissonance when they think they will regret their choice since they have no preferred brand and none of the possibilities are appealing.

The pattern of consumer behaviour plays an important role in the dynamic business world as entrepreneurs can develop products after understanding the inclination of purchase of a consumer.

1. Evaluating the market

By studying consumer behaviour, you can assess consumer demands and wants that are not being met.

• Analysing the competitors’ product demand in the market
• Understanding the current competition in the market
• Understanding the preferences of the consumer
• Evaluating the financial capability of the consumer.

This critical evaluation might highlight the unfulfilled desires and demands and accordingly, the entrepreneurs could design the product.

2. Developing the product

After identifying unmet requirements and desires, the entrepreneur must choose the best combination of product, pricing, distribution, and marketing strategies that would reach the desired target audience.

3. Creating marketing strategies

Gaining in-depth knowledge about customer behaviour is essential as it helps in developing successful marketing tactics to attract the desired target audience.

4. Satisfying the Customers

Through a thorough understanding of consumer psychology and behaviour, companies may customise their offerings to fulfil the needs and desires of their target audience.

Businessmen may innovate and adapt marketing strategies to stay ahead of changing competition by regularly examining customer feedback and keeping an eye on emerging market trends.

While achieving the goal was very simple in the past, it has now become extremely difficult to sell a product since customers are inundated with a vast amount of information on the goods and services that are being provided.

The importance of consumer behaviour in marketing lies in the following points:

• Customer acquisition and retention are the primary goals of consumer behaviour. Customers will repurchase the same product if they are happy with it.
• Marketers may maximise revenue and develop effective marketing strategies by utilising the ideas and concepts of consumer behaviour.
• The ongoing pursuit of increasing an organisation’s success rate is mostly reliant on the innovation of its range of products or services.
• Conducting a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of customer behaviour is necessary to comprehend individual consumers’ unique variations of demands.

The application of consumer behaviour concepts is still necessary to be competitive, relevant, and inventive in today’s dynamic and ever-changing marketplace, where customer preferences are constantly changing, and fierce competition is instigating.

An effective marketing strategy’s foundation lies in its understanding of customer behaviour, which provides a crucial understanding of the complexities of human preferences, motives, and decision-making processes. Companies may customise their products, communications, and experiences to appeal to their target market by comprehending and utilising these insights. This will eventually increase consumer happiness, brand loyalty, and company success. Hence, To succeed in the upcoming years in the business world, companies must continue to be alert, flexible, and dedicated to comprehending and satisfying the changing requirements of the consumer by carefully understanding the concept of consumer behaviour in marketing. 

If you want to build your career in marketing, then you must have in-depth knowledge regarding consumer behaviour and other related phenomena that are responsible for the stable growth of the business. To learn more about the emerging trends in the business environment, you should consider enrolling in the Online Master of Business Administration course provided by Chandigarh University. The extensive curriculum is meant to provide you with the abilities and information required to succeed in the ever-changing field of marketing. Moreover, the course combines cutting-edge theories with real-world applications and is taught by esteemed faculty members and industry leaders. To know more, contact Jaro Education.