Understanding consumer behaviour in markets

The failure or success in any business is dependable upon the behaviour of the end-user or consumer who finally uses the product or any services. This is again vital not only to the producer of the final goods but also the intermediaries who play a major role in carrying the product from initial level to the final level i.e. from the manufacturer to the consumer. Of course the final player in the channel is important to a consumer but the business of all the intermediaries gets affected. The understanding of consumer behaviour helps in identifying the weak points and also reflects the positive aspect of any business.
It is the behaviour of the consumer which impacts their decision to purchase or not purchase the product. Depending on their decision and their usage, an organization decides which products to manufacture and to continue. The positioning of the product is dependant on the consumption of the product and this behaviour of consumers may be related to any kind of products or services. The consumer behaviour also reflects the trends in the national growth and economy.

The study by Engel has revealed certain basic facts based on which he designed four models to ascertain consumer behaviour.

It was found out in the study that the purchases made by consumers are mainly to satiate their demands and to solve the underlying problem. If a consumer purchases a product in order to fulfill his basic need, it can be said the purchase was necessity-driven and it can be analyzed from this aspect as to what motivates or drives a consumer to purchase a product. If a consumer does an impulse purchase, he does it without any preconceived notion or well-thought over buying of a product. The product in this case seems to be so attractive or beneficial to a consumer that he immediately buys the product. So, this makes us understand that a product should have certain unique attributes to lure the customer. In some of the product categories, there are a number of options to choose from and it becomes difficult for the customer to reach a certain decision. Also it is difficult for the seller to sell his product as he needs to convince a lot by paying thrust on his product as against his competitors.

Now, let us understand how the behaviour of consumer affects a marketer or what are the benefits of understanding consumer behaviour.

•It helps the marketer to take vital decisions with respect to designing of future marketing strategies. What kind of promotional offers or marketing campaigns need to be undertaken.
•Whether the marketer should stick to the same product, extend the product portfolio, or probably launch a new product. If consumers prefer a particular brand and make the purchase and the consumption of the same their regular habit, it is time that the marketer should think of improving upon a brand or come out with a different product. Many times, the need calls for a niche marketing.
•It also helps an organization to reinstate the corporate policies or take action to reframe the corporate mission statement.
•The consumer behaviour also has effects on the entire social network which again helps an organization to target a specific audience or set of customers.
•The behaviour of consumers gives the nation a different face, either good or bad.
•Also helps in scheduling of events, for example, any product launch or any advertising campaign.
•The consumer behaviour also is related to cultural attributes. If a product suits a particular cross-section of culture, the marketer can think of extending his products to international arena and across different cultures.

Above all, the study of consumer behaviour helps a marketer to identify or define the basic P’s of marketing and the marketing mix.

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