Buying Behaviors

Unit 3

Professional Selling

MK:014

Explain factors that influence

buying behavior

INTRODUCTION

Whether we realize it or not, all of our buying decisions are influenced by a number of factors, many of them beyond our control. Marketers are very concerned with understanding buying behavior—both for individual customers and for business customers—so that they can successfully create and promote products.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Buying decisions start with a need or a want that results from a person recognizing a difference between the state s/he is in and the state s/he wants to be in.

When it comes to buying behavior, consumers tend to meet their needs in an organized way.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Buying Behavior

Consumers will meet their most basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) before addressing higher order needs (social belonging, achievement, self-fulfillment, etc.).

Every consumer goes through a similar process when responding to needs and wants.

1. Recognize a need.

2. Assess options.

3. Narrow options.

4. Make decision.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Buying Behavior

Cultural Influences

A person’s culture tends to shape her/his system of values, traditions, and preferences.

Marketers also take subcultures (often based on ethnicity, religion, or geographic location) into account when creating and promoting products.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Perhaps the most influential factors that guide consumers’ buying behavior are cultural.

Although a culture’s norms and tastes may change over time, its core values tend to stay the same.

Social and Personal Influences

Final consumers belong to many social groups in addition to their families.

These membership groups include associations at school, religious institutions, neighborhoods, and friend groups.

Reference groups are those that a consumer is not a part of but can still influence buying behavior.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Social interactions also have a strong effect on purchasing decisions.

Social and Personal Influences

Consumers don’t buy a product that they fear will make them appear to be in a group they do not want to be associated with.

Opinion leaders are people consumers want to emulate. These role models might be athletes, musicians, actors, or other types of celebrities.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Consumers may make purchases that show they aspire to be a member of a certain group.

Personal, Psychological, and
Situational Influences

� Age, gender, stage of life

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

� Occupation, discretionary income

� Personality, lifestyle

Even consumers who belong to the same culture, subculture, and social groups are still unique individuals.

Every consumer view’s the world through the lens of her/his own perceptions.

This personal picture of the world guides how people make sense of the stimuli they receive.

Information that is received through one of the five senses is then interpreted based on a person’s expectations, beliefs, and attitudes.

Personal factors that affect buying behavior include:

Personal, Psychological, and
Situational Influences

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

• Psychological factors

� Perception, beliefs, attitudes

Psychological influences such as motivation, learning, and perception are all of great interest to marketers.

Consumers’ buying decisions aren’t based on an objective reality, but rather on their own, individual reality.

Personal, Psychological, and
Situational Influences

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

• Situational factors

� Special occasions

� Promotions/Sales

Specific situations can also override some of the more dominant influences on buying behavior such as culture or personality.

People might spend more extravagantly on a birthday weekend, for example.
Promotions or sales can also create situational influences that affect buying behavior as well.

Business Buying Behavior

Businesses tend to buy more technical products and in larger quantities than do final consumers.

There is very little “impulse buying” in business purchases, so promotions and sales are not as important.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Marketers know that they have to approach B2B marketing differently than they approach marketing to final consumers.

Business Buying Behavior

The relationships between a professional buyer and a salesperson can last years and are less dependent on short-term interactions.

Distribution channels are typically much shorter in business buying, and there is more competitive bidding for contracts and price negotiation.

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Business Buying Influences

Examples of external influences on business buying behavior include:

� The economy

� Politics/Laws and regulations

� Competition

� Technology

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior

Business buying behavior is highly dependent on the environment surrounding the purchase.

Business Buying Influences

Some internal factors can also influence buying behavior for businesses, such as:

� Business Size and structure

� Business Policies and procedures

MK:014 Explain factors that influence buying behavior