Buyer Behaviour:  “Culture” is a Money Making Scam


 


Today’s market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all vying for consumer’s loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be successful. Strategies are carefully planned and executed to gain the ultimate goal of all: company growth. However, external factors are not the only elements which influence growth. There are also internal factors, components working within the organization which shape the direction of the company.


 


Despite the economic and technological conditions that make it possible now to promote products and services in a larger consumer market, there are other factors that still need to be considered for a business organization reach out easier to their target market. Looking into the characteristics and thought processes of the people still holds as the most significant factor to be looked into by the individuals in the field of sales and marketing. The large scope of market can pose a hindrance to a successful marketing strategy in terms of over generalized definition of the target or niche market.


 


According to  and  (2001), consumer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the individuals and households who buy the goods and services for personal consumption. Consumers around the world are different in various factors such as age, income, education level and preferences which may affect the way they avail of goods and services. This behaviour then impacts how products and services are presented to the different consumer markets. There are many components which influence consumer behaviour namely: cultural, social, personal and psychological ( & , 2001). These characteristics cannot be controlled by the companies; therefore, there is a need to assess these elements in order to create an effective marketing plan.


 


For the business people and the people in the field of advertising and marketing, the product or service being offered could be a good start in planning and executing an effective campaign. Knowing the product and its demands in the market as well as the people who will likely avail and take advantage of the offer will open the possibilities for a campaign that will be most ideal in the market. The manufacturers and the advertisers should be conscious enough to know the characteristics of their product and its demand. There are products and services that are only utilized in a particular location because of the unique lifestyle of the people. The character of the product, if properly studied, could be made and taken as an advantage rather than a drawback in gaining a larger number of target market. The advertisers especially the people in the creative department should answer to such demands in the advertising industry. 


 


In this age of globalization and information technology, deciding which brand to choose can be a problem. Competition is evident and intense, and the marketing and management divisions of corporations are surely giving everything they can to establish their brands. A fine and well-advertised brand might have a competitive edge from a lesser exposed brand name. But then, a lesser known brand can also have an edge over price, given that they cost less than known brands. However, in the end, the decision still lies within the consumers.


 


In today’s business world, the value and importance of customers is not something that should be set aside by companies. Marketing plans and strategies would be incomplete without paying much consideration to the customers. Customers will always be a part of the agenda in any marketing plan of any company. Because of the implications for profitability and growth, customer retention is potentially one of the most powerful weapons that companies can employ in their fight to gain a strategic advantage and survive in today’s ever increasing competitive environment (, 1999).


 


Consumers can either be subjective or objective, testing the persuasiveness of brand names. Retail stores selling the products also play an important role in swaying the decisions of consumers. The whole package or visual appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales ladies or the clerks. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers’ personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (, 2002). These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behaviour. They have been the subject of consumer research for years, for instance, linking them with customer service and customer satisfaction, or the efficacy and persuasiveness of advertisement, etc.


 


According to the : “Consumers purchase products and services for the benefits derived from their use. While the study of economics focuses on outcomes, consumer behaviour emphasizes the process. Rather than assuming perfect conditions, researchers of consumer behaviour explicitly recognize the impact of situational elements on behaviour and the variance among individuals faced with the same conditions” which means that consumers buy products for the benefits they reap out of it, the study of consumer behaviour investigates the steps, or the processes involved regarding the decisions made by the consumer. Most consumers regard the purchase of real estate to be ‘high involvement goods’ that require complex decision-making,’ in purchasing real estate, such as houses, apartments or units,  consumers usually go through three key processes before they consider buying, and these are: information search, evaluation of alternatives and decision rules.


 


,  and , emphasized that “consumer behaviour is best understood as problem-solving behaviour.” Consumer behaviour is related to certain motivational behaviors that are aimed towards attaining a certain goal at the end. Goals, according to developmental psychologists are “cognitive representations of desired-end status which serve as standards in the control of behaviour. Research on sensation and perception, attention, categorization, inference making, information search, memory, attitude and behaviour, attitude formation and formation, conditioning and satisfaction have been undertaken to understand consumer behaviour. In the area of sensation and perception and attention, most works are confined primarily to visual or auditory processes. Among the studies on this area include those of  and  (1994) who examined attention to packages on store shelves, as measured by eye fixations.


 


Based on the integrated model, culture influences behaviour through its manifestations: values, heroes, rituals, and symbols ( and , 2001). The combination of both etic and emic perspective on the manifestations can basically reveal culture’s strong relation with customer behaviour. The etic philosophy is based on the definition of culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another’’ (, 1997). On the other hand, the emic philosophy stresses upon understanding issues from the perspective of the subjects being studied ( and , 2001). As cited from  (1988), this philosophy determines the coordinates of social action and productive activity, specifying the behaviours and objects that issue from both.


 


Values are basically the basis of one’s attitude or restriction in attitude. Some examples of values include freedom, pleasure, inner harmony, and happiness. Heroes, on the other hand, refer to icons in the society that may have an impact on people of different levels. Examples of heroes are sports figure or pop culture figures.  and  (2001) stated that heroes may influence consumer behaviour through their association with certain products and brands. The same goes with rituals, or symbolic activities commonly performed over and over, such as bathing, tooth brushing, attending to mass, to school, etc. Their involvement on the consumption of consumer products makes them important for consumer behaviour. Finally, symbols are equally important because different cultures have different symbols that they favor i.e. language, logos, signs, etc ( and , 2001).


 


Meanwhile, of all the components of a marketing plan, the most essential of all these elements, but most often the most overlooked is the definition of the target market. And yet, no one can proceed to a communication plan without answering the question of who do the company have to convince to buy the product or service. Market segmentation is the identification of sub-groups within the total market that the company wants to target. This fully recognizes that buyers of any product or service category need, desire, want and expect different performance characteristics from products or services in the category. It helps the company to position the product properly and prepare marketing strategies to satisfy a more focused range of consumer needs and wants. Furthermore, it is also a factor in effectively using limited marketing resources, identifying unique market niches, improving profitability and helping to retain consumer loyalty.


 


Companies now face the challenge of making its target consumers respond accordingly to their marketing efforts. Those who understand its consumers’ responses will have a great competitive advantage. The starting point towards this is through the stimulus-response model of buyer behaviour which involves examining the marketing and other stimuli in the consumer’s black box that translates into buyer responses ( & , 2001). Marketing stimuli often consist of the four P’s of marketing: product, price, place and promotion while the other stimuli may include economic, technological, political and cultural factors which exist in the marketing environment. All marketing communications should be directed to a particular target. This aspect suggests that in implementing marketing communication, the company should clearly identify the targeted constituents and stakeholders, or to whom the marketing communication strategy should be directed ( and , 2002). The purpose of this aspect is for the company to create or apply communication instruments that will encourage the market to purchase or patronize the product.


 


It is always important to know the characteristics and nature of the products and services offered by any advertising campaign because this will guarantee the success of the marketing strategy. But knowing the product alone can be detrimental in any marketing plan if the advertisers and the manufacturers themselves have no idea of the new target market they are trying to penetrate. The fact that there are really products and services that cannot be applied or utilized in a particular country should be a constant thought and reminder to the advertisers and business organization with plans of gaining entrance and share of clients and consumers. The services and products should be correctly classified as to whether they will be sellable in the new market. The lifestyle and daily routines of the people in the new target market should be likewise considered to ensure that the products and services offered will be able to enter the new market in a different locality. Conducting researches and market studies on the purchasing power and the consumer behaviour of these people will benefit the business organization to conceptualize, transmit and channel the correct advertising message to the target. Hopefully, this will eventually attract the interest of the target audience and gain their loyalty to the product or service being made available to them.


 


             The products or services should always be in synch with the tastes, lifestyle, economic status and purchasing power of the prospect foreign target market.  If the contrary of the case, it may also worthy to consider the time frame in which the marketing strategy and advertising plan will be duly employed and utilized in a foreign locality with different cultural orientation. Time is also the factor to be considered in conceptualizing and contextualizing a product or service innovation as well as its launching or introduction in the market. Even though the concept of the strategy is a standardized advertising campaign, the people who will be responsible in executing the said project should be sensitive enough to investigate on the local environment. The same advertising campaign does not necessarily mean that the strategy, plans and approached that will be utilized is similar. Too much generalization about a locality and the people who will be the target of the campaign may post danger on the success of the project. It is important to get close to the audience by knowing their culture.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


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