The study of consumer behaviour can be complicated and cover a broad spectrum of niches with proper research. In this cut-throat competitive market, understanding customers and their buying patterns has become a significant element of the marketing strategy. Every organisation should understand the pivotal factors that have an influence on consumer behaviour. According to Markets and Markets research and prediction, the consumer analytics and behaviour market will be worth 24.2 billion USD by 2025.
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What is Customer Behaviour?
Customer behaviour is the study and analysis of individuals, customers, and organisations and their behaviour concerning a particular item or product. These studies & analyses include how customers decide to buy a product, factors that influence the purchase, needs or demands, and other aspects that drive consumers to buy a product. Customer behaviour plays a vital role for the marketing team because this analysis helps the marketers understand the customers’ expectations.
Such a study can readily help marketers gauge their potential customers and make them apprehend the likes and dislikes of customers, their discount expectations, price range, etc. There are different ways through which we can collect consumer behaviour data. Some tools and platforms are Q&A sites, surveys, Google Analytics, keyword research, competitors’ analysis, government data, Google trends, blog comments, social media posts, likes, ratings, etc. Since we have understood the theory of consumer behaviour, let us now turn our attention to the various aspects that a marketer can learn from the study of consumer behaviour.
What does the study of consumer behaviour change include?
The study of consumer behaviour change looks for facts, such as:
- How does the consumer reason and decide between multiple options?
- What and how do consumers think while choosing between multiple alternatives (services, brands, or products)?
- What aspects exert influence on consumer behaviour?
- What behaviour do customers show while shopping or researching a particular brand or product?
- What environmental factors (media, trends, culture, etc.) have influenced customer behaviour?
- How can an organisation enhance the marketing campaign to influence the customers effectively?
What are the prominent factors that have an influence on customer behaviour?
Every customer displays a different attitude towards buying a product. Marketers should understand all or most of these factors that influence customer behaviour.
1. Social factors: Humans are social beings. They live around family, friends, colleagues, and other peers, which often present an influence on consumers’ behaviour. It is common human nature to imitate other humans and remain social so society can accept them. That is why consumers’ surroundings often significantly influence their purchasing decisions. Family is one of the main factors.. Some other social elements that impact human beings are:
- Friends and colleagues
- Roles and status
- Reference groups
2. Psychological factors: Responding to a specific marketing campaign depends on the consumers’ perceptions and attitudes. That is where human psychology plays a significant role in determining consumer behaviour while buying a product. It becomes hard to gauge these factors, but these are strong enough to influence a consumer’s purchase decision. Some crucial psychological factors are:
- Perception
- Learning
- Motivation
- Beliefs and attitudes
3. Personal factor: Another factor affecting consumer behaviour change is the personal factor. These factors also play a significant role in buying decisions & act as a pivotal element in influencing buying behaviour. Furthermore, since these factors are personal, they are arbitrary and often vary from person to person. Also, these individual factors produce different perceptions with changes in consumer behaviour. Thus, marketers need time to comprehend. Some essential personal factors are:
- Lifestyle
- Age
- Income
- Occupation
- Personal collections
Apart from these three primary factors, two other factors also show an influence on customer behaviour. The two factors are:
4. Economic factor: Consumers’ purchase behaviour largely depends on the economic factor of their home, market, and country. A prosperous economy has strong market growth, which shows an influx in cash flow. Economic factors render a greater purchasing power to consumers. When consumers experience a positive monetary inflow, their buying habits change, and they get more confident spending on different items. Some essential economic factors are:
- Personal income
- Family’s overall income
- Savings
- Liquid assets
- Consumer credit
5. Cultural factor: When a person comes from a particular community, they exhibit influence and a specific buying behaviour that directly relates to the culture of that particular community. The group of people who belong to that specific community comes with a set of values and ideologies that affects their buying behaviour. Marketers should also note those constraints while studying or measuring consumer behaviour. Some essential cultural factors are:
- Social class
- Internal culture
- Community subculture
How does marketing affect consumers’ behaviour?
Appropriate marketing renders a long-lasting influence on customer behaviour. Here are some marketing tactics that enterprises can leverage to target potential customers.
- Brand imagery and messaging: Using image-based marketing campaigns and word associations often attract customers to your brand. For instance, if you want to target students and young individuals, you should use popular phrases or employ memes as a strategy for your marketing campaign. It will drive your audience to communicate with your product or brand, as they will find it hip and trendy.
- Audience emotional response: Another effective way to make a marketing campaign impactful & determine consumer behaviour is by reacting to customers’ emotional responses. With a good brand impression, more people will discuss your brand and product/service; hence more people will be inclined towards purchasing them. Businesses should also use analytics to understand customer traction and behaviour towards the marketing campaign. It will give better visibility of who are your potential customers and what will be the customers’ buying behaviour.
- Audience’s memories: Evoking fear or nostalgia with emotional attachments and incidents or facts is another way to influence customer behaviour. For instance, your product belongs to a particular thought, brand, or image from childhood. It might affect the feelings or trigger your consumer’s thoughts – assuring them brand loyalty.
Wrapping Up!
We hope this article has given a crisp understanding of the various factors influencing consumer behaviour. In order to stand out, a brand must consistently please buyers and turn them into loyal customers. Therefore, it is essential to understand and manage each of these factors that influence consumer behaviour. Online surveys and tools are the most effective method of comprehending consumer behaviour. Also, online marketing campaigns help regulate and affect the customers’ buying habits and actions.