Buying behaviour

The black box model

It's the step in between the stimuli (why buying something) and consumer behaviour (purchasing). It's the mental process that occurs during the decision-making

1. Problem recognition                    (consumer experiences a need)
2. Information gathering                (process of finding out what product you want)
3. Alternative evaluation                (choice criteria)
4. Purchase decision                         (the actual process of buying something)
5. Post-purchase evaluation          (am I happy with my purchase?)

The consumer scans his memory to see what he already knows about the product or service

Looking for information about the product in:

- Personal sources: family members, friends and colleagues

- Public sources: info from government, articles in magazines, and tests conducted by

consumer organisations

- Commercial sources: advertisements, labels, advice given by sales people, displays

in stores and websites.

- Experiential sources: consumer's own experience of examining, handling or actually

using the product.

It appears after making an important purchase, e.g. when a consumer experiences buyer's remorse, so when he regrets his purchase. I

They can use the process of rationalization: emphasise the merits of the product and dismiss its drawbacks. 

• They can advertise; more people read advertisements after the purchase than before, to reassure themselves they've bought the right product
• They can contact recent buyers
• They can set up toll-free telephone numbers or websites for complaints and questions
• Liberal warranties
• Return policies
• After-sale service

• Extensive problem solving
• Limited problem solving
• Routine problem solving

• High involvement decision making
• Purchase that involves a great deal of risk (like a house, car)
• Customer will go through each step of the purchase decision process

• Buyer has some experience with the product or with the product category, for example; restaurant meals, household appliances, garden tools and furniture.
• Customer doesn't to through all steps in the decision-making process
• Customer will compare several brands to reduce the risk of making the wrong decision, or he will ask a friend

• Things you buy out of a habit
• Customer thinks that various alternatives are similar
• Customer has a preference for a certain brand (red bull, fuels for his car etc.)
• Low-involvement decision making

• personal circumstances
• psychological factors
• social factors

Activities - how they spend time and money

Interests - what they consider important in the environment

Opinions - what they think of themselves and the world around them

1. Reason for the purchase
2. Physical environment
3. Social surroundings
4. Time
5. Coincidences

A strong stimulus that encourages action or motivates the consumer to reduce a need

The urge to belong to a group

An inner urge that compels a person to satisfy a need

hierarchy of needs

5. Physiological needs             (hunger, sleep, sex)

4. Safety needs                            (security, family stability, protection)

3. Social needs                            (friendship, belonging, love, acceptance)

2. Personal needs                       (self-esteem, prestige, status, respect)

1. Self-actualisation needs      (self-fulfillment, enriching experiences)

• Subjective
•  --> each person interprets things based on his own experience
• Cumulative
• --> perception is affected by both personal circumstances and by external stimuli, such as advertising. The more often a stimulus is received, the greater the chance it will be understood and correctly interpreted.
• Selective
• --> The brain filters the information so that only a part of it is noticed, understood and remembered. 

Selective retention

- Stimulus-response theory

- Cognitive theory

ivan Pavlov - A russian psychologist

It states that as humans, we learn primarily through experience, and our learning is based on certain stimuli, such as brand names and packaging.  It also outlines four stages in the learning process.

• Drive:               a strong internal stimulus that moves an individual to action
• Cue:                   a stimulus or response in the environment that is ought to fulfill a certain need
• Response:       the reaction to the stimulus or cue, such as a purchase
• Reinforcement:   if the response is rewarding, the person is likely to react in the same way to the cue every      time it appears

Consumer learn through cognition, through reasosning, insight and mental problem solving without any direct experience

1. Cognitive component              -      A person's knowledge and beliefs about a product or another object
2. Affective component               -      A person's emotions and feelings about an object
3. Conative component               -      A person's intended (and actual) behaviour with respect to an object

socialization

social class

- Automatic groups

- Aspiration groups

- Dissociative groups

- Membership groups

A reference group of which a person is not a member, but to which he aspires to belong

family life cycle

Purchasing of industrial products, such as machinery, raw materials, semi-manufactured goods, packaging materials and industrial services, is complex and differs from the buying process of consumers in several ways. This distinction has led to a specialisation, which is called B2B.

- industrial market             - e.g. construction firms, insurers and transportation companies

- reseller market                 - e.g. car dealers, department stores, supermarket chains and online merchants

- government market       - e.g. federal, regional local and foreign agencies that buy a wide variety of goods and serv.

- institutional market       - e.g. schools, hospitals, churches, prisons, charities, libraries, museums...

To identify and evaluate qualified suppliers

This temporary or permanent group of people from different departments participate in the buying process. They share the responsibility for large transactions that may involve millions of euros per year. 

1. Initiator

recognizes that the company needs to make a purchas

2.  Influencer

helps to define the technical specifications for what should be bought by p roviding useful info

3. Advisor

Offers the company more alternatives to choose from 

4. Gatekeeper

The contact person, who controls the flow of information to other buying centre members

5. Decider

The person who ultimately selects the product or service to be bought.

6. Buyer

Selects a supplier, gets competitive bids, sets up delivery and payment schedules etc.

7. User

Very important, because he/she will use the product

Straight re-buy