CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR LECTURE NOTES

Consumer Behaviour 

The study of the processes involved when individuals of groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires. (Solomon et al., 2011)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Self-actualisation needs- The desire for self fulfilment  in achieving whatever someone can

Esteem and status- striving the achieve a high standing in relation to other people

Social needs- We need social experience and desire products and services that facilitate social change

Safety needs- protection from the unpredictable happening in life

Physiological need- The fundamentals of survival 

Self esteem - (Richins 1993; Kees et al., 2008)

Marketers use attractive models for a social comparison process where young female consumers compare themselves and feel inadequate against them.

Diverse and changing markets 

Most fashion marketers try to attract several market segments at once. 

Consumer buying habits remain the same.

Changes in economic or social conditions can effect the consumers choices.

Segmenting a market 

Market segmentation is a way of analysing a market by categorising their specific characteristics.

Specific characteristics include:

• Demographics - statistics that describe a population inn terms of personal characteristics. Age etc.
• Psychographics  - studies of consumers based on social and psychological characteristics such as opinions attitudes and interests 
• Geographic’s - about where people live
• Behaviouristic/usage - statistics about consumers based on their knowledge, attitudes, use, or response to a product.
• Situation 
• Geo-demographic 

Purchase occasion: identifies the instance when a consumer might use a product

Product benefits: identifies the benefits that consumers desire in fashion products or service

Usage level and commitment: indentifies how often they use a product…. Their loyalty 

Geodemographic segmentation: hybrid segmentation: You are where you live.

Targeting

 - Marketers evaluate each potential segment  and decide upon which groups of customers they will invest their marketing resources on.

• Selected groups known as target markets
• How is technology making it easier for fashion firms to target potential customers?

Brand positioning statement 

Brand positioning is defined as the conceptual place you want to own in the target customers mind, the benefits you want them to think of when they think of your brand.

When doing research to inform a brand positioning project you must be able to answer the following questions:

• What does the brand community currently believe about or value in the brand?
• What might the brand community believe or value about the brand in the future?
• What does the organisation currently claim about the brand?
• What would the organisation like the brand to become in the future?

The final step…. Positioning 

How do you want to be seen in the market place? What is your key competitive advantage? What do you want to highlight?

Product Differentiation 

Service Differentiation 

Personal Differentiation

Market Mapping

The market map illustrates the range of positions thats a product can take in a market based on two dimensions that are important to customers. E.g. Low price, High price