Meaning of Buyer Behavior
The behavior shown by customers towards buying of goods and services is called buyer behavior. Buyer’s behavior should be understood to get success in a competitive environment. As the buyer behavior is a psychological aspect, it becomes difficult to understand, study and analyze. A business organization should, specially, pay more attention towards questions such as –“Who influences buying decision? Who takes buying decision? Who does buy? How does he buy? When and who buys? Who uses the goods? For this, an organization should study and analyze the buyer behavior. Understanding buyer behavior is very complicated. So, a manager should carefully use his/her notion, knowledge and experience in it.
Buyers are the backbone for the success of any business organization. Without buyers or customers no organizational success can be achieved. So, a proper strategy should be made by studying their behavior. Efforts should be made to understand the buyer’s behavior and find out the answers of the questions such as, “Who and how many persons participate in the decision of the buyer’s for buying goods or services? What is to be bought? What is the reason for buying? What is the occasion of buying? What is the buying channel? How much is the buying frequency etc.? Buyer’s features and buying process influence their buying behavior. So, this aspect of buyers also should be considered while studying and analyzing buying behavior. Different writers and experts have defined buyer behavior. Some of the main are as follows:
According to Prof. Philip Kotler, “Buying behavior is the decision process and acts of customers involves in buying and using products.”
According to E. W. Condiff, R. R. Still and R. A. Govoni, “Buyer behavior may be viewed as orderly process whereby the individual interacts with his/her environment for the purpose of making market place decisions on products and services.”
According to C. G. Waltters and W. G. Paul, “Consumer behavior is the process whereby individuals decide what, when, where, how and from whom to purchase goods and services.”
According to Frederick Webster, “Buyer behavior is all psychological, social and physical behavior of potential customers as they become aware to evaluate, purchase, consume and tell other people about the product and services.”
In conclusion, the buyer’s behavior is related to getting and consumption of goods and services. A business organization should make marketing mix only after studying and analyzing buyer behavior carefully. Buyer behavior is a psychological aspect. So, its study and analysis is a complex task. Proper strategy should be formed by studying and analyzing it carefully. Generally, business organizations should get answers to the following questions to understand buyer behavior.
What do they buy? -->> Object / Goods
Why do they buy? -->> Reason
When do they buy? -->> Occasions
Where do they buy? -->> Place
How do they buy? -->> Frequency
Importance of Buyer Behavior
Consumers are like the backbones for the success of business organization. Marketing mix can be properly made by understanding consumers’ behavior to get success in competitive environment. So, to understand consumer’s behavior is important in marketing. They are consumer satisfaction, effective use of marketing resources, developing marketing mix, identifying market opportunities, selection of target market, product positioning, attracting consumers and understanding their perception about the product. They can be discussed as follows:
1. Consumer’s satisfaction
As the business success depends on the satisfaction of consumers, they should be satisfied properly understanding their behavior. If the matters such as, which goods, why, when, where, how, the consumers buy are known clearly, they can be satisfied by providing proper goods at right place and right time. Such information can be obtained from the study of consumers’ behavior. So, business organizations need to get knowledge about consumers’ behavior.
2. Use of resources
Study on consumer behavior is also necessary to use marketing resources effective in any business organization. Which brand do the consumers like much? Whether they are satisfied with the price and quality of the product or not? What are the helping factors to motivate the consumers to buy and use the product? How is the shifting trend of consumers to substitute products? etc. The answers to such questions can be found out from the analysis of consumer behavior. Business firms become successful to make proper adjustment in marketing mix.
3. Develop marketing mix
Marketing mix plays an important role in achievement of organizational goal. Marketing mix should be effective. Besides other environmental elements, consumers’ behavior needs to be studies and analyzed to make it effective and contextual. Goods and services can be developed and produced to satisfy the wants and needs of the consumers according to the change of time and fashion through proper marketing mix by identifying the factors which influence consumers’ behavior.
4. Locate market opportunities
Consumers’ wants and needs can be located from the study of their behavior. Such wants and needs are found as opportunities for business organizations. The organizations can get success in competitive environment by using them. If consumers’ wants and needs are not studied and analyzed, such opportunities cannot be identified. As a result, they slip from the hands. So, it is necessary to know the consumers’ behavior.
5. Select the target market
It is also necessary for a marketing manager to know the consumers’ behavior for the selection of target market. Consumers’ behavior is an important element of market segmentation. A business organization can divide markets effectively in different segments by knowing consumers’ behavior, analyze and select the best market segment. If consumers’ behavior is not understood, market cannot be segmented effectively and target market cannot be selected. As a result, business success cannot be achieved.
6. Product positioning
The special effort made by a business organization to popularize its products distinctively against the competitors’ and to create positive attitude in customers towards its own products is called product positioning. An organization can position its products in target market by understanding consumers’ behavior. So, it is also necessary to understand consumers’ behavior.
7. Attracting consumers
An organization needs to understand consumers’ behavior to attract customers to its products and services. Consumers can be attracted by conducting the programs such as personal selling, advertisement and other promotional activities. But trying to attract them by means of several unnecessary loads becomes impractical and expensive. As a result, all efforts become counter productive. So, consumer’s behavior should be carefully studied and analyzed to attract them towards the products or services by applying proper method.
8. Consumers’ perception about product
Consumers have their own perception and attitude towards any products and services. Such attitudes and perceptions may be positive or negative. If they are positive, the products should be given continuity, but if they are negative, they should be terminated by proper methods, for instance, convincing them, positioning the products, product development etc. So, consumers’ behavior should be studied and analyzed to know the perception and attitudes of the consumers.
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