Questions on the analysis of consumer behavior. Marketing research of end consumer behavior. The main directions of studying consumer behavior

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Chapter 1. Theory of studying consumer behavior

Consumer behavior: basic concepts, essence

Consumer behavior is an applied scientific discipline. Any scientific discipline has an object and a subject. The object of consumer behavior in the individualistic tradition is a person. In the sociological tradition, the object is one of the spheres of social life - the process of consumption, which exists along with production and distribution.

The subject in consumer behavior is not the whole person, but only his behavior, but not in all its manifestations, but only in the market and only as a consumer.

What is consumption? Traditionally, it was seen as a way to satisfy basic human needs through one-time or long-term consumption - the destruction of goods. So, by consuming bread, you are destroying it, by consuming clothes, you are wearing them out.

Gradually, consumption becomes for the broad masses of the population primarily the production of symbols. A person buys fashionable clothes so that everyone can see his modernity, and avoids extravagant ones so as not to be considered an eccentric, etc. In other words, a person, while consuming, seeks to inform others about himself, in this way he writes a kind of text.

True, one should not go from one extreme (consumption of only objects) to another (understanding consumption as exclusively the production of symbols). People consume both in order to simply survive (even the richest are hungry and cold) and in order to communicate with each other through symbols produced in the process of consumption. To say that a car is only a means of transportation is as far removed from reality as it is to say that it is only a luxury item. A car not only makes life easier for a person, but is a symbol with the help of which, willingly or unwittingly, information about the owner is transmitted to others: his economic situation, tastes, often claims, and even complexes.

According to V.I.Ilyin and N.G. Lyubimova, consumption is a process that includes a number of private processes: the choice of a product or service, purchase, use, maintenance of things in order, repair and disposal. In the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary, consumption is the use of a social product in the process of satisfying needs, the final phase of the reproduction process. We will interpret consumption as the process of using a social product in order to satisfy needs.

There are many kinds of behavior in the marketplace. The subject of consumer behavior is only one of them - human behavior, solving the problem buying items to meet your needs. Here a person acts as an end consumer, that is, the acquisition of machinery, equipment for production or trade goes beyond the limits of the given subject. At the same time, consumer behavior studies human behavior only in a market context. This means that the process of cooking, consuming food is beyond the scope of the subject of this discipline.

So, the subject of consumer behavior is market behavior a person as a consumer of the final product. From end consumer it is necessary to distinguish between buyers-producers and intermediaries. The logic of their behavior is completely different, and it cannot be studied simultaneously with the behavior of end consumers.

A customer is someone who purchases goods or services from a particular company. The concepts of a consumer (English - consumer) and a client (English - customer) are very close. The difference is that the client is the consumer of the products of a particular firm. The client is a private type of consumer.

There are many classifications of needs. Perhaps the most famous of these is the pyramid of needs of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. It should be noted that none of his publications contain such a graphical scheme as a pyramid. On the contrary, he believed that the hierarchy of needs is not fixed and depends to the greatest extent on the individual characteristics of each person. The “pyramid of needs” is probably introduced to simplify the idea of a hierarchy of needs. Including OS Vikhansky depicts this theory as a pyramid (Fig. 1.1). Levels of the pyramid of needs:

1st (lower) level - physiological and sexual needs: air, water, food, dreams, sexual satisfaction, procreation, movement, clothing, rest, etc .;

2nd level - existential needs: security, stability, confidence in the future, etc .;

3rd level - social needs: communication, care, attention, participation, teamwork, belonging to a team;

4th level - prestigious needs: respect from "significant others", possession of a high social status, prestige, career growth, recognition of merits;

5th (upper) level - a group of spiritual needs: self-expression, self-determination, self-education.

Consider another theory of needs by a psychologist from Yale University - Clayton Aldelfer. Just like Maslow, Alderfer proceeds in his theory from the fact that human needs can be combined into separate groups. However, unlike Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs, he believes that there are three such groups of needs:

The needs of existence.

Communication needs.

Growth needs.

Figure 1.1 Pyramid A. Maslow

The needs groups of this theory are quite clearly correlated with the needs groups of Maslow's theory. The needs of existence, as it were, include two groups of needs of the Maslow pyramid: security needs, with the exception of group security, and physiological needs. The group of communication needs clearly corresponds to the group of needs of belonging and involvement.

The need for communication, according to Alderfer, reflects the social nature of a person, the desire of a person to be a member of a family, to have colleagues, friends, enemies, bosses and subordinates. Therefore, this group can also include part of the needs of recognition and self-affirmation from the Maslow pyramid, which are associated with the desire of a person to occupy a certain position in the outside world, as well as that part of the security needs of the Maslow pyramid that are related to group security. Growth needs are similar to the needs of self-expression of Maslow's pyramid and also include those needs of the group of recognition and self-affirmation, which are associated with the desire to develop confidence, to self-improvement, etc. (fig. 1.2).

Figure 1.2 Correlation of the hierarchy of needs of Maslow's theory and Alderfer's theory

These three groups of needs, as in Maslow's theory, are arranged hierarchically. However, there is one fundamental difference between the theories of Maslow and Alderfer: according to Maslow, there is a movement from need to need only from the bottom up. Satisfied the need of the lower level - moved to the next, etc. Alderfer, on the other hand, believes that the movement is going in both directions. Up, if the need of the lower level is not satisfied, and down, if the need of the higher level is not satisfied.

At the same time, Alderfer believes that in case of dissatisfaction with the need of the upper level, the degree of action of the need of the lower level increases, which switches the person's attention to this level. For example, if a person could not meet the growth needs in any way, his communication needs "turn on" again, and this causes a process of regression from the upper level of needs to the lower one. According to Alderfer's theory, the hierarchy of needs reflects an ascent from more specific needs to less specific ones. He believes that every time a need is not met, there is a switch to a more specific need. And this process determines the presence of a reverse motion from top to bottom.

The process of moving up through the levels of needs Alderfer calls the process of satisfying needs, and the process of moving down - the process of frustration, i.e. failure to satisfy the need.

The presence of two directions of movement in meeting needs opens up additional opportunities for motivating people in the organization. For example, if the organization does not have sufficient capacity to meet a person's need for growth, then, frustrated, he may switch with increased interest to the need for communication. And in this case, the organization will be able to provide him with opportunities to meet this need, thereby increasing its potential to motivate this person.

Alderfer's theory, being relatively young, has a fairly small amount of empirical evidence of its correctness. Nevertheless, knowledge of this theory is useful for management practice, since it opens up prospects for managers to search for effective forms of motivation, correlated with a lower level of needs, if it is not possible to create conditions for satisfying the needs of a higher level.

Need is an objective condition, a prerequisite for the existence of a subject (individual, group, organization, etc.). First, an unsatisfied need appears, then an awareness of this need arises (Table 1.1).

The needs of an individual are objectively necessary conditions for a person's existence. Being a natural-social being, a person has two groups of needs: some are generated by his physiology and psychology, others are constructed by society.

Description of an unmet and perceived need

Concept	Description
Unmet need	manifests itself in one form or another. For example, an unmet need for food - in the form of a feeling of hunger, for water - for a feeling of thirst, for vitamins - for vitamin deficiency, for communication - for a feeling of boredom, longing, etc. People notice indicators of needs when the latter are not being met. An unsatisfied need leads to its realization.
Conscious need	the subject's idea of what he needs for existence and development. The idea can approach the objective need (wanted to eat - understood: you need to eat), or it can be very far from it. So, many needs are manifested in such forms that require qualifications to decode them (for example, the need for vitamins is realized only in the presence of a certain medical erudition).

A source:

Often these two groups of needs are intertwined. For example, there is a natural need for water, but society has formed in people a sense of disgust in relation to everything unclean, therefore, a synthetic conscious need arises not for water in general, but for clean water. The absence of the latter causes the same suffering as the absence of water at all.
So, consumer behavior is an applied scientific discipline, the object of which in the individualistic tradition is a person. In the sociological tradition, the object is the process of consumption, which exists along with production and distribution. The subject is the market behavior of a person as a consumer of the final product.
Consumption is a process that includes a number of private processes: choosing a product or service, buying, using, keeping things in order, repairing and disposing. A consumer is one who consumes the products of a particular manufacturer.

1.2. The main directions of studying consumer behavior

There are seven most important areas of consumer research, which are shown in Fig. 1.3.

Consumer assessments are based on both their knowledge and emotional aspects of perception.

Of course, the above areas of consumer research are not isolated, very often the questionnaires simultaneously contain questions aimed at studying the opinions of consumers in various areas indicated above. So, often the study of the attitude towards the company is carried out simultaneously with the study of the attitude towards the goods of the company, with the study of the effectiveness of the motivational policy in relation to consumers.

Due to the fact that the assessment of the effectiveness of the use of individual marketing tools (elements of the marketing mix) is carried out not only on the basis of studying the opinions and attitudes of consumers, these issues are studied separately, as independent areas of marketing research.

Each consumer has his own model of behavior - a conventional image of a person as a socio-psychological personality and as a consumer of a product.

Figure 1.3 Directions for studying consumer behavior
The behavioral model should be:

Internally consistent and logical.

Verifiable and proven by real facts.

Explain and predict.

The general classification of consumer behavior models is reflected in table. 1.2

Classification of consumer behavior patterns

Model view	Model shapes	Description
Imitation	physical	the object can be represented in a reduced or enlarged form
Imitation	analog	making it look like an object
Continuation of table 1.2
Experimental	univariate	behavior is due to the same factor
Experimental	multifactorial	behavior is due to several factors
Economic	economic and mathematical	Behavior is calculated by odds
	socio-economic	taking into account the level of income and age
	organizational and economic	the roles consumers play in purchasing
Psychological	cognitive	consumer behavior as a deliberate rational action
	Gestalt model	a person thinks in holistic images
	socio-psychological	the model is based on psychographic data: measuring consumer lifestyles

A source:

Behavior model building process:

Formulation of the problem.

Building the model:

describe the product in detail using different sources information;

the formulation of the benefits and properties of the product with which it can satisfy the needs of the consumer. Highlighting its advantages over competitive products;

allocation of target segments using segmentation methods;

determination of the reasons for making a decision for each segment;

the allocation of personal and psychological components that affect the behavior of the selected segment of consumers;

enlargement of the selected segments by similar features.

Checking the model for plausibility.

Application of the model.

Updating the model (if necessary).

Consider a simple model of consumer behavior (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4 A simple model of consumer behavior There is a consumer. He has a need. Some incentive factors act on it. Then the consumer becomes aware of the possibilities of satisfying the need under the influence of these factors. There is a response (purchase or refusal to purchase). Marketing Incentives:

Distribution methods.

Sales promotion.

Consciousness "black box" - consumer characteristics and decision-making process. Feedback: choice of product, brand, place, time and volume of purchase. Consumer characteristics are formed from two factors: external and internal, shown in more detail in Fig. 1.5.

Figure 1.5 Characteristics of the consumer The buying process is the promotion of the product to the consumer from the moment when the need arises in the mind of the consumer until the moment when the assessment of the made purchase is carried out. There are five stages in the decision-making process. In the first stage of consumer decision making, consumers perceive the need for something that is not in their lives, and this perception gives impetus to the entire purchasing decision-making process. Consequently, the problem that consumers face is how to narrow the gap between their real state and the desired state. So, the first stage is awareness of the need:

What needs a person has.

What caused these needs.

How these needs are associated with the goods or services of incentives.

After the individual has realized the problem of the existence of a need, the second stage (stage) of decision-making is activated. The second stage is the search for information. There are internal and external searches. In the absence of information about the product, the consumer can refuse to purchase the product. Therefore, it is necessary to disseminate information about the product as much as possible.

The strength of the impact depends on the characteristics of the buyer, the type of product, etc. The complex of marketing information of the company must be developed so that the product falls from the “complete” set of goods into the “awareness” set. "Full" - goods produced by all manufacturers, "knowledgeable" - goods known to the consumer. The third stage is the analysis and evaluation of information. The consumer, evaluating the information, makes up a set of "choice" for himself - a set of brands of a given product, from which he will make a choice. The buyer makes a choice on a particular product, based on an assessment of the properties and characteristics of the product, as well as the coefficients of the significance of these properties for themselves. The fourth stage is making a purchase decision. Influencing consumer behavior at this stage involves knowing and using the factors of making a purchase both outside the store and inside. The types of purchases based on the purchase intent criterion are shown in Table. 1.3.

Types of purchases based on purchase intent

Purchase type	Characteristic
Specific planned	purchases of a specific brand of goods planned before visiting the store (for example, Camomile shampoo)
Scheduled purchases in general	are planned at the product category level, not a specific brand (e.g. cheese)
Continuation of table 1.3
Substitute purchases	purchases of products that replace software functional properties planned (for example, a broom is purchased instead of a vacuum cleaner)
Unplanned purchases	the customer did not plan to purchase a specific product prior to entering the store. Spontaneity, irrepressibility and intensity of purchase motivation, customer excitement and ignorance of the consequences of the purchase (for example, chewing gum)
In-store solutions	purchases that combine planned purchases as a whole and substitutes (for example, a consumer came to a store for bread. He saw milk and remembered that he also needed it)

A source:

In-store purchase factors:

Exposition at the point of sale - the most successful location of the product is at the top of the eye.

Reduced prices - trade with a discount, refund of part of the price, coupons, gifts.

Store planning - distribution into sections, the direction of movement of customers on the territory of the store.

Shop atmosphere - lighting, layout, product display, floor decoration, colors, sounds, smells, appearance and staff behavior.

Sales staff - self-service (for products with low customer involvement in the purchase process), staff consultations (for products with high customer involvement).

A purchase decision can only be suspended for the following reasons:

Due to unforeseen circumstances (price change), the emergence of a more urgent need for illness of loved ones, etc.).

Due to the emergence of new additional information, the recall of a more authoritative (for the consumer) person.

Due to the attitude of the staff.

The fifth stage is the processes following the purchase. Reaction (evaluation) to buy. Important in a highly competitive environment. If the buyer is satisfied, then positive information will come from him. Each customer is a source of information for 7 to 40 potential customers. An unsatisfied buyer can spread negative information among them. American marketers have developed a philosophy of dealing with the consumer:

The consumer is the most important person visiting the firm.

The firm depends on the consumer, not vice versa.

The consumer does not interfere with the work of the company, he is the main goal and the meaning of the enterprise.

The firm does not provide service to the consumer when taking care of him. It is the consumer who cares about the firm when they contact it.

You can never argue with a consumer, you can not make fun of him.

The consumer is the person who brings desires to the firm; the firm's job is to fulfill these desires for the benefit of itself.

In order to achieve a favorable consumer response, it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions, which are indicated in Fig. 1.6. A customer that is not served is better than a customer that is not satisfied.

Figure 1.6 Conditions for creating a favorable consumer response
In general, when studying consumer behavior, researchers pay attention to several factors: attitude towards the company itself; attitude (opinion, preferences) to various aspects of the company's activities; the level of customer satisfaction; consumer intentions; making purchasing decisions; consumer behavior during and after purchase; consumer motivation. When studying consumer behavior, specialists need to build a model of this behavior. The simplest model: there is a consumer. He has a need. Some incentive factors act on it. Then the consumer becomes aware of the possibilities of satisfying the need under the influence of these factors. There is a response (purchase or refusal to purchase). The purchase process is the promotion of the product to the consumer from the moment when the need arises in the consumer's mind and until the moment when the assessment of the made purchase is carried out. This process consists of five stages: awareness of the problem; search for information; analysis and evaluation of information; making a purchase decision; purchase appraisal.

Research methods of consumer behavior

Methods for studying consumer behavior - a set of techniques and operations designed for the most effective implementation of consumer behavior research. In marketing research, there are many methods of collecting information to study consumer behavior. Let's consider the main ones: polling, observation and experiment.

A survey is the collection of primary information by directly asking questions about the level of knowledge, attitudes towards the product, etc. The survey methods are different. These include face-to-face interviews, telephone surveys, mailing questionnaires, mixed (a questionnaire is enclosed in the packaging of the goods, which is then sent by mail; the questionnaire is given in the store, filled out at home and sent by mail).

According to the level of standardization (structuredness) of questions and answers, structured and unstructured polls are distinguished. Their description is given in table. 1.4.

The main methods of conducting a survey are:

Personal interviews (on the street, in a store or at home).

Telephone survey.

Questionnaire by mail.

Structured and unstructured surveys

A source:

The most important parameter of the study, which determines its reliability, is the percentage of refusals to answer, that is, no answers. Non-responses can introduce bias in the results due to losses in the course of the study.
The lowest percentage of refusals in interviews. During telephone surveys, the first time it is possible to contact usually 10% of respondents. There is another problem - who to talk to if one of the family members answered the phone? With postal polls, the percentage of responses is the smallest and it cannot be guaranteed that the questionnaire will be completed by the chosen person.
In a personal interview, you can ask about almost anything. Almost the same is the case with a telephone survey, but in this case it is impossible to show pictures and samples. The worst in this regard is postal polls. They cannot be too long, otherwise no one will fill them up to the end. Longer interviews are best done in person, and worst over the phone.
The polling rate differs greatly from method to method. With telephone interviews, you can make 15 - 20 calls per hour, the interview accelerates with an increase in the number of interviewers. The speed of mail polls is almost impossible to control. The time of such surveys is up to several weeks (when covering several cities) and depends little on the sample size. The time of the personal interview at home varies depending on the place of residence of the respondents.
Email interviews are cheap enough, but if the response rate is low, the data may become inaccurate. The cost of telephone surveys is also quite low, of course, if there are no long distance calls. Personal interview at home is the most time consuming and expensive research method.
In addition to the parameters mentioned, each of the survey methods has its own characteristics, which are shown in table. 1.5.
Since the 1970s, computers have been used for surveys. In telephone interviews, they display the question being asked, which is read by the interviewer. Even this simple automation had big consequences.
With computerized telephone interviews, you can maintain a database of the sample: who has not been called yet, who should be called back, and so on. Quota accounting is automatically maintained. The number is dialed automatically. The computer generates a report on the work of the interviewers. The specified statistical processing is performed automatically.
Nowadays, good computer survey support systems allow surveys of computer owners via the Internet or e-mail.
The computer, unlike the interviewer, always asks the question exactly in the given formulation. Only the part of the questionnaire that is needed at the moment is shown. The answers are checked instantly. Complex branches of the questionnaire process and even sample questionnaires are easily implemented. The results of the survey are processed immediately.
Table 1.5
Features of different methods of conducting a survey

Positive features	Negative features
Home interview
High response rate It is easy to get an answer from a specific person Any type of questionnaire can be used Easily reorder questions You can clarify unclear points Possibility to use visual material	Usually - a narrow circle of respondents It is difficult to direct the conduct Roads return visit (if the respondent was not at home) Takes a lot of time Strong influence of the interviewer
Interview on the street
The same, but: Faster, cheaper, easier to manage	The same, but: Interviews should be shorter
Mail questionnaire
Sometimes - only when possible way poll If you have lists, you can easily define the sampling frames. No influence of the interier Individual pace of responses The respondent is better at answering personal and difficult questions The cheapest way	Difficulty getting an answer from a specific respondent Illiteracy problems Long response time Can't help with unclear points Difficulty managing the sequence of questions Errors due to the fact that the entire profile is visible at once
Telephone survey
Continuation of table 1.5
Cheap Quick Provides wide coverage Conveniently manage the conduct and monitor the work of the interviewer Easy to re-call Easy to use computer	Difficult to achieve a representative sample No visual material can be provided Difficult to determine if the respondent is answering Polling time is limited There is an interviewer's influence It's hard to get cooperation

graduate work

1.2 Consumer behavior as an object of marketing research

In order to identify the internal content, the essence of consumer behavior, it is advisable, first of all, to study the very concept of "consumption" in general. According to the dictionary, consumption is continuously emerging and developing, one after another, processes of obtaining (purchasing) a product (work, service), as well as the use (application) of these goods, services for their own purposes in the future.

In accordance with the topic of this study, it is necessary to indicate that consumer behavior is a very broad concept, and also includes not only the process of purchasing a product (work, service) itself, but also consumer behavior, as before the actual purchase. so also after its commission. Studying consumer behavior before buying, company employees, enterprises researching a product and its sales market (marketers, employees commercial department, customer service department, sales managers, etc.), identify and study the reasons that may influence the decision to purchase this product (service) or refuse to purchase this product (service) or refuse it (her) acquisition Krylova G.D., Sokolova M.I. ... Marketing: Theory and 86 Situations: A Study Guide. - M .: UNITI, 2012.S. 73.

The final result of this choice can be influenced by family members, as well as by a certain social group, which for a certain consumer (individual) is a certain standard, that is, a reference group. When making a purchase, marketers and other employees of the company who study consumer behavior, examine the reaction of consumers, consider how the consumer will make a purchase.

It should be noted that when analyzing the consumer's command after the customers of the company, firm, store make any purchase, marketers investigate the degree of customer satisfaction with this purchase, consider the likelihood of a second purchase, as well as other important processes associated with the implementation of this purchase. The consumer behavior of consumers also includes actions to get rid of the product (service).

It should be noted that the sciences focused on the features of the study of consumer behavior have developed relatively recently. In the United States, as a country in whose territory marketing and management began to develop somewhat earlier than in most other countries, attention was paid to this area of knowledge, mainly in the second half of the XX century. In a given time period, the average and big business started getting good profit, and also, to increase their momentum, while it is natural that competitive fight between manufacturing companies began to be characterized by more and more dynamics of growth and aggravation. And it was necessary to look for other ways of forming and strengthening, as well as maintaining competitive advantages, enhancing the competitiveness of companies at a new level. During this time period, textbooks on consumer behavior appear in the United States, and marketers are beginning to think more carefully about the problem of researching consumers of their companies, as well as studying the trend of consumer behavior in general. The first authors of such tutorials were Blackwell R., Angel J. Kotler F., Armstrong G., Saunders D. Marketing Basics: Per. from English - 2nd Europ. ed. - M.: SPb .; К .: Publishing house "Williams", 2013. S. 378.

Over the 40 years of the development of the science under consideration, consumer behavior has transformed into an independent vast area of knowledge, which has become practically necessary to study and apply in practice along with the study of factors, market development trends, the study of competing firms, etc. the productivity of the development and functioning of the firm Baranova A.D. largely depends on the behavior of consumers, on their needs and on various developing characteristics of purchasing behavior. Marketing: principles and strategy: Textbook for universities.- Moscow: INFRA-M, 2013. S. 90.

As for Russia, it began studying consumer behavior later than in the United States. It was only a few years ago that the fundamentals of consumer behavior began to be taught at higher education institutions. educational institutions as an independent discipline.

In accordance with the theme of this study, it is necessary to concretize that consumer behavior is an interdisciplinary field of research, since it combines such disciplines as sociology, marketing, psychology, the foundations of the family and the household, as well as other disciplines. Thus, let us designate and characterize consumer behavior as one of the main objects of planning, organizing and conducting marketing research in the activities of a modern company, firm.

Relatively recently, in many Russian companies, it is consumer behavior that has become almost the main subject of analysis of the market for services and goods, services and demand. At the present stage of development and functioning, leading companies, firms base the entire marketing complex on the requests and needs of segments of their target audience. Consideration of the characteristics of the consumer becomes, therefore, in the activities of many Russian companies the starting point for designing a marketing strategy, since if the value orientations of your consumer are incorrectly determined, it will be difficult to select products and services focused on meeting the requirements, needs of customers, bringing revenue and net profit to the company.

The needs of the consumer become the main area of activity of the organization: production, personnel management (especially marketing), etc. The organization considers two types of consumers - subjects of marketing analysis. Firstly, these are external consumers, for the sake of them the enterprise creates goods, services and works. Secondly, one should not forget about the internal consumers of the organization - its employees, those who in one way or another take part in the creation of the product that the firm offers to external consumers. These are all employees of the company. If the firm is concerned about the satisfaction of external customers, then it is necessary that internal customers are also fully satisfied. Employees should be provided with rights, working conditions, appropriate current legislation, an objective system of remuneration has been organized. Only then will employees be well motivated to perform well their responsibilities in the organization to meet the requirements of external customers.

Let us consider and briefly describe the concepts of consumer marketing, in the structure of which consumer behavior is one of the most important objects for planning and conducting marketing research.

Note that marketing focused on the consumer, not sales and, or production processes, appeared relatively recently. Researcher F. Kotler referred to it as the concept of social, or socio-ethical marketing Kotler F., Keller K.L. Marketing management. Express course / Per. from English under scientific. ed. S.G. Zhiltsova. - 3rd ed., - SPb .: Peter, 2012.S. 281.. This marketing concept appeared in the 1960s, when the role of consumer behavior research was actualized, and, thus, marketing strategies were reformed in favor of their consumers (clients of firms, companies).

At the present stage of development and functioning of companies, therefore, it is the interests of the consumer that are the key factor, both in the organization of marketing research and in design. marketing strategy... Such a marketing strategy is focused on balancing the level of achievement of meeting the needs of external customers, internal customers, social needs (that is, the global needs of various social groups and society as a whole), and only at the last level is the degree of satisfaction of the needs of the company itself (revenue, profitability), etc. are fulfilled, the needs for development, functioning, obtaining optimal profits, are satisfied. In our country, the concept of social and ethical marketing is still at the stages of its development, but every year the number of companies focusing on functioning within the framework of such a marketing concept is increasing D.V. Krevens. Strategic Marketing: Per. from English ed. A.G. Grishko. - 6th ed. - M; Williams, 2012.S. 178.

It should be noted that the emergence and development of marketing determine the growth of the importance of consumer information. Producers of goods and services try not only to study consumer behavior, but also to influence it. At the same time, the marketing concept in modern conditions is one of the main directions of successful production of products in market conditions.

In this situation, we denote that marketing is the activity of researching, forming and meeting the demand for goods through their design and structuring of optimal prices for them, as well as the distribution and promotion of products (services). Thus, the marketing concept of marketing is the foundation for the development and improvement of all company activities from procurement and production to after-sales service.

In the context of modern market economy marketing is a kind of production concept. However, this state of affairs did not appear immediately. W. Pride and O. Ferrell have developed 3 stages of development of concepts of commodity production (in the USA): era of production, era of sales; era of marketing.

At the first stage, the functions of marketers were reduced only to planning the required production volumes; at the last stage, marketing becomes a business philosophy, subordinating all departments and divisions of the organization to itself. Marketing questions have been significantly expanded: what, how much, how, for whom, how, and at what price to produce. In 3 stages, you can trace the general trend of change in the criteria of business efficiency: from production to sales. Recently, the concept of social (or socially ethical) marketing has become widespread, which appeared in the United States at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Its meaning is reduced to the balance of goals and desires of consumers, the needs of society and the goals of the company itself Kalyuzhnova N.Ya., Yakobson A.Ya. Marketing: general course Study guide. Omega-L, 2013.S. 317.

Note that in our country, business is only at the stage of development and adaptation to the specifics of the activities of organizations, enterprises, various elements of this marketing concept.

In a situation where there is a consumer (client), then, accordingly, there is a need this client... Thus, in order to provide itself with consumers, the company must find out exactly what needs of its target audience segments it can satisfy with the highest probability of success and effectiveness. The process by which a company selects a specific segment (s) for itself target audiences, and interacts in a focused way with this type of clientele, is called "targeted marketing". Complex marketing, on the other hand, is a broader sphere of activity that is important for creating, maintaining, and also meeting the demand for goods (services).

Let's denote that the target marketing system of the company includes the following main stages and elements of marketing, as shown in Figure 1.2:

Rice. 1.2. Features of targeted marketing

It should be noted that work at the integrated marketing level is organized and carried out for each segment of the target audience of the company. Not only needs, but also geographic location, value orientations, opportunities, habits, etc. can be different for the company's customers. This information can be used in the process of market segmentation. A significant proportion of firms orient their product design process to meet the needs of an individual client. Instead, the manufacturing enterprise examines large segments of target audiences, which may have one or more similarities. general principles, characteristics of consumer behavior. Then this organization decides for herself on what specific attribute (criterion) she will look for a specific target market for herself, and, then, proceeds to grouping buyers (her potential clients). This process is referred to by marketers as segmentation and is the basis for the study of the characteristics of consumer behavior in the activities of many modern companies.

It is also important to point out that one method of market segmentation is not enough to conduct a productive marketing research of consumer behavior. It is important for a representative of the management apparatus (or a specialist in the marketing department) to select and apply methods of market segmentation based on different parameters (income, age, field of activity, etc.). Thus, structuring the company's market into various parts, it is possible to identify which method of segmentation for each individual company is the most objective and beneficial for the company forms the structure of the market, and then proceed to the choice of the most optimal segmentation method for oneself Eremin Yu.A. Methodology for segmenting the market for industrial products // Marketing in Russia and abroad. 2011. No. 1. S. 7..

Consequently, the segments obtained as a result of correctly conducted market segmentation should be used for a rather long period of time, and not change, for example, within a month. This gives marketers the opportunity to constantly study the constructed segment, get to know it more and better. We denote that marketing department chooses for itself the segment (those segments) that it can satisfy with the greatest benefit for itself and its consumers.

Based on the results of studying the material structured in this subsection of the work, therefore, it is necessary to conclude that it is the behavior of consumers that is the object of marketing research, around which the main line of the company's marketing policy is subsequently built.

Analysis of the modern consumer of the real estate market

The purpose of this study is to obtain and analyze primary information to identify factors affecting the attitude of potential clients to real estate objects, and to the real estate market, in particular ...

Analysis of the effectiveness of marketing incentives commercial organization CJSC "Russian Tea Company"

4. Analyze the research results and provide a report. The research object of the course work is tour operator Smoktravel. The subject of the research is the attitude of consumers to the company ...

Studying consumer attitudes towards the company

The ultimate goal any marketing research is the formation of an optimal strategy and tactics of action, taking into account the real and likely in the future, on the one hand, a set of conditions and market factors ...

Use of international marketing management models in the company

The marketing research procedure consists of a set of sequential private actions, which are presented in Figure 3. The following main stages can be distinguished: The first stage is the formulation of the problem ...

Loyalty research of preschool and schools at the services of "DK Quarry"

In general, the marketing research scheme includes the following main stages: 1. Identifying the problem and formulating the research goal. Highlighted: search goals - helping to identify and concretize the problem ...

Study corporate identity competing enterprises

The main way to obtain marketing information about consumers, their behavior in the market, opinions and preferences, as well as the opinions and behavior of entrepreneurs in marketing are surveys ...

Publishing Marketing

As long as the market exists, marketing has also existed, however, the conscious marketing activities and this concept itself appeared relatively recently. That is why the definition of the word "marketing" has not yet been established ...

Marketing research preferences of consumers of food products in the mid-price segment

Marketing research of the level of customer satisfaction

In general, the marketing research scheme includes the following main stages: 1. Identification of problems and formulation of research objectives. Highlighted: search goals - helping to identify and concretize the problem ...

Marketing research

Marketing research is a complex concept, therefore, its object is various phenomena and processes in the sphere of entrepreneurship, as well as their various sides ...

Marketing Research of Consumer Behavior in Restaurant Services

In order to identify the behavior of consumers of the restaurant "Korean House", marketing research was carried out, which were carried out using a questionnaire survey among the restaurant's visitors ...

Strategic marketing planning

One of the most important tasks in consumer marketing research is to identify potential needs that are coming in the near future for a modern person. It is important to understand that the proposed product, first of all, should arouse the interest of the buyer, and only then the manufacturer should like it. Each consumer has to make a choice in terms of his income and commodity prices. The buying decision making process has always been a research area for marketers. You can tell a lot about a product by finding answers in the motivation for purchasing it by a consumer. In the face of fierce competition in today's markets, manufacturers need to be ahead of their time to be the first to meet the needs of customers and predict the dynamics of further development of actions. All human needs are met at different levels! This rule underlies the marketing research of consumer behavior. Marketing has particular interest in unmet customer needs. They must be identified and analyzed to create new or alternative products that meet the needs of consumers at the highest levels and become bestsellers. Consumer choice marketing research helps manufacturers predict the demand for new, unproduced goods, which in turn helps them plan their production costs. But the main goal is to gain consumer confidence in the proposed new product.

Prices as a consumer behavior factor in marketing research

Marketing research has proven the influence of psychological and social factors on consumer behavior. But it is also important to consider the reaction of consumers to the prices of goods. Price factors in the buyer's marketing research:

Price orientation. Before making a purchase, the buyer roughly understands the price range for a particular product type. He makes a decision based on his knowledge of price ranges.
Price interest motivating consumer choice. Reduced promotional prices may affect the customer's choice. The high price of a quality product is also a factor that attracts attention for purchases.
Subjective assessment of the price. The buyer, having perceived the information about the price, immediately analyzes it according to two criteria, weighing it on the quality scales:
- Favorable price - the consumer characterizes the price regardless of the quality of the product. For example, when choosing interchangeable products. Or when the price is prohibitively low / high.
- Decent price - value for money is at the heart of this criterion. The perception of the price by the buyer in terms of rational choice based on the ratio of utility and purchase value.
Price level analysis. When choosing a product, the consumer often relies on the price level in a particular product classification. In this case, the conclusions come from the belief: "the higher the price, the better the quality." Consumers estimate the cost of producing a product as a factor in the high selling price.

Convincing buyers to independently assess the cost of producing a new product gives manufacturers more freedom in retail pricing. This is especially true for non-branded markets.

Consumer marketing research model

Indicators in marketing research of the correct understanding of consumer behavior:

Consumer independence. Although the consumer's choice is limited by prices and his income, the independence of choice remains. Products are accepted or rejected based on requests. The wider the offered selection of profitable goods, the more success the company achieves.
Consumer behavior is influenced. Marketing techniques can influence the buyer's choice. The higher the satisfactory ability of a product, the easier it is to influence consumer choice.

There are certain factors that help to investigate the behavior of the aggregate consumer. The buyer is influenced by four basic groups of factors:

Factors of a set of human values. The first most influential factor. Each person is assigned a set of values, priorities, manners characteristic of him and his environment. For example, basic necessities, material comfort, external comfort, individualism. There are different social classes that have their own preferences when choosing brands of clothing, cars, and leisure activities. Marketers, when researching the needs for a product, focus their efforts on one of the social classes.
Factors social norms... Reference groups (serve as a kind of standard for the individual) have a particularly strong influence on the behavior of consumer choice.
Personality factors. Characteristics client:
- age categories and family stages;
- activities and occupation;
- financial position;
- lifestyle;
- kind of personality.
Psychological factors... Have a number of influences on the same customer:
- emotions;
- motivation;
- beliefs.

An interesting fact: marketing research using numerous psychological surveys revealed: "What does a person get the most pleasure from in life?" Was in the first place LEISURE in the list of all human benefits that money can buy.

Needs theories applied by marketing research

Throughout the marketing science, whole theories have already been formed based on the analysis of factors influencing consumer behavior with a description of the structure of needs. These theories reveal the answers to the question of a person's motivations for a particular choice. Consider the most interesting theories: Malslow, Herzberg and McClelland. The essence of each theory is a practical goal set for the marketing research of the end consumer.

A. Maslow - theory of motivation. Abraham Maslow, in his theory in profile, considers basic human needs and arranges them in a hierarchical order in accordance with the priority of importance:

Physiological needs (food, warm clothing, shelter).
The need for a sense of confidence (safety, security).
Socially useful needs (feelings of kinship, love).
The need for a sense of respect (social status, his).
The need for self-realization (self-development).

Man strives to satisfy the most important needs first. After achievement, motivation gradually fades away and a person needs to move to the next level. A hungry person does not care what is currently relevant in the art world, but as soon as he is full, the needs of the next level will come to the fore.

F. Herzberg - the theory of two basic factors of motivation. Frederick Herzberg is convinced that at the heart of all needs are only two motivators: satisfaction and lack of satisfaction. Depending on these two factors, a person makes his choice when buying a product. The source of satisfaction and lack of satisfaction is a specific need. These two factors have a significant motivating effect on the consumer.

McClelland is the theory of acquired needs. McClelland in the behavior of buyers considers only three types of needs that arise due to life circumstances:

The need for achievement.
The need for social participation.
The need to possess and use.

On the basis of these acquired needs, a person motivates his choice in favor of the appropriate product.

Psychological Factors in Aggregate Buyer Research

Human psychology greatly helps marketing research understand customer behavior. The science of psychology gives out hidden information about the consumer and his behavior. Each person constantly makes decisions every day, from the trivial (for example, what to wear for work), to the most important (for example, where to invest the savings). In 90% of cases, we make decisions using only 10% of the information about him. In decision making important role(especially a modern person) play the basic criteria. They are also called heuristic (unconscious inventive thinking), which help us to unify basic knowledge and apply it to make quick decisions. In most cases, the heuristic decisions are correct. Making the right decisions quickly is a human reaction. In a rapidly changing modern world it is very important to show your reaction often. But even for heuristics, you need at least basic knowledge in order to have at least some idea as a result of making a decision. We capture this knowledge due to our clarity. In human thinking, intelligibility is a certain small amount of information perceived at a particular moment in time and only what is easier to remember is assimilated. When a customer sees a product on a shelf, they unconsciously associate it with commercial, which informs about all the benefits of the purchase. It is important that at the same moment the product is linked to one of three price levels: expensive, cheap, affordable. Psychological analysis of consumer behavior is only a small part of the psychology used in marketing research, but it plays a very important role.

In marketing, simple decisions beat complex ones.

Introduction

The essence of the marketing concept is to meet demand in order to achieve competitive advantages and making a profit. Marketing plays a leading role in the economy in an unstable, unpredictable, turbulent market environment.

The training of specialists in the specialty "Marketing" provides for the study of disciplines that allow solving one of the main problems of entrepreneurship - the problem of sales. During the training, students acquire knowledge about what products customers want to buy, what price they can pay, in which market segments the demand is greatest, what methods of sales and sales promotion to use.

The starting component in the training of marketers is familiarization with the factors that influence consumer behavior and the formation of an understanding of their reaction to the impact of the marketing mix.

The study of the motivation of human actions dates back to the 17th century. Systematic marketing research of consumer behavior began to be carried out in the 50s of the XX century. and during this period the teaching of the discipline "Consumer Behavior" began at the universities.

V study guide a set of questions regarding the behavior of individual and industrial consumers was considered, starting with making a purchase decision, an algorithm for the purchase process, characteristics of shopping actions and ending with methods for assessing a behavioral reaction

The textbook is prepared for studying the discipline "Consumer Behavior" in accordance with the industry standards for training students in the specialty "Marketing".

Consumer behavior in the context of economic exchange

The object and subject of the theory of consumer behavior

Consumer Behavior is an applied scientific discipline. The course is based on a number of fundamental scientific disciplines: sociology, psychology, social psychology, economic theory, anthropology, social history, cultural history.

The object of the discipline "Consumer Behavior" from an individualistic point of view is a person. In this sense, the object of this discipline is the same as that of medicine, psychology, sociology, political science, economic theory The personality is the object of a complex of sciences, each of which studies one of its aspects: physiology studies a person as a natural mechanism, medicine studies the treatment of this mechanism, psychology studies the mental organization of a person, psychiatry - the treatment of mental diseases, sociology - human behavior in social systems... In the sociological tradition, the object is one of the spheres of social life - the process of consumption, which exists along with production and distribution.

A subject is that side of an object on which a given scientific discipline is concentrated. There is a complex of "behavioral disciplines" that study certain mechanisms of human behavior. "Consumer Behavior" is one of many. its subject is not the whole person, but only his behavior, but not in all its manifestations, but only in the market and only as a consumer. In the sociological tradition, the subject is the behavior of various social communities in the process of consumption.

Consumers are individuals, organizations, enterprises that use goods. Increased competition makes it easier to produce a product than to sell it. This naturally determines the interest of sellers in studying the mechanisms of consumer behavior and exploring the possibilities of adequate impact on consumers to achieve the planned commercial results.

Consumer behavior is the behavior of a person that solves a problem, buying goods to meet personal needs. The content basis of consumer behavior is the purchasing decision-making process and the factors that determine it. In this context, it is advisable to distinguish the following concepts: final consumer and intermediate consumer, consumer and buyer.

End users buy for their own consumption, and intermediate consumers buy for resale or rent. The system of factors that determine the behavior of these groups of consumers is different.

The consumer and the buyer can be the same person, or they can be different. If a buyer buys for himself, then these concepts coincide, and if he buys for consumption by others, then they differ. Therefore, the buyer is the person who buys the product, and the consumer is the person who uses it. In the service sector, the concept of "buyer" and "consumer" coincide; in this area, the concept of "customer" is often used as the concept of "consumer".

Factors of consumer behavior can be divided into internal and external. External include those formed by the social environment: culture, moral values, demographic status, social status, reference groups, family, and the like. TO internal factors those that are inherent in the consumer as an individual: income level, perception, learning, memory, motives, emotions, temperament, and the like.

The starting point of consumer behavior is the lifestyle. It is believed that end consumers buy in order to maintain or improve their lifestyle. The consumer's decision-making process is considered, as a rule, as part of the following stages: consumer awareness of the existence of a problem, information search, assessment and selection of purchase alternatives, purchase, use of the purchase and assessment of the solution.

Traditionally, consumption was seen as a way to satisfy basic human needs through one-time or long-term consumption and destruction of goods. So, by consuming bread, you are destroying it, by consuming clothes, you are eating it. However, the study of consumption has led a number of researchers to the conclusion that consumption becomes for the broad masses of the population, first of all, the production of symbols. A person buys fashionable clothes so that everyone can see his modernity, and avoids extravagant ones so as not to be branded as an eccentric. A person, consuming, seeks to inform others about himself, in this way he writes a kind of text.

In the sciences of society at the end of the 20th century. consumption is seen as a social and cultural process involving cultural signs and symbols, and not just an economic utilitarian process. There are many groups of people whose consumption is determined by economic situation rather than social and cultural practice. However, even if they are not able to buy goods that have been seen in films or in the press, they may strive to purchase them. Thus, consumption is conditioned not only, but often not so much by basic needs as by the symbolic meaning that the culture of society puts into things.

True, one should not go from one extreme (the consumption of only objects), as is often done, to the other (the understanding of consumption as exclusively the production of symbols). People consume both in order to simply survive and in order to communicate with each other through the symbols produced in the process of consumption. To say that a car is only a means of transportation is as far removed from reality as it is to say that it is only a luxury item. The most elementary commodity that satisfies a basic need is symbolic, and a symbolic thing is also utilitarian. A car not only makes life easier for a person, but is a symbol with the help of which, willingly or unwittingly, information about the owner is transmitted to others: his economic situation, tastes, often claims, and even complexes.

The theory of consumer behavior is based on categories such as the law of demand and diminishing marginal utility of goods entering consumption. Consumer behavior affects the direction of production development and the structure of the economy as a whole. Consumer behavior also influences the pricing policy of the markets.

Ultimately, it is consumer behavior that compels sellers to raise or lower prices for goods, to anticipate the consequences of holding prices unchanged. Such questions constantly arise before businessmen, since profits and losses depend on the price level.

Consumer demand is limited by the personal budget of buyers, their monetary income, the amount of which at the established prices determines the size of the solvency of each of them. The utility of the acquired goods is considered by buyers as the correspondence of the goods to a set of certain consumer properties... When choosing purchases, consumers are guided by the rule of comparing the utility of goods with their prices, striving for the so-called equilibrium condition.

Consumers solve a triad of problems when they shop. How to balance the gains with the income within the personal budget? What is the usefulness of the acquired goods? How commensurate are the usefulness and price of these benefits? Of course, the answers to these questions are based on the purely personal opinions of each individual consumer. However, the diversity of subjective opinions still forms some general trends and patterns that can be described by theoretical concepts and measured by characteristics and indicators, which is important from a practical point of view.

It might be helpful to read:

Questions on the analysis of consumer behavior. Marketing research of end consumer behavior. The main directions of studying consumer behavior

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Similar documents

Chapter 1. Theory of studying consumer behavior

1.2. The main directions of studying consumer behavior

1.2 Consumer behavior as an object of marketing research

Prices as a consumer behavior factor in marketing research

Consumer marketing research model

Needs theories applied by marketing research

Psychological Factors in Aggregate Buyer Research

Introduction

Consumer behavior in the context of economic exchange

The object and subject of the theory of consumer behavior