Consumer behavior

Section 1 : Marché et consommateurs :

Chapter 1: Consumer Behavior Process:
1. Definition of the field of study of consumer behavior:
Study of the processes involved in the choice, use, or abandonment of products, services, ideas, or
experiences by individuals or groups.
Objective:satisfy the needs and desires of consumers.
The set of mental, emotional, and physical activities of consumers when they choose, purchase,
consume and dispose of goods and services in order to satisfy their needs, as well as the factors that
influential over all these activities.
Examples of mental activities:
! Imagine that one has a car;
! Planifier les achats pour la fête d’al aïd ;
! Decide on the product or brand to buy
Examples of emotional activities:
! Be happy with the purchase you just made;
! Being dissatisfied with a salesperson's reception;
! To be shocked by an advertisement.
Examples of physical activities:
! To go to the store or to the supermarket;
! Fill out a form for a loyalty card or to participate in a free game.
! Word of mouth (Advising or discouraging the purchase of a product or service).
Consumer behavior is a process: consumers' activities are part of it.
of a process called the consumer decision process:
The entire consumption process, particularly the elements that influence the consumer beforehand,
during and after a purchase.

What precedes The Purchase What follows

2. The phases of the consumption process: Marketing Point of View Vs Consumer Point of View
consumer
Consumer viewpoint Marketing Perspective
Questions ["How does a consumer make a decision?","How are opinions formed and modified?"]
before Does he need a product? consumer attitudes towards the product?
purchase ["What are the best sources for","According to what criteria do consumers"]
to find out about the different choices? does he decide that one product is better than the others
others?
Question related - Is buying a product stressful or - How do circumstances, such as a lack of
at the time of purchase pleasant? from the time of the store's presentation,
What does the purchase reveal? do they affect the customer's purchase decision?
Questions Does the product bring pleasure? What determines customer satisfaction?
after purchase Is it in line with expectations? and their decision to renew their purchase?
-How is the product disposed of at the end-Does this person make their perception of
of use, and which are Do the products influence their decisions?
consequences for the environment? purchase?
3. The purchase: a decision-making process:
Definition:Actions taken by the consumer to meet their expectations.
! This decision is influenced by several elements;
! The process is essentially psychological;
! Every decision involves rational elements and emotional elements.
4. The differences in behavior:
Why?
• Consumption issues are perceptions
• They result from individual and situational factors.
• They do not all have the same complexity.
• They do not all have the same urgency.
• They provoke different levels of personal involvement.
 A frame of analysis you system of the behaviors of the consumers.

external influence
situations

system#of#
treatment Response level
S;muli#Marke;ng#
process of Behaviors
decision

influences
individual

Behavioral responses:
! Purchase/non-purchase:
4 Acquisition
4 Usage
4 Possession
! The purchase volume
! The purchase frequency
! Attitudes and preferences
! The degree of satisfaction/dissatisfaction
! Fidelity
Consumer behavior: the different types of influence.
Internal influences: Influences#externes#:#
• Perception# • Culture#
• Motivation • Under4culture#
• Learning • Social class
• Attitudes# • Reference group
• personality • family

DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
• Reconnaissance of a
problem#
• Information search
• Evaluation of alternatives
• Intention to purchase
• Evaluation#post4achat#

Situational Influences: Produit/service#:#

• Environment# • Attributes#
• Weather • Price#
• Economy • Image#
• distribution#
Objectives of the study of consumer behavior:
4 Describe and understand a purchasing behavior model;
4 Present the variables that influence the decision-making process;
4 Discover the decision-making process;
4 Understanding the impact of these processes on marketing strategies.
Consequences for Marketing:
4 Anticipate
4 Act on perceptions
 4 Communicate
4 Focus on service and proximity
4 Innovate
Objectives of a good understanding of consumer behavior in applications
marketing
4 Better segment the markets
4 Better positioning of products against segments and competition
4 Make a choice of the distribution network
4 Establish a pricing structure
4 Establish a communication strategy
Section 2: Influences of psychological factors:
Chapter 2: Perception Process:
1. Generalities:
The process by which the individual organizes and interprets the messages that emanate from their environment.
Process by which the individual perceives and understands the world around them.
Perception is an experience and a process through which the consumer selects, organizes and
interprets the information that reaches him.
Mechanism of the perception process:

EXPOSITION# ATTENTION# INTERPRETATION#

Note:
℘ Perceptions generate attitudes that predispose to purchasing behavior.
℘ Different perceptions = different interpretations / different attitudes / different purchase intentions.

Perception#

Beliefs Sentiments#

Attitudes# Purchase intention"#

Purchase#otherwise#no#purchase#
Example: perceptions related to the price of the price
• Consumers are developing expectations about what a price range should be.
reasonable, what is called 'acceptance zones'.
• Studies show that a price set below a 'round number' is perceived as being lower.
Example: 9.90 dirhams vs 10,000 dirhams
•The price can act as a projection or a signal of the quality of the product or service, addressed to
consumers.
2) The exhibition:
The exposure occurs when a stimulus is perceivable by the sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth,
skin)
Consumers do not pay the same attention to all stimuli:
4 They focus more on certain ones.
4 They don't even perceive others.
4 It also happens that consumers choose to no longer pay attention to certain stimuli.
a) The sensory detectors:
1) The absolute threshold:
The threshold defines the lowest intensity of stimulus that a sensory channel can register.
The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation rate that a given sensory channel can perceive.
Note: In marketing, the absolute threshold is a fundamental consideration in the development of stimuli.
2) The differential threshold:
The differential threshold refers to the ability of the sensory system to perceive changes or differences.
entre 2 stimuli. La différence liminaire est la différence minimale qui puisse être détectée entre 2 stimuli.
Why?
For example:
4 The case of a promotion: Ensure that the change has been noticed.
4 The case of a slight increase in the price of a product:
4 The case when the portion decreases while maintaining the same price: Also hide this loss as best as possible.
for the consumer.
Note: The consumer's ability to notice a difference between two stimuli is relative: it is the
the difference between the intensity level of the stimulus and that of its environment that determines perception
stimulus.
III. Attention:
1) Definition: Attention is the degree of processing activity devoted to a specific stimulus.
Attention varies depending on:
4 Characteristics of the stimulus
4 Characteristics of the stimulus receptor
Today, the individual is in a state of sensory overload, exposed to a wealth of information.
2) The process of perceptual selection: It means that individuals only process a small proportion of
stimuli to which they are exposed. Personal factors or those related to these stimuli influence the choice of
consumers.
2-1- Personal selection factors:
a) Experience: Experience is the result over time of the acquisition and processing of stimuli.
She is one of the factors that determine the exposure rate to a given stimulus, acceptable by a
No one. The perceptual filters based on our past experiences influence the selection we
let's operate among these data.
b) Perceptual vigilance: Perceptual vigilance is one of the factors of personal selection. The
consumers are more receptive to stimuli related to their current needs: This is one of the factors of
personal selection. Consumers are more receptive to stimuli related to their current needs:
An individual who is usually very inattentive to 'computer' advertisements becomes much more receptive.
when he is about to buy a laptop.
a) Perceptual defense:
Perceptual defense is the counterpoint of perceptual vigilance.
Individuals only see what they want to see.
images of lungs ravaged by cancer.
It is likely that we will not receive this stimulus if these images seem frightening to us.
It is also likely that we will receive this stimulus.
For example, we will alter its meaning to make these images acceptable.
b) Adaptation: Adaptation is a degree of perception of a stimulus based on habit.
The process of adaptation occurs when consumers no longer pay attention to the stimulus.
When the stimulus becomes familiar: consumers no longer pay attention to it.
Several factors lead to adaptation:
• Exposure: We get used to frequently encountered stimuli
• Less intense stimuli: Dull noises and muted colors have a smaller impact on the senses.
• The duration: Stimuli that require attention effort necessitate a relatively longer exposure.
long.
• Discrimination: Very simple stimuli do not require attention to detail.
• Relevance: Irrelevant or unimportant stimuli fail to capture attention.
1) The selection factors of a stimulus:
4 The characteristics of the stimulus play an important role in perception.
4 In general, stimuli that differ from those surrounding them are more likely to be noticed.
Some factors creating this difference (or contrast):
a) Size: The size of the stimulus helps to determine whether it will attract attention.
Example: the impact rate of an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine increases with its size.
b) Color: Color is an excellent way to attract attention to a product or to give it a
own identity.
c) The location: Stimuli placed in places that we tend to look at have more
chances of being noticed.
Example: Retail stores:
Very tough competition among suppliers to have their products displayed prominently in stores.
eyes.
 d) The unusual: The stimuli that occur unexpectedly or in places where they are not anticipated.
tend to attract attention.
Example: an individual usually very inattentive to "computer" advertisements becomes much more so.
receptive when he is about to buy a laptop.
c) Perceptual defense: Perceptual defense is the counterpoint to perceptual vigilance: The
Individuals only see what they want to see.
Example: imagine the following stimulus:
4 Images of lungs ravaged by cancer.
4 It is likely that we will not receive this stimulus
4 For example, if these images seem frightening to us.
4 It is also likely that we receive this stimulus
Par exemple, nous en modifierons le sens pour rendre ces images acceptables.
d) The adaptation:
4 Adaptation is a degree of perception of a stimulus based on habit.
4 The adaptation process occurs when consumers no longer pay attention to
stimulus.
1) Needs, motivations, and values:
• Theory of motivations:
Needs and motivation explain an individual's behavior.
Motivations have been added to the concept of need, stemming from economics.
Understanding motivations is essential to explain consumer behavior.
Definitions:
The need corresponds to an uncomfortable situation caused by a state of physiological deficit such as
thirst or psychological needs like recognition or affection.
Motivation is a force that drives action fueled by an urgent need.
Values are great principles or fundamental beliefs that allow for the evaluation of a situation or
to justify an action.
Advertising attempts to align the product with a priority value.
A need can be conscious or unconscious:
4 Conscious: the consumer is able to express it spontaneously.
4 Unconscious: the need is latent, always likely to manifest.
Not all needs transform into motivation.
They must reach a critical level for the individual to act.
# The consumer arbitrates according to their own priorities.
Hence, the role of marketing here: to identify consumer priorities.
Classification of needs:
Maslow's theories: "Man only feels a need for the immediately higher level when the need
The inferior is satisfied. His theory also states that a satisfied need no longer motivates the individual.
! To trigger the purchase:
4 Seek to dramatize the consequences of an unmet need;
Note: marketing does not create needs per se, but strongly manipulates their initial hierarchy.
in a favorable manner to the brand.
" Fostering certain motivations over others.
" Reduce the barriers that hinder purchase
Chapter 4: Learning, Attitudes, Personality, and Lifestyles
1) Learning: An individual's past experience with a product or service alters their
purchase behavior.
2) Attitudes: Favorable or unfavorable predisposition towards a product, service, event...
(Attraction or repulsion).
Note: it is difficult to change attitudes.
3) Personality: Distinctive psychological characteristics of an individual:
4 Who generate coherent and sustainable responses
4 Who influence their reaction to their environment
The consumer makes decisions based on their personality and ideal self-image.
4) The lifestyle:
Lifestyle of the individual expressed through their activities, interests, opinions, the products or
services that he buys...
Section3: Influences of sociological factors
Chapter 4: social and cultural factors:
Culture: a set of values, perceptions, desires, and basic behaviors taught to members.
of a society by its family or other important institutions (e.g., school). Marketers attempt to
detect cultural trends.
2) Subculture: group of people sharing the same values due to their nationality, their religion,
their membership in an ethnic group, their age, or their geographical location.
# Important market segments with specific needs.
Example: African Americans, seniors...
3) Social class: relatively homogeneous and permanent groups, ordered in relation to each other, and
where members share the same system of values, the same way of life, the same interests and the same
behaviors.
Example: luxury product marketing relies heavily on social classes to define the scope.
of its markets. This classification allows for the division of a market according to power
Groups: two or more people who interact to achieve personal or collective goals.
4 Belonging group: direct influence of the group
4 Reference group: point of comparison
The consumer aligns their judgments with those of the group they wish to belong to.
4 Influence of the opinion leader: it is a product that informally influences behavior
other people in a desired direction.
Opinion leaders are an attractive target for launching a new product: because they accelerate the
diffusion of the product among other consumers.
The family:
For a given product: the respective influence of the husband, the wife, and the children varies according to the phase of the
purchase process.
Work of the marketing manager: identify the respective weights of each spouse.
Why? To focus efforts on the decision-maker.
6) The roles and the status:
Activities that a person is supposed to accomplish (father, mother, artist, athlete...)
For personal influencing factors (age...)
Other factors: situational influence factors:
4 Environments: the atmospheric
4 Time
Section 4: the purchasing decision process:
Chapter 5: the purchase decision process
The different stages of the purchasing process:
1) The recognition of the problem:
4 Response to stimuli
4 Revelation of the need
2) The search for information:
4 Personal sources
4 Commercial sources
4 Public sources
4 The sources related to the experience
3) Evaluation of alternatives:
4 Product attribute weight
4 Beliefs and attitudes
4) Purchase decision:
4 Difference between purchase intention and purchase decision
4 Unforeseen situational factors
5) Post-purchase behavior:
4 The use of the product
4 Satisfaction: alignment between prior expectations and actual performance of the product
4 Claim behavior
The purchasing decision process:
Problem recognition" information search" evaluation of alternatives" Purchase decision"
post-purchase behavior
Conclusion: consumer motivations are linked to personal characteristics and lifestyle.
each person's decision: consumer's black box.
The buyer behavior model:
Marketing et autres stimuli : Marketing : 4P/ Autres : économiques, technologique, politique, culturel
Black box of the buyer: characteristics of the buyer and buyer decision-making process
Buyer's responses: product choice, brand choice, seller choice, time of purchase, amount of
the purchase.
Section 5: the corporate clientele:
Chapter 7: Business Buying Behavior:
1) Particularities of the business market:
4 Fewer buyers
4 More important affected volumes
4 The demand from businesses is a derived demand: it depends on the consumer demand of
particulars.
4 More participants in decision-making and more professional effort
4 Purchasing process involving more formalities
Business buying behavior model:
Environment
Mix marketing Other stimuli
4P economic
technological
politics
cultural
competitiveness

The company
client#

the center
of purchase

process of
decision
of purchase

influence
individual and
interpersonal
es#

Behavior of
the buyer
Choice of product or service
Supplier selection
Ordered quantity
Delivery conditions
Services
Payment
4 The shopping center: a gathering of all individuals involved in the decision-making process.
purchase.
4 Three purchasing situations:
the simple buyback
the modified buyback
the new purchase
The main influences on purchases:
4 Influence of environmental factors: (culture and habits, technological innovations,
development of competitiveness, Economic developments...)
4 Influences of organizational factors: (objectives, policies, procedures, structure)
organizational, business systems
4 Influences of interpersonal factors: group dynamics, authority, role...
4 Influence of individual factors: buyer's personality, age, income, hierarchical position,
risk taking...
3) The steps of the purchasing process:
Problem recognition" general description of the decision" product specialization" search for
supplier" reception and analysis of proposals" supplier selection" ordering procedure"
monitoring and evaluation of results.
Conclusion : différence entre le marché des entreprises et le marché des consommateurs.
4 In both markets, individuals are considered to be making purchasing decisions to satisfy their needs.
needs.
4 But the main difference lies in the market structure, which is not the same (fewer buyers.
numerous but larger volumes).
4 But also in the number of participants involved in decision-making in B to B.
4 For consumer purchases to take place in B to B, many exchanges between the company and
its partners are necessary.