Consumer behavior patterns and influences

Consumer Behavior

When you are in the business of selling products it is very important to understand why consumers buy what they do. Being successful at marketing, sales and customer service all depend on understanding why people buy what they do and why they buy it from whom they do. Having this basic understanding lends a company to better develop their marketing and advertising plans in order to be successful (John Mehrmann, 2007).

There are three main categories that affect why people buy. The first is that of prestige, luxury, and style. When people purchase for this reason they usually do it with some intent. They tend to make these types of buying decisions well ahead of time and with plenty of thought put into them. The second category that affects why people buy is that of quality, reliability, durability, or reputation. These decisions are typically based upon past experiences. The third category is that of saving time and money (John Mehrmann, 2007).

Once the concept of why people buy things is understood then a company can begin to design their marketing and advertising campaigns. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior which states that if people believe that a behavior is positive, and if they think that others want them to perform the behavior, they will have a higher intention to perform that behavior. I looked at three different advertisements regarding air fresheners to which this theory applies.

The first advertisement was for Airwick. This was aired during the evening news at 7:00 PM. The target audience for this advertisement was people who like to be at home and want it to smell good when they are there. The expected level of involvement for this product would be high. The need that is created for this product is to have a nice smelling house by using the Airwick Symphonia. With this product you can always have your favorite fragrances that rotate every hour so that you always notice them.

The second advertisement was for Ambi Pur. This was aired during an episode of Law & Order, at 9:00 PM. The target audience for this advertisement was people who want to be able to smell their favorite fragrances in their homes. The expected level of involvement for this product would be high. The need created for this product is to be able to always smell your favorite fragrance by using the Ambi Pur Symphonia that allows you to pick two of your favorite scents and the machine rotates the fragrances.

The third advertisement was for Glade. This was aired during an episode of the Simpson's at 9:00 PM. The target audience for this advertisement was people who want nice smelling houses. The expected level of involvement for this product would be high. The need created for this product is to be able have a nice smelling environment within your house, by using the Glade Sense & Spray. It has a motion sensor that goes off when motion is detected near it.

Consumer behavior looks at the use and disposal of products along with how and why they are purchased. Product use is usually a great interest to those in marketing, as this information can be used to best position a product for increased sales (Lars Perner, 2008). Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and the idea of perceived behavioral control, you can see how these advertisements hope to influence the consumers purchasing decisions. They are hoping that they will buy their product not based upon the idea of simply just buying the product, but the feelings that they will have about buying the product. They want the consumer to buy the product in order to have a nice smelling house. All three of these products have the same end result, a nice smelling house. It is the delivery of the nice smell that is different among each product.

The manufacture is counting on the fact that the consumer will buy the product because it will produce the end result of making their house smell nice. The delivery system of each product will play a role in which particular product out of the mix the consumer will purchase and ultimately which brand will be bought over another.

Understanding the thought processes that a consumer goes through in making their decision on first whether to buy or not and then more specifically which particular product to buy within a category can be crucial to the success of a business. Some of the issues that marketers need to keep in mind when developing advertising campaigns include:

The psychology of how consumers make choices between different alternatives

The psychology of how consumers are influenced by their environment