“BUYER’S BEHAVIOR”.

Buyer’s Behavior

Two Categories Of Buyer’s:-

•Individual Consumers

•Business Buyers

INDIVIDUAL BUYERS :- These buyers buys things for his own personal and family consumption.

BUSINESS BUYERS:- These are the commercial buyers they buys things for manufacturing other products or for reselling or use in the running of his enterprises.

BUYER BEHAVIOUR MODELS

1) MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS :

Self-actualization Needs

Esteem Needs

Social Needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs

2) The Economic Models: Buyer is a rational man and his buying decisions are totally governed by the concept of utility.

3) The Learning Model :

The buyer behavior can be influenced by manipulating the drives ,stimuli and responses of the buyer.4) The Psychoanalytical Model : The individual consumer has a complex set of deep-seated motives that drive him towards certain buying decisions.

5) The Sociological Model : In this model the individual buyer is influenced by society .His buying decisions are not totally governed by utility ,he has a desire to emulate ,follow ,and fit in with his immediate environment.

6) The Nicosia Model: It tries to establish a link between the firm and the consumer. And in this model human being is analyzed as a system with “stimuli” as a the input of the System and “behavior” as the output of the system. This model is put forward by “FRANCESCO NICOSIA.” In 1966. 7) The Howard- Sheth Model: This model was put forward by John Howard and Jagadish Sheth in 1969.According to this model ,there are inputs in the form of stimuli. There are output beginning with attention to a given stimulus and ending with purchase.

FACTORS INFLUENCING BUYERS BEHAVIOUR:-The factors influencing buyer’s behavior grouped into 3 broad categories;

1) Factors that are part of the buyers as an individual.

2) Buyer’s social environment (group influence)

3) Information from a variety of sources .

1 .Factors That Are Part Of The Buyer As An Individual: (i) Personal factors (ii)Cultural factors (iii)Psychological factors

(I) Personal factors-(Age, Education, Economic Position, Status, Self-concept) An individual’s age, level of education, his occupation, overall economic position and lifestyle, all influences his role as a buyer. They decide what products will buy and consume. A person’s self- concept and his concern about status also influence his buying decisions.

(ii) Cultural factors: (Religion, language, etc…) Within any religion, there may be several sects and sub-sects; there may be orthodox groups and cosmopolitan groups. In dress ,Food habits or marriage-in almost all matters of individual life-religion and culture exercise an great influence .

(iii)Psychological factors-(beliefs,attitudes,motivation, and perception):- Individuals coming under the same economic and social groups can be vastly different when it comes to certain personal believes, faith and attitudes. One may be traditional in the overall view of life, while another may be modern. One may be least innovative, while another may welcome anything new.

2. Buyer’s Social Environment (Group Influence) The buyer, he is not an ascetic, he is living in a society, is influenced by it. He is a member of several organizations and groups, both formal and informal. There is constant interaction between the individual and the groups to which he belongs. Which influence him in his day-to-day life and consequently, his buying behavior. Since there are two broad groups of which an individual is apart, we shall discuss group influence in two parts.(i) Influence of intimate group.(ii) Influence of the broad social class

(i) Influence Of Intimate Group ; The intimate groups are like, family, friends, close colleagues and closely knit organizations. These groups exercise a strong influence on the lifestyles and the buying patterns of its members. Among these groups, the most influential and primary groups are the family and peer groups. The peer group has the greatest influence on the individual member as a stabilizer of styles and behavior patterns .

(ii) Influence Of The Broad Social Class; The social class is a larger group than the intimate groups. The constitution of a social class is decided by the income, occupation, place of residence, etc., of the individual members. They share a common lifestyle and behavior pattern. And they normally select a product or a brand that caters to their class norms..

3) Information from Various Sources; The buyer today is exposed to a veritable flood of information, unleashed on him from different sources. These sources inform him about new products and services. The information sources includes, advertising, samples, and trials, display in shops and sales men’s suggestions.etc…

Buying motives It may be defined as ‘all the impulses, desires and considerations’, which induce a buyer to purchase a given product.Buying Motives Generally Of Two Types;

•Product motives•Patronage motives

It is often said that “dissatisfaction of human beings creates new products and new markets”. A product is bundle of satisfaction. At least it is expected to be so .

•Product motives:- There are two categories

•Emotional product motives•Rational product motives

Emotional product motives are those impulses that appeal to the buyer’s pride or ego, his urge to imitate others, or his desire to be distinctive. It may persuade him to buy product without evaluating the plus and minus points of such action. Rational product motives, involves a logical analysis of the intended purchase- the purpose expected to be served by the product.

2. Patronage motives:- Just like product motive patronage motive also can be grouped into emotional and rational categories, Emotional patronage are those that a buyer to buy from specific shops, without much logical reason behind that action. However, if he selects a shop because he knows that it offers a wide selection, or the latest models, or good after-sales services, then he in influenced by the Rational Patronage Motives. There is a combination of both emotional and rational motives .

The buying process; There are eight stages of buying process,Problem recognition (need recognition)AwarenessComprehension (evaluation)AttitudeLegitimizationTrialAdoptionPost-purchase behavior

Business buyers

Definition:- A business buyer is one who buys goods and services for any or all of the following purposes;

•For making other goods and services•For reselling•For use as consumables in the organisation

Classification of business buyers:-

•Buyers in the agriculture sector•Buyers in the industrial sector •Buyers in the service sector• Resellers• Buyers in the government sector •Buyers in non-profit businesses

BUYING HABITS AND PATTERNS

•Goes through long negotiations.•Frequency of purchase.•Size of order.•Several participants in the buying decisions.•Distribution channels.