What is Consumer Behavior? (With Real World Examples) | From A Business Professor

Business School 101

11 Dec 202204:39

Summary

TLDRThis video introduces the concept of consumer behavior, which reflects the decisions consumers make regarding acquiring, using, and disposing of goods, services, and experiences. The process involves three main categories: acquisition, consumption, and disposition. It highlights how consumer behavior is dynamic and influenced by internal and external factors like psychology, economics, and social influences. Understanding consumer behavior benefits marketers, non-profits, and consumers by aiding in strategy development, targeting, and decision-making. The video emphasizes the importance of long-term relationships with consumers and effective marketing strategies.

Takeaways

☕ Consumers experience marketing transactions daily, such as buying coffee at Starbucks.
🛍️ Consumer behavior reflects the totality of decisions related to acquiring, consuming, and disposing of goods, services, and experiences.
🧠 Consumer behavior includes not only tangible products but also activities and experiences like vacations, haircuts, and donating.
🏛️ Consumers also make decisions in areas like politics, social media usage, and gym memberships.
📦 Acquisition is the process of obtaining offerings, including renting, leasing, and trading products or services.
👩‍💻 Consumption involves how consumers use products, and satisfaction or regret often follows based on their experience.
♻️ Disposition refers to how consumers get rid of products, which can involve donating, selling, or recycling.
🌍 Environmentally conscious consumers prefer reducing waste, recycling, and choosing eco-friendly products.
🔄 Consumer behavior is a dynamic process involving acquisition, consumption, and disposition over time.
📚 Understanding consumer behavior helps marketers develop strategies, position products, and build long-term relationships.

Q & A

What is consumer behavior?
-Consumer behavior reflects the totality of consumers' decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, activities, experiences, people, and ideas by decision-making units.
What are the three broad categories in which consumers make decisions?
-The three broad categories are acquisition, consumption, and disposition.
What does 'acquisition' mean in consumer behavior?
-'Acquisition' refers to the various ways consumers obtain offerings, such as renting, leasing, trading, or sharing.
How does consumer behavior extend beyond buying products?
-Consumer behavior includes not only buying tangible products but also using services, activities, and experiences, such as getting haircuts, going to the movies, taking vacations, or donating products.
Why is consumer behavior considered a dynamic process?
-Consumer behavior is dynamic because the acquisition, consumption, and disposition processes occur over time and in varying orders. These decisions can also involve multiple people and factors, such as where, when, and how to buy a product.
How do consumer reviews influence other consumers?
-Positive or negative consumer reviews significantly influence other consumers' purchasing decisions by shaping their perceptions of products or services.
What is disposition, and why is it important for marketers?
-'Disposition' refers to how consumers get rid of an offering, such as selling, donating, or recycling it. Understanding disposition is important for marketers because it provides insight into environmentally conscious consumers and their choices.
What role does psychology play in understanding consumer behavior?
-Psychology helps explain internal processes like motivation, perception, and memory, which influence consumers' decision-making.
Why is it important for marketers to understand consumer behavior?
-Marketers can develop better strategies, identify target consumers, and properly position their products in consumers' minds, leading to stronger relationships and increased sales.
How can nonprofit organizations benefit from studying consumer behavior?
-Nonprofits can understand consumer motivations for donating and develop effective strategies to increase donations, such as focusing on emotional appeals by highlighting time rather than money.

Outlines

00:00

☕ Everyday Consumer Experiences

In this section, the speaker introduces the concept of consumer behavior by using a relatable example—choosing a coffee at Starbucks. This simple act, influenced by marketing, reflects the daily decisions consumers make while interacting with various marketing stimuli. The example is expanded to show that consumer behavior isn't limited to purchasing goods, but extends to choosing services and activities like gym memberships or streaming content. Marketing plays a key role in influencing these decisions.

🛍 What is Consumer Behavior?

Consumer behavior encompasses the complete decision-making process regarding the acquisition, use, and disposal of goods, services, activities, and experiences. This paragraph elaborates on how consumers not only purchase products but also engage in services and experiences such as haircuts or vacations. It further explains that consumer behavior includes voting, spending time on social platforms, and gym activities. In short, it's the totality of decisions made by consumers in various contexts.

🛒 Acquisition: The First Stage

Acquisition is the initial stage in consumer behavior, where individuals decide how to obtain an offering, whether through renting, leasing, or buying. This paragraph provides an example of comparing rental car prices across different providers like Enterprise and Avis. The focus is on how consumers evaluate various options before settling on a choice that best meets their needs, signifying the importance of comparison in the acquisition process.

📈 Consumption: The Second Stage

After acquiring a product or service, consumers enter the consumption stage, where they experience the offering. The emotional response to consumption can vary, from satisfaction to regret. This section highlights how consumer feedback, whether positive or negative, significantly influences other buyers' decisions. It stresses that marketers must meet consumer expectations to generate positive reviews, thus enhancing their brand reputation and influencing future sales.

♻️ Disposition: The Final Stage

The last stage of consumer behavior is disposition, which involves how consumers get rid of products after use. Disposition methods include selling, lending, donating, or throwing away. The paragraph emphasizes the role of environmentally conscious consumers who choose sustainable options, like recycling or selecting biodegradable products. This stage has significant implications for marketers, as disposal choices affect long-term brand perception and environmental responsibility.

🔄 The Dynamic Nature of Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is a dynamic process involving the acquisition, consumption, and disposition stages, which occur over time and often involve multiple decisions. This paragraph explains that consumer decisions are influenced by many factors, such as when and where to buy, and how marketing stimuli play a vital role. It also discusses the interdisciplinary nature of studying consumer behavior, with insights drawn from psychology, economics, and sociology.

💡 Understanding the Broader Implications of Consumer Behavior

This section defines consumer behavior as the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, use, and dispose of products or services to satisfy needs. It also examines how these processes impact society as a whole. Understanding consumer behavior allows marketers to develop more effective strategies and build long-term customer relationships. Additionally, non-profit organizations can benefit from these insights to increase donations and better engage with supporters.

📊 Benefits of Studying Consumer Behavior

This final paragraph outlines the advantages of understanding consumer behavior. Marketers can create targeted strategies, improve product positioning, and foster long-term consumer relationships, resulting in increased sales. Non-profits can better understand donor motivation, leading to more effective fundraising efforts. Finally, consumers themselves can make better, informed decisions when navigating marketing stimuli, enabling them to evaluate choices critically.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior refers to the totality of decisions consumers make regarding the acquisition, consumption, and disposal of goods, services, experiences, and ideas. In the video, it is highlighted as a dynamic process involving various decisions, such as choosing a coffee at Starbucks or deciding to vote for a politician. Understanding this concept is crucial for marketers to target and satisfy consumer needs.

💡Acquisition

Acquisition involves the various ways in which consumers obtain products or services. This could include buying, renting, leasing, or trading. For example, the video discusses how consumers compare rental car prices from different companies like Enterprise or Avis before deciding which to rent. Acquisition is one of the three major stages of consumer decision-making.

💡Consumption

Consumption refers to how consumers use the products or services they acquire. It affects whether they are satisfied or regret their purchase, which can lead to positive or negative reviews. In the video, the concept is illustrated by consumers using offerings and either enjoying or regretting the experience, influencing future purchases.

💡Disposition

Disposition is the process of getting rid of a product once it is no longer needed. This can involve selling, giving away, recycling, or throwing away items. The video mentions how environmentally conscious consumers may recycle or choose biodegradable products, reflecting how disposition has marketing and ethical implications.

💡Marketing Stimuli

Marketing stimuli are external factors, such as advertisements, promotions, and product placements, that influence consumer decisions. The video emphasizes how consumers are surrounded by marketing stimuli, which impact their choices and behaviors, from selecting coffee to voting or spending time on social media.

💡Psychology in Consumer Behavior

Psychology helps explain the internal processes that influence consumer behavior, such as motivation, perception, and memory. The video discusses how psychology, combined with economics, provides insight into why consumers make specific decisions, like the desire for a particular product or brand loyalty.

💡Sociology in Consumer Behavior

Sociology examines how external factors like culture, social groups, and societal trends impact consumer behavior. In the video, sociology is mentioned as a framework to understand how cultural influences and social environments shape consumer choices and behaviors, such as voting or donating to charity.

💡Dynamic Process

Consumer behavior is described as a dynamic process because the stages of acquisition, consumption, and disposition occur over time and in different orders. The video highlights that consumer decisions are influenced by evolving needs, external stimuli, and situational factors, making behavior fluid and adaptable.

💡Decision-Making Units

Decision-making units refer to the individuals or groups involved in making consumer decisions. The video discusses how consumer behavior isn't limited to individual choices but can involve families or organizations, especially when making decisions about purchasing goods, services, or experiences like renting a car or booking a vacation.

💡Non-Profit Marketing

Non-profit organizations benefit from understanding consumer behavior to motivate donations and support. The video explains how knowing what drives consumers to donate, such as emotional responses to time versus money, helps charities develop effective strategies to increase donations.

Highlights

Consumer behavior reflects the totality of consumers' decisions with respect to the acquisition, consumption, and disposition of goods, services, activities, and experiences.

Consumer behavior includes not only buying tangible products but also using services, activities, and experiences such as haircuts, vacations, and donations.

There are three broad categories of consumer decisions: acquisition, consumption, and disposition.

Acquisition involves various ways of obtaining offerings, such as renting, leasing, trading, and sharing.

Consumption focuses on how consumers use a product or service and the resulting satisfaction or regret.

Disposition addresses how consumers get rid of offerings through methods like recycling, donating, or throwing them away.

Environmentally conscious consumers may choose biodegradable products and put effort into recycling or reducing waste.

Consumer behavior is a dynamic process, where acquisition, consumption, and disposition can occur over time in different sequences.

Consumer behavior can be influenced by marketing stimuli and various factors such as culture, social influences, and economic considerations.

Psychology, economics, and sociology help explain different aspects of consumer behavior, including motivation, perception, and social influences.

Understanding consumer behavior helps marketers develop better strategies, identify target consumers, and position products effectively.

Managers at non-profit organizations can benefit from studying consumer behavior to develop strategies for increasing donations.

Consumers tend to donate more when they think about time compared to money, as considering time makes them more emotional.

Studying consumer behavior helps consumers make better decisions when faced with various marketing stimuli.

Marketers can build long-term relationships with consumers by understanding their behaviors, ultimately leading to increased sales.