social and psychological influences on buyer behaviour

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Chapter 6

Social and Psychological Influences on Buyer Behaviour

Copyright © 2001 by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited

Sommers Barnes

Ninth Canadian Edition

Presentation by

Karen A. Blotnicky

Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS



Copyright © 2001 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited 6 - 2

Chapter Goals

To gain an understanding of:

The process of consumer purchasedecision making

The importance of various informationsources on buying decisions

The impact on purchasing caused byreference groups, family, household,social class, culture, subculture,motivation, perception, learning,personality, attitudes, and situationalfactors




BUYING-DECISION PROCESS

Need recognition

Identification of alternatives

Evaluation of alternatives

Purchase and related decisions

Postpurchase behaviour

INFORMATION

Commercial

sources

Social sources

SITUATIONAL

FACTORSWhen

consumers buy

Where

consumers buy

Why consumers

buy

Conditions

under which

consumers buy

PSYCHOLOGICAL

FORCES

Motivation

PerceptionLearning

Personality

Attitude

SOCIAL AND

GROUP FORCES

Culture

SubcultureSocial class

Reference groups

Family and households

Copyright © 2000 McGraw Hill Ryerson Limited




The Buying-Buying Decision Process

The consumer goes through a series of decision-making stages en route to a decision andbeyond:

1. recognition of an unmet need2. choice of an involvement level

3. identification of alternatives

4. evaluation of alternatives5. purchase and related decisions

6. postpurchase behaviour




V ariations in the Purchase Process

the consumer can withdraw at anystage

some stages may be skipped

the stages are generally of varyinglength

some stages may be performedsubconsciously




Level of Involvement

influences the amount of effort the consumer

will devote to the purchase decision process

involvement is higher when

consumer lacks information about purchase

product or service is considered important

risk of a bad decision is perceived to be high

product or service is socially important product or service has the potential to provide

significant benefits




Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives search for alternatives may be limited to

options close at hand or may be moreextensive

influenced by information available,confidence in the information, and expectedbenefit or value of additional information

evaluation of alternatives is based on certain

criteria,criteria, which vary in importance acrossconsumers -- this is what make for theexistence of market segments




The Purchaseand Related Decisions decision to buy is only the beginning of a

more complex decision process

marketers must make it as easy as possible

for the customer to make these decisions the additional decisions that have to be

made include where to buy, how to payfor the purchase, how to take delivery,

whether to buy the extended warranty,etc.

purchase decision is influences by a seriesof patronage buying motivespatronage buying motives




Postpurchase Behaviour after a purchase, the consumer has learned a

number of things that affect future purchases

also goes through a period of anxiety known

as cognitive dissonancecognitive dissonance; consumer is not surewhether he or she has made the rightdecision

dissonance is greater when price is high,

when alternatives are similar, and when thepurchase is perceived to be important

consumers try to reduce dissonance byseeking positive reinforcement



Copyright © 2001 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited 6 -10

Information Influencing Purchase Decisions

There are two sources of information:

The commercial environmentcommercial environmentconsisting of all marketing

organizations and individuals whoattempt to communicate withconsumers.

The social environmentsocial environment, including

noncommercial word-of-mouthcommunication and observation ofothers using products.




Cultural Influenceson Behaviour buying decisions are influenced by social

forces

cultureculture has the most indirect impact; we are

all products of a handed-down culture cultural influences change very slowly overtime

ethnic subcultures have a profound effect on

how Canadians lead their lives the most obvious subcultural differences are

between French- and English-Canadians,although many other ethnic subcultures exist




M ulticulturalism inCanada Sub-cultures make for profitable market

segments across Canada

Notable ethnic markets include: I

talian PortugueseChineseGerman

Middle and Eastern Europeans are clusteredin the Prairie region

Italian and Chinese populations are clusteredin Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver




The Quebecois M arket

The Francophone market differs from theAnglophone market in Canada and should betreated as distinct

I

t is large enough to be considered a culture,rather than a sub-culture

The French live across Canada, but theQuebec region is different due to: SizeHomogeneity Purchasing power Social and political orientation




Social Class Influence social classsocial class represents an interesting way to

look at a market; influenced by such factorsas education, occupation, and place ofresidence

may be used as a basis for segmentingmarkets, and may reflect the aspirations ofconsumers

social classes exist whether people care to

admit it or not; differences in beliefs andattitudes exist across class boundaries; andsocial class may be a better predictor ofbuyer behaviour than income




The Social ClassSystem

The Upper

Class

(2%)

The Upper (Old Money)

The Lower (New Rich)

The MiddleClass

(45%)

The Upper (12%)

Moderately successful business

peo ple, prof essionals

The Lower (32%)White collar worker s, technicians,

small business owner s

The Lower

Class

(54%)The Upper (38%)Blue collar (work ing class)

The Lower (16%)Unsk illed, chronically unemployed,

welf are poor




Reference Group Influence

reference groups are those with whom weinteract and who influence our attitudes,values and behaviour

small reference groupsreference groups establish normsthat influence purchase decisions, andtheir word-of-mouth is considered to bemore powerful than advertising and other

commercial forces the familyfamily and householdhousehold are considered

to be very influential reference groups




Psychological Factors Impacting Purchasing

Motivation and Need

PerceptionLearning

Personality and Attitude




M otivation and Need

M otivation, a need sufficientlystimulated that an individual is moved to seek satisfaction.

Motives are either physiological orpsychological.

Many different motives are often involvedin a purchase.

Maslow presents a hierarchy of needswhich helps us understand motivation.




SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Needs for self-fulfillment

ESTEEM

Needs for self-respect,

reputation, prestige, and status

BELONGING AND LOVENeeds for affection, belonging

to a group, and acceptance

SAFETY

Needs for security, protection, and order

PHYSIOLOGICAL

Needs for food, drink, sex, and shelter

Maslow¶s Hierarchy of Needs




P erception

The process of receiving, organizing andassigning meaning to stimuli detected by thesenses

Impacted by selectivity:

Selective attention ³only those stimuli thatcapture and hold attention can be perceived.

Selective distortion ³consumers alterinformation that is inconsistent with theirbeliefs and attitudes.

Selective retention ³consumers retain onlypart of what they perceive.




Learning

Changes in behaviour whichresult from observation orexperience

Responses to stimuli are learnedas a result of rewards orpunishments.

Responses can become habits thatreplace wilful behaviour.




V alues and Lifestyles

most valuable way of looking ata market and its potential

psychographic research isconsidered to have transcendeddemographic categories




Situational Influences

Five situations in which consumers findthemselves often influence their purchasebehaviour:

1. consider how timetime affects the decision to buy2. physical surroundingsphysical surroundings often influence purchases

3. the terms and conditionsterms and conditions surrounding the actualpurchase will influence the buying decision

4. the consumer·s objectivesobjectives are important5. the final buying decision is often influenced by

the consumer·s physical condition and moodphysical condition and mood

social and psychological influences on buyer behaviour

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