There are many factors influencing consumer behavior that have been identified. Consumer behavior has a direct impact on the success or the failure of a product. It is highly important for the business to identify the factors influencing consumer behavior before launching its marketing plan.
Identifying the factors influencing consumer behavior helps the business to get to know the customers better and provides a better view of the target market. It allows the business to develop the product based on the customer needs and even helps to achieve a competitive advantage in the target market.
A large number of features have been identified as factors influencing consumer behavior. Those factors can categorize into three sub-factors.
1. Psychological
2. Personal
3. Social
4. Cultural
Psychological Factors
Motivation – Customers usually should have a need or a want to purchase any product. This indicates an unsatisfied requirement in the customers’ lifestyle. When there is such need or want, the customer gets motivated to purchase a product or a service available in the market, that can satisfy the need or want.
Perception – Customers’ observations and insights about a certain product or a service can create a huge impact on their behavior. Perception can vary from customer to customer. One customer might see a certain product as a necessity for their lifestyle while another customer might see the same product as a luxury. Perception can change based on their lifestyle, needs, expenditure patterns as well as the way of creating awareness by the marketing team of the product.
Beliefs – Beliefs can change from person to person. Beliefs can create a huge impact on the use of a particular product or a service. Beliefs can change based on geographical factors, ethnicity, religion as well as personal circumstances.
Personal Factors
Age – Age can be considered as one of the main factors that can influence consumer behavior. Need of many products and services are focused on a certain age group as the goods and service use can vary based on the age factor. As an example, the younger generation shows a higher tendency of using electronic communication devices in their day-to-day life than elder generations.
Occupation – Certain occupations require special equipment and support services to function properly. The people who engage in such occupations tend to purchase goods and services related to their employment continuously.
Economic circumstances – The level of income as well as disposable income can create a direct impact on consumer behavior. This factor goes hand in hand with the nature of the product. If the product is a necessity, the impact of the economic circumstance is low. If the product is a non-necessity or a luxury product, the level of disposable income plays a major role in the purchasing decision.
Social Factors
Reference groups – The purchasing decisions can be hugely impacted by the comment of the reference groups. Since humans generally tend to follow what they hear in society, the comments of the reference groups can create both pros and cons in the purchasing level of a certain product or a service.
Roles and status – When living in society, there are certain roles that humans should complete and status that should be maintained. It is essential to make the purchasing decisions based on the social role and the status maintained.
Cultural Factors
Culture – Culture plays a major role in purchasing decisions of the customers. A product that is very commonly used in one culture can be used very randomly in another culture. it is important for the marketing team to identify the cultural impact created in the target market for a particular product.
Social Class System – In most countries, the social class system divides people as well as their consumer patterns. Some products are limited to the use of higher social class whereas some products are limited for the use of the lower social class.