When something breaks in life, people will need to go about ensuring that they get the thing fixed. In some scenarios, people will be able to fix things themselves and then there will be other times where people will need to hire trained professionals who are qualified to complete certain tasks. This can be the scenario when it comes to things to do with lighting and it can be the scenario when it comes to Read more…
Step one of using a Newcastle storage facility is renting or buying the unit. While anyone in the Hunter region of New South Wales can take advantage of these businesses, there are some commonsense strategies to optimising this investment. Rather than making assumptions about how these spaces can be used or how they should be approached, local citizens are thinking more strategically about these outlets and how they can best serve their needs. It is Read more…
With all the rules and regulations regarding consumer rights and economic policies, consciously or unconsciously, there are some restrictions that are placed on the consumers as well.
1) Lack of sustainable products
With the rising issue of climate change and the planet dying, consumers are advised to use sustainable products. This will include products that are not packaged in plastic and that are environment friendly. However, the producers continue making products as always have. This inflicts a conflict of interest among what the consumer wants and what the producers are producing. Even though, we say demand creates supply, consumers cannot cut off on the majority of the product in the market at a single go. The consumers are therefore restricted to buying the products that are already available. Even though sustainable products are available to a certain extent, they are extremely expensive. For example, if a plastic straw costs around 1 rupee, a metal straw, a much sustainable alternative to plastic straws, costs around 600 rupees. So, even though there are choices, the consumers are restricted from buying what they really want.
2) Monopoly of Markets
For certain products, a single company may have monopoly over the entire market. This again restricts the consumer from having adequate options or alternatives in the market. This restricts the consumer from making the choice that s/he wants to make because of the lack of available alternatives. Another restrictions is the increased prices charged by monopoly markets. Netflix can be considered as a good example of a monopoly.
3) Filter bubbles
The filter bubbles are an example of restrictions faced by consumers in the internet. Any user in the internet can be a victim of the filter bubble. This particular phenomena occurs when a consumer receives content from the internet that are in alignment with his or her own thought processes. This restricts the consumer from receiving what is actually the truth or useful information that could possibly help him. Thus the consumer is left in an intellectual bubble and is not able to realise his flaws or to change his cognition.
4) Advertisements
Despite the ability of advertisements to provide good information, it can also restrict the consumer. It has the ability to instil a feeling of want in the consumer that did not exist previously. This restricts the consumers from purchasing what is actually required as the focus is shifted and the consumer ends up buying things that they don’t need.
5) Status Symbols
Consumers are social animals and continuously seek for approval. Due to this innate drive to please others and improve their self-image, consumers tend to make decisions that are not ideally suited for their optimal use. They end up buying products that have high brand value. This in turn restricts their ability to purchase what they really need.
Being loyal to a brand or a particular set of brands is kind of a pattern that consumer behavior reports as a successful way of knowing that some consumers love some brands and they have decided to stick to those brands. They get committed to specific products and brands, and they tend to repeat their purchases with that particular brand’s products over time because they are comfortable with what they have to offer and they also love it. Businesses plan in a different way to come up with creative ways to market their product by including discounts, rewards, and even loyalty points so that these things can retain some customers who already love the brand.
Genuinely loyal customers make sure that they look around in multiple stores for the product that they want if it is isn’t available in the store that they usually purchase it in. Loyal customers usually are ready to forego immense loads of issues and even problems to make sure that they get what they want wit that particular brand. They are even prepared to order it and wait weeks for it to arrive.
I have indeed seen this sort of brand loyalty in myself. I am very loyal to Apple; simply because they make the best consumer products when it comes to personal technology. I remember waiting an entire night in front of an Apple store for the new iPhone, and I don’t regret it because I am immensely happy with what I have and what I use every day. Brand loyalty should not be confused with blind loyalty. People loyal to a brand are like that because they recognize that they love something about the brand, and they genuinely like using those products. Therefore they are loyal, and they are ready to pay whatever price to make sure that they will get the product that they desire.
Brand loyalty is very important because it makes the companies incredibly happy that a set of people love what they are doing and it inclines them towards to inventing new and even better products so that their customers will love those too. In some cases, we have seen that brand loyalty is taken advantage of, when we see that a shirt is priced at $5000, when we can get a similar shirt for $20, but some people decide to go for the pricier one because they are loyal to that brand. Companies should not take advantage of loyal customers; they should instead make sure they do everything to retain them.
Companies that have acquired a strong fan base and an even stronger brand loyal fandom surely will have a bright future. Disney, Marvel, Apple, DC, Google, etc. are some of the examples of companies that will do amazingly well for years to come.
Consumer behavior can be construed as the way people/customers and groups of people choose, buy, use, and dispose of goods and services which satisfy or aim to satisfy their needs and wants. The study of consumer behavior gives companies an edge so that they can analyze how the consumers are behaving towards their product and then make adjustments accordingly. The study of all of the actions which are done by the consumers when it comes to the marketplace and also the analyses of their motives tells the companies that are manufacturing products what the consumers prefer and what they are ready to pay for.
Marketers presume that by understanding what exactly pushes some consumers to buy some goods and why they avail some services. The manufacturing companies will actually find out which products are obsolete, which ones don’t sell well and which ones are being loved by the customers.
Advertisements play an integral role when it comes to putting through the details of a product to the mass population in an interesting yet catchy way. The providing of information when it goes from user to user and also from the payer to the disposer holds a lot of value because all of it can be utilized by the companies. Roles vary when it comes to a lot of different situations. Take this, for example; a teacher plays a significant role as they influence a child from a very young age. They also play the role of disposer when it comes to disposing of the used products in a classroom.
Below I have listed out a definition for consumer behavior.
According to the brilliance of Engel, Mansard, and Blackwell, ‘consumer behavior is known as all the kinds of actions and also the decisions that people take and make when purchasing goods and also availing services for their personal consumption.’
The nature and attitude of consumer behavior is influenced by a number of factors. It can be affected by marketing factors like the design of the product, the price of it, how that product is promoted, how it is packed, and finally how the company plans on distributing it. All of these processes are considered and planned after figuring out how the consumers are enjoying the previous products that were manufactured by the company.
One of the main things that you have to understand about consumer behavior is that it is never static or constant. It always keeps changing. It undergoes changes over a period of time, and that entirely depends on the nature of the products. The changes that take place in buying behavior can happen because of a lot of things like a change in budget, change in taste, change in preferences, change in need, and many more.
The price of a product is one of the most important determinants of consumer behaviour. It is capable of completely swaying the potential consumer’s decision of purchasing one product over the other. A price lower than that of other competitors can convince the consumer to choose your product over theirs. However, if the consumer is of the opinion that they are being charged higher than what they would expect to be charged, their reactions can be unsatisfactory.
Prior to finalizing a price hike for your product, it is essential to analyze and understand how this change would lead to a change in consumer behaviour. A price hike is always a risky step, as there is the possibility of the consumer turning away from your product in favour of a cheaper competitor. Alternatively, if your product is one that is not offered by other competitors, combined with a high demand for it, a raise in the price would make no difference on the purchasing behaviour of your consumers. Consumers sometimes tend to associate a higher price with higher quality, and hence introducing a price hike might just make them more favourable towards buying your product as they look at the high price as a marker of superior quality.
Lowering the price of your product can also pan out in two ways. The consumer might look at the drop in price as a lucrative opportunity to stock up on your product and thus lead to more purchases. On the other hand, the drop in price can also be perceived to be a drop in the quality of your product which consumers will not take well.
It is evident that making changes to the price of a product once its launched is an extremely risky choice. Hence, you need to make sure that you set the right price from the moment your product is launched. It is always advisable to research well before you take this step to understand the consumer’s reactions to your product. You need to find the right balance between appealing to the consumer and making enough profit to keep your company running. However, this relationship between consumer behaviour and price is changing gradually.
Recent studies have concluded that not all consumers are as heavily influenced by price as it seems. Convenience and positive reviews of a product are two important factors which have emerged lately. The importance of word of mouth has today been replaced by positive online reviews. If a product has a positive review online, customers are more likely to look beyond the pricing while purchasing the product. Customer experience is another influential feature that influences buyers today. Thus, it is evident that the relationship between consumer behaviour and price is no longer traditional, with a transformation in the purchasing process with change in technology.
