...Many factors play into the consumer behavior of the consumer. Successful marketers take into consideration the beliefs and culture of the buyer, as well as the family situation and even the psychological outlook of the purchase. Reference group is a group who’s perspective and individual takes on in forming values, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and overt behaviors (pg.499). Reference groups can influence an individual’s cognitions, affective responses, and behaviors. As a consumer, your decision to purchase and use certain products, is influenced not only psychological factors, your personality and life-style, but also by the people around you with whom you interact and the various social groups to which you belong. The groups with whom you interact directly or indirectly influence your purchase decision and thus their study is of great importance to marketer to understand. Primary and secondary reference groups is one with which an individual interacts on a regular basis and whose opinion is of importance to him such as, family, neighbors, friends, colleagues and co-workers. Secondary reference groups are those with which an individual interacts only occasionally and does not consider their opinion very influential. Formal and informal reference groups are groups such as labor unions, social clubs, and societies are types of formal reference groups to which individuals may belong (pg 500-501). A formal reference groups has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority...
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...Zipcar: Influencing Customer Behavior Zipcar is a car-sharing service. Members, had to pay annual fees to participate and were assessed usage fees, based on time and mileage, monthly, were provided common use of the service’s vehicles independently of one another. It was started in Boston in 1999 and present in 21 cities with a fleet of 400 cars. It has 30,000 members who are growing at a rate of 1500 per month. Members had to register online with an annual fee of $25 and a refundable amount of $100. Reservations can be done on call or online, a year in advance or a minute before. There are incentives to customers for proper maintenance of cars. Members had to return cars to designated parking locations. As per its competitive positioning, the major competitors were rental agencies who provided similar services. Other competitors include taxi, cabs and public transport. But Zipcar had competitive advantage of providing flexible services to customers. Supplier power is moderate as Zipcar had its own cars and they don’t have to wait for third party. But buyer power is really strong as buyer may very easily choose for other alternatives like public transport or taxi. When we see from the framework of nature of the service vs. who is the direct recipient of service. Zipcar would come under possessions and tangible actions i.e. possession-processing (service directed at physical possession) as customers had to do refueling and maintenance. If we look at the type of variability...
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...Consumer Behavior Paper | | 5/20/2012 | Customer Behavior Paper There are many factors that affect my personal buying behavior. I don’t earn a large salary, but I always make sure I am able to buy the best of everything, which is my buying downfall. In this very complicated world we live in, sometimes wants become more important than needs. This can explain why people take out large mortgages they can’t afford, put items on store credit, and take out large lines of credit in order to stay afloat in this economy. Sigmund Freud suggested that we are motivated by conscious and unconscious forces and that is the reason why many buyers feel the pressures in the marketing world to try to fit in and are often slaves to great advertising schemes. The seller is trying to make sure their product becomes an item in every person’s life. The only way for a marketing representative to be successful to discover their consumer’s buying influences. The first factor that influences my buying behavior would be cultural influences. In the United States, we have many expenses that many other underdeveloped countries do not. Growing up, children learn basic values, perception and wants from the family and other important groups. For example, many parents now provide their teenagers with cars, college educations, and food and support. In other countries parents are just providing food and...
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...Topic: „Linking customers with brand and creating unforgettable emotions has got the direct impact on customer buying behavior.” First of all I would like to briefly touch the very important subject of understanding branding in past. The main concern of brand development had a tremendous shift in the last decade. Originally role of brands, as understood, were subject to constant ongoing redefinition. A traditional description of a brand was: the name, either connected with or mentioning one or more items in the product line. The definition of a brand according to American Marketing Association is a name, symbol, sign, term, design or logo or a mix of all. Those key points are intended to identify brand’s goods or services and differentiate from other competitors on the market. Basically anytime a market competitor makes a new logo, product or name, at the same time he creates a brand new brand. Building brands nowadays is far way more complex then it was years ago. Every new-born brand has to pay attention to very simple yet crucial sentence “value of the brand comes from its ability to gain exclusive, positive and prominent meaning in the minds of large number of customers.” That way it is important for newcomers to develop brand’s value as well as possible. Every new brand has to overcome encounters that will happen during establishing it on a market. Creating structures that will lead to strong brands with strong brands leaders for each product or even country. Next thing...
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...RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS, EFFICIENCY, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PERCEPTIONS IN TAIWANESE BANKS ABSTRACT Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) describe actions in which employees are willing to go above and beyond their prescribed role requirements. Prior theory suggests and some research supports the belief that these behaviors are correlated with indicators of organizational effectiveness. Studies have yet to explore whether relationships between OCB and organizational effectiveness are generalizable to non-U.S. samples. The present study examined relationships between OCB and two indicators of organizational effectiveness -- the efficient use of human resources and perceived service quality – for bank branches in Taiwan. The results supported a relationship between the OCB dimension of altruism and the efficient use of human resources. Implications of these results are discussed. Key Words: citizenship behaviors, organizational effectiveness, service quality The effective functioning of an organization depends on employee efforts that extend beyond formal role requirements (Barnard, 1938; Katz & Kahn, 1966; Organ, 1988). Organ (1988) termed these extra efforts “organizational citizenship behaviors” (OCB), and defined them to include activities that target other individuals in the workplace (e.g., helping coworkers or communicating changes that affect others) and the organization itself (e.g., actively participating in group...
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...EMBA 2011 | MKTG901 ASSIGNMENT 2 | INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR vs. BUSINESS CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR | | ALPER ARSLAN | 10/30/2010 | INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR vs. BUSINESS CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR Individual consumer behavior is the process of how “individuals” act in selecting, using and disposing of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. Business customer behavior or organizational buying behavior on the other hand is a decisions making process by which “formal organizations” identify, evaluate and select among alternative brands or suppliers to satisfy their needs for products or services. When, why, how, and where individual consumers buy or do not buy a product? What about the business customers? How do they behave? What kind of a buying process do the individuals and business customers go through? What are the factors affecting their behavior and in what ways the behavior of these two parties differ? Answers to all these questions raised will be examined through several examples to come up with the major differences between the individual consumer buying behavior and the business customer buying behavior. As individual consumers we make countless number of buying decisions throughout our lives. While some of our purchases are made unconsciously or requires low involvement, in some others we go through a long decision process. But in general, the individual consumer behavior is related to internal or external stimuli, shaped by consumer...
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...behaviour of the customers Chinese students for Apple products. The research was conducted among around 1000 contacts out of which 130 students responded. The research used survey method to collect information from the large audience. The analysis of the information was conducted using SPSS while the survey questions were developed with the help of the literature review which was conducted by review different academic journals. The review of the literature pointed out that there are a number of factors which affect the buying behaviours of customers and that Apple had knowledge about all these factors due to which it was so popular among the Chinese customers. It has been pointed out from the analysis of the information that there are different factors which influence the purchase intention of the Chinese customer such as the quality, brand, design, technology and the functionality. All these are the main focus for Apple products due to which they are so popular among the Chinese customers. It has however been pointed out that price is a significant deterrent and has an adverse impact on the customer buying behaviour. Apple products are significantly expensive in comparison to the competitor products due to which consumers are unable to afford it. The research also suggested those Chinese customers who were using Apple products were extremely happy with the product that they had recommended it to their family and friends. Thus it is evident that the Chinese customers are influenced...
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...Customer Buyer Behavior Regarding Luxury Goods in Peter Jones By [Author’s Name] [Faculty Name] [Department or School Name] [Month Year] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate. DECLARATION I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with the university. Signature: Date: ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Outline of the Study Purchasing products and services is common around the world, and almost everyone indulges in shopping. The value of a brand is seen in its brand equity and the brand loyalty that the brand possesses. The way consumers perceive a product or service, and the importance it has in their life is what makes all the difference, watching dogs on the way...
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...consumer behaviors, their effects on business and company activities while analyzing the case study. The main realm of subject study is the consumer behaviors in global perspectives. The studies are also aimed to create the sense in the students about how to analyze the case study. So to achieve the said objectives the extensive literature review is conducted including the evaluation of consumer behaviors and their decisions regarding purchases while including the lessons learned by the Apple regarding the differences in consumer behavior and purchasing decisions between the Japanese market and the market outside of Japan. The consumer behaviors during the field survey administered under subject study are found dissimilar across the cultures. These dissimilarities in behaviors of the customers across the cultures affect the company’s marketing mix strategies. These effects are discussed in sections created below. Likewise the lessons learned from the Walt Disney Company about consumer behavior and purchasing decisions at Hong Kong Disneyland has also been added as a part of study while explaining various issues that may influence the behaviors of the consumers. Lastly the survey administered identifies the reasons behind the Japanese consumers’ behaviors of hating the iPhone. Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior refers to the study of why, when, where and how the consumers and customers do and do not buy the particular product or service. The consumers behaviors try to conceptualize...
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...everyday lives. As the growth of World Wide Web grew, more and more businesses have gone live on the web. This growth has provided consumers with many retail choices to make the lives easier for the online community. Although it makes things easier for online consumers, companies that have chosen to be an online retailer realize that it has been and will continue to grow competitively which makes it a hostile environment. Along with trying to obtain new customers or members, attempting to retain existing one’s have been the challenge. To do so, these retailers need to understand their customers or their target of choice and their process towards a purchase, to ensure they are structured to serve their customers to the highest level. The paper being presented is to identify three behaviors inherent in e tailing. In the paper I will discuss the communications medium where the discussed behavior occurs. In the discussion I will also explain how each medium enables e-commerce. This paper will show analysis of each behavior using the communication process, which will break it down with the purpose, sender, receiver, message, environment, noise, technology, and feedback. Finally a sample persuasive message aimed at a virtual audience will be developed and included in this paper. When a consumer begins to look for a product or service on the Internet, there are many factors taken into account. In most cases the consumers will drift to brand names they trust to begin a product...
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...Attitudes and OrganizationaRasmussen College Author Note This research is being submitted on 10/10/2013 for John Gallagher’s B370 Organizational Behavior Analysis. The main goal in any organization is to succeed. Organizational Behavior covers a wide range of topics, such as leadership, change, teams, and human behavior. “Organizational Behavior is an academic discipline concerned with describing, understanding, predicting, and controlling human behavior is an organizational environment”. (Hillstrom, 2002). It interprets employee and employer relationships in terms of the whole person, group, organization, and social system. Its purpose is to better build relationships by achieving individual, organizational, and social objectives. Challenges in organizational behavior consist of technology, diversity and ethics. Technology plays a very important role in how employees communicate in the workplace; the role of communication can affect how employees behave and interact with each other. Newer employees may find the latest technology gadgets as efficient, beneficial and fast, but veteran and older employees may feel as if technology has replaced human interaction and alienated employee and organization contact. Diversity is a huge challenge in the work place because employees are of various races, religions and ages. Organizations have to learn to be adaptive and open to learning new ideas and cultures; in today’s diverse world employers must not treat all people the same...
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... They have chosen to push their focus on marketing an A+ premium steak that is comparable to fresh cut butcher’s steaks. The decision making criteria that goes into selecting these products as running mates are consumer behavior and needs recognition. Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior can be defined as the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires ("Consumer Behaviour and Target Audience Decisions", n.d.). Wal-Mart is able to showcase these behaviors in their commercials quite well with unknowing consumers happily showing their pleasure of tasting what they believe is another companies’ steak. When the consumer finds out they are eating a Wal-Mart steak they are surprised and state” they would buy the steak the next time they are in the store”. This statements and visual notice is then transferred to soon to be customers who are impressed with what they are watching on TV, this is excellent marketing at its finest. This process is also described as consumer learning. Consumer learning is the process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience they apply to future related behavior ("Consumer Behaviour and Target Audience Decisions", n.d.).” Wal-Mart is able to utilize the consumer decision making model to enhance other products visual aspect and control buyer...
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...sales. The leader of this organization has developed a system to create revenue and profit while motivating employees. Perceptions and Attributions It is critical for Salatino and his employees to understand the importance and concept of how individuals will form perceptions and make attributions. Perception describes the way people filter, organize, and interpret sensory information (Duggan, 2009). Attribution explains how people act; determining how people react to the actions of others as well. Salatino holds a position where it is his duty to guide and give directions to his employees. His main focal point should be helping his employees understand Great Northern American’s mission and gradually work toward achieving it. The behavior that occurs within an organization is a direct reflection of the people’s perceptions and attributions. Accurate perception gives the employees the opportunity to decipher what they see and hear in the work environment adequately to make decisions, finish tasks, and perform in an ethical manner....
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...to the observable difference in the behavior of the company’s customers. This study evaluates two theories attempting to explain the deviation in H&M customers’ behavior-patterns. The first theory suggests that the customers’ behavior is attitude-bound and learned-taught through the customer-company interaction. The second theory argues that H&M customers belong to a genuinely unique market segment. The researcher surveyed 160 shoppers at H&M and one of the department stores and used a grounded-theory approach to analyze the data. The results substantiated the first theory claiming that shopping behaviors were taught and learned. The study had an important practical value. However, its results were subject to l reliability and validity threats; thus, further research would be required to confirm the findings. I. INTRODUCTION The issues of consumer relationships have been the focus of marketing research inquiries for at least a century. In the last decade, with the discovery of organizational core competences, relationship knowledge experienced a new wave of research interest and was named among the leading “strategic powers” of an organization (Hamel & Prahalad 1994, pp. 3-5; Bergenhenegouwen et al. 1986, p. 29). Hennes and Mauritz AB (H&M) stands out in its respective market largely because of the company’s unique and innovative approach to serving its customers. Moreover, the company is frequently cited for its ability to create customer needs rather than address the existing...
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...Patel Institute of BMC & IT, Uka Tarsadia University,Tarsadi,Bardoli. Asst. Prof., Department of Commerce, B.V.Patel Institute of BMC & IT, Uka Tarsadia University,Tarsadi,Bardoli. Asst. Prof., Department of Accountancy, DRB Commerce College,Veshu,Bharthan,Surat. This paper aims to identify the factors that affect consumers purchasing behavior towards Agriculture inputs like fertilizer, seeds, agrochemicals, oils and lubricants etc. Buying behavior refers to the act of consumers obtaining and using goods and services and the decision process that determines these acts. Buying decision is a set of many decisions which may involve a product, brand, style, quality, dealer, time, price and mode of payment. Price is the most important consideration at the time of purchasing agriculture inputs followed by packaging and branding, fair billing and home delivery are considered relatively less important. An attempt had been made to find out the problems faced by the farmers and this study will also help to understand the factors affecting the buying behavior of farmers toward Agriculture inputs. KEYWORDS: Agriculture Inputs, farmers, buying behavior INTRODUCTION Agriculture inputs are broadly classified into consumable and durables. Consumables comprises inputs like seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, oils and lubricants, whereas durables includes tractor, Agriculture machinery (threshers, harvesters etc.), agro implements and tools like cultivators, wheel harrow etc. In Gujarat both...
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