Application of Consumer Behaviour Knowledge in Marketing
Analyzing market opportunities: A study of consumer behavior can help find out what needs and wants consumers have that aren’t being met. This means looking at the market’s trends and conditions, as well as consumers’ lifestyles, income levels, and new influences. This could show unmet needs and wants. More people are living in two-income households and putting more value on convenience and leisure. This has led to a rise in demand for things like washing machines, mixer grinders, vacuum cleaners, childcare centres, etc. Mosquito repellents were made because people needed them and they weren’t being met.
When choosing a target market, a review of market opportunities can help find different groups of customers with very different wants and needs. When a marketer figures out who these groups are, how they act, and how they decide what to buy, they can make products and services that meet the wants and needs of these groups. For example, consumer studies showed that a lot of people who use shampoo or might use shampoo didn’t want to buy shampoo packs that cost Rs. 60 or more.
Instead, they would rather buy a cheap sachet that has enough shampoo for one or two washes. The discovery led companies to make shampoo sachets, which were a big hit.
Once unmet needs and wants have been found, the marketer has to figure out the right mix of product, price, distribution, and advertising. Even here, studying how people act is a great way to find answers to many confusing questions.
- Product: The marketer creates the product or service that will fill a need or want that hasn’t been met. More decisions about the product will be made about its size, shape, and features. The marketer also has to decide how to package important parts of the service, such as guarantees and extras. Nestle first came out with Maggie noodles that tasted like masala and capsicum. After that, the company added garlic, Shambhar, and other flavors based on what people liked in different areas.
- Price: Price is the second most important part of the marketing mix. The price of the product or service is up to the marketer. These choices will change how much money the company makes. Should the marketer care about price, and would a lower price make more people buy? Should prices be cut in any way? Do people think that a lower price means a lower quality product? To answer these kinds of questions, the marketer needs to know how consumers see the company’s product, how important price is as a factor in buying decisions, and how different price levels would affect sales. The only way for a marketer to find answers to these important questions is to study how people act when they are actually buying something.
- Distribution: The next choice is about the channel of distribution, or where and how to sell products and services. Should the products be sold in all retail stores or only in certain ones? Should the marketer only use the stores that already exist, which also sell competing brands, or should new stores be opened that only sell the marketer’s brands? Is the location of a store important from the point of view of the customer? Should the business consider using direct marketing? Consumer behaviour research gives the answers to these questions.
- Promotion is all about getting marketing messages out to consumers. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, and direct marketing are some of the most important ways. The marketer has to decide which method will reach the customers most effectively. Should it just be advertising, or should it include sales promotion as well? The company has to know who its target customers are, where they live, what kinds of media they have access to, what kinds of media they like, and so on. Most of the time, there is little or no advertising for industrial products.
Often, brochures with technical details are mailed to clients, and salespeople come back to check on them. The most advertising is done for consumer goods. Personal selling is the only way prescription drugs are sold by the pharmaceutical industry. Insurance companies use both ads and people to sell their products.
Use in charity and non-profit work Marketing: Studies of consumer behavior can help social, government, and non-profit organizations come up with better marketing plans for programmes like family planning, AIDS awareness, crime against women, safe driving, caring for the environment, and others. UNICEF, the Red Cross, and CRY, among others, use what they know about how people behave to sell their services and products and try to get people to support them.