Question:
Tasks
You are asked to illustrate consumer behavior concepts in the purchase process of “your branded product/service”.
Discuss the steps that the consumer will have to go through when making a purchase of your product. Include the marketing implications.
You should assess the influence of psychological factors (such personality, perceptions, attitudes, motivation, and learning) on purchasing behavior.
Explain how family structure, social classes and culture have changed through the years, and how they affect buying behavior.
Consider identifying a consumer profile that highlights the most likely buyers of your product. Next, discuss briefly the promotion efforts that would be effective to promote this product.
Answer to Question: UGB310 Consumer Psychology
“Explore The Evolution Of Family Structure, Cultural Classes, and Culture Through The Years”
The evolving centuries are influencing consumer behavior.
The world has changed and industries are adapting to ensure that all customers have the same experience.
The customers have always been considered the kingpin in the market. Companies must meet their customers’ preferences and needs to sustain growth.
Marketers must now understand and offer quality products to all customers.
Their major factors are also important in determining the taste of customers. These factors are discussed below.
Structure of Family: The family’s basic structure is broken into two types.
Joint Family: It is a large family group that includes a married couple, their families, and children (Van Doorn. al., 2010).
A nuclear family is an intimate group that includes a married couple, their children and their spouse.
The market choice of customers will determine the family structure.
We will consider the fact that in general, there are more members of a joint family than a nuclear family. This means that they prefer to buy branded products such as BMW.
BMW is an expensive car which is not accessible to all (Kaufmann Panni and Orphanidou 2012.
In a joint household, there are more responsibilities and obligations to be fulfilled. Therefore, they delay their lavish BMW car purchases.
For the nuclear family, the number of family members is less so there are a few responsibilities that must be performed by the head. Because of this, they are able to save a portion of their income to afford a BMW car (BMW 12 2017.
A family member’s influence on the purchase of a product can also impact this aspect.
Based on their relationships with each other, each family member influences and gets influenced by the others.
Families are influenced by relationships (Darley Blankson & Luethge 2010).
Three unlined influences determine the buying behavior in a family.
In the end, this will increase purchases of groceries and food as well as home decor and jewels.
They are more inclined toward purchasing such products.
Husband’s dominance is a factor in the decision making process. In this case, the family will be spending more on luxury and reliable products like BMW car, insurance, etc.
Joint decision: Family will not purchase cars or other household items.
and seeking short-term happiness like vacations etc.
(Topcu 2011, Akar).
Also, it is worth noting that they used to live in joint families. Their decisions were made by the head of the society.
They preferred lower-cost products, which offer more durability and higher status.
De Mooij (2010) says that consumers have a tendency to buy BMW cars in these changing times.
Social Classes: Richer members of society are known to prefer luxury cars such as the BMW.
People use cars as status symbols to highlight their accomplishments.
Social class can be divided into three categories:
The upper class is the one that has premium products dominating the market.
These people are the wealthier members of society that purchase BMW cars in order to fulfil their status needs. (Solomon Russell Bennett, Previte 2012.
The Middle Class refers to middle-income people who are most directly affected by government economic decisions.
They do not choose premium products but prefer to buy durable products.
They do however, purchase premium BMW cars for their dream and passion.
Lower Class: The lower income people in society who live below the poverty line and are able only to satisfy their basic needs.
This class doesn’t dream of purchasing BMW cars (Hernandez Jimenez & Martin 2010).
It will be noted that people are shifting from the lower income to the higher-income group due to increasing sales of premium products like BMW cars.
In the past there were only two categories in society.
People with higher and lower incomes used to only buy the product. However, consumers have become more inclined to purchase cars of first-class quality since the rise in middle-income.
Culture: It refers the general pattern that a society follows when buying a product/service.
Culture is made up of all factors in the market that can impact a person’s purchasing behavior (Papasolomou, Kitchen 2011, and others).
The sub-cultures of culture are the ones that people choose to purchase luxury goods.
Sub culture encompasses aspects such as religion and geographical variations.
It can have an impact on the decision making process of an individual.
When comparing the culture shift for buying BMW cars, one will notice that earlier in time, only a small section of society (the more wealthy) would purchase these cars to increase their market status.
These products are now highly sought-after in the market due to the rise of time.
The society will purchase the same product if one person obtains it and becomes famous (Moiseieva 2013).
These factors are a major influence on the market demand for branded products.
With the changing times, branded BMW cars have attracted more people.
“Identify a Consumer Profile Highlighting the Most Likely Customers That Will Buy Your Products Example, and Briefly Discuss The Promotional Activities That Would Effectively Support This Product’s Marketing.”
The BMW Company has been identified as a luxury brand and is therefore preferred by people with higher income levels.
Additionally, BMW cars are not only restricted to those with higher incomes. Other factors play a significant role in determining the customer profile of anyone who buys a BMW car.
We will also discuss the demographic profile and preferences of respondents who want to buy a BMW automobile.
Age: It will be noted that only two groups of people prefer to buy the premium BMW brand in the marketplace, and these are middle-aged people (25–35) or people who are saturated (45–55).
De Mooij, 2010, states that this first age group is extremely active and requires a lavish lifestyle.
Another group represents those who buy these products after they have achieved satiety.
This group of people has worked hard and lived well. They now prefer to spend their money on themselves, which is why they purchase this product.
Income Level/social Status: Since BMW is a name that is known for its prestige and increases the status symbol of people it is often purchased by people with higher income levels.
The high price of BMW cars makes it affordable only the most wealthy.
Moiseieva 2013, Moiseieva 2013: Middle-income people also have the option to purchase this product to improve their self-esteem or become part of the wealthy.
Dream: This product is preferred by people who are passionate about luxury cars and want to purchase one.
The car is a passionate product, and many people have dreams about it.
BMW cars are also efficient, and they offer well-designed models that appeal to many.
People in this group also prefer BMW cars.
Gender: This product is more popular with males than it is with females (Frank 2012).
Marital Status. A higher percentage of married couples would choose to buy BMW cars.
You can find many reasons. Men prefer sports cars in their teens, but they are more inclined to buy luxury cars once they get married.
Another reason may be that they want a car that conforms to their family’s needs.
Additionally, married people tend earn more and to settle down.
The age group mentioned above also includes most married people, that is, people below the age of 35 who usually get married.
Consider also the age group of 45-55-year-olds. These are also married people (Darley Blankson, Luethge 2010).
Therefore, it is clear that married people are more likely to buy BMW cars.
Societal Influence: It depends on where you live.
If people in a particular society believe in reducing the population by banning cars from being used for transportation, then less people will be inclined to buy BMW cars.
A country with a BMW headquarters will typically have high sales for the product.
Culture is dominant in the marketplace: The market decides which BMW premium cars are sold.
As if some family members don’t like buying a certain product or the market has fewer luxury cars.
People will choose this product less (Chattopadhyay Shivani & Krishnan 2010).
The other hand, people will be more likely to buy BMW premium cars if they are competing in the market.
As such, a settled buyer with a high-profile and well-off lifestyle will prefer to buy a BMW car.
BMW customers also include people who have big dreams or are interested in cars.
The company targets particular segments of the market to grow its business (Bhasin 2017, Bhasin).
We will also discuss the company’s promotional tools, which are used to help customers buy their products.
Collaboration and promotion: BMW was the first company to promote their cars through collaboration with other large companies that provided spare product or raw material.
BMW worked with the other companies in promotion because they had purchased their raw materials from these companies.
BMW increased its sales by establishing customer relationships with the companies they collaborated with.
BMW also started dealerships of their branded vehicles.
Dealers can also help the company to decrease their workload and increase sales.
BMW Group 2017 has shown that the company’s name is being used more widely in the market due to the fact that more companies are connected to it.
Promoting the product through advertising campaigns: This is the most important aspect in selling the product and driving sales.
The company can promote their product via digital and physical media through advertisements.
The slogan “The ultimate Driving Machine” also proved to be a popular choice in the market.
These are just some of the methods that get customers interested in the product, and they buy it (BMW Group 2017.
BMW advertises with high efficiency. They provide details about the products as well as unique features.
Advertisement under the name or a well-known actor or personality is also done by BMW to build trust and increase sales.
Public Relationship: BMW attempts to build a long-term partnership with its customers.
Sponsorship: This is where the company uses sponsorships to reach the best market.
You can see them in sports like football, car racing, etc.
These are just a few examples of areas where companies sponsor products (Frank 2012).
The above statement should be concluded. It is important to note that BMW has effectively used their target market and promoted their product, leading to increased sales.
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