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Just a decade ago, customers would go to a physical store with a small selection of products and make decisions based on packaging, brand, and occasionally by reading labels. The buyer journey mapping was simple – pick from the limited options available in the store.

But times have changed. Now, physical stores aren’t always needed. With just a click, customers can find all the information they need and explore countless options in online stores.

So, why is understanding customer behavior a must-have? 

Today’s buyers’ journey is lengthy and elaborate, yet very informative. It allows businesses to accumulate this information, analyze buyer behavior models, and convert their leads to paying customers.

Learn what is buyer psychology in marketing and how you can leverage consumer behavior research for a spike in sales with higher ROI.

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior

Consumer behavior is influenced by four crucial factors as defined by Kotler: culture, social, personal, and psychological. 

An overview of the  factors affecting buying behavior:

Cultural Factors: Understanding the cultural demography of a region is crucial for gaining valuable insights into your customer base. By tailoring your products to resonate with the cultural milieu, you can ensure strong brand relatability and drive sales.

Personal Factors: Age, economic circumstances, and personality traits all play a role in shaping buyer behavior. And as buyers go through their purchase cycles, their consumption patterns change. Economic circumstances have a significant impact on buyer psychology in marketing. To effectively cater to different personality traits, it’s crucial to tailor your products and services accordingly.

Psychological Factors: Psychological factors like motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes have a significant impact on buyer behavior models. Motives are the driving forces that push people to take action. Buyers make decisions based on their perception of their situation. 

Businesses direct their products and brand image towards aligning with people’s beliefs and try to offer products and services that resonate with their attitude or personality. It’s all about connecting with customers and giving them what they want.

Social Factors: Social factors such as family, reference groups, and status influence consumer behavior heavily, with family being the most important of all factors. We need to understand who influences the buying decisions. Children, for example, are a direct influence on what adults are buying; hence, tracking what appeals to them is factored into buyer behavior analysis.

Let’s understand the stages of buyer decision-making!

Stages of the Consumer Decision-Making Process

Kotler maps out the consumer decision-making process in five stages:

  • Problem Recognition:  The first step in consumer decision-making is identifying a problem or need. This can be provoked by internal (such as hunger, etc.) or external stimuli (needs motivation by seeing an advertisement etc). Surveys can help businesses analyze which stimuli affect consumers and strategize better.
  • Information Search: After a consumer has identified a need, they move to the next stage of the buying process: information gathering. They could be actively gathering information by scouring the internet, reading customer reviews, comparing various brands in virtual stores, taking feedback from personal or commercial sources such as salespersons and dealerships, and visiting concrete stores.
  • Evaluation of Alternatives: In the evaluation stage of the buying process, consumers analyze the attributes of competing brands to find a solution for their needs. Businesses tailor products based on the appeal of different attributes among different consumer bases.
  • Purchase Decision: After consumers have evaluated their alternatives among attributes they would want and competing brands that satisfy them, they make a purchase. 
  • Post-Purchase Evaluation: Consumer satisfaction is crucial for marketers. Favorable reviews and repeat orders result from satisfaction, while dissatisfaction leads to negative reviews and hampered brand image.

Psychological Sales Tactics To Close More Deals

  • Use customer loss as an advantage:  When you market a product or service, make your customers feel that if they don’t take advantage of it, they’ll be missing out on a great opportunity. Hard selling, with all its benefits, often persuades customers to make a purchase even if they initially don’t think they need it.
  • Offer something in exchange: Rather than simply asking consumers to try something new, you can offer small incentives. For example, provide product or service demonstrations to give them a more hands-on experience and a better understanding of what you have to offer.
  • Do not confuse by offering more:  When customers are bombarded with too many choices, they often struggle to make a decision. That’s why it’s crucial to make your product marketing confident and persuasive. Keep simple, minimal choices for better conversion.
  • Talk like an expert and show them your expertise: To effectively promote products and services, you must deeply understand what you’re offering and confidently convey that knowledge to consumers. You can showcase the extensive research that has gone into developing the product, along with statistical reports highlighting its benefits for the intended audience.
  • Ask customers to explain their reasons: Understanding customer behavior often starts with a rejection. And it’s important to acknowledge their initial hesitation. Take the time to understand and address their doubts thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned. Doing so can build trust and confidence, ensuring a solid foundation for investment and success.
  • Show them your social proof: To sell a product, you need customers to trust your business. Reviews or social proof is an effective way to alter buyer psychology in marketing. Achieve this by sharing customer reviews and emphasizing your brand’s track record of meeting the needs of your target audience.

Conclusion

Understanding customer behavior might seem like a complex task initially, but it comes with a lot of perks! Unless businesses successfully incorporate buyer psychology into their strategy, there would be no brand relatability, and revenues would take a dip.

Are you ready to stay on top of your lead generation game with buyer behavior analysis?

Allow Marketboats to do the heavy lifting for you!

Whether it is for analyzing buyer behavior models or strategizing the marketing of a product or service, we at Marketboats have something unique. With our advanced cloud-based platform, CALS, we aim to optimize your lead generation to improve your sales strategy. The lead quality engine ensures cleansed, standardized, and enriched leads for higher quality and conversion rates. 

Additionally, CALS enables customizable segmentation based on industry, company size, geography, revenues, and employee size, allowing you to target your ideal customer precisely.

Get in touch today to kickstart your lead generation journey!

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