What Influences Consumer Behavior?

Marketers must fully understand both the theory and reality of consumer behavior. A consumer's buying behavior is influenced by cultural, social, and, personal factors.
For, definition of Consumer Behavior kindly click here.

1) Cultural Factors: Cultural Factors exert the broadest and deepest influence. Culture, subculture, and social class are particularly important influences on consumer buying behavior. Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person's wants and behavior. The growing child acquires a set of values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors through his/her family and other key institutions. Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and socialization of their members. Multicultural Marketing grew out of careful marketing research, which revealed that different ethnic and demographic niches did not always respond favorably to mass-marketing advertising. Companies have capitalized on well-thought-out multicultural marketing strategies in recent years. Social classes show distinct product and brand furnishings, leisure activities, and automobiles. Thus, Advertising copy and dialogue must ring true to the targeted social classes.

2) Social Factors: In addition to cultural factors, social factors such as reference groups, family, and social roles and statuses affect our buying behavior. A person's reference groups, membership groups are primary groups with whom the person interacts fairly continuously and informally, such as family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Reference groups influence members in at least 3 ways. 1.They expose an individual to new behavior and lifestyles, 2.They influence attitudes and self-concept, and, 3.They create pressures for conformity that may affect product and brand choices.Where reference group influence is strong, marketers must determine how to reach and influence the group's opinion leaders.

3) Personal Factors: A Buyer's decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics. This include the following characteristics, marketers look out for: 1.The buyer's age and stage in the life cycle, 2.The occupation and economic circumstances, 3.The personality and self-concept, and, 4.The lifestyle and values.Because, many of these characteristics have a very direct impact on consumer behavior, it is important for marketers to follow them closely.
Thus, all these factors contribute in influencing a Consumer's Behavior for various Brands and Products!