5 Powerful Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior + Decisions
When is comes to making buying decisions, it’s logical to think we all weigh up the pros and cons to come to a logical reason to buy.
But it doesn’t happen that way. Which is why your brand of car is different your friend’s and your brand of TV is different to your neighbour’s.
Our primitive brains are constantly processing information at lightning speed and each person processes information differently.
Most buying decisions are made in the sub-conscious mind and there are 5 Powerful Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior.
In this article, you’ll learn what they are and how to use them to influence your audience and grow your sales.
When is comes to making buying decisions, it’s logical to think we all weigh up the pros and cons to come to a logical reason to buy.
But it doesn’t happen that way. Which is why your brand of car is different your friend’s and your brand of TV is different to your neighbour’s.
Our primitive brains are constantly processing information at lightning speed and each person processes information differently.
Most buying decisions are made in the sub-conscious mind and there are 5 Powerful Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior.
In this article, you’ll learn what they are and how to use them to influence your audience and grow your sales.
What Is Consumer Behaviour? (+ How To Influence It)
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What Is Consumer Behaviour In Marketing?
The science of consumer behavior is quite new relatively speaking.
It began in the late 40’s early 50’s as a sub-set of marketing but has now evolved into an independent field blending psychology, sociology, marketing, economics and more.
The study of consumer behaviour in marketing determines how consumers make buying decisions to choose products, services and brands.
As a brand leader or marketing manager, it’s never been as important to understand how and why consumers make their buying decisions.
The more brand builders understand about the thought processes, emotions, environmental and motivational factors that influence buying decisions, the better positioned they are to influence those decisions.
Ultimately, the more you know, the more you can grow.
Why Consumer Behaviour Is Important?
Studying and analysing consumer behaviour allows brand builders and marketers to understand what influences their target market to buy.
Having a solution to a want or need quite simply, isn’t enough.
More often than not, it’s not the product or service on offer that influences the decision to buy, but the right combination of the buyer’s psychological requirements that are met.
Brand leaders who study the behaviours of their customers can determine:
What consumers think or feel about market alternatives (products, services, brands etc)
The most influential factors in the buying decision
The impact of consumers environment on their purchases
The more brands understand the pattern of behaviours of their target market, the more likely they are to influence those patterns.
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How Psychological Buying Factors Influence Decisions
Every market is different and to go one further, every market segment is different.
While the most important buying decision factors for one market might include price and quality, for another market, they might be convenience and value.
Many businesses and brands become fixated on being “The best”, though that’s subjective.
Being the best on price and quality won’t influence the buying decisions as much in a market where the priority is convenience and value.
In other words, psychological buying factors influence decisions based on their importance to the target market.
5 Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour
The brand of car you bought is different to your friend’s.
The brand of TV you bought is different to your neighbor’s.
But what causes exactly causes your friend and your neighbor to make different choices to you.
Or more specifically, what are the factors influencing their decision to buy and why are they different to yours?
Typically, there are five core factors that influence the decision to buy which are:
Psychological Factors
Social Factors
Cultural Factors
Economic Factors
Personal Factors
So let’s dive deep into each one so we can understand them better.
Factor #1: Psychological Factors
Every decision we make in life whether it’s a decision to buy, a decision to have children or a decision to go to the pub on a Friday are influenced by our psychology.
So let’s explore these psychological decision making factors in detail.
Motivation
How motivated we are to do something has a high degree of influence on whether we do it or not.
In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs he outlines 5 different levels of human needs.
At the bottom are the basics like food and shelter, while at the top is self-actualisation.
If someone is worried about making rent to keep a roof over their head, then that will be the focus of their efforts rather than finding the purpose of their lives.
Likewise, If I’m unhappy with my body weight, then I’m far more motivated to get myself booked into a weight loss bootcamp than my neighbour who’s as thin as a rake.
How motivated we are to do something is the point of tension between where we are now and where we want to me.
Perception
Our perceptions are the way we regard, understand, interpret or see something based on our direct or indirect experiences.
For example, if my experience with an acquaintance is that he always follows through with what he says he’s going to do, well then my perception is that he’s reliable and can be trusted.
Perceptions are everything in branding.
Perceptions become reputations which become brand equity; the willingness buy or pay more for a brand.
The perception of Apple as a brand is that they’re a modern and innovative company creating superior products which is why they can price their products at such a premium.
The more effective brands are at positively influencing their audiences’ perceptions, the more they influence the buying decision.
Learning
What we learn through our experiences can change our buying behaviors and influence our future buying decisions.