Marketing - Understanding Customer

Customer is the central point of all marketing activities. Manufacturers are producing those products which are needed by the customers. As the consumer behaviour differ from person to person the manufacturer must understand it. Knowledge of the buying motives of consumers is essential for a marketer/manufacturer, because it is buying motives that prompt the buyer to purchase. These motives may be food and drink, fear, bargain, etc. Consumer behaves in a particular manner as directed by his inner motive. It is in the interest of the marketeer that he study and analyse the buying motives.

According to D. J. Durian, "Buying motives are influences or considerations which provide the impulse to buy, induce action or determine choice in the purchase of goods and services."

Classification of Buying motives:
1. Primary Buying Motives: These motives are necessary for human life. For example, food, clothes, house, social recognition, freedom from fear and dangers, comfort ant to attract opposite sex.
2. Secondary Buying Motives: These motives are the motives learnt by human being from the society. For example, to bargain, to earn the profits, to collect information, efficiency, convenience, style, reliability and prestige.

Various stages of Buying Motives or Decision Making Process in Buying:
A decision to buy a product is taken after passing through different stages. These stages differ form product to product. A decision to buy a product of daily use is taken with in a second but a decision to buy a durable product is taken after critical study of many factors. Generally, a buyer goes through following stages when he decides to buy a product:
1. Feeling of Unsatisfied Needs: A consumer is a social being. He feels many needs but finds himself unable to fulfill all these needs due to his limited resources. Therefore, he determines a order of preference for satisfying his needs. Determination of such order of preference is the first stage of buying process. A marketer tries to convey the uses of his products to the consumers through his advertisement programmes.
2. Identification of alternatives: Determination of preference order sets the needs of a consumer in an order and the consumer starts to fulfill his needs one by one. He determined the need to be satisfied first of all. Then he tries to identifies different alternatives available to study his need. He frames an opinion with regard to the size, brand, uses, and price, etc. of these alternatives.
3. Evaluation of these alternatives: Now merits and demerits off all the alternatives are evaluated. It helps the consumer in choosing the best possible alternative. After selecting the best alternative, the consumer proceeds to buy it.
4. Post purchase feeling: Buying process does not end with the purchase of product. It includes the feelings of consumers after they have purchased the products. At this stage, attempts are made to understand the extent to which the buyers feel themselves satisfied with their purchases. Such information is very useful for the marketer.