CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR - Essay Example A broad yet thorough understanding of consumers and their consumption patterns are crucial for an organization to thrive in the environment. Consumer behavior is an interaction of various factors that affect the process of consumption, within the buyer’s themselves and in the world that they hail from. Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007 establish consumer behavior as that behavior that consumers present when searching for, purchasing, evaluating and disposing of products which they think will satisfy their needs (p3). Consumer behavior may differ from one consumer to another, from one moment to another and from one environment to another. Consumer behavior describes the motives and judgment that lie behind purchasing decisions and the patterns through which purchasing is . In addition, it clearly explains the way that consumers undertake before making buying decisions. In this case, the product of choice is the Huawei Ideos mobile phone, and analysis will be using the Indifference Curv e Theory a. This theory was developed by Alfred Marshall, and it describes how consumers spend their income on individual products so as to achieve the greatest satisfaction level. However, this analysis is will not be limited to the indifference curve concept. The other concept that helps in understanding the consumer decision making process is the Utility Theory which proposes that buyers make purchasing decisions considering the anticipated results of their decisions, and in reality they are as rational decision makers with self interest (Schiffman and Kanuk 2007, Zinkhan 1992). Howard came up with the first consumer decision-model in 1963 (Du Plessis, Rousseau Et al.1991) The Theory of Buyer Behavior. The model was enhanced further in 1969 by Howard and Sheth to get the ‘Theory of Buyer Behavior’ (or Howard and Sheth Model) (Howard and Sheth 1969). It gives â€Å"a complex incorporation of a wide range of social, psychological and marketing effects on consumer sele ction into a consistent set of data distribution† (Foxall 1990 p.10). The authors concern was in developing an all-inclusive model that could be used to assess a wide range of buying situations, and as such the term ‘buyer’ was more than ‘consumer’ so as not be left out business purchases (Loudon and Della Bitta, 1993). The Huawei Ideos mobile phone is by Google. It is with many unique featured such as 4.3 Mega pixels camera, internet, wifi, creates a portable wifi hotspot, long battery life, sync services and supports a wide range of application. The price of the phone is about $95 and it was preferred for the lower and middle income earners. NEED RECOGNITION At this stage, the customer feels that he/she wants a mobile phone due to its various benefits including calling, messaging and internet services it has to offer. According to the indifference curve approach, the consumer realizes that he/she requires a given product based on its utility, which is the ability of a good or service to fulfill a human want. Therefore, the consumer chooses to purchase the mobile phone in order to satisfy calling, messaging and internet needs. The indifference curve concept uses the marginal utility concept which is a change in utility arising from a change in consumption. Therefore, the consumer’s decision to buy a phone shows an increase in profitability since the consumer is not contented with that the consumer is presently using and therefore the choice of