Behavior in Marketing?
Marketing is so much more than creating a catchy phrase or a jingle people will sing for days. Understanding consumer behavior is a vital aspect of marketing. Consumer behavior is the study of how people make decisions about what they buy, want, need, or act in regards to a product, service, or company. It is critical to understand consumer behavior to know how potential customers will respond to a new product or service. It also helps companies identify opportunities that are not currently met.

A recent example of a change in consumer behavior is the eating habits of consumers that dramatically increased the demand for gluten-free (GF) products. The companies that monitored the change in eating patterns of consumers created GF products to fill a void in the marketplace. However, many companies did not monitor consumer behavior and were left behind in releasing GF products. Understanding consumer behavior allowed the pro-active companies to increase their market share by anticipating the shift in consumer wants.

The Three Factors
To fully understand how consumer behavior affects marketing, it’s vital to understand the three factors that affect consumer behavior: psychological, personal, and social.

Psychological Factors

In daily life, consumers are being affected by many issues that are unique to their thought process. Psychological factors can include perception of a need or situation, the person’s ability to learn or understand information, and an individual’s attitude. Each person will respond to a marketing message based on their perceptions and attitudes. Therefore, marketers must take these psychological factors into account when creating campaigns, ensuring that their campaign will appeal to their target audience.

Personal Factors

Personal factors are characteristics that are specific to a person and may not relate to other people within the same group. These characteristics may include how a person makes decisions, their unique habits and interests, and opinions. When considering personal factors, decisions are also influenced by age, gender, background, culture, and other personal issues.

For example, an older person will likely exhibit different consumer behaviors than a younger person, meaning they will choose products differently and spend their money on items that may not interest a younger generation.

Social Factors

The third factor that has a significant impact on consumer behavior is social characteristics. Social influencers are quite diverse and can include a person’s family, social interaction, work or school communities, or any group of people a person affiliates with. It can also include a person’s social class, which involves income, living conditions, and education level. The social factors are very diverse and can be difficult to analyze when developing marketing plans.

However, it is critical to consider the social factors in consumer behavior, as they greatly influence how people respond to marketing messages and make purchasing decisions. For example, how using a famous spokesperson can influence buyers