Consumer behavior and the four p’s of marketing assignment

What product does the company sell? The answer to the question should speak about a customer desires and wishes not what research and development have come up with (Armstrong & Kettle 2005) Abraham Mason’s Hierarchy of Needs helps a marketer understand the significance of what an Individual needs to what customer behavior is. Mason’s Hierarchy of Needs Is triangular. Moving up towards the top of the triangle fewer satisfy high-level needs. At the bottom of the triangle is physiological needs, this Is air, food, water and he basic needs to survive.

Then second is security needs, humans have a place to live and protection from the elements and predators. The third level is social needs, this is were marriage, and friends come into play plus the state of being comfortable and accepted In a place or community. These last two levels are the levels that fewer satisfy; they are esteem needs, achievement, recognition, and personal satisfaction. Following Is self-actualization, this Is something very few realize, a person Is one of a small number to do something. (Mascot 1943) Pricing is the process of applying prices to a product or a service.

Once an item is priced, the price should do three things: achieve the profitability of the company, have customer’s buying at the price set, and sustain the merchandises position. Placement Is how the product Is released and offered to the public. This may consist the product or merchandise is priced or its availability to the target market, how the product is presented to the public. Promotion does consist of packaging, representation, name, trade name, logo, and branding. Placement is how the researched is distributed and how obtainable the product is to the public.

This can include the location of a store, or online presence and delivery. Is the merchandise handy to order or buy? (Armstrong & Kettle 2005). Creating the correct recipe using product, price, promotion and place should ensure a successful marketing campaign to sell a product. Purchasing a new pink Motorola Razz, with a pink Bluetooth headset and pink car cord is not a product satisfies the basic level of Mason’s Hierarchy. Having a cellular phone would mean a person’s basic needs have been taken care of. The cellular phone does help satisfy the security needs, the second level of Mason’s Hierarchy.

A cellular phone can be used to call 911 while out on the road or in a place a person has never been before. The phone allows not only the person using and owing the phone the comfort of being able to reach someone in an emergency, but those associated with the owner of the cellular phone. Having the latest cellular phone does help satisfy a person’s social needs. When a person has the latest cellular phone he or she may feel like they belong to part of the group, some people might eel the next level of Mason’s Hierarchy, esteem.

The very last level self-actualization is not achieved, it could only be achieved if a person were the first to own a cellular phone or one of Just a couple of people who did. Verizon does a very good Job of placing the phone in the stores; all phones are placed according to manufacturer. The price of the Razz is not outrageous and is affordable, becoming cheaper with a signed contract. Verizon has the latest newest phones they carry in a case when customer first comes into the store; the pink Razz stands out.

Promoting the phone tit adverting in the newspapers, on Television, and the Verizon website, of course, a pink phone is not for everyone, but for those that want to have something unique. Conclusion Taking and using product, price, promotion and place, along with remembering Mason’s Hierarchy will help a company answer the questions why consumers make the choices they make, what factors influence those purchases and the changing factors in our society. A firm needs to analyze buyer behavior for the buyer reactions to the marketing strategy, which will impact the firms success.