Using the product or service of your choice describe the behaviors in making a purchase

Consumer Behavior The various behaviors that are involved in making a purchase all fall under consumer behaviour. Ariely states that, consumer behaviour looks at the processes of decision making that are involved in both groups of buyers and individual buyers. It assesses consumer influences from groups which include but not limited to friends, family and society in general. It essentially is concerned with the why, when, where and how people do not or do buy a certain service or product. In this report I am going to describe the various behaviors involved in the making the purchase of a car.
Chaudhuri (2006) noted that consumer behaviour is influenced by both internal and external factors. The internal factors include personality, lifestyle, motivation, demographics, attitudes, feelings, beliefs, knowledge etc. The external factors include: ethnicity, family, advice, locality, culture, social class etc.
The motive of the purchaser or consumer is one of the important factors influencing the purchase of a car. According to Evans, Foxal and Jamal (2009), motive is the driving force that makes an individual want to obtain a certain product. In this case, the purchase of a car will depend entirely on the needs of the purchaser. A consumer may have certain needs that make it necessary to purchase a car instead of purchasing a motor bike for instance. This needs underpin the processes involved in deciding to buy a car.
Again the social status and financial capability of a purchaser also influences the decision to purchase. A buyer with good financial capability will purchase a car based on his social standing in the society and the impression he or she wants to make. Such a buyer not only needs a car, but the car has to conform to certain desired standards. These factors go hand in hand with the lifestyle of the purchaser of the car.
According to Graves (2010), the purchaser’s attitude towards a certain type of car in combination to his or her knowledge and ability play a central role in determining whether a purchaser of a car will purchase a certain car. The knowledge of a purchaser of a car with regards to strengths and weaknesses of the car shape his attitude towards the car and this in combination with his financial ability then determine which type of car will be bought.
Social factors also influence the purchaser’s choice of a product. According to Underhill (2008), social factors like family, friends and the greater society influence a purchaser’s choice. A buyer will buy a car that meets the criterion that in considered optimal within that setting. The past experience of these individuals will also contribute in the decision making process on which car to buy. This could be information about the availability of spare parts of the car, how durable is the car, how does it cope in that environment. This information is given from a past experience point of view and has major influence on the final decision to be made.
The demographics of an individual also play a role in purchasing a car. These include the age of the purchaser, sex or gender of the purchaser, race etc. In this case, when purchasing a car a middle aged man is likely to go for a sports car while a woman in the same stage of life is likely to go for a family car. This demonstrates that there is a difference in gender in terms of preferences when it comes to making purchases of a car all other factors held constant.
In conclusion there are so many factors that determine the purchase of a product both internal and external. Any company that wants to market its products has to be well versed with these factors then be able to create a market mix that will yield the desired sales volume.
References
Ariely, D. 2010. Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions, Harper Perennial, New York
Chaudhuri, A. 2006. Emotion and Reason in Consumer Behavior, Taylor & Francis, Oxford.
Evans, M. M., Foxall, G. & Jamal, A. 2009. Consumer Behaviour, Wiley, New York.
Graves, P. 2010. Consumerology: The Market Research Myth, the Truth About Consumers, and the Psychology of Shopping, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London.
Underhill, P. 2008. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping–Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond, Simon & Schuster, New York.