We have all experienced the moment when we walk into a store and see something that we just have to have. Retailers spend billions of dollars every year trying to generate that feeling in their customers. Web campaigns, video and print ads, social media campaigns, and branding seem to converge as the consumer finally feels a connection to a product and makes a purchase. So what drives that behavior? And how do you capture and then replicate that lightning-in-a-bottle moment when a potential customer turns into a buyer? This blog will dive into what consumer buying behavior is, what influences it, and what the different types of buyers are.
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the actions taken (both on and offline) by consumers before buying a product or service. This process may include consulting search engines, engaging with social media posts, or a variety of other actions. It is valuable for businesses to understand this process because it helps them better tailor their marketing initiatives to the marketing efforts that have successfully influenced consumers to buy in the past.
There are several factors that affect this type of behavior.
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A variety of factors go into the consumer buyer behavior process, including cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. Taken separately, they may not result in a purchase. When put together in any number of combinations, the likelihood increases that someone will connect with a brand and make a purchase. Let’s take a closer look at each of these factors.
There are four different types of buyers: the analytical, the amiable, the driver, and the expressive buyer. They differ based on what motivates them to make a purchase.
1. The Analytical Buyer - Motivated by logic and information, this buyer will look at all the data on competing brands and products before making an informed decision.
2. The Amiable Buyer - Warm and friendly, this buyer just wants everyone to be happy. That is why they are often paralyzed by big decisions when there is the perception of a win/lose outcome.
3. The Driver Buyer - Drivers are most concerned with how others view them and whether they follow. The trendsetters, Drivers are most concerned with their appearance rather than the relationships that are formed during a transaction.
4. The Expressive Buyer - Relationships are key to the Expressive Buyer. They cannot stand feeling isolated or ignored during a transaction. Instead, they want to feel like your most important asset.
It's hard to distill something as complex as consumer buying behavior into four neat and tidy categories. Most people will find they are a combination of these types of consumer buying behavior. To better understand this behavior, it’s important to understand the stages involved in the consumer buying process.
There are five stages of the consumer buying process: finding a problem, gathering information, finding solutions, making a purchase, and reviewing the purchase.
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