When it comes down to making the purchasing decision, it can be pretty logical to think we weigh out the pros and cons of owning a particular product or service. However, that is not how customers choose what brands to spend their money on because our primitive brains process information at lightning speeds and process it all differently.
Learn how to use these factors to influence your audience and grow your sales here.
Why Is Consumer Behaviour Important?
All the money and resources invested in a product often go to waste if it does not meet psychological requirements. The most important among these are usefulness, desirability, interaction and image.
Customers’ behaviours can allow you to decide: what influences the decision to buy, user opinions and feelings about competing products (products, services, brands, etc.), how consumers’ environment influences their purchase decisions. Knowing the patterns of behaviour of their target market gives brands a better chance of changing them.
The role of psychology in buying decisions:
Every market is different, and every segment within each market is unique. Whilst price and quality are the most critical factors in one market, convenience and value are paramount in another. Business owners often focus on being the best, although that can be debatable. In a business where convenience and value are the key factors, being the best on price and quality will not boost influence. Your decision is influenced more by psychological buying factors based on their importance to you as a target audience member of that particular market.
Consumer Behavior: 4 Influencing Factors
Four main factors influence the decision to buy, which are:
- Individual Factors
- Environmental Factors
- Psychological Factors
- Behavioural Factors
Factor #1: Individual Factors
We make every decision in our lives based on our psychology. Let us explore some psychological factors that guide our decision-making.
- Experiences: Learning from our experiences can influence future purchase decisions and change our buying behaviours. If you bought a shirt that washed up after wearing it a few times, this would make you less likely to purchase the product again. In this case, the brand experience is vital for retaining customers. Those who have a positive experience with your brand will become more likely to continue to purchase from you in the future. The worse your brand experience is, the more likely your customers are to learn from it and change their purchase patterns in the future.
- Perspective: Our perspectives come from how we decide to interpret what is in front of us (or not) based on our immediate thoughts and ideas. For example, our perspective of Apple as a brand is that of a technology-driven company, which is why they have premium pricing for their products.
Factor #2: Environmental Factors
Working together has helped us survive as humans, and social influence and our societal perceptions have a significant role.
In making these decisions, we consider factors like family and friends.
Families play an integral role in shaping who we become in life. What they ate, what they wore and where they went. Everything we did usually depended on their preferences. The same goes for brands – especially those in the food & beverage category (or any other type in which family members have shared tastes). Getting family and friends’ approval is a common factor influencing buying decisions.
Factor #3: Psychological Factors
Human behaviour relies on psychology. The activities we enjoy throughout our lives are primarily the result of our influences. Influences also play a role in shaping our minds. Psychological factors, however, contribute the most to our choices in behaviour.
Factor #4: Behavioural Factors
The purchasing habits of individuals depend on specific aspects of their personalities, whether they are habits or attitudes. Personal factors ranging from external situational conditions to behaviour play an integral role in the consumer’s purchasing decisions.
What does this mean for you?
If you want to build a successful brand, it is paramount to understand your customers, their culture, who influences their lives. Once you have enough in-depth information about who they are, you can then influence their buying factors by resonating with them.