CH. 6 Consumer Decision Making

WHICH ONE SHOULD I BUY?

What makes a consumer purchase a product? Is it Age, Culture, Beliefs, Values, Sex, or all of the above? Consumers are driven by events, holidays, birthdays, and many other special moments in their lives to buy a a certain type of merchandise. Some products such as Tilex, Tide, and Herbal Essence are purchased out of necessity, in order to stay clean you must wash your clothes (Tide) and wash your hair (Herbal Essence). These are all considered The Needs and or Wants of the consumer.  The Need Recognition   is a result of an imbalance between actual and desired states as per MKTG Text Book Student addition 7,  for instance a consumer enters a Target Department Store and comes across a new beautiful Vera Wang Sweater on sale, the initial Motivation would be Fashion or Trend, the need would be to stay warm in cold weather. How do marketers convince the consumer to buy a sweater if their need is  to buy cooking utensils?

Martha Stewart China Collection

The marketer has to consider many aspects of the consumers demographics. In many cases certain Social Class Standards can mean the difference between how much need vs. wants a consumer can purchase. Upper Class consumers are usually well to do people with a family income well above the national average. This class ordinarily has the advantage to purchase their needs and wants without much concern about cost and how much they spend. However, the majority of this class is educated and will be extremely Involved in the buying experience. They are also consumers that tend to buy their products in higher end stores like Bloomingdale's, Whole Foods, Sax Fifth Avenue. There are specific type of cars this consumer purchases that have a more expensive maintenance cost than other vehicles like BMW, Mercedes, and Jaguar. The Socialization Process plays an important role for this class of consumers more than the other classes.
Martha Stewart's is regarded as an inexpensive product with a look of modern luxury. Her bedding sets are 1000 count threads with embroidered designs. Martha Stewart has a  line of beautiful china that exudes elegance and class.

Martha Stewart Jacquard Bedding Collection

Middle Class consumers ordinarily do not have the same luxuries as the upper class, although they can afford to shop in the more expensive stores at times, they're more likely to shop in stores that have products more reasonably priced such as Target, Kohl's, Shop Rite. This class would be more inclined to try knew products that can compare to an older product but at a lower price like Targets  Archer Farms food line. This name brand of foods offers granola bars, cereal, frozen vegetables among so many other foods that are many consumers favorites at a lower cost. It's a direct competition for popular name brands such as Quaker, Green Giant, and Betty Crocker.   This class would also be more inclined to purchase a vehicle that has less expensive maintenance cost and more gas efficient systems like Nissan, Ford, and Chevy. Martha Stewart has a product line in many popular department stores like JCPenny, Macy's, and Home Depot, Middle Class workers tend to shop in these stores for the quality of the product and the convenience of having them in their neighborhood malls.

Lower Class consumers are usually low paid workers or people who are dependent on government programs for financial stability. More than likely this consumer is only given a small amount of benefits for food and would need to purchase food and clothing in a store that can accept the government benefits. This class does not have the room to afford luxury items and would ordinarily buy out of Routine Response Behavior.  Supermarkets that usually accepts government benefits or are inexpensive are Western Beef, Conway's, and V.I.M.

Cultures and Values  often play a big role with consumers and their products. Foods that are primarily used in certain cultures will almost always sell in neighborhood where that culture predominately lives. Marketers will survey the demographics of a particular neighborhood in order to advertise and market their products. Packaging and ingredients are a must in some cultures, because they might represent their countries flag or foods. To some this will mean authenticity, original and nostalgia. Family is almost always the driving force in theses cases, and will influence the buyers choice when choosing a product.

 Martha Stewart products promote happy homes. Her recipes are filled and decorated like it's Thanksgiving everyday of the year. This important quality is for everyone.