Consumer Purchasing Behavior and Management

Question: Discuss about the Consumer Purchasing Behavior and Management. Answer: Introduction Consumer buying decision is affected by various different factors like social, economic, psychological, personal etc. The report examines the consumer decision making of the Tim Tam product in Australia. The Tim Tam Chocolate biscuits are sold under the brand name of Arnott. It is known to be one of the largest suppliers of snack food in Australia. Therefore the main aim of the report is to identify the profiled consumers as well as investigates the market standing of the product. The market analysis is based on the various consumer decision making approaches. It further aims to evaluate the alternative available in the market and recognize the competitors while making a product choice (Solomon, 2014). Consumer behavior is variable in nature and hence it is recommended to the marketers to evaluate it timely in order to succeed. Knowledge about consumer is essential for the marketer as it can lead to success and failure of the product. Product research of Tim Tam will help the company to improve existing product and to understand the gap in between the actual and standard achievement. Tim Tam is a well-known brand in all over Australia with a distinguished market share (Arnotts Biscuit Limited (ABL) 2017). As per the report of IBIS World Tim Tam accommodates around 60% of the market. It has become necessary to make an estimate about the current and the upcoming consumer buying behavior which is based on the market trends. A thorough study of the consumer market behavior will provide with an overview in order to understand the consumer buying decisions (Kardes, Cronley and Cline, T2014). Profiled Consumers The profiled target market of Tim Tam majorly comprises of the Wellbeings and young adult female consumers. On the basis of the demographic segmentation, the products are famous in between the age group of 12-15 years. This particular section is targeted by the company in order to increase the revenue. However the brand is famous among people of every age group. It depends upon the individual attitude, taste and preferences while making a purchase decision. According to the psychological segmentation, the product attracts a major section comprising people of every age group due to customer emotional understanding. The product specifically focuses on children and female consumers. They form to be the major section consuming Tim Tam (Mullen and Johnson, 2013). This particular section of the society is fond of chocolates and the products made using them. However the company is consistently making changes in their product in order to grab attention of every section of the society. On the basis of the geographic segmentation the product is sold in each and every part of Australia. Tim Tam has a large outreach not only in Australia but in other part of the world. Moreover it is due to the easy accessibility, the product is highly recognizable. Consumers are more likely to buy those products which are easily accessible. The accessibility of Tim Tam makes it famous among a very large section of the society. People in Australia can easily access the product at stores situated near them. Regular availability of product helps in deciding the consumer behavior. Consumers tend to switch over to competitors goods due to unavailability of the product. In order to strengthen the position of the product it is essential to frame policies keeping in mind the variable consumer behavioral factors that are based on various assumptions in the market (Vinerean, Cetina, Dumitrescu and Tichindelean, 2013). Moreover by recognizing the designated consumer group it has become easier for a product to compete against other. Understanding the needs of profiled consumer will help in adding value to the product on a long run. This will help in achieving sustainable results within a desired time-period (Lantos, 2015). Primary consumer Profile Wellbeings This section includes younger generation consumer who enjoy and are excited about tasty food. They do not consider inclusion of excess chocolate in the product. Tim Tam is a party food and famous among every section of the society. Wellbeings enjoy food and follow products that are in trend. Chocolates are among one product liked by every individual irrespective of their age. Tim Tam is mostly liked by every section due to its exquisite taste. Tim Tam is famous among every individual for its taste. This section of the society tastes and preferences keep varying as per the trends. Young adult females Tim Tam is famous among the young woman in between the age group of 20-35 years. Tim Tam provides them with a high level of satisfaction. Health conscious people consume at least one piece of biscuit due to its taste. Tim Tam is easily available at the grocery store present in all over Australia. This is due to the fact that the company has attained a considerable recognition in all over Australia due to availability of the product. The easy availability at every store has created more awareness among the consumers. The product is not only famous in Australia but has received recognition in all over the world with a considerable number of female fans. Decision making approach Consumer buying behavior is influenced by various factors that include social, economic, cultural and psychological needs. Every individual consumer buying decision is necessary to be considered while developing marketing policies. The decision in case of Tim Tam is largely influenced by the social and demographic factors. A large section of the society is influenced by the social group they are living in. the decision of an individual completely depend upon the decisions made by their friends and families. People tend to buy those products which are consumed by their friends and families largely. The consumer decision making approach includes majorly five steps that include need recognition, searching information, evaluation of the alternatives, purchases and the post purchase behavior (Samli, 2012). These steps help in guiding the marketer to understand the consumer behavior in a diversified market. The consumer behavior is difficult for a marketer to evaluate as it does not flow i n an exact order. In case of Tim Tam it is difficult for the marketing team to decide the consumer buying decision. The decision largely depends upon the type of product, the buying stage of the consumer and the financial status of the consumer (Henry, Nigel, Linda and Kevin, 2004). Need Recognition The first step deals with the process in which the consumer realizes that they need a product. Firstly the marketer needs to understand that the needs and desire of the prospective consumer while making consumer buying decision. These decisions are largely influenced by internal craving. Marketers need to create an imbalance in between the present and the future situation. This imbalance will create a need in the mind of the consumer. Need recognition occurs when a consumer looks for the particular product in order to satisfy his/her needs. A need can occur immediately and can only be satisfied if the consumer consumes the product. This is called as internal stimulus (Reynolds and Olson, 2001). External stimulus is caused due to the external factors. In case of Tim Tam majority of decisions are influenced by the reference group especially in case of kids. External stimulus also includes influence caused due to advertisement and various other promotional techniques. These tools influe nce the customers to make purchases. Actual stage is a stage in the consumer buying decision making where a buyer wishes to buy the product. In case of desired state a consumer wishes to make purchases of the product. Desired state is caused due to internal and external stimulus. Consumers tend to satisfy themselves only when their needs are individually satisfied. Tim Tam forms to be the basic needs of a consumer and is easily available at various stores in Australia. This is however essential to recognize the basic needs and desire while assimilating the consumer decision making. Segmentation of market is essential for making purchase decision in order to understand the market (Hollensen, 2014). Consideration sets These are the subset that is being considered by the consumer while making a purchase related decision. Consumer is rational in their approach while making buying decisions. They apply a well defined set in order to understand their needs. In case of Tim Tam the customer in order to attain maximum satisfaction conducts a market research and compares the product with the other. Involvement and perceived risk These are the risk that is associated with the purchases of the product. Marketers necessarily conduct a research in order to understand the risk associated with it. Perceived risk is very low in case of Tim Tam as the product is easily available. The product can easily be purchased and available at almost every grocery shop. Perceived risk occurs only in the case when a consumer is purchasing an expensive product. The major cause in purchases is due to the heavy price associated with the product. Consumer has to think multiple times before making a buying decision. A habitual risk arises due to internal and external stimulus (Keegan and Green, 2015). The product forms to be an integral part in a consumer life. A habitual decision making is influenced by the consumer buying decision making. Consuming Tim Tam has become a habitual decision of the consumer. Most of the purchase decision is due to internal craving in the consumer. Once he/she start consuming the product it becomes an in tegral part in a consumer life (Slack, 2015). Pre-purchased search Pre purchased search is conducted by the consumer before the actual purchases. They tend to compare one product with the other in order to purchase the best product. This forms to be one of the essential parts of a consumer buying decision making. At this particular stage consumer taste the product. Decision regarding purchase of the product depends upon his prior experience. Tim Tam is famous in almost every age group and decision regarding the purchases is influenced by the pre-purchase search. At this stage consumer compares the two products in order to make purchases (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2006). Internal and external search Consideration In case when want related to a product is developed consumer tries to find information about the alternative available in the market. He looks for that product that is under his budget. This will not only help the consumer to find out the best available product but will provide with a chance to make an effective decision. An internal information search includes utilizing information from the past the decisions are influenced due to the past experiences of the customers. Purchases related to Tim Tam are influenced on the basis of internal information search. The buyers tend to make purchases if they liked it previously. Prior experience forms an important part of the purchases (Rothaermel, 2015). Whereas the external information search is a process through which information is retrieved from the external sources. The consumer tries to seek information from the friend and the family to understand their experiences in order to make further purchases. Another source of making alternative research is the marketing controlled sources like TV, Radio, Ad, Brochures etc. The level of risk associated with the product depends upon the interest level of the buyer. Tim Tam has to make further advancement by making an effective promotional plan in order to grab attention of the customer (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Evaluation of Alternatives At this stage the consumer tries to evaluate the alternatives in order to make an effective consumer buying decision. During final decision, consumer looks for the most appropriate product after considering all the options. At this stage the marketer needs to find out the most appropriate product while making a choice among the alternates. A consumer is most likely to buy a product that satisfies his/her needs. He tries to evaluate the difference in between the various products available in the market and hence chooses the one giving high level of satisfaction (Kotler and Keller, 2006). A consumer evaluates the product on different parameter based on the individual desire. The value of the product is measured on the basis of degree of satisfaction provided by the product. A consumer differentiates in between the various attributes attached with product while distinguishing in between each. This provides them with an insight to find out the most appropriate product available in the market. An evaluation technique varies from consumer to consumer and highly depends upon the degree of satisfaction provided by the product (Hutt and Speh, 2005). Product categorization depends upon the available category of the product available in the market. This will not only help in attaining high degree of satisfaction with the customer but also helps in selecting the most appropriate product out of available products in the market. Tim Tam has strategized according to the growing needs of the customers. This not only provides with attaining better result but also helps in achieving differential goals on a long run. Criteria selection is necessary while making an appropriate choices related to a product. Selecting appropriate criteria as mentioned by the customer will help in attaining sustainable result. The marketers are nowadays evaluating various techniques in order to find out the most appropriate one to implement the goals of the organization (Cravens and Piercy, 2006). Decision related to choice of retail outlet The choices related to retail outlet depends upon market research. It is necessary for a marketer to understand the importance of decision related to the choice of retail outlet. The product needs to be easily available to the customers so that he doesnt switch over to some other product. Customer tends to switch in case they find a substitute of the product. Tim Tam is easily available at every grocery store that makes it one of the most important and highly recommended products available in the market. Consumers can easily find it in the closest available grocery store. Easy availability of the product makes it one of the best available products in the market with a maximum number of consumers not only in Australia but across the border (Hollensen, 2015). Recommendation It is highly recommended that the company need to strategies their priorities in order to understand the market needs. Firstly it should build strategies according to the market needs after understanding the individual buying decision of the consumer. It is necessary to understand various factors associated with the product while considering the individual decision making. Secondly, on a long run it is recommended that the product need to keep introducing innovation into the product in order to attract maxim customers. Thirdly, the product needs to be available at every retail outlet so that consumer does not switch to any other product. This will create market stability for a long tenure. Lastly Tim Tam need to run promotional activities in order to grab attention of the customers. (Chung, 2015). Conclusion The report examines the consumer buying decision making of Tim Tam and showcases the different factors that affect the buying decision making. The product is highly famous among the wellbeings and adult female consumers. It studies the various techniques and measures used by the marketers in order to establish a relationship in between the product and the consumer buying behavior. It is necessary for an individual consumer to understand the consumer buying decision in order to create a distinguished market standing. In a highly fluctuating market it is important for a marketer to evaluate various tools in order to understand the point of view of the individual customers. Recommendations provide the necessary changes Tim Tam can bring in order to achieve desired results. References Arnotts Biscuit Limited (ABL) 2017. Available at: https://www.arnotts.com.au Accessed on: 24 January 2017 Chung, F.2015.Online. Available at: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/the-seven-aussie-power-brands-coles-woolworths-and-aldi-cant-do-without/news-story/e0286fe3a73aa8fd4136544634721c0a Accessed on: 24 January 2017 Churchill, G.A. and Iacobucci, D., 2006.Marketing research: methodological foundations. New York: Dryden Press. Cravens, D.W. and Piercy, N., 2006.Strategic marketing(Vol. 7). New York: McGraw-Hill. Henry, A., Nigel, P., Linda, B. and Kevin, V., 2004. Consumer behavior: a strategic approach.Boston, M. A.: Houghton Mifflin Company. 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