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INTRODUCTION

Consumer buying behaviour

The study of how and why people purchase Products is termed consumer buying behavior. The

term covers the decision-making processes from those that precede the purchase of goods or

services to the final experience of using the product or service. Models of consumer buying

behavior draw together the various influences on, and the process of, the buying decision. They

attempt to understand the proverbial 'black box' of what happens within the consumer between

his or her exposure to marketing stimuli and the actual decision to purchase.

The essence of the model is that it suggests consumers will respond in particular ways to

different stimuli after they have 'processed' those stimuli in their minds. In more detail, the model

suggests that factors external to the consumer will act as a stimulus for behavior, but that the

consumer's personal characteristics and decision-making process will interact with the stimulus

before a particular behavioral response is generated.

It is called the 'black box' model because we still know so little about how the human mind

works. We cannot see what goes on in the mind and we don't really know much about what goes

on in there, so it's like a black box. As far as consumer behavior goes, we know enough to be

able to identify major internal influences and the major steps in the decision-making process

which consumers use, but we don't really know how consumers transform all these data, together

with the stimuli, to generate particular responses.

Turn now to the following reading to begin looking at your text's introduction to buyer behavior.

Possibly the most challenging concept in marketing deals with understanding why buyers do

what they do (or dont do)

But such knowledge is critical for marketers since having a strong understanding of buyer

behavior will help shed light on what is important to the customer and also suggest the important

influences on customer decision-making. Using this information, marketers can create

marketing programs that they believe will be of interest to customers.


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As you might guess, factors affecting how customers make decisions are extremely complex.

Buyer behavior is deeply rooted in psychology with dashes of sociology thrown in just to make

things more interesting. Since every person in the world is different, it is impossible to have

simple rules that explain how buying decisions are made. But those who have spent many years

analyzing customer activity have presented us with useful guidelines in how someone decides

whether or not to make a purchase.

In fact, pick up any textbook that examines customer behavior and each seems to approach it

from a different angle. The perspective we take is to touch on just the basic concepts that appear

to be commonly accepted as influencing customer behavior. We will devote two sections of the

Principles of Marketing Tutorials to customer behavior. In this section we will examine the

buying behavior of consumers (i.e., when people buy for personal reasons) while in the Business

Buying Behavior Tutorial we will examine factors that influence buyers decisions in the

business market.

Types of Consumer Purchase Decisions

Consumers are faced with purchase decisions nearly every day. But not all decisions are treated

the same. Some decisions are more complex than others and thus require more effort by the

consumer. Other decisions are fairly routine and require little effort. In general, consumers face

four types of purchase decisions:

* Minor New Purchase these purchases represent something new to a consumer but in the

customers mind is not a very important purchase in terms of ne ed, money or other reason (e.g.,

status within a group).

* Minor Re-Purchase these are the most routine of all purchases and often the consumer

returns to purchase the same product without giving much thought to other product options (i.e.,

consumer is brand loyalty).

* Major New Purchase these purchases are the most difficult of all purchases because the

product being purchased is important to the consumer but the consumer has little or no previous

experience making these decisions. The consum ers lack of confidence in making this type of


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decision often (but not always) requires the consumer to engage in an extensive decision-making

process.

* Major Re-Purchase - these purchase decisions are also important to the consumer but the

consumer feels confident in making these decisions since they have previous experience

purchasing the product.

For marketers it is important to understand how consumers treat the purchase decisions they

face. If a company is targeting customers who feel a purchase decision is difficult (i.e., Major

New Purchase), their marketing strategy may vary greatly from a company targeting customers

who view the purchase decision as routine. In fact, the same company may face both situations

at the same time; for some the product is new, while other customers see the purchase as routine.

The implication of buying behavior for marketers is that different buying situations require

different marketing efforts.

Why Consumers Buy

Tutorial, customers make purchases in order to satisfy needs. Some of these needs are basic and

must be filled by everyone on the planet (e.g., food, shelter) while others are not required for

basic survival and vary depending on the person. It probably makes more sense to classify needsthat are not a necessity as wants or desires. In fact, in many countries where the standard of

living is very high, a large portion of the populations income is spent on wants and desires

rather than on basic needs.

In this tutorial when we mention the consumer we are referring to the actual buyer, the person

spending the money. But is should also be pointed out that the one who does the buying is not

necessarily the user of what is bought and that others may be involved in the buying decision in

addition to the actual buyer. While the purchasing process in the consumer market is not as

complex as the business market, having multiple people involved in a purchase decision is not

unusual. For example, in planning for a family vacation the mother may make the hotel

reservations but others in the family may have input on the hotel choice. Similarly, a father may


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purchase snacks at the grocery store but his young child may be the one who selected it from the

store shelf.

So understanding consumer purchase behavior involves not only understanding how decisions

are made but also understanding the dynamics that influence purchases.

What Influences Purchasing

As we discussed the decision-making process for consumers is anything but straight forward.

There are many factors that can affect this process as a person works through the purchase

decision. The number of potential influences on consumer behavior is limitless. However,

marketers are well served to understand the KEY influences. By doing so they may be in a

position to tailor their marketing efforts to take advantage of these influences in a way that will

satisfy the consumer and the marketer (remember this is a key part of the definition of

marketing).

For the purposes of this tutorial we will break these influences down into three main categories:

Internal, External and Marketing. However, those interested in learning more about customer

buying activity may want to consult one or more consumer behavior books where they will find

additional methods for explaining consumer buying behavior.

For the most part the influences are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they are all interconnected

and, as we will see, work together to form who we are and how we behave.

For each of the influences that are discussed we will provide a basic description and also suggest

its implication to marketers. Bear in mind we only provide a few marketing implications for

each influence; clearly there are many more.

Knowledge

Knowledge is the sum of all information known by a person. It is the facts of the world as he/she

knows it and the depth of knowledge is a function of the breadth of worldly experiences and the


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strength of an individuals long -term memory. Obviously what exists as knowledge to an

individual depends on how an indivi duals perceptual filter makes sense of the information it is

exposed to.

Marketing Implications:

Marketers may conduct research that will gauge consumers level of knowledge regarding their

product. As we will see below, it is likely that other factors influencing consumer behavior are

in large part shaped by what is known about a

product. Thus, developing methods (e.g., incentives) to encourage consumers to accept more

information (or correct information) may affect other influencing factors.

Attitude

In simple terms attitude refers to what a person feels or believes about something. Additionally,

attitude may be reflected in how an individual acts based on his or her beliefs. Once formed,

attitudes can be very difficult to change. Thus, if a consumer has a negative attitude toward a

particular issue it will take considerable effort to change what they believe to be true.


Marketers facing consumers who have a negative attitude toward their product must work to

identify the ke y issues shaping a consumers attitude then adjust marketing decisions (e.g.,

advertising) in an effort to change the attitude. For companies competing against strong rivals to

whom loyal consumers exhibit a positive attitude, an important strategy is to work to see why

consumers feel positive toward the competitor and then try to meet or beat the competitor on

these issues. Alternatively, a company can try to locate customers who feel negatively toward

the competitor and then increase awareness among this group.

Personality


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An individuals personality relates to perceived personal characteristics that are consistently

exhibited, especially when one acts in the presence of others. In most, but not all, cases the

behaviors one projects in a situation is similar to the behaviors a person exhibits in another

situation. In this way personality is the sum of sensory experiences others get from experiencing

a person (i.e., how one talks, reacts). While ones personality is often interpreted by those we

interact with, the person has their own vision of their personality, called Self Concept, which

may or may not be the same has how others view us.


For marketers it is important to know that consumers make purchase decisions to support their

self concept. Using research techniques to identify how customers view themselves may give

marketers insight into products and promotion options that are

not readily apparent. For example, when examining consumers a marketer may initially build

mark eting strategy around more obvious clues to consumption behavior, such as consumers

demographic indicators (e.g., age, occupation, income). However, in-depth research may yield

information that shows consumers are purchasing products to fulfill self-concept objectives that

have little to do with the demographic category they fall into (e.g., senior citizen may be making

purchases that make them feel younger). Appealing to the consumers self concept needs could

expand the market to which the product is targeted.

Lifestyle

This influencing factor relates to the way we live through the activities we engage in and

interests we express. In simple terms it is what we value out of life. Lifestyle is often

determined by how we spend our time and money.


Products and services are purchased to support consumers lifestyles. Marketers have worked

hard researching how consumers in their target markets live their lives since this information is

key to developing products, suggesting promotional strategies and even determining how best to


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Motivation is also closely tied to the concept of Involvement, which relates to how much effort

the consumer will exert in making a decision. Highly motivated consumers will want to get

mentally and physically involved in the purchase process. Not all products have a high

percentage of highly involved customers (e.g., milk) but marketers who market products and

services that may lead to high level of consumer involvement should prepare options that will be

attractive to this group. For instance, marketers should make it easy for consumers to learn about

their product (e.g., information on website, free video preview) and, for some products, allow

customers to experience the product (e.g., free trial) before committing to the purchase.

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Consumer purchasing decisions are often affected by factors that are outside of their control but

have direct or indirect impact on how we live and what we consume.

Culture

Culture represents the behavior, beliefs and, in many cases, the way we act learned by interacting

or observing other members of society. In this way much of what we do is shared behavior,

passed along from one member of society to another. Yet culture is

a broad concept that, while of interest to marketers, is not nearly as important as understanding

what occurs within smaller groups or Sub-Cultures to which we may also belong. Sub-cultures

also have shared values but this occurs within smaller groups. For instance, sub-cultures exist

where groups share similar values in terms of ethnicity, religious beliefs, geographic location,

special interests and many others.


As part of their efforts to convince customers to purchase their products, marketers often use

cultural representations, especially in promotional appeals. The objective is to connect to

consumers using cultural references that are easily understood and often embraced by the

consumer. By doing so the marketer hopes the consumer feels more comfortable with or can

relate better to the product since it corresponds with their cultural values. Additionally, smart


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marketers use strong research efforts in an attempt to identify differences in how sub-culture

behaves. These efforts help pave the way for spotting trends within a sub-culture, which the

marketer can capitalize on through new marketing tactics (e.g., new products, new sales

channels, added value, etc.).

Other Group Membership

In addition to cultural influences, consumers belong to many other groups with which they share

certain characteristics and which may influence purchase decisions. Often these groups contain

Opinion Leaders or others who have major influence on what the customer purchases. Some of

the basic groups we may belong to include:

* Social Class represents the social standing one has within a society based on such factors

as income level, education, occupation

* Family ones family situation can have a strong effect on how purchase decisions are made

* Reference groups most consumers simultaneously belong to many other groups with

which they associate or, in some cases, feel the need to disassociate


Identifying and understanding the groups consumers belong to is a key strategy for marketers.Doing so helps identify target markets, develop new products, and create

appealing marketing promotions to which consumers can relate. In particular, marketers seek to

locate group leaders and others to whom members of the group look for advice or direction.

These opinion leaders, if well respected by the group, can be used to gain insight into group

behavior and if these opinion leaders accept promotional opportunities could act as effective

spokespeople for the marketers products.

Purchase Situation

A purchase decision can be strongly affected by the situation in which people find themselves. In

general, a situation is the circumstances a person faces when making a purchase decision, such as


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the nature of their physical environment, their emotional state, or time constraints. Not all

situations are controllable, in which case a consumer may not follow their normal process for

making a purchase decision. For instance, if a person needs a product quickly and a store does

not carry the brand they normally purchase, the customer may choose a competitors product.


Marketers can take advantage of decisions made in uncontrollable situations in at least two ways.

First, marketers can use promotional methods to reinforce a specific selection of products when

the consumer is confronted with a particular situation. For example, automotive services can be

purchased that promise to service vehicles if the user runs into problems anywhere and at

anytime. Second, marketers can use marketing methods that attempt to convince consumers that

a situation is less likely to occur if the marketers product is used. This can also be seen withauto products, where marketers explain that using their product will prevent unexpected damage

to their vehicles.

How Consumers Buy

So now that we have discussed the factors influencing a consumers decision to purchase, lets

examine the process itself. This process is presented in a sequence of 5 steps as shown below.


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However, whether a consumer will actually carryout each step depends on the type of purchase

decision that is faced. For instance, for minor re-purchases the consumer may be quite loyal to

the same brand, thus the decision is a routine one (i.e., buy the same product) and little effort is

involved in making a purchase decision. In cases of routine, brand loyal purchases consumers

may skip several steps in the purchasing process since they know exactly what they want

allowing the consumer to move quickly through the steps. But for more complex decisions, such

as Major New Purchases, the purchasing process can extend for days, weeks, months or longer.

So in presenting these steps marketers should realize that, depending on the circumstances

surrounding the purchase, the importance of each step may vary.

1. Need/Want/Desire is recognized

In the first step the consumer has determined that for some reason he/she is not satisfied (i.e.,consumers perceived actual condition) and wants to improve his/her situation (i.e., consumers

perceived desired condition). For instance, internal triggers, such as hunger or thirst, may tell the

consumer that food or drink is needed. External factors can also trigger consumers needs.

Marketers are particularly good at this through advertising; in-store displays and even the

intentional use of scent (e.g., perfume counters). At this stage the decision-making process may

stall if the consumer is not motivated to continue (see Motivation above). However, if the

consumer does have the internal drive to satisfy the need they will continue to the next step.

2. Search for Information

Assuming consumers are motivated to satisfy his or her need, they will next undertake a search

for information on possible s. The sources used to acquire this information may be as simple as

remembering information from past experience (i.e.,

memory) or the consumer may expend considerable effort to locate information from outside

sources (e.g., Internet search, talk with others, etc.). How much effort the consumer directs

toward searching depends on such factors as: the importance of satisfying the need, familiarity

with available s, and the amount of time available to search. To appeal to consumers who are at

the search stage, marketers should make efforts to ensure consumers can locate information


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related to their product. For example, for marketers whose customers rely on the Internet for

information gathering, attaining high rankings in search engines has become a critical marketing

objective.

3. Evaluate Options

Consumers search efforts may result in a set of options from which a choice can be made. It

should be noted that there may be two levels to this stage. At level one the consumer may create

a set of possible s to their needs (i.e., product types) while at level two the consumer may be

evaluating particular products (i.e., brands) within each . For example, a consumer who needs to

replace a television has multiple s to choose from such as plasma, LCD and CRT televisions.

Within each type will be multiple brands from which to choose. Marketers need to understand

how consumers evaluate product options and why some products are included while others arenot. Most importantly, marketers must determine which criteria consumers are using in their

selection of possible options and how each criterion is evaluated. Returning to the television

example, marketing tactics will be most effective when the marketer can tailor their efforts by

knowing what benefits are most important to consumers when selecting options (e.g., picture

quality, brand name, screen size, etc.) and then determine the order of importance of each

benefit.

4. Purchase

In many cases the chosen by the consumer is the same as the product whose evaluation is the

highest. However, this may change when it is actually time to make the purchase. The

intended purchase may be altered at the time of purchase for many reasons such as: the product

is out-of-stock, a competitor offers an incentive at the point-of-purchase (e.g., store salesperson

men tions a competitors offer), the customer lacks the necessary funds (e.g., credit card not

working), or members of the consumers reference group take a negative view of the purchase

(e.g., friend is critical of purchase). Marketers whose product is most desirable to the consumer

must make sure that the transaction goes smoothly. For example, Internet retailers have worked

hard to prevent consumers from abandoning online purchase (i.e., online shopping carts) by

streamlining the checkout process. For mar keters whose product is not the consumers selected


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product, last chance marketing efforts may be worth exploring, such as offering incentives to

store personnel to talk up their product at the checkout line.

5. After-Purchase Evaluation

Once the consumer has made the purchase they are faced with an evaluation of the decision. If

the product performs below the consumers expectation then he/she will re -evaluate satisfaction

with the decision, which at its extreme may result in the consumer returning the product while in

less extreme situations the consumer will retain the purchased item but may take a negative view

of the product. Such evaluations are more likely to occur in cases of expensive or highly

important purchases. To help ease the concerns consumers have with their purchase evaluation,

marketers need to be receptive and even encourage consumer contact. Customer service centers

and follow- up market research are useful tools in helping to address purchasers concerns.

As weve seen, consumer pur chasing is quite complex. In our next tutorial, Business Buying

Behavior, we will see that marketers must also have a thorough understanding of how business

purchase decisions are made.

1. CONSUMER PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESSES

Routenized

used when buying frequently purchased, low cost items

used when little search/decision effort is needed

e.g., buying a quart of orange juice once per week

Limited problem solving

used when products are occasionally purchased

used when information is needed about an unfamiliar product in a familiar product

category


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Extended problem solving

used when product is unfamiliar, expensive, or infrequently purchased

e.g., buying a new car once every five years

Under what sorts of conditions the assistance of a salesperson would be needed? Not needed?

2. POST-PURCHASE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Satisfaction

After the sale, the buyer will likely feel either satisfied or dissatisfied. If the buyer believes

that s/he received more in the exchange than what was paid, s/he might feel satisfied. If s/he

believes that s/he received less in the exchange than what was paid, then s/he might feeldissatisfied. Dissatisfied buyers are not likely to return as customers and are not likely to

send friends, relatives, and acquaintances. They are also more likely to be unhappy or even

abusive when the product requires post-sale servicing, as when an automobile needs warranty

maintenance.

The above idea can be modeled as Humans' basic exchange equation:

Profit = Rewards Costs

Unfortunately, even a buyer who "got a good deal" with respect to price and other terms of

the sale might feel dissatisfied under the perception that the salesperson made out even better

This idea is called equity theory, where we are concerned with:

Outcomes of A

Inputs of A

Vs.

Outcomes of B

Inputs of B


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Consider, for example, that you have purchased a used car for $14,000 after finding that the

&quote; blue book" value is listed at $16,000. You are probably delighted with the purchase

until you accidentally meet the prior owner who had received a trade-in of $10,000 on the car

just a few days before. That the dealer appears to have received substantially greater benefit

than you could lead to extreme dissatisfaction, even though you received good value for the

money spent.

(Note that the selling dealer might actually have paid $12,000 for the car at a statewide

dealer's auction, and then might have incurred another $1,000 in expenses associated with

transporting the car and preparing it for sale. Management of buyer perceptions is very

important!)

An issue related to this is attribution theory.

According to attribution theory, people tend to assign cause to the behavior of others. Mary's

life insurance agent advises her to purchase a whole life policy, while her accountant advises

her, "buy term insurance and invest the difference.". The reason, explains the accountant, "is

that insurance agents receive substantially higher commission payments on sales of whole

life policies."

If Mary believes that the insurance agent is recommending a product merely because he

receives a higher commission, she will likely be displeased with the relationship and will not

take his recommendation. If the agent is able to show Mary that the recommended product is

the best for her situation, then she will likely attribute his recommendation to having her best

interests in mind and will not be concerned about how it is that he is compensated for his

services.

Cognitive dissonance

Has to do with the doubt that a person has about the wisdom of a recent purchase

It is very common for people to experience some anxiety after the purchase of a product that

is very expensive or that will require a long term commitment. Jane and Fred, for example,

signed a one year lease on an apartment, committing themselves to payments of $1500 per

month. A week later, they are wondering if they should have instead leased a smaller $900


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apartment in a more rough part of town; they are not sure if they really can afford this much

of a monthly obligation.

Dick and Sally, on the other hand, ultimately rented the $900 apartment, and now are

wondering if the savings in rent will be offset by noisy and sometimes unsafe conditions in

this neighborhood.

Perhaps neither couple would be experiencing this anxiety if their landlords had given them

just the smallest of assurances that they had made a good decision. After a close on products

that are expensive or that require a long term commitment, the salesperson should provide

the prospect with some reasons to be happy with the decision. Allow the car buyer to

reinforce her own positive feelings by calling her a week after the purchase to ask how things

are going. Call the new life insurance policy holder after two months to see if there are any

questions; a lack of questions can only help the buyer to convince himself that he did the

right thing.

MAS-CommonKADS (Iglesias et al. 1998a) is a general purpose multi-agent analysis and design

methodology, it extends the CommonKADS (Schreiber et al. 1999) design method by combining

techniques from object- oriented methodologies and protocol engineering.

The methodology is centered on seven models that cover the main aspects of the development of

multi-agent systems:

The agent model specifies agents characteristics such a s reasoning capabilities,

sensor/effectors, services, agent groups and hierarchies.

The task model describes the tasks that the agents can carry out, such as goals, decomposition,

problem-solving methods, etc.

The expertise model defines the knowledge needed by the agents to achieve their goals.

The organization model describes the social organization of the agent society.


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INDUSTRY PROFILE

Software remains one of the most innovative and fastest growing sectors of the global

economy, generating revenues of more than $150 billion every year. About half of those sales

come from software applications, with the remainder split between development tools andinfrastructure software (operating systems, network management, middleware, and security

software). Microsoft claims a healthy chunk of all three segments -- a continuing point of

contention with the US Justice Department.

The Internet has vastly altered the dynamics of the software industry over the past decade.

Formerly restricted to a cycle of lengthy R&D concentrated in one geographic area -- followed

by an arduous process of distribution through a worldwide network of resellers, systems

integrators, and other independent vendors -- the software industry has found new efficiencies onthe Web. Companies such as Sun Microsystems and Oracle have employed the Web to anchor

their products, in much the same ways that Microsoft used the desktop PC and IBM used the

mainframe to corner their respective markets.

In the past five years, the formerly explosive market for enterprise resource planning (ERP)

software -- which helps companies save money by integrating back-office operations such as

accounting, distribution, and human resources -- has given way to software that helps companies

make money, including customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain

management software.

The standardization of Internet technologies such as Java and XML (extensible markup

language) -- which in tandem enable end users on the Web to interact with data stored on servers

for configuring orders or personalizing services -- is speeding up the industrywide conversion to

Web-enabled applications. A Business Software Alliance survey of CEOs from software

companies such as Autodesk, Intuit, and Symantec confirmed that trend, predicting that by 2005,

two-thirds of all software will be distributed over the Internet (compared to just 12% in 2001).


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The export of software has also grown up, which has been instrumental in the huge

success of the Indian software companies as well as the industry. In fact, software export from

India accounts for more than 65% of the total software revenue. The domestic software marketlargely depends upon sale of software packages and products, which constitute major part of

revenues. Products account for almost 40% of the domestic market. On the other hand, more than

80% of revenue from software exports comes from software services like custom software

development and consultancy services etc.

Reasons behind Success of Indian software companies

There are a number of reasons why the software companies in India have been so successful.

Besides the Indian software companies, a number of multinational giants have also plunged into

the India IT market.

India is the hub of cheap and skilled software professionals, which are available in abundance. It

helps the software companies to develop cost-effective business s for their clients. As a result,

Indian software companies can place their products and services in the global market in the most

competitive rate. This is the reason why India has been a favorite destination for outsourcing as

well. Many multinational IT giants also have their offshore development centers in India.

Most of the software companies in India are into varied types of business. There can be several

types of business in the IT sectors:

Infrastructure Software: These include OS, middleware and databases.

Enterprise Software: These automate business process in diverse verticals like finance, sales and

marketing, production and logistics.

Security Software

Industry-specific Software

Contract Programming


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This liaison role is also very important within companies that have their own technical staffs, but

rarely gets assigned as a full time job. Instead, it frequently ends up being an unofficial side job

for people who acquire an aptitude for it. In Financial Services, the systems liaison role regularlyfalls to people in the financial organization, especially departmental controllers.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone

(commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or "handphone") is a long-range, portable

electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a

telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text

messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, and MMS for sending and

receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base

stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network

(PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones.Cellular telephone is also define as a type of short-

wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a

mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter's span of coverage is called acell. Generally, cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and along major highways.

As the cellular telephone user moves from one cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone

is effectively passed on to the local cell transmitter. A cellular telephone is not to be confused

with a cordless telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection to a

local phone outlet). A newer service similar to cellular is personal communications services

(PCS).

Brand preferences and advertisement

Students leant about cellular phone from many sources, mainly from friends and families,

through advertisement and from their own experience. Whether a promotion and advertising hurt

or help a brand is under-researched (Mela, Gupta & Lehman, 1997). In the long-run,

advertisement help brands by making consumer less price sensitive and more loyal. Exposure of


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an ad is crucial to be effective in changing consumer knowledge, attitude and behaviour

(Evans,Moutinho & Van Raaj, 1996). And for the ad to be seen, it must grab the attention of its

target audience. Ads originality as defined from Pietes, Warlop and Wedel, (2002) were easier

for customer to remember than ordinary ads by increasing attention to it. This thus increased

attention to the brand being advertised.However, regardless of the content, ads for brand leaders

are more successful due to the influence of the brand (Simon, 1970). Ads for less popular brands

may be less successful even though the content may be good.Liking towards the brand itself can

influence liking for the brand

(Hawkins, Best & Coney, 1992). However according to study by Biehal, Stephens and Curlo

(1992) whether consumers like or dislike an ad does not necessarily lead to brand acceptance orrejection. So, even though consumers may like the ad that they see, it does not necessarily mean

that they will go out and buy the brand advertised.Usually the consumer uses their attitude

towards the ad (Aad) in brand choice equaled that of attitude towards the brands (AB).

Advertisers must remember that advertising messages are interpretend differently

between different genders (Maldonando, Tansuhaj & Muehling, 2003; Hogg & Garrow, 2003;

Putrevu, 2001).Prevoius study have proven that females were more likely to engagae in

elaboration than men (Maldonado & Muehling, 2003). Hogg and Garrow (2003) found that

women paid more intention about the details of the characters of an ad when asked to analyze

advertising messages. They said that this may be explained by the fact that females have a

greater tendency than men to consider external information and information related to others.

Women are comprehensive processors who try to gather all available information about the

product.In building brand preferences, Alreck and Settle (1999) proposed six strategies:1)Need

association- the product/brand linked to need through repeated messages.2)Mood associations-

brands should be associated with good feelings through slogans,songs.3)Subconsciousmotivation-use of symbol to ex cite consumers subconscious motives.4)Behaviour modification -

consumers are conditioned to buy the brand by controlling cues and rewards.5)Cognitif

processing-penetrating perceptual and cognitive barriers to create favourable attitudes towards

the brand/product.6)Model emulation- portraying idealized lifestyles for consumers to imitate.


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However, this study focused only on the symbolic or tangible elements in influencing

brand preference. It did not discuss tangible aspects (i.e product characteristics) of influencing

brand preference. Advertisement can change consumers perception of a product in terms of

attributes content and proportion and also influence consumers taste for attributes ( Gwin &

Gwin, 2003)

Brand preference and product attribute

Attributes are the characteristic or features that an object may or may not have and

includes both intrinsic and extrinsic (Mowen & Minor, 1998) .Benefits is the

positive outcomes that come from the attributes. People seek products that have attributes that

will solve their problems and fulfils their needs (Mowen & Minor, 1998). Understanding why a

consumer choose a product based upon its attributes helps marketers to understand why some

consumers have preferences for certain brands (Gwin & Gwin, 2003). In the study by Gwin and

Gwin (2003), the Lancaster model of consumer demand (1966, 1979), also reffered to as the

product attributes model,was used to evaluate brand positioning.This model assumes that

consumer choice is based on the characteristics (or attributes) of a brand.Each product is abundleof attributes and that choice is based on maximizing utility/satisfaction from the attritubes

subject to budget constraints. However there were two limitataions of the model: (1) the model is

static and deterministic and (2) the model does not explain how the preferences for attributes

were formed.This article also also didi not mention if experience with the product played a part

in influencing attributes preferences.

Both tangible nad intangible attributes of a product are equally important in choosing a

product or brand (Myers, 2003). There is no evidence that certain attributes are more related to

customer loyalty than others (Romariuk & Sharp, 2003). It was, found though, that the more

attributes (non-negative) associated with a brand, the more loyal the customer (Romariuk &

Sharp,2003).Romariuk and Sharp (2003) suggested that marketers should focus more on how

many attributes the brand should be associated with and not what attributes. However, this study


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did not specify what sort of attributes marketers should associate the brand with; i.e. whether

they should be relevant or irrelevant attributes, tangible or intangible etc.This is because it is

important that consumer accurately lean about product attribute performances since it would

influence their interpretations of product performance by causing memory encode and retrieval

bias.Unfounded product attribute relationship beliefs can mislead them into expecting something

that is not there.(Mason & Bequette, 1998). Hence if products fall short of customer

expectataions,then dissactisfaction would result.Nevertheless, it was found thatthrough

irrelevant, some attributes may still be important in influencing consumer choice.Persistent

preferences for product attribute soccurs when there is low ambiguity in the initial potential

choice for salient attributes coupled with experience,although those attributes maybe irrelevant

(i.e. an attributes usually not associated with favourable brand outcomes (Muthukrishnan &

Kardes, 2001). Consequently, Mason and Bequette (1998) also said that perceptions on product performance based on salient attributes are more important in influencing the

consumer purchase behaviour than actual product attribute performances. Similarly, Myers

(2003) concluded that brand equity may be more influenced by attribute knowledge more than

consumer preference.For low-involvement products, consumers have more objective view of the

nature of the attrinutes (eg. food, cosmetics) because they are constantly being advertised and

promoted.Similarly Rioo, Vasquez and Iglesias (2001) sugggeated that consumer evaluation of a

product can be broken down into evaluation related to product (tangible or physical attributes)

and brand name (intangible attributes, or images added to the product due to its brand names). In

his study on the relationship between human values and consumer purchases, Allen (2001)

found there was a significant association between human values (eg. hedonistic, achievement,

self-direction, conformity, security etc.), product preference and tangible attribute importance

with how consumers perceive the product (i.e tangible attributes) and how they evaluate the

product (i.e symbolic meaning,tangible/intangible attribute importance). Human values influence

the importance of the products tangible attribute importances that are already important to

consumers.However perception of product performance on the salient attributes are more

important than actual performance (Mason & Bequette, 1998).Mowen and Minor (1998)

suggested that marketing managers should know the attributes that consumers expect in a


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product and how positively or negatively they rate these attributes to help develop and promote a

successful product.Retailers need to be knowledgeable of the product attributes perceived as the

most important by each individual consumer group in order to build and maintain market share

(Warrington & Shim, 2000). It is the consumer who determines which attributes matter to them.

Different consumer groups place different importance ondifferent attributes (Warrington &

Shim,2000).It was found that consumers categoriez as LP/SB (low product involvement/strong

brand commitment) placed greater importance on product attributes and product orientataions

than LP/WB (weak brand commitment) consumers, which placed the most importance on

price.Markerters should consider using advertisement, which may play a role in making

attributee important to consumers that might not have been considered before (Gwin & Gwin,

2003),Romariuk & Sharp (2003) suggested two objectives of short-term and long-term brand

building. In the short term, managers need to identify a specific attributes to be communicated tothe market,based on which message gave the best execution.The key aim is to develop likeable

advertisement.In the long-run,managers

need to build up a bank of consumer perception about the brand to make it the one most often

thought of and make it difficult for competitors to have access to the minds of consumers

(Romariuk & Sharp, 2003).The brand name of the product itself is an important attribute. Brands

have both functional (product-related) and symbolic dimensions (del Rio,Vasquez & Iglesiaz,

2001), On the product related benefit side, consumer evaluate product performance based on its

capabilities, usage effectiveness, value for money and reliability. The purchase and consumption

of products is increasing regarded by consumers as an indirect way of communication to improve

their self image and deliver certain impressions to other people in their environment (del

Rio,Vasquez & Iglesiaz, 2001), Therefore the brand name benefits perceived by consumers is

highly interrelated to the product-based benefits. Big brand means a better image and a better

product (del Rio,Vasquez & Iglesiaz, 2001), However, as mention earlier, Mason and Bequette

(1998) suggested that Similarly Myers (2003) concluded that brand equity might be influenced by attribute knowledge more than consumer preference. This may be due to consumer biasness

and p rejudice, Consumers product evaluations are influenced by memory. The biasness can be

reduced by having current information, experience and knowledge (Mason and Bequette ,1998).

Therefore, its not surprising that brands that consumers believe offer super ior value are most

preferred brands chosen often (Myers, 2003). Brands with higher equity resulted in greater


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preferences and high market shares. Price is another form of attribute used by consumers to

evaluate a product. Price can sometimes be an indicator of quality; with a higher price indicating

higher quality (Mowen & Minor, 1998; Siu & Wong, 2002). Consumers perceive that a higher

price can be attributed to the higher cost of quality control (Siu & Wong, 2002). Some

consumers are highly price sensitive (elastic demand),whereby a high prices may shift

consumers to competitive brands (Mowen & Minor, 1998). Therefore price can have a positive

or negative influence on customers.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

PRIMARY

1. The need for an understanding of the organizational buying process has grown in recent years

due to the many competitive challenges presented in business-to-business markets. Since 1980

there have been a number of key changes in this area, including the growth of outsourcing, the

increasing power enjoyed by purchasing departments and the importance given to developing

partnerships with suppliers.

2. The organizational buying behavior process is well documented with many models depicting

the various phases, the members involved, and the decisions made in each phase. The basic five

phase model can be extended to eight; purchase initiation; evaluations criteria formation;

information search; supplier definition for RFQ; evaluation of quotations; negotiations;

suppliers choice; and choice implemen tation (Matbuy, 1986).

3. The buying centre consists of those people in the organizational that are involved directly or

indirectly in the buying process, i.e. the user, buyer influencer, decider and gatekeeper to who the

role of initiator has also been added. The buyers in the process are subject to a wide variety and

complexity of buying motives and rules of selection. The Matbuy model encourages marketers to

focus their efforts on who is making what decisions based on which criteria.


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SECONDARY

1. Risk and uncertainty - the driving forces of organizational buying behavior is concerned with

the role of risk or uncertainty on buying behavior. The level of risk depends upon the

characteristics of the buying situation faced. The supplier can influence the degree of perceiveduncertainty by the buyer and cause certain desired behavioral reactions by the use of information

and the implementation of certain actions. The risks perceived by the customer can result from a

combination of the characteristics of various factors: the transaction involved, the relationship

with the supplier, and his position vis--vis the supply market.

2. Three key factors are shown to influence organizational buying behavior, these are, types of

buying situations and situational factors, geographical and cultural factors and time factors.

3. Purchasing Strategy. The purchasing function is of great importance because its actions will

impact directly on the organizations profitability. Purchasing strategy aims to evaluate and

classify the various items purchased in order to be able to choose and manage suppliers

accordingly. Classification is along two dimensions: importance of items purchased and

characteristics of the supply market. Actions can be taken to influence the supply market. Based

on the type of items purchased and on its position in the buying matrix, a company will develop

different relationships with suppliers depending upon the number of suppliers, the suppliers

share, characteristics of selected suppliers, and the nature of customer-supplier relationships. The

degree of centralization of buying activities and the missions and status of the buying function

can help support purchasing strategy. The company will adapt its procedures to the type of item

purchased which in turn will influence relationships with suppliers.

4. The future. Two activities which will be crucial to the future development of organizational

buying behaviour will be information technology and production technologies.


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SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Consumer expectation, attitudes and perception about organic foods have or are currently being

studied. The EU-project OMIaRD project has produced the most comprehensive statistics so far

on the scope and dimensions of the organic market in Europe and will shortly provide more

detailed insights from focus group and laddering interviews with regular and occasional

consumers. Data sets are or will be soon available from survey based studies in several EU

countries. However, it is currently difficult to compare consumer surveys from different EU-

countries because a range of different questionnaires/survey approaches is used.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Problem

To make a comprehensive study of Viveks & know the Buying behaviour & of Viveks

customers .

A) TYPE OF RESEARCH

Descriptive type research has used to complete the project. This research is base on fact

finding enquires and the variables are totally independent and uncontrollable.

B) DATA COLLECTION:

Primary Data

Primary data of research are collected from direct resources (customer of Viveks) through

questionnaire.

Secondary Data

Secondary Data which are used for research to know the history scope of Retail industry are

collected from already available resources like net and other sources


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Universe

Universe of this research is Viveks customer of Delhi.

C) SAMPLING DESIGN

Random sampling is used for research project. I have given equal weight ages to my all

respondent and chose them randomly without any biased like gender, age, income culture.

D) SAMPLE SIZE

425 respondents has selected as sample size for research.

DATA REPRESENTATION TECHNIQUE AND TOOLS

Columns chart & Pie chart has used for representation

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The project has some limitations because it is totally based on efforts of individuals.

Peoples may be careless and may not give correct answer to the questions, because of so many

reasons.

It is totally based on personal efforts of individuals. Some of the consumers are unable to understand the questionnaire. Language is one of the worst problem, some of the consumers are unable to

understand English. Some consumers are not interested in filling questionnaire.

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