Understanding consumer behavior has been at the forefront of marketing research for years. A vast amount of purchasing data is collected, all in an attempt to better understand the buying decision made by people. Consumer behavior analysis is scoured by marketers to determine why a consumer would choose one product over another.
If a company can answer “what is consumer behavior?”, and the reason why product purchasing decisions are made, then this can shape their future product line. They will be able to provide better value, narrow down their target demographic, and provide an overall better experience with their products and services.
Consumer Behavior: Defined
While everyone knows that marketing and advertising are essential to growing a business, the effort put into these endeavors can be in vain if consumer behavior isn’t also taken into account when developing the material. The definition of consumer behavior revolves around the study of a person’s reasoning behind making a buying decision. Data is collected on how people choose between alternative products, services, companies, and the motivation to finalize a purchase. These components are otherwise known as the customer journey.
This behavioral tracking data is invaluable when formulating marketing campaigns for products and services. Luth Research’s ZQ Intelligence is vital when it comes to collecting and compiling this data by showing you your customers’ journey. Where and when they shop, where in the shopping process is a purchase made, etc.
What Factors Influence Consumer Behavior?
Consumer behavior research takes into account three major factors when it comes to people’s purchasing habits.
Psychological Factors
Consumption behavior is greatly affected by each individual’s unique experience. These experiences shape how the user perceives marketing material. While each person has a unique outlook on life, there are overarching categories that each individual will fall within.
Personal Factors
When analyzing customer behavior, an individual’s personal characteristics also need to be taken into account. These are traits that are unique only to the individual outside of the overarching category that they may fall within. These characteristics may include demographic data such as gender, age, likes, dislikes, and morals.
Social Factors
A person’s social circle can significantly impact consumer behavior. These are external influences that take the form of their family, friends, or even their economic class. The variety of factors that are included in the social sphere is numerous, making it the hardest to evaluate when creating marketing campaigns. However, it can also have some of the most obvious effects on a buyer’s decision-making process. Celebrity influencers, for example, are the easiest instances of social factors to showcase. Having a celebrity selling a lifestyle while using a company's product immediately influences consumer behavior.
Addressing consumer behavior in marketing should be a priority for every company. These three pillars make up the consumer behavior definition, and understanding the data can mean the difference between a successful marketing campaign and a disastrous one.
How is Data Regarding Consumer Behavior Collected?
Consumer behavior data is collected through two methods: either actively, or passively. Active customer research includes issuing surveys that the consumer will answer directly. The other method is to observe consumer behavior passively. Luth Research’s ZQ Intelligence has the ability to passively monitor your consumers’ digital behavior. This permission based approach allows deep insights into your consumers' behavior online.
The sheer volume of data that can be extracted from digital behavior tracking studies can be overwhelming. Make sure that you only get what’s relevant by using professional services, such as Luth Research.
How Does This Knowledge Shape Marketing Decisions?
The majority of strategies that are developed for marketing campaigns are comprised of two factors: data-based decisions and intuition-based decisions. Data-based decisions are more likely to produce a successful campaign versus a marketing tactic that was developed off of a gut feeling.
In order to minimize the results of a bad marketing campaign, utilizing the data derived from consumer behavior research can be invaluable. The data will help navigate you away from marketing to the wrong target audience or give you an insight into an unfulfilled need, allowing you to grow your product line.
Luth Research
As more channels open up for consumers to engage with your brand, analyzing how they interact with your company is becoming more necessary every year. With the increase in brand engagement channels comes an increase in consumer behavior data. While you know that this data is valuable, it can be complex to decipher—thankfully, Luth Research can help you here.
By partnering with Luth Research, you’ll have access to ZQ Intelligence. ZQ intelligence monitors consumer behavior through its digital activities. This data, when combined with market research and surveys, can provide you with the audience insights necessary to tackle your market. Give your company a competitive edge with Luth Research.
The buyer's journey is constantly changing. Now more than ever it’s imperative that brands have the right tools to understand their customer’s journey. We've created a free resource for you with the information you need in order to better understand the path to purchase.
