Consumer Behavior Analysis & Marketing

This assignment delves into the complex world of consumer behavior, examining the psychological and social factors that drive purchasing decisions. It analyzes concepts like product perception, brand loyalty, and the impact of marketing communication on consumer choices. The assignment also explores the influence of user-generated content and marketer-generated content on consumer behavior.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Behavior
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
Situation Analysis of the Company........................................................................................4
Target Market Description.....................................................................................................6
Target Market decision making process................................................................................7
Social Influences on buying behavior....................................................................................9
Psychological Influences on buying behavior......................................................................10
Personal Factors influences on buying behavior..................................................................11
Marketing strategy recommendations..................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Consumer behavior refers to the study of the individuals, organizations, groups and
activities which are associated with the use, disposal and purchase of services and goods. It
also includes the emotional, behavioral and mental responses of the consumers which follow
the above activities. In the 1950s the marketing area, introduced this concept of consumer
behavior. It is basically regarded as an inter-disciplinary social science, which blends with
several elements from marketing, economics, social anthropology, sociology, psychology and
ethnography. It examines critically how the emotions, preferences and attitude of the
consumers affect their buying behavior (Solomon, 2014).
The report throws light on the development of the consumer behavior of a medium to
high involvement brand and the key consumer behavioral issues faced by the company. The
characteristics of the individuals like personality, lifestyles, behavioral variables, willingness
of providing referrals, demographics and others are all formally investigated for studying the
consumer behavior. Moreover, the study also investigates how the consumers are influenced
by their family, relatives, friends as well as the society in general (Goh, Heng & Lin, 2013).
The report highlights the company with a situational analysis, target market
description, decision making process of the individuals, social influences on the buying
behavior of the consumers, psychological and personal factors which influences the
consumers’ buying behavior. In addition to this, it consists of the marketing strategy
recommendations. Furthermore, it includes PEST and SWOT analysis, in order to give a clear
view of the topic.

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Discussion
Situation Analysis of the Company
The company which is selected for this report is Singapore Telecommunications
Limited, which is often abbreviated as Singtel. It is one of the largest operators of mobile
networks in Singapore. It has over four million subscribers and via subsidiaries, the company
has a subscriber base of over six hundred million customers till 2017 (Singtel.com. 2017).
Previously, the organization was referred as Telecommunications Equipment. The mission of
the company is to break the barriers and build bonds. They believe that technology can help
businesses and people communicate effortlessly and make this world a better place. The
network helps in making communication faster, easier and reliable for the customers and
delivering value to the stakeholders at the same time. Their vision is to be the best
telecommunications company in the Asian region (Sparks, Perkins & Buckley, 2013).
The company, since the past decades, has been successfully providing its customers
with highly efficient telecommunication services. Their goal is to create a sustainable and
long term growth, in order to deliver best returns to the shareholders as well as a positive
impact to the stakeholders. They stress on the quality factor and serve their customer the best
of services. The company is considered to be the biggest telecommunications company at
Singapore. Their biggest competitors are Telstra Corporation Limited, Hutchison
Telecommunications and Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (Paul & Rana, 2012).
The company’s overall evaluation is presented here in this report through SWOT and PEST
analysis;
SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS
 The company has strong cash flow.
WEAKNESSES
 The company lacks feasibility in the

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 They are ranked sixth among
Singapore’s Top Ten Brands, as per
2009.
 The company has exclusive contract
with well known mobile phone
companies.
universal set top box.
 The company lacks contents for TV
market’s local pay.
 Competitive environment.
OPPORTUNITIES
 Huge opportunities in the
international market of mobile
telecommunications.
 Rights to broadcast.
 Potential merger.
THREATS
 The company has strong market
competition, which may mar its
progress to some extent.
 It may hamper its marketing
procedures.
 Customers changing behavior and
demands.
Figure: SWOT analysis
Source: Singtel.com. 2017
PESTEL analysis
POLITICAL FACTORS
 The company is Singapore’s
government holding.
ECONOMICAL FACTORS
 Globalization.
 Consumer’s spending habit and
change of their income.

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 Regulation issues.
 Political fights between service
providers, government and people.
 Inflation, taxes and interest rates can
affect the industry.
SOCIAL FACTORS
 Telecommunication has become
highly important in every individual’s
day to day life.
 The social development programs of
the company.
 Their social programs and events are
directed to helping kids and elderly
people.
TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS
 Revamping the company’s digital
strategy.
 Several solutions for the multiple
industries.
 Various plans for 4G users.
LEGAL FACTORS
 Legal actions over the smear
campaigns.
 Charges on free applications have
created online fury.
 Legislation issues.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
 Environmental management.
 The company has several policies
related to health, environment and
safety.
 Green networks and water
conservation policies.
Figure: SWOT analysis
Source: Singtel.com. 2017

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Target Market Description
The target audience of a product or service can be defined as the group of customers
or consumers to whom the particular advertisement is targeted. Many factors are kept in mind
while deciding the target audience for a particular product or service. Firstly, the age group of
the consumers. For instance, if a baby product’s advertisement is made in a sexualized way, it
will have no meaning and be offensive towards the consumers (Armstrong et al., 2015).
Secondly, the mentality of the consumers plays a vital role in deciding the advertisement’s
execution. Advertisers should be able to understand the consumers’ mentality by painting an
image in their minds. This requires long research works. Thirdly, an advertiser must think
about the highly competitive market and execute the advertisement in accordance with that.
Selection of the target customers plays a very important role in framing any advertisement
(Cantallops & Salvi, 2014).
The target audience of this particular telecommunication company is both men and
women, belonging to the age group of 25-75 and with medium to higher income groups. This
particular age group is targeted because the usage of mobile phones is comparatively higher
among this group. The marketer, while selecting the target audience for this service must
paint an image of the customer in his/her mind. Understanding the consumer behavior and
mentality, while making selections, is very necessary (Lantos, 2015). Along with the
consumer selection, a thorough analysis of the competitive market is to be done in order to
keep a track of the competitors. The marketing must be done keeping all the above factors in
mind which can differentiate it from other competitive services. However, selection of the
right media for advertising any product or service is very important. It can be electronic or
print media, social media or direct selling and also outdoor advertising through huge
billboards and hoardings. At times, holding advertisement campaigns also proves beneficial

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for the brand. Efficient media helps in publicizing the product or service to a huge extent
(Claiborne & Sirgy, 2015).
Target Market decision making process
A target market is referred to a group of individuals having similar needs or
characteristics that the company has targeted to achieve. The target market for the Singtel
mobile network is huge. The company has a particular and specific audience in their minds
and they mainly target the young adults. They have managed to gain the attention of a large
proportion of their target markets. They are looking out for more, by enhancing and
improving their marketing strategies (Niazi et al., 2012). They are targeting the younger
audience more as well as the office goers, who require network connectivity for the purpose
on a daily basis. Some even wants to change their existing network and upgrade them for
better services. Therefore, marketers should advertise their services as per the consumers’
behavior. The company is trying to create an emotional attachment with their target
consumers, in order to gain more profit. The purchasing behavior of the consumers may vary.
Consumer’s preferences changes from time to time, their expectations rise and the company
needs to fulfill their desires (Rucker, Galinsky & Dubois, 2012).
The factor that comes into play is perceived risk which is the consumer’s
uncertainty while buying items. This occurs mostly with expensive items like laptops, cars,
houses and others. Each time the consumer decides to buy an expensive product he/she
thinks and rethinks before making any commitment. Perceived risks include the doubt or
fear of the consumers. They feel that the products they are buying are worth an investment
or not (Seiler, 2013). Perceived risks include several factors like; functional risks, social
risks, financial risks, physical risks and time risks. The risk factors may also occur due to
lack of product knowledge. At times, an individual may be unaware of a certain brand or
product in the market. Many a times, consumer’s opinions change via internet reviews and

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friends recommendation. Therefore, product knowledge also plays a bigger role in shaping
a consumer’s decisions (Wood & Solomon, 2014).
Firstly, the unit selling proposition of the company is fast network connection.
Nowadays, majority of the people use mobile phones, where connectivity is a big issue. The
company holds the most important point of faster network connection in a way, which will
differentiate it from its competitors, hence convincing the buyers to opt for the service.
Secondly, the company’s usage of attractive marketing procedures will attract the customers.
Thirdly, the social responsibility factors of the company will get the consumers emotionally
attached to the brand. Fourthly, the description of the features in their advertisements will
give a brief detail about the service to the customers and as a result, they will get convinced.
Lastly, the catchiness of their advertisements will make the customers believe what the
advertisement is suggesting. These procedures can change their purchasing behavior as well
as post purchasing behavior. In order to understand their post purchasing behaviors, the
company can install feedback machines in their stores, to understand the satisfaction of the
consumers (Zsóka et al., 2013).
Social Influences on buying behavior
There are many factors which influences the buying behavior of the consumers. One
of them is the social factor which includes the family decision making processes,
considerations and strategies as well as their social class, brands, products and the choice of
retailers. Right selection of target audience and media channels proves beneficial and
advantageous for the marketers. Convincing any customer is not a very easy task. Many a
times, a customer may not believe what an advertisement is suggesting; as a result, they may
end up not buying that particular product or service. Therefore, it is the duty of the marketer
to convince them and execute the advertisement in accordance with that. In addition to this,
the social factors play a major role in influencing the buying power of the consumers.

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Suppose, a person is opting for this mobile network’s service and is fully satisfied with it,
he/she will recommend this to his/her friends. This proves beneficial for the company as well
(Hawkins, Mothersbaugh & Best, 2013).
An individual’s social status also determines his/her buying power. If the services of
the company are for higher class people, an individual with meager income will not opt for
this service. Moreover, family decisions also play a bigger role in this. At times, an
individual’s family member can force him/her to use the network they are using. It leaves
him/her with no choice rather than following his/her family’s decisions. Thus, advertising
campaigns must be carried out properly for the marketing purposes. It will attract more and
more customers and convince them to opt for the service. Campaigns on social media will
help the service reach on a global platform. It will aware the consumers about the existence
of such a service. Proper marketing techniques can be applied to reach out more and more
customers. It should be kept in mind that no media channels are left behind because the
power of the neglected channels can increase competition (Mullen & Johnson, 2013).
Psychological Influences on buying behavior
A well differentiated experience is what Singtel Communication gives to their
customer, possibly in the best way. They understand that a splendid experience should be
defined by the care and cutting-edge services which makes the customer more valued.
Customer focus is one of Singtel Communication’s five core values. They focus on raising
the level of customer satisfaction by giving the best to their customers in every possible way.
Customer satisfaction plays the main role in the customer base strategy. Buying behavior of
individual refers to their decision processes involved while buying any product (Vinerean et
al., 2013).
Cognitive dissonance refers to the way of describing the discomfort which results
from various conflicting beliefs. At times, there are discrepancies between behaviors and

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beliefs of the consumers. Therefore, several marketing strategies must be taken for
eliminating the dissonance. Singtel Communications have taken strategies in order to
understand the psychological behavior of the consumers. They have organized interactive
customer feedback sessions named Customer Appreciation Program in Singapore and
Australia in 2012. Everyone in the group, from hierarchy to the lower most position,
everyone observes the customer interactive sessions at the retails, customer support and
also during the installation process at premises of the customer (Boztepe, 2012).
With the usage of this kind of insights into the customer’s mindset regarding the
services they provide Singtel can make improvements to make their customers feel more at
home. Their products and services have seen an enormous growth in the markets of
Singapore and Australia. The group’s commitment towards its customer is by enhancing the
experience, network, reach, reliability and quality. Singtel communication not only focuses
on experience, network and reach, also safety and health of the customer. It is normally seen
that telecommunications companies pose a serious threat to the health of the customer due to
the emission of Electro Magnetic Energy from the cell phones, stations and also the towers.
Singtel takes these issues very seriously and take measures to eradicate or lessen the effects
of these emissions by constantly upgrading their technologies and infrastructure. Singtel has
invested largely in technological advancement, global partnerships and capabilities to ensure
cyber security solutions. They ensure their customers satisfaction and experience in every
possible manner (Reed et al., 2012).
Personal Factors influences on buying behavior
The expenditure patterns and buying factors of the consumers help Singtel understand
the behavior of the customer. Preferences differ from person to person, i.e. not every person
would like to avail for the same products. Products and service preferences vary. An
individual’s occupation plays a pivotal role in understanding which product or service they

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should opt for. The designation of an individual and the nature of his/her works determine the
services he/she will go for. It is never seen that a high designated employee of a renowned
organization will never go for a service or pack that won’t suffice his/her needs, he/she will
obviously go with a business or executive plan. Age also determines the buying factor of an
individual and it is proportional to the earning of his/her in a month (Vinerean et al., 2013).
People with low income rate would definitely avail a product or service which meet
his/her necessity but people with higher income rate would opt for the premium services.
Lifestyle of an individual also helps in determining the services or products with which
he/she will go for. An individual living in a very posh and high standard place would carry
their lifestyle accordingly. It is very necessary for them to maintain that lifestyle and
sometimes show it to the other by various means. But on the other hand person having a
lower lifestyle would definitely go for the products necessary to them. Singtel has services
for all. Lower to higher; every individual’s telecomm need is fulfilled by the group. With
advanced research mechanism and knowledge of the customers buying behavior, Singtel has
come up with plans that quench the thirst of every individual regardless of their social strata
they belong to (Hoyer & Stokburger-Sauer, 2012).
Problem or Need Recognition
Information Search
Evaluation of Product Alternatives
Making a Purchase Decision
Post Purchase Evaluation

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Figure: Consumer Decision Making Process
Source: Solomon, 2014
Marketing strategy recommendations
A good advertisement helps in solving the problems of the customers. It gives them a
concrete reason for buying the specific product or service. The sole purpose of an
advertisement is not just only promoting a brand, which will boost its sales, but also
remembering its consumers’ demands and desires. An advertiser must always keep in mind
that the main purpose of the advertisement is to solve customers’ problems. Moreover,
selection of the target customers plays a very important role in framing any advertisement.
Right selection of target audience and media channels proves beneficial and advantageous for
the advertisers. Convincing any customer is not a very easy task. At times, a customer may
not believe what an advertisement is suggesting; as a result, they may end up not buying that
particular product or service. Therefore, it is the duty of the advertiser to convince them and
execute the advertisement in accordance with that. In this era of digital marketing, everything
has become easier, thus the marketer must also focus on this segment while marketing
(Juster, 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, consumer behavior covers all aspects of the purchasing behavior. It is
very important for the advertisers to promote the products and services in a very effective yet
efficient manner. From the report, it is clearly understood that good marketing plays a major
role in promotional activities. The word marketing refers to the art of promoting or selling

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products and services which includes advertising and market research. In other words, it is
the study or management of relationships exchange. It is the way of delivering, exchanging
offerings and communicating with the customers, partners, clients and the society at large. It
is used to satisfy the clients or partners or the customers of a company. Therefore, innovative
marketing patterns must be used in order to convince the buying behavior of the consumers.

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