Consumer Behaviour and Insight

This document discusses the stages of consumer decision making journey, the importance of mapping a path to purchase, comparison of B2B and B2C decision making, and different approaches to market research. It focuses on the case of Cafepod Ltd, a B2C coffee company in London.

Consumer Behaviour and Insight
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAINBODY....................................................................................................................................3
P1 Stages of the consumer decision making journey.............................................................3
P2 Illustrate why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand
consumer decision making.....................................................................................................4
P3 Comparison of B2B and B2C in decision making process with specific example..........6
P4 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process in both B2C and B2B contexts. .......................7
P5 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of the decision-making process
of B2C and B2B, giving specific examples............................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Customer behaviour is the most important task for marketing offers now a days in the
organisation. Understanding their behaviours, needs and wants are the difficult task for the
companies. Customer insight is the process of analysing a market research and also it acts like a
bridge between marketing and research department of the organisation. Consumer behaviour is
the model which is provide the way to get the success in the company and achieve all the desired
objective which they want (Divakaran, 2018). Cafepod Ltd company, is the coffee company
situated in London. It was established in 2011. And this company is founded by Peter Grainer
and Brent Hadfiled. Now it is available in all major supermarkets of London. This report covers
stages of customer decision making journey and why this is important for marketers to map a
path. Also it covers comparison of decision making process in context with B2B and B2C,
different methods and approaches to market research and in last how the marketers influence the
different stages of decision making process of B2B and B2C in the market.
MAINBODY
P1 Stages of the consumer decision making journey.
Cafepod Ltd, company is the London based small and medium scale coffee company. It
serves quality coffee for its customers to enjoy at their home. The company is inspired by the
London coffee and that is why it got passion, creativity in its product. The entrepreneurs of this
company want to bring happiness in people's live and make them stressful. This coffee helps the
people thrive in hustle and daily feeling fresh. Cafepod company is a B2C ( business to
customer) business.
A person who purchase any product or services goes through five stages in deciding a
product from which company. These stages are Need, Information search or gathering,
Evaluation of alternatives, Purchase of product and then last Post purchase evaluation. The first
stage which a customer goes through is Need- it is the most important factor which is customer
goes through. This comes when customer is in stress so he wants to drink coffee to make feel
relax (Dolatabadi and Keynia, 2017). He feels like something missing. So he search for the cafes
to make him feel relax. For example- if a person is doing his work and there he is get frustrate of
doing that, then he search for the coffee. Then next step is the searching for the information or
gathering the information. If a person is in need of something then he each for the product or
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services as how could he acquire that product. For that customer search from various sources that
is personal sources, which is discussion with the their family members and friends. Then another
sources is commercial source- that is person search through advertisements and sales person.
Third source is public sources- that is person search through newspapers, magazines and radio
advertisements. Then fourth source is experimental sources- that is person's own experience that
where he has tasted that product previously. Cafepod helps the person in searching for a product
soon because it comes on the first position on internet search. Also it creates advertisements for
its company. The third stage of customer purchasing decision is evaluation of alternatives. As
there are various alternatives of the Cafepod company, so it needs to attract its customer by
making efficient marketing strategies. Customer finds different alternatives or options of the
company and choose the best option which can give him quality of product within his targeted
budget (e Silva, Duarte and Almeida, 2020). He choose the product that is suitable for him in
price, taste and his need. The fourth stage is purchase of the product- this is the stage where
customer has done all his research and decide to purchase that product. In this stage all the above
stages are taken into consideration. In this customer finally purchase coffee from Cafepod
company. For this company needs to greet its customer and serves him better. Then last stage is
the post purchase evaluation. It means that customer analysis that whether the product or services
is useful for him or not, whether the product has satisfy then needs or wants of the customer
within his given budget.
These are the five stages of customer decision making process which helps the people in
deciding what product they want to choose from which firm within their budgeted prices and
their taste. For that company needs to make decision accordingly and also make its marketing
strategies effectively which can give benefits to the customers. This involves discount offers on
occasions, level of quality, variety of flavours etc. this creates an opportunity for the company in
attracting its customers and increasing the customer satisfaction. Also this helps the company in
increasing its profitability and customer loyalty.
P2 Illustrate why it is important for marketers to map a path to purchase and understand
consumer decision making.
Customers are the main centres of every business. While making profit of the business, it
is very important to know customers need and wants(Jain and Viswanathan, 2015). Company
always works on the preferences of the customers to increase their sales and profitability. It is
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important for marketers to make accurate customer decision making journey. As customer
decision making journey includes four stages these are pre- purchase, purchase, receive and post-
purchase. In first stage of pre- purchase, company advertise itself in front of customers as
through posters, online advertisements from television, media and companies websites etc. Then
second stage which is purchasing, in this stage company needs to greet the customers at the time
when he purchases a product from the store (Lee, Chang and Lee, 2017). Cafepod provides
various facility to its customers like greet while entering into the cafe, then serves better with
their amazing serving facility and also provides their delicious blend like Intense Roast, Brunch
Blend, Ristretto, Decaf espresso etc. Then third stage is to Receive. This is a point which
customer get the product. In this he receives the product or services and he react to it. In this
stage customer identifies whether the product is good or not, whether it is suitable for the given
budget or not. Or whether its taste suits him or not. This stage needs to be satisfied by the
customer because if the product is suitable for him, the customer will come again in the
company. Cafepod ensures that its serves and product will be satisfied by the customers. Then
last stage is Post- purchase. In this stage, company takes feedbacks and greet them after they left
the cafe. It is through E-mails, website or its application. Or it takes feedbacks from the
customer. Feedbacks can be good or bad. This stage is the after process which is to be conducted
by the employee of the company. Cafepod sends E-mail letters to the customers after they leave.
This creates good image and impression in front of their customers.
In the above essay, it is mentioned that customers goes through various stages in decision
making process to select for the product or services. This is the another task for the company. As
company needs to identify customers needs and behaviours. Marketing team of the company
needs to identify the target market. Customer decision making process helps the organisation in
increasing their customer satisfaction and giving preferences to the customers. It is important for
the every company whether it is small- medium or large scale company. It helps the marketers in
allowing the company to optimise the customer on-boarding process (Leri and Theodoridis,
2019). It helps in benchmarking the customer experience desire and what they actually receive.
Also it creates logical order to the customer journey. By understanding customer decision
making process, the marketers could create, enhance and adjust the touchpoints which helps the
customers in achieving their goal and finding a proper and efficient product for them. This is
done by the company through pre- purchase till post- purchase of the product. All this methods
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are important to make the company growth and achieve the success in the desired future path.
The consumer behaviour is the important process as with the help of this process company get a
path to make their customers happy and satisfied. Also, this helps the company in attending
customer complaints, lower churn etc. However, Cafepod is the B2C business which focuses on
its customers demands and wants and provide that type of coffee which customer needs. It
provides various types of blends which is most popular to serve its customers better (Parkinson,
Schuster and Russell-Bennett, 2016). This increase the company sales and its profitability and
also results in customer loyalty.
P3 Comparison of B2B and B2C in decision making process with specific example.
In B2B business, decision making process is the open communication between the
businesses. It is done so that to determine whether the product is suitable for both the companies
or not. Whereas in B2C business, the decision making process is the where the company start
utilising their products to maximise their ROI. This deal is between the business and the
customer where company needs to understand the demands of the customers and serve
accordingly. In B2B businesses, during the communication, the company needs to compare its
positive aspects with the competitors in the market. In this, customers evaluate the company and
its workers. The needs could be emotional and rational motivations. Rational motives are those
which is related to financial mind for example- whether investment in this company good or not
for the organisation. Whereas emotional motives are related to emotional connection with the
company or the workers. For example- company will decide will the workers should fire or not.
Or whether he will be provided benefits or not. In B2C, company identifies the customers needs
and make clear understanding that what kind of product customer wants and what advertisements
they needs to do. Unlike B2B business, customers are more flexible in selecting their product. As
a marketer of the company, it is his duty to appeal with the customers they what they want and
what product they are looking for. This helps the marketers in decision making process for the
company and also for the customers. B2B marketers, understanding the audience can help the
companies in making decision making process for them (Quach, Jebarajakirthy and Thaichon,
2016). As if company clearly able to make decisions about the product. This will help them to
compete with their competitors and also create emotional motivations with other company in
which it is dealing with.
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In B2C businesses, customers search for the various competitors of the company and
evaluate the product prices and quality. This is the major task for the company to provide better
quality of products to the customers with suitable prices. This attract the customers and also
create customer satisfaction. In case of Cafepod company, it has maintained a balance between
B2B and B2C businesses. In B2B businesses, company needs to maintain a streamline that is
regarding the buying process to save the time and money. It is also notices that B2B business is a
logic one but the B2C business is an emotional between the customer and company workers
(Robertson and et.al., 2016). For example- Cafepod is the coffee company. So for this B2C
business is with the customers and B2B is with the other manufacturing company. Company's
marketers identifies how many customers are happy with their provided coffee. Because if they
are satisfied with the product then they visit again in the cafe. This gives an idea to the company
that how many coffee machines it needs to be purchase from the other company. Accordingly,
they need to set the budget for the accessories they want to purchase. If there are less customers ,
then company buy less machines and if more customer are satisfied, then company purchase
more machines. In additional, company provides traditional hot beverages that includes instant
coffee and tea decline at their home also. They provides various facilities to the customers like
online delivery from their website and application. Along with that various types of flavours they
provides. There are some premium products like Latte, Cappuccino and Macchiato pods etc.
which are very tasty. Hence, it is seen that B2B business are more expensive then the B2C
businesses. So the easiest way to explain that B2B business are more taken into consideration in
the market because they involves more people like workers or employees and requires more
decision makers by the mangers in the company. In this company needs to take a return on
investment.
P4 Evaluate the different approaches to market research and methods of research used for
understanding the decision-making process in both B2C and B2B contexts.
Market research is the process of technique that is used to gather information and
understanding better the customer demands (Stadtler and Van Wassenhove, 2016). Companies
use this market research to understand customer demands, improvement of products and services
and quality of products which company is selling. If company don't care about the customer
experiences then company need tom face losses and there will be decrease in customer
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satisfaction and their loyalty. Research of a customer decision making creates an opportunity for
the company to beats assumptions, trends and it results in best practises of the firm. There are
four different methods of market research in understanding decision making process. These are
Surveys, Interviews, Focus groups and Observations. First method is Surveys which is most
commonly used in decision making process in both B2B and B2C business. Surveys can be done
in a short series that is closed ended questions like questionnaire or through sample groups. They
are most commonly used in B2C business as company need to identify the customers priority
and their taste (Szmigin and Piacentini, 2018). It is easy for the company to conduct it as they
incudes less effort and time because in this company takes lot of data quickly. Then data which is
collected is pretty easy to analyse by the managers and they easily finds the results. Secondly, is
the Interviews which is most insightful. Interviews are the face conversations with one another.
This is the another method of understanding the customer behaviours and accordingly make
decisions. It may be with video conferencing. It creates a bi benefits to the B2B and B2C
business. As in B2C business company takes interviews of customers to understand their needs
and demands. By speaking directly to the customers, company can gain greater benefits and the
experiences and this may results in increasing profits. And in B2B businesses deals with the
other company to sell there products or services.
Third method is Focus group which is very dangerous. Focus groups are the groups of
selected target market. Trainer of the company results in deeper conversation with the customers
and brings clear message for the company. This method is suggested as the dangerous method
because it contains various errors in this which impacts the company. Dominant and moderator
bias can be occurs in in many focus groups which creates different results in the same group.
This confuses the marketers in making decision for the product improvement and quality
improvement. Then last and the fourth method is Observational approach which is the most
powerful one. In this method of market research, at the time of observational research, trainer
make notes while watching how customer is engaging in the product specifications (Thakur,
2016). This helps the company in understanding better the customer and compete with its
competitors. This is the great alternative of the focus group. As it is less expensive and also helps
the company in interacting with the product naturally without influencing by the other person.
The only disadvantage is that it is not a replacement of interviews and surveys. This method
helps the marketers in decision making for understanding customer behaviour and their needs in
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both B2C and B2B business. Cafepod is the B2C business which follows these different
approaches of the market research in understanding customer decision making process. Market
research helps the company in understanding their demands and their taste. As what type of
coffee a customer wants and in what product company can improve their quality and quantity.
This results in increasing customer loyalty and companies profit.
P5 Evaluate how marketers can influence the different stages of the decision-making process of
B2C and B2B, giving specific examples.
Marketers play an important role in influencing the different stages of the decision
making process of the chosen company while considering the process of B2B and B2C. The
decision making process start from the recognise and identification of the problem in the
company. For example if a consumer want to buy the coffee or some beverages than their need is
arises and depend on their need, demand arises which increase the business efficiency. And here
the marketers create and influence the demand of the market and consumer by using the different
sale promotion techniques and advertisement process (Alfian and et.al., 2019). After the need
identification, the next step is information search, in this stage the consumer and buyer search for
the necessary information regarding the products what they wanted to buy. Like in the previous
example customer search the information like the type of coffees and varieties are available in
the market. And the marketer influence the customers by advertising the information related to
their products which can easily get by the customers and they don't need to search more in the
market. Brochures, social media, bill board and sales related advertisement are the example of
the second stage tools.
The third stage is the evaluation stage where the customer compare the one company
products with the other company with the product features, specification and price. Marketers
can use the marketing mix techniques which are helpful for the customers to compare and
evaluate their need. Marketers must use the best price theory, competitive theory and availability
of the products in the market all over the time. It will create the good image in the mind of
customers. And customers complete their need whenever the demand arises with the company
which satisfy their need first. Fourth stage is the buying process of the customers. Here the
customers buy the product on the bases of the availability of the product and their critical
evaluation. Here the marketers influence the demand of the customers by providing them easy
buying process in the market (Abbasimehr and Shabani, 2019). This can be done by using the
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different and innovative payment machines, flexible payment process, free home delivery at
home of the food products, and provide extra service. And finally in last step is post purchase
behaviour, as it is the opportunity to make the marketers more strengthen the relationship with
the customers. In this last stage the marketers solve the customers problems, and handle the
complaints of the customers, which are arises after using the service of the company. Regular
feedback and maintenance should be done by the respected company to stratified the customer
need and make them full comfort and satisfied their utility. By satisfying the customers need and
satisfied the need of an unsatisfied customers, it will help the company to make the good brand
image and expansion of the company in the markets (Gull and Pervaiz, 2018). All these stages
help the marketers to influence the customers need and demand in the market. In the all stages of
the buying process, and after these stages, the effect of the content marketing is provide the good
communication level, expect the emotion, and also affect the market of other business and
customers of the market. In the B2B these stages effect a lot as the business are already known
the market area and to influence them is very tough and hard for the company or can say the
marketers. With the help of these, the small -medium scale industry like the4 chosen restaurant,
it is very easy to them to work and influence the customers and expand their business in the food
industry.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the consumer behaviour is the very important
process in respect of consumer and for the organisation also. Either B2B or B2C consumer all
are important for the consumer prospective and they play an important role in influencing the
decision of the organisation of any industry. Organisation make all the strategy regarding the
consumer behaviour and they also influence the behaviour of the consumer to make the decision
regarding their buying decision. Organisation first make the plan regarding the consumer
behaviour and map the path of the consumer decisions and understand the behaviour of the
consumer regarding the decision of the buying process. And also companies differentiate the
difference between the B2B and B2C consumers. B2B are the consumer which are already in the
business and purchase the raw material from the other company. And in B2C, consumer are the
one who are the direct users of the goods and services. And in last, evaluation is needed for the
company in regards of different approaches and stages which can help the marketers to influence
the decision of the consumers.
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