Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology

This report evaluates consumer behaviour and the marketing strategy of Singapore Airlines. It discusses the services provided by the airline and compares them with consumer behaviour data gathered from a survey. The report also provides strategic recommendations for the organization to gain more customers and succeed in the market.

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Title: Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Assignment Name:
Student Name:
Course Name and Number:
Professor:
Date:
0

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Executive Summary
Evaluation of consumer behaviour is a very important function for every business organization.
Consumer behaviour is directly associated with the marketing strategy of the business
organizations. In recent years of globalization, the target market of businesses is getting
populated with numerous competitive organizations who try to snatch the consumers from other
rival organisations. In this process, marketing strategies help businesses to segment, target, and
position and diversify their broad range of products and services in a different way that can
attract an ample number of customers. The present report discusses the services provided by
Singapore Airlines and explains its current marketing strategy while comparing it with the
gathered consumer behaviour data from the survey. The report also makes strategic
recommendations to the focus organization for gaining more customers in order to succeed and
sustain in the market.
1

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Service Overview.............................................................................................................................3
Critical Analysis..............................................................................................................................4
Marketing Strategy.......................................................................................................................4
Marketing Communication Mix...................................................................................................7
Strategic Recommendations............................................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
2

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Introduction
Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of individual or group of customers or
and the functions and activities that are associated with the purchase of products and services,
their use and disposal. Consumer behaviour also includes the study of the response of the
customers based on their emotion and behaviour that are the outcome of the purchase activities.
The report below focuses on the behaviour and perception of the customers of Singapore Airlines
and the airline services offered by the organization is the emphasised selected service area. The
report critically analyses the current consumer behaviour of the organization and makes a few
strategic recommendations for the company for enhancing the promotion of the selected service.
Service Overview
Connecting flights can be referred to as those flights in which the travellers or passengers
have to leave the flight and board on a different plane for reaching to their ultimate destination
(Limited, 2019). In Singapore, connecting flights are used by passengers who want to travel
abroad where the organizations in the aviation industry, do not offer a direct flight. However, it
is also observed that the cost of connecting flights is somewhat lesser than that of direct flights.
Hence, many people use to travel through connecting flights for saving a huge amount of money.
Critical Analysis
Marketing Strategy
Airline services are used by the people of Singapore who belong to both the elite class
and the middle class and the purpose of their travelling are business related, job-related, and any
3

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
kind of personal purposes or tourism related. It has been observed that direct and connecting
flights are chosen by those people who want to visit a certain place with the aim of tourism.
The marketing strategy of Singapore airlines is very simple. Its main strategy of the
company is to aware its customers of its services and the history of its business. The organization
clearly interacts and communicates its objectives, goals, and values to its customers. The main
focus of the organization is to make up the unfair cost of the services (Jaiswal, and Gupta, 2015).
Figure.1: Marketing Strategy
Image Source: (marketing-insider.eu)
Segmentation: Singapore airlines have segmented their customers on the basis of different
factors such as their perceptions, expenses, requirements, needs, living standards, purchasing
behaviour, and some other factors. For direct and connecting flights the organization uses a
particular market segmentation strategy that is described below:
Demographic segmentation
4

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
This is a type of segmentation which is usually done by business organizations on the
basis of different factors such as age, gender and the income of the purchaser (So et al., 2014).
Singapore airlines use democratic segmentation to segment the market on the basis of the income
of the people. The organization provides airline services on the basis of the income of the people
and offers a range of classes in the flight such as the economic class, business class, and elite
class. Different segments of the market are high-income earners, male passengers, female
passengers, college-educated people, married passengers, middle-class people and people aged
between 38-55 years.
Psychographic segmentation
This kind of segmentation is generally used on the basis of personality, lifestyle and the
social class of the purchasers (Verma, 2013). In Singapore Airlines, this kind of segmentation
helps the market into subgroups. It also helps the organization to establish its services in the
market. The organization strongly believes that the class of the flights directly impacts the
buying behaviour of its customers. The different market segments are the people with minimum
sensitivity to price, conservative political preferences, people who value reliability and comfort,
people who are influenced by peers, etc. From the survey, it is prominent that most of the
customers agree that the services provided by the organization are reliable.
Geographic segmentation
In Geographic segmentation, Singapore airlines segment the market on the basis of states,
nations, and cities (Javornik, 2019). This helps the organization to market its products on the
basis of the nature of people who belong to different geographic regions. Different geographic
5

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
segments of the organization are a stable demographic environment, people who live in both
America and Asia.
Behavioural segmentation
In the case of behavioural segmentation, the market is segmented depending on the
attitude and knowledge responses of the consumers to a particular product (Grimmer and Miles,
2016). This kind of segmentation is highly appreciated and utilised in the case of Singapore
Airlines. The different behavioural segments of the market are the people who book flights
through an online website, people who have a loyal purchase history and people who regularly
travel to distant places for work. It is also observed in the survey result that the self-satisfaction
level of the customers from the services of Singapore Airlines is higher.
Targeting: After the market segmentation, Singapore airlines use the strategy of market
targeting. In this part of the marketing strategy, the organization is conscious of the needs of the
selected segments (Gangai and Agrawal, 2016). The target market of Singapore airlines is the
first class and the business class consumers. It targets those customers who are having higher
income level and wants quality service in a competitive price range. For Singapore Airlines, it is
a tough competition to gain customers who travel through business class and first class as there
are many competitors in the market. However, from the result of the survey, it has been observed
that most of the customers think that the organization offers flights that are competitive as
compared to other rival organization of Singapore Airlines. Most of the customers of Singapore
Airlines believe that luxury and comfort are part of Singapore Airline.
Positioning and Differentiation: In this strategy of marketing a business organization builds the
perception of the consumers regarding a product or service that they offer (Starcevic, 2011). It is
6

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
the procedure for the establishment of the brand image so that the customers perceive it in a
particular manner. Singapore Airlines use to position and differentiate its services with high
quality and high cost to target the customers who want quality services and have a higher
income.
Marketing Communication Mix
Advertising
Both pull and push marketing strategies are utilised by Singapore Airlines (Limited,
2019). For the purpose of promotion, the organization launched a program that is a Frequent
Flyer Program, which provides a reward to loyal consumers and offers them huge incentives.
Different electronic media like banner, brochure, newspaper, television and social media
platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are also used by the company.
Personal selling
Singapore Airlines in the initial stages offer its services to the business organizations and
wait for the response of the customers. Some distribution channels of the organization are behind
this process (Shaw, 2016).
Public relations
Singapore Airlines maintain good and strong relationships with consumers. This is also
prominent from the data collected by the survey. Most of the people also think that they would
like to fly with Singapore airline in their next travel which also signifies the strength of the
bonding between the customers and the organization.
7

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Sales promotions
Singapore airlines attract their customers with rewards and discounts. This strategy helps
it to retain its customers for a long time. From the survey result, it can be seen that 40% of the
people agree that Singapore Airline provides best services and 33.33% people strongly agree
with this statement.
Direct marketing
For the purpose of direct marketing, Singapore Airlines depend on emails, newsletter,
phone calls and messages to its customers.
Strategic Recommendations
Business expansion: Business expansion can be the largest opportunity for every business,
including the business of Singapore Airlines as it can be proven favourable and advantageous for
them (Mandel et al., 2017). Singapore airline can expand its business to new emerging markets,
which can be considered fundamentally for the progress and development of the business.
Extending and broadening the business activities and operations in the new emerging market
would be demonstrated as favourable for Singapore Airlines with respect to different business
viewpoints. For growing the business, Singapore Airlines have to recruit an enhanced number of
experts and talented staff and this can improve the profitability, productivity, execution level of
the organization, an enhancement in the competitive advantage and market share. In addition, a
rise in the level of goodwill and satisfaction can also be identified that would portray a raised
level of brand value and equity. Expansion and settlement of business in different regions of the
new market would maximize value and extra resources for the business (Melewar et al., 2017).
8

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Establishment of development strategy: It is another recommended marketing strategy for
Singapore Airlines that will help them to market its services in a proper way in front of its
potential customers. From the result of the survey, it is prominent that there is less number of
connecting flights present currently in Singapore Airlines. So in order to get connecting flights,
consumers are getting diverted towards the competitors of the organization. Strategic
development would help Singapore airlines to tackle and deal with various rivals. Development
of a strategy can also enable the business to foresee the future and to prepare on the basis of the
future criteria (Xiang et al., 2015).
Evaluation of the strategy: In the case of Singapore Airlines, there is a greater requirement for
the evaluation of strategies that would be developed. It will also need to evaluate the
performance level of the business in the new market where it would expand
(Bruhn and Schnebelen, 2017). Such procedure of assessment would be confirmed as significant
as it would help the company with the provision of reports that could show the abilities, limit,
level of performance, and extent of enhancements if any. Assessment of performance would
likewise empower the company in making improvements in the techniques which can help in
managing the competitive brands in the region of the market. Assessment procedure would
produce the information on the present status and market position of the business organization
(Mathras et al., 2016). This information would empower the firm in the improvement and
development of plans that are feasible and strategies that would enhance the power of the
organization in different perspectives. In addition, Singapore Airlines would also have the option
to distinguish the mistakes and operational failures and depending on that necessary steps could
be taken. This strategy can result in the improvement of business performance and can enhance
its profit level, ensuring upward growth (Couture et al., 2013).
9

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Conclusion
Subsequent to summing up the above-examined report, it can be derived that the conduct
or behaviour of the customers encourages the business functions and activities of a company and
consequently consumer behaviour must be acknowledged as an important perspective. It can be
further concluded that services and goods must be developed based on the requirements of the
customers. The report also explains the difficulties that are confronted and the open doors that
will be accomplished by the aviation business in Singapore. After that, the light is shredded on
the advancement of the marketing strategy for Singapore Airlines for targeting the customers in
an effective way and to retain them for a longer time.
10

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
References
Bruhn, M. and Schnebelen, S. (2017). Integrated marketing communication – from an
instrumental to a customer-centric perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3), pp.464-
489.
Claessens, M. (2015). The Marketing Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning. [online]
Marketing-Insider. Available at: https://marketing-insider.eu/marketing-strategy/ [Accessed 5
Jun. 2019].
Couture, A., Arcand, M., Sénécal, S. and Ouellet, J. (2013). The Influence of Tourism
Innovativeness on Online Consumer Behavior. Journal of Travel Research, 54(1), pp.66-79.
Gangai, K. and Agrawal, R. (2016). The Influence of Personality Traits on Consumer Impulsive
Buying Behaviour. International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication, 5(1).
Grimmer, M. and Miles, M. (2016). With the best of intentions: a large sample test of the
intention-behaviour gap in pro-environmental consumer behaviour. International Journal of
Consumer Studies, 41(1), pp.2-10.
Jaiswal, A. and Gupta, S. (2015). The influence of marketing on consumption behavior at the
bottom of the pyramid. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(2), pp.113-124.
Javornik, A. (2019). Augmented reality: Research agenda for studying the impact of its media
characteristics on consumer behaviour.
Limited, S. (2019). Promotions - Air ticket from | Singapore Airlines. Singaporeair.com.
Available at: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/special-offers/flight-from-Delhi-to-
11

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Mandel, N., Rucker, D., Levav, J. and Galinsky, A. (2017). The Compensatory Consumer
Behavior Model: How self-discrepancies drive consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 27(1), pp.133-146.
Mathras, D., Cohen, A., Mandel, N. and Mick, D. (2016). The effects of religion on consumer
behavior: A conceptual framework and research agenda. Journal of Consumer Psychology,
26(2), pp.298-311.
Melewar, T., Foroudi, P., Gupta, S., Kitchen, P. and Foroudi, M. (2017). Integrating identity,
strategy and communications for trust, loyalty and commitment. European Journal of Marketing,
51(3), pp.572-604.
Shaw, S. (2016). Airline marketing and management. London: Routledge.
So, K., King, C., Sparks, B. and Wang, Y. (2014). The Role of Customer Engagement in
Building Consumer Loyalty to Tourism Brands. Journal of Travel Research, 55(1), pp.64-78.
Starcevic, S. (2011). Self-concept as a significant determinant of brand choice and consumer
buying behaviour. Marketing, 42(2), pp.106-117.
Verma, R. (2013). Consumer behaviour in tourism. New Delhi: Anmol Publications.
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V. and Fesenmaier, D. (2015). Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.
Image Reference:
12

Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Psychology
Marketing-insider.eu. (2015). The Marketing Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning &
Differentiation. [online] Available at:
https://marketing-insider.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Marketing-Strategy.png [Accessed
7 Jun. 2019].
13