Consumer Behaviour in B2B and B2C Markets

This article discusses the consumer behaviour in B2B and B2C markets, focusing on the target niche markets for Ace Yewt, an electric vehicle manufacturing company in Australia. It explores the buyer decision making models and processes, customer motivation, perception and attention gate, customer knowledge and learning, and the product mix. The B2B target niche market includes the healthcare, food, and government sectors, while the B2C target niche market focuses on the psychographic segment. The article provides insights into understanding consumer behaviour and developing effective marketing strategies.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Part: B2B target niche market
Ace Yewt is an electric vehicle manufacturing company of Australia, which aims at
minimizing the energy consumption and environmental impact from the operation and usage
activities of the vehicles. In this section, the discussion will highlight the consumer behaviour
of the chosen target market. The chosen B2B target market for the electric vehicle
manufacturing company of Australia is Industry segment. The industry buyers can be
regarded as the target niche market of Ace Yewt as the company specializes in offering
transportation services to home nurses, aged-care service providers and Pathology
transportation requirements (health care industry), caterers or catering businesses (food
industry), small and medium business and governmental agencies. B2B segment is
considered to be complex in regards with the buying process due to the availability of
numerous touch points. However, the understanding of the complexity of target market will
allow the business to construct the marketing strategies on the base of flexibility to respond to
each of the touch points. This sector will stress on evaluating the consumer behaviour of the
chosen target market for Ace Yewt by using different consumer behaviour theories and
models.
Buyer decision making models and processes
The buyer decision making process includes the steps like problem recognition, information
search, Assessment of alternatives, Trail and selection, purchase decision and post purchase
behaviour (Baker and Saren 2016). In accordance with the industry segment of B2B business,
the first step of problem recognition will comprise of the step of developing understanding
regarding transportation problem. The transportation need of the businesses operating in
health care industry, food sector and governmental institution will mark the first targeting
aspect of the electric vehicle-manufacturing company, Ace Yewt. The second step, which
will proceed the process of buyer decision making is information search, which majorly will
be concentrated on the information availability in the public domain regarding industry based

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vehicle companies (Martinez-Legaz and Soubeyran 2016). The following steps of evaluating
the alternatives will clearly determine the selection priorities of the industry buyers. The
priorities may be based on the factor of services associated with the vehicle company, on the
basis of environmental impact (environmental and sustainability policies of businesses) and
pricing structures (Hamilton et al. 2019). The next step will deduce the most significant
priority with the association of quality and service flexibility. The following step will execute
the selection decision. The last step reflects the post-purchase decision, which will be based
on the service offerings of the electric vehicle-manufacturing company, Ace Yewt. The buyer
decision process will reflect a comprehensive picture of the consumer priority and deciding
patterns of the industry buyers. According to the strategic importance of the industry buyers,
the consumer priority will be equipped through, ‘high strategy and low spend’ approach. The
‘high strategy’ factors reflects the feature of irreplaceability, based on the priority of using an
energy efficient vehicle, which can in return decrease the overall transportation cost due to
the ‘minimum or zero’ utilization of non-renewable energy sources (ace-ev.com.au 2019).
The priority of sustainable operational process and product offering also acts as a contributor
in the process of ‘high strategy approach’. The low spend approach depicts the concept of
lower energy usage, decreasing the overall cost of transportation. Business buyers are majorly
rational buyers, rationality can develop the understanding of consumer behaviour of the
consumers (Milfont and Markowitz 2016). The identification of the priorities and needs by
the electric vehicle manufacturing company, through the decision making process will
contribute towards the understanding of rational motivation of the health care industry, food
sector and governmental institutions. Although, B2B buyers are majorly concentrated on the
rational motivational factors, but emotional motivation also act as an influencer for shaping
consumer behaviour. The levels of consumer buying decision can be determined by the
specific industry needs. In this case, the level of consumer buying behaviour will be Limited
Problem Solving criteria, as the industry buyers will undergo a broad search of the product

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based on the transportation needs (Hall 2017). The consumer behaviour of the transportation
needs can be influenced by creating a competitive advantage of the product and service
offering for the electric vehicle-manufacturing company. The model, which best suits the
chosen target market for Ace Yewt is Economic model or view. This model is known for
reflecting the rationale of buying decision. This model depicts that the consumers are rational
and evaluate options in regards with the transportation needs of the consumer. As per this
model, consumers assess the advantages and disadvantages of a product or/and service
offering.
Customer motivation
In accordance with the Maslow Theory of motivation, the motivational needs of industry
buyers can be divided in various segments. Understanding the priority of the identified needs
and the motivating factors associated with selecting a product or service offering can
contribute majorly to the understanding of consumer behaviour for B2B market (Aagerup and

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Nilsson 2016). In this case, the motivation needs of the industry buyers for an electric vehicle
manufacturing company is structural needs. Structural needs comprises of the operational
requirement of a business and Ace Yewt can offer features and benefits of a highly efficient
electric vehicle for responding to the operational requirements of the industry buyers.
Perception and the attention gate
The perception and attention of the industry buyers will majorly depend on the factors of
exposure and applicability of the product offerings. B2B customers are way different form
B2C customers as the industry buyers are not exposed or influenced by the traditional media
or promotional channels. The influences for building an effective brand perception can be
incorporated by understanding the channel of decision making bodies. Exposure plan of the
electric vehicle company will act as a stimulus for the purpose of shaping and/or stimulating
the attention span of the industrial buyers (Payne, Frow and Eggert 2017). The attention span
of the industry buyers for the transportation needs are majorly dependent on the factors like
business profitability, cost reduction, convenience and sustainable approach. Perception is
built through the aspect of memory, which is selective in nature (Lantos 2015). For
addressing the selectivity nature of perception, a brand offering products to industry buyers
should incorporate unique and significant offering customised in accordance of customer
needs. The stimulus offering of a brand offering products and services to the business buyers
must be accommodated for a longer stimulus duration due to the complexity in the decision
making process. Unlike B2C customer, the B2B customers will have to expose to a
promotional plan, which is more personal and influences the motivating factors.
Customer knowledge and learning
In case of the industry target segment, the consumers reflects high level of customer
knowledge because of the rational decision making process. Knowledge and learnings about
a particular offering and supplier segment is well known by an industry buyers. Industry

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buyers stresses on the step of information search and assessment of alternatives for deducing
a choice, which can be in alignment with their financial budget, business infrastructure,
profitability concerns, consumer attainments and in accordance with the sustainable policies
of the industrial buyer. The knowledge about the alternatives creates a pressure on the
businesses proposing product offerings to the industrial buyers. However, incorporation of
innovation and cost effective offering can influence the consumer behaviour of the industry
segment.
Product mix
Product: The product offerings of Ace Yewt consists of both goods and service association.
‘Goods’ of the Australian company, Ace Yewt are the electric vehicles, which are designed
for decreasing the running cost of the buyers by the aspect of energy efficiency. The running
cost of the product will minimize 85 percent of the running costs in terms of transportation
requirements. The benefits of the vehicle will respond to the effects of greenhouse emissions
by around 70 percent. The product offering will have to incorporate factors of service
association as it will act as a major influencer for the business buyers.
Place: The availability of the electric vehicles will have to be planned based on a combination
of exclusive presence and mass availability. The exclusive vehicle showrooms for Ace Yewt
will project an effective image for the premium segment of the industry and the partnership
showrooms will enhance the availability for the small and medium businesses operating in
healthcare and food sector.
Price: The pricing strategy of Ace Yewt can be structured based on lease system or on rental
basis, which will incorporate the service offerings but will not transfer the ownership of Ace
Yewt. It can be considered as another step towards sustainability as a vehicle will be shared
by multiple businesses, thereby benefiting the business buyers in terms of cost reduction and
profit maximization for Ace Yewt.

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Promotion: The promotional techniques for the chosen target segment of B2B buyer should
be based on the strategic and selective exposure plan. The exposure can be planned through
the event marketing strategy, exhibition participation. The perception of the business buyers
can be influenced by utilizing reference as a tool for increasing customer base.
Part: B2C target niche market
This section will demonstrate the evaluation of the consumer behaviour of B2C segment. The
consumer behaviour of the B2C segment will be completely contrasting to the B2B segment,
which will require the electric vehicle-manufacturing and assembling company of Australia,
Ace Yewt to construct flexible structure of understanding consumer behaviour. The chosen
target niche market for Ace Yewt is Psychographic segment. The buying pattern of the
psychographic segment is less complex and is influenced by the factors like lifestyle, beliefs,
personality traits, cultural values and attitudes, opinions and interests, social status.
Understanding the consumer behaviour on a personal level is very crucial for targeting the
psychographic constraints of B2C segment. The understanding of the values and interests of a
specific individual or closed communities can be understood by their buyer behavioural
pattern, social status and social influences (Akkucuk and Esmaeili 2016). The psychographic
constituents of the business buyers can be addresses by the Unique Selling Proposition of Ace
Yewt. The aspect of sustainability and energy efficiency can act as a major influencer for
contributing to the personal values and lifestyle of B2C segment. B2C segment reflects a
shorter decision making process in comparison to the B2B segment, B2C segment has an
individualistic approach for arriving at a buying decision unlike B2B. Offering sustainable
transportation services to the B2C customers by targeting the psychographic element of
business will help in building a positive consumer behaviour of the target segment.
Buyer decision making models and processes

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The decision making process of the buyers in B2C process will cover the same steps as B2B
but will consume less time and level of touch points in the process. The first step of need
recognition will be based on the personal and social need of identity for the B2C buyers. The
second step of searching for information will be based on the influences like, Television ads,
advertisements in print media, outdoor advertisement, mobile ads and social media
campaigns (Stephen 2016). Another set of influences can be the dependency on societal
norms and acceptability factors. The following step of assessing the options will be based on
the values, conscience, societal acceptability and interests of the consumer (B2C buyers). The
values or lifestyle of supporting choosing sustainable companies and the importance of
societal acceptability can play a major role in facilitating the selection procedure. The
consumer behaviour regarding the purchase decision will be accommodated by the factors of
pricing influences, product feature influences for addressing the status and attitudinal needs
of the psychographic segments. The last step of post purchase behaviour will completely be
based on the profit maximization factors of the consumers (Camilleri 2018). The meaning of
‘Profit maximization’ in the context of psychographic segment will be based on the price,
efforts for evaluation and the societal image the brand is offering to the consumer. Service
association is crucial for influencing the consumer behaviour.
Customer motivation
Customer motivation of the B2C segment can be dependent on various aspects, like, the
thought sequence of the customers, source of traffic, which determines the sources of
motivation in regards with a specific purchase decision. The sources of traffic can be price
elasticity and media exposure. The motivational influences of psychographic segment of B2C
fragment can be presented on the basis of 6 Cs of Customer motivation. First factor can be
Content, inclusion of right content, right media and right context can play a major role in
shaping the consumer behaviour of the customers based on psychographic elements like
social status and lifestyle. Ace Yewt Company needs to strategize a selective media strategy

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to demonstrate the content of an energy efficient vehicle with the advantage of saving
running cost. The second factor of motivation can be Customisation, the customization
concept can be added in terms of product features customizable pattern/colours, Drive
recorder, Electric seating space, battery capacity and customizable EPS system. Another
factor can be Community, this can act as a major influencer for addressing the psychographic
needs of the B2C segment (Zhang 2015). Social status and lifestyle values, interests arising
from the requirement of societal acceptance can be regarded as building blocks of shaping
consumer behaviour. Convenience can also act as a major motivating element for the purpose
of addressing the psychographic factors of B2C segment. Convenience can comprise of
service association of the electric vehicle, warranty or guaranty offerings. Cost reduction is
one of the most crucial motivating factors for targeting the psychographic segment of the
consumers. The electric vehicle manufacturing and assembling company, Ace Yewt offers
the benefits of reducing the cost elements of an individual by the feature of energy efficiency.
Ace Yewt is designed for minimizing the energy consumption in the vehicle industry, thereby
addressing the concern of negative environmental impacts. The factor of motivation is
dependent on the concept of Choice, which is framed based on the pricing structure, delivery
options, service association and payment options.
Perception and the attention gate
The theory of perception and attentional gap presents a comprehensive and crucial view of
consumer behaviour. The attentional gate of the B2C segment is dependent on the exposure
of sources and mediums to the psychographic elements of the consumers (Wadman 2016).
The process of building perception and attentional gate for the purpose of addressing the
psychographic segment is comparatively easy in B2C as the consumer behaviour can be
influenced by shaping a strategic communication media. The communication medium should
be demonstrating all the available feature and benefits regarding the product offerings. The
product offering of the company like sustainability benefits and energy efficiency features

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can be used as tools for shaping a positive perception of the brand and demonstrating the
unique values or competitive advantage of the electric vehicle manufacturing and assembling
company, the company can build a strong brand image and longer attention span (Grimmer,
Kilburn and Miles 2016).
Customer knowledge and learning
Customer knowledge is one of the crucial elements for reflecting the factors of consumer
behaviour. Although, the knowledge of the traditional consumer is supposedly lower than the
capacity of a business but the increasing applicability of internet and social media platform,
the availability of information is becoming easier and approachable (Zhang and Benyoucef
2016). This can act on favour or against the company. Positive effects of the easy availability
of information can be the provision of sharing the information regarding the unique features
and value offerings of the electric vehicle and the negative effects can be the increasing
information about a contemporary competition. Strategizing a selective media strategy for
educating the consumers based on the element like values, attitude, lifestyle, personality
patterns and social status of the consumers in B2C segment (Kimmel 2018).
Group and social influences
Social and community influences acts as a major influencer for moulding the consumer
behaviour of the target market of Ace Yewt. The social acceptance is very crucial for this
segment. The element of social acceptance can be from the monetary values and/or the
ethical constraints. There are different types of influencer in the formation and transformation
of consumer behaviour. Celebrity influencers, authority influencers, PR influencers,
connectors and micro influencers (Small and Cryder 2016). The celebrity influencers projects
a major impact on the consumer buying behaviour due to the concept of power distant.
Authority influencer shaped the attitude and values of consumers based on the societal norms
and regulations. The values deduced form the influence of an authority can be based on the

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usage of energy efficient products and the products, which does not reflect negative impact
on the consumers. The PR influencers are completely dependent on the media capabilities of
Ace Yewt. The connectors can be the showrooms and word-of-mouth agents, which builds
interests and opinion regarding product offerings. Micro-influencers helps n creating buzz for
a unique product and/or service offerings. Ace Yewt can utilize the advantages of all types of
influencer for the purpose of addressing every elements of psychographic segment.
Personality, self-concept & emotion
The personality traits, emotional approaches and self-concept helps in determining the
consumer behavioural pattern. Emotions act as a stimulus in shaping a positive or negative
perception for a brand (Lancaster and Massingham 2017). Using communication tool for
targeting the emotional constraint of the consumers through the communication of energy
efficiency benefits and sustainable approach of the electric vehicles of Ace Yewt can be
utilized. The psychoanalytic theory of Freud demonstrates the concept of Id, which reflects
the urgency of fulfilling certain needs or wants (Murphy and Dweck 2016). The Ego
separates the past from the present by comparing the values like what was the situation before
and what can be done for improvement (Sirgy 2015). Super Ego reflects the judgement and
guidelines in regards to the values of moral standards in accordance with the societal norms
or parental teachings. The increasing awareness and morality of conserving environmental
can be addressed by the offerings of Ace Yewt by tapping the Super Ego traits of consumers.
Consumer attitude
Attitude is one of the element of psychographic segment, the attitude of the consumers built
from the depiction of values and social application of product offerings can be determine the
consumer behaviour.
Product mix

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Product: The product design should be focussed on influencing the lifestyle and societal
status of the consumers. The associated service offerings should be targeted towards building
interests and positive attitude of the company.
Promotion- Ace Yewt should use selective media tool for eliminating the clutter and for
creating a unique value proposition of the vehicles (sustainability).
Place- The availability of the product should be focussed on partnership and alliances for
penetrating the product among the psychographic segment.
Price- The pricing structure of the company should be based on penetration pricing for
increasing the reach of the product. However, implementing the strategy of premium pricing
will be more effective, as energy efficiency and sustainable feature will add to the societal
status and personal values of consumers of psychographic segment.

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