Consumer Behavior Analysis: Unilever's Marketing Strategies

This report delves into Unilever's successful application of consumer behavior understanding in its marketing strategies. It examines the factors influencing consumer behavior, focusing on the Engel, Kollet, Blackwell (EKB) model, which outlines the stages of consumer decision-making: awareness, information processing, evaluation, purchasing decision, and outcome analysis. The report also highlights psychological, personal, and social factors impacting consumer choices and how Unilever leverages these insights to enhance its marketing effectiveness and drive sales. The analysis emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer psychology, providing high-quality products, and considering personal and social influences to optimize marketing strategies.

How Unilever’s Brands Connect with Consumers

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
“How successful is Unilever in applying its understanding of factors that influence consumer
behaviour to market its products?................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour can be describe as the study of how different individual customers or
group of people select their goods or services. It is essential that organisation have proper
understanding regarding different needs or wants of customers so that they can take right
decision regarding customer purchasing practices (Hörl, Becker and Axhausen, 2021). This
report is based on Unilever company. This organisation is dealing in consumer goods industry
and it is offering its products and services to large market area. Unilever organisation was
developed in year 1929 and founder of this organisation is Willian Lever and James Darcy
Lever. Head office of this company is located in London, England. In this report different factors
that influence consumer behaviour along with the relevant theory is mention in this report.
MAIN BODY
“How successful is Unilever in applying its understanding of factors that influence consumer
behaviour to market its products?
It is essential for Unilever company to understand and determine different factors which will
lead to have direct influence over consumer behaviour. This is significant for conducting
marketing task and practices in effective manner so that right and accurate decision could be
taken. Consumer behaviour regarding products and services will lead to have major influence
over strategies as well as profitability of respective company (Lam and et.al., 2021). Unilever is
one of the largest company in consumer goods sector and it is able to meet with the needs and
requirements of customers in appropriate manner. It has been determined that in order to
successfully understand behaviour of customers respective company is considering accurate
model that is Engel, Kollet, Blackwell model. This is one of the effective model in order to
analyse or evaluate consumer behaviour regarding products and services.
Engel, Kollet, Blackwell (EKB) model
This is very useful model in order to determine consumer behaviour along with the process
of decision making. Through the support of Engel, Kollet, Blackwell model Unilever company
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will be able to take right decision by successfully understanding consumer behaviour. This
model includes five stages of decision process.
 Awareness – This is the first stage and in this customer will get information about the
product and service offered by organisation. At this stage customers will view
advertisement of Unilever company and become more aware regarding the needs or
desire to purchase that product.
 Information processing – Once information and awareness about the product has been
gathered by customers then they will start processing information. In this stage, customer
will focus on analysing their past experience about the product or full fill of current
needs.
 Evaluation – In this stage customer will research and evaluate the product or service
offered by organisation is significant manner (Belhocine, Dahane and Yagouni, 2021).
Customers will also analysing the offering of other rival companies and compare it with
the offering of respective organisation. It is essential for customers to correctly evaluate
different elements of products in order to take right purchasing decision.
 Purchasing decision – When products and services has been successfully evaluated by
customer they will make their purchase decision. In this customer will take decision
according to the evaluation of the product and services of Unilever and its competitors.
This helps in taking right and accurate decision of customers to purchase products or
services that is according to the needs of customers.
 Outcome analysis – Once the purchasing decision has been taken by customer they will
use products and determine their experience. According to the outcome analysis,
customers will be able to determine whether the purchasing decision taken by individual
is correct or not. Through the overall experience of customers about the used product or
service has been determined in appropriate manner.
Factor that influence consumer behaviour
There are different factors and elements which will lead to have influence over consumer
behaviour as well as affect purchasing decisions (Majercakova and Rostasova, 2021). It is
crucial for Unilever company to analyse and evaluate these factors in order to take right decision
for increasing sales of products and services. Different factors that affect consumer behaviour is
mention below in detail –
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 Psychological factor – This factor of consumer behaviour includes their attitude,
perception about the product or services, ability to understand information provided by
company along with this other factors of what motivate them to purchase product. The
psychological factor consist of internal elements of consumer such as beliefs and
thinking regarding product. This will lead to have major impact over decision making of
individual. It is crucial for Unilever company to understand the psychology of customers
in order to determine their purchasing behaviour. It is very important that Unilever
company is providing high quality products and services on which customer have trust.
This will help in increasing sales of product and services.
 Personal factor – This factor of consumer behaviour includes personal characteristics of
individual such as gender, financial situation, age, income group, location, religion,
background and so on (Busalim and Ghabban, 2021). It is crucial that Unilever company
is analysing and evaluating personal factor while developing and promoting products as
this will lead to have significant influence on purchasing decision of customers.
 Social factor – This consist of customer’s family, friends, community, peer, social group
and so on. All of these factor influence customer purchasing decision so Unilever
organisation needs to analyse social factors of potential customer group as this will lead
to have impact on increasing sales of business products and services.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been analysed that customer behaviour regarding products and
services offered by organisation will lead to have major impact over sales of business. It is
essential for company to determine customer purchase decision process as this will lead help in
identifying different elements regarding how customer will take buying decision.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hörl, S., Becker, F. and Axhausen, K.W., 2021. Simulation of price, customer behaviour and
system impact for a cost-covering automated taxi system in Zurich. Transportation Research
Part C: Emerging Technologies, 123, p.102974.
Lam, H.Y. and et.al., 2021. Data analytics and the P2P cloud: an integrated model for strategy
formulation based on customer behaviour. Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications, 14(5),
pp.2600-2617.
Belhocine, L., Dahane, M. and Yagouni, M., 2021. Customer behaviour–based multi-objective
approach for the recovery and remanufacturing of used products: application to smartphone
reconditioning process. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, pp.1-
22.
Majercakova, M. and Rostasova, M., 2021. Customer Behaviour and Sentiment Due to the
COVID-19 Global Pandemic. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 92). EDP Sciences.
Kusumawati, F.R., Ferdous, E. and Bayramov, B., 2021. The impact of customer behaviour on
travel intention abroad after a pandemic. International Journal of Tourism Policy, 11(2), pp.142-
160.
Maiwald, J. and Schuette, T., 2021. Decentralised Electricity Markets and Proactive Customer
Behaviour. Energies, 14(3), p.781.
Busalim, A.H. and Ghabban, F., 2021. Customer engagement behaviour on social commerce
platforms: an empirical study. Technology in Society, 64, p.101437.
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