MBA404 - T1 2019: Consumer Behavior and Marketing Psychology Project

This assignment is an individual project for MBA404, focusing on consumer behavior and marketing psychology. The student analyzes their purchase of a herbal shampoo from Herbon Natural Products using the five-step consumer decision-making process: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. The analysis delves into the factors influencing the student's purchase, including the awareness of chemical-free products, the search for natural ingredients, and the evaluation of alternatives. The student provides details on how they sought information, compared products, and made their purchase, ultimately becoming a loyal customer. The project incorporates relevant academic references to support the analysis and demonstrates an understanding of consumer behavior theories.

Consumer behavior and marketing
psychology
Herbon Natural Products

The concept of consumer behavior
• It is the processes which the consumers use n
order to make purchase decisions and dispose
the goods or the services.
• It further consists of the factors which leave
impact on the purchase decisions and the use
of the product.
• There are two types of buyers such as
business buyers and individual buyers.

Buying behavior model
• The learning model - The drives, stimuli
manipulates the behaviors of people.
• The economic model- This suggests men
segregate their income in a specific rational way.
• The psychological model- Consumer has deep
rooted motives driving him towards deciding the
purchase.
• Nicosia Model- This model develops link
between the firm and consumer.

The buying decision making process
• There are five steps :
• The firm provides an advertising message
• The consumer develops an attitude depending
upon the situation
• Searching and evaluation is done afterwards
• The act of purchase is made
• Feedback is given to know the results of sales.

Factors that influence consumer behavior
• Cultural – The religion and culture.
• Social- family, roles & status and the reference
groups
• Personal – occupation, lifestyle, self –concept,
age
• Psychological- perception, learning and
motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The buying process
• The selected product is a herbal shampoo from
Herbon Natural Products
• There are five stages of a consumer decision making
process which I have undergone to buy this product. The
steps are as follows:
• Need Recognition
• Information search
• Evaluation of alternatives
• Purchase
• Post purchase behavior

Need Recognition
• It is simply No Need , No Purchase
• The internal or external stimuli triggers the consumer needs.
• Internal need is when there is an issue with previous product or want of a
solution.
• External need is when there is a luxurious aspect of the need.
• The product need can be initiated from the unfulfilled need recognition.
• The need of the herbal shampoo started from the awareness of the chemical
free products.
• My need was a natural ingredients product within budget
• I went through a planned decision to opt for a herbal based
shampoo leaving the previous ones.
• I saw an advertise on social media which encouraged me to try
this product.

Search for Information
• The consumers find out the information which can help in making a
purchasing decision.
• I came across both types of information to make the search regarding the
products.
• As the external source of information I took the reviews and opinions of
my neighbors , families and friends. I received positive review from all of
them.
• As the external source of information the social media posts, television
advertisements and banners.

Evaluation of Alternatives
• In this stage the consumer evaluates the alternatives founded on the
features of products, the brand perceptions and many others.
• I searched for the potential alternatives after gathering information.
• The evaluation of alternatives consists of the awareness set and
unawareness set.
• Regarding the herbal shampoo , I searched and compared similar
products which were available in the market.
• The Herbon Natural Products provided me the best product with highest
perceived values.
• The choice has been made on the basis of medicinal benefits and natural
ingredients.
• The selection has not been made on the basis of personal experience,
brand name , discount offer or prestige.

Purchase decision
• In this stage, the consumer makes selection of the product
which resolves the need and fulfills the gap. .
• Before making purchase decisions I checked the availability of
the product in a store.
• Time concerns were not considered during making the
purchase decisions.
• In a nearby retail shop I found the product with profitable
discounts.
• My own income has been used to buy the product.

Post purchase decisions
• In this stage the consumer determines whether the right decision has
been made.
• The product I purchased really worth repeating.
• After using it for several times, I receives many benefits and received a
natural effect too.
• In this way I became a loyal customer of the brand and will recommend
others to buy this.

Referenes
• Ajzen, I., 2015. Consumer attitudes and behavior: The theory of planned behavior applied to food consumption
decisions. Rivista di Economia Agraria, 70(2), pp.121-138.
• Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content
and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), pp.15-27.
• Mandel, N., Rucker, D.D., Levav, J. and Galinsky, A.D., 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.B., Mandel, N. and Mick, D.G., 2016. The effects of religion on consumer behavior: A conceptual
framework and research agenda. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(2), pp.298-311.
• Murphy, M.C. and Dweck, C.S., 2016. Mindsets shape consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(1), pp.127-
136.
• Ohnmacht, T., Schaffner, D., Weibel, C. and Schad, H., 2017. Rethinking social psychology and intervention design: A model
of energy savings and human behavior. Energy Research & Social Science, 26, pp.40-53.
• Parguel, B., Delécolle, T. and Valette-Florence, P., 2016. How price display influences consumer luxury perceptions. Journal of
Business Research, 69(1), pp.341-348.
• Roux, C., Goldsmith, K. and Bonezzi, A., 2015. On the psychology of scarcity: When reminders of resource scarcity promote
selfish (and generous) behavior. Journal of consumer research, 42(4), pp.615-631.
• Stephen, A.T., 2016. The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10,
pp.17-21.
• Zeugner-Roth, K.P., Žabkar, V. and Diamantopoulos, A., 2015. Consumer ethnocentrism, national identity, and consumer
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