How does understanding of consumer buyer behavior help a marketer in designing his marketing strategies?

Question

module:marketing.topic:Buyer Behaviour

Answer 1

When creating a marketing strategy (the overall plan), the components of that plan are often broken first into distinct steps... these are referred to as the FIVE Ps and these are:

Product = what is it we are marketing... what item or service?
Position = how is our brand viewed by the market (consumers) compared to our competition?
People = who are our market... what is the make-up (demographic) of our typical customer?
Promotion = what channels will be most effective and most efficient at getting the message about our product to the right people and how well will that message build our brand in the consumer's mind?
Price = what is a supportable balance between cost and value, which is driven by market perception (see the answer I gave to another of your questions).

From this starting point you can see that understanding the nuiances of each of the Ps and building a strategy to account for each of those details becomes critical to the success of a marketing plan or strategy. Buyer behaviour (understanding the buyer's perceptions of value and overcoming her hesitations to "try us") is the next step after recognising who our potential buyer is.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Since this is targeted at consumers, we must characterize the customer:

First segment into groups that have their own distinct buying behaviors. For example, a 16-year old girl will be motivated differently than, say a 50-year old man.

Also, consider the buying cycle: Are you marketing an item that appeals to students returning to school? For example, a laptop computer is a purchase made by freshmen college students in the late summer. Is it an item that will be useful in the kitchen during Thanksgiving? Is it a luxury item that may sell best during the Holiday season and Valentine's da, as well as for a wedding anniversary, which will peak in early summer?

Once the target customer is understood and the factors relating to time and need are modeled, now the marketer goes to work to compel the consumer to make a purchase.

Does the target customer listen to the radio? At what times? For example, a 50-year old man is more likely to listen to drive-time traffic reports, while a high school student is more likely to listen to pop music on an FM station. What periodicals do the target customer read? And so on...