Summary of Consumer and Organizational Buying Behavior
Consumer & Organizational Buying Behavior: A Student's Guide
Introduction
Buying behavior examines how individuals and organizations decide what to purchase, how they evaluate options, and what influences their post-purchase reactions. This unit presents the purchase decision process, types of buying behavior, internal and external determinants, customer journey mapping, and practical tools like buyer personas.
Definition: Buying behavior is the set of activities carried out by a person or organization from recognizing a need until purchasing and using a product.
1. Consumer behavior and marketing
Key features
- Buying behavior is complex and often changes across a product's life cycle.
- Decisions vary by product involvement: high-involvement vs low-involvement purchases.
- Consumers may experience cognitive dissonance after purchase.
Definition: End consumer refers to individuals in consumer markets (B2C). Organizations buying for production or resale are part of industrial markets (B2B).
Types of involvement
- High-involvement: many brand differences, significant perceived risk.
- Low-involvement: few brand differences, habitual or routine.
2. Types of purchasing behavior
Use the table to compare main patterns:
| Type | Involvement | Brand differences | Typical behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complex purchasing behavior | High | Significant | Extensive information search and evaluation |
| Dissonance-reducing | High | Few | Quick decision with post-purchase doubt |
| Variety-seeking | Low | Significant | Switch brands for novelty |
| Habitual (usual) buying | Low | Few | Repeat purchase with little evaluation |
Roles in buying decisions
- Initiator
- Informer (information source)
- Influencer
- Decider
- Buyer (purchaser)
- User
Definition: An influencer is a person who shapes beliefs and choices; may be an opinion leader, expert, or social media influencer.
3. Purchase decision process (step-by-step)
- Problem recognition: internal needs or external stimuli trigger awareness.
- Information search: personal, commercial, public, experiential sources.
- Personal sources (friends, family) are often most persuasive.
- Evaluation of alternatives: form perceptions and preferences.
- Decision: buy or not; choose preferred brand or postpone.
- Post-purchase: satisfaction, loyalty, or brand switching; cognitive dissonance may occur.
Definition: Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning.
Practical example
A student needs a laptop: recognizes slow performance (problem recognition), asks friends and reads reviews (information search), compares models on specs and price (evaluation), buys a model (decision), then reviews it online after use (post-purchase).
4. Customer journey and touchpoints
Definition: Customer journey is the sequence of interactions and experiences a customer has with a company from awareness to post-purchase.
Touchpoints
- Human, digital, physical
- Company-controlled (owned or paid) vs external/earned (reviews, word-of-mouth)
Customer journey mapping
- Visualize phases and touchpoints to detect positive/negative experiences and behind-the-scenes activities.
- Example inside a restaurant: entrance, waiter service, menu selection, eating, dessert, payment. Map visible actions (greet customer) and invisible actions (kitchen prep).
5. Determinants of consumer purchasing behavior
Determinants are grouped into internal and external variables.
Internal variables
- Motivations: motives direct behavior toward fulfilling needs (see Maslow). Maslow hierarchy: physiological, safety, affiliation, esteem, self-actualization.
- Perception: selective interpretation based on prior experience
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Buying Behavior Overview
Klíčové pojmy: Buying behavior covers need recognition through post-purchase reactions, High-involvement vs low-involvement purchases determine search and evaluation depth, Roles in purchase: initiator, informer, influencer, decider, buyer, user, Decision process: problem recognition, information search, evaluation, decision, post-purchase, Perception is selective and based on prior experience, Social influences: family, reference groups, social class shape preferences, Situational factors (time, place, companions) affect perceived benefits and choices, Buyer persona compiles demographic, psychographic, goals, challenges and preferred channels, Customer journey maps all touchpoints: human, digital, physical; owned vs earned, Marketing mix must align with internal/external determinants to influence behavior, Opinion leaders, experts and influencers are high-credibility personal sources, Mapping invisible service processes improves perceived service quality