Consumer Behaviour :

Consumer behavior is the study of people, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of goods, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. So consumer behavior occurs either for the individual, a group or an organization.

Consumer behavior is important from the marketing point of view of businesses because ultimately it is consumers who help firms improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products), the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media), the behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcomes, how consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer, and how marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how a firm can encourage increased consumption. Consumer behavior involves services and ideas as well as tangible products. The impact of consumer behavior on society is also relevant. For instance, aggressive marketing of high fat foods, or aggressive marketing of easy credit, might have serious repercussions for the national health and economy.

There main applications of consumer behavior include:

• Marketing strategy-i.e., for making better marketing campaigns. For example, by understanding that consumers are more receptive to food advertising when they are hungry, the firm can learn to schedule snack advertisements late in the afternoon.
• Another important application is public policy.
• Social marketing- getting ideas across to consumers rather than selling something.