First, "consumption behavior" is different from "consumption" and has deeper contents and characteristics.
Consumer behavior is the decision-making process made by individuals when evaluating, acquiring, using and disposing of products and services, and the tangible activities arising therefrom. To better understand this category, we compare it with "consumption".
1. From the perspective of time progression sequence, consumer behavior is a succession of stages, and consumption is only one of them.
Consumption and consumer behavior are both dynamic categories and processes. Consumption is the goods and services that consumers use to meet their needs. Under the condition of monetary economy, if people want to meet their own needs, they must have market transactions, that is, buy goods and services in the market. Therefore, we can say that consumption means "use" and "purchase".
The meaning of "process" of consumer behavior is much broader than this. If a consumer wants to meet his own needs, the first question he encounters is, how did his needs arise? What factors are affected? That is, the consumer must first recognize the demand, and then he must collect relevant information to meet the demand, and make purchase decisions on this basis-what to buy, when to buy, how much to buy, where to buy, how to buy, and so on. After the decision-making process is put into practice, commodities exit the circulation field with consumers and enter the process of consumption and use. However, the problem is not over. In the process of use, consumers will evaluate their purchase decisions and product quality, analyze gains and losses, and form satisfactory or unsatisfactory results. Therefore, it can be concluded that a complete consumer behavior goes through several stages: problem cognition-information collection and evaluation-purchase decision-post-purchase evaluation. Visible consumption is only two of them. Moreover, even the "purchase" in consumption is different from the "purchase" in consumption behavior. The former refers to the G-W in the circulation process, emphasizing the exchange of money and goods, while the latter mainly refers to the psychological decision-making process, emphasizing the spiritual process of consumers.
2. From the content covered by the cross section, consumer behavior consists of many explicit behaviors and implicit behaviors, and consumption is only a part of explicit behaviors.
Consumption focuses on visible activities, not physical movements. For example, consumers prepare and enjoy consumer goods to meet their needs. A little wider, it also includes activities such as product selection and purchase. In a word, consumption is an explicit behavior. In addition, consumer behavior also includes many intangible psychological and thinking activities, which are hidden behaviors. Consumer behavior is a composite whole of explicit behavior and implicit behavior, with more emphasis on the latter.
Implicit behavior mainly has two aspects, namely, the consumer's decision-making process and the internal factors of personal characteristics that affect the decision-making process. The latter includes demand, motivation, attitude, personality and learning. Need is a human or emotional state of longing and lack. Motivation is the source of power to promote people's actions, so that people know what they need and provide reasons for actions to meet their needs. Personality is a trait that leads to differences between people, and people meet their needs in different ways. Attitude is the basic orientation of people towards products and behaviors, which strongly affects people's behaviors and reactions, and is also influenced by the persuasion and publicity of marketers. Learning not only means that consumers remember the brand of products, but also includes learning the standards for judging the quality of products, choosing the place to buy, enhancing the ability to solve problems, changing behavior patterns and forming preferences.
3. From the perspective of consumers' setting, consumer behavior analysis regards consumers as "compound people" and consumption analysis regards consumers as "economic people".
Treating people as "economic people" is based on the fact that consumption is a function of income and the maximization of satisfaction. It emphasizes the use of consumers (products and services). Pay attention to the humanization of consumer goods, that is, through the use of consumer goods, people's physical strength can be restored and developed, and their intelligence can be improved. At the same time, social organizations, especially enterprises, are completely oriented to meet people's material and functional needs to produce and sell products and services. This is to study consumers from the perspective of economics.
And if people (that is, consumers) are studied as "composite people", the situation is much more complicated. First of all, the system of consumer demand will be more complicated. In addition to material and functional needs, there are social, psychological and ecological requirements. Secondly, consumers' behavior will be influenced by more diverse factors, such as income, culture, subculture, psychology, social class, group, family and interpersonal relationship. Finally, the research methods and disciplines used will be more diverse. This includes at least the economics of production, exchange and consumption of products; Psychology that studies individual psychological processes; Social psychology, which studies how individuals influence groups and their affected people, and cultural anthropology, which studies the relationship between human beings and culture.
4. From the background, consumption behavior is an integral part of human behavior, and consumption is a link of social reproduction.
Consumption is put forward as an internal link of social reproduction.
Consumer behavior is put forward in the context of human behavior and related to the market. As a reflection of universal human behavior in the field of consumption, its main features are:
(1) Pursuing self-interest maximization. Consumers use as little money as possible to buy as many consumer goods as possible, meet their own needs to the maximum extent, and achieve balanced consumption.
(2) Diversity of preferences and abilities. Due to the differences in region, population, psychology and behavior, people's preferences are diverse and their spending power is uneven. Although economists are controversial about whether and how people's preferences can be displayed, they basically affirm the diversity of preferences and abilities.
(3) bounded rationality. Simon described it as "a feeling of reaching rationality, but it is limited." People always strive for rationality in their consumption activities, but due to the constraints of environmental factors and their own abilities, they can't know all the alternatives of future activities, can't consider all the values into a unified and single comprehensive utility function, and can't calculate the implementation consequences of all the alternatives.
(4) opportunism. Refers to people's tendency to seek personal gain by improper means, such as underestimating future consumption and impulse buying.
Second, consumer behavior and marketing are two closely related and significantly different disciplines.
1. Generation: History and Logic
The study of consumer behavior is much later than marketing. It is generally believed that marketing was founded in the early 1920s and entered a new period of great change after the war. At this time, the research on consumer behavior has just started. During World War II, in order to produce weapons and equipment, new technologies and new factories came into being. After the war, they were forced to turn to producing consumer goods and industrial products, which greatly increased the variety and quantity of products and intensified the competition among enterprises. In order to expand the market and increase sales, it is objectively required to strengthen the research on consumers and their behaviors. At this time, the analytical psychologist represented by Freud initiated the motivation research, and the research of new product design and investigation provided the preliminary theory, methods and skills for the study of consumers and their behaviors. In the 1960s, in some representative figures and their works, such as Motivation and Marketing Research by Feibor (1985), Powerful Consumers by katona (1960) and Marketing Management Analysis and Planning by Howard (1960), but not. It is Holbrooke who changed this dispersed situation and made effective integration. His masterpiece is What is Consumer Research.
Since 1970s, the research on consumer behavior has entered a mature stage. Business schools in western countries widely offer consumer behavior, and now they also have doctoral degrees. The research team developed from several people. 1969, "Consumer Research Association" was established in the United States, with more than 4,000 members. The association holds an academic conference every year to collect the results of the conference on the topic of "New Progress in Consumer Research". There are more and more papers about consumers and their behaviors, and the main publications are Consumer Research and Consumer Affairs Research.
Logically, consumer behavior should be the forerunner of marketing. Because only by fully understanding consumers and their behaviors, grasping their internal psychological factors such as demand, motivation, personality, attitude and learning, grasping their purchase decision-making process, and analyzing the external factors that affect consumers' behaviors, marketing management can be established on a scientific basis. On the contrary, this dislocation between logic and historical development is not difficult to understand. Because in the 1920s and 1950s, the demand for products was in short supply, and enterprises pursued the production concept and sales concept. "No matter what kind of car customers need, I only have a black one", "whatever we sell, people will buy". Enterprises only need to expand scale, improve efficiency and strengthen sales, and they don't have to and won't study consumers and their behaviors. After the end of World War II, this situation has undergone revolutionary changes. In addition, this dislocation also conforms to the law of human understanding and development. Human understanding of a problem is always deepening, refining and perfecting. Consumer behavior can also be regarded as a supplement and deepening of marketing. This view will be discussed later.
2. Cut in: consumers and enterprises
Consumer behavior belongs to micro-discipline, and its starting point is consumers. What needs to be pointed out in particular is that consumers involved in consumption behavior are different from the connotation and extension of consumers mentioned in economics or general literature. Many scholars believe that people who accept free products and services, even some ideas and ideas, are consumers. This makes the research on consumer behavior more extensive and has a great influence on government decision-making. For example, the government provides public services, legislation strengthens the protection of consumers, and enhances consumers' ability to evaluate products and services. Thanks to the research on consumers.
With this broadening, it also gives new significance to enterprise marketing management. Before the 1970s, people only emphasized that marketing should be customer-oriented and customer satisfaction as the highest goal, so it was purely economic behavior. After 1970s, people began to pay attention to the social, ethical and ecological aspects of marketing. It is believed that enterprises should not only meet consumer demand, realize enterprise profits and passively adapt to the macro environment through marketing, but also actively abide by social ethics, safeguard laws and protect the environment. The broadening of consumers' meaning is in line with this change of ideas and thoughts, which is helpful for enterprises to practice this change and establish a good social image.
We can also understand the broadening of the meaning of consumers from another angle, that is, the different roles of consumers in the whole consumption behavior. For example, when he decides which needs or demands are not met and decides to change this state, he becomes the "initiator". When he consciously or unconsciously influences the purchase decision, and realizes the purchase behavior and the use of products and services through words and actions, he becomes an "influencer". When he actually makes choices and purchases, he becomes a "buyer", and when he directly participates in the process of consuming or using products and services, he becomes a "user". When studying consumer behavior, it is incomplete to pay attention to only one role. However, this does not mean that all the above roles must be covered when referring to consumers in any case, nor does it mean that one or several of them cannot be selected when studying consumer behavior. In fact, "buyer" is the most important meaning among consumers.
Marketing also belongs to micro-discipline, but its breakthrough point is enterprise, and it studies enterprise marketing management. Therefore, the relationship with the market can be expressed as market → enterprise marketing management. That is, the marketing management of enterprises must be market-oriented. And consumer behavior studies consumer behavior → market. That is, the complex whole of consumers and their various behaviors will affect the operation of the market, and even from a certain point of view, it constitutes the (consumption) market itself. In this way, from the perspective of contact, the relationship between the two can be expressed as: consumers and their behavior → market → enterprise marketing management. The market has naturally become the intermediary and link between consumers and enterprises.
3. Content: Supplement and deepening
Marketing includes two parts, namely, the analysis of market opportunities, the selection of target markets and marketing mix. Many problems about combination strategy in marketing have not been solved. Such as product strategy, product specifications, shape and characteristics, packaging methods, what kind of service is most important to consumers, what kind of service guarantee and scheme should be provided to consumers, and what type of supporting or related products should be provided. In the pricing strategy, how do consumers know the price of related products, how sensitive they are to the price difference between different brands, how much price reduction in product promotion will help consumers buy, and how much discount they have for current consumers. In terms of channel strategy, what products retailers should operate, where to set up retailers, how many, what arrangements should be made with retailers in order to distribute products, to what extent enterprises must have their own distribution channels or strictly grasp, and what kind of corporate image retailers should establish. In the promotion strategy, under different special circumstances, what kind of promotion means should be adopted, what kind of measures can attract consumers' attention most effectively, what kind of methods can convey the preset information most effectively, and how long the advertisements should be replayed. All these questions are obviously difficult for marketing to answer. Only by using consumer behavior and studying consumer behavior can we make a successful answer.
Through the above analysis, we can draw the conclusion that marketing and consumer behavior are two disciplines with the closest connection and the most fundamental content about marketing management, and others are derived from them.
Thirdly, the study of consumer behavior is of unique and important significance to do a good job in marketing management.
Since 1980s and 1990s, the research focus of consumer behavior has changed fundamentally, from focusing on the construction and perfection of theoretical system to focusing on the guiding role of marketing management. Some works are clearly subtitled "Enlightenment to Marketing Management", which should be pointed out when discussing almost every issue. In order to illustrate this trend and demonstrate the viewpoint of this article, here we choose one end-taking cultural values as an example to talk about the unique and important guiding significance of consumer behavior to marketing management.
1. Material and service According to whether the object of consumption is tangible or not, people's consumption structure can be divided into material consumption and service consumption. The internal structure of material consumption can be divided into three levels, from low to high, that is, material consumption to meet people's survival needs, improve the quality of life, symbolize qualifications, show status, enjoy psychology and realize self. Generally speaking, the material consumption of Chinese residents is at the second level and coexists with the third level.
The internal structure of service consumption can be divided into satisfying survival service consumption, that is, service consumption related to people's daily life, such as diet, hairdressing, bathing and transportation. Enjoy the consumption of sexual services, such as tourism, entertainment and sports; Developmental service consumption, such as education. At present, the service consumption demand of Chinese residents is mainly in the survival stage, and the enjoyment service consumption demand is more and more intense and urgent, which has increasingly become the central content of the service consumption demand system.
Compared with service consumption, material consumption will be in a relatively stable growth trend, while service consumption demand will show a strong growth trend. This is not only the objective existence determined by social and economic conditions, but also the value choice made by people. This kind of value choice is related to cultural concepts and has certain relative independence. The same is true of the level selection and orientation of the internal structure of material consumption and service consumption.
Judging the present situation of material consumption structure and people's choice has a lot of enlightenment to marketing management. First of all, it requires enterprises to adjust product structure, especially product hierarchy. Develop, produce and manage products that can improve people's quality of life. Secondly, the promotion strategy should be changed. For products that improve the quality of life, the promotion should focus on the quality and performance of the products. The promotion of products that meet the needs of the third level should not be limited to the products themselves, but must use cis theory to give products a certain image and significance, so as to make them consistent with people's cultural values. Several American brands of cigarettes are successful examples. For example, Marlboro uses the image of "Marlboro man", which is rough, bold and independent. "Salon" emphasizes "sharing spirit" and emphasizes tranquility, nature and warmth. Finally, in the pricing strategy, the quality and price of products that improve the quality of life should be equal, and cost pricing or competitor-oriented pricing can be adopted. For qualified symbolic products, psychological or prestige pricing method can be adopted.
The enhancement of service consumption demand provides unlimited business opportunities for enterprises.
2. Work and Leisure After human beings entered the industrial society, machines were used on a large scale, people worked at a fast pace and with high intensity, and their physical consumption increased greatly. The development of information technology has reduced people's physical consumption, but psychological tension has not been eliminated. Therefore, people attach great importance to leisure.
The correct proposition of modern times is that a day should be divided into three parts, namely, working time, non-discretionary time and leisure time. Working hours are the time to earn income, and non-discretionary time is some special time, such as busy housework, shopping, medical treatment, transportation and so on. And leisure time is the remaining free time.
In order to adapt to the change of people's emphasis on leisure concept in today's society, enterprises should do two things well: first, provide some tangible products to minimize the consumption of people's non-discretionary time. The second is to carry out colorful leisure service activities. Specific measures include: developing quick-frozen convenience foods, microwave ovens, dishwashers, quick-drying clothes and pants, disposable diapers, etc. It also includes promoting the socialization of housework, requiring fast or limited service, rationally arranging commercial outlets and improving service efficiency.
3. The new values of harmony between man and nature hold that all parts of nature-not only people, but also other species and substances-have inherent values. Human beings have the obligation to manage the earth well and promote the sustainable development of human beings and the earth.
With the formation and strengthening of the values of ecological harmony, people's consumption behavior has also changed accordingly. Two things stand out. First, some people's desire for material possession is weakened, and they no longer pursue more and more, but only seek to meet their own needs to the maximum extent through certain resource consumption and product possession. The enlightenment of this change to marketing management is that the past practice of encouraging people to buy and consume in large quantities and artificially eliminating "outdated" products to stimulate people's desire for consumption should be changed to bring "value" to consumers. Experts believe that "value marketing" has emerged. Its spiritual essence is to provide products that can be used in practice; Bring more "value" to consumers than expected; Strengthen product sales and service guarantee; Eliminate unreasonable expenses from the price; Inform customers of the true information and facts of the products; Enterprises should establish good relations with customers.
On the other hand, people advocate "returning to nature" and think that "simplicity is good". It is easy for people to accept products close to nature, but they are resistant to products with too many human and technological factors. This is manifested in various fields of products. For example, clothing needs natural cotton and linen fibers; Cosmetics are required to be extracted from plants and have natural fragrance; The medicine requires simple ingredients and no side effects; Food should be healthy and green; The bedroom needs to create a natural atmosphere.
4. Rights and Responsibilities With the continuous development of the socialist market economy and the deepening of foreign exchanges, including the protection of consumers' rights and interests, society pays more attention to consumers' rights and interests. In the future, it will develop to emphasize the unity of rights and responsibilities, and pay attention to the problem of "consumer responsibility" accordingly. At present, the dominant values of our society should be in the stage of emphasizing consumer rights and interests.
Facing the awakening of social consumers' awareness of rights and the development of consumerism, enterprise managers should take corresponding countermeasures. There are mainly the following aspects:
(1) Establish a consumer advisory committee. It can be composed of customers from all walks of life, and is responsible for regularly understanding customers' views on enterprise operation, product development and pricing, giving customers the opportunity to reflect their opinions, listening to customers' opinions on products and decisions, and listening to enterprise reports.
(2) Establish consumer affairs institutions. This is an organizational guarantee that attaches importance to consumers' rights and interests. Its responsibility is to be responsible for contact and communication with customers; Provide useful information for customers who use our products and services; Contact with consumer organizations.
(3) Listen to the opinions of consumers and solve the problem satisfactorily. Enterprises must not ignore consumers' opinions, dissatisfaction and complaints, but should follow the policy of "customers are always right" and regard them as wealth. Specific measures may include attaching a feedback form to the product; Set up toll-free or collect calls; Conduct regular consumer surveys.
(4) Carry out consumer education. Enterprises should provide consumers with the knowledge and information they need to become smart consumers. This is not only beneficial to consumers and society, but also very beneficial to enterprises. It can help consumers form a reasonable evaluation and expectation of products and services, thus reducing their dissatisfaction with enterprises; It can improve the satisfaction of consumers and form a good impression on enterprises, thus enabling enterprises to expand sales.