Sources Of Influence On The Consumer Marketing Essay

Sources Of Influence On The Consumer Marketing Essay If you request a garment buyer during shopping at supermarket about their respective reason behind of their purchasing, most likely shopper will have problems to elucidate all his purchasing decisions. Researchers described this shopping decision based on the customer subconsciously decision which is made by almost 85% of the shoppers (Solomon et al, 2009). As a consequence of this consumer behaviour has been defined as the method which individual or groups of customer go throughout to choose, acquire, use and borrow the goods, selective services, purchasing ideas or increase the customer experiences to persuade their respective their needs (Solomon, 2009). Additionally, consumer decision for the low involvement goods, customer consumption choices are somewhat made by a customer uncomplicated purchase decision making process; however the shot involvement can also be made which is influenced by environment, marketing, promotion (Alvarez, B R. V. 2005). Kwok Keung Tam (2007) explained clothing is now become a fashion items rather than just a necessity good which used for keeping bodies warm and hiding the internal things. Todays garments become social status and most of the people go for the different garment purchase to showcase their respective personal image (OCass, 2000). This research paper makes an attempt to study how Garment becomes the personal image reflectors and the motive behind customer decision making behind the different garment brands. This paper will examines the different factors which influence the Irish customer behaviour with respect of Brand, Family influence, Bargain power, Store ambience etc . for the garment brand. In this research, we examine the consumer behaviour towards the clothing brand in Ireland as Tam (2007) highlighted in his research that Shopping for garments is one of the well-liked pastimes by Irish people from the different age and class group. This research intended to understand customer behaviour in fashion clothing als o this depends on the four major factors which push the female and male customer to purchase different set of garment for their respective uses, major factor which will analyse in this study i.e. Personal Identify , Physical factors , fashion lifestyle and the store ambience (Holmberg ÃÆ'-hnfeldt, 2010). Different shopping places in Ireland which has different formats of garment stores such as North face etc were selected for the filed study. Outcome of this result will be showcase how the different branding and marketing factor impact the customer behaviour during their purchase of clothing brand. Some of these factors would be Brand, Price, Quality, social status, promotion strategy and it will be directly correlated with the customer behaviour. Subsequently this study will help international clothing brand to understand the Irish customer much better manner which will be ultimate aim for this study to achieve. The research is taking place due we experienced that garment demand has been declined significantly in the Ireland which may be cause of the Economic condition and the change in customer behaviour. This research will analyse those top attributes which influence the customer decision making process for the garment brand. The main aim of this research is to evaluate the various factors which influence the customer buying behaviour. This would also help in understanding the elements needs for designing an effective marketing strategy for influencing customers buying decision. Such as the right pricing decision, branding decision , trend which further helps in influencing consumer behaviour and creating brand preference but the major question is what makes it a successful garment brand. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will contain all the research work that has already been conducted. This will help to understand how to carry on with the research work and also what studies can be further conducted. 2.1 Garment Industry Since 1995, the Ireland garment industry has been grown by 59% over today it is around 5 billion EURO because of the increasing import contribution and the growing fashion status of society (Dunford, Mick 2009). Irish fashion has influenced by the European and international fashion therefore it has become progressively more complicated to define an Irish garment look, apart from the MNC clothing organisation such as North Face and the Colombia wear, also as per the IFD GFK (2013) the Irish market segment is as follows Site: http://www.retailexcellence.ie/images/uploads/downloads/REI_Retail_Industry_Productivity_Review_Q3_Template_FINAL.pdf However ambiguity is perhaps the major roadblock facing by the Ireland apparel industry in after the economic recession. The monetary situation in Europe is influenced by the rising manufacture costs and flat garment prices, and less product innovation are the causes of the decline in this industry. 2.1 Consumer behaviour Donal Rogan (2007) explains the relationship between consumer behaviour and marketing strategy. He states that strategy is about increasing the probability and frequency of buyer behaviour. Requirements for succeeding in doing this are to know the customer and understand the consumers needs and wants. Chisnall (1995) points out that human needs and motives are inextricably linked and that the relationship between them is so very close that it becomes difficult to identify the precise difference which may characterize them. People may buy new coats because it protects them against the weather, but their real underlying dominant need may be to follow the latest fashion trend. Buyers characteristics are important theories from Kotler and Armstrong (2007) and it explains the way that the consumer interprets and receives stimuli from advertisements. The decisions of consumers are influenced by a number of individual characteristics that are linked to the consumers specific needs (Kotler Armstrong, 2007). 2.2 Consumer characteristics Consumer characteristics are explained by: Cultural characteristics, Social characteristics, Personal characteristics, and Psychological Characteristics. The marketer, in order to identify the consumer and to be able to decide on the strategy to what kind of consumer to target, identifies these characteristics. Hence, these characteristics are used in order to segment the market and target specific consumer groups. 2.3 Cultural Characteristics The Cultural Characteristics are recognized as the main influencer of consumer behavior. Three features underpinning consumer behavior develop these characteristics: Culture, Subculture, and Social Class. The psychological processes are heavily involved in consumers behavior. They affect through recognizing needs, finding ways to understanding these needs, making purchase decisions of buying a product or not, if so, which brand and where, construe information, make strategies and implementing them by engaging in comparison shopping or in fact purchasing a product (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Sources of Influence on the Consumer: The cultural influences are often been taken for granted as they are always important. An American will generally not bargain with a store owner but on the other hand this is a common carry out in much of the world (Graves, 2010). Our behavior also gets persuaded by physical factors. We are much expected to buy a soft drink when we are thirsty, for example, and food manufacturers have found that it is more useful to advertise their product when people are getting hungry i.e at the late afternoon. A persons  self-image  will also be likely to influence what he or she will buy as to project an image of success an upwardly manager may buy a ostentatious car (Albanese, 2003). Social factors often lie behind the consumers buying preferences, and buyers look up to strong psychological signs to relate their choice with. It makes a huge impact if their choice is backed by a strong famous personality. The difference in cultures plays an important role. The habitants of western countries s uch as American prefer to have ham, egg, toast, coffee etc. in their breakfast unlike some Asian countries where they have homemade bread with tea or rice with curry as breakfast. The differences in subculture follow with difference in choices of music, movies etc (Albanese, 2003). The marketing experts work as the preferences of the target area consumers. Consumer Preference The Choice and Decision Making: There are numerous factors involved in consumer decision making Problem identification The realization of the need of something makes us think of looking at the options. If the old cloths has been troubling lately, automatically the thought of replacement comes into mind Information Search we may look for the alternatives to solve the problem. It may be resolved through buying of a new vehicle e.g. car, motorbike or may be a used car. We might also think of public transport as alternative. A skateboard may be rode to the work every day. Evaluation of alternatives Public transport cannot be relied upon in case of strike etc. Skateboard will be of no use on a rainy day. Purchase The purchase ends a consumer cycle with finally making up the mind and completing the transaction. It may be subdivided into two more stages of post-purchase and testing before the final decision is made depending on satisfaction and trial check. (Mazzocchi, 1999). Understanding the vital motivational factors is very important to understand the logic of the buying behavior. The customer gives a certain level of importance to everything he needs in life. A car or home is the type of substantial objects in the category of most expensive and most desired and planned purchases. But similarly an acme medication can have, logically, a very substantial level of importance attached to it as well. Such important purchases play a very significant part in establishing a persons self esteem (Mazzocchi, 1999). The advertisements are designed to satisfy this self esteem of a buyer and give it a boom. The adverts need to show the positive and psychologically desired end result which a product is expected to fulfill. Searching options and Making Decisions: The subconscious plays a very important part in searching the stored information i.e. in the mind of the buyer. He may consult a directory or decide from any of the experienced products from his memory. E.g. while making decision about dining out, the customer might not search the yellow pages but just decide on one from his memory, either recommended by a friend or a previous experience (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Similar case will happen in case he wants to buy a car. He will consult every one, he thinks, has a valued opinion about the options. The reviews will be analyzed, dealerships will be visited, familys choice will be considered and then finally the purchase will happen. Firms may invest keeping in mind the consumers selection process. The objects which are highly likely to be selected through external search will be promoted through related means such as brochures, news coverage, websites etc. (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). Some of the decisions are made with the help of compensatory and non-compensatorystrategy of buying. This involves trading off of some attributes of the product with the others. (Cohen, 1981). E.g. A car may boast of having a very low mileage and attractive price but slow acceleration. The decision will be made on the basis of use of the car. In a metropolitan city, slow acceleration might be ignored as the speed limits do not slow to accelerate above a specific limit. Similarly a cloth item may be rejected on the basis of its composition of materials no matter how best it fits and falls completely within budget. Some no-compromise situations might change consumer buying behavior abruptly (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). Reasons behind Consumer Decision Making Process: In order to search a information and make a decision for the consumers to buy a product it depend on no of factors such as the (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006) Market: It involves the competition within an industry. It deals with the competing products from different brand labels, their characteristics such as packaging, price etc. Product uniqueness: How much the consumer is interested in analyzing the attributes of any particular product before making the purchase? Some other interesting factors affecting the buying decisions are hunt for variety and impulse buyers. The variety seekers are customers who are always ready to try a new version of the old product. These form an interesting group and smart marketing tactics can pursue them to buy slightly modified version of the old product even if it is not needed (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). The impulse buyers are very unpredictable group. They might leave home to buy vegetable but only decide to buy which one when they reach the store. A sub category of these will buy any product available, for future use, which they think will not become available for a long time (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). Some purchases are made only when customers reach inside the store and remember buying any product they had forgotten to put on the list (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). Consumers choice: Consumes sometimes feel motivated. While buying a gift for a friend or relative might motivate them to have one of the products for themselves. A significant percentage of consumers believe in price comparisons and visit various shops finding for the best priced products. The other type is the convenience lovers who do not mind paying a little extra for getting it closer to their house or where they want it from. The impact of personality shall also be considered as some of the customers prefer variety over repetition and some prefer excitement and simulation in visiting new stores (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Another influential factor is perception. Discussions, reviews and experiences of people around the buyer tend to develop a certain perception about some products. When he goes to buy for himself, the perception factor certainly counts. The products perceived as good will automatically be considered first before the ones thought as not up to the mark (Susan Baker, 2003). The learning and experience plays a vital role in changing perceptions. The values hel by people also count. E.g. some people only buy recyclable products, some prefer vegetarian stuff. Some ask for products from specific countries only etc. (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Familys life cycle: Every individual and family goes through a life-cycle.   Ã‚  http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/Simple_FLC.png [Source: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/] Just to discuss, a couple may be living together as husband and wife or just lovers. (Jobber , 2006 ). In the real life, the situation might evolve into further developments such as divorces etc. resulting in singlehood. In this case more scenarios come forwards. http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/FLC_Changes.png [Source: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/] Single parenthood may be a result of a divorce or a death of one parent. These situations further evolve into big contributors of financial situation of a family. The custodian or guardian might come under extra financial pressure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/FLC_Changes2.png Family decision making: Above discussed factors are just a few of numerous scenarios which the families might face during the course of life. Apart from other affected elements of ones life, from marketing point of view, the decision making of a family is the one which affected as well. While making the buying decisions of the family, the entire family members point of view is taken in consideration. These individuals hold the power of decision which forms the buying behavior of the family. (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Whether to buy; Which product to buy (pick-up or passenger car?); Which brand to buy; Where to buy it; and When to buy. Note, however, that the job of the decision maker is separate from that of the  purchaser. The marketers may find it difficult to impress both at the same time. The promotional tactics for targeting the purchaser at the point-of-purchase (POP) are easier to achieve results then influencing the decision maker (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Family set-up: One important factor in decision making difficulties attached with different kind of family setup. The family unit having enough cash flow might not find it difficult to meet the diverse requirements and choices of different family members but familys with financial pressures and budgeted shopping routines find it very difficult, especially families with children (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). There is no realistic way to resolve issues related to differences. One family member might consider it worthwhile spending on a family vacation and the other might find it productive to buy computers for children (Mazzocchi, 1999). In this kind of situation, no one is wrong; it is jut conflict of opinion. These kinds of situations become even more complicated by the involvement of either children or relatives. Bargaining and convincing: Family members tend to opt for different tactics when trying to get their way at the time of purchase. Some of them go for the bargaining option. They try to bargain getting something on condition of someone else getting something for him. E.g. a wife may say that she will buy a new pick-up truck if her husband is ready to complete a gourmet cooking course. Similarly a child will make an unrealistic promise of walking it daily if he is provided with a pet hippopotamus. The elements of human psychology are important to know here. All these tactics might be used for no ill will with others. Family members try to persuade others by talking convincingly and reasoning and wear down the oppositions point. There are many faces of manipulative strategies used (Albanese, 2003). Impression management is one of them. A husband might try to argue that bringing in a new TV home will help educate and help children learn but the real motive behind the contention might be watching sports programs. T he second way of getting things done may be use of authority. One member of the family might be the assertive one and his use of authority may be the final decision making point. Another way of convincing someone is use of emotion, involving crying, being angry etc. (Graves, 2010). The Means-End Chain:   The buyers often buy product not because their actual attributes but because what benefits these attributes provide and it eventually leads to the satisfaction or the decisive values. The purchase of plastic roses might be the result of factors as illustrated below: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/intro/Means-End_Chain.png [Source: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/] The most important factor which works in a means end chain is the strongest factor working in favor of the product is its most strong attribute. The decision then gradually goes forward toward the related series of attributes and the consequences attached with it. In the end, the required values are being satisfied and decision is made (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Similarly each means end chain has all these steps accumulated in it. The advertisers focus on the end result i.e. the use of flowers to pursue the customer to make the purchase. For example the act of giving the significant half a present of flowers, as portrayed in the advert, will convince the buyer more than just showing the flowers alone. 2.14 Approach and attitude:   Consumers attitudes have a very important role to play in the game of marketing. They are a combination of different factors playing their part such as beliefs, feelings and the behavioral intentions of a person towards the item. In the marketing context the item may be a product, brand, a store etc. These components are all interlinked, although independent, but their combined influence is the final impression a consumer responds to and makes the decision about making the purchase (Solomon and Bamossy, 2006). Belief in values:   One of the very important components for the means end chain is belief in the values. A buyer may hold some positive beliefs about any product, say tea tastes good, and similarly some negative beliefs as well such as tea stains when spills. Some beliefs have a neutral opinion about them such as teas color etc. Some of the beliefs depend on the circumstances such as tea is considered as good in cold weather and cold and flu (Susan Baker, 2003). Some beliefs that consumers hold might not be true in fact. E.g. people think that pork contain less fat than other form of meat which is not true. Influences and feelings:   Consumers tend hold certain established feelings towards products and brands. These feelings tend to change with the passage of time on the basis of their experiences. E.g. a person can feel revolted by thinking about a very greasy and extra fat hamburger he might have had somewhere. Some feelings, however, are independent of the influences. For example an environmentalist might be against cutting off of trees for saving the world campaign but at the same time he might not object to cutting off of Christmas trees as she might unconsciously attach the feeling with the childhood Christmases he had spent decorating the trees (Susan Baker, 2003). CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Any research involves a number of options which needs to be visualized for achievement of the scope and focus of study. It is also needed for achieving the desired and relevant results. There are various options available to a researcher for selection of the research approach. The author has selected the following research model for availing the options and chooses the most reasonable option for the research approach. The model is known as Research Onion which is shown below in Figure 1.1. Sampling Secondary Data Observation Questionnaires Longitudinal Cross sectional Literature review Grounded theory Survey Inductive Deductive Realism Research philosophy Research Approaches Research strategies Time horizons Data collection methods Positivism Interpretivism Figure 1.1 The Research Process Onion Source: Saunders, et. al., (2003) The research would look into providing a brief on the layers of the research process so as to provide a better understanding for choosing the rational in a particular research. As per Saunders, et. al., (2003), research is a mix of positivism, interpretive and realism research philosophy. According to Remenyi et. al. (1998), if one prefers working with an observable social reality and that the end product of such research can be law-like generalisations similar to those produced by the physical or natural scientists, than positivism research philosophy should be the right one to follow. According to Chisnall, 2003 the above philosophy may not be entirely applicable to all business circle due to the complexity involved and due to the reason that everything cannot be placed under one umbrella. So this advocated towards interpretive research philosophy, who believes that rich insights into the complex world of business and management are lost if its complexity is reduced entirely to a s eries of law-like generalisations. (Saunders, et. al., 2003) According to Saunders, et. al., 2003, realism research philosophy should be also mentioned, due to the fact that it is based on the belief that a reality exists that is independent of human thoughts and believes (Saunders, et. al., 2003). For this research the discussion involves the customer perception so the researcher would select the realism research philosophy during the course of research (Chisnall, P., 2003; Saunders, et. al., 2003). So from the above reflections upon the philosophies of research, the researcher concluded on research to be mainly based on interpretivism research philosophy along with some further respect to be paid to the realism research philosophy. The framed questionnaire helps to identify customer different behaviour towards the purchasing decision of the Garment Brand in the Ireland. The major areas to explore consumer behaviour are following below. Brand: As the clothing not only now the necessities goods and become the fashion statement therefore brand is very important to measure the consumer behaviour for the garment shoppers. Family: As per the research most of the IRISH customer tends to take the advice from the family or close group people before they tend to purchase any cloth therefore it is important to mention these factors. Product uniqueness: Unique attributes which push the customer to choose the different clothing brand. Bargaining and convincing: Customer tries to bargain getting something on condition of someone else getting something Belief in values/ Influences and feelings: How brand try to influence the purchasing behavior of the customer (*through advertisement, promotion, store ambience etc) Research Question Prime objective of this paper to establish relationship amongst the customer behaviour and the attributes which influence the behaviour most for the IRISH customer such as the family, brand, uniqueness etc; therefore it is important to set the hypothesis to judge the outcome of the primary research. Brand influence the customer decision making most Family is the most important factor to influence the consumer purchasing decision Customer tends to bargain with the brand. Customer behaviour can be influenced by the advertisement, store ambience, etc. Null HYPOTHESIS Brand influence will not influence the customer decision for the garment purchase. Family is not the only important factor which influence the customer behaviour. Research approach Survey design has been widely used and adopted by many academicians in the research field of Garment (Gardberg and Fombrun, 2002; Sabate and Puente, 2003; Lee, 2004 cited in Yeo and Youssef, 2010). Through the literature review, a theoretical framework from the works of Berry and Kimpakorn and Tocquer were analyzed. Administering written questionnaires have been widely used mainly due to fact that anonymity is permitted, thus resulting in more honest responses. Additionally, well designed questionnaires are also able to reduce biasness due to the creativity that may arise from phrasing these questions. Surveys are also common as they are adaptable, easily implemented and provide the researcher with an opportunity to gain insight because of the large amount of feedback collected. Notwithstanding, limitations to this form of research arise from low rate of response primarily due to the fact that questions could be misunderstood. Procedures for data collection and analysis Data Collection: As the research study consist both the qualitative and quantitative research hence both the primary as well secondary data will be collected in this study in order to make the research comprehensive and exploratory. The data collection methodology for each type of data is given below: Primary Data: The primary for this study will be collected in the second phase of the study where the Questionnaires will be conducted with the consumers of garment industry in Ireland, of all age group and income group to gain the in-depth view and study about the consumer behaviour towards the garment purchase. The primary data will be collected through research survey instrument. The survey instrument as the questionnaire will be structured as it will consist of both closed as well as open ended questions. The survey will target at least 100 respondents across the city. The data collection would require field work where the research would get the questionnaire filled from customers visiting the two garment store selected for this research which are North face and the Columbia sports in the areas in Dublin, Ireland Secondary Data: The secondary for this study will be collected for the accomplishment of the first phase of the study where the detailed analysis of several factors influences the consumer buying decisions in fast food Industry. The secondary data for this study will be procured from the various news articles, marketing journals, reports, web, and the various literatures available in the context of the research topic. Sample Size: Minimum 50 people from each outlet would be targeted so the sample population for this research would be 100 respondents. As per Bryman.A and Bell.E (2007) research sample is defined as choice of small group from a large population for running the primary research. The small group selected from the large population is known as sample. As per Bryman.A and Bell.E (2007), no research can cover the total population as it would be time consuming and some part of population may not be relevant for research. The sample selected for this research is 100 respondents and the age group of these people would be 12-55 years. Evaluation of approach and analysis Data analysis would be analyzed through the statistical system i.e. SPSS. Using correlation analysis, customers in this Irish garment in industry would be analyzed to determine whether a customer behaviour and factor such as brand, family from the different garment brand correlated to each other. Ethics In this research all the first hand information only used for academic purpose. And I will focus on the authentic research where proper refreshing can been done. Limitation First limitation of study is to cover only Dublin as city for the study also it has only cover the sample size of 100 people out of the entire universe. Assumption Biggest assumption for this study is to have self believe on the response that we collect from the customer which always hold true without any further validation. CONCLUSION So to conclude this research would be based on quantitative method. A mix of primary and secondary data will be used for collecting data. Questionnaire method would be the tool of collecting data along with secondary data like journals, past research, books and internet. Chapter 4: Research Plan TIME FRAME Months Mar Apr May Weeks 2nd Week 4th Week 1st week 3rd week 4th week 1st week 2nd week 3rd week Problems defining Review of Literature Research Designing Method Defining Data Sources Collection of Data Data Analysis Framing the Conclusion of the research Writing Draft Editing Final Printing and Binding BIBLIOGRAPHY Alvarez, B. A Casielles, R. V. (2005). Consumer e valuations of