Behavioral Loyalty and Brand Associations †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Behavioral Loyalty and Brand Associations. Answer: Introduction: One of the most crucial aspects of marketing is to understand the behaviour of the consumers. Consumer behaviour is the learning of the behaviour patterns of the people in the market (East, 2016). It is the study to know how they make decisions to buy a particular goods and services to satisfy their wants and needs. In this report, we will discuss the concept of consumer behaviour through analysing my own personal purchasing pattern in the market. The report aims in developing an understanding of the key principles for buying a product by applying my own thoughts or actions as a consumer (Terpstra, Foley Sarathy, 2012). I will provide detail information about the process of purchasing three high involvement items, which are as car, furniture and diamond jewellery set. The items selected are of high involvement as it involves complex buying behaviour and is generally an irregular purchase. High involvement products are those products that require extensive thought process and consume rs considers of choosing different variables before ultimately arriving to a final purchase decision (Jobber Chadwick, 2012). The report will include pre- purchase search, need recognition and post- purchase evaluation of my chosen products. This report will further elaborate on the analysis of external and internal influences that is affecting my decision as a consumer to buy a product. Need recognition for the product is the very first stage for purchasing a product. While purchasing a car, I went through a lot of thought process before making the final decision. As the distance was too much between my campus and the part- time job, which I recently took during summer. I recognised the need for a car for my comfort and safety and save my time. My actual state was commuting through public transport, which took a lot of time. Henceforth, my overall performance was being affected that is when I got aware of the problem and desired to purchase a car. This perception of difference between the actual state and desired state triggers the need recognition decision. To satisfy my needs I had to purchase a car. This was not one of my ritual purchase but for the very first time I was purchasing a car. It was about purchasing a new car that would cost a fortune so the decision making process was complex and required a lot of effort. Pre-purchase search or Information Search It required high involvement of my time for searching the information as well as I involved my peers and family to help me out before purchasing the car. I searched the internet and browse respective company websites for fuel-efficient and less maintenance car with a good after sales services. My friends further helped me in giving reviews about different brand and the cars with the best mileage. Therefore, while purchasing it not only I, as a consumer was involved but also included the public reviews about the car as well as its brand name. Furthermore, I also went to the nearby automobiles showrooms and did test drives. Once enough information is collected, I moved on to the evaluation of alternative solution. Based on the various parameters like the price of the car, its brand name, model and size with more internal space, performance, safety ratings and warranty the evaluation process is to be done. The purchase price was the first factor that I took into consideration while purchasing a car. In addition, the non- monetary variables like the quality and reliability was important. The socio- economic attributes also plays an important role as the product is going to reflect the personality and social class of the consumer (Solomon, 2014). I wanted a sports car with high mileage and low fuel consumption cost. The age and gender also plays an important role in choosing the car type choice. After evaluating all the alternatives, I finally decided to purchase a sports car with high mileage, as it would go with my personality. After the information search and evolution of various alternatives, finally comes the stage of purchase. The actual purchase decision-making process is the vital and more complex (Romaniuk Nenycz-Thiel, 2013). I really wanted a car for my convenience but the decision was still pending whether to go for purchasing a luxury car or not. I always imagined my first car to be a red sports car and above all to purchase it from my own money. Purchase decision was strongly affected by the attitudes of my friends and family. I am closely related to them and their opinion matters the most and had greatly influenced my purchase decision. I finally purchased a sports car as it was matching my personality and lifestyle and my social status. Moreover, the purchase intentions can further be influenced by some unexpected situational factors.r The final stage is the post- purchase evaluation where the consumer evaluates the good and service they have purchased (Alvesson, 2012). I was satisfied with my red sports car and it was as par to my expectation with all the qualities I always desired to be in my car. The car is supported with high mileage engine and has low maintenance cost. No, i did not suffer from any post-purchase dissonance as the product highly satisfied my demand. The company was involved in post- purchase phase like the one providing warranty, after sales services and payment was to be done in several instalments. It further influences my decision to purchase the products. I was strongly influenced by the facilities provided by the company and it increased my brand loyalty towards the car. The company should know the post-purchase consumer behaviour also because if the product fails to fulfil the buyers expectations, it will negatively affect the sales of the company in future. Need Recognition for Buying Diamond Jewellery: Usually, the first step to make a buying decision is the need recognition for the product (Jobber Chadwick, 2012). It was my mother birthday and the desire to please her by giving her something special was like an internal stimuli. After seeing a diamond jewellery advertisement, the urge to buy it became more prominent and I made the decision to gift my mother a diamond pendent set on her birth anniversary. Last year, I gifted a ring so this year I decided to make it big by giving her jewellery set. The next vital process was the information search for buying the jewellery. I searched for the information from various jewellery brochure and magazines. I bowsed the websites of different jewellery stores and found information on different types of jewellery and their designs. As it was a surprise for my mother, i did not disclose it in my family but recommendation from my friends helped me in choosing the best brand for diamonds. Jewelleries are the speciality products and the price is quiet high especially of diamonds (Giovannini Thomas, 2015). I used to evaluate the diamonds from their colour, clearness and reliability. I excluded the local stores, as I did not trust their brand value. I started evaluating the alternatives whether to buy it from the internet or from the same old trusted store, where I purchased last year. Finally, after the evaluation process, I decided to purchase the diamond jewellery from the branded store recommended by my friend. Recently he purchased a pendent from the same jewellery store and the design was marvellous. Moreover, the sales person was cordial and displayed the best designs present in the outlet. I purchased the best jewellery set for my mother from the selected branded store. After purchasing the jewellery set, I suffered from post- purchasing cognitive dissonance, as I was unsatisfied with my purchase. Cognitive dissonance is a major issue after purchasing a product (Sharma, 2014). After few days of purchase, I found out that the few diamonds studded in the lower part of the jewellery set was missing. I was greatly disappointed and suffered from anxiety, as my mother`s birthday was approaching near. The next day I went with my friend to the branded store and told them to look into the matter as soon as possible or else returns back my money. The company at once took action to correct their negligence and gave me the option for exchange policy of the jewellery set chosen. With no other choice left I opted for the exchange policy but I was greatly affected by their carelessness and the company has now created a negative brand image and thus as a consumer it has affected my loyalty towards the company. Problem or Need Recognition: I decided to redesign my home and the old furniture was looking quiet boring and worn out in the living room so I decided to purchase a new furniture that would enhance the beauty of my home as well uplift my style of living. My actual state was using the old worn- out furniture while my desired state was to use latest designed furniture present in the market that would raise my standard. Buying furniture was a high involvement decision. Before buying furniture, I had to look for the best match that would go with my living room and the wallpaper colour. I wanted the best sofa quality with my budget. The selection procedure was time-consuming and very confusing. I did online research and browse several home furnishing sites. The information was gathered on warranty, payment terms and after- sale services. I also collected information from relatives and friends. Advertisement in magazines and television also helped me in choosing the latest design of furniture. After gathering enough information, I entered the third stage of buying decision process that is evaluation. While evaluating the different alternatives, i decided to choose for a product that would enable to meet my needs. The price and quality of the furniture was the most important criteria for me while selecting through the alternatives. The fabric of the sofa set and the comfort it provided was also a major attribute, as most of my valuable time with my friends and family are going to be spent in my living room. Purchase Decision for Furniture: Purchase is the stage, when the consumer finally decides to purchase the product (Solomon, 2014). I finally purchased my furniture through an online website. The furniture was well designed with a modern and comfortable look and the purchasing conditions were acceptable to me so I purchased the furniture. The furniture matched my living room ambience and my personality. The last and fifth stage is the evaluating the product after its purchase (Sheth Sisodia, 2015). I was greatly satisfied with my purchase, though it required a lot of my time and effort but it in the end it was worth it. The furniture besides being comfortable enough was also enhancing the beauty of my home. I did not suffer from any cognitive dissonance after purchasing the furniture. In fact, my family and peers were also pleased with my choice and purchasing decision. I am now positively loyal to the brand purchased. Internal influences are the factors that arises from consumer own way of thinking and lifestyle. Consumers own feelings, attitude, perception and motivation are responsible for influencing them. The internal influences are also known as the psychological influences. The consumer identifies the feelings, gathers and examines information, develop an idea and beliefs for the product and take some action to purchase the product (Cavalcanti, Oliveira Foxall, 2013). The factors that influence my buying decision are as follows: Personal Needs or Motives: The most important internal influence, which affects the consumer purchasing decision, is their own motives and personal needs (East, 2016). The need for a product generally arises when there is absence of something at present or the rising difference between his actual and desired state (Jobber Chadwick, 2012). Motive is the personal state of mind that encourages in satisfying the specific needs. Like, the need for car was to satisfy my own personal need and motive. Consumer buying behaviour is affected by the own personal attitudes (Schiffman, 2012). Attitude is related with the individual own feelings and thought about something. Once an attitude is created or formed by an individual, it becomes very difficult to change. High Involvement products affect the behaviour and attitude of the consumer. Purchasing car, jewellery set and furniture will influence my attitude by raising my status and living standards. Personality is a psychological characteristic that helps in both determining and reflecting a person reaction to their environment (Muruganantham Bhakat, 2013). While purchasing the car my personality is reflected, which is adventurous and sporting in nature and I always like red colour car because the colour matches my personality. Moreover, I like to go for branded products while choosing from the alternatives. It can also be seen that while choosing the furniture I had to select from different stylish designs to match my taste and preference. Learning is the permanent change in individual behaviour after gaining some experience related to the product (Jobber Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). It is a process, which evolves and changes the consumer buying behaviour due to the newly acquired knowledge (Davies, Lee Ahonkhai, 2012). Like during the purchasing of jewellery, I learnt about a new diamond jewellery store from my friend and purchased the jewellery set. Lifestyle of the consumer is also a crucial internal factor responsible while purchasing high involvement products (Zheng et al., 2015). The consumer living standard and way of thinking set a benchmark for the consumer to purchase the products that matches their standard of living. While purchasing car I ensured that the car should not only be purchased for my convenience but rather for raising my status also. Modern furniture was purchase so that it matches my lifestyle. Analysis of External Factors during Purchase: External factors are those factors that are outside our control and affect the purchasing decisions (Alvesson, 2012). They have a direct or indirect impact on our lifestyle, behaviour and attitude. Here are many external influences that we face in our day-to-day life that are stated as follows: Culture greatly influences the consumers buying behaviour, as they are the values and norms of the society in which they exist (Giovannini Thomas, 2015). It influences consumer behaviour and passed from one generation to another. Like in my case, giving gifts in my family is an age-old tradition, so I purchased jewellery set for my mother on her special day. As culture evolves, the product can be also change if it no longer serves the society. Changing the living room by replacing the furniture is also a part of culture and beliefs. Culture is learnt and helps in satisfying needs Social class is generally the people with whom we share an equal position in the society. Social class is known by different parameters like occupation, income, education of an Individual (Wind, Thomas Sheth, 2014). I belong to a high social class family so i have to consider my status before purchasing a car or giving gifts to my friends and family. Giving diamond jewellery as a gift to my mother would acknowledge my social status. Family is the crucial factor that strongly influences the behaviour of a consumer. It is the most important of the entire primary social group (Alvesson, 2012). The children learn the family customs and tradition and they further imbibe various behavioural patterns through their family members. I always wanted to purchase a sports car because my brother has one. The behaviour patterns of the family members make a great impact on each other lives. Friends or peers are the collection of those individuals that shares same interests, attitude and beliefs (Solomon, Russell-Bennett Previte, 2012). Peers highly influence the buying behaviour of a consumer while purchasing a product. My friends recommendation while purchasing the car, jewellery and furniture was always kept in mind. Moreover, I even purchased the jewellery set only after being recommended from my friend, who purchased it from the same branded store. Besides friends and family there also social groups that a consumer often hang- out with (Jobber Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). There group from games or gym also influences the buying pattern of an individual. While purchasing my car I took opinion from my group in gym also as few of them already have that high mileage sport car, which I was looking for and their suggestions too influenced me a lot before making the final purchase decision. Age and life cycle of the consumer are also two most factors influencing the purchasing pattern of the consumer (Lee et al., 2012). While purchasing the products I wanted the product that matches my personality, age and lifecycle. I purchased a red sport car because of me being young and adventurous with a sporting personality. Moreover, I chose modern furniture in a pastel shade as it matches my taste, suit my living room wallpaper, and enhance the vibrant ambience. Conclusion: Thus, from the above discussion it can be concluded that consumer behaviour is a broad concept as the consumer behaviour changes according to the purchase of different products and under different conditions. At first, the consumer recognizes its need and takes adequate action to satisfy the need. Then he makes a purchasing decision after gathering information about the product. Finally, after purchasing the customer evaluates the product that whether the product satisfies his want or not. While undergoing the above stated process, the consumer is influenced by several factors that are the internal and external factors. To explain the above theories I have given my own personal experience of purchasing high involvement products. 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