You have been appointed as the marketing director of a service organization. The managing director has asked you to explain the impact of consumer buying process and its applications to a marketer.

Introduction: What is Consumer Buying Behavior?

Consumer buying behavior is mean that process by individuals search for, select, purchase, use, and dispose of goods and services. [1] Marketer need to understand and find out consumer behavior, such as why consumers make the purchases that they make? And what factors influence consumer purchases? [2] Consumer buying behavior refers to final decided buying of customer.

Impact of Consumer Buying Process and its Application to a Marketer

To analyze buying behavior because buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on firms success and to apply marketing mix for the firm in order to satisfies customers needs and wants [3] . Therefore, need to analyze about what, where, when and how customers buy [4] .

As I the marketing director of service organization, I would like to explain about the impact of consumer buying process and its applications to a marketer. Impacts of consumer buying process have external and internal influence. A consumer making a purchase decision will be affected by external and internal factors. [5] 

External factors are that the influences come from outside that can be family, friends, or outside environment. External factors have demographics, marketing activities, reference group, and social status. Firstly, demographics are characteristic or variables of population, such as age, religion, status, gender, income, education, and so on. [6] Demographics can influences customer buying process because different people different interest.

For example, teenagers and elder taste are totally different, because they age are different. The things they like are different. Different age, gender, income, education have different products are they like. As a marketer should to analyze the product is suit which type of consumer, and sell to them.

Marketing activities are promotion, on sales, advertising or function. This can to attract customer and effect their purchase decision. Because people are always influenced by the marketing activities, such as one person is do not like sunsilk hair shampoo, but have a 100 people to tell the person, sunsilk is a good brand. The person will try once. And the marketing activities can to effect the customers because customers are like to buy the things are on sales. It will attract them come for buying, and lack of interest customers also will influence by the customers.

For example, a brand of shampoo is on sales, people who are not urgent to use might will buy because on sales. The shampoo will cheaper than normally days. Customers are always influence by the psychological price, such as RM19.90, actually is RM20 but they will feel that cheap. Sometimes, customers bought the product might not urgent for use or do not have intended to buy but they are still buying, it just caused by marketing activities. Such as, ‘marks and Spencer’ is using rebate for attract customers consumptions, using platinum cards have to rebate 10%.

Reference group is people whose attitudes, behavior, beliefs, opinion, and values are follow by someone, and the people would be a reference for a public as an example, that can be a movie star, prime minister, richer, and so on. Firms are known customers are likely to follow someone are famous on the worlds as a reference. That is why companies are like to find actor or actress for represent the company.

For example, company are using member card, golden card, and star movie or even using internet to grouping customers. Such as, a fashionable person who is actor says ‘Salvatore Ferragamo’ is a best brand in this world. The sales of ‘Salvatore Ferragamo’ will be raise because the customers who are like the actor will listen to him that is a best brand. Customers would like to try the brand.

Social status is the person purchase based on their status on the social. That is why in the market have various products, different product to satisfy different social status people. Different products have appearance different statuses are there. Such as, richer is wearing ‘Rolex’ watch, a poor guy is wearing ‘Casio’. When people who across through the people who are wearing ‘Rolex’, there are already know the person is richer.

For example, as can see in everywhere, it might can to see the different between a manager and a clerk. Manager is using a ‘Gucci’ beg, ‘Rolex’ watch, and to drive BMW, whereas, a clerk is using some beg is not brand, wear a Casio watch, and only take bus for working. When people look at the manager, people are aware the fellow is manager.

Internal factors are other factors to influence customer buying process, and that influences come from the inner side, the factors are not influenced by people and environment that is influenced by your own, there are included personality, memory, learning, and perception.

Personality is a characteristic of people, everyone has their own characteristics. Personality has two kinds, there are inner and external, inner is about a people inner feeling, external is about a person outlook, and appearance. For a person in external can be elegance, rock, or punk that is about a people outlook, and inner personality is the feeling of the people, such as to buy a luxury, low quality, or not quality that is a person inner feeling.

For example, a people who are like a luxury product, and spent money that is customer’s personality. Some people are not willing to buy a product is very expensive, they are willing to consumptions a low quality product caused by lower price. Need to understand what product the company is doing and to target the segmentation. If the product is a high quality, do not try to target low segmentation.

Memory is someone has try before, already have experience to use or consume. Customers are aware this is a good brand by them. In customer experience, they have to use or consume it before and to give a good impress to them. Memory is very straight ways to influence a customer buys a product or not, because in memory the product is exist before.

For example, customers are consumption about the product that no one to recommend them, is they are known the product is a good product because in they experience, they have used and consumed before and they are like this product. As a marketer need not worry about the sale because customers are the product is good enough.

Learning is customers are known the information and knowledge. Customers are already having the knowledge about the product. They need not the company to tell them what is good and bad. Nowadays, customers are very smart enough because they have educated. They can to distinguish what is cheating them.

For example, coca-cola, in customer mind coca-cola is an unhealthy soft drink but it is a good enough soft drink if have to consume right way. Such as, drink a can of coca-cola is help a people to recover energy, but it is unhealthy if absorb too much coca-cola. So, the product must to have the label on the product in order to give customer to understand the product.

Perception is the first feeling to the product. The impress of the product can to influence a customer to buying process. The image of the product is directly to influence the product and company image. The product is unhealthy, unknown, damages social and so on that will spoilt the product image, and influence customers do not buy a product from the company.

For example, body shop has a good image for the product and company. The company is trying to give a good image to a customer because the company is environment protection. The company using all the method did not to injured animals. Marketer is tried to give a health and good image shaped in customers mind. On the body shop product there have mention that is plant oil and not damages animals.

In conclusion, a marketer should use the external and internal factors to understand how customers are influenced by and to apply a suit strategy to target the customers. To discovering customer problems, responding to customer problem, helping consumers recognize problem, and suppressing problem recognition.

QUESTION 2

Choose a service based company and justify the types of marketing communication they use to attract customers.

Introduction: Olympia College

Olympia College is an education service. Olympia College is under Raffles Education Group. It was founded by late Mr. Winston Pereira, nephew of Elias Pereira, founder of Stamford group. In the year 1992, Stamford Group became a public listed company in Malaysia, and in the year 1995, the first Olympia College was campus in Kuala Lumpur [7] . After 5 years, it was extended to Petaling Jaya, Penang, Johor Bharu, Kuantan, and Ipoh [8] .

Types of Marketing Communication

According to business dictionary, marketing communication is coordinated promotional messages delivered through one or more channels, such as print, radio, television, direct marketing, and indirect marketing [9] . Every company should have marketing communications to attract customers, marketing communications are very important for a company. For Olympia College has to using some of marketing communication to attract customer.

Olympia College is using road show, direct marketing, promotion, indirect marketing, and canvassing to attract customer. Road show is a series of presentations and to meeting up potential customers, investors, and brokers [10] . Road show is to drum up interest in the issues among potential investors, customers, and brokers [11] . For Olympia College willing to do road show because road show is drum up all potential customers and investors. Road show is something like fair.

For example, every year Olympia College has goes to Jusco, secondary school (figure 1.1), hotel, and stadium to attract customers and investors to join them. In the fair, college has using brochures (figure 1.2) to explain for the customers and investor. Road show is very easily to attract customers or investors to join college, college’s staff have to explain and presentation for the customers or investors with the brochures. In road show, there are drum up potential customers and investors.

Direct marketing is direct to contract and influence the customers or investors, such as agent, receptionist, and counselors. For Olympia College has their own direct marketing to attract customer, there are position of counselors and agent. Those are direct to contract customer, such as face to face, E-mail, or telephone.

In Olympia College Position of counselors and agents are doing direct meet up customers and investors to join them. Counselors are to explain the courses for the customer in order to they are clear to know what the college have provide and have benefit for them.

For example, counselors need to go for road show to explaining courses to the student. They have a series of presentation for make the customers understand the course. Explain what course, certificate, exam, fees, and assignments and to call out or contract the investors or other branches for meeting.

Promotion is advancement of a product, idea, or point of view through publicity or advertising [12] . Promotion is very effective and efficient for promote the college and attract customers, such as billboard, banner, and advertising. Olympia College has to do promotion for the student also, such as discount.

Billboard is the advertising on board to publicity beside the road or highway that is to promote the college and it can to make customers aware. Customers can to aware the college in everywhere cause by the billboard. Billboard is a such good promote a college or other business because in can have to everywhere.

Banner is to attract and aware customers, it is hanging out the company or everywhere. For Olympia College is hanging it out on the building, as every go through the college and they can know what the college is. It can let customers aware the building is doing what business because they are across through the college, they will know what the building is.

Advertising is a best way and method to promote and attract customer to aware company or business. Normally, advertising is using television, radio, newspaper, publishing, and so on. Advertising also to announcing what are the company doing, and to let the customers concentrate company news and what they are come out new product and service. For Olympia College is using newspaper to attract customers. Olympia College advertising on the newspaper for promote what they are did for the social, company and student.

For example, Olympia College has doing billboard, banner, and advertising to make customer aware the college. Those things can to helping college been aware by customer. Promotion is very important for a company and promotion can help a company increase the sales and awareness.

Indirect marketing is indirect to contract and influence customers and investors, such as website, premium, public related, and social relation. College is using these indirect to attract customers and investors also. It would such as good method to widely customers range.

Website is a very widely, in internet nothing is impossible. Website can create their own college website for attract customer, such as College is using facebook and their own link. In facebook, there have create some of contest to attract student to participate and there are posted event to publicity for announce to customers and investor what they are doing.

Premium is to give a gift to attract customer to consumption. Many companies are to give customers rebate 5-10% to attract customers and some will to charge 0% for using certain credit cards to purchases. For Olympia College has to give a welcome gift for the student and students who are correspond the term and condition, they might can get the scholarship.

Public relation is to transfer the message from one to another one. They can get the message or news from another people. Every company must have public relation to announce what the companies have done and to satisfy customers need. In Olympia College, student and student’s parents will spread out the message or news from college. They are the one to publicity messages or news immediately.

Social relation is company to publicity to public what they are doing in the business. Olympia College has to doing it on newspaper. In the college, they have to post the newspaper or memo to announce what they are and suppose to do. It can to attract the customers know and understand the college.

For example, Olympia College in indirect marketing is doing website, premium, public relation, and social relation. Those are the way to attract customer, it was very useful to the college. Normally, college only can to use face to face, or call out to attract customers but they are trying to using website to attract more customers through internet.

Canvassing is to go out for canvases customers and investors aware the company and business. Some of companies are to give flyer to customer, and let themselves to understand the business through the flyer. Some are the way such to put the flyer on the car, or in the market to give people.

For example, for Olympia College they will to canvassing the new customers from the Jusco, and everywhere, they are using a flyer to canvassing. It can to attract customers, they will explain to people who are interested in college.

In conclusion, Olympia College using various type of marketing communications to attract customer, there are road show, direct marketing, promotion, indirect marketing, and canvassing. Those are effective and efficient to attract customers. Marketing communications are very important for a company and it can to bring a good enough image, sales, and awareness for company.