Describe The Cultural Factors That Affect Consumer Behavior (Essay Sample)

Consumer Behaviour
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1.0 Abstract.
Consumer behaviour is primarily the purchasing habits of the final consumer of a product. Several factors, features, specificities, preferences influence an individual personality and the consumer in their decision-making procedures, purchasing behaviours, shopping habits, retailers where they buy from or the brands they are used to. The decision to buy is the ultimate result of all the above factors influencing their choice. A person and a consumer are directed by their culture, social class, subculture, family, social groups, cognitive factors, and personality, etc. and they are influenced by emerging cultural practices together with the prevailing social and societal setting. Brands and companies should explore and establish the factors which affect the purchasing powers of their clients and devise marketing strategies. Advertisements should be directly tailored towards addressing the needs of their target customers, and this is a good technique of increasing sales while meeting their needs.
1.1 Introduction.
A consumer’s behaviour is mainly influenced by four major factors which may make them design brand and product preferences. These factors are political, cultural, psychological and social factors. Unfortunately, marketers may not have any control over most of these factors. However, it is critical for them to understand their results as this can offer a guideline for designing a marketing mix techniques that might be more attractive to the target market. This report seeks to explain the cultural factors that affect consumers’ buying behaviours.
2.0 Culture and cultural societies.
Culture is a central aspect of understanding the behaviours and desires of each and every individual in any given society. Culture is the way of life of any community and serves to explain what an individual needs and behaviours are (Solomon, & Michael, 2014). Each and every society, country or state has a different culture from the others and thus the impact of culture is also different among countries. Therefore, when analyzing the effects that they have on the buyer, marketers ought to be more careful not to make generalizations. Culture is not static but it’s dynamic and changes in a gradual manner, these changes are then adopted by the society, and they are slowly incorporated into their way of life. Culture is deeply rooted in the life a human being. From a marketer’s perspective, it is far much conducive to work in already existing cultures rather than trying to adjust them. The entire life of every person is influenced by their families, social groups, friends, cultural settings that ‘teaches’ them preferences, values, norms and what is acceptable in their culture. Brands must understand and take into consideration the native cultures in a society they are operating in so as to adjust their products and marketing tactics. These play a significant role in the behaviors, expectations, and perception of their target buyers. For instance, it is against the customs in Japan to invite acquaintances and relatives for drinks or parties at their residences. To them, this should be carried out in social settings like hotels, restaurants, and other public places. Contrary, in America and other countries of the west, it is a common practice to have a drinks and dinner with friends at their homes. It is also accepted and appreciated in Japan, that if a person acknowledges another with a gift, they are supposed to offer an equivalent of that in return to show appreciation. For example, if offered a macaroni gratin & croquettes in exchange they should give a Gurakoro.
2.1 Groups.
Culture has been defined as a compilation of values and beliefs that a majority of people in a group share. These social groupings are relatively massive most of the times, however, in the practice of theory, a culture can be composed and shared by relatively few individuals. Culture is transmitted from one generation group to the succeeding one (Tajfel, 2010). Culture is both arbitrary and subjective since it is acquired through learning. In the case of food, it is associated with culture. An example, in Bengal, fish is considered a delicacy and the inhabitants brag for having more than a hundred diverse fish varieties. On the other hand, in Rajasthan, Tamil Naru or Gujarat in India, fish is viewed as one of the worst food items to include in a diet. These divergences in tastes are elaborated more by culture and not the unpredictable taste differences amongst people; regularly, people coming from a similar cultural background share such behaviours.
2.2 Language.
It is an aspect of culture and influences a consumer’s decisions. Language plays a critical role such that even if people from multi-cultures use the same language, the difference will be based on the original culture of the individual. Indians from different parts such as Delhi, Mumbai or Bihar have noticeable differences in their choice of words and accents. Marketers should be able to communicate efficiently with their customers by using the necessary symbols to convey the appropriate product features or images. The symbols can take the form of verbal or non-verbal. In a study conducted in China, it was discovered that the Chinese speakers depend on the classifiers when evaluating the similarities between commodities, when determining suitable advertisement methods and when arranging mental representation of goods. The study demonstrated how the morphological properties of language can have a critical result on the way consumer view the products. Finally, the research on the Chinese proposed that having a good command of various languages including writing styles and grammatical structures can positively influence the decision made by the marketers’. It further indicated that in those countries which make use of classifiers, advertisers gain a lot since they just need to identify those classifiers which are related to their products and assimilate them into their advertisement campaigns (De Mooij, 2010).
2.3 Acculturation.
Acculturation is the process of acquiring a more advanced culture after an extended contact with it while leaving one’s original culture. It is imperative for marketers who sell their commodities through multinationals in foreign markets to understand this concept (Schwartz, et al., 2010). They should gain knowledge on their prospective markets to establish whether their products can be accepted by the cultures of the societies. If it is found that people can accommodate those commodities, they should then devise ways on how they are to advertise, persuade and convince people to purchase their products.
2.4 Education
Education is also a cultural factor influencing consumer behaviour. An individual who has gone through the formal school structure is considered educated and is expected by the society to portray the highest level of intellectual maturity. Educated people are also rational consumers and their decisions to buy any given commodity is based on satisfying a particular need and not just impulse. For instance, the chances that a wealthy but uneducated fellow will purchase a laptop are minimal.
3.0 Social classes
Social class is a stratification of people either homogenous or heterogeneous based on the ranking in a social hierarchy (Wing Chan, & Goldthorpe, 2007). The most popular and productive individuals occupy the highest class while the less fortunate are in, the lower classes. People in the same class demonstrate similar lifestyles, behaviors, values and interests regardless of the size or the complexity of the group. Each and every society in a social structure has different social classes, and this is essential for marketers to understand as individuals in the same group have similar purchasing abilities and behaviors (Durmaz, & Taşdemir, 2014). Here, they are supposed to direct marketing activities according to the various social classes. Research has established that the society’s perception of any supermarkets or brands bears a lot of influence on the buying decisions and conduct of consumers. Besides, a consumer might also change his behavior concerning their social class. Buyers from the upper class are more interested in outstanding features of a product, quality, innovation and the social impact that will be derived from the consumption of the product. On the contrary, a low-income earner from the lower class has more interests on the price and quantity of the commodity regardless of its quality, or any social benefit. Social class is usually regarded as an outward determinant of consumer behavior as it isn’t a function of knowledge and influence. It is not easy to define the concept social class, in fact, there have been people trying to dispute the presence of social classes in America. Normally, individuals fall into different categories on the basis of wealth, income, education level or occupation. Although various people have claimed that there are many classes in the social structure, the most convenient and direct approach of defining social classes is a three- tiered model. In this method, people are grouped into three main classes; the upper (rich), middle class and the lower class (poor). This report explores four categories of people and how they influence a consumer's decisions and buying behavior.
3.1 Lower class.
The apparent features of this class are unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Very few people in this class have finished their education, and they suffer from malnutrition, poor health care, inadequate housing and poor living conditions. Affording necessities s...