Customers - needs and wants (marketing)

Question 1

What does marketing aim to do?

Answer 1

Marketing aims to raise customer awareness of their products. The level to which they try and meet the needs of customers will depend on whether the business is market led or product led.

Question 2

Definitions of market led.

Answer 2

• The business develops a product based on customers wants.
• high levels of market research carried out to determine customers wants.
• Market-led businesses often exist in highly competitive markets.
• The marketing mix will be responsive to changes in external factors and consumer behaviour.

Question 3

Definitions of product led.

Answer 3

• The business produces products that it believes customer will want and tries to convince them to buy them.
• Market research is not seen as important. There are, however, high levels of product research and development.
• New technologies, with little to no competition, are often product led.
• Often the products is unresponsive to changing external factors.

Question 4

What is consumer behaviour?

Answer 4

Consumer behaviour is the thoughts consumers have and the actions they take when purchasing products.

In order to satisfy consumers’ needs and wants, the market-led business need to understand why, what, how and where consumers buy products.

Question 5

Consumer behaviour - why do consumers buy products?

Answer 5

Description:
- Need/want, social status, gift for someone else?

Impact on market-led business:
- Businesses need to understand the different motivations customers have and offer products accordingly. This is linked to Maslow’s hierarchy, i.e some purchases are for basic needs e.g food, others are for self-actualisation needs e.g a Rolex watch.

Question 6

Consumer behaviour - what types of purchases do consumers make?

Answer 6

Description:
- Routine/habitual buying e.g food, fuel.
- Impulse buying just because it caught their eye.
- Informed purchase, e.g a new car.

Impact on market-led businesses:
- Marketing has to raise awareness of products. Promotion methods, such as sales promotions or advertising, can influence routine purchases. Point of sale merchandising materials, for example displays, can influence impulse buying. Informed purchases require information to be readily available, such as digital brochures, a live chat function on a website or links to review articles and videos.

Question 7

Consumer behaviour - how do consumers purchase products?

Answer 7

Description:
- Do consumers pay with
-cash/debit card -credit card -store credit etc.?

Impact on market-led businesses:
- A business needs to be responsive to changes in how consumers wish to purchase products, for example the move to a cashless society and the introduction of contactless card payments is a result of the need for convenience due to a lifestyle change.

Question 8

Consumer behaviour - where do consumers purchase products?

Answer 8

Description:
- Retail outlets?
- E-commerce?
- Catalogues?

Impact on market-led businesses:
- Businesses need to adapt and sell products in ways that are responsive to changes in consumer behaviour. There has been a massive growth in e-commerce, again due to the need for convenience.