Anything that entails consumer beliefs concerning a particular brand of product and their actions towards the purchase of the brand is what is termed as buyer behavior. There are various factors that affect the behavior of buyers and they include: cultural patterns, price and nature of product and consumer income levels.
The simulation being analyzed on buyer behavior mainly addresses different cultural patterns on how different communities around the world style their hair. Based on consumer behavior study, culture can be defined as the values, customs and beliefs that direct and guides how consumers behave in the society.
Culture mainly constitutes of specific traditional values and ideas. They are actually habits that people acquire from the society they are living in. In the simulation being analyzed, we find that punk style of cutting hair was ramped among American Indians tribes in the past while the ancient Egyptians used to apply dye on their hair while others used to put on wigs made out of sheep’s wool or real hair. The human hair signified many things during the ancient period including: wealth, status and health.
These practices are still present in the modern world today whereby you find that some tribes for example ancient Polynesian tribes still perform rituals with the human hair. A boy will become of age after his hair has been cut down.
Several African tribes do value hairstyle as compared to grooming, tidying up and adornment. There are those who take hours making their hair while others will even take days and that shows how important their hair is to them. There are some cases in the modern world where hair has been used to create social statements.
There are many changes that have been experienced in consumer behavior. In the past, cow dung was used to set the human hair. However, this is not the case in today’s world whereby people do not use cow dung anymore instead they use gel to set their hair. The Buddhists monks do tonsure their heads while the Rastafarians wear dreadlocks in their heads.
On the other hand, many teenagers today do prefer to color their hair while others spike it to look more modern. In the past, the high priests of Aztecs used to keep their hair long without washing them despite the fact that they matted it with sacrificial blood which symbolized that they had savage power. However in the world of today, a person will be considered powerful if they have tidy and neat hair and that is why most people go to the salon.
After identifying the buyer behavior, marketers can easily know the strategy to use to sell their products. Buyer behavior will also enable them know which products to market to which type of people since it seems that every community has its own culture and believes especially when it comes to making the hair. Most people tend to develop the culture of where they are born in and it goes along with them to determine their behaviors, values, patterns and beliefs (Hawkins, David & Roger 2007).
This is why a marketer should take time to learn buyer behavior and why they behave that way before they decide to market the product. This is because there are some people who are loyal to their culture and nothing can change their mind about it. It is therefore the mandate of the marketer to find the right products that will suite the consumer’s needs at the right time. This is the only way that will enable them sell their products with ease after marketing them.
It actually explains why there are some products which will fail to sell in particular regions but do well in other regions. It is the culture that determines most buyers’ behavior for example the youths coloring their hair while others putting spikes. Marketers should therefore have in mind the importance of learning the culture of their target group.
Culture will not only affect the purchasing decision but also how the products will be used by the consumers. The way the consumers use the product will help the marketers know how to position their products in different ways in the market. It is the culture that will affect how the consumers will dispose the product.
External factors are outside influences that can cause an impact in a particular business. These external factors help the marketers to achieve their objectives and strategic goals (Hartman 2010). In the simulation analysis, some other additional external factors that should be considered are social factors, legal changes and economical factors.
Additional social and cultural factors that can be considered in the simulation scenario are national culture whereby you consider what is most common in the nation. A good example is the case where almost all teenagers in a nation have colored hair or majority of the people in a nation are Rastafarians for example in Jamaica.
The marketers should also put into consideration corporate culture whereby the people in particular line of occupation have specific values, myths, customs and rituals. A good example in the simulation scenario is the case of the Buddhist monks who have tonsure on their heads. The social factors that the marketers should put into consideration in this scenario are reference groups, status and role.
The cultural influence on the buying behavior usually varies from one nation to another hence marketers should take a keen look in analyzing cultures of various groups, countries or regions (Hawkins, David & Roger 2007).
The marketers should therefore account for the variations in different geographical regions by marketing different products that will meet the requirements of those people living in the region. They should therefore market wide variety of products. They should however look first into consumer behavior and their tastes and preference before they decide to market the products. The difference exists because of difference in taste and preference, culture and social status.
It is not an easy thing to successfully develop marketing campaign that had the potential to attract potential consumers/buyers. Once you have obtained potential customers, it is always good to keep them and turn them loyal to you such that they become your regular customers. Only customers who are happy with the services they are being offered will become repetitive in one particular shop.
There are however many ways in which you can keep a customer loyal in a service business and they include: offering excellent services to the customers, they should be treated well and you can do this by keeping them informed and treated them thoroughly. The deliver services should be excellent to enable them order for more.
Customers who have good experience with a particular business will always return. The consumers should be treated with manners, etiquette and given prompt attention. All customers’ complains and requests should be thoroughly attended to without ignoring any.
References
Hartman, D. (2010). The Role of Culture in Consumer Behavior. New York: Sage Publications Inc
Hawkins, D., David, M., & Roger, B. (2007). The changing American Society: Demographics and Social Stratification. McGrew: McGrew Companies Inc.