Introduction
As compared to Australia, Malaysia is a developing country whose consumers still direct most of their consumption towards expenditure on basic commodities. Consumer behavior on any basis is driven by many factors hence hard to know the exact reasons why people buy.
While most consumers may be driven by need, others buy due to motivation (psyche) (Mowen 2000). Comparisons and contrasts of consumer models according to schiffman in Malaysia The theories tend to shows beliefs possessed by various categories of consumers and how their beliefs influence consumer behavior.
Consumers are viewed from either the economic perspective or social perspectives as indicated by the two theories applicable in Malaysia (Mowen 2000). These are the points of penetration of by the marketers into the consumers to influence how?, what?, how much? in addition, the quantity.
The theories discussed are based on the needs of consumers and they are social in nature. They include – Pavlovian learning model and Veblen social-psychological model. Pavlovian model is derived from the famous Russian experiment on the dog and its behavior concerning food where the dog could be induced for food using the bell. It is therefore quite clear that human behavior in terms of purchasing is conditioned in such a manner.
This theory is employed in Malaysia by marketers to explore consumer aspects such as learning ability, the rate they forget and the extent to which they are likely to discriminate (Mooij 2004). These results into a human consumption behavior where a response is triggered by a relevant stimulus based on the concepts of drive, cue, stimulated response, and reinforcement.
Drives either can be primary or learned and are the needs that drive consumers to behave in a given way. Generally, they entail hunger, thirst, cold, corporation, and fear. Cue is more specific as it determines where, how and the time when the subject responds to a drive. For example, depending on how a cold drink is advertised it may stimulate the drive of thirst.
Response refers to the manner in which consumers react to the cue, the reactions are normally not similar. Similarity can be skewed by intensifying the degree of the experience. The Malaysian market is striving to do this by providing a variety of products through differentiation.
Reinforcement strategy is also because of a rewarding experience, an experience is earned only when it is repeated severally. The aspect stresses that when reinforcement is ignored the consumer habit is likely to extinguish (Mooij 2004).
Marketing application of the model This method as applied in Malaysia directs a marketer on the ways of behavior expected from the consumers and the advertisement strategy to be employed depending on the target market. In addition, the model is largely applicable mostly when introducing a new product into the market, which is highly competitive.
Marketers in Malaysia apply this by extinguishing old and outdated brands while introducing new ones. It only challenge comes at the point when you need to convince consumers on the strong cues and revokes them out of the weaker cues. This is also the point where this model differs in Australia as in Malaysia.
Advocacy for the strong brand of a product is the most important cue to spread among the buyers since it has the impact of creating brand loyalty though it is an expensive approach.
The method also advocates for a reinforcement strategy to be conducted through frequent advertisements, this ensures that consumers do not forget first and as well, reinforcement is facilitated because the consumer only realizes about the product after buying it (Mooij 2004). Veblenian Social-Psychological model The model is also a consumer behavior model deriving it basis from Thorstein Veblen who is an economist (McAlister 1982).
It views man as a social animal who is influenced by the factors, which surrounds them of which culture contributes a great percentage, this narrows down to sub-cultures that results from the groups, which they deal. The model identifies that consumer purchase ability is influenced by leisure and prestige acts accompanied by the urge to satisfy them.
The model stresses on factors, which emulate one another in the bid to influence consumer purchase. The model as applied in Malaysia is not that modern and hence wealthy people would consider to under spending on flashy commodities when they do not like them (McAlister 1982).
The model, which classifies consumers on social grounds, applies on the lower social class in Malaysia, the reverse takes place in Australia, and this has intensified research since there is space. Marketing application of the model According to Schiffman, Veblen model is important in the determination of groups and their respective demand of products.
The various social groups must be identified and the important social influences that have impacts on demand of the products. The points of emphasis are, the social influences, how they would facilitate the introduction of the products considering culture, social class and the groups.
How models differ with the same in Australia According to Farley, Howard, & Ring (1974), the Pavlovian and Veblen models explain consumer behavior and in its explanation, there is a difference in its application in both Malaysia and Australia. While in Australia Pavlovian directs its efforts towards inducing customers to increase their purchase to facilitate the introduction of a new product.
Veblen on the other hand advocates for marketing by considering classes in the society. In Australia the models differ in their application since Pavlov’s model is used at maturity to market an established product, this is in view that Australia is an industrialized nation, which focuses much on luxury products.
It applies the Veblen’s model by majoring its marketing on the upper class who mostly buy the luxurious products since they have excess resources after taking care of the basics. The models are at the same time similar because they use a common target audience only different on their segmentation of the markets (Farley, Howard, & Ring 1974).
The other difference is that in Malaysia, consumers know what they want and therefore they can never be swayed by advertisement. How is this marketing opportunity for an Australian exporter An Australian exporter have with them manufactured goods which needs a well established market base.
They involve a mix of the 4P’s and the models would enhance an Australian exporter get the best mix that would facilitate the marketing of its products in the foreign market (Cheverton 2004). The models will ensure that favorable prices are fixed that are competitive in the world markets which would ensure that they gain from such exportation.
The models would help the exporter do a market segmentation and identification of a market. Target markets identification very useful in marketing since they aid in increased sales. An exporter also needs information about the countries to which they would direct their exports.
References
Cheverton, P 2004, Key Marketing Skills 2 Strategies, Tools and Techniques for Marketing Success, Kogan Page: London.
Farley, JU Howard, JA & Ring, LW 1974, Consumer behavior; theory and application, Allyn & Bacon: Boston.
McAlister, L 1982, Choice models for buyer behavior, JAI Press: Greenwich, Conn.
Mooij, MK 2004, Consumer behavior and culture: consequences for global marketing and advertising, Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Mowen, JC 2000, The 3M model of motivation and personality: theory and empirical applications to consumer behavior, Kluwer Academic Publishers: Boston.