Uyai Lizamay Useh

A00021061
Dr. Ahmed Awak
MKT 402
03/05/2021

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
“Consumer Behaviour is defined as “the process and activities people engage in when searching,
selecting , purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product and services so as to satisfy their
needs and desire” (Belch & Belch, 2004). It is the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and
services for the satisfaction of their wants and needs (Rani, 2014).
TYPES OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

1. Routine Response/Programmed Behavior: Here, goods purchased by the

customer/consumer are cheap, frequently purchased goods. There is little involvement in
decision making as there is very little search and decision effort; and the products are
purchased almost automatically (Udel, 2021).

2. Limited Decision Making: Products here are bought occasionally, so buying them requires a
moderate amount of time/effort for information gathering.

3. Impulse buying: This is an unplanned buying behavior; as no conscious planning is involved.

E.g. is window shopping, bulk buying etc (Udel, 2021).

4. Extensive Decision: Products purchased here are complex, unfamiliar, expensive products.
The consumer here spends a lot of time/effort seeking information about the product. The
consumer also goes through all the stages of the buying decision process, as there is a high
degree of risk in the purchase. The higher the risk, the more involved the consumer/customer
would be in the decision making process.”

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

“The following factors influence a consumer’s behaviour;

1. Cultural Factors: includes culture, sub-cultures and social class. Culture is set of values,
behaviour and ideologies of a particular community or group of individuals. The behaviour of
a consumer depends on the culture he or she is brought up in. Sub-cultures and subsets of
culture and include; nationalities, regions, religion, racial groups and geographic regions.
Social class refers to society’s relatively permanent and ordered divisions, where members of
a particular class share similar values, lifestyles, interests and behaviours. Social class can be
classified through a combination of education, income, occupation, wealth, etc (Mashao &
Sukdeo, 2018).

2. Social Factors: Human beings are influenced by persons or groups that they surround
themselves and interact with. Social factors include, Reference groups; these are people
(group) the consumer would like to be associated with, Family; the most influencing social
factor, It offers an environment where-in the individual evolves, develop personality and
acquire values through family members preferences and behaviour (Business Jargons, 2021).
 Social role and status influences a consumer’s behaviour according to his position and role in
the society, and the attitude and activities they should exhibit.

3. Personal Factors: These include the demographic variables of a consumer along with
lifestyle; which is the activities, interests, values and opinions of a person, and personality;
which is the is the set of traits and specific characteristics of an individual like dominance
aggressiveness, etc. (Mashao & Sukdeo, 2018).

4. Psychological Factors: Factors like motivation; which is the expression of a need that
becomes pressing enough to lead the consumer to want to satisfy it, perception; which is the
process through which an individual selects, organizes and interprets the information he
receives in order to do something that makes sense, and beliefs & attitude all influence a
consumers behaviour (Mashao & Sukdeo, 2018).”

STAGES OF CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS

“The stages of the consumer buying process are;

1. Problem or Need Recognition: At this stage, the consumer perceives a need/want and is
motivated to satisfy the need/want through products and/or services. A need can be triggered
by internal stimuli; which refers to a personal perception experienced by the consumer, like
hunger, thirst, etc., or external stimuli; which comes from influences such as advertising or
word-of-mouth (Lumen, 2021).

2. Information Search: At this stage, the consumer looks for relevant information associated
with the problem/need. It can come from a.) Personal sources; like family members, relatives
and friends, b.) Commercial sources; like adverts, dealers, package, trade shows, displays, and
exhibition, c.) Public sources; like mass media (TV, newspapers, radios) and customer- rating
agencies, and d.) Experimental sources; which involve handling, examining, testing, or using
the product (Jaidep, 2021).

3. Evaluating Alternatives: Here, consumers evaluate the products or brand options on a scale
of attributes to select the one that has the ability to deliver the benefit/ maximum satisfaction
that they are seeking. Consumers evaluate alternatives in terms of the functional and
psychological benefits they offer. The benefits include; Price range, effectiveness, brand
image, customer service, etc. (Jaideep, 2021).

4. Purchase Decision: Here, the consumer makes a decision on which alternative is the best to
buy. The brand of product and/or services that offers the maximum satisfaction or benefit is
selected by the customers from the other brand alternatives. The purchase decision can be
disrupted on the basis of consumer perceived risk, negative attitude/feedback of others
towards the brand, and unforeseen situational factors.

5. Actual Purchase: If none of the disruptive factors occur, the consumer goes ahead to
purchase of the product or service. The consumer can become the customer to purchase the
product, or another individual can be the “customer” to purchase the product/service on
behalf of him or her.

6. Post purchase evaluation: Here, the consumer evaluates the purchase action or decision
made in the context of experience and relevant information. The issues associated with this
stage is cognitive dissonance or cognitive consonance on the part of the consumer, which is a
negative or positive feeling regarding the buying action or behaviour. If the feeling of
product/service use is positive (actual performance ≥ expected/perceived performance), the
customer would be encouraged to purchase the product/service again, and vice versa.”
 THE A-B-C-D PARADIGM: HOW CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS ANALYSED IN
INTERNATIONAL (GLOBAL) MARKETING

“The ABCD paradigm is a framework proposed by P.S. Raju (1995) that is aimed at explaining
consumer behaviour in the international (global) market. This framework proposes four hierarchal
stages of consumer behaviour that can be used to understand the purchase and consumption processes
within cultures. For a global marketer to be effective in marketing functions, he/she must thoroughly
understand the ABCD paradigm, as each stage of it is being applied to any consumer culture. The four
sequential stages are referred to as Access, Buying Behaviour, Consumption Characteristics and
Disposal.”

ACCESS
“This refers to how a marketer’s product and service can reach a consumer, and vice versa. Access is
determined by two forms; economic and physical access.

PHYSICAL ACCESS: Having physical access to global customers/consumers is influenced or determined by

three factors; international trade regulations/barriers; the distribution system of a country; and the
country’s infrastructure.

1. Trade Regulations/Barriers: These are restrictions placed by the consumer’s government

on international trade. These barriers can come directly; such as embargoes, foreign exchange
restrictions, sanctions, etc., or indirectly; in ways like imposing tariffs, subsidization, etc. The
lesser the trade barriers of a country, the more easier and effective it would be for a marketer
to be able to gain access to the target consumer market in that country, and also the consumer
gaining access to purchase the product/service.

2. Distribution Systems: These are the systems/channels that the marketer would use of, in
order to make sure that his/her products reach the final consumer. Issues like insufficient
retail outlets, small amount of target market, low income level, income disparities, poor
attitudes of retailers and shopkeepers, etc., prevent the proper distribution of goods &
services in the international market. To solve this problem, marketers should look for
effective methods to get their products to the final customer (end user).

3. Country’s Infrastructure: The infrastructure of a country plays a huge role, in allowing

marketers access and sell their products to the consumers. For developing countries, the
infrastructure level is low, and it affects the movement of goods and service to and within the
country, as well as the economic growth. Poor infrastructure results in accessibility of
consumers and this restricts the buying behaviour of consumers in those international
markets. To solve this issue, marketers and business should look for creative methods of
bypassing the poor infrastructure to access their target consumers.”

“ECONOMIC ACCESS: The purchasing power and ability of a target market can be used to examine
the buying behaviour of international consumers.

1. Income Distribution: It is the measure of how much people earn or receive in terms of
income. It is also the measure of how a country’s GDP is distributed among its people. In
developing countries, income distribution has a huge disparity or inequality, between the top
to bottom class, as opposed to other developed nations. This means that majority of people in
developing countries don’t have purchase power to buy customized goods, so for a marketer
to be able to access the buying behaviour of the consumers there, majority of his/her goods
should be standardized, and/or for the luxury goods, the brand/product image must be
repositioned to gain the attention of the affluent class.

2. Affordability: In international markets, price is a huge aspect of buying behaviour. For

developing countries, majority of the citizens are not well to do, so they focus on buying
 goods that are cheaper, and have more quantity over quality, and vice versa. Marketers should
be able to target/ market their goods or services, whether affordable (cheap) or luxurious to
the appropriate consumers, so they are able to purchase them.”

BUYING BEHAVIOUR
“This explains the decisions made by consumers when they want to buy a product, and its
useful for marketers to know how to influence those decisions.

1. Perceptions: The perceptions of consumers are rooted in the country’s origin, brand equity,
and price-quality relationships. The country’s origin of the product/service being marketed
can influence the buying behaviour of a consumer, be it positive or negative, as it creates a
first impression for the product, in the consumers mind. For Brand equity; the recognizable or
global a business is, the more valuable it would be to a consumer, and will influence a
consumer to purchase it goods and services. For price-quality relationship, some consumers
would buy expensive goods due to their level of (high) quality, while others would buy
cheaper goods, and looks for other means/factors to access the quality.

2. Customer Loyalty: It’s divided into brand and store loyalty. Consumers in developing
countries are more inclined to brand loyalty, than those in developed countries. This is mostly
due to their risk aversive nature, that is influenced by their culture (traditional and
conservative), limited financial resources, and limited brand information (bureaucratic
structure & low level of education). For store loyalty, the quality of customer service,
satisfaction of retailer, local (accessible) outlets can influence a consumers buying behaviour
in international markets.

3. Consumerism/Attitudes towards marketing: The level of consumerism (protection of

customers), and attitudes of consumers towards products/service can affect the buying
behaviour of consumers. In developed countries, consumers place a lot of focus on the quality
of the good/service, its ingredients and how it was produced, unlike in developing countries.
Also, there are more enforced consumer protection laws and agencies that protect consumers
in developed countries, than in developing countries. This allows the customers the right to
protest/complain about certain unsatisfactory products. Marketers should be able to know the
attitudes and laws protecting consumers in the international market, before engaging in
marketing activities there.

4. Deeper Analysis of Consumer Psyche: For marketers to be able to understand the buying
behaviour of consumers, they need to understand the psyche of their consumers better.
Attributes like social norms; which are accepted standard of behaviour among social groups
and, psychological orientations; which include moral, cognitive, action and motivated
orientations, all in one way or another influence a consumers buying behaviour.”

CONSUMPTION CHARACTERISTICS
“The unique consumption patterns of consumers’ helps marketers know more about the
behaviour of their current and potential consumers. These characteristics include;

1. Product vs. Service consumption in culture: The culture of consumption in a country can
influence the buying behaviour of consumers. Service consumption in developed countries in
more enhanced than developing countries. This is due to the presence of technology and
qualified personnel’s. The product consumption in developing countries is high despite the
poor quality of goods and low income wage. For marketers, having this knowledge, who help
them make decisions on which international market/country would be suitable to sell its
products or services, so as to make profit, and grow its market share. For marketers to be
successful; there should be a balance between affordability & sophistication.
 2. Cultural Orientation: Having knowledge of a country’s cultural orientation, can help
marketers know which product or service consumers there are willing to buy. For developing
countries; majority of consumers have less education and income than their developed
country counterparts, which prompts them to buy less expensive and sophisticated products
and services. Also, in developing parts of the world like Africa and the Middle East, majority
of the older consumers are conservative, strictly religious and moral, and reluctant to
modernization/westernization, while younger customers have positive reaction towards
modernization. For marketers that want consumers here, they need to know various
persuasive methods to influence and change those behavioural characteristics.

3. Social class/reference group influences: Consumers who are wealthy and belong to high
social classes in the society, tend to purchase and use expensive and high quality products, as
opposed to their low social class counterparts. Also, people that want to imitate their role
models or want to belong to a certain social group, tend to buy goods/services that are similar
to the ones their role model or people in their potential reference groups purchase. Marketers
should be able to segment consumers in international markets based on the social class, to be
able to know who to target their standardized and/or customized (Luxury) products and
services to.

4. Urban vs. Rural sector consumption patterns: Majority of consumers in developing

countries live in rural areas, than urban. They’re usually low income earners, and do not have
the purchasing power of the urban counterparts. This means they tend to buy affordable,
cheap products and services, in contrast to their urban counterparts in the country (few), and
in developed regions of the world. Marketers should be aware of these characteristics, so as to
segment their international markets based on the standard of living of their consumers.”

DISPOSAL

1. Resale, recycling, and remanufacturing considerations: “Consumers in developing

countries are not environmentally conscious like their developed counterparts, so it is
difficult for recycling of products to take place there. Also, since consumers in developing
countries have low income, they would prefer products that are durable and be resold, and
also products that can be remanufactured with affordable cost. Marketers that want to
satisfy customers in those countries should keep this in mind, when producing goods for the
consumers. They can also encourage recycling through advertisements, promotions, and
promos so as to increase the environmental consciousness of the consumers.
l

2. Social Responsibility of Companies: Developed countries have laws and agencies that are
aimed at making companies environmentally sustainable and responsible. Consumers in
these countries are inclined to buy products and services from companies that are socially
responsible to the environment and aim at shareholder value maximization (triple bottom),
and neglect those that are not responsible. Marketers should aim at producing
environmental friendly goods, as well as satisfying their shareholders value in both
developed and developing countries.”

“In conclusion, with the use of the ABCD paradigm framework, marketers can understand the
broadest possible range of consumer behaviours within any culture in the world, as it encompasses all
aspects of purchase and consumption within a simple framework, and gives the marketer a systematic
way to prioritize the marketing tasks within any country.”
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02/05/2021.

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03/05/2021, web.

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