Consumer behaviour and the psychology of marketing

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing, grade: keine, , language: English, abstract: The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how °The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason an select between different alternatives °The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his envi- ronment like family, culture, media °The behaviour of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions °Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome °How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer °How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer One of often needed definition of consumer behaviour is 'The study of individuals, groups, or organisations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer an society '. There are elements of psychology, sociology, sociopsychology and economics influencing the buyer´s decision. Consumer behaviour is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when and why they buy. Consumer behaviour involves services and ideas as well as tangible products. The main applications are marketing strategy, public policy, social marketing and as a final benefit, studying consumer behaviour should make us better consumers.