Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior In The Purchase Of Remedy Kombucha

Individual Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior

Discuss about the Impact The Customer’s Purchasing Behavior.

Remedy Kombucha brand was introduced in 2012, Australia. It is a live-cultured and a sparkling drink that is manufactured through the fermentation activity that involves tea, wild bacteria, raw sugar as well as yeast. The drink is made from Symbiotic Community of Bacteria and Yeast. The drink is loved by its customers due to its ability to detoxify the body, supports the nervous system as well as the joints, and it is anti-microbial. Remedy Kombucha is manufactured in Australia and comes in four flavors that are Original, Ginger and Lemon, Hibiscus Kiss, as well as Apple Crisp.

 The products are very common among the younger individuals ranging from the age of 24-36 especially the working white collar individuals that reside in big urban cities. Nonetheless, Remedy Kombucha is also loved by the crowd that is aged above 40 years. This group particularly love making it at home. This essay seeks to address the influence of individual factors in determining the consumers’ behavior in the purchase of Remedy Kombucha.

Consumers’ possess varying buying behaviors. There are many stores and varying goods and services that a customer can choose from as they conduct their shopping. The locations that a product can be bought are different (Al-Hyari, Alnsour, Al-Weshah & Haffar, 2012). However clients select the place they want to purchase their goods depending on the kind of products they are in need of. Some of the clients become loyal to a specific store or product. Nonetheless, some clients are viewed as being product and store switchers since they are willing to purchase a product from a different organization. There are many individual factors that influence the customers’ behavior in their buying decision (Bakshi, 2012). Some of these factors include the customers’ needs. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, motivation is viewed as a function of the five primary human needs which is categorized as either deficiency needs or growth needs. The deficiency needs are capable of being satisfied externally and are made up of physiological needs such as food and shelter, the safety needs that consist of having an environment that is deemed secure as well as the social needs which are made up of friendship, love, and affiliation. The growth needs are made up of a combination of esteem need such as self-esteem as well as self-actualization needs and are satisfied externally (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger & Shapiro, 2012). All these needs are hierarchically arranged meaning that the first basic needs should be achieved before the following need becomes relevant and require to be satisfied. Hence, each time, only one of the basic needs an individual should satisfy is aroused. Only after the satisfaction of this need can a customer strive to satisfy the following higher need. Thus, before individuals decide to make the decision of buying the Remedy Kombucha, they first consider satisfaction of the other needs such as basic needs and security needs. Only after these needs are met can the customers decide to go for luxury products and drinks such as the Remedy Kombucha (Bianchi & Andrews, 2012). As seen, the dink mostly targets the customers from working white-collar class who have satisfied their other needs. As seen, the needs of a customer have a high on the customers’ buying decision in the purchase of Remedy Kombucha.

Needs and Buying Decision of Consumers

The attitude of the consumers of a product determines the success or failure of the marketing strategy of any organization as well as determines the consumers’ buying behavior. Further, the buying choice of any client depends on four primary psychological factors that include motivation, learning, perception, as well as beliefs and attitudes (Bojei, Julian, Wel & Ahmed, 2013). Attitude can be defined as the mental or the neutral state of readiness that is organized as a result of experience, thus having a director dynamic impact on the customer’ response to the related situation. Attitude is considered to be closely related to perception. Effective component involves the clients’ feelings as well as emotions regarding to a specific product. Thus, this general inclination or the liking of a product by a person may result without there being a cognitive data (Brown, 2016). Also, it may be as a result of numerous evaluation of a product. This thus makes the customer to respond in a particular manner to the product. Behavioral intention expresses the favorable or unfavorable attitude towards the product. These three components are considered to be interrelated. Effective as well as cognitive systems are claimed to respond in a different manner to stimuli and each of the two systems have the capability of responding to the output of the other system (Cairns, Angus, Hastings & Caraher, 2013). Effective response may include things such as emotions, moods, and evaluations while the cognitive response is made of beliefs, meanings and knowledge. Interpretations from the two responses will then determine the decision that a customer makes.

The customers may have varying beliefs towards the Remedy Kombucha products. These beliefs are either positive or negative. However, some beliefs that are possessed by the consumer are neutral while others may vary in valance which depends on the situation and the customer (Cherian & Jacob, 2012). The beliefs that the consumer needs to be accurate. This differing beliefs among different customers influence the decisions in purchasing the Remedy Kombucha. The other attitude’s element that affects the buying decision of the customers is the effect. Clients are considered to hold certain decisions that relate to a product’s brand. At some instances, the feelings depend on the beliefs. For instance, a client may feel that their nervous system has been enhanced when they drink Remedy Kombucha (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012). However, other feelings are completely independent of beliefs. The manner in which a consumer feels affected by the drink will thus define their buying decision. Nonetheless, behavioral intention is another attitude’s element whereby the customer decide whether or not to buy a product. Despite that the client does like the product, they would end up purchasing it because their friends use the product hence affecting the consumer’s purchasing decision of Remedy Products.

Attitudes and Buying Decision of Consumers

The customer’s buying process consists of five stages through which customers are engaged in as they purchase goods and products. Nonetheless, in purchases that are considered to be routinely, there is the possibility of customers skipping as well as reversing some of these levels (Furaiji, ?atuszy?ska & Wawrzyniak, 2012). For instance, study indicates that according Nike’s company, a student buying a shoe would end up recognizing the need and as a result, make the decision directly of purchasing the issue thus the student skips the other stages of collecting information and evaluating. Another instance is when a client is loyal to a product and thus end up skipping the other stages thus purchasing the same product that they had previously bought (Gössling, Scott, Hall, Ceron & Dubois, 2012). In clarifying the customer’s buying decision, it is observed that clients normally possess boundless demand in fulfilling their needs as well as the fulfilment of having something new. A lot of literature review carried out to review the client’s buying decision indicate that a lot of issues which determine whether a client is to buy a product or not to buy. According to Sciffman and Kanuk (2004) there are basically four opinions which are used to elaborate the consumer decision as well as their behavior such as the economic view that outstands all the other views as having a greater impact on the customer’s purchasing behavior that is reflected by the manner which clients make a choice on the products that they need and how their assessment is going to affect the subsequent purchases. For example, customer buying behavior entails the procedures’ study to explain when a person in the decision making process makes a selection, buys, makes use, and disposes the product due to pleased needs (Hair, Sarstedt, Ringle & Mena, 2012). Some of the factors which have an influence on the consumer buying decision includes the high capability of performing a purchase including the current physical environment which surround the place of purchase. Smelser and Baltes (2001) argue that human’s daily life mostly entail activities of purchasing products, creating their behavior as well as experiencing services when making the purchases. An individual’s social class determines their ability to satisfy all the other needs before deciding to make a purchase of the Remedy Kombucha.

The first step of the buying process involves the recognition of a need. This recognition usually results from internal feelings such as hunger or thirst (Huotari & Hamari, 2012, October). Also, it may be as a result of external stimuli which include advertising, talking with people or friends, being involved in window shopping, as well as interacting with an organization’s sales personnel. External stimuli may also result to arousing internal responses which include hunger. For instance, an individual may watch a McDonald’s advertisement and end up feeling hungry. Once the customers have identified the need they seek to satisfy, they try gathering information regarding how they can satisfy this need (Kim & Ko, 2012). This need arises depending on the level of needs such as basic needs such as the basic needs or security needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs which must be satisfied in a chronological order. This thus indicates the importance of considering customers’ needs in decision making process. These needs also determine the information’s quantity that is needed. If the identifies is considered to be strong and there is a product in close existence that meets the need, then there is a likelihood of the customer to make a purchase decision immediately. However, if the need is not strong enough or the product to satisfy the need is not available there and then, the step that entails the process of searching for information begins (Krishna, 2012). There are five source from which the customer can gather the information. The first source is the internal source such as memory. For instance, if a customer in need of a drink, they first brainstorm about their past experience. Their attitude towards their past experience concerning a particular product will determine if they purchase the same or they shift to another drink. Second, the information may be obtained from groups such as friends or family. In this instance, the client seeks for recommendations from their friends. The attitude of the fronds towards the brand will determine if the person will purchase that particular product. For instance, a client that has had a good experience with Remedy Kombucha determine if the potential will buy the same product (Luchs & Mooradian, 2012). The other source is the marketing information is the marketing information from salespeople, dealers, advertising, or retailers. Nonetheless there are public sources such as television, radio, and magazines or the experimental sources such as handling or examining the product.

Stages of Customer Buying Process

Once the consumer has collected the information, they clarify and evaluate the available alternatives. The process of evaluating the alternatives is considered to the consumers’ black box since it is viewed to be the hardest among the marketers in understanding, measuring and influencing. At this level, the customer’s evaluation is based on several criteria which normally are equated with many products attributes. For instance, supposing that a client has a need of buying a drink and they have three brands in mind (Mihart, 2012). Supposing that their primary interest is based on four attributes which include price, quality, taste, and packaging. Supposing that the client has already formed a belief regarding each rating of the brands depending on their attributes. Thus, the brand that rates the most is to be purchased by the customer. This further indicates attitude’s effect in the customers’ purchasing decision. There are several essential marketers’ considerations during this stage of evaluation. The marketers’ products and brands require to be evoked in the set of likely alternatives. This is the reason as to why there is need for the marketers to constantly keep reminding the consumers of the company’s product offering. It is important that the marketers design their marketing programs that effectively change the priority of choice criteria or even changing the consumer’s opinions regarding product’s image (Muñoz-Leiva, Viedma-del-Jesús, Sánchez-Fernández & López-Herrera, 2012).

Once the likely options are considered, the customer may then make a purchase. This stage is crucial among the marketers to make sure that they do not lose the potential clients. There is the possibility of the consumer to postpone a purchase as a result of unforeseen circumstances which include illness or loss of job. The salespeople might also hunger the buyers (Nayeem, 2012). After purchasing a product, the customer gives consideration to whether they are have been satisfied with the experience resulting from making the purchase, as well as the product which they purchased. Usually, the purchasers regret their buying decision. Once a consumer has purchased a product, they may feel that an alternative product would have been preferable. Under such a situation, the consumer may not purchase the product instantly but there is the possibility of switching brands at a future date.

Understanding customer behavior and how the individual factors influence the customers’ buying decision would be important for an organizations to redefine and develop their marketing strategy. Marketing mix blends together the “Four P’s” of marketing to produce the outcome the company wants to attain in the specific target market. It assists in identifying consumers’ needs, establishing the target markets as well as applying products and services to serve the target markets. This also entails promoting the products in the target marketplace (Paço, Alves & Shiel, 2013). The marketing mix is used by an organization to deliver the marketing reasons as well as help in controlling variables in the marketplace, ensuring right prices, as well as enhancing promotion. Among the 4 P’s is product. Product can be defined as a product that an organization offers to its clients in an exchange process which can be in the form physical goods, a service or even both. A product entails the design, brand name, features as well as the size. Also, service is closely related and will also impact the level of consumer’s satisfaction and the customer’s buying decision (Page, Thorsteinsson & Ha, 2012). At most instances, claims related to health and nutrition are essential factors which have an influence on the consumer’s purchase decision of beverages. The marketing department should aim at influencing the customers’ attitude. Branding can be considered to be an effective way to do this. Branding does not only mean that a company’s product would taste better compared to the products that are not sued in branding. Nonetheless, taste is also crucial for the customers to purchase the Remedy Kombucha drinks. For instance, Lorinzi, Bacs, and Nagy (2009) established that customers are concerned with the product’s flavor for example the carbonated soft drinks (Rani, 2014). This indicates that consumers are not concerned with health factor despite knowing that it is unhealthy and acknowledge its negative physiological impact. Hence, this shows that consumers are concerned with the taste more the health issue. As a result, it is important for the marketing department to concern itself with what the Remedy Kombucha means to the customers (Pappas, 2016). The product’s physical appearance, labelling information as well as packaging would greatly influence the customers’ buying decision through enhancement of their attitude. Nonetheless, Peter and Donally (2007) establishes that an organization can further promote marketing by differentiating the company’s from competition as well as enhance consumer perception the Remedy Kombucha is worth buying (Rödiger & Hamm, 2015). Also, adding value to the product could enhance the consumer’s buying decision. Customers are more inclined on the product’s nutrition and convenience thus making it an opportunity for the organization to develop and enhance the Remedy Kombucha brands. There is need for the organization to concern itself to the client’s needs regarding the quality, product’s variety, and packaging which are more essential compared to price (Pérez, del Mar García de los Salmones & Rodríguez, 2013). Goods that are value-added are considered to provide better results and handling. Value addition can include the use of production methods such as grass-fed, hormone free, and organic method that is used in the production of Remedy Kombucha. The company should enhance its value-addition techniques to incorporate other methods. Nonetheless, the product’s value-addition by the marketing department may end up failing if the product fails to conform to consumer’s needs and satisfaction (Spurling, McMeekin, Southerton, Shove & Welch, 2013). It is thus important that the organization ensures that the Remedy Kombucha responds to the clients’ needs.

Conclusion

The second marketing mix that the company should use to redesign and develop its marketing strategy is the promotion. The company’s marketing and advertising managers have the responsibility of strategically placing the Remedy Kombucha prominently through the promotion with the intention of guaranteeing the desired impact (Stelzner, 2014). The study conducted by Pedraja and Yague (2011) indicate that the consumers make use of information availed through advertising, and the information they obtain from the retail centers as their external source of information. This information is used to assist in reducing perceived uncertainties and risks. Also, research by Kasikorn (1997) on the consumers’ behavior of supplement foods (Sudbury, Kohlbacher & Hofmeister, 2012). The research revealed that the major factor which influenced the customers to choose the supplementary food consumption was the advertisement. At the first instance, the customers might only consume the supplement foods as a way of trying them out. However, after the customers’ concern that these supplement foods are good, they may retain the purchase. Nonetheless, sales promotions which include discount and special offer only acts as a short-term offer in motivating the consumers to select a product (Wilson, 2012). Thus, the organization should develop more efficient promotions such as encouraging free trials and price promotion. Additionally, the company should continue to take up healthier products which may be more effective in promoting the products compared to trying to convince the customers to give up healthy products. At times, a customer’s product awareness and preference may result from continuous brand advertising.

Conclusion

In several works of literature, the authors have researched on the factors that directly impact on the customer’s buying decisions with the individual factors being an example of these factors. Nonetheless, the consumers’ impulse buying factors should also be considered. Research indicates that impulse buying is usually unplanned and sudden. For instance, in the incidence that a customer goes to buy a drink, they may see sweets and purchase them. the customers’ behavior is complex due to the fact that global business environment is highly developing to become increasingly competitive and dynamic. If any organization’s marketing department wants to attain success, it is thus important that the marketers understand the reason why consumers make certain buying decisions, and assist them to enhance, develop, as well as redesign their marketing strategies. Nonetheless, as the world changes very fast, particularly the enhanced technological advancements and the increasingly developing economy, those factors may end up changing over time thus showing that the literature may become limited. For instance, there are more than 10,000 Chinese that are presently studying as well as studying in Ireland. In the same instance, more Asian shops have recently opened. Thus, the Irish citizens have an opportunity of tasting Chinese food which there is the possibility that they have never tasted. Due to this, this is likely to change the buying habits of the customers either directly or indirectly. It is thus essential that the marketers should always acknowledge the factors that directly affect the consumers’ value, behavior and perception to determine the most effective manner of delivering products, retain the company’s marketing position as well as enhance the market share and increase the competitive advantage against the organization’s rivals.

It is therefore very necessary that the marketer becomes aware of the individual factors that influence consumer behavior as well as determine the customers that they intend to influence to purchase their products. This will facilitate the company to make a future forecast in the manner that the market will respond to the organization’s new products as well as evaluating the existing product’s perception in the marketplace. A lot of the previous pieces of literature and study reviews are observed to concentrate more on the existing model of consumer buying behavior. However, very little has been studied concerning the impulse buying behavior. If a company’s marketing department wishes to provide the desired product to the marketplace in the competitive global market, there is need that to meet as well as completely comprehend the consumers’ consumption behavior and develop effective marketing strategies.

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