Consumer Behavior: Tour Package Choice Based On Personality And Demography

Choice of Tour Package Based on Personality Theories

Case Study about the consumer behavior.
 

Consumer behavior is the study of individual or organization and the process, by which they select, secure, use, and then dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy the customers (Claiborne & Sirgy, 2015). People have different form of recreation. In recreation, people tend to do deeds that help them to relax and come out of the mundane of life. They can relax by reading a magazine, eat out with friends, or even sometimes go for vacation. Though going for a vacation can be relaxing, but preparing for the tour can be very hectic. Deciding a holiday tour consumes a great energy, and it takes a toll in the decision making process. Many reasons can influence the whole process. The marketers of the tourism field analyze such “influences” and make their marketing strategies (Lapierre & Giroux, 2015). This report aims at analyzing and discussing the reason behind the particular consumer behavior.

Personality of a person is the result of an individual’s trait. Different people show different traits. An individual’s action is based on the personality that he or she has acquired. A person’s personality develops from the environment they live in, their learned attitude, life values, etc. However, these traits do not remain same throughout the lifespan. The environment that surrounds the individual modifies the individual’s personality. Thus, personality is often said to be dynamic. The oldest personality theory is the trait theory. In accordance to the theory, people have certain traits that define human beings, and people choose and act based on the traits (Sandy, Gosling & Durant, 2013). Sigmund Freud, the founder of the Psychoanalytic School, stated that personalities are influenced by unconscious motive. These motives are the based on basic biological need. According to this theory, personality depends on the interaction between the id, ego, and superego. Id works mainly on the pleasure principle, whereas, the superego provides the guidelines for judgment, which should be socially acceptable and ego acts as the police maintaining the balance in-between the id and superego (Gabriel, 2013).

The Neo-Freudian theorists stated that social interaction and relationship played important roles in the formation of the personality. Based on the notion the theorists divided personality traits into three types: the complaint personality, the aggressive personality, and the detached personality. The people having complaint personality prefer belonging, i.e., to feel loved and accepted, and thus, they prefer something that is secure. The aggressive personality people tend to be rebellious and they have a need to show the power they have, and they are manipulative. The detached personalities prefer to be independent and are self-reliant. Marketers mainly use the Neo-Freudian theories that help in marketing their products (Onu & Garvey, 2014).

Another concept that influences consumer behavior is that of Self-Concept. The Self-Concept states that consumers tend to buy and use that product, or accept a particular patronize to which their self-image matches and to which they can relate (Sirgy, 2015). Individuals organize a set of traits that they use to describe themselves, and people are reluctant to accept anything that does not match with their personality. This concept of self is learned and ever changing. Self-concept is a mixture of emotion, feeling, and attitude.

Choice of Tour Package Based on Individual Demography

To understand the aspect of personality, analysis of the response to questionnaire about choice of tour pack, by three subjects are done. The first subject chosen is a male student of age 19 years. He describes himself to be extrovert, craves adventure, has a need to gain self-esteem, and has a knack to earn quickly. His choice is based on pleasure principle, and he has a risk taking habit. Thus, he chooses Option 2, i.e., visit to Las Vegas, and try his hand at gambling. The second subject is a 43-year-old married woman. The woman’s characteristic are that of adventurous yet prefers security. She desires recognition among people. She also prefers not to take responsibility. This is witnessed in the fact; it is her husband who plans for the tours. Her choice of tour pack caters to all her traits. Option 6, provide a secure tour yet something that can provide affiliation and power to her. The package provides secure place to stay; sure food as well as have the power to taste different wines, which associates with power and affiliation. The third subject thrives for security and safety. He is a 51-year-old married man with children. Being married changes his priority (Yap, Anusic, & Lucas, 2012). The thoughts and ideas of his spouse and children matter. He is sympathetic and pays heed to others choice. He has the tendency to judge carefully before taking any decision. This shows in his choice of holiday tour. He chooses Option 4, where the food and accommodation for his family are secure, and he has less to worry. From the discussed analysis, it can be inferred that every individual has different priority, and his or her characteristics are highlighted with this need (Vij, Carrel & Walker, 2013). Thus, it is seen that the choice of destination depends on the personality characteristics of the individuals (Davies& Cairncross, 2013). 

In a study, Wong, Newton & Newton (2014) proposed that individual demography influences consumer behavior. In this case, it can be seen that the three subjects are highly influenced by their demographic condition, which includes age, economy, ethnicity, family condition, etc. the choice of tour pack for the 19-year-old male student is at par with his demography. He being young, risk-taking behavior is common (Eaton et al., 2012). Since he is a student; money is a crucial factor. Therefore, he favors less expensive accommodation and wants to control the money spend after food. Since he is young and unmarried, he does not give importance to security and chooses the option where he can gamble. The 43-year-old married woman chooses her option of tourism pack is also influenced by the way she leads life. Since she is married and older than the first subject is, she prefers security. She earns a lot more, so she is not restricted to spend money. Her educational qualification also plays an important role in her choice. Her high position makes her choose something that is expensive. The third subject is the 51-year-old family man from Chinese ethnicity. He chooses the package that covers the security of the family. His ethnicity also plays important role in the place he chooses, i.e., Hong Kong. Since he earns more than the other two subjects do, he spends accordingly but not lavishly. A study by Kardes, Cronley & Cline (2014) shows economic condition plays an important role in choosing the option of tour.

Marketing Recommendation

From the above analysis, it can be said that a human being’s choice of tour package depends on both the person’s personality and his or her demography. Based on the above analysis, marketers can improve their marketing strategies, attracting more people to the particular pack. To explain it, let us consider the Option 4 (place: Hong Kong). The most likely people who will accept this tour option are mainly family oriented. The tourist would look for security, good food, good lodging, as well as something fun time with the family. If the marketer can introduce extracurricular, fun family recreation, the package will attract more people. The marketers can reduce the cost of the tour by removing the meal pack from the package and let the families manage their food cost. Thus, reduce the package cost can attract even more people for the tour. The marketers can also keep the cost same and increase the number of tour days. This will also increase the probability of the package. By making such changes, the tour organizers will attract more people. The increase in the tourist count will increase the profit of the organization. 

Conclusion

In any business, where the organization needs to sell product to the general people, customers are held in the highest position. Marketers research in the field of what attracts the consumers to the products in the market. They research on how they can act as the honey so that general people consume their product. Study show that many reasons or factors influence the behavior of the consumer. Two of the major factors that influence people’s behavior are their individual personality and their demography. Personality is the different traits that form the face of the individual. Demography includes the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and economy. This report shows how these two factors influence tourism choice and how marketers can change their marketing strategies accordingly to gain profit.   

References

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Kardes, F., Cronley, M., & Cline, T. (2014). Consumer behavior. Cengage Learning.

Lapierre, J., & Giroux, V. P. (2015). Customer-Perceived Value Heterogeneity. In Proceedings of the 2000 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 393-393). Springer International Publishing.

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Sandy, C. J., Gosling, S. D., & Durant, J. (2013). Predicting consumer behavior and media preferences: The comparative validity of personality traits and demographic variables. Psychology & Marketing, 30(11), 937-949.

Sirgy, M. J. (2015). The Self-concept in relation to product preference and purchase intention. In Marketing Horizons: A 1980’s Perspective (pp. 350-354). Springer International Publishing.

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