{"id":40865,"date":"2022-07-27T13:14:12","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T18:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/?p=40865"},"modified":"2026-03-01T16:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T22:04:23","slug":"consumer-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/consumer-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"Consumer Behavior: How Your Small Business Can Influence Purchasing Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Consumers’ perceptions and actions are changing rapidly.<\/p>\n

Couple this with a volatile digital marketing environment, where,\u00a0as recent studies have shown<\/a>, a typical sales sequence now requires at least 12 to 14 steps to be effective, and you’ll face<\/span>\u00a0an uphill battle in making your brand or product stand out.<\/p>\n

To keep up with\u2014and maybe even shape\u2014those changes, businesses and marketers must add another tool to their marketing kit. That’s where consumer behavior analysis comes into play.<\/p>\n

By studying how consumers think, feel, and act about your product or service, you can better determine what messaging will resonate and how to position your offering in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

This is a guide to help you navigate through factors, theories, and actionable steps in leveraging consumer behavior analysis to achieve the unlikely: creating brand loyalty<\/a> out of indifference.<\/p>\n

If you’re trying to grow an established business, the insights we share in this article can help you accelerate the growth of your business. And if you’re starting a new business<\/a>, you can gain a competitive advantage by leveraging these important consumer behavior principles from day one.<\/p>\n

What is consumer behavior?<\/h2>
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Consumer behavior studies buying habits, including social trends, frequency patterns, and background circumstances influencing a consumer's purchase decision.<\/p>\n

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Marketers and small businesses can use behavior analysis to determine their target demographic and develop more appealing products and services. An effective consumer behavior analysis should show the following:<\/p>\n

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  • What influences consumer decision when choosing between options<\/li>\n
  • What do consumers think and feel about brand and product alternatives<\/li>\n
  • How consumers behave while shopping<\/li>\n
  • How consumers’ environment (family, peers, the media) influences their behavior<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Several disciplines, including economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, and chemistry, help explain how people think and make buying decisions. For example:<\/p>\n

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    1. Psychoanalysis. <\/strong>According to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, unconscious psychological impulses influence consumer behavior. These impulses may include a person’s hidden desires, fears, intentions, and aspirations.<\/li>\n
    2. Socio-psychology.<\/strong> Thorstein Veblen’s socio-psychological framework explains that consumers’ social and cultural backgrounds are the most significant variables impacting their purchasing decisions. Consumers are more concerned with maintaining social class, income, and cultural or subcultural prestige than obtaining their basic needs.<\/li>\n
    3. Reasoned action. <\/strong>According to the theory of reasoned action (TRA), a consumer considers a product or service. They are inclined to make that purchase if they have a good impression and believe that people in their social group will also enjoy it.<\/li>\n
    4. Impulse buying. <\/strong>According to Hawkins Stern’s 1962 theory, impulse buying refers to the convergence of internal and external forces that an individual experiences during the purchasing process. Instead of relying on thorough consideration, a customer who impulsively buys is more likely to be influenced by external influences like discounts, promotions, peers, and service quality.<\/li>\n
    5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. <\/strong>Stern’s theory directly opposed Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Maslow’s hierarchy argues that humans consider needs in a specific order: psychological or survival, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow asserts that an individual will prioritize needs according to the hierarchy in consumer behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      While each theory addresses different aspects of a buyer, they all work to accomplish the same thing: making sense of how consumers behave. They all have a few basic consumer principles that can apply to anyone.<\/p>\n

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