Question

It is evident that consumer buyer behavior is influenced by four key sets of buyer characteristics: cultural, social, personal, and psychological. Although many of these factors cannot be influenced by the marketer, they can be useful in identifying interested buyers and shaping products and appeals to serve consumer needs better. Social factors also influence a buyer's behavior. A person's reference groups family, friends, social networks, professional associations strongly affect product and brand choices. The buyer's age, life-cycle stage, occupation, economic circumstances, personality, and other personal characteristics influence his or her buying decisions. Assume that the NIKON cameras want to start their business in your country, discuss why would NIKON management interested in social factors, and what dimensions do they use to measure them?

Answer 1

The characteristics of buyers are important pieces of information that allow us to understand how a person will act when it comes to their purchasing needs. This information is useful to companies because it allows them to adopt strategies that will make their sales grow, as well as better satisfy their customers.

If NIKON company wanted to start a company in my country, the NIKON management would most likely be interested in certain social factors because this allows them to better understand the market. When we understand the market, we are able to create products and campaigns that match local interests. Moreover, this would help the NIKON management as it would help them understand the needs and requirements of people in that particular location. These would most likely be measured by factors such as their purchasing power, their age and their occupation. It is likely that NIKON would require targeting a reduced number at first, such as teenagers and young adults.