|
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese
English
French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese|
Lecture notes, cheat sheets
Consumer behavior. Cheat sheet: briefly, the most important
Directory / Lecture notes, cheat sheets Table of contents
1. CONCEPT AND CONTENT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR In order to reveal the inner content of consumer behavior, it is necessary to define the concept of consumption in general. According to the dictionary, consumption is the processes of obtaining a product (service, work) continuously following one after another and its future use for one's own purposes. Consumer behavior is a broad concept and includes not only the process of purchasing a product (service, work), but also consumer behavior before and after purchase. Considering the behavior of consumers before the purchase, employees of the organization who study the product and its market (marketers) consider the reasons that may affect the decision to buy this product or refuse to purchase it. The result of the choice can be influenced by the family, the group, which is a kind of standard for the individual, i.e., the reference group. When buying, marketers consider the reaction of consumers, study how the consumer will make a purchase. By analyzing consumer behavior after they make a purchase, marketers study the degree of consumer satisfaction with a purchase, the likelihood of a repeat purchase, and other processes. Consumer behavior also includes actions to get rid of the product. The content basis of consumer behavior, according to consumer behavior experts D. Hawkins and R. Best, are the process of making a purchasing decision and what conditions and factors influence this decision. They believe that if you study all these factors and conditions, you can learn how to manage this behavior. Experts note that the conditions and factors influencing the decision to purchase can be divided into external and internal (on the part of the consumer). The internal factors are the features of perception, the characteristics of the individual as a consumer, the ability to learn, remember, needs, motivating actions and attitudes of the client, as well as his emotional state. External factors are also multifaceted and different from each other. This is the impact of reference groups on the consumer, and the state of the political and economic situation in the country for a given period, and indicators of demographic policy. Image, lifestyle and status often have the greatest influence on the consumer. The task of researching consumer behavior is to find out the factors that influence the decision-making process to the greatest extent. The faster the theory and practice of marketing develops, the more the value of consumer behavior research for an organization increases, since knowledge of the behavior of its customers provides a solid basis for the successful sale of its products. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCES ABOUT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF RESEARCH The sciences of consumer behavior have begun their development recently. In the United States, as a country in which management and marketing began to develop earlier than in all other countries, they paid attention to this area of knowledge only in the second half of the 1950th century. At this time, large and medium-sized businesses began to gain momentum, competition between manufacturers intensified. And it was necessary to look for other ways to acquire and maintain competitive advantages at a new level. At this time, textbooks on consumer behavior are appearing in the United States, and marketers are seriously thinking about the problem of studying their consumers. The first authors of such textbooks were Angel J., Blackwell R. Now on the shelves of bookstores in the United States you can see a huge amount of popular science literature on the study of consumer behavior. There are even special journals that deal with these issues. For example, the "Journal of Consumer Research", "Journal of Consumer Marketing", etc. Although marketing in the United States predates the concept of consumer research, the prerequisites for the need to develop this area of titles appeared long before that. Already at the beginning of the XX century. large companies began to think about how to influence consumer behavior through advertising. We studied the psychological characteristics of customers and the ability to manage these characteristics with the help of advertising. Already in the XNUMXs. Sahtqlf's ideas about the psychological characteristics of people began to be actively used by advertisers. For example, according to the followers of Z. Freud, people like to buy smooth fruits and vegetables more than wrinkled ones. So, according to this idea, people rarely buy prunes and dried apricots, because wrinkled fruits make them think about old age. Over the 40 years of development of the science in question, consumer behavior has become an extensive independent area of knowledge, which must be studied and applied in practice along with market research, competitor research, etc. The management of organizations must understand that it is on consumer behavior, on their characteristics and needs the success of the firm. As for Russia, it began to study consumer behavior later than in the United States. And only a few years ago, the basics of consumer behavior began to be taught in higher educational institutions as an independent discipline. It should be clarified that consumer behavior is an interdisciplinary field of research, since it combines disciplines such as psychology, sociology, marketing, family and household foundations, and other disciplines. 3. CONSUMPTION AS A SUBJECT OF MARKETING ANALYSIS. CONSUMER MARKETING CONCEPTS Recently, in Russian companies, it is consumer behavior that has become almost the main subject of analysis of the market for goods and services, supply and demand. At present, advanced organizations base the entire marketing mix on the needs and demands of their consumer. The study of the characteristics of the consumer was the beginning of work on the development of a marketing strategy, because if you do not correctly determine the value orientations of your consumer, it will be difficult to find products and services that meet customer requirements and bring profit to the organization. The needs of the consumer become the main area of activity of the organization: production, personnel management (especially marketing), etc. The organization considers two types of consumers - the subjects of marketing analysis. Firstly, these are external consumers, for the sake of them the enterprise creates goods, services and works. Secondly, one should not forget about the internal consumers of the organization - its employees, those who in one way or another take part in the creation of the product that the company offers to external consumers. These are all employees of the company. If the firm cares about the satisfaction of external customers, then it is necessary that internal customers are also fully satisfied. Employees should be granted rights and working conditions in accordance with the current legislation, and an objective system of remuneration should be organized. Only then will employees be well motivated to perform their duties in the organization to meet the requirements of external consumers. Marketing aimed at the consumer, and not at production or distribution, has appeared recently. Researcher F. Kotler called it the concept of social, or socially ethical, marketing. It appeared in the 1960s, when the role of studying consumer behavior increased, marketing strategies changed in favor of their consumers. Now the interests of the consumer have become the first priority for firms. This strategy is focused on balancing the degree of achievement of meeting the needs of external consumers, internal consumers, social needs (global needs of society), and only in last place is the degree of satisfaction of the needs of the organization itself (profit, profitability), etc. Since it is by satisfying the first two needs (not their own) that the company will come to the conclusion that its goals will also be satisfied. In Russia, the concept of socially ethical marketing is just beginning to develop, but every year the number of organizations adhering to this concept is growing. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. CONSUMER MARKETING CONCEPTS The emergence and development of marketing determine the growing importance of information about the consumer. Producers of goods and services are trying not only to study consumer behavior, but also to influence it. The concept of marketing in modern conditions is one of the main directions for the successful production of products in the market. Marketing is the activity of studying, creating and satisfying the demand for goods through their development and establishment of optimal prices for them, as well as the distribution and promotion of goods. The concept of marketing is the basis for guiding all activities of an organization from procurement and production to after-sales service. The concept of marketing was first proposed by American economists in the 1950s. This concept states that, first, an organization should strive to meet the needs of consumers by improving its products, services, ideas. Customer satisfaction becomes the basis of the marketing concept. If the end consumer of the product is not satisfied with the purchase, then we can say about the absolute ineffectiveness of marketing, since it is consumer satisfaction that is the ultimate goal of the marketers. Managers need to understand that marketing must begin and end with the consumer. The production of goods, ideas and services should be considered initially as a process of satisfying the existing and anticipated demands and needs of the consumer, and only as a last resort - as a production process. In a modern market economy, marketing is a kind of concept of commodity production. However, this state of affairs did not occur immediately. W. Pride and O. Ferrell developed 3 stages in the development of the concepts of commodity production (in the USA): 1) era of production; 2) the era of sales; 3) the era of marketing. At the first stage, the functions of marketers were reduced only to planning the necessary production volumes; at the last stage, marketing becomes a business philosophy, subordinating all departments and divisions of the organization. Marketing questions have been significantly expanded: what, how much, how, for whom, how and at what price to produce. According to 3 stages, one can trace the general trend of changing business performance criteria: from production to sales. Recently, the concept of social (or socially ethical) marketing has been widespread, which appeared in the United States at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. Its meaning is reduced to a balance of goals and desires of consumers, the needs of society and the goals of the company itself. In Russia, business is at the stage of mastering this concept of marketing. 5. CONSUMER AND MARKET. THE CONCEPT OF MARKET SEGMENTATION If there is a consumer, then, therefore, there is a need. In order to provide itself with consumers, the firm must determine which needs it can satisfy with the greatest success. The process when a company chooses a certain circle of consumers for itself and purposefully works with this particular type of buyer is called target marketing. Integrated marketing is an extensive field of activity necessary for the formation and satisfaction of demand for products. Target marketing includes: 1) market segmentation. At this stage, the manufacturer determines for himself the principles of market segmentation that he will use in the future. Profiles are formed from segments. For example, if the principle of segmentation is the profitability of the consumer, then the average income is determined in each segment. If segmentation is carried out according to various criteria, the description of the market profile includes the characteristics of this segment according to all the principles taken as a basis; 2) selection from the received segments of a certain market segment (or several segments). The choice is based on an assessment of the level of attractiveness of the segments; 3) the position of the product on the market and the strengthening of positions in the selected segment (target market). Work is carried out on integrated marketing for each target segment. Consumers may not only have different needs, but also opportunities, geographic location, value orientations and habits. This can be used to segment the market. Many companies do not see the point in developing their products to meet the needs of an individual customer. Instead, the manufacturer identifies large groups of buyers who share one or more common principles. Then he determines for himself on what basis he will find the target market for himself, and proceeds to group buyers. This is segmentation. When segmenting by one attribute, for example, 3 groups can be obtained, and by age - 4, by gender - 2, etc. When segmenting, the manufacturer can take into account two attributes. Then it turns out that the groups according to the first attribute will include subgroups according to the second attribute. There is no single method of market segmentation. The manager (or marketing specialist) needs to test methods for segmenting the market based on various parameters (by age, income, etc.). After breaking the market into parts several times, you need to determine which segmentation method reflects the structure of the market most objectively, and choose the best method for yourself. 6. THE PROCESS OF MARKET SEGMENTATION Geographic segmentation. Segmentation by geographic principle breaks the market into different units according to various geographic features: into states, states, regions, districts, villages, cities. A company may produce a product in one or more geographic units, or in all at once, but subject to differences determined by location. Some firms additionally break large units into smaller ones in order to take into account the tastes and needs of the inhabitants of this particular area as much as possible. Segmentation based on demographics. This is the division of the market into groups by age, gender, marital status and other principles. Demographic variables best divide all consumers into competitive groups. This is easily explained by the fact that needs and values are most often associated precisely with demographic characteristics. In addition, demographic characteristics are easier to measure. In statistics, the classification of people and their characteristics are based precisely on demographic characteristics. If a company does not take into account at least one of the demographic characteristics in its research and segmentation, it risks receiving incomplete and unreliable data. At the same time, the company must take into account that demographic characteristics are constantly in dynamics. Psychographic segmentation. With psychographic segmentation, consumers are divided into groups according to the signs of their assignment to a certain social class, lifestyle, based on the psychological characteristics of the individual. This type of classification most fully reflects the characteristics of the selected segments, up to establishing what type of temperament the consumers of this segment have. Segmentation by behavioral principle or the nature of consumption. With this method of segmentation (based on behavioral characteristics), buyers are divided into groups depending on their values, knowledge about the product, attitude towards it, the nature of its use and reaction to the purchase of this product. This principle is more precise than demographic and geographic, it must be taken into account when it is necessary to know information about consumers that can later be used in the development of new products. Buyers can be divided according to the reasons for which purchases are made. Firms that use market differentiation based on reasons for making a purchase will increase the level of use of the product. Benefit-based market differentiation looks for benefits for which consumers buy a particular product. 7. TYPOLOGIES OF CONSUMERS In marketing, the typology of consumers can be carried out according to several classification criteria, depending on the principle by which the company needs to break down its consumers. 1. The degree of consumer commitment to the brand of goods (works, services). Unconditional adherents. These customers are constantly buying the same brand of product. The behavior of the buyer goes in the form of a system 1 1 1 1 1, where 1 is the brand of the product. Even if their favorite brand is not on the shelves, they will patiently wait for it to appear indefinitely. The firm will have great success if at least a part of consumers of this type will be among its customers. Tolerant adherents. These are consumers who purchase goods of various brands. The behavior of the buyer goes in the form of a system1 1 2 2 1 2, where 1 and 2 are brands of goods that the client buys equally well. Fickle adherents often change preferences. Scheme of purchasing behavior type 111 222 indicates that the consumer has shifted his interests for some reason from brand 1 to brand 2. "Wanderers". These are consumers who do not show constant commitment to any of the brands. Scheme of buying behavior type 1 2 3 4 5 4 suggests that a person buys a branded product not according to a certain pattern, but without patterns. The choice each time is based on different arguments (different funds available for the purchase, a change of mood, or a thirst for a new, previously unknown product (brand). 2. Public class. The following classes exist: Inferior inferior. Higher lower. Lower average. Higher average. Lower higher. Supreme supreme. Depending on the consumer's belonging to a certain class, both the interests in the product, values, preferences of a person, and his ability to pay will vary. 3. Lifestyle. Traditionalists. Their views are conservative. Once they liked the product they bought, they are unlikely to change their preferences in the future. Cheerful. They are able to both quickly show interest in the product, and change it to dissatisfaction, which characterizes themselves as fickle buyers. Advertising, mood and various other factors play a role in making a purchase decision. Aesthetes. They value quality, reliability, beauty, harmony of components in a product. Their preference is products that are comfortable and pleasant to use. The high cost of goods is not a problem for them. 4. The intensity of consumption of goods. Weak consumer. Consumes the product infrequently, because its consumption seems to him not so significant. moderate consumer. Consumes more often than a weak consumer. active consumer. The product is necessary for him, he seeks to consume it as often as possible. 8. SELECTION OF TARGET MARKET SEGMENTS. APPLICATION OF MARKET SEGMENTATION IN MARKETING STRATEGY As mentioned above, segmentation is the division of the market into well-defined groups of consumers who may need products that are different from each other. The activity of selecting target market segments includes the process of market segmentation. When marketers have chosen segmentation variables (determined by which of the principles they will divide potential customers, and received market segments (consumer groups) according to these characteristics, it is necessary to make a profile of each of the resulting segments. It is determined what needs the consumers of this consumer segment have, than their needs, wants and demands differ from the needs of consumers in other received segments.Consumers in one segment should have approximately the same reasons for buying a product, reactions to its advantages and disadvantages.Such similar reactions of consumers in one segment to products or work offered by the firm are called segment response profile. In order to assess whether segmentation is carried out correctly, the following rules are established in marketing. All segments need to be: 1) defined. This means that it must be accurately described which consumers are in this segment, what needs they have, how they want to see the product, etc. This requirement must be met in order to make it more convenient for marketers to work with the product and make it as desirable as possible. how the final consumers of the product want to receive it; 2) are quite large in terms of the number of buyers. This requirement must be met in order for the organization to recover the invested costs of changing its marketing strategies in this segment, to cover advertising costs, etc. The larger the segment size, the greater the profit if the organization's strategy is successfully implemented; 3) are available to obtain the result of a conceived marketing strategy. The number of consumers in a given segment must be numerically measurable, i.e., there must be a constant account of whether the number of consumers in this segment is increasing or, conversely, decreasing. Segments obtained as a result of correctly conducted market segmentation should be used for a fairly long period of time, and not change, for example, within a month. This gives marketers the opportunity to constantly study the constructed segment, to know it more and better. The marketing service chooses for itself the segment (s) that it can satisfy with the greatest benefit for itself and consumers. 9. DYNAMICS OF CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF CONSUMER MARKETS Over the course of several decades, one can trace the trend of changes in the structure of consumer markets. The main change is the transition from retail to wholesale. If until the 1950s about 50% of the goods were concentrated in retail, and the rest - in the hands of manufacturers and wholesale intermediaries, now the situation has changed significantly. Now 90% of products are held by wholesalers and only 10% by retail distribution points. The explanation for this fact is to reduce the number of costs in wholesale trade. Lower costs allow large purchasing centers, large wholesale and intermediary companies to significantly reduce the final price of goods, which is an invariable attractive factor for end consumers. Related to this is the extraordinary growth of large distribution centers. Almost 90% of food products in large cities are bought in hyper- and supermarkets, wholesale and retail trade has almost completely replaced the small retail business. Another change in the structure of the consumer market is the transition from the sphere of production to the sphere of service and maintenance. In the Russian consumer market, a huge part is occupied by various service enterprises. The number of specialized travel companies offering services for organizing and accompanying tourists' recreation has increased significantly. Also, the number of beauty salons, hairdressers, clubs and cafes is growing every year. The percentage growth, according to some information, of enterprises of this nature is up to 7% per year. In the last 10 years in Russia, there has also been a trend towards an increase in demand for goods to preserve and improve health. Sports clubs, fitness centers are full of people who want to stay healthy and strong. In the structure of the consumer market, the share of high-quality goods that are beneficial to health is increasing. These are dairy products, vitamins, low-calorie products, etc. Some researchers attribute this interest in health to the fact that the quality of life in Russia, although at a slow pace, is still increasing. The next trend in the structure of the consumer market is the expansion of the sphere of production of computerized equipment and information technologies. New electronics now affect all spheres of human life. The market for mobile communications is growing, and consumers' attention to products that meet environmental safety requirements has increased. Thus, the trend of change in the consumer market in recent decades is defined as an increase in the share of services and goods that meet a healthy lifestyle. 10. GLOBAL CONSUMER MARKETS AND THEIR STRUCTURE With the dynamic development of international marketing activities, the global market is becoming increasingly important. The success of modern international marketing depends on accurate knowledge of the characteristics of its consumers and the ability to use cultural differences in their behavior. However, it should be noted that marketing activities not only depend on the diversity of cultural values, demographics, language features in different countries, but also indirectly affect these criteria. For strategic business orientation to be effective, marketers need to know the global consumer structure as well as its dynamics. Key data on the structure of consumer global markets: the ability to buy, supported by a relatively high solvency, is concentrated in North America, Europe, and Japan. However, the proportion of the population of these countries is falling from year to year. Countries such as Guatemala, Bangladesh, South Africa, India and China are characterized by lower solvency and living standards. However, these countries are experiencing the highest rates of population growth. The economic resources of a market, or solvency, can be measured by per capita income. A measure of purchasing power for marketing purposes may be the "gross national product" (GNP) per capita. Significant in the analysis of the economic activity of consumer national markets may be population growth, measured as a percentage, life expectancy (with possible division by sex), the share of urban and rural population. The combination of population growth and economic well-being of the population of the Pacific region is a fairly promising market for firms with international activities. Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, compared to Europe, have a high population growth rate and relatively high solvency. China and India are also attractive global markets. They are characterized by a large population and its high growth rate, but low gross national product. The demographic and economic structures of world markets are very important in planning the promotion, advertising of a product, its packaging features and primary properties. Culture is an important factor. Traditions, customs, holidays, religious features - all this can become a paramount criterion when choosing products for customers. Knowledge of cultural specifics is simply necessary to manage the consumer behavior of both individual buyers and market segments, regions and even countries of the world. 11. MARKETING STRATEGIES USED IN GLOBAL MARKETS It is very important to know the structure of consumer markets on a global level. However, a key success factor is how well the company can adapt its market strategy to the characteristics of a particular segment. Therefore, to simplify the management of the global consumer market, experts offer a specific segmentation of international markets by country. For example, marketer A. Koni gives his demographically based segmentation of the countries of the world. He suggested that all international markets and countries be divided into 3 large groups. 1. Dependent countries. These include Kenya, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bolivia, and Honduras. These countries are characterized by very low solvency. The price for them is the main criterion when making purchases. Life expectancy in these countries averages about 40 years. Families are mostly large families. Countries not only cannot raise their economies to the average level, but the inhabitants of these countries are not able to support themselves. Instructions for use of the product are illustrated on the packaging due to the low level of education. Various household products and cleaning products are in demand on the market. Luxury items can lie on the shelves unclaimed for decades. 2. Countries-seekers. These include Gabon, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Venezuela, Turkey, Sri Lanka. The average life expectancy in these countries is 60 years, families also mostly have many children. These countries are called seekers, since the well-being of residents depends on investments in their development by more developed countries. Despite the fact that these countries are developing economically, consumer demand is low here. Governments are active in encouraging citizens to buy local goods in order to support their own production in one way or another, but the middle and higher classes have recently begun to appreciate high quality products. 3. Rising countries. These include Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland, South Korea. This country has a higher standard of living. The middle class is already being separated into an independent class. Families have two or three children. Sales of fast food, canned food, semi-finished products, baby care products are growing here; in the area of business goods, the consumption of certain types of office equipment is increasing. Imports in these countries are used as a status symbol. It is believed that foreign goods have a much higher quality. States also try to instill ethnic pride in the citizens of countries. Developed in this group are the USA and Scotland. 12. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND PURCHASE DECISION MAKING Buyer behavior is observed and studied to understand how a buyer makes a purchase decision. The study of internal patterns allows organizations that produce and offer a product on the market to always coordinate their product marketing strategy in accordance with the changes that occur in consumer motivation to buy a product. It can be very difficult to determine what exactly guides a person when making this decision, however, if the company manages to determine this, it will ensure itself, at a minimum, regular customers and a positive image of the company. If the company does not care about what needs currently prevail among the buyer and how he decides to buy this or that product, it will never be able to satisfy the needs of buyers, so sooner or later it will be on the verge of bankruptcy. It should be noted here that consumers can be of two types: consumers of personal goods or consumers of industrial goods. Moreover, if in the first case the end consumer is an individual, then in the second case the customer and consumer is an industrial firm. In this case, the goods are materials, various raw materials or equipment, that is, everything that a company needs to produce products and then either sell them independently or use them for the needs of the organization. The decision to buy industrial goods is no longer made by one person, but by a group of specialists, so studying the consumer behavior of industrial firms is a little more difficult than studying the behavior of one individual. Procurement participants who make a decision to purchase industrial goods: 1) the buyer is the purchasing or supply managers. These people have nominal power to make purchasing decisions. They also determine the volume, terms of purchases, negotiate with suppliers; 2) the user of the goods are those employees who use the goods for their work duties, for example, engineers, masons, technologists, workers. They directly evaluate the quality of the product and can influence a second purchase decision; 3) influential persons are those employees of the organization whose opinion must be taken into account when making a decision on procurement (chief accountant, expert, consultant and other employees); 4) the person directly making the decision to purchase - the head of the company. It is he who is responsible for the decision made, and without his consent, the purchase cannot be made; 5) gatekeepers are employees involved in documentation, which can indirectly influence the final decision on the purchase. 13. CUSTOMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS. MAIN STAGES OF THE CONSUMER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS Consider the main stages of decision-making by the consumer. 1. Awareness of the need. A person is aware of a need when his desired state does not coincide with reality (appearance, health, etc.). Awareness of the need for something is caused by various reasons: the ways of satisfying existing needs have been exhausted, the former product has ceased to satisfy. Realizing a need in himself, a person compares it with moral laws, and if it does not contradict them, then the need becomes a need. After that, a person begins to look for ways in which he can find information about the desired product. 2. Search for information - a person is looking for new information using an internal search or in the external environment. A person first of all turns to himself, his experience and memory. He asks himself how much he knows about the product, how objective this opinion is. Then, with an unsatisfied answer to the above questions, the consumer begins to look for external ways to obtain information. He can refer to the point of view of the seller of the goods, his friends, family. It is very important when making a decision and sometimes even plays a decisive role in the final decision. Product information contains: 1) in advertising sources (booklets, catalogues, magazine articles, TV advertisements, etc.); 2) in places of its distribution (shops, stalls, supermarkets). 3. Pre-purchase assessment of a possible variant of behavior on specific grounds. This level is used by consumers who compare a variety of products, from a large number of products offered by the market, they want to choose the most suitable product in terms of quality and price. 4. Purchase - the buyer becomes the owner of a particular product. 5. Consumption - the use of goods. The product may be consumed immediately or its consumption may be delayed for some time. The nature of consumption must be known in advance (it is found out with the help of a survey, observation, experiment). 6. Post-purchase behavior of the consumer - the degree of consumer satisfaction with the consumed product. If a product meets or exceeds customer expectations, marketers may well expect to buy again. Loyal (faithful) customers are currently the subject of competition, since it is regular customers who are a reliable guarantee of a certain volume of sales. With such consumers, it is always necessary to work on improving their attitude towards the product and consolidating a positive attitude towards the company, brand or product. 7. The last level is processing or disposal of the goods. 14. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PURCHASE DECISION There are many reasons that can indirectly or directly affect the decision to buy a product. In order to simplify the process of studying many factors, it was decided to use their specific classification. Thus, it is customary to distinguish the following groups of factors. 1. Personal factors. The life cycle of the family (the period that the consumer is experiencing at this stage of making a purchase decision). Consumer lifestyle. In fact, whatever needs may be in the head of the consumer, if he observes a certain lifestyle, he will never purchase the product that will run counter to his lifestyle. Lifestyle includes the beliefs of a person, his values and interests, which at the moment of life are paramount for him. Personality type (is the person active, how self-confident, does he have ambitions, how independent and self-confident is he). Self-image: how a person sees himself, what place he defines for himself in this world, how much he respects himself, whether he pities himself, etc. A social class where groups with similar positions and occupations are united. It is not the last place when shopping. 2. Social factors. reference groups. To some extent, they affect a person. These can be primary groups (with which a person is in constant contact, such as family) or secondary (those with which a person communicates less often). There are the following types of influence: 1) normative, which is based on the use of fines, rules of activity, orders; 2) value-oriented. A person accepts the values and beliefs of the group voluntarily (for example, becomes a member of a subculture, etc.); 3) informational - receipt by a person of any data; 4) a social role is a certain participation of each person in the life of society; 5) status. The position of a person in society often does not give him the opportunity to realize all his needs and desires, since the status acts as a certain kind of limiting lever. 3. Psychological factors: 1) perception, through which the things of the environment are reflected, assimilated and transmitted to other people. It is from the perception of the meaning that advertisers put into advertising that its action depends; 2) assimilation - a person masters various skills in relation to a particular product; 3) attitude - these are emotions that appear in a person based on his past experience, knowledge in relation to certain products, goods, services. If a consumer has a negative attitude towards a brand or product, it will be difficult for the manufacturer to change it. 15. TYPES OF DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES: PRIMARY, REPEATED, IMPULSE PURCHASES Purchase decision-making processes can be divided into 3 large groups: initial purchases, repeated and impulsive purchases. In order to competently manage and influence consumer behavior, it is necessary to know in advance what kind of purchase is mainly made by consumers of a certain market segment. To do this, you need to consider the features of each type of purchase. Initial purchase. If a person first has an unmet need for a particular product, most likely he will begin an active search for information about this product. This will be an external search, i.e. studying the advertising offers of various companies, seeking advice from friends, relatives, acquaintances, and an internal search - referring to past experience, analyzing associations that have surfaced in memory associated with a similar or given product, or even listening to your intuition. In this decision-making process, marketers need to focus on advertising goods at points of sale, developing interesting, attention-grabbing packaging, conducting various PR campaigns, developing an exclusive promotion system - in general, do everything that can draw consumer attention to the company's product. Repeat purchases, as a rule, are not distinguished by high consumer loyalty. If the consumer came for the second time for the goods, this does not mean at all that he will buy the same goods as the first time. If satisfaction with the first product was high, then it is likely, of course, that he will make a second purchase of the same product. However, if this product is not on the shelf, it may switch to another product. When developing a marketing strategy for repeat purchases, it is necessary to monitor the availability of product distribution centers, as well as carry out various customer retention activities. These can be gifts for repeat purchases, discounts, etc. Impulse purchases differ from the first two types in that they are not planned for the consumer. For example, before entering the store, the consumer did not feel the need to buy chocolate. However, in the window he saw a special offer: the opportunity to buy two chocolates for the price of one. In this case, a person does not have time to think, he is guided only by emotions. For example, he might think, "If I don't take advantage of this offer now, someone else will buy all the chocolates." There is a need to act quickly - to make a purchase. Often impulsive purchases are made not only under the influence of sales promotion, but also due to limited time to buy or limited assortment in the window. 16. RESEARCH OF THE FEATURES OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS BY CONSUMERS To develop a marketing strategy, it is necessary first of all to determine what type of problem the consumer is solving when he intends to make a purchase. According to one American researcher, the problems facing the consumer differ from each other in their complexity and fall into 3 broad categories: 1) simple and habitually solvable problems. This type includes, for example, the daily purchase of bread, pens and stationery for the office. The cost of such products is usually low. Brand loyalty is unlikely as the customer buys what is currently on display. The properties of the product are familiar to the consumer, he does not feel the need to search for information for the optimal choice of product; 2) limited problems. Such problems are characterized by some novelty and uncertainty. The responsibility for such a purchase is greater than in the previous case. The cost of goods is higher. An example of this type of goods can be food products such as coffee, tea, semi-finished products, household appliances (coffee grinders, vacuum cleaners, small TVs, etc.); 3) extended problems. The problems of such a purchase are high complexity due to its novelty and high uncertainty. Such a purchase is the purchase of an expensive computer, washing machine, high-tech equipment, etc. The division of solutions into these types is rather arbitrary, but it is carried out to identify the direction of marketing activities for each specific type of solution. In the process of moving from the first type of purchase to the latter, the complexity of the purchase and the level of consumer involvement increase. The level of involvement shows how much the consumer is interested in the process of a particular purchase, how important the result of using the product is for him. When studying the features of decision-making for marketers, an important factor is loyalty to a brand, product or company. Loyalty is an indicator of devotion, attachment of the buyer to a particular product, company or brand. Consumer loyalty appears in the event that the choice once made was satisfied. Marketers should always strive not only to acquire new consumers, but also to constantly fight for existing ones, forming their loyalty to the product. A long-term commitment to a product can be maintained if, firstly, the consumer believes that this product, brand or company best suits his needs, and secondly, a sufficiently strong emotional attachment of the consumer to this product is formed. 17. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OF SOCIETY The views of marketers and researchers on the relationship between social stratification and marketing are quite contradictory. Some believe that in order to function normally in the existing environment and satisfy the needs of customers, it is not necessary to divide all prospective and existing buyers into social classes. Promotion of products on the modern market (both Russian and foreign) does not always require accurate identification of the client's social class. It is also believed that it is quite enough to know the income and standard of living of the prospective buyer in order to competently manage his consumer behavior, since these factors are often the main ones in determining the solvency of a person. However, when considering this issue from the other side, it becomes obvious that social stratification is used not only for market segmentation, but also for positioning your product on the market. Often, when buying a particular product, the consumer chooses it not so much because of its properties, but because of the desire to correspond to a certain status. Social status has a strong influence on how people think about shopping. For example, a customer may like one brand of soap because of the smell, but because it is cheap, he will prefer to buy more expensive soap. People of low status prefer to buy in small retail outlets where there is a possibility of contact between the buyer and the seller. At the same time, friendly service is very important for buyers of this social status. Wealthy people with good education are more confident in their purchasing power, they buy exactly what they like, and are willing to spend substantial money on it. However, until the buyer finds what they need, they will look for it and experiment, choosing between different stores, brands and products. Exquisite shop windows, pleasant service and quality products influence the behavior of such consumers. There is such a thing as status crystallization. The higher the crystallization of the status of an individual, the more high status assessments he has in various areas. For example, status can be measured by a person's income, education, occupation, etc. So, if a person has a high income, a prestigious field of activity, owns a summer house and a car, is a highly educated specialist, then the crystallization of his status will be very high. If a person is highly educated, engaged in a prestigious business, but has a small income, then the crystallization of his status will be lower. 18. SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY IN COUNTRIES WITH DEVELOPED MARKET ECONOMY Consider the social structure of society in countries with developed market economies using the example of the United States. Crystallization of status in this state is low. This means that a high assessment of a person's social status on one criterion is not always accompanied by a high assessment on another (for example, high income, but no education). Classical approaches to structuring American society: 1) the functional approach is based on the occupation, income level, living conditions of the individual, as well as on how a person identifies with a particular ethnic or racial group; 2) the reputational approach is based on the interaction of people in society based on social status (equal, superior or inferior). The approach is based on prestige (personal and group). Thus, the classification is not based on a specific parameter of education or income, but consists of a general picture of a person's life. The social class structure of American society according to the functional approach is as follows (division into classes): 1) upper upper class (less than 1% of the US population). This group includes well-known aristocrats, big businessmen who inherited a fortune. The children of such people study only in prestigious expensive universities. Usually expensive and exquisite jewelry, antiques, expensive, but strict, not flashy clothes are bought; 2) lower upper class (2%). People usually fall into this class from the middle through long and hard work, thanks to business abilities, active management of big business. Children of people of this class are educated in prestigious schools. Acquisitions included: expensive yachts and jewels, anything that might impress the lower classes; 3) the upper middle class (12%). Members' incomes are low. From consumer preferences - houses, expensive furniture, etc.; 4) the middle class (32%) are workers with an average salary. Representatives of this class try to educate children in good schools, prefer to follow the fashion in shopping; 5) the working class (38%) is the most numerous. The incomes of people in this class are average or below average. Buy cheap cars. There is a need for advice on shopping as there is no possibility of buying expensive items that do not meet the needs of the time; 6) upper lower class (9%). Representatives are often uneducated, working in low-paid jobs. The main goal is to break out of a given class into higher ones; 7) lower lower class (7%). Representatives live on benefits, do not work, cannot afford good food. 19. SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF MODERN RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND THE DYNAMICS OF ITS CHANGE Consider the social structure of Russian society. in Russia in the 1990s. the level of crystallization of the status has sharply decreased. This is explained by the gap in the market reform of the economy (there has been a transition to perfect competition, from an administrative economy to a market economy) and the speed of improvement in the educational sphere. The consequence is an insufficient level of education for a competitive job market. Thus, during the 1990s. in Russia, individuals whose education did not exceed secondary school became businessmen and important figures. However, these people may well provide for themselves and their families with expensive goods, they can afford expensive vacations, etc. With the development of market relations in Russia, the emergence of new social strata of the population, a fairly strong transformation of the socio-economic structure of society, and its adaptation to a market economy are taking place. The so-called shadow economy is of great importance today. Due to the lack of the necessary accurate and reliable data on real education, income and employment, there are no precise social classification schemes in Russia. The problems of determining the level of education of Russian citizens include the "purchase" of education. According to experts, about 45% of the diplomas received in Russia are purchased, i.e. the fact of education is unreliable. This, of course, complicates the determination of the status of an individual by such a criterion as education. According to the criterion of profitability, it is also impossible to carry out an unambiguous crystallization, since from 25 to 40% of the country's economy is "in the shade." The salaries given out "in envelopes" do not allow revealing the real income of the population. It is also quite difficult to talk about the real status of a person's occupations. It is possible to identify the position and organization in which a person is listed, but this will not provide information about his actual employment and functions. For these reasons, i.e., due to the lack of reliable information about the values of the criteria for the social status of the population, it is not possible to create a model of the social class structure in Russia that would actually reflect the standard of living in the country at the present time. The only thing that is unequivocal is the fact that a little less than half of the population of Russia belongs to the lower social class. The social structure of modern Russian society is in constant motion, which is caused by changes in the sphere of economic, legal, cultural and social relations. Due to changes in these spheres of society, the interests of certain groups of individuals are changing, new concepts of interaction between members of society are being developed. 20. MARKETING AND EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL FACTORS ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR For marketing purposes, it is very important to study the influence of social factors on consumer behavior. Each class has different needs and values and is guided by different criteria when making a purchase decision. Consider the preferences of different classes in certain life processes. Consumers generally prefer the kind of leisure that is popular in their own or closest social class. Considering the preferences of different classes in the field of sports, it can be noted that tennis and bridge are games of the middle and upper classes. Consumers of these classes perceive this type of leisure not only as a sport, but also as an opportunity to communicate with people of their own or higher class, show themselves and learn the news of business and social life. Boxing is considered a predominantly lower class sport. Representatives of the upper class in music prefer classical works. The size and forms of information retrieval when making a purchasing decision by representatives of different classes are also different. The lower social classes are limited in information search, therefore, when buying a product, they are often not sure whether they made the right choice. Such buyers need to provide information at the point of sale or place the advantages of the product on the packaging. Middle class consumers look for information in the media or the Internet. It is important to consider which class the product offered to the market is more focused on. It is necessary to think over advertising, as well as sales promotion and PR activities, based on the characteristics of consumers in the target market segment. So, for people of lower social strata of the population, it is necessary to carry out such sales promotion activities, where additional goods will be offered for free, the image of the product will be disclosed in detail, or there will be an offer of two goods for the price of one. These factors will play a decisive role in your purchasing decision. In an advertising message, it must be taken into account that for different segments of consumers, the style of the message of advertising information should be different (it can be conversational or business style). For example, advertising for products for the upper class uses more intricate words, slang is not allowed in it, because representatives of the upper strata do not want to identify themselves with representatives of the lower strata. Advertising products for the middle and lower classes focuses, as a rule, on the physical qualities of the product, its practical application, low price, etc. Advertising information is presented in a conversational style. 21. CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE OF CULTURE Culture plays a huge role in shaping consumer behavior. On the one hand, culture is the totality of all values that a person has created in the course of his activity. These are material values, which are various objects: books, computers, houses - and the spiritual accumulations of mankind - relationships, ideas. Culture includes such concepts as knowledge, religion, art - in general, everything that a person acquires, being a social being. The concept of culture includes three sets of factors that form the model of culture - a three-dimensional matrix. This matrix is a combination of a set of cultural values, material environment and institutional (social) environment. In the material environment, these values can manifest themselves in the form of the economic development of the country, the geographical characteristics of the region, natural resources, scientific level, etc. In the institutional (social) environment, values can manifest themselves in the form of the legal policy of the state, the characteristics of political activity, the business environment (business environment), the religious characteristics of society, the presence, as well as the severity and prevalence of a subculture. Culture significantly influences the judgment and behavior of consumers. The strongest influence of culture on consumer behavior occurs in the areas of self-perception: this is the definition of oneself, one’s place, role in the world, awareness of one’s social status, self-confidence, worldview, assessment of the space in which a person is constantly located (for example, office space, territories the whole country or firm), and preferences in clothing and appearance, eating habits. Culture also significantly influences relationships in the family, organization, society, values and norms, beliefs, mental processes and learning, work style and experience. Consider the features of culture in relation to consumer behavior: 1) culture acquired in the process of finding a person in society. Learning and instilling cultural values take place already from the birth of a person, when his parents and the people around him day by day inspire him with existing and supposed values. Culture does not contain instincts, but influences how they are satisfied. Cultural values determine the direction of consumer behavior, sometimes putting their own needs and requirements in the background; 2) culture most often acts as a kind of limiter of needs and ways to satisfy them. Often, under the influence of cultural values, traditions, customs, people are forced to leave their needs not fully satisfied. 22. IMPACT OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Marketing strategies attempt to reflect and analyze consumer goals. This is due to the fact that values are fairly well-established beliefs, ideas that the consumer accepts over a long period of his life. The values of any person can change, acquiring a new form. There is a link between cultural values and consumption purposes. Cultural values should be reflected in the properties of products. These product features act as a means for marketers and consumers to achieve specific consumption goals. Thus, there are some recommendations for marketers to increase the likelihood of meeting the final consumption goals using the attributes (properties) of the proposed product. In order for the consumer to know that he can satisfy his consumption goals when using this product, it is necessary to focus on these properties in advertising messages, in brochures, outdoor advertising at the points of sale of the product. The consumer, having come to the store, sees what specific benefits can be obtained from the use of this product. It is also important to link product properties (eg mild flavor) to positive outcomes (healthy benefits). The significance of culture and cultural values in consumer behavior and its dynamic development have necessitated research into their nature. Currently, 2 research methods are widely used. 1. The method of inventory of cultural values. All possible values that may prevail in the consumer in the process of buying a product are described and studied. Taking into account the analysis of each of the studied values, a strategy is formed for each product with respect to this value. The results must be included in the advertising message. Usually, there are 8 core values that prevail in the modern buyer: 1) self-realization, success, growth; 2) emotional arousal; 3) a sense of achievement; 4) self-esteem, self-esteem growth; 5) a sense of belonging, connection, communication; 6) respect by other people; 7) emotional and physical security; 8) fun, pleasure, pleasant pastime. 2. The method of interviewing respondents. Many marketing and consulting agencies periodically conduct special marketing research to identify the structure of consumer values, as well as the dynamics of their changes. Respondents (interviewees) can be both specially selected people suitable for a certain market segment, and random people who are interviewed right at the shops or on the street. Questionnaires should be drawn up clearly, clearly, and the survey process itself should not take much time from the respondent. 23. IMPACT OF SUBCULTURE (ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS, AGE, ETC.) ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR In addition to the usual culture that is common to most members of society, there are also subcultures in any social association of people. A subculture is the culture of a large group of people that is part of a larger social group. Subculture is different from culture. Subcultural differences in the modern world are determined by various factors: ethnicity, religious preferences, occupation, region, gender, age, social class, etc. For marketing, the study of subcultures is very important, since each society has not one common type of culture, but a rather motley picture of various subcultures. A subculture may coincide in some ways with the main culture, such subcultures are called supportive; there are also subcultures whose values are opposed to those of the mainstream cultures. These subcultures are called countercultures. Sociologists believe that the term "counterculture" refers to a subculture that not only differs in its values from the patterns of the dominant culture, but also challenges it, thereby provoking a war of cultures. Recently, in many cases, members of society are suspicious of the subculture, because they do not know what to expect from it. If with the help of subcultures a person can perceive and express the basic values of society in different ways, then the counterculture speaks of individual contradiction and the rejection of samples of the main culture of society. The desire to accept the values of the counterculture arises in the individual as a result of the negative experience of following the patterns of dominant cultures. At the same time, it is worth noting that the contradictory values of the counterculture can cause long-term disagreements in society. Sometimes counterculture values infiltrate the mainstream culture through the media and become part of the culture itself. At the same time, the impact on the dominant culture can be both positive and negative. For marketing purposes, the study of subcultures common in the occupied market is important, since neglecting them can cause not only ignorance by representatives of the company's product, but also open dissatisfaction. An example would be a store in the United States, where a large proportion of the population was Hispanic. Marketers decided to make inscriptions on signs and signs in Spanish, which earned the trust and loyalty of many visitors. Thus, taking into account the characteristics of subcultures in the region where the company offers its goods and services, it is necessary to constantly monitor the state and dynamics of subcultures. 24. CULTURE OF CONSUMPTION, ITS FORMATION, DYNAMICS OF DEVELOPMENT Culture influences all kinds of human activity. There is a culture of work and life, economic and social culture, a culture of family relations, etc. One of the types of culture is the culture of consumption - this is the prevailing form of use by members of this society of the entire set of consumer goods that exists in a particular society. It includes beliefs about consumer values and norms that govern consumption and consumer habits arising from the constant consumption of goods, consumer rights and obligations. The culture of consumption also includes objective and subjective aspects. The objective aspect of the culture of consumption includes the characteristics of the product, the conditions for its purchase, sale, that is, something that exists independently of the consumer. The subjective aspect reflects the individual's attitude to the product and its properties, how a person perceives the product and remakes it to his taste. The consumer culture of a person can change under the influence of some factors (for example, when he moves to another country for permanent residence). The culture of consumption cannot be called a sustainable phenomenon. It is in a constant process of change and reproduction. The dynamics of consumer culture is manifested in the rapid change of preferences, fashion, consumer basket, in the form of their presentation and interpretation (often prestigious things quickly become old-fashioned, etc.). Rationing the culture of consumption consists of certain parts, such as: 1) norms - rules and patterns of behavior dictated to a person by the culture prevailing in his society; 2) ideals - desirable norms that cause admiration, but are inaccessible at the present and in the near future; 3) samples - patterns of behavior that are recommended to the buyer as the most desirable; 4) law - a set of norms and patterns of behavior, enshrined in legislative acts. Violation of rights entails liability, which is also enshrined in legislation. The rights of consumers are protected by the legislation of the Russian Federation. The Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 "On Protection of Consumer Rights" is of the greatest importance in this area. This normative act establishes the right of the consumer (buyer) to demand compensation for damage caused due to defects in the goods (work, service). The consumer has the right, at his choice, to demand from the seller to eliminate defects free of charge, reduce the price or replace the purchased product if it turned out to be of poor quality. For violation of consumer rights, organizations must bear responsibility established by law. 25. INTRODUCTION OF NEW GOODS (SERVICES) TO THE MARKET AND THE ATTITUDE OF CONSUMERS TO THEM Any company, no matter how successful it may be, sooner or later faces the need to update its product or launch a completely new product or service on the market. This is due to the fact that constantly developing competition does not allow manufacturers to stand still. There is always a possibility that tomorrow a product will appear on the market that will be better than the previous one in terms of its properties. All new products can be divided into several groups: 1) world-class novelties. Such innovations are patented inventions and represent the basis for the formation of new product markets; 2) new product lines; 3) updating existing products by giving them new properties, modifying packaging, taste, etc.; 4) expansion of the range; 5) repositioning - offering goods to new market segments. When developing new products, it is very important to analyze the preferences of the market and make sure that the conceived novel product will be in demand in the market. When developing innovative products, marketers should adhere to the following scheme of work stages: 1) developing an idea for a new product. The starting point for developing an idea is existing needs. The product must first of all satisfy the needs and needs of its customers. bathers who need to see exactly what they lack at the moment; 2) consideration and selection of ideas. A conclusion is made about the need to introduce the product to the market, all available ideas are analyzed and only a few of them are displayed that meet all the requirements and capabilities of the organization (production capacity, financial reserves, etc.); 3) product concept development. The choice of the main idea: what qualities the new product should be better than those already existing on the market, how to position the product; 4) approbation of goods on the market. It involves a test - the release of a limited amount of goods in order to determine the reaction of consumers to it. If the result is positive, then you can proceed to the last stage; 5) development of a product promotion strategy. In order for the consumer to be able to accept a new product, the following conditions must be met: 1) the benefits of the product must be obvious; 2) the novelty must meet the preferences and needs of the consumer; 3) the complexity of the use and perception of a new product should be small; 4) the possibility of using the product in small portions (toilet water in sample bottles of 20 ml); 5) the possibility of describing the novelty in familiar terms that are understandable to the consumer; 6) awareness of the user about the merits of the novelty product. 26. FASHION AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Fashion influences consumer behavior to a certain extent. Fashion is the process of socially forming the boundary between fashionable and unfashionable parts of society. The boundary can also be drawn between fashionable and unfashionable people in society, fashionable and unfashionable clothes, etc. In the so-called fashionable part of the social space, a fast-moving process of changing consumer preferences takes place. Fashion models (models of behavior, clothing, consumer goods) play the role of indicators of modernity and prestige. In the unfashionable part, consumer preferences change much more slowly. In this society, a completely different logic of choosing a product operates - the emphasis is not on the prestige and fashionability of a particular product, but on its practicality, useful qualities, and the need at the moment. Most often, people of this type include those who already have their own families and do not have a high income. If an individual identifies himself as a fashionable person, he monitors all changes in fashion. Such people attend fashion shows in order to stay up to date with what is happening in the world of high fashion, and try to follow it by buying fashionable clothes in expensive boutiques. Often people who consider fashion the basis of their lives are not very interested in the practicality of things. They know in advance that, perhaps, in a few weeks, the fashion for this thing will pass and it will turn out to be unnecessary. As a rule, such people (most often young people) are ready to spend quite large sums to look fashionable. The income of such buyers is above average. People who resist fashion trends ignore fashion processes, focusing on functionality, utility, product quality, etc. In addition to fashionable and unfashionable people, a new group of consumers has recently appeared - these are people who try to follow fashion, keep up with the main trends, but they also take into account functional parameters in the product. They will prefer to buy a thing that is more or less fashionable (not from the last five years), but with parameters acceptable to them (such as practicality, convenience, comfort). Firms targeting this segment of the consumer market need to take this into account. For example, in food products for children, it is necessary to provide for their usefulness, saturation with vitamins, etc., and as a fashionable attribute, provide stickers from cartoons, films, etc. that are fashionable among children for a given period, as a gift. It should be noted that fashion can only exist in a society in which there is a significant inequality of the social strata of the population. 27. CONSUMER CULTURE STUDY Consumer culture is far from static. It usually evolves and changes slowly over time. However, sometimes in special cases, significant changes in the culture of consumption are possible within a relatively short period of time. This can happen for a variety of reasons: due to rapid technological advances, conflicts between existing values where one value eventually becomes another, the impact of values from another culture, or international events. Marketing managers must understand and analyze not only the existing cultural values of individual segments of the market in which the firm operates, but also the emerging cultural values of society as a whole. In order to always keep abreast of events and know which product is consumed more and why, and which one has been waiting for its consumer for several months, it is necessary to constantly monitor changes in the culture of consumption and consumer values. In addition to the usual means of tracking the dynamics of cultural values and the culture of consumption itself - consumer surveys and analysis of the data received, it is necessary to constantly find new means of obtaining information about your customers and, analyzing it, make adjustments! to product properties. So, observation and field research are reliable methods for studying the characteristics of consumer culture. Observation is one of the most significant qualitative methods borrowed by marketers from anthropologists. Consumer panels are also a good quality method. Consumers interviewed once are invited to repeat interviews after six months, a year or another time period, depending on the established dynamics of changes in consumer preferences. Also, to study the characteristics of the culture of consumption, you can use content analysis. This method studies the cultural values and preferences reflected in the media and literary sources of the culture under study. These sources are reviewed by researchers to identify recurring issues. It is often quite difficult to trace changes in the culture of consumption, since the influence of culture is not always recognized by a person. He behaves in a certain way because it seems natural to him, although in fact the cultural traditions are so firmly settled in his head that he cannot even imagine that other behavior is possible. Thus, the study of the characteristics of the culture of consumption becomes at this stage of marketing development an important factor in the success of product sales. 28. THE CONCEPT OF SMALL GROUPS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION The behavior of an individual can be greatly influenced by the group in which he works, communicates and interacts. As a rule, small groups have a special influence - a small association of people from 2 to 35 people. The difference between a small group and other associations is that the members of a small group closely interact with each other, they are united either by a common goal or common interests. The work collective, the family, the company of friends - all this can be called a small group, which largely influences the behavior of the individual. A certain classification of small groups can be distinguished. According to the degree of naturalness of the formation of a small group, natural (real) small groups and nominal (formal) small groups are distinguished. Nominal small groups include groups that have united out of necessity, for the sake of conducting some kind of experiment, etc. People belonging to groups of this type are not united by common desires and goals. As a rule, such groups do not exist for long, until the one-time purpose of the meeting of this group is achieved. Real groups act as opposite to the nominal ones. The people in these groups are similar in their needs to each other. They are united either by common goals or interests, or by family and friendly ties. An example of a real group is a family or circle of close friends. By the time of existence, temporary small groups and stable ones are distinguished. The time of existence of a temporary small group is limited by certain limits, stable groups are characterized by the constancy of their existence. An example of a temporary group is a group of campers. An example of a stable small group is a family, a work team, a student group. Depending on the degree of possibility for new members to join the group, open and closed small groups are distinguished. There are also formal and informal small groups. Formal groups are groups that operate within a particular organization. The goals of formal small groups are set by the head of this group or the entire organization. Informal small groups include voluntary associations of people based on common interests. Within the framework of a formal small group (a department in an organization), informal groups can be formed (a group of football fans, for example). There are also groups of referential, non-referential and anti-referential. The first type includes groups whose members share its values. Non-reference groups are characterized by low attention and value of the general group opinion for an individual. And the members of the anti-reference group not only ignore the opinion of the group, but also oppose it. 29. REFERENCE GROUPS A reference group is a group whose opinions, values, attitudes and beliefs can influence a consumer's purchase decision. Reference groups evoke a certain style of thinking in a person, influencing him not only in the process of his behavior as a consumer, but also in any life situation. The study of the influence of such groups on the individual is not only important in studying consumer behavior at the time of purchase, but also necessary for obtaining more information about the lifestyle of your potential customer. If marketers can understand how reference groups influence an individual, they can manage this influence and use it for their own purposes. According to various classification criteria, reference groups are: 1) primary. These groups most clearly affect the individual. Members of these groups are people whose opinion a person, at his own request, can put above his own. As a rule, a person communicates with this group very often, interaction with members of the group is almost continuous. An example of this group would be the consumer's family. The study of the influence of this group requires the greatest focus of attention from marketers, since the final purchase decision depends on it; 2) secondary. Decisions under the influence of such a group also imply constant continuous contact with the consumer, however, the influence occurs to a lesser extent. Such a group includes, for example, professional organizations, trade unions, and other associations; 3) aspiration groups. The individual tries to associate himself with the members of this group. He accepts the rules of this group, in everything he tries to comply with group norms and values. A person considers being close to this group prestigious, worthy, therefore, he strives to manifest his "I" as the "I" of this aspiration group; 4) dissociative groups. On the contrary, a person tries to contact such groups as little as possible, therefore any memories, associations associated with this particular group cause him unpleasant emotions. It can be various informal groups. A person not only does not accept the values of this group, he actively rejects them and tries to fight them; 5) formal groups. The rules of these groups are structured, described in the relevant documents and must be accepted by all members of the group. However, the desire to comply with these values depends on the individual motivation of a person, how much he himself wants to follow these standards. An example of such a public association are parties formed on political grounds; 6) informal groups. The norms are less structured, communication within the group does not take place according to the rules, but when addressed face to face. 30. OPINION LEADERS, GROUP RULES, CONFORMITY Often, the consumer behavior of an individual is influenced by the opinion of certain leaders. Leaders are people whose views, values and beliefs are consciously and voluntarily recognized by others. The opinion of leaders in a certain field is extremely important for certain market segments. That is why it is important to study how and why leaders influence customer opinion in order to manage consumer behavior. All opinion leaders have certain characteristics. First, it is engagement. If we consider a certain area, the leader in it will be a person who is sufficiently knowledgeable in this area, who has extensive experience in this area. Let's say, among pregnant women walking in the yard, the leader in the field of childbirth and preparation for them will be a woman who already has 3 children. She will advise other women based on her knowledge and experience in these areas. She will be listened to because of her colossal experience. Opinion leaders are also characterized by innovation. This means that people whose opinion is higher than the opinions of other people will always be positive about innovation, will not be conservative in their views. These people, as a rule, are socially active, sociable, have many friends and acquaintances, lead a dynamic lifestyle, are cheerful, and are also independent in their views and judgments. It should be noted that in one area a person can be an opinion leader and at the same time look for such a leader in another, less studied and mastered area. Often, the recipients of information (whose opinion is dependent on the opinions of the leader) belong to the same demographic segment (in terms of gender, age, lifestyle, these people will be approximately in the same position). In order for the leader himself to want to be one, motivation is necessary. If it is, the leader will actively promote his opinion. Basic motivational requirements: 1) involvement. The tendency of a leader to initiate a conversation on a given topic is directly proportional to the degree of his involvement in a particular topic. For example, a girl who has purchased a new skin care product simply wants to share her overwhelming experience of using the cream with her friends; 2) elevation in one's own eyes. For example, an employee buys and masters a new subject of organizational technology, then informs colleagues about his professional achievement, while towering in his own eyes; 3) caring for others can also motivate a person to share their positive or negative experiences with loved ones; 4) conformism. The tendency of group members to agree with group opinion even in cases where personal opinion contradicts group opinion. 31. FEATURES OF THE REFERENCE GROUP INFLUENCE ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR The reference group influences consumer behavior in different ways. There are several main types of influence on consumers: 1) informational; 2) regulatory; 3) value-oriented. Each type of influence is characterized by its strength, time of influence, so marketers need to approach the study of each type of influence thoughtfully. Let's characterize each type of influence. Informational influence is manifested in the fact that the group tells, informs the consumer about what values it has learned from the product in its experience. For example, one family purchased a sofa and is satisfied with its quality, reliability, etc. She shares her impressions of using the sofa with another family, about the characteristics of the product used. The family that receives the information becomes more confident that it is necessary to make a purchase of this particular sofa. The information influence is most significant when it is difficult to assess the characteristics of the product by observing or describing the product in advertising, on labels, in the catalog, that is, when its quality is manifested only in use. Then consumers, as a rule, listen to the opinion of people who have already tried the products, and it can become decisive. This principle is called the principle of social proof. The normative influence is more definite. The essence of influence comes down to the individual following the principles and norms that exist in a particular group. At the same time, the individual obeys the norms not always of his own free will, but for a certain reward or in order to avoid sanctions and fines for violating the norms of the group. At the same time, the significance and strength of the normative influence of the group are reduced to the significance of the reward (or loss from sanctions) for the use of norms or their violation. Value-oriented influence (value-expressive, or identification). The person himself wants to accept the values of the group. Usually the main goal of following the norms of the reference group is the desire to improve the image in the eyes of other people or one's own self-esteem. At the same time, the group acts for a person as a kind of ideal of values, to which the person himself aspires. He accepts any rules of the group, being absolutely sure that they are correct. Each person experiences influences of various kinds. Often different types of influence can contribute to the choice of one product. Marketers need to find out what influence a person has when choosing a particular product, and try to influence it using certain mechanisms. 32. ESSENCE OF PERSPECTIVE STANDARDIZATION The influence of reference groups is very successfully used in marketing to control consumer behavior. In order to correctly use the influence of groups, you must first consider to what extent, in what form and for which consumers this influence should be used for marketing purposes. The scheme allows you to start such an analysis, based on the specifics of consumer behavior. Marketers are given the opportunity to use one or more types of influence of reference groups on an individual: informational, normative, value-oriented. The influence of reference groups in the development of the marketing mix can be used in determining the properties of the product, setting its final price, place of sale, and promoting sales. This marketing mix is called "4P" after the first letters of the English variants of the words "product", "price", "place", "promotion". Quite often, the influence of reference groups on the buying process occurs in the form of conformism - the subordination of a person's opinions, thoughts and judgments to group opinions, thoughts and judgments. Conformity is quite often used in the practice of selling products at home for a group of neighbors, when a group of familiar people gathers and, under the influence of a well-written presentation, one of the listeners shows a desire to buy a product, others believe that they should not be worse than a person who is ready to buy a product. Thus, the number of people wishing to purchase such a product is increasing. The rest will simply look like white crows in front of the neighbors and, of course, they will also be forced to purchase the proposed product. The same effect of conformism is used in the process of collecting donations for public needs at various public meetings. Conformism is also used to submit intra-organizational projects for approval, at meetings of persons who in one way or another can influence the decision-making. The development of most modern advertising messages is also based on the influence of reference groups. The plot of TV commercials, where housewives are presented as happy keepers of the hearth, is intended to form an ideal image in housewives, which can be achieved using this particular product. Advertising for items such as sportswear, cigarettes, coffee, chewing gum is based on value-based influence, when the viewer identifies himself as a person who is confident, healthy, beautiful, etc. ?", - the meaning of which is to ensure that the consumer considers himself a full-fledged member of this group and will certainly use this product. 33. FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD The family and household are important in the study of consumer behavior because family members are often the first contact buyers make to receive advice about an upcoming purchase. Consider the concept of a household and its types. A household includes all residents of a dwelling who share a common household. The household is the main unit of consumption in marketing for more than 80% of consumer goods. All household appliances (TVs, irons, refrigerators), furniture, real estate, food and apartment care products are consumed more often by the household than by individuals. This complicates the study of consumer behavior, since one person's opinion about preferences is always influenced by the opinions of other family members. Therefore, it is necessary to study the behavior of not 1 person, but 3-4 people and even more, depending on the size of the household. It should also be noted that consumption patterns, values and preferences of each member of the household are often interdependent, since the purchase of a certain product reduces the budget of not one person, but the whole family. So, for example, buying an expensive car means reducing the opportunity to vacation abroad in the next few years. Comparing the concepts of "family" and "household", we can say that they are different, although sometimes they are used interchangeably. replaceable. However, a family is a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption and live together. A household may not have blood brothers (father and son, for example). It can be a communal apartment where people live together out of necessity. Despite this, such a group also belongs to the household. There is the concept of a nuclear family - a group consisting of a father, mother and child living together. This is a standard family. This type of family has several variations. This may be a family with one parent, formed as a result of the parents' divorce, the departure of one of the parents from the family, or his death. There is also an extended family - this is the nuclear family and other blood relatives (grandparents, uncles and aunts). Such families are often formed in the countries of the East, they are quite common in Russia, but not typical for the United States, since the spirit of individualism prevails here and each person prefers to live independently, without being tied to a family. The household plays a decisive role in the socialization of the younger generation as consumers. The family household is the main mechanism for passing on values and attitudes to the next generation. 34. FAMILY AS A UNIT OF CONSUMPTION The concept of family in marketing can be viewed from two different points of view. On the one hand, the family is a social institution, that is, a set of beliefs, norms, attitudes, values, expectations about how family members should live and communicate with each other. This is a kind of mechanism that regulates the behavior of people united in a family. On the other hand, a family is a small social group whose members are connected by marriage and blood ties, a social group that educates the younger generation and passes on to this generation the knowledge of how to live in a family, what goods to use, how to manage the family budget, etc. e. The family acts as a center for purchasing necessary goods. It prescribes rules for the consumption of purchased goods and services. Consumption in the family is mainly collective in nature, not counting things for the personal use of family members. All purchases are financed from the general family budget. Goods and services are consumed collectively (eg housing, utilities, car, furniture, household appliances, books, food, etc.). Shared consumption provides significant cash savings and makes family consumption more efficient than individual consumption from an economic point of view. The family is the initial and main link in the system of consumer socialization. Within the framework of the family, children learn for the first time what, how to consume, how to distinguish quality goods from fakes, etc. The interaction of family members is regulated by law and customs. Each family has its own unique special atmosphere. Family members feel secure within the family. Each family has a certain economic potential, which provides it with both many opportunities (in the field of shopping) and restrictions. Different families, depending on a number of factors (such as: relationships within the family, self-representation of family members, social status of the family) have different opportunities. The family field has a certain set of values and beliefs that are guided in everyday life, including consumption. Consequently, the key to understanding individual consumer behavior most often lies not in the analysis of his own habits, views, but in understanding the processes taking place in his family. From the analysis of the family, knowledge becomes available in the field of the individual's solvency, character and the emergence of his tastes and habits. Thus, consumer decisions in the family are made under the pressure of the whole inseparable family field. Therefore, the center for making purchasing decisions is not an individual, but his family with its own values, traditions, history. 35. FAMILY LIFE CYCLE In order to competently use knowledge about the preferences and characteristics of the consumer behavior of the family as a unit of consumption, it is necessary to know at what stage of the life cycle the family is at the time of purchase or the pre-purchase process. There is a concept of the life cycle of a family, which means a set of individual stages that a family goes through during its development from the moment of its creation until the end of its existence. According to research, 8 main stages of the life cycle are distinguished. Bachelors. Most often these are young people and girls up to 30-35 years old, living separately from their parents or with their parents. Consumer preferences of those who live with their parents are focused on personal care products, entertainment and recreation items. In turn, young people living without parents more often prefer household items (household appliances, furniture). Young families without children. When young people from the first stage decide to get married, they become a family. Income is doubled. The absence of children allows you to spend more money on arranging home comfort, buying more expensive items of clothing. As a rule, at this stage, many of the families make decisions about foreign holidays and travel. "Full Nest 1". Young families with a child under 6 years old. Preferences in consumer behavior are focused on clothes for babies, baby food. Most of the money goes to the child. Rest is replaced by time for child care. "Full Nest 2". Families where parents are aged 35-60 years, and children make up the age segment from 6 years. Teenage clothes, chewing gums, bicycles, sports goods are often purchased at this stage. Vouchers to children's sports camps and recreation camps are popular. "Empty slot 1". This includes middle-aged people who cannot or do not want to have a child, as well as people in remarriages where the children from a previous marriage no longer live with a parent. Household services that save time are consumed. "Empty Nest 2". It includes senior couples. The head of the household is over 64 years of age, has the opportunity to continue working, but most often the spouses are already retired. There are needs in the field of medical services, medicines, housing conditions, nutrition. This group has a lot of time, but is not very solvent. Single Parent 2: Single parent with kids in the house. The group consists of single parents aged 35-64 with children, as a rule, older than 8 years. Pensioners. They have increased needs in the field of medical services, recreation. Often lonely due to the death of one of the spouses. 36. CHANGES IN FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE The structure of the family in all developed countries has changed somewhat over the past decades. Let's consider the tendencies of changes in the structure of the family on the example of Western countries, in particular, the USA. In the US, the growth in the number of traditional families is lower than the growth in the total number of households. In this case, the traditional family will be a family whose members are related by blood or marriage. Households include people who are in a civil marriage, as well as people living in the same living area (in hostels, communal apartments, etc.). As a result, the share of the family as a traditional unit of society in the structure of households is decreasing. So, according to statistics, after the 1970s. the number of households formed by people not related by marriage, consanguinity or adoption has increased by more than 1,5 times. After 1980, these changes occur much more slowly. But despite this, the trend remains - a steady increase in the number of non-family households, single parent families and single people and a slight increase in traditional families with both parents. In 2004, family households accounted for 68% and complete families for 51,5% of the total US household share. In industrialized countries, the number of divorces is steadily increasing. The number of common-law marriages is growing, while the number of people living in registered marriages is declining. Population surveys indicate that a large proportion of young people do not seek to start a family in the near future, as they believe that a family can harm career growth. People who are united in a civil marriage also do not plan to have children, at least in the next 5 years. All this indicates that the US population for the most part consists of single people who do not have their own family. Homosexual couples are gaining popularity in the US. Changed in the structure of the family and the role of women. Whereas previously most women did household chores (laundry, cooking, cleaning), now, with the improvement of the service sector, these duties can be performed by specialized agencies. Now that women have more free time, they are in a hurry to pursue a career and earn money on a par with men. At the same time, there is a convergence of the coefficients of labor participation of men and women. Despite the fact that in all age groups of the male population, the proportion of employed men exceeds the age groups of women, the gap in these indicators has been sharply narrowing in recent years. 37. FACTORS AFFECTING FAMILY (HOUSEHOLD) PURCHASES Family (household) purchases are influenced by a variety of factors. The first factor is the behavior of the family. Family shopping behavior can only be assessed by examining the behavior of all family members. After all, a family is a collection (group) of people, and the decisions of each of its members are reflected in the decision of the whole group. When considering family purchases, it should be borne in mind that its members make purchases in 2 main directions: for personal use and for the benefit of the whole group. When studying the family as a consumer group, special attention should be paid to sociological indicators, which include: cohesion, adaptability and communication. Family cohesion is the emotional bonds that exist between its members. This characteristic indicates the level of trust and closeness of family members in relation to each other, characterizes the feeling of unity or separation of family members. Adaptability is the ability of a family to change the responsibilities of its members, to change roles and the level of influence when buying. These changes occur at different stages of family existence. Communication is the positive and negative emotions of family members that arise and exist in this system of relatives. Positive emotions of family members towards each other allow them to share needs and preferences among themselves, which contributes to the development and establishment of positive relationships and increases the level of family communication. The positive emotional skills of family members include: a sense of empathy, the ability to listen, the desire and desire to help and support a loved one. Negative communication skills have a negative impact on the establishment of mutual understanding and mutual assistance between family members, significantly reducing the level of communication of the family as a whole. The negative emotional skills of family members include: duplicity, excessive and unjustified criticism of actions, imposing one's opinion. The second factor is the family's decision to purchase. In any family there are instrumental and expressive roles distributed among its members. There are 5 main roles in making decisions about family purchases: initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, user. One family member can perform several roles at the same time. Decisions made by spouses can be divided into 4 main groups: 1) decisions are made independently by each family member without joint discussion; 2) decisions are made mainly under the influence of the husband; 3) decisions are made mainly under the influence of the wife; 4) decisions are made jointly by both 38. ROLES OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE PURCHASE DECISION Family decision making is different from individual decision making. One of the main differences is in the distribution of functions when making a purchase decision between several people. To manage the position of the product in the market, the marketer must know how the family makes the decision to purchase, how the product will be used, what preferences from the point of view of the family must be taken into account when creating the product. When making a purchase decision, family members take on several roles, and when buying different goods, these roles will change between households - depending on the situation, they can be performed by a husband, wife, children or other members of the household. One role can sometimes be performed by several members of the household at once, or, conversely, one person can combine several roles. So, consider the main roles of household members: 1) initiator (collector of information). This is the person most interested in the product. He is aware of it and collects information about the properties of the goods. He initiates a discussion in the family about a possible purchase. The collection of information takes place both in external channels (media, acquaintances, etc.) and in internal ones (appeal to one's memory, emotions, feelings regarding a potential purchase). As a rule, the seriousness of the intention to buy the product will depend on the enthusiasm of the performer of this role. The more reliable and accurate information about the proposed purchase a person collects, the more likely it is that other members of the family will also want to purchase the product; 2) influencer - a person who influences the criteria taken into account and the range of evaluated properties of a product or brand. His opinion is taken into account by all other members of the household; 3) solver - the person who makes the final decision. As a rule, it is behind him that there is a financial choice, how and on what goods the household money will be spent. If the father earns money in the family, then most likely it will depend on him whether the goods will be bought; 4) buyer - a person who directly purchases a product; 5) user - a person who actually uses the product. His preference must be taken into account when making a purchase decision, since it is he who will evaluate the properties of the product, its quality, and suitability for its intended purpose. Marketers must establish interactions with all roles in the family, as each family member has a different opinion that influences the final decision about whether a product will be purchased. It is also necessary to determine who plays specific roles (older generations or children), and based on this, build your advertising campaign. 39. GENDER CONSUMPTION PATTERNS Gender (social gender) is a model of behavior most used in a particular social society by representatives of different sexes. On the basis of this model, people's behavior is formed, as well as social stereotypes are formed, which are instilled in a child from birth and remain throughout his life. The gender structure of society strongly influences the segmentation of the consumer market. Firms that provide goods to end-users usually have a clear positioning, taking into account gender structure: goods for girls, for boys, for girls and boys, etc. At present, each modern society creates and imposes its own models of "real man" and "real woman", which must have a certain set of characteristics. The basis of these characteristics are morality, laws, advertising, media, etc. In order to correspond to male and female stereotypes, individuals use the style of clothing, shoes, hairstyles, personal care products, lifestyle, speech, gait, leisure activities. etc. From epoch to epoch in different cultures, female and male models of social self-affirmation were formed. The characteristics of the male model are based on strength (physical and intellectual), under the pressure of the gender model, it is constantly demonstrated - this is the desire of a man to have superiority in physical and social strength. Even as boys, they go to sports clubs, they are interested in cars. With age, the role of social force increases, which is to raise money for the life of your family, ensure its safety, protect it. In turn, the female model is characterized by weakness and beauty. The model of the weaker sex is also quite clearly defined and endowed with its own characteristics, characteristics and limitations. Media and art also act as tools for constructing a model of the weaker sex. The basis of this model is that a woman should be weak and beautiful. The female sex (weakness, beauty) is opposed to the male (strength, intelligence). Where a man asserts himself simply by virtue of his masculine status, a woman is forced to assert herself through beauty. The struggle for beauty is becoming an important success factor for women. Another factor in the need to support yourself in a beautiful form is the struggle for men. Due to the quantitative predominance of women over men, the struggle for a "good" husband becomes the main goal in life for many women. In order to be sure that the child will be provided, protected, women have to attract men with their appearance. It is on the factor of beauty and attractiveness that the emphasis is placed in the advertising of all creams, clothes and personal care products for women. 40. CONSUMER SOCIALIZATION The process of forming the future consumer takes place in the family and household environment. Consumer socialization is the process of transferring skills, knowledge, attitudes and cultural values from the older generation to the younger. Typically, consumer socialization occurs in the nuclear (or extended) family. It is necessary to consider the content and methods of consumer socialization. The content of the socialization of learning is divided into directly related to the object and not directly related. Directly relevant aspects of learning are those that are directly related to the process of buying and consuming. Parents, for example, teach their children specific skills: how to buy, how to compare similar products and brands, how to better manage their money. Directly relevant aspects include knowledge of stores, products, brands, vendors, sales, as well as information about advertising channels and media, sales promotions and promotions. The content of consumer socialization, which is not directly related, lies in the development of the motivation for purchasing and consumer behavior. This is knowledge that encourages people to want specific goods and services. Also, this knowledge allows potential consumers (the younger generation) to evaluate products and brands. Brand prestige information, while not essential to actually making a purchase, is important in deciding to buy and what to buy. There are several methods of consumer socialization in the family. Depending on the degree of participation of parents (or other older relatives) in the process of consumer socialization, the following methods are distinguished: 1) instrumental training is the strict instruction of children by parents or elders in the family to behave in a certain way. Parental instructions may contain rules for choosing a product and its use; 2) modeling is an unconscious repetition by a person of the behavior of an older person, a reproduction of a model of his consumer behavior. This type of socialization occurs in the process of observing other people. There is also a classification of consumer socialization according to such a criterion as the degree of independence of children's consumer behavior. According to the named criterion, the following methods are distinguished: 1) observation is teaching children consumer behavior through visual perception of the behavior of other people; 2) joint shopping is a method of consumer socialization in the process of joint shopping trips of parents and children; 3) direct experience is a method of teaching children consumer behavior through their own experience as independent buyers. 41. STUDYING THE INFLUENCE OF THE FAMILY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Marketers study and describe the behavior of household members and other groups using instrumental and expressive roles. Instrumental roles (they are also called economic, functional) cover the functions of paperwork, the choice of purchase conditions, time, etc. Expressive roles are emotional support for making a purchase decision, such roles come down to expressing the emotional needs of the family, its values and preferences. The specificity of instrumental and expressive roles must be taken into account in the construction of advertising and marketing communications. Communications are more often oriented towards the carriers of instrumental roles. In fact, the construction of communications and the choice of the type of advertising message should be carried out taking into account the carriers of expressive roles, since it is they who give impetus to the emotions and desires of other family members. Even when instrumental role holders do not agree to buy any product, expressive role holders can set the family members up so that, for example, money problems are relegated to the background (credit, deferment) and the purchase is still made. In the product, it is necessary to take into account not only the functional advantages (technical parameters), but also the appearance, aesthetic features that are important for the overall perception of the product. For example, when choosing a vacuum cleaner, men are guided mainly by power, while for women, shape, size, color are factors no less significant than its power. And it may turn out that a woman will prefer a more attractive (comfortable, beautiful) vacuum cleaner to a powerful, but not at all attractive device. Decisions made by the spouses of the household can be classified into 4 main groups according to the criterion of predominance of opinion: decisions almost always dominated by the husband, decisions dominated by the wife, joint and autonomous decisions. The "male" decisions include the purchase of complex household appliances, computers, while women dominate the purchase of food, home care items, and children's clothing. Joint decisions include the choice of a form of joint leisure, vacation, purchase of household appliances used by all members of the family (refrigerator and TV). Autonomous decisions include the purchase of women's shoes, jewelry, items of individual interest. The interaction of family members in decision-making depends on their specialization and interest (involvement) in specific product areas. The more a person is interested in a particular purchase and the more likely he is to use the acquired thing, the greater will be the degree of influence of this person on the decision-making process. 42. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR It has been proven that human behavior is largely determined by how a person perceives a situation, how he understands it. In order to understand how the consumer responds to communication messages (advertising, product promotion), how he relates to the product, its properties, you must first understand how a person perceives the product. The process of perception includes the stages of selecting information from the environment, structuring the information received, interpreting and reproducing this information. It is important to understand that the process of perception depends not only on external factors (goods), but also on internal beliefs, values, attitudes, past experiences of a person. There are three main factors that influence a person's perception of a particular situation: 1) the person himself (his beliefs and views); 2) the situation in which the process of perception takes place; 3) the perceived object, its appearance, properties and distinctive features. Allocate common errors that occur in the process of perception: a) stereotypes. A person tends to explain new phenomena with stereotypes. Allocate gender stereotypes (by sex - a woman should be weak, etc.), professional and ethnic stereotypes; b) the opinions of others: a person can change his mind in the opposite direction only because other people think differently; c) bad experience. If once a person had a negative experience in a certain situation, then a similar situation can bias him to negative emotions. Learning (or gaining experience) also influences consumer behavior. If, say, one day a customer purchases a good TV set of a certain brand and is satisfied with it, he will conclude that all products of this brand are of high quality. There will also be a memory factor involved. Motivation is a multifaceted phenomenon, but it must be taken into account when planning a marketing concept. According to the widespread theory of needs by A. Maslow, a person has five basic levels of needs, which are located in the form of a pyramid. Physiological needs are at the lowest level: for food, sleep, etc. At the second level - the need for security (physiological and psychological), at the third level there are sociological needs (for communication, belonging), at the fourth - the need for respect and recognition, at the last level are the needs of the highest level - the need for self-improvement and growth. When offering a certain product to the market, you need to know at what level the needs of your potential consumers are. 43. THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR All socio-economic processes taking place in the world are based on needs. A person experiences needs throughout his life. The structure of human needs is extremely complex and dynamic. Since there are no identical people in the world, there cannot be the same set of needs, so studying the dynamics of the needs of their consumers becomes almost the main task of marketers. Needs can be biogenic or psychogenic. Needs with a nutrient basis include the needs for food, water, shelter, warmth or cold, sleep, etc. These needs are associated with the physical sensations of a person. Needs with a psychogenic basis include the needs for respect, growth, recognition, love, friendship, etc. These needs are in no way related to physiological sensations, but when they are satisfied, a person has a general feeling of comfort and satisfaction. The role of motivation in consumer behavior cannot be overestimated. It is necessary to understand how the process of motivation occurs, how motivation affects the consumer's decision to purchase. So, first a person has a need. Need is the basis for the emergence of need. For example, a person wants to drink. This is a physiological need. If the need is not contrary to cultural norms, then it becomes a need. The need to drink water grows into a motive. The consumer is motivated, for example, by a bottle of clean water sold in a nearby store. If the consumer's motive is supported by an external stimulus, write on the packaging about the unusually pleasant taste of water, its usefulness, then the consumer will certainly make a purchase. However, not everything turns out to be so simple in practice. It is often difficult to determine exactly what needs consumers from the target market segment have. So, in underdeveloped countries, the main prevailing needs will be the needs for food and security. Residents of such countries can be motivated by the low price of the product, the possibility of its reusable use, etc. In developed countries, the situation is different. The needs of the local residents are at a higher level. This is the need for communication, and the need for respect and self-improvement. It is believed that the higher the degree of development of society, the higher the level of needs of the inhabitants of the country. Thus, in the United States, where the level of development of the country is considered high, the need for respect, recognition and growth prevails. There is an increased demand for prestigious goods that can reinforce the image of the buyer. Thus, motivational mechanisms are fundamental in determining the marketing strategy. 44. STRUCTURE OF CONSUMER MOTIVES Consumer behavior in relation to purchased products is determined by many motives. Some motives are understandable, they do not require additional study by marketers. For example, the main motives for buying a computer are its large amount of memory, multifunctionality, etc. Such motives lie on the surface of consumer behavior and are called declared. We can say that the stated motives are based on the characteristics of the product. However, often the consumer has reasons that he does not recognize or perhaps does not know about their existence. These motives are called latent, or hidden, implicit. For example, when buying an expensive suit, the stated motive would be comfort and simplicity, but the ulterior motive would be: "This suit shows that I am a successful business woman." Latent motives are most often not fully approved by society, and therefore buyers are not inclined to recognize them. The most common latent motive among young people is the motive: "All fashionable girls (boys) wear such T-shirts," i.e., the desire of a teenager to be among the fashionable guys is hidden, not to stand out from the crowd. The purchase of a certain product cannot be influenced by only one motive, as a rule, the consumer experiences a struggle between declared and latent motives. If a practical person prefers the stated motive, then a person with predominant psychogenic needs is more likely to follow their latent motives. The structure of consumer motives is unusually dynamic. A person's motives can change dramatically over time, change of job, marriage, divorce, etc. It should also be noted that the structure of motives can be compensatory, i.e., the insufficient strength of one of the motives will be temporarily compensated by the strength of another motive. However, such compensatory relationships cannot exist permanently, therefore, when creating the concept of a product (its main qualities, properties), it is necessary to take into account as many potential consumer motives as possible. Motives that are consistent with the dominant culture of the society are generally more likely to be stated. The task of marketers is to determine the entire structure of consumer motives that affect the target market. The stated motives are relatively easy to determine. By surveying consumers, it is possible to establish quite accurately why a particular product is bought. However, with latent motives, everything is much more complicated. If the consumer does not want to admit to ulterior motives, marketers can only guess about them, while ulterior motives are sometimes decisive. 45. TYPES OF NEEDS AND THEIR SATISFACTION From birth, a person has a need for something. The concept of need should not be confused with the concept of need. If need is a person's inner feeling of the need for something, then needs are more individual in nature. So, for example, one person feels the need to drink clean water, while an American would prefer to drink Coca-Cola. Needs are largely determined by the cultural environment in which a person is located. A person tries to translate his needs into such needs that would meet the moral principles of society. According to the theory of Abraham Maslow, all human needs are divided into 5 types. At the same time, the lowest needs that arise in a person at the level of physical sensations are physiological needs. Each person can function normally only when he is full, rested, etc. Thus, all people, regardless of gender, age, place of residence, experience the need for food, sleep, rest, etc. The second level is the need for security. At the same time, the feeling of security can be physical and psychological. Psychological security is provided by providing consumers with warranties, the ability to return money if the product does not meet the buyer's expectations, etc. Physical security is provided, for example, by firms that install steel doors, car alarms and fire detectors in homes. Everyone wants to be protected, so many companies successfully operate this need in their advertising ("We will protect you", "We will make you feel safe"). There is also a large group of social needs. There is hardly a person who does not want to have friends, supporters, feel part of the team. All these are needs for belonging (friendship, love). There is also a social need for respect and recognition. This need is satisfied by prestigious goods that emphasize the status of the consumer. The highest in the pyramid of needs is the need for self-improvement and growth. Having achieved all the lower needs, a person wants to develop further. This need is met by various training centers, training programs, books on self-study and self-improvement. In Russia, the need for a family, home comfort is common. Focusing on this, many manufacturers of family goods use the image of happy housewives in their advertising. The ideal family is presented as having a beautiful young mother, a caring father and two kids who constantly play, run and have fun. 46. CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT Consumer involvement is becoming one of the main factors that determines consumer behavior. Distinguish between consumer involvement in the buying process and involvement in advertising communications and means of product promotion. Involvement in general terms shows the degree of interest, emotional experience in the process of choosing a product and watching an advertising video. Involvement in the process of choosing a product at the point of sale is determined by many factors. The main factor is the interest in using the product itself. For example, if a husband asks his wife to buy fishing equipment, she will rather buy what the sellers advise her, or simply what catches her eye first. This is due to the fact that she is not interested in using this product. Further, awareness of the product affects engagement. If a person has already carried out work to search for information about a product, knows about its properties, then his involvement in the selection process will be increased, since he is competent in choosing a product. In addition to awareness and interest, engagement can also be influenced by the emotional state of the consumer at the time of purchase or his physical condition (hungry, tired, sleepy - involvement decreases; cheerful, cheerful, good mood - involvement increases). Advertising also requires consumer engagement. Most commercials fight among themselves to increase engagement in the advertising process. If a person is interested in the product category of the advertised product, this is called constant, or persistent, involvement, and the state of readiness to buy the product at the moment is called situational involvement. Situational involvement is also influenced by information noise. For example, if watching a TV commercial takes place in a room where repairs are being made, then, most likely, consumer involvement will be reduced, advertising will not produce the desired effect. Involvement in advertising is also influenced by stereotypes in the field of advertising. So, in Russia there is a stereotype that all advertised goods do not have the advertised properties. Advertising appears in the minds of most consumers not as a means of obtaining objective information, but as a means of putting pressure on people and forcing them to buy this or that product. Therefore, today, when people are tired of intrusive advertising, engagement can only be increased by finding alternative ways of advertising, saturating advertising primarily with information useful to the consumer, etc. 47. METHODS OF RESEARCH OF MOTIVATION, MEASUREMENT OF PERSONAL VALUES In order to facilitate the task of studying the dynamics of consumer motivation, certain methods have been developed that allow you to track changes in consumer motivation and their values. The main groups of methods for studying motivation are as follows. Methods based on consumer associations. These methods include the method of vocabulary association and word sequence association. The first method is based on the fact that the consumer (researched) responds to the word given to him with an association, i.e., the first word that comes to his mind, while the main words (associations for which should show the consumer's attitude to the issue of interest) should be mixed with ordinary, non-binding questions (Are you a woman? Do you live in Moscow? Favorite color?). The second method differs in that in response to the word given by the researcher, the consumer responds not with one word, but with a series of words. Termination methods. This group of methods also includes two types of methods. The sentence completion method is based on the consumer's ability to independently complete the phrase, the beginning of which is given to him by the researcher. The phrases that the consumer gives out in the form of an ending provide a great analytical basis for the researcher, since they reflect the consumer's personal attitude to a given problem. At the same time, the consumer is not limited in words and can say what he thinks, and not what they want to hear from him. The story completion method is also informative. The consumer is given the beginning of a story that he must complete. This method reflects a broader view of the problem. Focus group method. This method is often used when it is necessary to determine the general (group) opinion on a certain topic. To begin with, the organizer of the focus group gathers 8-10 people - potential or existing consumers. These consumers belong, as a rule, to the same age category, have common interests, etc. Next, a list of questions is formed that needs to be answered by invited people. During the discussion, the organizer of the focus group or a special person (moderator) involves people in a dispute, a conversation, during which the answers of each of the focus group participants are revealed. As a rule, the discussion process is recorded on video and then analyzed. For a successful focus group, several requirements are set: the participants must not be familiar with each other in order to avoid the influence of opinions on each other, in addition, all participants must not be allowed to speak at the same time. It is also necessary to monitor the gestures and facial expressions of the focus group participants, since non-verbal language can tell a lot about the thoughts of the consumer. 48. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY, THEIR APPLICATION IN MARKETING There are several theories of personality that can be applied in the study of consumer behavior. Social theory says that any person is inclined to identify himself with society, that in many respects the behavior of people, their views are dependent and always rely on those that are imposed on them by society. A person is much more influenced by social factors than biological ones. Karen Horney, a representative of this theory of personality, identified three main possible exits for a social person from a state of discomfort and anxiety. According to social theory, people, being in society, may wish to: 1) striving for this society; 2) speaking out against society; 3) moving away from society. If you conduct experiments, you can identify certain patterns that indicate that people belonging to one of these groups have the same preferences in goods. Therefore, it is often possible to trace in advertising what type of personality the impact is aimed at. The next theory of personality is the theory of self-concept. The theory says that each person has his own self-concept about who he is, what his place in the world is, what his calling is, his strengths and weaknesses. Self-concept in this case consists of two aspects: a private "I", which speaks of how a person sees himself, and a social "I", which speaks of a person's idea of how others see him. Often the opinion of an individual may not coincide with the opinion of others about him. It is important to establish whether the opinion of others about a person is a priority for him, how he would like to look in the eyes of others, how it is possible to influence self-concept by providing a product. The psychoanalytic theory of personality developed by Z. Freud was one of the first theories of personality. Freud said that the structure of a person's personality can be represented as a set of subsystems "I", "super-I" and the unconscious. The unconscious of a person is controlled by his physiological needs and is already manifested in a newborn child. These are the needs for food, sleep, etc. "Super-I" is what is instilled in a person by society. These are norms and morals, cultural values, what distinguishes a person from an animal. The subsystem "I" serves as a conductor between the unconscious and the "super-I" and includes elements of both. For example, the need for food (unconscious) cannot prevail over cultural values, and a person will not eat raw meat for example. He will satisfy the physiological need for food with a portion of barbecue, that is, in a way that would not contradict the norms of the society in which he lives. 49. LIFESTYLE. PSYCHOGRAPHICS AS A METHOD FOR MEASURING LIFESTYLE The lifestyle of the consumer is an identifier of how a person uses the resources provided to him (time, money, information). The concept of lifestyle is widely used in marketing, because it allows you to better understand your potential consumer, to see the product through his eyes. The concept of lifestyle is newer than personality theory. This concept allows the practice to see what characteristics a potential client has in everyday behavior. Life style is influenced by the external environment and internal factors. External influence on the formation of life style can be based on the influence of reference (whose opinion is important for the individual) groups, cultural traditions and values. The internal components of the formation of a life style are made up of the past experience of the individual, his internal aspirations, values, beliefs, etc. If the life style of an individual is formed, then all products consumed by this person will correspond to the declared style, and those products that will not aspects of this particular style are taken into account, are unlikely to be bought by this person. In a word, a person, having chosen his life style, will strive to maintain it, deepen or expand it with the help of the goods he consumes. Quantitative description, methods of analysis and modeling of the life style of potential consumers are associated with psychographics. Psychographics is a branch of science about the quantitative study of the lifestyle and personality characteristics of clients. The main tool of psychographics is the AIO model - the English abbreviation of the words "activity", "interests", "opinions". Lifestyle research and evaluation occurs after the consumer answers 3 sets of questions (about opinion, interests and activities). Next, a portrait of a life style is drawn up, indicating how active a person is, what his interests are and what opinion he has on a particular issue. Often, even the consumer himself does not notice the influence of lifestyle on consumer behavior. It is much easier to identify such lifestyles as business, sports. These styles are different in their dynamics, age criteria, so it is quite easy for marketers to determine which of the styles the consumers of the target segment belong to. However, often people have a mixture of lifestyles. These people either have not yet decided in life, or are prone to variability in their views. For marketers, it is necessary to be able to accurately determine the lifestyles of their consumers and focus in advertising precisely on the features of this lifestyle. 50. MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CONSUMERS Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another using language symbols. Communication in marketing is a set of information signals that the subjects transmit and receive from each other! market. Since the organization is an open economic system, it must always be in touch with its external environment. In order for the consumer to know what product with what qualities he is offered, marketers need to develop a competent system of marketing communications. At the heart of marketing communications is the information flow model, which includes several stages of transferring information about the product to its potential consumers. Let's list these steps: 1) the formation of an information message. Marketers, thinking over the advertising concept of the product, must determine what kind of information they want to convey to the consumer through marketing communications. The main theme, theses of the message are formed; 2) an informational message is formed from the message concept obtained at the first stage. The ideas embedded in the concept acquire verbal expression, a symbolic image, and are visualized; 3) a communication channel is selected through which the message is supposed to be transmitted (newspaper, TV program, etc.), then a specific information carrier is selected (a specific newspaper with the volume of an article, a specific TV program). The communication channel is selected based on its availability, the duration of the communication and the perception of the channel by the target group; 4) transmission of a message through an information channel. At this stage, the technological processing of information signals into the appropriate form takes place. For example, a message on the radio will be heard in one way, while watching a commercial on TV it may sound different; 5) decoding process. This is the process of perception, understanding and assimilation of the information received by the end user. This process is the most important, because how correctly the consumer understood the information and perceived it, his reaction to this message depends. In the process of decoding information, information noise (talks of relatives during the broadcast of the video), other interference (personal problems due to which the perception of a person can be weakened) or excessive emotionality can interfere. However, if the consumer nevertheless received the message, he concludes: to ignore the proposal or react positively to it by purchasing the advertised product. 51. FEATURES OF THE IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL MEANS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS There are many different means of transmitting a communication message to the consumer - the recipient of information. In general, all means of transmitting a message are divided into personal and impersonal. Personal means include direct marketing and personal sales, and impersonal means include advertising, sales promotion and public relations (PR). Each of these means has its own goals, differs in the direction and content of the methods being carried out. For each product, it is necessary to carefully develop methods that are suitable for a particular product at this stage of its life cycle. Sales promotion is a short-term activity to promote a product and increase its sales. Examples of promotional activities are the distribution of product samples, the offer of a gift with purchase, the offer of two or more products in a set at a lower price. Sales promotion also includes various discounts, lotteries, contests, quizzes and drawings among buyers. Stimulation cannot be used all the time, but only at the time of the need to increase sales of the product. Public relations (PR) aims to establish and maintain favorable relations with the public. PR includes programs aimed at promoting and protecting the company's image in the eyes of consumers and contact audiences. The goals of PR are to win a long-term reputation in the eyes of the public masses, create a trusting relationship with the company on the part of customers, as well as develop loyalty (loyalty) to the company of employees of this company. Direct marketing uses various means and ways of disseminating information, referring to a specific recipient of information. The methods of delivering information to the recipient can be different: mail, personal communication, sticking ads in elevators, on bus seats, etc. Personal sales involve establishing direct contact with a certain person, making presentations for him, talking about the benefits of the product. Advertising is the most powerful tool for promoting a product. Depending on the purpose of the advertising can be divided into: 1) informative - carries general information about a new product; 2) convincing, the purpose of which is to convince the consumer that the advertised product is the best; 3) reminiscent - used at the stages of maturity and decline of goods on the market; 4) supporting - is used at the stages of growth and maturity of the product on the market. Advertising can be television, outdoor, radio, press, etc. 52. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDIES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, METHODS OF THEIR CONDUCTION Methods for studying consumer behavior can be divided into 2 large groups: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative studies include: 1) survey. When applying this method, groups of specially selected respondents answer questions prepared in advance for the purposes of marketing research. The survey is convenient because it can be conducted in various ways. The mail survey is characterized by relatively low cost and the ability to reach remote areas. For respondents (respondents), a survey by mail is convenient in that the anonymity of the answer is preserved, and there is also the opportunity to think about the answer well, which increases its veracity. However, experts believe that the disadvantage of this method is low efficiency, since, when receiving the questionnaire by mail, the recipient does not feel the need to answer. Therefore, from the sent questionnaires, as a rule, no more than 30% are returned; 2) experiment. The method is carried out by providing products to the market by trial methods. During the experiment, the packaging of the product, methods of stimulating its sale, etc. may change. Specialists monitor changes in demand and consumer reactions to these changes and make appropriate adjustments to the policy of promoting and selling goods; 3) consumer panels. According to this method, in a specified period of time (a month, half a year, a year, etc.), respondents keep diary entries on a specific product or answer questionnaires with questions provided for this purpose. The method is appropriate when it is necessary to trace the dynamics of consumer behavior over time; 4) physiological measurements. They are based on physiological measurements of the consumer's response to various color combinations on the package, to the actions of specific stimulants. Qualitative research includes: 1) focus group method. It involves the formation of a group (8-14 people), to which the moderator sets a topic for discussion (a soap commercial, for example). People begin to discuss a given topic. Thus, observers record all the opinions expressed and, at the end of the focus group, draw the appropriate conclusions (change the advertising concept, leave it the same, etc.); 2) method of observation. Specialists come to points of sale under the guise of an ordinary buyer and observe potential customers. They evaluate the selection time, key factors influencing the final choice, reaction to novelties, etc. The method is quite effective, but it requires a lot of time. 53. STUDIES OF CONSUMERS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE GOODS Consumer research should be different at different stages of the product life cycle. As you know, there are 4 main stages of the product life cycle. These are the launch stage, the growth stage, the maturity stage, and the decline stage. All these four stages are preceded by an additional stage - the stage of design and development of the product concept. At this stage, the main tool for consumer research is exploratory marketing research of consumers. Through a survey, interviews, questionnaires, the main preferences of potential consumers of the product are revealed: how do they want to see the product? What is missing in the products already on the market? What are the main characteristics of the product? Based on such data, the main characteristics are laid in the product, the concept of advertising is developed, and the positioning of the product in the existing product niche is carried out. Further, at the stage of bringing the product to the market, experimental studies will be the main research methods. In order to make sure that the product will have a certain desired demand, it is necessary to release a trial batch of the product on the market. It is better if these are goods with different packaging, differences in price, and the properties of the goods will be slightly different from each other. For example, a company wants to produce yogurt. At the experimental stage, it is necessary to release batches of yogurt in large packages and in small ones, with cherry filling, with strawberry and without filler. The price in different areas of the city must also be made different from each other. At the end of the experiment, it is determined for which product and at what price the demand was greater. Subsequently, when putting on conveyor production, a product that had a greater demand during the experiment should be focused on, and a product that did not arouse the interest of buyers should either be removed from the production program or produced in small batches. At the growth stage, it is necessary to constantly monitor the needs of consumers (focus groups, interviews, mass surveys). The main topics of the consumer survey will be consumer satisfaction with the product, as well as identifying their wishes regarding how the product can be improved, how to give it the missing properties. Consumer reactions to advertising should also be constantly monitored. If the consumer does not respond properly to advertising, it is necessary to change its concept (make it more attractive so that the consumer pays attention to it, since it is persuasive advertising that can prolong consumer interest in the product. 54. APPLICATION OF THE RESULTS OF RESEARCH ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARKETING STRATEGIES, ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN It is necessary to apply the results of consumer behavior research in practice, in the process of creating a firm's marketing strategy. When it comes to studying the influence of social factors on consumer behavior, it is necessary to keep in mind the following: 1) when studying the dynamics of consumer culture, it is necessary to make constant changes in the concept of product positioning in the market. Thus, American marketers have correctly noticed that meat and potatoes were traditional food in mass American culture. Before the service industry spread to the US, hearty meals containing high-calorie foods were popular. Many Americans worked on farms, so hearty food was essential to keep them productive. As time passed, more and more Americans began to work in offices. The rhythm of life did not allow to eat often, and the need for fast food, which would be simple and convenient, increased. However, traditions in the consumption of meat and potatoes were preserved. Therefore, companies providing catering services offered semi-finished products. This explains the extraordinary popularity of McDonald's. This company was able to foresee the pattern of development of American society, which provided itself with a steady profit for several decades to come; 2) when determining the lifestyle, the social class of the consumer, it must be taken into account that the number of consumers who want to get into the highest class is much greater than those who really belong to it. Advertising supports the image of wealthy successful people who can afford to buy expensive things. A person, buying these things, acquires the confidence that he is approaching a higher class; 3) when studying the influence of reference groups, opinion leaders, it is necessary to take into account how their opinions affect the consumer. In a commercial, a successful link is to a famous person (actor, singer, sportsman) who allegedly recommends the advertised product. People who single out this person as an opinion leader will invariably purchase this product, even if they buy it for the first time and doubt its properties; 4) if in the course of research data on collectivism or individualism of a specific target market of consumers are obtained, it is necessary to support in advertising exactly the lifestyle that the consumer leads. For example, if beer is consumed mainly by people who value company and friends, then the emphasis in advertising is also placed on a sense of belonging. 55. LEGISLATION AIMED TO PROTECT CONSUMER RIGHTS The main legislative acts aimed at protecting consumer rights in Russia are as follows: 1) Law of the Russian Federation of February 4, 1992 No. 2300-1 "On Protection of Consumer Rights". The law regulates relations between consumers and producers (suppliers) of goods, establishes the rights of consumers to purchase goods of the required quality. The law protects the basic rights of consumers to receive information about goods and their manufacturers, to education, state and public protection of their rights. The law establishes a mechanism for the implementation of consumer rights. So, for example, the Law states that the consumer always has the right to demand from the seller information about the manufacturer (company name, actual address of the organization, mode of operation, goods (works, services) sold). Information about goods presented to the consumer by the manufacturer (seller) must contain designations of conformity standards, information about the main consumer properties of the product, price and terms of purchase, warranty period, rules for efficient and safe use; 2) Federal Law of March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ "On Advertising". The law establishes requirements for high-quality and truthful advertising. The purpose of the law is to develop markets for goods, works and services based on the principles of fair competition. The Law characterizes unfair, unreliable, unethical and deliberately false advertising. Distribution of this advertisement is prohibited and entails liability. A few years ago, a television advertisement for "Rama" cooking oil was denounced as deliberately false. This product was advertised as butter, while its use as butter could lead to deterioration in the health of the consumer; 3) Federal Law of July 26, 2006 No. 135-FZ "On Protection of Competition". The law limits the rights of monopolies to supply products and supports new small and medium-sized businesses so that the consumer has the opportunity to choose from a variety of goods on the market from different manufacturers. The law supports competition, since in the process of competition the quality of products improves, competitive prices are set, which means that the consumer gets the right to choose the product that could suit him both in price and quality. In Russian legislation, state control over the implementation of laws and other legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer protection is assigned to the federal antimonopoly body - the State Antimonopoly Committee (SAC). SAC is an associate member of the World Organization of Consumers Unions. 56. BASIC CONSUMER RIGHTS When planning their marketing activities, advertising campaigns, organizations must necessarily take into account the basic rights of consumers, such as the right to safety, information, choice and the right to be heard. These rights are internationally recognized consumer rights. The right of consumers to safety means the need for the state to ensure the protection of consumers from the marketing of goods and services that are dangerous to health and life. In each country, special state institutions should be created to monitor the properties of products. In Russia, these functions are performed by the Consumer Rights Protection Society. In our country, laws or standards establish safety requirements, a list of products that are subject to mandatory certification. Lists of such products are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. In the US, the government agency that monitors food safety is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The authority of this organization includes the prohibition of the sale of unsafe products, the requirement for the manufacturer to conduct product safety tests, etc. The right of consumers to be informed means protecting the consumer from unfair advertising, from incorrect information on the packaging, label, misleading labeling, and providing other facts necessary for an informed choice. In Russia, the Federal Law "On Advertising" establishes requirements for advertising, forms of responsibility for advertising that misleads the consumer and does not allow him to make the right choice. The consumer's right to choose means that each consumer has the right to guaranteed access to a variety of products and services at competitive prices. Consumer satisfaction in the context of the law under consideration implies the ability to evaluate alternatives on the market and choose those that are most suitable for him. Often, many companies pursue an aggressive marketing policy to promote goods (offering goods at a lower price, capturing a large market share by increasing the range). New manufacturers starting their activities in this area have little chance of their product reaching the end consumer. Therefore, the state pursues an antimonopoly policy that limits the capabilities of developed enterprises and provides additional opportunities for small businesses. The right to be heard is realized by providing consumers with the opportunity to openly express their opinions and wishes regarding product quality, assortment, etc. Author: Elena Mazilkina
▪ General foundations of pedagogy. Crib
Artificial leather for touch emulation
15.04.2024 Petgugu Global cat litter
15.04.2024 The attractiveness of caring men
14.04.2024
▪ site section Field strength detectors. Article selection ▪ Michurintsy article CAR AUDIO. The art of audio ▪ article What made Hercules (Hercules) famous? Detailed answer ▪ article Ceratonia. Legends, cultivation, methods of application ▪ article Watch Always with you. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering ▪ article Thermomagnetic effects. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering
Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews
www.diagram.com.ua |
We recommend interesting articles Section 
See other articles Section 
Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:
All languages of this page