11 factors you need to know about decision making as a marketer

As a marketer, how do you influence?

As consumers, we are constantly making decisions about what to buy and where to spend our money. This process is also known as decision making or decision-making and is of great importance for companies that want to understand how consumers think and act. By understanding the factors that influence decision making, you as a business can tailor your marketing and sales strategies to your customers’ needs and thus increase your sales. On this page, we discuss the key elements of decision making and how you can influence them as a marketer.

On this page, we discuss eleven factors that influence the decision making process. These eleven factors are:

1.            Buying behaviour and purchasing decisions

2.            Marketing Psychology and buying motives

3.            Buying intention and behavioural economics

4.            Psychological factors in buying behaviour

5.            Emotional needs and the psychology of consumption

6.            Perception of products and image and branding

7.            Online and mobile consumer behaviour

8.            Attentional bias and social and psychological influence

9.            Consumer research and behavioural economics

10.         Culture and demographics

11.         Family influences

Buying behaviour and purchasing decisions

Buying behaviour refers to the behaviour of consumers when buying products or services. Buying decisions are the decisions consumers make about what they want to buy and where they want to buy it. Consumer research is an important tool for you as an organisation to understand your customers’ buying behaviour and purchasing decisions. By understanding what drives consumers to buy, you can adapt your marketing and sales strategies to meet these needs.

Marketing psychology and buying motives

Marketing psychology focuses on understanding the psychological factors that influence consumers’ buying behaviour. Buying motives are the factors that drive consumers to buy. These can be both emotional and rational factors, such as needs, wants, desires and so on.

Buying intention and behavioural economics

Buying intention refers to consumers’ intentions to buy a product or service. Behavioural economics focuses on how consumers make decisions and how these decisions can be influenced.

Psychological factors in purchasing behaviour

Opinions and attitudes, social influence, culture and family influences are some of the psychological factors that influence consumer buying behaviour. As a business, you need to understand these factors to align your marketing and sales strategies with your customers’ needs.

Emotional needs and the psychology of consumption

Emotional needs play an important role in consumer decision making. Some consumers buy products to reward themselves, while others are guided by their feelings and emotions. The psychology of consumption focuses on how consumers’ emotions and needs influence their purchase decisions.

Perception of products and imaging and branding

Perception of products is how consumers perceive and interpret a product. Image and branding are important factors in product perception. As a company, you need to have a good understanding of how your customers perceive their products and what your brand means to them in order to tailor your marketing and sales strategies accordingly. By creating a positive brand image, you can gain your customers’ trust and increase sales.

Online and mobile consumer behaviour

With the rise of the internet and mobile technologies, online and mobile consumer behaviour has also changed significantly. Consumers can now buy products and services anywhere and anytime. For example, by developing a mobile app or an e-commerce website, you can offer your customers a seamless and convenient shopping experience.

Attentional bias and social and psychological influence

Attentional bias is the tendency of consumers to focus on certain aspects of a product, such as colour or packaging, and ignore other aspects. As a business, you can use this bias to capture your customers’ attention and increase sales.

Social and psychological influence also play an important role in consumer buying behaviour. For example, by using social proof or scarcity, you can influence consumers’ decision making.

Decision making is an essential part of our daily lives and influences our buying behaviour. For you as a business, it is crucial to understand how consumers make decisions and what drives them to buy. By understanding the psychological and behavioural factors that influence consumers‘ buying behaviour, you can more effectively tailor your marketing and sales strategies to their customers’ needs and preferences. Consumer research and behavioural economics play an important role here.

Consumer research and behavioural economics

Consumer research is a methodical way of understanding consumers’ needs, habits, opinions and attitudes. By using surveys, interviews and focus groups, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ needs.

Behavioural economics focuses on the psychological factors that influence consumer decision making. It combines the insights of economics and psychology to gain a better understanding of human behaviour and decision making. By applying this knowledge to their marketing and sales strategies, companies can increase their conversion rates and boost sales.

Culture and demographics

Culture also has a major impact on consumer buying behaviour. This includes not only the general cultural norms and values, but also the specific subcultures a consumer belongs to. It is important to understand how a consumer’s culture influences his or her decisions and respond accordingly. Culture can be defined as the shared values, norms, beliefs and behavioural patterns of a group of people. This can affect the way a consumer sees and values products and services, and therefore the decisions he or she makes.

This can be seen in the way different cultures deal with health and well-being. Some cultures value natural and organic products, while others prefer synthetic and scientifically proven products. This can affect which products a consumer chooses and how much he or she is willing to pay for them.

An important aspect of cultural differences is the degree of individualism versus collectivism. In an individualistic culture, such as the United States, individual achievement and freedom are highly valued. This can lead to an emphasis on personal independence and freedom of choice. In a collectivist culture, such as Japan, family ties and social responsibility are more important than individual achievement. This may lead to more emphasis on group cohesion and conformity.

There are also other cultural factors that can influence decision-making. For example, the degree of risk aversion or the importance attached to the status quo. For example, in some cultures it is important to avoid risk and stick to familiar patterns, while in others risk-taking and embracing change is valued.

In practice, this may mean developing different versions of a campaign for different cultural audiences. It may also mean taking into account the way information is presented, for example by placing more emphasis on social proof in collectivist cultures and emphasising individual benefits in individualistic cultures.

Family influences

Family influences also play an important role in consumer buying behaviour. Family buying behaviour is influenced by the needs, preferences and decisions of each family member. By creating family packages or discounts, for example, you can attract the attention of families and increase your sales.