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12 Consumer Behavior Models and How They Impact Your Marketing

Consumers are the lifeline of any business that deals with products and services. Without them and their purchases, your business would cease to operate. That’s why, as a marketer, it’s critical to understand who your customers are at their core: what drives them, how they think, and how they feel. In other words, you need to understand consumer behavior.

So, how do you go about getting these insights? By leveraging consumer behavior models.

This guide will explore the importance of the consumer behavior model in marketing, the 12 main models of consumer behavior, and how AUDIENCEX can help you leverage the benefits of this framework.

What Is a Consumer Behavior Model?

A consumer buying behavior model way of understanding how and why your target consumers make purchasing decisions. It simplifies complex psychological, social, and economic factors into structured theories that you can use to predict and influence customer buying behavior. These models often account for:

  • Psychological Factors: Needs, motivations, attitudes, and perceptions
  • Social Influences: Cultural norms, family, peer groups
  • Situational Elements: Timing, context, and external triggers

Each model takes a different approach to analyzing behavioral data. Understanding how each of these models work can help you choose the right one to inform your marketing efforts.

Importance of Consumer Behavior in Marketing

Since customers are what keeps your business going, understanding how they behave or react under different circumstances can help you create better marketing strategies. When you know what drives your customers, you can give them what they want, when they want it, and exactly how they want it. This improves customer relationships with your brand, driving up conversion and retention rates.

Let’s briefly explore other reasons why consumer behavior is important and how it can help you create improved marketing strategies:

Predict Buying Patterns

With predictive behavior modeling, you can get insight into trends and shifts in consumer demand before they happen. That way, you can adjust your marketing accordingly, preventing stockouts and overstocks that lead to inefficiencies, low customer satisfaction rates, and irregular revenue flow.

Inform Pricing Strategies

Pricing is not just about determining the cost of a product or service—it’s a strategic tool that directly impacts a consumer’s perception of value, buying decisions, and overall satisfaction. Understanding consumer behavior allows you to create pricing strategies that resonate with your brand’s target audience, which drives sales and strengthens brand loyalty.

Enhance Customer Experience

When you have insight into the customer journey, you can easily address customer pain points that may not have been apparent. This way, you can make your customers feel seen and understood, which translates to improved satisfaction and a higher return on investment (ROI) for your marketing efforts.

Traditional Models of Consumer Behavior

There are two main categories of consumer behavior models: traditional and contemporary.

Traditional models are the early frameworks that helped economists understand consumer behavior when markets (and consumers) were less complex and developed. Though these models tend to be simpler, the principles behind them remain sound, and they’re still powerful tools for understanding customers.

These four consumer behavior models laid the groundwork for many of our contemporary marketing strategies.

1. Learning Model: Understanding Basic and Learned Needs

This traditional consumer model states that basic and learned needs are what drives consumer behavior. It borrows from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which states that people generally prioritize basic survival needs like food, shelter, and water. Once the individual meets these needs, they expand their focus to include wants and aspirations, such as items that bring satisfaction or status.

When you go grocery shopping, for example, you might buy the items you consider essentials first, such as bread, milk, eggs, meat, rice, etc. Then, you buy other items that fulfill your wants from learned experiences, such as ice cream, beer, chips, etc.

The wants and aspirations also have a hierarchy of their own, often tied to psychological and social factors. For instance, if we look at what influences your decision to buy a certain flavor of ice cream, it goes back to a lived experience you’ve had with the preferred flavor. It could be as simple as giving you a nostalgic feeling from when you were younger.

2. Psychoanalytical Model: Exploring the Subconscious

Based on Sigmund Freud’s psychology, this model suggests that unconscious desires and emotions drive consumer choices. Unlike models that focus on rational decision-making, this approach suggests that individuals make purchasing decisions without fully understanding why. 

More specifically, Freud’s theory of the id, ego, and superego is central to this model. It suggests that consumer decisions often reflect a tension between primal desires (id), social expectations (superego), and rational thought (ego).

So, for instance, a consumer may buy or feel drawn to a luxury item because it satisfies deeper emotional needs, such as a desire for status, acceptance, or self-reward. The subconscious drive, in this case, has outweighed practical considerations like price or utility.

As such, emotional appeal is a powerful tool in marketing, and tapping into the subconscious motivations of your target audience is essential. To do this, you can create narratives that evoke emotions such as happiness, nostalgia, or excitement.  

3. Economic Model: Price Is Key

This model views consumers as rational individuals. Rooted in the rational choice theory, the economic model states that consumers aim to maximize utility while spending the least resources (in this case, money).

According to the economic model, budget constraints and income are the biggest determinants for how consumers make purchases — if the price decreases or income increases, consumers will buy more, and vice versa. Additionally, this model assumes that if the consumer encounters two products that have the same utility (satisfaction level), they’ll choose the cheaper alternative. 

Based on this model, when creating marketing strategies, you should emphasize the value that your product provides, including its benefits and its value for price. 

4. Sociological Model: Focusing on Group Influence

This model argues that consumers are like sponges. They soak up all the information in their environment, and this directly influences their decision-making processes. It highlights that the values, opinions, and social behaviors a consumer identifies with shape their purchasing patterns and decisions.

A recent Nielsen study indicates that 88 percent of individuals trust recommendations from people they know (friends, families, or colleagues) over advertising messages. This is what drives the sociological model’s focus on cultivating consumer trust and word-of-mouth brand awareness.

Leveraging strategies like influencer marketing is one way you can replicate the trusted recommendation effect on a larger scale. Influencers who have large followings can advocate for your products and services in a way that feels authentic and relatable to their followers. You can also use testimonials and reviews in your advertising efforts to create trust and credibility.

Contemporary Models of Consumer Behavior

Unlike traditional models, which rely on simple explanations, contemporary models recognize the complex buying behavior that consumers exhibit as a result of multi-faceted influences.

5. Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) Model: Considering Multiple Factors

The EKB model states that consumers go through five stages before making purchasing decisions. It views consumer behavior as a problem-solving process usually involving the following stages:

  1. Problem Recognition: Here, the consumer identifies a need or problem they need to solve, usually arising from internal stimuli such as hunger or thirst, or external factors such as a friend’s recommendation.
  2. Information Search: After identifying the problem, the consumer actively looks for ways to address it. They can use past experience or knowledge to find a solution, or they can use external factors, such as researching online, asking friends for recommendations, or visiting physical stores.
  3. Alternative Evaluation: Consumers use the information they gather from research to compare various options they have and determine which product or service best meets their needs. They might weigh factors such as price, quality, features, brand reputation, and convenience.
  4. Purchase Decision: It’s at this point that the consumer finally makes the decision to buy from the options. 
  5. Post-Purchase Evaluation: After purchasing the product or service and using it for some time, the consumer evaluates whether it meets their needs and expectations. This stage is crucial for your brand because it can influence brand loyalty and the likelihood of repeat purchases.

6. Engel-Blackwell-Miniard (EBM) Model: Refining the Stages

The Engel-Blackwell-Miniard Model is a refinement of the EKB Model. It provides a more detailed breakdown of the stages involved in consumer decision-making by expanding them to include:

  • Information Processing: This stage involves how consumers perceive, interpret, and retain information. 
  • Information Input: The consumer experiences various stimuli — external and internal — which act as triggers that either encourage them to consider a product or look for more information. 
  • Decision Process Variables: These variables represent internal and external factors that shape the decision-making journey. 

The EBM Model acknowledges that consumers do not always follow a straight path from need recognition to purchase. Instead, they might go back and forth in the stages before they make a purchase decision. 

7. Nicosia Model: Highlighting the Impact of Marketing Strategies

This model focuses on the interaction between your business’s marketing efforts and the consumer’s decision-making process. It highlights how advertising and other communication strategies influence consumer attitudes and behaviors. 

The Nicosia model categorizes the relationship between businesses and consumers into four fields:

  • Input: Your brand gives the consumer information about its products and services through advertising and promotions. 
  • Perceptual: The consumer processes all this information and forms a perception about your brand.
  • Learning: The consumer starts learning about the brand against the perception formed in the previous stage.
  • Output: Finally, the consumer makes the decision to buy or not buy. 

8. Howard Sheth Model: Brand Choice Behavior With Limited Information

According to this model, a consumer’s purchasing behavior isn’t simply input-output. Rather, it involves significant time and effort that includes other variables like motivation, perception, and social influences like family roles or group norms. 

The Howard Sheth model categorizes purchase decisions into three levels:

  • Extensive Problem-Solving: Consumers invest considerable time and effort researching about your brand or product before making a purchasing decision. 
  • Limited Problem-Solving: Here, consumers engage in moderate information processing.
  • Habitual Response Behavior: Consumers, in this case, make decisions with minimal cognitive effort because the choice is routine.

9. Webster and Wind Model: Exploring B2B Buying Behaviors

This model recognizes that businesses make purchasing decisions in an entirely different way from individuals. It highlights how multiple decision-makers, formal processes, and rational evaluation influence purchasing decisions.

According to this model, four main variables influence how organizations make buying decisions, including:

  • Environmental: These are external factors beyond the control of marketers, but they play a critical role in shaping purchasing strategies. They include economic conditions, competitive pressures, industry trends, and technological advancements
  • Organizational: These factors pertain to the internal structure, culture, policies, and objectives of the organization. For instance, if a business has a decentralized decision-making structure, many different stakeholders might be involved in a purchase, whereas a centralized structure might rely on a few top executives.
  • Interpersonal: These are the interpersonal dynamics that exist within the organization that impact decision-making. They include relationships, communication styles, and group dynamics.
  • Individual: These variables are the characteristics of the individuals involved in the buying decisions of the organization. They include personal motivations, professional backgrounds, preferences, and biases. 

10. The Hawkins-Stern Model and Types of Impulse Buying

This behavior model states that sometimes, consumers make purchasing decisions impulsively without rationally thinking about it. It classifies impulse purchases into four main types:

  • Pure: An unplanned purchase that occurs because a product or service is too visually appealing, often informed by emotions.
  • Reminder: This occurs when you see a product and remember that you need it.
  • Suggestion: This type of impulse occurs as a result of convincing from ads, friends, or in-store promotions.
  • Planned: When a consumer goes to buy a certain item(s) but is open to purchasing extra things if there are deals.

You can leverage this model by using time-sensitive promotions, strategic product placement, and product bundling. For instance, using the classic time-sensitive promotion of limited stock, such as, “Only three left in stock!” can trigger a sense of immediacy and increase the likelihood of a positive consumer response.

11. Black Box Model: Relationship Between Stimuli and Behavior

Also known as the stimulus-response model, this consumer purchase behavior model recognizes that external stimuli can influence consumer purchase decisions. It likens the mind of a consumer to a black box, where you can’t directly observe the internal thought process but can analyze how the consumer responds to observable external stimuli.

According to the Black Box Model, there are two types of stimuli that affect a consumer’s decisions: market and environmental stimuli. Market stimuli include elements you (the marketer) can control, such as advertisements, product pricing, branding, and packaging. On the other hand, environmental stimuli are external factors that you can’t control, such as cultural influences, economic conditions, or societal trends.

The decision-making process, as per this model, involves three stages: the consumer internalizes the external stimuli, they then process the information internally, and, finally, makes a purchasing decision. 

12. Fogg Behavior Model: The Convergence That Triggers a Buy

This model states that for a behavior or decision to occur, such as purchasing, to occur, three elements — motivation, ability, and triggers — must converge. 

In short, for a consumer to make a purchase, they must have the willingness and means to pay, enough motivation, and appropriate triggers or prompts from you, such as ads. 

Customer Behavior Models Use Cases in Marketing

Now that you understand several consumer behavior models and how they work, let’s explore how you can leverage some of them to inform your marketing strategies:

Personalization

Customers value personalized experiences because they make them feel seen, heard, and appreciated. To leverage personalization for increased engagement and conversions, you can use the EKB model. This model can help you segment consumers based on where they are in the buyer journey and help you deliver tailored content they can resonate with.

Pricing Strategies

Setting prices isn’t just about covering costs; it’s about understanding how consumers perceive value. Therefore, when coming up with prices for your products and services, you can leverage the economic model to position products for cost-conscious consumers.

Ad Targeting

Not sure how various ads will perform? Or can’t decide which ad to use? You can use the Nicosia model. This consumer purchase behavior model lets you perform A/B testing to identify the messages that resonate most with your audience. This then informs how you create advertising content.

Streamline Your Consumer Behavior Analysis With AUDIENCEX

A good grasp of consumer behavior is essential for creating marketing strategies that work. It’s even more important to know when to leverage specific models and if they apply to your business model. That’s why you need an experienced advertising partner to guide behavioral data analysis. 

At AUDIENCEX, customer analytics and business intelligence are what we do best. Our Audience Insights help you understand your customers through and through so you can refine your advertising strategies and meet your key performance indicators (KPIs). This solution gathers audience intelligence across our omnichannel tech stack and then provides actionable insights on the customers you should activate for maximum ROI.

Ready to experience the power of X in consumer behavior analysis? Get in touch to learn more.

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