Why Measure Buyer Behavior

22 Pages 5451 Words

Introduction

Insight into consumer decision-making and buyer behavior is at the heart of the marketing concept (Arndt 1968). To date, researchers in the field have had little success in developing substantial scientific theory to describe stable laws in marketing. Most of the progress over the past few centuries has focused on understanding and identifying observable similarities consumers share. Michael H. Halbert (1964) said: “From the viewpoint of the established sciences, marketing has no theory that is defensible on the grounds of its logical consistency, philosophic adequacy, or experimental foundation.” Developing a theory in this field has been a grueling process, and no consistent law has yet been discovered. The research and measurement of buyer behavior is vitally important to the field of marketing because it can provide insight into a possible future scientific law in this field.
Before the question “Why measure buyer behavior?” can be addressed, the applicable terms, “buyer behavior” and “measurement” should be identified. The American marketing Association defines buyer behavior (AMA refers to this as “consumer behavior”) as: “The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior, and the environment by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives” (http://www.marketingpower.com/live/mg-dictionary.php?Searched=1&SearchFor=consumer%20behavior). To understand the importance of the application of this term, marketers ask questions such as; “Why do consumers make certain purchases?”, “What factors are involved in the influence of these purchases?”, and “Do changes in society have an effect on these decisions?” Marketers value the knowledge gained by examining buyer behavior because a consumer’s needs cannot be met unless they have been identified clearly.
No two people have exactly identical preferences, beliefs, and behaviors. Ideally, a marketer...