Consumer Behavior Paper | |

5/20/2012 |

Customer Behavior Paper There are many factors that affect my personal buying behavior. I don’t earn a large salary, but I always make sure I am able to buy the best of everything, which is my buying downfall. In this very complicated world we live in, sometimes wants become more important than needs. This can explain why people take out large mortgages they can’t afford, put items on store credit, and take out large lines of credit in order to stay afloat in this economy. Sigmund Freud suggested that we are motivated by conscious and unconscious forces and that is the reason why many buyers feel the pressures in the marketing world to try to fit in and are often slaves to great advertising schemes. The seller is trying to make sure their product becomes an item in every person’s life. The only way for a marketing representative to be successful to discover their consumer’s buying influences. The first factor that influences my buying behavior would be cultural influences. In the United States, we have many expenses that many other underdeveloped countries do not. Growing up, children learn basic values, perception and wants from the family and other important groups. For example, many parents now provide their teenagers with cars, college educations, and food and support. In other countries parents are just providing food and a home to live in. We, as a country feel the need to keep up with appearances, so spending becomes a habit. Marketing representatives are always trying to spot cultural changes that will cause new products that might be wanted by customers or to increase demand. The consumer culture in the US seems to encourage endless consumption by creating a connection between an individual’s self-worth