Consumer Behavior: Key to Business Success in the Digital Age - Essay Sample

Introduction

Over time, the study of consumer behavior has aided businesses to improve their marketing plans (Zhang & Lee, 2012). Those studies have been credited for providing organizations to understand how their clients acquire, use, experience, discard, and choose various goods and services. Therefore, it is logical to state that the study of consumer behavior is one of the core evolving phenomena in the business world. Technology has over the years, touched every aspect of people lives. The emergence of the Internet as a social media and a vital channel of communication among consumers globally has led to the evolution of marketing plans (Cheung, 2014). For instance, the electronic word of mouth has gained a lot of attention and strength in the contemporary world. Various studies have been over time undertaken to determine the impact of electronic word of mouth on consumer behavior (Zhang & Lee, 2012). Word of mouth had a significant role to play when my husband was purchasing a GMC Yukon 2014 model, which was not new; therefore, he had to seek the opinion of friends and family. He then analyzed the pros and cons that presented to him before committing the finances into the purchase of that car.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Consumer behavior is one of the newest fields of study in the business world but started just after the Second World War (Zhang & Lee, 2012). Since then, the sellers' market has been weakening while the buyers' market has been coming up strongly. As a result, over the years, there has been a paradigm shift of the producer's attentions whereby manufacturers are now keen on understanding the consumer behavior. Such a radical change in operating business has advanced the marketing concept to adopt consumer-oriented marketing, which is complex but essential for businesses to succeed. The use of the Internet has been on the increase among people hailing from various parts of the world (Zhang & Lee, 2012). As people continue to interact virtually a lot of information is collected in multiple databases and act as a reference point for consumers. For instance, the first people to consume a particular product leave a review of its quality on the Internet hence the emergence of electronic word of mouth. In other instances, people interact physically with friends and family and gather different views on various commodities, and this is also a form of communication by word of mouth.

According to Sandes & Urdan (2013), word of mouth is "the influence of someone's informal opinion about products and brands derived from consumption experiences in which there are an information provider and receptor. It is of the essence to acknowledge that there is a positive and negative impact of electronic word of mouth. However, the phenomenon is a key component for communications among friends, family, independent specialists, and groups. All these people form the clients base for most the community which are subjected to evaluation via word of mouth. Sandes & Urdan (2013) note that "The communication among consumers may occur physically or by distance, and researchers have long known its importance in marketing as an alternative to traditional communication tools, as well as a highly persuasive resource." The evaluation of commodities is made easy for consumers because nowadays, clients can exchange ideas using digital platforms or even physically with friends and family. My husband used the traditional word of mouth to get the opinion from friends and family members who he interacted with physically. He was able to get a lot of first-hand views from those parties which he analyzed before making the purchase.

Daugherty & Hoffman (2014) note that electronic word of mouth is "any positive or negative statements made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet." It is of the essence to note that firstly, such statements tend to travel fast from one consumer of a product to another because of the Internet (Cheung, 2014). The internet has brought significant efficiency in the way that people exchange idea from all corners of the world. Secondly, the statements have a permanent nature because the information is broadcasted in a way that it reaches many people at a go (Cheung, 2014). Thirdly, it takes minimal cost to get in touch with the electronic word of mouth. Research indicates that most of the people that seek information from electronic word of mouth are keen on reducing the risk of purchasing inferior quality goods, getting the best prices in the market, and getting all the available information before making a purchase (Zhang & Lee, 2012). My husband undertook thorough online research to understand the comments of GMC Yukon 2014 users regarding the performance of that car.

It is of the essence to note that various researches have over time linked the impact of electronic word of mouth to many aspects which influence the decision-making process of a client. Those factors include cross-cultural differences, e-commerce sales volume, product attitudes, trust with a manufacturer's brand, and brand reputation (Cheung, 2014). There are two core types of context attached to electronic word of mouth. The first one is information-oriented and in many instances is made up of websites which provide product feedback pages and consumer review forums (Cheung, 2014). Such reviews helped my husband to have access to a lot of information regarding GMC Yukon 2014 model performance. The second kind of electronic word of mouth is linked to the emotional attachment to a specific product (Cheung, 2014). In this view, the review focuses on demonstrating the experience of using a product. Such information was critical for my husband because he was planning to buy a second-hand car. By reviewing the kind of experience that other people had with the GMC Yukon 2014 model, he was able to judge many aspects. For instance, spare parts availability, fuel consumptions, weaknesses, strengths, and it limits among many other elements that a car owner would wish to know.

Conclusion

In conclusion, from the above analysis of it is evident that word of mouth played a critical role in informing my husband's decision to buy a GMC Yukon 2014 model. Word of mouth is advantageous to both the manufacturers and clients in the modern world. Also, there is a need for establishing proper channels for dispensing information to consumers because it is a critical element of marketing. The current channels are playing a crucial role in linking consumers to high-quality products while at the same time facilitating them to avoid the purchase of poor-quality products. Currently, it is hard for a consumer who has undertaken thorough research to buy a bad product. That is because there exist many reviews on almost all products that are in the market. Those review touch on quality and the experience of using those products.

Reference

Cheung, R. (2014). The influence of electronic word-of-mouth on information adoption in online customer communities. Global Economic Review, 43(1), 42-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/1226508X.2014.884048

Daugherty, T., & Hoffman, E. (2014). eWOM and the importance of capturing consumer attention within social media. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20(1-2), 82-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2013.797764

Sandes, F. S., & Urdan, A. T. (2013). Electronic word-of-mouth impacts on consumer behavior: exploratory and experimental studies. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 25(3), 181-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2013.780850

Zhang, J., & Lee, W. N. (2012). Exploring the influence of cultural value orientations on motivations of electronic word-of-mouth communication. Journal of Internet Commerce, 11(2), 117-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2012.689568