Consumer Behavior Model: Environmental factors.

Consumer Behavior Model: Environmental factors.

Consumer behavior entails finding out the factors that influence the mind of an individual to make a purchase.  Most of the environmental factors that influence the level of consumer purchases include economic, technological, social, cultural, and other marketing stimuli (Ramya,  & Ali, 2016). However, the environmental factors that influence the purchase of Play-Doh products are economic and social. Play-Doh is a product that children use for modeling. Children who come from families that are economically empowered would choose to buy this product as it does not make children dirty. On the other hand, children from financially disadvantaged families would prefer to use mud since it can play the same role.

People from the same social class have similar consumer buying behavior. Play-Doh is a product meant for children. The purchase of this product will, therefore, depend on the social class that these children belong to. Social classes develop as a result of people living in the same area and share a single occupation and therefore have similar income levels. If children in a specific social set-up use Play-Doh, then the chances of purchasing the product are high.

Consumer Behavior Model: Consumer factors.

Numerous consumer factors influence the purchase. Consumer factors that influence buyer behavior range from physical, personal, psychological, and social factors (Khuong, & Duyen, 2016). The significant factors influencing the purchase of Play-Doh include age, lifestyle, and family.

In most cases, decisions for the purchase of this product lies in the hands of the parents. There are specific ages that children would prefer to use Play-Doh. Young children between the age of four and seven years like to use this product. Children beyond this age may not be interested in the purchase of this product. Therefore, parents with children in this age bracket will buy Play-Doh for their children.

The lifestyle of individuals also influences their purchase behavior. Some children have grown with parents who opt for other play materials apart from using modeling materials.  If the parents dislike Play-Doh and consider it a luxurious play product for children, then they may not buy the product for their children. In this case, most children like to make models using clay. Play-Doh will offer a better solution to such children.

Additionally, the family has a considerable influence in making purchase decisions for their children. The family forms a basis with which children develop and shape their personality. Either the wife or the husband makes family decisions with children having little to contribute. However, for the case of Play-Doh product, the child will influence the parents and other family members towards purchasing the product.

Role of involvement in consumer decision-making

The involvement level of consumers purchasing this product is likely to be low. In most cases, it is the parents who buy Play-Doh for their children. Often, parents do not engage in planning for the purchase of Play-Doh. However, when they are with their children doing shopping, their children may the product and pick it or influence their parents to buy it. Parents are not personally interested in the product. The purchase of the product, while they are with their children, brings the concept of impulse purchasing (Isaacson et al., 2018). Therefore, parents incur an extra cost to purchase such a product.

Since the parents have little information about the options available for products used for modeling, their exposure to Play-Doh will make them have a routine behavior. Any time the child will need the product, the parent will always buy Play-Doh products for the child.

Consumer decision-making process.

Marketing is a significant concept in the steps involved in making a purchase. With the first step being need-recognition, the consumers need to be aware of the product that will satisfy their needs (Panwar et al., 2019). For this scenario, Play-Doh will find an opportunity to offer its product to the market so that the consumers will identify that they need it. Through marketing and displaying the various features of the product through advertisements, consumers who are either children, parents, or teachers of pre-primary schools will become aware that they need Play-Doh.

Information search is the second step of the purchase process. In this step, the consumers have issues at hand and want to find the best solution to their needs. At this point, Play-Doh should stand out with its brand showcasing what the product can do and how it can solve the modeling challenges that children face while using other products. Presenting a good brand will attract the customer. Once the consumer has gathered information, he or she will assess and make comparisons for the product. It is difficult for customers to choose the product. Play-Doh will use this opportunity and influence the client to purchase its product by explaining the benefits of using the product to the consumer.

The next step is to decide where and how to buy the product. It also includes the terms of sale available. Play-Doh will strategize and make its products available in most of the retail distributors. The company can also develop various payment modes for the product to cater for the needs of all customers. After purchasing, the company will use the post-purchase analysis stage and get feedback from the customers on the areas of improvement. This will ensure customer loyalty. On disposal of the product, the company can make arrangements with the retailers who will link the customers and advise them on the best disposal strategy to adopt. Alternatively, the company can package the product in materials that are easily disposable with minimum environmental impact to attract more customers.

Part two

Market segmentation

Market segmentation refers to the process of classifying customers of a product based on specific characteristics that associate them with the product. Segmentation uses four strategies to segment customers. These four strategies are behavior, demographics, geography, and psychographics (Dietrich et al., 2017). Play-Doh can be categorized into two segments, which are behavioral and psychographic. Under the behavioral segmentation of Play-Doh, the product offers various benefits to the consumers. It provides modern modeling tool for children that helps to teach simple models. The product is often used in school for children while carrying out modeling activities. Children in the age of 3-6 use the product daily.

On the other hand, psychographic segmentation involves activities, interests, opinions, values, attitudes, and lifestyles of individuals. Children like to participate in modeling activities and are interested in getting different shapes and models. Play-Doh product can fulfill and meet the interests of such children.

Target market

The target market for Play-Doe is the crafty and innovative kids. These target market groups comprise the largest group of people globally. With the large group, there is an assurance of a sufficient market for the product. The target market is growing. Every day, a child is born and, as they grow, there is an assurance that they will reach the age of three years and start using the product. There is little competition for the product since only a few companies produce and market the same product, and therefore, the company can easily thrive. Additionally, many pre-primary schools have children with the target market; it will be easier to access them and provide them with the product.

Target market strategy

Play-Doh has a single target market, which is the crafty innovative children between the age of three years to six years. Most of these children are in pre-primary schools or at home with their parents. The company for the product will use two marketing strategies. Different demographics, such as income levels of parents and social status, make it possible to apply more than one marketing strategy. The needs of children in school are different from the needs of those children at home. It will, therefore, be appropriate to use both concentrated target strategy to reach those kids in schools and micro-targeting to get the kids at home.

Positioning.

Positioning is a marketing strategy that helps marketers to know the position of their products as compared to other competing products in the same industry (Wirtz, & Lovelock, 2017).

Perceptual map

A perceptual is a map that shows where the product of a company stands. When comparing with other competitors, the chart below shows where Play-Doh stands in the market.

Beginning with C-castle, customers believe that the product has a low quality with a rating of 2. In terms of prices, the product has a similar price as that of Play-Doh. Customers believe that Play-Doh offers a quality product at affordable prices. Mint-Dew also has a higher quality but with low prices and gathers a little market share. The bouncy kid has a relatively low quality at affordable prices and has a small market share.

The criteria in the perpetual map include prices, quality, and market share. Play-Doe has a unique quality and affordable prices that make it have a spectacular position with a considerable market share. The properties of the product and advertising strategies ensure that the product remains in the minds of the consumers. To attract more customers, the company will reposition itself to capture the attention of new customers in new areas.

References

Dietrich, T., Rundle-Thiele, S., & Kubacki, K. (2017). Segmentation in social marketing. Springer Singapore.

Isaacson, J. I., Jordaan, Y., & Van Heerden, G. (2018). The relationship between individual-level culture and consumer decision-making styles through consumer involvement.

Khuong, M. N., & Duyen, H. T. M. (2016). Personal factors affecting consumer purchase decision towards men skincare products—A study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. International Journal of Trade, Economics, and Finance, 7(2), 44-50.

Panwar, D., Anand, S., Ali, F., & Singal, K. (2019). Consumer decision making process models and their applications to market strategy. International Management Review, 15(1), 36-44.

Ramya, N., & Ali, M. (2016). Factors affecting consumer buying behavior. International journal of applied research, 2(10), 76-80.

Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C. (2017). Positioning Services in Competitive Markets. World Scientific.