It is the customer, who makes the decision of buying something, right? But how does he/she reach to that decision? There's a complete procedure and different stages to this decision and as a marketer, you must know the process. For the reason that you are not going to win a customer unless you are well in terms with the factors that influence the buying behavior. Generally, the process starts from the moment a customer feels the need of a particular product (or service), next step is to look for different options available, after weighing up these options, the customer then reaches on a final decision to pay for one of these options.

Very few customers are capable of making an entirely independent and rational decision, without getting influenced by any of the external factors. One of the most important factors is the social influence, which plays a very important role in a customer purchase decision. Let’s have a look at how these social influences can affect the buying behavior.   

Family Buying Behavior:

Among all social groups, family of course is the closest, hence the most influential. Knowing the answers to the questions like … who in the family is going to make the final buying decision, or who is going to pay the bill, can help a lot. Because even if your product has got nothing to do with parents, and is mainly intended for the children’s use. It is actually the parents who are going to pay the bill, therefore you are supposed to market the product from parent’s perspective and not of children's (unless the product is some inexpensive toy or candy that the child can purchase from their pocket money).

Social Class:

Society is normally divided in three classes by sociologists, namely upper class, middle class and lower class. Some divide it in further sets like upper-middle or lower-lower classes. All of these classes have their own characteristics, social values, set of needs and spending patterns. Obviously, the buying behavior is going to be different for people belonging to any of these classes, you need to address the right set of needs when marketing for a specific class of society.

Cultural Influence:

American, European, Indian, Chinese … all of these cultures are poles apart when it comes to the people’s needs and preferences, who are a part of some specific culture. Your marketing tactics should be strictly in line with these cultures and their moral values.

William King is the director of Computers Wholesale Suppliers: http://www.wholesalepages.co.uk/ukwholesalers/Computers-9-0.html , USA Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers: http://www.dailytrader.com/usa/ , ADCB UAE – Abu Dhabi Classified Business Directory: http://www.adcbuae.com and UAE Dubai Property & Dubai Real Estate Properties Portal: http://www.bayut.com. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers, entrepreneurs and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.