FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER CUSTOMERS

Consumer buying behaviour can be influenced by cultural, social, person­al, and psychological factors. Cultural factors include education, national­ity, and religion. For example, Western culture places a high value on ma­terial acquisition. Eastern culture puts much value upon spiritual needs. In Western cultures consumption is often driven by a consumer's need to express individuality. In Eastern cultures consumers are more interested in conforming to group norms. Consumer customers are influenced by thе social group they belong to. These groups are called reference groups, and may include friends, neighbours, or colleagues. The most influential ref­erence group is the family. Personal factors include age, occupation, and lifestyle. If the consumer prefers a healthy lifestyle, he buys vitamin tab­lets and sport clothes. Those consumers who lead a life of luxury will get very great comfort and pleasure from expensive food, beautiful houses, and luxurious cars. Speaking about psychological factors, consumers are influenced by physiological needs, needs for safety, social needs, needs for esteem, and needs for self-actualization. Physiological needs include hun­ger, thirst, food, sleep, and warmth. Safety is the state of being safe from danger or harm. Social needs consist of needs for love and belonging. To belong means to feel happy and comfortable in a place or situation, be­cause you have the same interests and ideas as other people. A need for esteem implies a need for self-esteem and a need to be held in esteem by others. Self-actualization is full development of one's abilities and ambi­tions.

II.Answer the questions:

1.What factors can consumer buying behaviour be influenced by? 2. What do cultural factors include? 3. What does Western culture place a high value on? 4. What does Eastern culture put much value upon? 5. What is consumption driven by in Western cultures? 6. In Eastern cul­tures consumers are interested in conforming to group norms, aren't they? 7. Are consumer customers influenced by the social group they be­long to? 8. Whom may social groups include? 9. What is the most influen­tial reference group? 10. What do personal factors include? 11. Are con­sumer customers influenced by their physiological needs, needs for safety, social needs, needs for esteem, and needs for self-actualization? 12. What do physiological needs include?

MARKETING INTERMEDIARIES

Many producers do not sell products or services directly to con­sumers and instead use the assistance of independent market­ing intermediaries in order to get the product to the final user. Marketing intermediaries include wholesalers and retailers. Brokers and agents, who also take part in wholesaling, require more detailed consideration because of their obvious peculiari­ties.

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I. Read and translate the text:

WHOLESALERS

Wholesaling is the business of selling goods in large quantities and at lower than retail prices. Wholesalers usually consist of merchant wholesal­ers, brokers and agents, and manufacturers' sales branches and offices. Merchant wholesalers are independently owned and operated organiza­tions that take both title possession of the goods they buy or sell and phys­ical possession of them. For their work, merchant wholesalers get a profit from the goods they own and resell. There are two types of merchant wholesalers: full-service and limited-service. Full-service wholesalers pro­vide their customers with such services as supplying credit, storing large quantities of goods, and delivering goods to customers. Limited-service wholesalers are employed to reduce the costs of service. Cash-and-carry wholesalers and truck wholesalers are among the types of limited-service wholesalers. Cash-and-carry wholesalers sell to retail outlets on a cash-only basis and do not deliver goods. Truck wholesalers deliver and sell di­rectly from their vehicles, often for cash. Manufacturers may engage in wholesaling through their sales branches and offices. Sales branches and offices allow manufacturers to improve storing of goods, selling, and pro­motion.

II. Answer the questions:

1. What is meant by the term "wholesaling"? 2. Wholesalers consist of merchant wholesalers, brokers and agents, and manufacturers' sales branches and offices, don't they? 3. What is meant by the term "merchant wholesaler"? 4. What services do full-service wholesalers provide their customers with? 5. What are limited-service wholesalers employed to do? 6. What wholesalers sell to retail outlets on a cash-only basis and not de­livering goods? 7. What wholesalers deliver and sell directly from their ve­hicles, often for cash? 8. What wholesalers take both title possession of the goods they sell and physical possession of them? 9. What wholesalers get a profit from the goods they own and resell? 10. What allows manu­facturers to improve storing of goods, selling, and promotion?

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I. Read and translate the text:

BROKERS

A broker is a middleman employed in the negotiation of commercial transactions between other parties in the interests of one of them. Unlike merchant wholesalers, brokers do not take either legal ownership of the goods they sell or physical possession of them. Unlike merchant wholesal­ers, who receive a profit from the goods they own and resell, brokers take some commission on the sales they make. A commission is a fee or a per­centage of the proceeds paid to a broker for his intermediary services. For example, a broker may take a 20% commission on the sales he makes. The main function of brokers is to ease buying and selling, that is, to bring buyers and sellers together and negotiate between them. Brokers are most commonly found in the food, real estate, and insurance industries. Food brokers deal in a wide variety of foodstuffs in the market. Insurance bro­kers are those who arrange and sell insurance, for example, health insur­ance or life insurance. Real estate brokers are ones, who sell houses or land for other people. The business of being a broker is very popular now­adays, especially on a stock exchange, where stockbrokers buy or sell bonds and shares.

II. Answer the questions:

1. What is meant by the term "broker"? 2. Do brokers take legal ownership of the goods they sell? 3. Brokers take some commission on the sales they make, don't they? 4. What is meant by the term "commission"? 5. What is the main function of brokers? 6. What industries are brokers most com­monly found in? 7. What do food brokers deal in? 8. Insurance brokers are those who arrange and sell insurance, aren't they? 9. What do real estate brokers deal with? 10. What is meant by the term "stockbroker"?

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.I. Read and translate the text:

RETAILERS

Retailing is the business of selling goods to the public through shops. De­partment stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, discount stores, and specialty stores are well known as retailers. A department store is a large shop that is divided into separate departments, each selling a different type of goods. A supermarket is a large shop that sells food, drinks and goods used in the home. People choose what they want from the shelves and pay for it as they leave. Located primarily near residential areas, con­venience stores are relatively small shops that stay open 24 hours a day and deal in high-turnover products of mass demand, such as bread, milk, alcohol, magazines, and other things needed every day. Discount stores are ones where one can buy goods cheaper than the usual price. To keep their prices low, discount stores are to be located in low-rent shopping dis­tricts and they are to offer minimal service assistance. Specialty stores are stores that sell products of a special assortment. Furniture stores, sport­ing-goods stores, and bookstores are all specialty stores. A shopping cen­tre is a large building or covered area containing many different shops. Shopping centers may also have their own car parks, restaurants, banks and other services.

II. Answer the questions:

1.Retailing is the business of selling goods to the public through shops, isn't it? 2. What is meant by the term "department store"? 3. What is meant by the term "supermarket"? 4. What characterizes convenience stores? 5. Discount stores are ones where one can buy goods cheaper than the usual price, aren't they? 6. Specialty stores sell products of a special assortment, don't they?

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.I. Read and translate the text:

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 803