Homework small business please help>>>>>>?

Question

What are some of the methods that a firm can utilize to ascertain "buyer behavior" as it relates to their defined target market?

Answer 1

It all depends on what you mean by "Buyer Behavior."

Are you trying to learn the buyer's purchase making decision?

Are you trying to determine whether or not a buyer responds to a cents-off coupon?

Are you trying to trying to expand the customer data in your database?

Depending upon your objective, there are different avenues a marketer might explore to ascertain buyer behavior.

Many successful companies utilize direct marketing to gauge buyer behavior.

For example, if you go to any large grocery store chain and fill out a Loyalty Shopper card, you are giving the store tremendous information about you every time you use the card. Each time you use the card, the store learns:

• What day of the week you shopped

• Which items you purchased

• What specific brands you purchased

• Which products you purchased were discounted

• Your average grocery purchase amount

• How many days per week you shop

From your user profile information, they already know where you live (how far from the store), how many members are in your family, the relative neighborhood in which you live (which may speak to your income level) and other details. They can then use this information themselves, sell it to other marketers, or use it to fine tune their direct mail efforts. So, for example, if they know you are a heavy user of baby diapers, they might assume that you have babies at home. So they might send you offers related to baby products. At the same time, you might be a regular buyer of high-end meat products, in which case they might sell your information to a company that deals with high end luxury goods, such as jewelry or fashion.

This is why Loyalty cards have become so popular. The customer enjoys them because they like the idea of receiving discounts and information about products of particular information to them. Marketers enjoy these programs because they allow them to fine tune their marketing and make more effective use of their marketing dollars.

I'm starting to ramble now... good luck.