Understanding consumers and markets

Marketing is concerned with supplying consumers with products or services which they want. In order for an organization to be able to do this successfully, marketers need to be able to understand the needs and motivations of existing and potential consumers, as well as how they go about making buying decisions. This knowledge is crucial to the development of suitable marketing strategies, whereby a competitive advantage for an organization in its chosen markets is identified, built and maintained. Unfortunately consumers, with their different needs, requirements and preferences, invariably do not exhibit the same behaviour across all buying situations, nor is their behaviour equally influenced by the same set of factors. Essential to the study of buyer behaviour is an understanding of market segmentation. Through the identification of fairly homogeneous consumer groupings or segments and the tailoring of specific marketing programmes for these segments rather than for the market as a whole, marketers can then engage in a closer matching of customer needs with product offerings that benefit consumer and company alike.