MKTG6007 Chap.1 Consumer Behaviour Foundations
Consumer Behaviour Foundations
Consumer behaviour examines the complete set of consumption decisions made by people or groups across time. This chapter expands the frame beyond purchase to acquisition, usage and disposition, separates the influencer, decider, purchaser and user roles, and uses Motivation, Ability and Opportunity to diagnose why a desired action may still fail.
The wider frame matters for assessment because the visible purchase is often only the endpoint of a longer process. A strong analysis identifies the offering, the consumption stage and the person whose action matters before it infers a barrier. It then distinguishes wanting to act from possessing the resources to act and having a workable opportunity to act.
This sequence prevents a marketer from treating non-adoption as automatic evidence of disinterest. It also creates a defensible bridge from observation to recommendation: access problems call for access changes, knowledge gaps call for ability support, and weak personal relevance calls for a motivation response.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Consumer behaviour definition
- 02
Acquisition, usage and disposition
- 03
Products, services, activities, experiences, people and ideas
- 04
Decision-making roles
- 05
Motivation, Ability and Opportunity
- 06
Needs and Maslow's hierarchy
Worked example · free
Find the binding MAO constraint
- +1State that non-adoption is the outcome and does not prove dislike.
- +1Identify strong motivation from the relevant health and convenience goal.
- +1Identify adequate ability from knowledge and financial resources.
- +1Name opportunity as the binding constraint because collection is inaccessible.
- +1Recommend an evening locker or extended window instead of more persuasion.
Key terms
- Consumption
- The acquisition, usage and disposition of an offering rather than purchase alone.
- Decision-making unit
- The person or group occupying roles such as influencer, decider, purchaser and user.
- MAO
- The combined Motivation, Ability and Opportunity conditions that shape consumer processing and action.
- Need
- An internal tension created by a discrepancy between a current and desired state.
- Opportunity
- The time, access and situational conditions that make action possible.
Consumer Behaviour Foundations FAQ
Why is consumer behaviour broader than buying?
The unit includes decisions across acquisition, usage and disposition, across several kinds of offerings and across time. It also separates the people who influence, decide, purchase and use, so a purchase event is only one part of the analysis.
How should I apply MAO to a scenario?
Use scenario evidence to assess Motivation, Ability and Opportunity separately, then identify the binding constraint. Do not treat one missing action as proof of low motivation when knowledge, resources, access or timing could provide the stronger explanation.
How does Maslow fit this chapter?
Maslow provides a way to discuss categories and priority of needs, but a need label remains a hypothesis. Connect the need to the current consumer tension and offering, then test the MAO conditions instead of treating the hierarchy as a personality test.
Can one person occupy several decision roles?
Yes. One consumer may initiate, compare, decide, pay and use, while a household or organisational choice may distribute those roles across several people. Map roles from the evidence instead of assuming that the purchaser controls every stage, because a response aimed at the wrong role can miss the actual barrier.
What is a defensible recommendation from a foundation analysis?
A defensible recommendation changes the constraint identified in the case and names the consumer action it should enable. It also recognises uncertainty. If the evidence cannot distinguish low motivation from low opportunity, propose a small test or additional observation before committing resources to a broad campaign.
Assessment move
Begin with a one-page diagnostic grid. Across the top write offering, acquisition, usage and disposition; down the side write initiator, influencer, information gatherer, decider, purchaser and user. Use a familiar choice to fill only the cells supported by observation, leaving uncertain roles blank.
This makes two habits visible: consumption continues after payment, and the person paying is not necessarily the person whose Motivation, Ability or Opportunity should be changed. Next, create three versions of the same non-adoption outcome.
In the first, the consumer sees no relevant goal; in the second, the goal matters but required knowledge or money is missing; in the third, the consumer is willing and capable but timing or access blocks action. Write a different response for each version and check that it directly repairs the binding constraint.
For assessment preparation, build short evidence chains using four sentences: describe the behaviour, locate it in the consumption sequence, diagnose MAO with a scenario fact, and state a bounded implication. Then add a rival explanation and one question that would distinguish the two accounts. Use Maslow only after the observable chain is clear.
Treat the need category as a provisional account of the goal, not a permanent trait. Finally, audit any LookBook reflection for role confusion, invented motives and recommendations that merely add persuasion. If a service-access change would solve the case but your paragraph recommends a stronger message, return to the MAO diagnosis and revise the action.
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