CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

It is a well know fact that beings, have unlimited wants that need to be satisfied and that is why economics says ‘’ human wants are insatiable’’. As a particular need is being satisfied, new ones arise. The needs are so many that the resources available to satisfy them are limited at every point in time. The individual therefore has to decide the other in which these wants are to be satisfied depending on which ones he prefers to the others.

According to Boone and Kuriz. Consumer behavior can be defined as the acts of individual in obtaining and using goods and sevices including the decision process that precede and determine these acts. This definition includes both the ultimate consumer and the purchaser of industrial goods. A major differences in the purchaser behavior of industrial consumers and the ultimate consumer is that additional; influences from within the organization may be exerted on the industrial purchasing agent.

Consumer behavior results from individual and environmental influences. Consumer often purchases goods and services to achieve their ideal self image and to protect the type of self image they want to in other to accept. Behavior is therefore determined by the individual’s psychological make up and influence of other. The dual influence has been summarized into the following simplified equation of behavior.

B=F(P,E)

Consumer action (B) is therefore, the result of interaction of the consumer’s personal influence (P) and the pressures exerted upon him side forces in his environment E).

The four basis determinant of consumer behaviour are the individuals needs, motives, perceptions and attitudes the ineraction of these factors with influences from the environmental cause the consumer to act.

The starting point in the purchase decision process in the recognition of a tail need. A need is simply the lack of something useful. The consumer is typically confronted with numerous unsatisfied needs. It is important to note that a need must be sufficiently around before it may serve as a motive.

Motives are inner state that directs us toeards the goal of satisfying a felt need. The word product can therefore be defined as a bundle of physical, services and symbolic characteristics designed to produce consumer want satisfaction.

An important pre-requisite for efficiency product modification or innovations is a functioning organizational arrangement designed to stimulate and co-ordinate new product develploment

It is a universal truth that favorable consumer attitudes are pre-requisites to marketing success. If consumer views the product unfavorably, the firm may choose to redesign the product to better conform to their desires to accommodate the consumer.

The firm may make styling changed, variations in store handling the product. Ingredient change in package size and changes in retail store handling the product.

Thus, the aim of every consumer to derive the best satisfaction from every goods and services purchased. Different factors are considered by the consumer before a decision is made to purchase a product. These factors sometime vary from individual to individual. They include price of the commodity, quality of close substitutes, quality of effectiveness of the product and complements, package and other promotional efforts, etc.

Generally, speaking consumer behavior are high influenced by ‘’controllable’’ and ‘’uncontrollable’’ ‘’internal’’ and ‘’external’’ factors. They can be grouped under economic, cultural, social, personal, characteristics and psychological factors.

Economic factors that affect consumer behavior include:

1. Those that can denote controlled i.e they are outside the influence of the individual firm e.g total income units specifically other uncontrollable economic factor which affects consumer purchase decision are disposable personal income, size of family and family income, consumers income expectation etc.
2. Cultural factors also exert a broad and deep influence on consumer behaviors according to kofler ‘’culture is the most fundamental determinant of a persons want and behavior’’. Every culture involves unique patterns of social conducts analysis. If these parttarns of social conducts helps in explaining then buying behavior of individual factors under the cultural anthropological influences include the roles of ethnic groups, social class, religion leisure time and fashion as well as the population composition it self.
3. Social factors or sociological influences also affect consumer behavior. Marketing is view by the sociologists as involving the activities of groups of people who are influenced or stimulated by the individual desires that influenced consumer behavior includes reference group then diffusion process, status symbols, family,etc
4. A buyers decision are also determined by his personal characteristics which include the age of the buyer and life-cycle stage economic circumstances, occupation, lifestyles, personality and self concept etc
5. Lastly, four main psychological factors influence a buyers decision or choices. These are motivation, perception, learning and belief, and attitudes. Since the psychological factor are relevant to our study.

In this study and attempt is made to examine the effect of consumer behaviour on product modification (with special emphasis on the modification). Unilever Nigeria Limited as it is now called is used as a case study.

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