Understanding Consumer Behavior In Relation To FMCG Products: An Essay On Heinz In Australia.

The study of why, when, how and where while buying any product of daily usage. Understanding of the decision making process of the buyers  (Achar et al. 2016) The marketing starts with the requirement and need of the customer and ends with their level of satisfaction (Rani 2014) It is the combination of psychology, social anthropology and marketing strategies. Some of the major characteristics affecting the behavior of the consumer towards the buying of any FMCG product of his choice: 

The report is prepared to critically analyze the different forces that are associated with the influencing of customer behavior such as the attitudes and behaviors of consumers, their lifestyle habits, motivation, culture, group and individual differences along with family and perception creating an impact on the buy decisions made by the consumers (Persson 2013).

The goal is to obtain the real and valid participants who have purchased the processes food, which is a FMCG product delivered by Heinz in Australia. The processed food is the ketchup item that has been purchased by people and thus their responses have been obtained to understand what are the major forces that have driven their behaviors regarding purchases and has influenced their consumer buying decisions as well (Rahim, Abidin and Khairuddin 2014).

The topic mainly focuses on the concept of consumer behavior and how it has been influenced due to the marketing aspects and also due to the various marketing mix components like the product, price, place, promotion. The report is prepared to critically analyze the different forces that are associated with the influencing of customer behavior such as the attitudes and behaviors of consumers, their lifestyle habits, motivation, culture, group and individual differences along with family and perception creating an impact on the buy decisions made by the consumers (Persson 2013).

The goal is to obtain the real and valid participants who have purchased the processes food, which is a FMCG product delivered by Heinz in Australia. The processed food is the ketchup item that has been purchased by people and thus their responses have been obtained to understand what are the major forces that have driven their behaviors regarding purchases and has influenced their consumer buying decisions as well (Rahim, Abidin and Khairuddin 2014).

Q1 What is your gender?

Male

Female

Q2 What is your age?

Below 20 years

20 to 30 years

Above 30 years

Q3 Products, price, place and promotions are major aspects influencing consumer behaviors

Agree

Disagree

Q4 Are you satisfied with the kinds of products and services offered by Heinz, Australia?

Very satisfied

Satisfied   

Neither satisfied not dissatisfied

Dissatisfied   

Very dissatisfied  

Q5 Do you believe that lifestyle behaviors are responsible for influencing your behaviors regarding purchase of products from the company?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Q6 Does the proper prices and good quality of products have influenced the consumer decision making?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Q7 Do you experience differences in opinions among groups or within the families and friends while making a purchase decision?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Q8 Does the culture of a place affect the buying behaviors of the consumers of Heinz?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Q9 Which one of the FMCG ketchup brands are you mostly associated with?

Heinz

Annie’s natural

Kissan

Q10 Does the sustainability measures and involvement of social media have created awareness and positive perceptions about the brand in your mind?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

The participants are selected on the basis of different types of sampling techniques that have been followed for conducting the research and analysis of data. The probability sampling enables random selection of participants or respondents, who are being selected randomly from a heterogeneous group of people while the non-probability sampling technique enables both purposive and non-probability convenient sampling method (Solomon et al. 2014). The sample size is selected as 15, which means the questionnaire consisting of 10 questions are sent to 15 respondents and their responses will be recorded and analyzed for ensuring that the research goals and objectives are met.  The participants are selected randomly and then the survey questionnaires are distributed to them, based on which, they provide their responses and opinions related to the research topic (Rani 2014).

Methodology

Data collection

The collection of data includes gathering both the primary data and secondary data. The primary data includes both qualitative and quantitative data whereas the secondary data will be collected for the assessment of the literature review related to the research on customer behaviors. The qualitative data are the responses of managers of the organization who provide their useful views and opinions regarding the questions asked to them while conducting the interview session (Solomon et al. 2014). The quantitative data are obtained by gaining the responses and feedbacks of the respondents provided on the survey questionnaire.

Secondary data collection

The marketing aspects are related to the ways the customers’ needs are assessed and then the products and services are delivered to ensure customer satisfaction. The psychology and marketing strategies are combined by the FMCG Company to ensure that the buying behaviors of the consumers are influenced and they can make purchases on a consistent manner.  The marketing components including the product, price, place and promotion have affected buying behaviors of customers and made them respond to the business by making effective product choices and enhancing the amounts of purchases as well (Mende, Bolton and Bitner 2013).

Other major features or characteristics that have affected the buying decisions made by the customers include cultural aspects, social, psychological and the effectiveness of brand image and identity. The consumers make choice for the particular product of the brand by conducting market researches and also based on the marketing strategies that are implemented by the organization to market the FMCG brand’s products and services (Heinz.com.au 2018). It has been found that the consumer decision making is based on five major stages including the identification of problem, searching for data and information regarding the products, alternative evaluation, making the purchase decisions and finally making decisions post purchase to understand whether their needs and preferences have been met or not (Solomon et al. 2017).

The customers do assess the benefits that can be derived from the product along with the ways information are obtained about the products and services delivered such as through word of mouth promotions, advertising, promotions and through involvement of social media. The post purchase decisions include whether the clients are satisfied or not and providing good reviews and feedbacks too, which can influence other buyers to purchase the products of the FMCG brand (Heinz.com.au 2018).

Data analysis

The analysis of data has been done with the use of Survey Monkey, where a set of questionnaires has been developed and the responses are obtained, based on which the analysis and interpretation are done. Ten questions are prepared and then distributed to 15 respondents, who provided their useful responses considered as important for understanding the various forces and factors influencing the consumer buying behaviors.

Data Collection

Summary analysis

Q1 What is your gender?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Male	53.33% 8
– Female	46.67% 7
TOTAL	15

From the responses provided in the first question, it has been found that most of the respondents are male respondents who have been considered during the process of data collection. The ratio of male to female is 2:1.

Q2 What is your age?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Below 20 years	6.67% 1
– 20 to 30 years	80.00% 12
– Above 30 years	13.33% 2
TOTAL	15

From the responses provided in the survey questionnaires, it could be understood that most of the respondents, i.e., 12 out of 15 respondents are individuals aged between 20 to 30 years of age whereas the 2 respondents fall in the “above 30 years” category and only one below 20 years of age.

Q3 Products, price, place and promotions are major aspects influencing consumer behaviors

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

–	Agree –	Strongly agree –	Neutral –	Disagree –	Strongly disagree –	Total –	Weighted Average –
– Consumer behavior	20.00% 3	60.00% 9	13.33% 2	0.00% 0	6.67% 1	15	2.13

From the assessment of third question presented in the survey questionnaire, it has been found that most of the respondents have strongly agreed t the concept that the for components of marketing mix including the product, price, place and promotions have created a positive impact by influencing the consumer buying behaviors. Among the 15 respondents, 9 out of 15 of them have provided positive responses by strongly agreeing to the context, whereas the negative response is minimal and thus only one respondent fall in the category of “strongly disagree”. There are no one who have disagreed while the agree category consists of most of the respondents who have believed that the four major components of marketing are hugely responsible for influencing the consumer decision making process during purchases too.

Q4 Are you satisfied with the kinds of products and services offered by Heinz, Australia?

• Answered: 14
• Skipped: 1

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Very satisfied	14.29% 2
– Satisfied	64.29% 9
– Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	14.29% 2
– Dissatisfied	7.14% 1
– Very dissatisfied	0.00% 0
TOTAL	14

According to the survey, it could be understood that among the 15 respondents, 11 of them have provided positive responses while only one provided negative reviews and two among the 15 respondents have provided neutral responses. Thus, most of the responses in terms of percentage is positive and the dissatisfaction level among the others is very low, which shows that the company has offered good quality products and services.

Q5 Do you believe that lifestyle behaviors are responsible for influencing your behaviors regarding purchase of products from the company?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Strongly agree	33.33% 5
– Agree	33.33% 5
– Neither agree nor disagree	0.00% 0
– Disagree	20.00% 3
– Strongly disagree	13.33% 2
TOTAL	15

Considering the survey conducted, it is understood that the respondents have provided mixed opinions and responses regarding the context. Everyone have provided their views and opinions and 10 out of 15 respondents have provided positive responses and agreed to the fact that lifestyle behaviors have influenced the consumer buying behaviors while 5 out of 15 respondents have disagreed to the context. It could thus be believed that the positive responses outweigh the negative responses, due to which, it could be justified that the lifestyle behaviors and choices are important factors that contribute to the process of decision making by customers regarding the purchase of processed foods from the FMCG brand.

Analysis

Q6 Does the proper prices and good quality of products have influenced the consumer decision making?

• Answered: 14
• Skipped: 1

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Strongly agree	50.00% 7
– Agree	21.43% 3
– Neither agree nor disagree	7.14% 1
– Disagree	14.29% 2
– Strongly disagree	7.14% 1
TOTAL	14

Based on the survey conducted, the analysis and interpretation results tend to be positive considering the fact that the pricing of products and quality can easily influence the consumers to make purchases. The buying behaviors of consumers are dependent upon the products’ characteristics and its capability of fulfilling their needs and expectations. 10 out of 15 respondents agreed to the context while only 22 %, i.e., 3 out of 15 respondents did not agree that the quality and pricing can be essential factors influencing the process of consumer buying decision.

Q7 Do you experience differences in opinions among groups or within the families and friends while making a purchase decision?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Strongly agree	13.33% 2
– Agree	46.67% 7
– Neither agree nor disagree	6.67% 1
– Disagree	20.00% 3
– Strongly disagree	13.33% 2
TOTAL	15

Among the 15 respondents, 9 respondents provided their positive views and responses while one of the respondents provided neutral responses. Out of 15 respondents, only 5 respondents provided negative responses and did not believe to the context.

Q8 Does the culture of a place affect the buying behaviors of the consumers of Heinz?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Strongly agree	26.67% 4
– Agree	46.67% 7
– Neither agree nor disagree	6.67% 1
– Disagree	13.33% 2
– Strongly disagree	6.67% 1
TOTAL	15

As per the survey, most of the respondents believed that the culture has influenced the buying behaviors of the consumers for the processed foods delivered by Heinz. More than 70 percent, i.e., 11 out of 15 respondents provided their positive responses, which showed that the culture has affected the consumer buying decisions. On the other hand, the 3 respondents out of 15 respondents disagreed to the context. Thus, the positive responses are greater than the negative responses, which showed that the culture has influenced the buying behaviors made by consumers.

Q9 Which one of the FMCG ketchup brands are you mostly associated with?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Heinz	33.33% 5
– Annie's natural	13.33% 2
– Kissan	53.33% 8
TOTAL	15

Based on the survey, the analysis showed that the FMCG brand that the customers are mostly associated with is Kissan and the second place has been acquired by Heinz.

Q10 Does the sustainability measures and involvement of social media have created awareness and positive perceptions about the brand in your mind?

• Answered: 15
• Skipped: 0

Answer Choices –	Responses –
– Strongly agree	26.67% 4
– Agree	40.00% 6
– Neither agree nor disagree	20.00% 3
– Disagree	0.00% 0
– Strongly disagree	13.33% 2
TOTAL	15

According to the survey, it is believed that sustainability management has allowed the business to create positive perceptions among the minds of customers. With the involvement of social media, customers have gained more awareness about the products and service and thus their buying behaviors have been influenced. 10 out of 15 respondents have agreed to the context.

References

Heinz.com.au 2018. Ketchup – Tomato Ketchup | Heinz Ketchup. [online] Available at: https://www.heinz.com/ [Accessed 16 Sep. 2018].

Mende, M., Bolton, R.N. and Bitner, M.J., 2013. Decoding customer–firm relationships: how attachment styles help explain customers' preferences for closeness, repurchase intentions, and changes in relationship breadth. Journal of Marketing Research, 50(1), pp.125-142.

Persson, A., 2013. Profitable customer management: reducing costs by influencing customer behaviour. European Journal of Marketing, 47(5/6), pp.857-876.

Rahim, H.L., Abidin, Z.Z. and Khairuddin, N.N., 2014. Psychographic characteristics influencing customer behaviour on online purchase intention. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 8(5).

Rani, P., 2014. Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current research and academic review, 2(9), pp.52-61.

Solomon, M.R., Dahl, D.W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J.L. and Polegato, R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.