No description available.

No description available.

Buying behaviour is a complex, wide– ranging field, intricately associated with human mental processes, responding to environmental stimuli. Understanding the customer and being able to predict their behaviour, is of prime importance to all marketers and marketing strategists for two reasons: Firstly because, the overall strategy of the company has to be clearly reflected in the marketing strategy for any meaningful progress. Secondly, to be able to adjust or adapt the marketing effort to changing marketing conditions. The focus of this study is to research the buying behaviour of farmers through the marketing mix paradigm. Although slightly contentious in terms of recent theories and field of application, the dichotomous nature of farmers buying behaviour and the characteristics of the purchase makes this theory a good fit for the circumstances. The marketing mix theory focuses on the controllable external stimuli which reinforces the practical application of this study. The buying behaviour of farmers was researched by asking farmers to evaluate the importance of a statement related to an element of the marketing mix theory by telephonic interview. The answers of the farmers were analysed using various statistical methods and the following salient results were obtained: All the elements of the marketing mix theory are important to farmers when deciding on buying a new tractor. The less experienced farmers rated all the elements of the marketing mix as more important than more experienced farmers. There was a definitive subset of farmers for whom the more changeable part of the marketing mix, price and promotion, had a definite impact on their decision. Price and promotion did not correlate with farmers who viewed the product of high importance. Other results indicated that the farmers in the test sample bought a new tractor every 2.3 years with 54% of farmers buying a new tractor in the past year. The frequency with which farmers buy new tractors shows the importance of the market. The finding that the elements of the marketing mix theory are important to farmers was expected and could serve as an incentive for future research. The marketing mix theory is viewed as highly applicable in this case, due to its relative simplicity and the focus on the more controllable stimuli on the farmer. It was also found that for a significant subset of farmers the more modifiable elements had a definitive impact on their decision when buying a tractor. This offers an opportunity to marketers willing to respond to changing uncontrollable conditions to influence buying decisions in the short term. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Buying behaviour is a complex, wide– ranging field, intricately associated with human mental processes, responding to environmental stimuli. Understanding the customer and being able to predict their behaviour, is of prime importance to all marketers and marketing strategists for two reasons: Firstly because, the overall strategy of the company has to be clearly reflected in the marketing strategy for any meaningful progress. Secondly, to be able to adjust or adapt the marketing effort to changing marketing conditions. The focus of this study is to research the buying behaviour of farmers through the marketing mix paradigm. Although slightly contentious in terms of recent theories and field of application, the dichotomous nature of farmers buying behaviour and the characteristics of the purchase makes this theory a good fit for the circumstances. The marketing mix theory focuses on the controllable external stimuli which reinforces the practical application of this study. The buying behaviour of farmers was researched by asking farmers to evaluate the importance of a statement related to an element of the marketing mix theory by telephonic interview. The answers of the farmers were analysed using various statistical methods and the following salient results were obtained: All the elements of the marketing mix theory are important to farmers when deciding on buying a new tractor. The less experienced farmers rated all the elements of the marketing mix as more important than more experienced farmers. There was a definitive subset of farmers for whom the more changeable part of the marketing mix, price and promotion, had a definite impact on their decision. Price and promotion did not correlate with farmers who viewed the product of high importance. Other results indicated that the farmers in the test sample bought a new tractor every 2.3 years with 54% of farmers buying a new tractor in the past year. The frequency with which farmers buy new tractors shows the importance of the market. The finding that the elements of the marketing mix theory are important to farmers was expected and could serve as an incentive for future research. The marketing mix theory is viewed as highly applicable in this case, due to its relative simplicity and the focus on the more controllable stimuli on the farmer. It was also found that for a significant subset of farmers the more modifiable elements had a definitive impact on their decision when buying a tractor. This offers an opportunity to marketers willing to respond to changing uncontrollable conditions to influence buying decisions in the short term. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

No description available.

This doctoral thesis investigates "gay marketing" as a phenomena in the environment of the Czech Republic market. Gay marketing here is understood in a broad way, as: any activities of companies towards addressing specifically homosexual consumers. The main question of the thesis is if the trend of specifically addressing homosexual consumers can and will come to the Czech market. The goal of the thesis is to recognize consumer behavior of Czech homosexuals, and based on that to find out the specificities of that consumer segment. To be able to meet the ultimate goal, the research and analysis were covering also: analysis of existing literature on that topic, comparison of the homosexuals' consumer behavior with consumer behavior of general Czech population, approach of Czech companies towards "gay marketing" and analysis of Czech press targeting homosexuals.

The financial crisis has affected every economy during the last decade thus under this changing environment that effect the marketing strategies and these strategies began to change according to the buying behavior of the people. In this research the consumer perspective is examined with the change in mobile phone technology. This is an industry of constant change and innovation in which manufacturers are continually developing new technologies for consumers. As the buying behavior of the consumer is changing but how these changes in mobile phone technologies are effecting the consumer is analyzed in this research. The technologies used in the mobile phone are upgrading quickly that effect the prices and technology of every new version of mobile phone. This made the consumer confused to make a buying decision of mobile phone. We examined the problem with consumer buying behavior, in which the consumers purchase decision and post purchase decision were analyzed under the impact of financial crisis. Furthermore, the buying process of consumer helped us examining the attributes and satisfaction of purchase decision. For this purpose, we formulated four propositions which were based on research problem and these propositions were analyzed through different variables. We conducted questionnaire survey from the consumers in Umea, Sweden and collected data from 150 respondents. To analyze and draw conclusion from the collected data, we ran different univariate and bivariate analysis. The marketing strategies were analyzed through the buying behavior which involved usage situation and source of information for making the decision. The impact of financial crisis was examined through the change in spending of consumer. The change in technology of mobile phone was examined through the features and performance of mobile phone used by the consumer.  Thus, we concluded that the buying behavior of people changed due to change in income, but this change showed more effect on the sales of the mobile phone than on its technology. We analyzed that consumer want to retain their mobile phone for a long period, but the technologies used by the mobile phone manufacturers are attracting them by showing different benefits. As a result, the effect of different marketing strategies attracted the consumer to purchase mobile phone with advanced technologies. On the other hand, financial crisis didn’t show a major impact on the mobile phone market. The spending of the consumer in crisis did not increase the demand for new technology but the change was due to the nature of the mobile phone because it was considered as a commodity by the consumer. Mobile phone performance and technology has built satisfaction in the people mind because mobile phone manufacturers are providing advance technologies to the people.

Background: Today, advertising is a multi-billion industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people and affecting billions of people’s lives worldwide. Yet, seeing as advertising clutter has increased tremendously and is more intense than ever, it is vital that companies differentiate themselves from competitors by creating even more powerful, entertaining and innovative advertisement messages, as well as sponsoring different events. Examples of such companies that spend billion of dollars on marketing strategies in order to stay key players in their industry are The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Purpose: The overall purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of different international and local factors affecting consumer preferences on a local market. Method: A quantitative method was applied, and thus a questionnaire with 150 respondents on the local market was conducted. The respondents were divided into three different age groups: ≤ 18, 19-34, and ≥ 35, and represent a diverse set of people who are at different stages in their lives. Conclusions: International advertising and international sponsorship respectively influence the local target group in different ways, but they also affect international brand in that they have an impact on brand image and brand equity. Moreover, depending on a person’s age, consumers view brands differently, and thus have an effect on international brand alone, but also in combination with international advertisement and international sponsorship. Together, these factors influence the way in which a brand is perceived, and consequently influence consumer preferences.

<p>Background: Today, advertising is a multi-billion industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people and affecting billions of people’s lives worldwide. Yet, seeing as advertising clutter has increased tremendously and is more intense than ever, it is vital that companies differentiate themselves from competitors by creating even more powerful, entertaining and innovative advertisement messages, as well as sponsoring different events. Examples of such companies that spend billion of dollars on marketing strategies in order to stay key players in their industry are The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.</p><p>Purpose: The overall purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of different international and local factors affecting consumer preferences on a local market.</p><p>Method: A quantitative method was applied, and thus a questionnaire with 150 respondents on the local market was conducted. The respondents were divided into three different age groups: ≤ 18, 19-34, and ≥ 35, and represent a diverse set of people who are at different stages in their lives.</p><p>Conclusions: International advertising and international sponsorship respectively influence the local target group in different ways, but they also affect international brand in that they have an impact on brand image and brand equity. Moreover, depending on a person’s age, consumers view brands differently, and thus have an effect on international brand alone, but also in combination with international advertisement and international sponsorship. Together, these factors influence the way in which a brand is perceived, and consequently influence consumer preferences.</p>

The South African poultry industry is a large part of the agricultural industry and a very important contributor to the Agriculture’s Gross Domestic Product. Furthermore, this industry is expanding and very good growth is predicted for the next decade. This growth will take place in the formal as well as the informal segments of the industry. The informal segment holds a lot of potential for suppliers to supply in their growing needs. Due to the fact that broiler feed is seen as a large contributor to the total cost of broiler production, it is considered very important factor. If feed suppliers want to focus on the informal market, they need to understand the differences between commercial farmers and small–scale farmers and specifically the different needs of small–scale farmers. To develop a strategy to utilize the opportunities in the informal market, it is necessary to understand all the factors that influence the purchase behaviour of these farmers. A model of stimulus response is used to define the factors that may influence purchase behaviour. The factors that seemed important from the literature study are market and other stimuli. The market stimuli consist of product, price, promotion and place. The product aspect could further be divided into quality aspects, brand equity, and additional services that accompany the product. Other stimuli that could influence purchase behaviour are economic conditions, special event, climatic condition and the influence of culture. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used on the data to determine which factors influence the small–scale farmers’ purchase behaviour. While the Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure, Bartlett’s test of shericity and Cronbach Apha were used to determine if the data is suitable to do a factor analysis on. Factor analysis was done to determine which factors are the most important. The seven significant factors that influence the purchase behaviour of small–scale farmers are: * Value for money and opportunity. * Perceived brand value. * Customer support and service. * Consensus on available quality. * Brand loyalty. * Feed price at the reseller. * Bag size. More research on this topic in a larger geographical area is required. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.