Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2

The segment that I chose in order to evaluate consumer behavior were university students -- as the youth are shown to highly promote social causes that directly affect our future.

In the interviews, I saw that the charitable cause supported is possibly the most deciding factor when choosing a non-profit organization to donate to or purchase from. The cause that the organization is trying to aid highly persuades whether or not a person choses to make a donation of purchase -- as it must be something that each individual buyer is interested in helping in.

The message of the organization, or perhaps the mission, is what differentiates non-profits from each other and are able to persuade consumers into purchasing. The credibility, efficiency, and actual cause involvement are also large factors that I noticed interviewees said had large importance.

Since the people I interviewed are younger consumers, I noticed a huge popularity in online purchases -- being able to donate or contribute to a nonprofit from the comfort of your home is what was preferred across the board. Social media marketing is a crucial facet of enterprises, especially those that promote a social cause. Therefore, having a simple and feasible online website to market the products would attract the most consumers based on interview data.

For post-purchase evaluation, customers tend to base the success of their purchase on a concept of utility maximization. People want to feel as though they've purchased a product that was worth however much they've spent on it -- one that gives them satisfaction. In the case of my entrepreneurial idea, people want to feel as though they've actually helped out in a social cause and received something they really enjoyed in return.

To summarize, I learned from my interviews that there are many important details and factors to take in consideration when constructing a business -- as any small aspect can highly persuade consumers. Everything from how consumers are able to buy the product/service, how satisfied they feel with their purchase afterwards, marketing elements, alternative goods and more all factor into their decisions.