Buyer Behavior for Beer and Wine

NATURE OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS

The consumer decision making process with respect to beer and wine products is examined in the context of three factors. These three factors are (1) market segmentation, (2) the decision making process, and (3) the marketing mix.

Market segmentation is the first step in the target marketing process. Market segmentation is the "management strategy in which one or more groups of potential customers having similar within group characteristics is (sic) selected and (for which) separate marketing mixes are developed for each" (Kotler, 1987, p. 245). A market segment is a "group of people with homogeneous needs" (Murphy & Ellis, 1985, p. 197). The process of market segmentation is the subdividing of a market into distinct customer subsets, where any subset may conceivably be selected as a target market to be reached with a distinct marketing mix.

Marketing segmentation may be accomplished on the bases of demographic characteristics or geographic dispersion, each of which is widely employed, or market segmentation may be

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ed the major decisionmaking role related to automobiles, while wives exerted the major decisionmaking role related to the amount of money to be spent on food. They also found that husbands and wives exerted equal influences, in most instances, in purchasing decisions related to both housing and vacation decisions. In relation to purchasing decisions related to life insurance, Sharp and Mott found no discernable patterns in purchasing roles decisions among low income families. As family income levels increased, however, they found that either husbands exerted the most influence, or that the decision was shared between husband and wife, and that in few, if any, instances did wives in higher income groups exert the most influence (Sharp & Mott, 1956, p. 152). One of the major conclusions drawn by Sharp and Mott was that in few urban families are all consumer purchasing decisions left to one or the other of the spouses. Most decisions were, to some extent, made jointly. In a study conducted approximately twoyears later by Elizabeth Wolgast, the findings of the Sharp and Mott study were generally supported. Wolgast found that, in a majority of urban families in the United States, husbands exert the most significant influe
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Murphy Ellis, DEMAND Product, Beer Market, DeLozier Woodside, Sharp Mott, Burns Ortinau, Wine Market, Cunningham Green, Wolgast Davis, Specifically Davis, market segmentation, beer market, husbands wives, beer wine, decision process, marketing research, kotler 1987, target market, journal marketing, psychographic research, consumer decision process, primary target market, roles husbands wives, sharp mott 1956, product life cycle,
Approximate Word count = 4344
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)