RESEARCH GOAL: defining and characterizing consumers

This research encompasses the following areas:

1. General characterization of consumers on the grounds of their descriptive and behavioral traits. Numerous descriptive traits identifying consumers may be distinguished. With respect to natural persons these traits include the following: age, gender, education, income, place of residence, state of health, etc. With respect to companies these traits include the following: sales figures, location, form of ownership, number of employees, etc. The following behavioral traits identifying behavioral patterns are the most frequently cited among natural persons: manner of life, life style, nutrition habits, etc., and among companies: forms of organizing operations, methods of cooperation, forms of payment, etc.

2. Identification of product usage models to define:

• the most frequent applications,
• the frequency of application,
• prospective applications,
• benefits and losses stemming from applying different brands.

3. Identification of a variegated style of consumer behaviors comprised by the following:

• decision making model for purchases and its determinants,
• place of purchase,
• frequency of purchase,
• roles in the purchasing process,
• hierarchy of expenditures,
• changes over time in all the components of consumer behavior under examination.

4. Assessment of market familiarity by consumers identifies:

• sources of product knowledge,
• familiarity with major brand names and market leaders,
• market segmentation in consumer perception, similarities and differences among the indicated segments,
• images of the brands perceived by consumers.