Arab Open University Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) - PT3 Form

Arab Open University
Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) – PT3 Form
Academic Year 2019-2020 Semester:

Branch: Program:Business Studies with Marketing
Course Title:Consumer Behavior Course Code:BE201
Student Name: Student ID:
Section Number: Tutor Name:
Total Mark: Awarded Mark:

Mark details
Questions Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Weight 60 20 20 100
Allocated Marks
Marks
Criteria Presentation Referencing Word Count E-Library Total

Up to 5 5 5 5 20
Marks deduction
Marks
100 Student’s Total Mark /100
Notes on plagiarism:
A. According to the Arab Open University By-laws, the following acts represent cases of cheating and plagiarism:
 Verbatim copying of printed material and submitting them as part of TMAs without proper academic
acknowledgement and documentation.
 Verbatim copying of material from the Internet, including tables and graphics.
 Copying other students’ notes or reports.
 Using paid or unpaid material prepared for the student by individuals or firms.
B. Penalties for plagiarism ranges from failure in the TMA to expulsion from the university.
Declaration: I hereby declare that the submitted TMA is my own work and I have not copied any other person’s
work or plagiarized in any other form as specified above.
Student Signature
…………………….
Tutor’s Feedback
Tutor Name: Tutor Signature: Date returned:

We all are aware that in today’s era consumer behavior is influenced by varying characteristics. With
constant progression in technology, the world has seen a phenomenal switch in consumer behavior.
With just a click on their smart devices, consumers seem to be ruling the world. Nonetheless,
businesses worldwide have to keep up with consumer expectations in order to mark their position in
the market. Businesses today are facing the challenge of staying connected with their consumers.
Social media has become a dominant marketing and selling stage. From local businesses to
multinationals need to be active on these platforms to stay connected to their customers. Be it
facebook, instagram, or youtube; consumers hunt far and wide to convince themselves before making
a purchase. Forums like quora, wikianswers, twitter etc quantify consumer views. Further to enhance
consumer connectivity it is vital to create mobile friendly online presence eg: websites and apps.
Moreover, online payments have amplified online shopping as people find it more convenient and a
more secured mode of payment. Over the years, with consumers having access to unlimited choices,
their expectations have been raised. Whether its noon or midnight they need answers immediately.
Businesses have to respond quickly to queries and negative feedbacks to maintain loyalty of their
customer base. Consumers have started looking for products which will fulfill their many needs
which directly means that if the customer wants to buy from you than you have to meet all their
needs. This is happening across all businesses, so in order to maintain market stability, every business
has to work to meet changed expectations of its consumers.
There are clearly pros and cons of technology advancements from the perspectives of both i.e.
consumers as well as businesses. Technology today is the medium to conduct business transactions.
One of the biggest advantages of technology for consumers is ‘convenience’. As consumers can now
purchase items from the comfort of their home. Other advantages are saves time, wide array of
products to choose from, no pressure of shopping, price comparisons can be done by simply
switching apps, in-depth information of the product, time is no longer a barrier, consumers can track
their delivery status, payments with a just click, easy cancellations and returns etc. however, the
disadvantages are there are sometimes high risk of fraud like credit card scams, phishing, counterfeit
products, delay in shipments, customer information is all online so there could be threat to privacy, no
real time shopping experience, can’t determine the texture, fabric, no one-to-one sales assistance, no
bargaining. However, these disadvantages will not hamper the rise of online shopping if the
merchants take care of these obstacles. When it comes to businesses, technology allows merchants to
reach to a diverse crowd which are outside their geographical sphere, speed and flexibility allows
merchants to respond quickly, there’s increased exposure of products and services, target various
segments of audience effectively, improves work-life balance as employees can work from home too,
reduces investment in outlets, employees etc. disadvantages are security risk of advanced technology,
expense of maintaining and constantly upgrading technology, competition as these advancements are
available to everyone, homogenization is products as well as in the way it is marketed as replication is
very easy.
A consumer has two kinds of needs and he will strive to fulfill both of these needs throughout his life.
The innate needs of a consumer are also his primary needs which are physiological in nature. For e.g.
food, shelter, clothes, water, air, sex. The other needs are acquired needs. These needs are
requirements that have come into being due to the society. These are psychological in nature. For e.g.
esteem, prestige, power, learning, love, acceptance etc. however, today many consumers consider the
acquired needs as a necessity which is why there is a fine line between both. When a consumer
purchases a shirt online he is serving his innate need of clothing but when he purchases a branded
shirt which is very expensive he is also serving his acquired need. When a person orders food online
he is serving his innate need of hunger but when he orders the food from a five star he is fulfilling his
acquired need of luxury. Sometimes an overlap occurs between both the kinds of needs especially
when a consumer purchases a product which is based on innate need but has certain characteristics of
acquired needs. For e.g. instead of buying normal mineral water the consumer may purchase
sparkling water. At times a product may fulfill only a particular need e.g. purchasing a perfume,
makeup, music system all these products fulfill acquired needs. However, when a consumer
purchases a basic home, purchases normal water, inexpensive clothes he is fulfilling his innate needs.
Just the way needs of a consumer are important so is the communication process. In the process of
communication, a medium of communication refers to the ways by which the message (information)
is transmitted from a sender to a receiver. The sender conveys the message through a medium which
can oral, verbal or non-verbal, it is simply ‘’how’’ your message will be sent to the receiver.
However, communication has evolved drastically over the years with path-breaking discoveries.
People have started using blogs which are online journals which display information, blogging for
business is the new trend. Today, blogs are a powerful tool to consume information. WOM (word-of-
mouth) marketing is said to be very effective. It is when consumers talk about products in daily
dialogues and is more like free advertising through consumer experiences. It includes buzz agents, e-
referrals, viral marketing etc. buzz agents are not paid yet they promote products in gatherings or
online platforms as opinion leaders, WOM works way better than promotional ads. Viral marketing
helps companies to promote their products to other individuals via social media platforms e.g. email.
Other strategies include screens in buildings, digital billboards. Also mobile advertising which is very
effective which is done through sending customized sms or using tools like search engine. The latest
form of new media is iTv as it permits interaction between both the sender and the receiver. However,
we cannot conclude as to which form of medium works best as every medium of communication has
its own uniqueness and reaches various segments of audiences.
Nonetheless, be it progression of technology, consumer needs and expectations or medium of
communication; the focus must always be on the consumer and the consumer will respond.

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Arab Open University

Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) – PT3 Form

Academic Year 2019-2020 Semester:

Student Name: Student ID:

Section Number: Tutor Name:

Total Mark: Awarded Mark:

Criteria Presentation Referencing Word Count E-Library Total

100 Student’s Total Mark /100

Tutor Name: Tutor Signature: Date returned:

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