Introduction
Nestle is a company that has several divisions, including one that is focused on making coffee and tea. It produces a brand of coffee named Nescafe, which appears in various forms. An item owned by a renowned firm has earned a high market share of instant coffee. It has a marketing philosophy is described as people- and brand-oriented instead of system-oriented. The marketing strategy is tailored in a manner that gives importance to the needs and lifestyles of its customers. This paper aims to conduct a consumer behavior analysis.
Consumer Behavior Analysis
Characteristics of the Product
Nescafe product is regarded as the world’s number one pure coffee brand. It is a quality blend of one hundred percent pure coffee produced from the finest coffee beans, particularly selected for consumers and known for curiosity and research (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 226). Its rich taste provides physical and mental stimulation (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 226). It is the best fuel for finding a person’s inspiration with every smooth, quality-filled cup. The item boasts various delicious and intense flavors that keep one going through any situation or job.
Target Market
The target audience for Nescafe consists of coffee drinkers and lovers, particularly those who require immediate and qualified coffee that stimulates the body within a day. Most of them have adopted a lifestyle where they are accustomed to consuming the product every morning. The most popular age groups include 25-34 and 18-24 (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 230). Regarding gender, male customers contribute to the most sales compared to female counterparts (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 230). Additionally, over the years, they have realized their role in holding companies accountable regarding sustainability and requested eco-friendly packaging (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 232). The intention is to enable the brand to be socially responsible.
Need Recognition Process
For Nescafe, two factors influence their consumers, including external and internal stimuli. For example, some have claimed that their purchasing results from a desire to satisfy a biological need, such as less alertness (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 245). Others state that their buying results from fear of missing out since people around them are also customers (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 245). The brand has taken advantage of this information and, thus, focuses on designing its marketing activities depending on the feedback it receives from the consumer base concerning the stimuli.
Purchase Decision-Making Style and Role of Reference in Decision-Making
When it comes to Nescafe, the decision to buy by a customer can be influenced by their need. Since most buyers are either students or young workers, the quick fix for a quality drink leads them to be regular purchasers (Akcay, Kooli, and Gaber, 2020, p. 249). Once individuals enjoy it and discover it is of great quality, they share the information with others. Additionally, some customers associate the product with their family relations. Reference has worked for the brand, enabling the product to remain at the top despite competition from other brands. This can be described as a free word-of-mouth strategy that saves the company money for advertising.
Emotional/Rational Decision-Making
A buying decision can be influenced by either feelings or facts associated with a product. Similar to customers in every industry, coffee drink lovers are either rational or emotional buyers (Tze et al., 2022, p. 1). For instance, most people’s purchasing, especially in pre-pandemic times, was influenced by how they felt. However, this behavior changed as they became more rational due to the economic despair that has impacted the world in the last few years. Most buyers are looking for quality products and have reduced their frequency of consumption to fit their budgets.
Role of Opinion Leadership in the Buying Decision
Opinion leadership has helped the brand remain at the top of its customers’ list of products. According to Zhou et al. (2022, p. 338), every industry has individuals or groups of people who can influence a consumer’s attitude toward a product. For example, the top media stations, publications, and news outlets can serve as opinion leaders. In the food and beverage industry, customers tend to listen more to information from such channels before buying. It is due to the perception created by these organizations that Nescafe is great that has made more people continue buying from them (Tze et al., 2022, p. 3). This is a claim made by the new consumers of the brand in the United States (Tze et al., 2022, p. 3). It goes a long way to show that opinion leaders in business matter.
Sources of Information Available for Making a Buying Decision
Several sources of information are available for buying decisions, including consumer reports, reviews, and the media. The type of information that is accessible to consumers about a product determines if they ultimately purchase it or not. Since the coffee business is competitive, especially in the United States, buyers utilize data on different channels to establish whether or not they associate with an item (Tze et al., 2022, p. 6). Nescafe earns great sales yearly due to good reviews in specialized magazines, which are proven reliable sources.
Additionally, one can access customer reviews on various websites such as eBay or Amazon (Tze et al., 2022, p. 7). The media can also serve as a source of information since most brands promote their items on television, radio, and in newspapers. In the digital era, social media has overtaken all three, as information is easily shared among a multitude of people within a short time. Nescafe has identified all this and positioned itself in a manner where the product is visible everywhere potential customers are.
Perception of the Brand by the Customers
The perception of a brand directly impacts the number of sales it makes. Most coffee drink lovers worldwide prefer Nescafe since they view it as an affordable and high-quality product, too (Bushra et al., 2022, p. 11). The study shows that this has been mainly impacted by the brand’s ability to deliver a high-value good, as suggested in the company’s commercials (Bushra et al., 2022, p. 11).
Most brands have failed and received negative criticism due to their inability to transform the message communicated during advertisements into a reality (Tze et al., 2022, p. 10). They attempt to sell to customers without the idea that the latter have become more rational in their buying decision-making. This has made Nescafe remain ahead of others in the coffee industry.
Alternatives Evaluated in the Decision-Making Process
There are other brands not only in the United States but in other countries as well that are recognized for performing well in various categories, such as best for an instant, light roast, dark roast, and budget. Nescafe has maintained its top spot due to its overall performance in different categories (Zhou, 2022, p. 239). The main reason behind this is that it constantly seeks the consumers’ feedback on how to process the product. Reviews are regarded as essential in the procedure as they directly influence the number of sales each year.
Influence of Culture/Subculture in the Buying Decision of the Brand
The issue of culture and subculture when making buying decisions is seen when comparing a market such as the United States and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it is almost a trend to consume coffee before work or school (Zhou, 2022, p. 340). However, this is not the case in the U.K., as tea is preferred (Zhou, 2022, p. 340). The result of this is more sales in the U.S. than in the U.K. An individual in the U.K. is more likely to purchase tea since it is something the environment and many in it associate with daily.
Marketing Implications
The product is marketed using differentiated and mass targeting strategies to ensure that the retail customers have different offerings. For example, there is one for each segment of consumers. Additionally, the support from the parent company, Nestle, has resulted in the product being recognized worldwide (Tze et al., 2022, p. 13). Business analysts claim that Nestle is among the few companies highly experienced in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and has a wide reach globally (Singh et al., 2021, p. 69). This helps the firm maintain stability financially and in terms of the product.
Conclusion
The paper has conducted a consumer behavior analysis where it has discussed issues such as target market, buying decision-making, as well as the perception of Nescafe among consumers. Being a product or division of Nestle, it enjoys the advantage other brands do not have, which is having a parent company experienced in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and a global reach. This allows the division to expand and sell to many people easily.
Reference List
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Bushra, M.F., Ahmad, A., Ahmad, W., Khattak, Z.Z., Saeed, I., Han, H. and Ariza-Montes, A. (2022) Empirical investigation of the domain knowledge and team advertising creativity typology: The case of Nescafe coffee. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 69, p. 11. Web.
Singh, P., Sin, L.G., Kama’Aziri, N.S.B., Jian, O.Z., Azlan, N.A.S.B.M., Ibrahim, P.N.I.B.B., Sheng, D.H., Kee, D.M.H., Heng, J.T.S., Wee, L.S. and Ying, L.Y. (2021) A study on Nestle promotion strategy. International Journal of Accounting & Finance in Asia Pacific (I.J.A.F.A.P.), 4(1), p. 60-70. Web.
Tze, X.C., Zhe, X.C., Sin, C.C. and Shieh, H.C. (2022) A study on marketing strategy of Nestle in Asia. Advances in Global Economics and Business Journal, 3(1), p. 1-14. Web.
Zhou, X. (2022) Analyzing the data of N.E.S.C.A.F.E. sustainability campaign and the effectiveness of the key opinion leaders utilization. In International Conference on Business and Policy Studies (p. 338-347). Springer, Singapore. Web.
