Buyer behaviour: stimulus-response model

A well-developed and tested model of buyer behaviour is known as the stimulus-response model, which is summarised in the diagram below:

In the above model, marketing and other stimuli enter the customers “black box” and produce certain responses.

Marketing management must try to work out what goes on the in the mind of the customer – the “black box”.

The Buyer’s characteristics influence how he or she perceives the stimuli; the decision-making process determines what buying behaviour is undertaken.

Characteristics that affect customer behaviour

The first stage of understanding buyer behaviour is to focus on the factors that determine he “buyer characteristics” in the “black box”. These can be summarised as follows:

Each of these factors is discussed in more detail in our other revision notes on buyer behaviour.