When brands operate across different countries, one of the biggest risks is assuming consumers think and behave the same everywhere. This is where Geert Hofstede’s National Cultural Framework is really useful. Hofstede (1980) suggested that national culture can be understood through six dimensions, helping marketers…

Cognitive learning theories focus on how consumers learn through thinking, reasoning and problem-solving, rather than simple trial and error. The key idea is that people actively process information and have some control over their environment. This type of learning underpins many classic consumer behaviour models,…

When we talk about consumer behaviour, we often focus on the “self” in terms of identity, values and lifestyle. But the concept of the self also applies to us as marketers. How we see ourselves shapes how we work, communicate and influence others. In professional…

Segmentation is the first step in the STP process (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning), and it’s how marketers stop talking to “everyone” and start talking to the right people. At its core, segmentation means dividing a broad market into smaller groups that share similar needs or…

When marketers try to understand consumer behaviour, demographics are often the first place they start. Demographics refer to measurable characteristics such as age, gender, income, education, occupation and family life stage. Schiffman et al. (2012) suggest that demographics are useful because they are easy to…

Consumer behaviour is not random, even if it can seem that way when a campaign craters or soars. In truth, the things people buy, click on and scroll past result from a mix of variables that determine how people think, feel and decide. Knowing these…