May 1, 2024
Updated May 11, 2025
24 minute read
Customer behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. It explores the decision-making processes and actions of consumers in the marketplace and the underlying motivations for those actions. At its core, understanding customer behavior allows businesses and organizations to better tailor their offerings and messages to meet the evolving needs and desires of their target audiences.
The field of customer behavior is fascinating because it delves into the "why" behind consumer choices. It's not just about what people buy, but also about the psychological, social, and economic forces that shape those decisions. Imagine trying to predict how a new product will be received, or why customers might switch from one brand to another. These are the kinds of engaging questions that customer behavior analysis seeks to answer, making it a dynamic and intellectually stimulating area of study and practice. This understanding is critical for developing effective marketing strategies, creating products that resonate, and building lasting customer relationships.
Introduction to Customer Behavior
Customer behavior is a multifaceted field that examines how and why consumers make the decisions they do when it comes to acquiring, using, and discarding products and services. It involves understanding their thought processes, emotions, and the various internal and external factors that influence their choices. This field is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing insights from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, economics, and marketing.
Definition and scope of customer behavior
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Find a path to becoming a Customer Behavior. Learn more at:
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Reading list
We've selected 14 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
Customer Behavior.
Provides a comprehensive overview of customer behavior, covering topics such as consumer decision-making, motivation, and loyalty. It is written from a marketing perspective and is particularly useful for marketers who want to understand how to better meet the needs of their customers.
Provides an overview of the psychology of persuasion, covering topics such as how to build rapport, how to use social proof, and how to overcome objections. It is written from a psychological perspective and is particularly useful for marketers who want to understand how to persuade customers to buy their products or services.
Provides an overview of behavioral economics, which is the study of how people make decisions. It covers topics such as how people are influenced by emotions, how they make decisions under uncertainty, and how they can be nudged to make better decisions.
Provides an overview of nudging, which way of influencing people's decisions without forcing them to do anything. It covers topics such as how to design nudges, how to evaluate their effectiveness, and how to use nudges to improve public policy.
Provides an overview of the customer experience, covering topics such as how to create a customer-centric culture, how to measure customer satisfaction, and how to use customer feedback to improve your products and services.
Provides an overview of the customer effort score, which measure of how easy it is for customers to do business with you. It covers topics such as how to calculate your customer effort score, how to improve your customer effort score, and how to use your customer effort score to improve your customer experience.
Provides an overview of customer centricity, which business strategy that focuses on meeting the needs of customers. It covers topics such as how to identify your most valuable customers, how to create a customer-centric culture, and how to use customer data to improve your marketing and sales efforts.
Provides an overview of customer loyalty, covering topics such as how to measure customer loyalty, how to improve customer loyalty, and how to use customer loyalty to drive growth and profitability.
Provides an overview of habits, covering topics such as how habits are formed, how they can be changed, and how they can be used to our advantage. It is written from a psychological perspective and is particularly useful for marketers who want to understand how to create habits that will lead to customer loyalty.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/topic/pmjdty/customer
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