Ponašanje potrošača spada u disciplinu marketinga i predstavlja proces konzumiranja i opskrbljivanja proizvodima, idejama i uslugama od potrošačkih jedinica. Glavne faze ponašanja potrošača su: faza kupovine, faza konzumiranja i faza odlaganja. Potrošač je suveren što znači da se njime ne može manipulirati, njegovo ponašanje uvijek je usmjereno prema nekom cilju. Cilj organizacijskog kupca je proizvodnja određenih proizvoda ili usluga koje će u najvećoj mjeri zadovoljiti potrebe potencijalnih kupaca te kupovine radi daljnje prodaje, podjele ili potrošnje. Glavne specifičnosti procesa kupovine organizacijskog kupca su: kompleksnost kupovne odluke, predmet organizacijske kupovine, proces organizacijske kupovine, kompleksnost proizvoda i usluge, specifičnost svake organizacije i kompleksnost industrijskog procesa kupovine. Zbog tih čimbenika složenost organizacijskog procesa odlučivanja mnogo je složenija od kupovine na tržištu osobne potrošnje. U današnjem svijetu potrošači postaju sve zahtjevniji i imaju povećana očekivanja prema svim proizvodima ili uslugama. Postaju obrazovaniji i informiraniji o događanjima i ponudi na tržištu. Marketinški stručnjaci imaju vrlo složen zadatak ispuniti sva očekivanja kupaca i kreirati najprihvatljivije proizvode i usluge kako bi pridobili njihovo povjerenje i opstali na tržištu u konkurentskom okruženju.

Consumer Behavior is part of marketing discipline and represents the process of consuming and supplying products, ideas and services from consumer units. The main phases of consumer behavior are: the buying phase, the phase of consumption, and the phase of disposal. The consumer is sovereign which means that he can't be manipulated, his behavior is always directed to a certain goal. The goal of an organizational customer is to produce certain products or services that will largely meet the needs of potential buyers and shopping for further sale, division or consumption. The main features of the purchasing process of an organizational customer are: the complexity of the purchase decision, the subject of organizational purchasing, the process of organizational purchasing, the complexity of products and services, the specificity of each organization and the complexity of the industrial purchasing process. Because of these factors, the complexity of the organizational decision-making process is much more complex than buying on the personal consumption market. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more demanding and they have increased expectations towards each product or service. They are becoming more educated and informed about everything that is offering and happening on the market. Marketers have a very complex task to fulfill all the customers’ expectations and create the most acceptable products and services in order to gain their trust and survive in competitive environment.