Abstract:
The research had objective to study marketing mix factors and Thai peoples buying behavior of Mynmar gems at Tak border. It was found that most of the samples were female buyers whose age ranged from 35 to 40 years. They were married and had bachelors degree. Their average monthly income was less than 15,001-20,000 baht. Most were traders or had their own business. For buying behavior, most respondents decided to buy spinel stones, and ruby was the most popular. Bracelets were the products most Thai customers bought. For frequency, most bought gem once a year and the expense for each purchase was15,001-20,000 baht. The reason they bought the gem was to wear for beauty. They had high level of opinion on the overall marketing mix factors. When each aspect was considered, the product and the price were perceived at the highest level. Personnel, physical features, promotion and process of the service were perceived at the high level. From the hypotheses testing, it was found that gender was correlated with buying decision, expense and reason to buy at the statistical significance level of 0.05. Age was correlated with Thai peoples buying behavior in selection and the expense for each purchase at the statistical significance level of 0.05. Marital status was correlated with buying decision at the statistical significance level of 0.05. Educational level was correlated with buying decision in expense for each purchase at the statistical significance level of 0.05. Average monthly income was correlated with buying decision in expense for each purchase, selection, buying frequency, reason to buy at the statistical significance level of 0.05. The main occupation was correlated with buying decision in type of gem at the statistical significance level of 0.05 From qualitative research of 6 gem shops, most were male entrepreneurs whose age range was 17- 45 years old and they had 4-24 year experience in gem business. Jade was the gemstones they sold the most. Next sold items were mira, ruby, and sapphire. For buying decision, most of the customers selected to buy jade, ruby and gemstones and they selected to buy ring, bracelets, pendants and necklaces. For the frequency the customer visit, it depended on whether they order the goods or they usually visited the shop once a week. The expense for each purchase depended on the type of product which could be hundreds or millions. The reason for buying was for reselling. Marketing mix factor that entrepreneurs use for their strategic plan was to select the color of jade or sapphire which was bright and crystal clear with gaudy lighting and customers also selected the gemstones that had clean surface and almost flawless. There was no standard pricing and the price depended on satisfaction. Cash was form of payment. However, if customers bought a lot of gemstones, they could pay by check whose clearing was only 1 to 2 days. The entrepreneurs had their advertisement on the websites, group page, facebook or Instagram as their distribution channel.