Consumer Decision Process

Examples of Consumer Decision Process in the following topics:

• Information Search

  • Information Search is a stage in the Consumer Decision Process during which a consumer searches for internal or external information.
  • Information search is considered the second of five stages that comprise the Consumer Decision Process.
  • During this stage, a consumer who recognizes a specific problem or need will then likely be persuaded to search for information, whether it be internally or externally.
  • During this time, the options available to the consumer are identified or further clarified.
  • External research is conducted when a person has no prior knowledge about a product, which then leads them to seek information from personal sources (e.g. word of mouth from friends/family ) and/or public sources (e.g. online forums, consumer reports) or marketer dominated sources (e.g. sales persons, advertising) especially when a person's previous experience is limited or deemed inefficient.

• Purchase

  • During the purchase decision stage, the consumer may form an intention to buy the most preferred brand or product.
  • The purchase decision is the fourth stage in the consumer decision process and when the purchase actually takes place.
  • During this time, the consumer may form an intention to buy the most preferred brand because he has evaluated all the alternatives and identified the value that it will bring him.
  • According to Philip Kotler, Keller, Koshy and Jha (2009), the final purchase decision, can be disrupted by two factors:
  • This is also a time during the which the consumer might decide against making the purchase decision.

• Lifestyle

  • In consumer marketing, lifestyle is considered a psychological variable known to influence the buyer decision process for consumers.
  • However, in consumer marketing, lifestyle is considered a psychological variable known to influence the buyer decision process of consumers.
  • Lifestyle is also referred to as a buyer characteristic in the Black Box Model, which shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics, decision process, and consumer responses.
  • The Black Box Model is related to the Black Box Theory of Behaviorism, where the focus is set not on the processes inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the consumer.
  • However, in reality, many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem by the consumer.

• Customer Wants and Needs

  • Consumer wants and needs should drive marketing decisions, and no strategy should be pursued until it passes the test of consumer research.
  • In this approach, consumer wants and needs are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions.
  • There is a five step process that consumers can go through in making a purchase decision.
  • The customer decision process begins with need identification.
  • During the purchase phase of the decision-making process, the consumer may form an intention to buy the most preferred brand because he has evaluated all the alternatives and identified the value that it will bring him.

• Consumer Purchasing Behavior

  • It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups.
  • The marketing organization needs to understand what benefits consumers are seeking and therefore which attributes are most important in terms of making a decision.
  • The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with purchase decision is integration.
  • Once the integration is achieved, the organization can influence the purchase decisions much more easily.There are 5 stages of a consumer buying process [5] they are: The problem recognition stage, meaning the identification of something a consumer needs.
  • The choice to purchase the product and then finally the actual purchase of the product. [6] This shows the complete process that a consumer will most likely, whether recognisably or not, go through when they go to buy a product.

• Marketing Changes Due to Involvement

  • Marketing strategy should take into account the level of involvement that a consumer has with a specific product, as this also dictates the type of information that the consumer needs to process in order to make a purchase decision.
  • These require minimal information processing.
  • Moderate-Involvement purchases tend to be made by simple decisions (e.g., orange juice, snacks).
  • These are usually considered highly important to consumers and require extensive information processing.
  • Print advertising is considered high-involvement because newspapers and magazines provide information that can be processed clearly and can help shape attitudes and influence decisions.

• Types of Buying Decisions

  • Buying decisions are based on buyer behavior.
  • Consumer behavior and business behavior can differ because their buying processes are different.
  • Consumers will often buy on emotion or impulse whereas businesses will buy based on need.
  • Because consumers often buy on emotion, ads can affect the buying decision.
  • Sometimes the type of product will make a difference in the buying decision.

• Consumer Perception of Communication

  • Analyzing how consumers access marketing messages can help brands discover consumers' preferences for how to receive information.
  • The internal psychological process that is associated with this information search is perception.
  • Perception is defined as "the process by which an individual receives, selects, organizes, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world. " During the perception process, consumers enter different stages where they choose which promotional messages they will expose themselves to.
  • The evoked set refers to the number of alternatives considered by consumers during the problem-solving process.
  • To increase the likelihood that their brands are included in this shortlist, the marketing organization must understand the benefits consumers are seeking and the attributes most important to them during the decision-making process.

• Evaluate the Results

  • Decision makers must evaluate the results of a decision to improve the processes and outcomes of future decisions.
  • After a decision has been made and implemented it is important to assess both the outcome of the decision and the process by which the decision was reached.
  • Insight can be obtained by referencing key business metrics such as increased revenue, lowered costs, larger market share, or greater consumer awareness.
  • It can also be valuable for decision makers to step back and examine the process by which a decision was made.
  • Recognize the appraisal stage and the development of future insights as the final stage in the decision-making process

• Goals of Consumer Market Research

  • If the consumer market research demonstrates that consumers do in fact have an unsatisfied need for a cheese that could replace the product they are currently consuming in Latin America, the company could go ahead and develop the cheese product.
  • The ultimate goal of consumer research is to serve as the voice of the consumer.
  • Help companies make better business decisions and gain advantages against the competition
  • Help marketing managers or executives make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs
  • If the consumer market research demonstrates that consumers do in fact have an unsatisfied need for a cheese that could replace the product they are currently consuming in Latin America, the company could go ahead and develop the cheese product.