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.

• Evaluating Alternatives

  • Evaluation of alternatives is the third stage in the Consumer Buying Decision process.
  • The brands and products that consumers compare - their evoked set - represent the alternatives being considered by consumers during the problem-solving process.
  • In order for a marketing organization to increase the likelihood that their brand is part of the evoked set for many consumers, they need to understand what benefits consumers are seeking and specifically, which attributes will be most influential to their decision-making process.
  • Ultimately, consumers must be able to effectively assess the value of all the products or brands in their evoked set before they can move on to the next step of the decision process.
  • Examine the "evaluation of alternatives" stage of the Consumer Decision Process

• Perception

  • Perception in marketing is described as a process by which a consumer identifies, organizes, and interprets information to create meaning.
  • Perception is a psychological variable involved in the purchase decision process that is known to influence consumer behavior.
  • Other variables included in this consumer process include: motivation, learning, attitude, personality, and lifestyle.
  • All of these concepts are crucial in interpreting the consumer buying process and can also help guide marketing efforts.
  • Describe the characteristics of perception as a part of the consumer buying decision process

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.