The Consumer Decision

Process (Chap 3 & 4)

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 The Consumer Decision Process

The CDP represents a road map of

consumers minds that marketers
and managers can use to help
guide product mix,
communications, and sales
strategies

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 Consumer Decision Process Model
Need Recognition

Search for Information

Pre-purchase Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase

Consumption

Post-consumption Evaluation

Divestment
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 Need Recognition
Consumers recognize needs and
seek to fulfill them, or seek a
product to solve their problems
Knowing consumers needs helps
firms develop products and
marketing programs to reach them
more effectively

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 Job Preferences!!

I wish ..

I do not buy or use because

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 Need Recognition
Understanding need recognition
may identify a segment with
unsatisfied desires (Shampoo Market)

Unsatisfied needs help identify new

business and product opportunities
for the future

Analyzing need recognition can

reveal existing barriers

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 How Companies Can Activate
Need Recognition
Change consumers desired state
with new products or innovations
(Smart Phone)

Influence how consumers perceive

their current state

Remind consumers of a need

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 How Companies Can Activate
Need Recognition

Selective need
recognition is the
result of
stimulating the
need for a
specific brand
within a category

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 Internal Search
Internal search involves scanning
and retrieving decision-relevant
knowledge stored in memory

External search involves collecting

information from the environment
(Organic food)

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 External Search

We conduct external search

to make better consumption
choices
to create a knowledge base for
future decisions
simply for enjoyment

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 What to Search?

Depending on the consumers

experience and the importance of the
decision, a considerable amount of
effort may be invested into
identifying search set members

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 Where to Search?
Consumers are more likely to rely
upon the opinions of other
individuals than information sources
with vested interests in their
decisions
Other consumers respected for their
expertise in a particular product
category are referred to as opinion
leaders or influentials

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 Consumer Search on the Internet
Consumers are increasingly turning
to the Internet for their search needs

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 How Much Do Consumers
Search?
Cost versus benefit perspective:
people search for decision-relevant
information when the perceived
benefits of the new information are
greater than perceived costs of
acquiring the information
Benefit: making better decisions
Cost: time/effort spent searching

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 How Much Do Consumers
Search?

-Dependent on perceived risk

(uncertainty about the potential
positive and negative consequences
of the purchase decision)

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 How Companies Benefit from
Understanding Search
Adjusting the breadth of a product line
based on consumers willingness to
search
Monitoring consumers price comparison
activities to gauge their price sensitivity
(So that we can decide about distribution
channel). Yellow and Salwar kamiz
Market

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 How Companies Benefit from
Understanding Search
Focus promotions on sources that
consumers search most, including
individuals that provide information
Monitor search activities to identify new
ways to reach and gain customers

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 How Good Are We at Evaluating
Alternatives?

Consumers are often not very good at

figuring out which alternative is best
for them
- Tend to rely on certain signals (e.g., price,
brand name, warranty, package) to make
inferences about a product quality; however,
such signals may be inaccurate
- Often possess limited abilities to accurately
evaluate choice alternatives

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 How Companies Can Get Into
Consumers Consideration Sets
Ask to be in the set
Offer incentives
Modify the product offering

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 Environmental
Influences
- Culture
M - Social Class
- Personal Influence
E - Family
M Variables in - Situation
O Decision
Individual Differences
Process
R - Consumer Resources
Y - Motivation
- Knowledge
- Attitudes
- Personality, Values,
and Lifestyle
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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Individual Differences:
Demographics, psychographics,
values, and personality
Consumer resources
Motivation
Knowledge
Attitudes

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Culture
Social Class
Family
Personal Influence
Situation behaviors

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Culture: values, ideas, artifacts, and
symbols that help individuals interpret,
communicate, and evaluate as
members of society

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Social Class: division within
society composed of individuals
sharing similar values, interests,
and behaviors

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Family: often the primary decision
making unit with a complex and
varying pattern or roles and
functions

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Personal Influence: our behaviors
are often affected by those with
whom we closely associate

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Situation behaviors: as situations
change, so does the individuals
behavior

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Psychological Processes
Influencing Consumer Behavior
Information processing
Learning
Attitude and behavior change

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 Types of Decision Processes
Initial Purchase
Extended Problem Solving (EPS):
Often occurs with expensive items or
can be fueled by doubts and fears
Importance in making the right
choice
All seven consumer decision making
stages are often activated
Dissatisfaction is often vocal

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 Types of Decision Processes
Repeat Purchases
Repeated Problem Solving
Habitual Decision Making
Impulse Buying
Unplanned, spur-of-the-moment action
triggered by product display or point of
sale promotion
Least complex form of LPS but differs in
some important ways

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 Types of Decision Processes
Repeat Purchases
Repeated Problem Solving
Habitual Decision Making
Impulse Buying
Variety Seeking
Consumers may be satisfied with the
present brand but still engage in brand
switching
Can be triggered because bored with
current brand or because of special offer
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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Degree of Involvement (High-Low)
Personal Factors (self-image, health,
beauty, or physical condition)
Product Factors (is there perceived risk
in purchasing and using a particular
brand or product?)
Situational Factors (is the product
purchased for personal use or as a gift?)

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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Degree of Involvement (High-Low)

Perceptions of differences among

alternatives

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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Time Availability
How much time is available to devote to
solving the problem?
How quickly does the decision need to
be made?
Consumers Mood State
How people feel at a particular moment
Mood can reduce or increase length and
complexity of decision process
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 Purchase
Acquisition of the product that
involves choosing a specific
retailer, and in-store choices

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 Purchase
Acquisition of the product that involves
choosing a specific retailer, and in-store
choices

Purchase intention can change

during the purchase stageit can
be influenced by factors such as
in-store promotions, discounts,
salespeople, failure to find the
product, or lack of financial
resources
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 Consumption
The process of using the product or
service purchased
Consumption can either occur
immediately or be delayed

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 Consumption
The process of using the product or
service purchased
Consumption can either occur
immediately or be delayed
How consumers use a product
affects satisfaction with product
How carefully consumers use or
maintain a product also determines
how long it will last before another
purchase is needed
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 Post-consumption Evaluation
Consumption is an important
determinant of satisfaction
Satisfaction: when consumers
expectations are matched by
perceived performance
Dissatisfaction: when experiences
and performance fall short of
expectations

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 Divestment
How consumers dispose of the
packaging or product after use
Options include:
Disposal
Remarketing or reselling
Recycling

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 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Individual Differences:
Demographics, psychographics,
values, and personality
Consumer resources
Motivation
Knowledge
Attitudes

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Culture
Social Class
Family
Personal Influence
Situation behaviors

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Culture: values, ideas, artifacts, and
symbols that help individuals interpret,
communicate, and evaluate as
members of society

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Social Class: division within
society composed of individuals
sharing similar values, interests,
and behaviors

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Family: often the primary decision
making unit with a complex and
varying pattern or roles and
functions

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Personal Influence: our behaviors
are often affected by those with
whom we closely associate

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Environmental Differences:
Situation behaviors: as situations
change, so does the individuals
behavior

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Variables Shaping the Decision
Process
Psychological Processes
Influencing Consumer Behavior
Information processing
Learning
Attitude and behavior change

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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Degree of Involvement: Level of
perceived personal importance and
interest evoked by a stimulus in a
specific situation (High-Low)

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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Degree of Involvement (High-Low)
Personal Factors (self-image, health,
beauty, or physical condition)
Product Factors (is there perceived risk
in purchasing and using a particular
brand or product?)
Situational Factors (is the product
purchased for personal use or as a gift?)

COPYRIGHT 2012 Cengage Learning Asia

 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Degree of Involvement (High-Low)

Perceptions of differences among

alternatives

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 Factors Influencing Problem
Solving Extent
Time Availability
How much time is available to devote to
solving the problem?
How quickly does the decision need to
be made?
Consumers Mood State
How people feel at a particular moment
Mood can reduce or increase length and
complexity of decision process
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