Ch. 6 Consumer Decision making
Consumer Decision Making Process:
Need recognition: the result of an imbalance between actual and desired states. The imbalance arouses and activates the consumer decision-making process
Need recognition is triggered when a consumer is exposed to either an internal or an external stimulus
- Internal stimuli are experiences, such as hunger or thirst. For example, you may hear your stomach growl and then realize you are hungry.
-External stimuli are influences from an outside source. In today’s digital age, stimuli can come from a multitude of sources. Perhaps it was a YouTube video that created a purchase desire
Information Search
consumers search for information about the various alternatives available to satisfy it.
internal information search, the person recalls information stored in the memory. This stored information stems largely from previous experience with a product.
an external information search seeks information in the outside environment
Evaluation of Alternatives:
After getting information and constructing an evoked set of alternative products, the consumer is ready to make a decision. A consumer will use the information stored in memory and obtained from outside sources to develop a set of criteria.
- the evaluation is made by examining alternative advantages and disadvantages along important product attributes. A different way consumers can evaluate a product is according to a categorization process. The evaluation of an alternative depends on the particular category to which it is assigned.
Purchase: to buy or not to buy
Ultimately, the consumer has to decide whether or not to buy. Specifically, consumers must decide:
Whether to buy
When to buy
What to buy (product type and brand)
Where to buy (type of retailer, specific retailer, online or in store)
How to pay
Post-Purchase Behavior
When people recognize inconsistency between their values or opinions and their behavior, they tend to feel an inner tension called cognitive dissonance
Consumer Buying-decisions and Consumer Involvement
Goods and services in these three categories can best be described in terms of five factors:
Level of consumer involvement
Length of time to make a decision
Cost of the good or service
Degree of information search
Number of alternatives considered
Involvement is the amount of time and effort a buyer invests in the search, evaluation, and decision processes of consumer behavior.
Frequently purchased, low-cost goods and services are generally associated with routine response behavior
Limited decision making typically occurs when a consumer has previous product experience but is unfamiliar with the current brands available. Limited decision making is also associated with lower levels of involvement (although higher than routine decisions) because consumers expend only moderate effort in searching for information or in considering various alternatives
Consumers practice extensive decision making when buying an unfamiliar, expensive product, or an infrequently bought item. This process is the most complex type of consumer buying decision and is associated with high involvement on the part of the consumer.
Factors Influencing Buying Decisions
Of all the factors that affect consumer decision making, cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence.
Culture is pervasive. Cultural values and influences are the ocean in which individuals swim, and yet most are completely unaware that it is there.
A culture can be divided into subcultures on the basis of demographic characteristics, geographic regions, national and ethnic background, political beliefs, and religious beliefs.
subculture is a homogeneous group of people who share elements of the overall culture as well as cultural elements unique to their own group. Within subcultures, people’s attitudes, values, and purchase decisions are even more similar than they are within the broader culture.
Social Class: A social class is a group of people who are considered nearly equal in status or community esteem, who regularly socialize among themselves both formally and informally, and who share behavioral norms.
Marketers are interested in social class for two main reasons. First, social class often indicates which medium to use for promotion. Suppose an insurance company seeks to sell its policies to middle-class families. It might advertise during the local evening news because middle-class families tend to watch more television than other classes do
Second, knowing which products appeal to which social classes can help marketers determine where to best distribute their products. Affluent Americans, one-fifth of the U.S. population, spend more of their discretionary income on one-of-a-kind items
Social Influences:
People interact with many reference groups. A reference group consists of all the formal and informal groups that influence the buying behavior of an individual. Consumers may use products or brands to identify with or become a member of a group
Reference groups and social media groups (e.g., your friends on Facebook) frequently include individuals known as group leaders, or opinion leaders—persons who influence others. Obviously, it is important for marketing managers to persuade such people to purchase their goods or services. They are often the most influential, informed, plugged-in, and vocal members of society.
The family is the most important social institution for many consumers, strongly influencing values, attitudes, self-concept, and buying behavior. For example, a family that strongly values good health will have a grocery list distinctly different from that of a family that views every dinner as a gourmet event. Moreover, the family is responsible for the socialization process, the passing down of cultural values and norms to children. Children learn by observing their parents’ consumption patterns, so they tend to shop in similar patterns.