Following are the most important stages of Consumer
Buying Decision Process that guide shoppers in their decision and purchase
process when buying a product. And learn how to improve your marketing strategy
to create a need, strengthen your relationship with your customers and increase
your sales.
The Consumer Buying Decision Process
The purchase is only the visible part of a more complex decision
process created by the consumer for each buying decision he makes. But what
happens before and after this purchase? What are the factors influencing the
choice of product purchased by the consumer?
Today, let’s focus on the Consumer
Buying Decision Process and the stages that lead a shopper to purchase a new
product.
Engel, Blackwell and Kollat have developed in 1968 a model of
consumer buying decision process in five steps: Problem/need recognition,
information search, evaluation of alternatives to meet this need, purchase
decision and post-purchase behavior.
I.
Need recognition / Problem recognition :
The need recognition is the first and most important step in the
buying process. If there is no need, there is no purchase. This recognition
happens when there is a lag between the consumer’s actual situation and the
ideal and desired one.
However, not all the needs end up as a buying behavior. It
requires that the lag between the two situations is quite important. But the
“way” (product price, ease of acquisition, etc.) to obtain this ideal situation
has to be perceived as “acceptable” by the consumer based on the level of
importance he attributes to the need.
For example, you have a pool and you would like someone to take
care of regularly cleaning it instead of you (ideal situation) because it
annoys you to do it yourself (actual situation). But you don’t judge the “way”
to reach this ideal situation (pay $250 / month for a specialized company) as
“acceptable” because its price to obtain it seems too high. Especially compared
to the relatively low level of importance you attach to it. So you won’t have a
purchase behavior in this situation.
On the other hand, the ability to be able to go to your
work by car in 20 minutes every morning (ideal situation) rather than lose
three hours in transit because you do not have a car and you live in the
countryside (actual situation) is something that means a lot to you. So you
will have a buying behavior to purchase a car. Even if the price is important.
In addition to a need resulting from a new element, the gap
between the actual situation and the ideal situation may be due to three cases.
The current situation has not changed, but the ideal situation has (a neighbor
told you about the possibility – that you did not know – to clean the pool by a
specialized company). Or, the ideal situation is still the same but it’s the
actual situation has changed (you’re tired of cleaning your pool by yourself).
Or finally, the two situations have changed.
The recognition of a need by a consumer can be caused in
different ways. Different classifications are used:
·
Internal stimuli (physiological need felt by the
individual as hunger or thirst) which opposes the external
stimuli such as
exposure to an advertisement, like the sight of a pretty dress in a shop window.
·
Classification by type of needs:
o
Functional need:
the need is related to a feature or specific functions of the product or
happens to be the answer to a functional problem. Like a computer with a more
powerful video card to be able to play the latest video games or a washing
machine that responds to the need to have clean clothes while avoiding having
to do it by hand or go to the laundromat.
o
Social need: the need comes
from a desire for integration and belonging in the social environment or
for social recognition. Like buying a new fashionable bag to look good at
school or choose a luxury car to “show” that you are successful in life.
o
Need for change:
the need has its origin in a desire from the consumer to change. This may
result in the purchase of a new coat or new furniture to change
the decoration of your apartment.
·
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Developed by the eponymous psychologist, this is
one the best known and widely used classifications and representations for
hierarchy of needs. It specifies that an individual is “guided” by certain
needs that he wants to achieve before seeking to focus on the following ones:
o
1. Physiological needs
o
2. Safety needs
o
3. Need of love and belonging
o
4. Need of esteem (for oneself and from the others)
o
5. Need of self-actualization
II.
Information search
Once the need is identified, it’s time for the consumer to seek
information about possible solutions to the problem. He will search more
or less information depending on the complexity of the choices to be made but
also his level of involvement. (Buying pasta requires little information and
involves fewer consumers than buying a car.)
Then the consumer will seek to make his opinion to guide his
choice and his decision making process with:
·
Internal information:
this information is already present in the consumer’s memory. It comes from
previous experiences he had with a product or brand and the opinion he may have
of the brand. Internal information is sufficient for the purchasing of
everyday products that the consumer knows – including Fast-Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). But when it comes to a major
purchase with a level of uncertainty or stronger involvement and the consumer
does not have enough information, he must turns to another source:
·
External information:
This is information on a product or brand received from and obtained by friends
or family, by reviews from other consumers or from the press. Not to mention,
of course, official business sources such as an advertising or a seller’s
speech. During his decision-making process and his Consumer Buying
Decision Process, the consumer will pay more attention to his internal
information and the information from friends, family or other consumers. It
will be judged more “objective” than these from an advertising, a seller’s
speech or a commercial brochure of the product.
III.
Alternative evaluation
Once the information collected, the consumer will be able to
evaluate the different alternatives that offer to him, evaluate the most
suitable to his needs and choose the one he think it’s best for him.
In order to do so, he will evaluate their attributes on two
aspects. The objective characteristics (such as the features and
functionality of the product) but also subjective (perception
and perceived value of the brand by the consumer or its reputation).
Each consumer does not attribute the same importance to each
attribute for his decision and his Consumer Buying Decision Process. And it
varies from one shopper to another. Mr. Smith may prefer a product for the
reputation of the brand X rather than a little more powerful but less known
product. While Mrs. Johnson has a very bad perception of that same brand.
The consumer will then use the information previously collected
and his perception or image of a brand to establish a set of evaluation
criteria, desirable or wanted features, classify the different products
available and evaluate which alternative has the most chance to satisfy him.
The process will then lead to what is called “evoked set”. “The
evoked set” (aka “consideration set”) is the set of brands or products with a
probability of being purchased by the consumer (because he has a good image of
it or the information collected is positive).
On the other hand, “inept set” is the set of brands or products
that have no chance of being purchased by the shopper (because he has a
negative perception or has had a negative buying experience with the product in
the past). While “inert set” is the set of brands or products for which the
consumer has no specific opinion.
The higher the level of involvement of the consumer and the
importance of the purchase are stronger, the higher the number of solutions the
consumer will consider will be important. On the opposite, the number of
considered solutions will be much smaller for an everyday product or a
regular purchase.
IV.
Purchase decision
Now that the consumer has evaluated the different solutions and
products available for respond to his need, he will be able to choose the
product or brand that seems most appropriate to his needs. Then proceed to the
actual purchase itself.
His decision will depend on the information and the selection
made in the previous step based on the perceived value, product’s features and
capabilities that are important to him.
But his Consumer Buying Decision Process and his decision
process may also depend or be affected by such things as the quality of his
shopping experience or of the store (or online shopping website), the availability
of a promotion, a return policy or good terms and conditions for the sale.
For example, a consumer committed to the idea of buying a
stereo of a well-known brand could change his decision if he has an unpleasant
experience with sellers in the store. While a promotion in a supermarket for a
yogurt brand could tip the scale for this brand in the consumer’s mind who
was hesitating between three brands of his “evoked set”.
V.
Post-purchase behavior
Once the product is purchased and used, the consumer will
evaluate the adequacy with his original needs (those who caused the buying
behavior). And whether he has made the right choice in buying this product or
not. He will feel either a sense of satisfaction for the product (and the
choice). Or, on the contrary, a disappointment if the product has fallen far
short of expectations.
An opinion that will influence his future decisions and buying
behavior. If the product has brought satisfaction to the consumer, he will
then minimize stages of information search and alternative evaluation for
his next purchases in order to buy the same brand. Which will produce customer
loyalty.
On the other hand, if the experience with the product was
average or disappointing, the consumer is going to repeat the 5 stages of the Consumer
Buying Decision Process during his next purchase but by excluding the brand
from his “evoked set”.
The post-purchase evaluation may have important consequences for
a brand. A satisfied customer is very likely to become a loyal and regular
customer. Especially for everyday purchases with low level of involvement –
such as Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG). A
loyalty which is a major source of revenue for the brand when you combine all
purchases made by customer throughout his entire life (called “lifetime
customer value”). The “Holy Grail” that all brands in the industry are trying
to achieve.
Positive or negative, consumers will also be able to share their
opinion on the brand. Whether in their family or by word-of-mouth. Or on a much
broader scale now with social networks or on consumer product review websites.
A tendency not to be overlooked because now with the Internet, an unhappy
customer can have a strong power to harm for a brand.
That’s why that’s important for companies to have awareness
of that matter. In addition to optimizing the customer experience, a guarantee
(for example, for a washing machine), an efficient customer service and a
specific call center are some of the assets that can be developed to improve
post-purchase behavior if there is any trouble with the product.
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