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Behind the visible act of making a purchase lies an important decision process that takes place before, during and, after the purchase of a product or service, called the consumer purchasing decision process. The five stages of the consumer decision process are: need recognition/problem awareness, information search, evaluation alternatives, purchase, and post-purchase evaluations.
| Five Stages of the Consumer Decision Process | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Description |
| Stage 1: Need Recognition | The buying process actually starts when you sense a difference between your actual state and your desired state. This is referred to as problem awareness or need recognition. You might become aware of the need through internal stimuli such as feeling hungry or thirsty when you're on a long road trip) or external stimuli (such as passing a bakery and smelling the wonderful aroma of cookies baking). |
| Stage 2: Information Search | Once the problem of need is identified, the next step is to search for more information that will help you make a choice. There are two different search states-heightened attention and active information search. |
| Stage 3: Evaluation of Alternatives | This is the stage in the process where you'll evaluate several attributes of the product or service in making a decision on a purchase. |
| Stage 4: Purchase Decision | This stage involves actually reaching a decision on the purchase of the product or service. |
| Stage 5: Post- Purchase Evaluation | After purchasing the product or service, you'll now experience either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. You may have second thoughts after making the purchase decision, and these doubts lead to cognitive dissonance, or buyer's remorse. This may lead you to search for additional information to confirm the wisdom of your decision in order to reduce that tension. |
The buying process starts when you sense a difference between your actual state and your desired state, which is referred to as need recognition or problem awareness. You might become aware of a need through internal stimuli (such as feeling hungry or thirsty when you’re on a long road trip) or external stimuli (such as passing a bakery and smelling the wonderful aroma of cookies baking).
Sometimes recognizing the problem or need is easy. You’ve run out of toilet paper or milk. But other times, recognizing the problem or issue is more complicated.
How do Marketers Get Involved in Need Recognition? Marketers get involved in the need recognition stage in a variety of ways. They focus on understanding what factors create need recognition in consumers so that they can design and implement a marketing mix that addresses the need with a product that satisfies buyers with a combination of features and benefits, priced within their budget range, advertised as providing a higher value than other competitive products, with promotions that entice trial so the buyers will repeat purchases. Marketers also try to shape how consumers perceive a need or want by providing context to what the average consumer goes through, frequently accomplished through lifestyle advertising. There were many celebrity endorsed advertisements during the COVID-19 pandemic to remind consumers of the importance of their health, and milk's role in their health.
Information search occurs once you’ve identified the problem or need and you’re inclined to search for more information. There are two different search states. The milder search state is called heightened attention, in which you become more receptive to information about the product or service. The stronger search state is called active information search, in which you might do some research about the product or service on the Internet (referred to as an internal search), ask friends and/or family members their opinions (what’s known as an external search), or even visit stores to view and touch the product (called an experiential search).
Again, consider the process you went through in deciding which college to attend. What sources of information did you use to find out about the colleges or universities you considered attending? Did you look at their websites, talk with friends or family who attended that school, or perhaps even visit the campus and meet with an admissions counselor?
How do Marketers Get Involved in Information Search? Once marketers are aware of the factors that surface a consumer’s need for a product, they do their best to provide information to consumers so that when they are ready to buy, they consider the value of that content to make a purchase. Marketers also invest in keyword searches, so that when consumers are seeking content about a specific product, service, or experience online, they see the company’s website and other information that creates a perception that the firm is an expert in solving the buyer’s problem. Zillow is one example of a company that is proactively designing content to engage consumers in their information search using its branded service.
Evaluation of alternatives occurs when consumers are said to view a product or service as a “bundle of product attributes,” and you evaluate several attributes of a product or service in reaching your purchase decision.
EXAMPLE
If you’re buying a smartphone, you’ll consider factors such as battery life, speed, storage capacity, or price. If you’re booking a hotel, you’ll probably consider its location, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, whether it has a free breakfast in the morning or a pool, and of course price.How do marketers get involved in evaluation of alternatives? Companies collaborate with complementary brands to develop social media and experience-based sites so consumers can explore ways to solve problems through product selection before actually purchasing the offering. Marketers work to convince consumers to try a product, even if they risk the likelihood of having the product returned later because it didn’t satisfy them (knowing that most buyers will not return products ). The image below shows a car company’s website and the company’s guarantees that it uses to help consumers decide on its car-buying alternative.
The purchase decision Stage involves actually reaching a decision on the purchase of the product or service. One way people navigate all the information, evaluations, and choices in their purchase decision is to use heuristics—mental shortcuts or “rules of thumb.” Heuristics are types of preexisting value judgments that people use to make decisions.
Brand loyalty is another heuristic people use in reaching their purchase decisions. For example, do you eat cereal? Do you always buy the same brand, or do you buy whatever’s on sale or a brand for which you have a coupon? Country of origin is another heuristic. Given a choice, do you prefer to buy products made in the United States versus products made in other countries? How did you make your purchase decision to enroll in your college or university? What heuristics did you use?
How do marketers get Involved in the purchase decision? To get consumers to make the first purchase, marketers do their best to address every factor they can through the 4 Ps. This can include providing samples of each major product to entice consumers to try a company’s family of products. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) has long provided product samplers to introduce consumers to their line of products that come with coupons and new product alerts.
After purchasing the product or service, you’ll conduct a post-purchase evaluation and experience either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. You may have second thoughts after making a purchase decision, and these doubts lead to cognitive dissonance, or buyer’s remorse—tension caused by uncertainty about the correctness of your decision. This may lead you to search for additional information to confirm the wisdom of your decision in order to reduce that tension.
How do marketers get involved in the post-purchase decision? Once marketers convince consumers that their product or service is the best choice, they immediately work on the next purchase. Loyalty programs are one way that marketers are able to continually engage consumers in understanding the value of their total product lines and adjust the 4 Ps to accommodate the buyer’s preferences through loyalty incentives.
IN CONTEXT
The permission-based relationship of loyalty offers something that other forms of marketing don’t.
- 81% of people say that Loyalty Programs make them more likely to continue doing business with brands.
- 66% of people modify spend to maximize Loyalty benefits.
- 73% of people are more likely to recommend brands with good Loyalty Programs.
- Members who enjoy participating in their Loyalty Programs are ten times more likely to be very satisfied, yet only 1% feel this way.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM OPEN STAX’S PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING COURSE. ACCESS FOR FREE AT https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-marketing. LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL.
REFERENCES
Carvana. (2023). Peace of Mind Comes Certified. Retrieved from www.carvana.com/certified-program
CT Post. (2014). Got Milk? Campaign Posters. Retrieved from www.ctpost.com/news/article/got-milk-campaign-posters-5272961.php
Sarcar, R. (2023). How to Set Up an Ecommerce Loyalty Program to Improve Retention, Build Community and Drive 5X in Sales. Retrieved from www.bigcommerce.com/blog/online-customer-loyalty-programs/
Vancouver Deals Blog. (2012). P&G Brand Sampler: FREE Product Samples – New Edition. Retrieved from www.vancouverdealsblog.com/2012/10/pg-brandsampler-free-product-samples-new-edition.html
Zillow. (2023). 10 Steps to Buying a House. Retrieved from www.zillow.com/learn/10-steps-to-buying-a-home/
