Consumer Purchase Decision Process

Consumer Purchase Decision Process

• Problem Recognition: A trigger or stimulus initiates the buying process, driven by basic needs and wants.
  • Examples: Need for flavor leads to purchasing sauces, pandemic safety leads to mask purchases, celebratory gifts like graduation bears.
• Information Search: Seeking value through internal and external sources.
  • Internal Search: Relying on personal experience, such as repeat purchases from trusted online stores or dining at familiar establishments.
  • External Search:
    • Personal Sources: Information from trusted individuals, such as family, friends, or industry experts.
      • Marketers target these individuals to influence potential buyers. Examples: School organizing events for parents to influence children's education choices, or obstetricians reaching out to friends of pregnant women to promote products.
    • Public Sources: Neutral and non-commercial sources available to everyone, such as consumer report publications, government agencies, and industry awards.
      • These sources act as unbiased information for consumers.
    • Marketer-Dominated Sources: Company-driven information, such as advertisements, website design, and promotional materials.
      • Biased towards the company's perspective.

Influences on Consumer Behaviour: Situational, Psychological, Sociocultural

• Consumer Involvement & Problem-Solving Variations:
  • The purchase decision process can be simplified or skipped based on the situation.
  • The context, including the type of product, the number of options, and time constraints, significantly affect the problem-solving process.
  • This impacts marketing strategies, such as focusing on inventory management, personal selling efforts, or other strategies to accommodate different buying patterns.
• Problem-Solving Duration:
  • Routine: Frequent purchase decisions without significant thought, often driven by low cost and widespread availability. This requires marketers to ensure product availability and convenience.
  • Limited: Purchases requiring longer consideration, typically due to higher price points and importance. Marketers often utilize personal selling strategies and provide detailed information about the product.
  • Extended: Rare purchases involving extensive deliberation and often driven by significant investment.
• Family Decision-Making: Every member contributes to the purchase decision with different roles and varying levels of bargaining power.
  • Roles:
    • Information Gatherer: Often children.
    • Influencer: Often children.
    • Decision Maker: Often mothers.
    • Purchaser: Often mothers.
    • User: The entire family.
• Social Class: Divisions in society based on occupation, income, and education level.
  • Categorization: Upper, lower, and middle classes.
  • Shared Characteristics: Members within a social class often share similar values, interests, and beliefs.
• Culture & Subculture: Culture shapes the fabric of society, influencing consumer behavior and preferences.

The Nature & Size of Organisational Markets

• Classifications of (Global) Organisational Buyers:
  • Commercial Enterprises: Businesses operating in the commercial sector.
  • Government & Public Organizations: Purchases of services and goods serving public interests, operating on a macro scale.
  • Institutions: Established organizations with religious, educational, professional, social, or other purposes.
  • Resellers: Organizations that buy and resell goods to consumers.
• Characteristics of Organisational Buying:
  • Demand Characteristics:
    • Derived Demand: Driven by the demand of end consumers.
    • Size of Order: Large due to the nature of the buying entity, often requiring specific purchasing policies and procedures.
    • Number of Potential Buyers: Limited to a few organizations that cater to a larger consumer pool.
  • Organisational Buying Objectives:
    • Business Firms: Focus on increasing profit through cost reduction or revenue generation.
    • Non-Profit Firms and Governmental Agencies: Primarily focus on meeting the needs of the groups they serve, prioritising financial governance.
  • Organisational Buying Criteria:
    • Price: Often seeking special purchase rates or corporate discounts.
    • Quality Specifications: Emphasis on meeting specific needs and functionalities.
    • Delivery Schedules: Timely delivery and adherence to specified timelines are crucial.
    • Warranties & Claim Policies: Protection against damages, defective goods, or misspecifications.
    • Past Performances: Track records and reliability are vital for building trust and ensuring credibility.
    • Production Facilities & Capacity: Assessing the capabilities of manufacturing facilities or event spaces, depending on the product or service.

Explore the stages of the consumer purchase decision process, from problem recognition to information search. Understand how internal and external sources of information influence buying behavior. This quiz covers practical examples of how consumers are motivated to make purchases.