Consumer Behaviour in Action - Coursework Example

Consumer Behaviour in Action Introduction Consumers usually consider a lot of factors before buying products or services. They therefore engage in a comprehensive decision making process so as to come up with the right choice of product that would give them satisfaction and encourage future purchases. Some buyers consider prices or quality while buying products hence it is the duty of marketing manager to study consumer behaviour and develop strategies to influence their decisions. The consumer decision making process involves five stages: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post purchase decisions. Need recognition results from imbalance between actual and desired states as a result of a stimulus that motivates the individual to make buying decision (Lamb et al. 2011). Stimulus may be internal such as hunger or external such as an advert. Need may arise if current product malfunctions, runs out or discovery of a more superior product. This prompts the buyer to start the decision process by gathering necessary information. However, if a product is available which satisfies the need, there is no need for information search. Information may be internal or external and depends on whether the buyer is highly involved with the product or not. The level of involvement depends on previous experience, interest, perceived risk, and situation (Lamb et al. 2011). Routine purchases and low-cost goods are low-involvement; therefore, do not require a lot of information. The buyer may even skip searching for information and make purchases. If buyer has previous product experience but is unfamiliar with current brand, he/she may search for little information hence low-involvement. However, if perceived risk is high, the buyer is highly involved thus extensive information is sought (Blythe, 2008). For example, a routine product like hotdog does not require more information while an expensive car or home is a high-involvement product requiring more information. Information can be from: personal sources like family, co-workers, friends; commercial such as advertising, salespeople, displays; public such as newspaper, TV, consumer organisations or experiential such as using the product. Information sought regards price, quality, compatibility, capability, among other attributes. Once buyer gets information, he/she carries out evaluation to determine the right choice among alternatives. This is determined by level of buyer involvement; if highly involved then extensive evaluation but if low-involvement, he/she carries out simple evaluation. For example, buying a risky item such as house requires extensive evaluation. The marketer should thus provide a lot of information regarding the product in such instances. The consumer in this stage ranks the information in order of importance and chooses the best alternative leading to purchase. The purchase decision involves deciding which brand to buy, where to buy from, terms of purchase and availability. The decision may be fully planned, partial or unplanned depending on the item to be purchased (Lamb et al. 2011). After purchasing the item, the buyer experiences its performance which may be above what he/she expected or below expectations leading to dissatisfaction. He thus develops cognitive dissonance which he may resolve by returning the product, justify his decision, or seek new reinforcing information. The marketer may minimise dissonance by assuring customer that his decision was sound, or give warranties and guarantees. Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that can be applied in decision making leading to irrational decisions. According to Lamb et al (2011), these include; predictions, persuasion, conjunctive, and disjunctive heuristics among others. Some people judge events based on similar situations hence make wrong choices. Others make judgements based on experience; e.g., if one buys a product from one shop frequently and realises later that it is expensive than other shops, he wont buy anything else from it as he will assume its costly. The first impression also affects purchase decision. Others buy an item because they agree with people they like or because the majority likes it (Blythe, 2008). Some decisions are made based on attributes; one rank attributes in order of importance and chooses an item based on such criteria. Some attributes may be compensated with others while others are non-compensatory. For example, if the most attribute is missing such as quality, the buyer opts out. Due to time constraints, conjunctive decisions are made where one uses minimum features or disjunctive decision by using higher minimum cut-off (Jansson-Boyd, 2010). The decision making process is also affected by culture. Collectivist cultures make people to buy items that are preferred or acceptable by a group while individualistic cultures allow one to stand out by buying unique products; one does not need acceptance. One would not be willing to risk buying an item that is not acceptable by his culture thus his decision is limited (Lantons, 2011). The value of the brand and that of the company is important hence people develop brand loyalties due to cultural acceptance. The colour and advertising language is also important as it has different meanings in different cultures. The affective modes choice is crucial in consumer decision making process and explains why consumers are irrational (Lantos, 2011). Emotions are used as sources of information when purchasing. For example, if one is happy with a product, he likes it therefore, feels he has to buy it. The purchase decisions are attitude based which may be global, holistic impressions, or emotions associated with brands. For example, one buys an item because of its packaging features or due to its appeal and not because the item is useful. The marketer should thus be careful in designing products and in advertising. Conclusion Almost all consumers go through five stages in making purchase decisions especially if it is a high involvement product such as a home or car. For a low involvement product such as an edible item, the buyer can go straight to purchase. These stages include need recognition, information search, alternatives evaluation, purchase and post purchase. During post purchase, consumers experiences cognitive dissonance which may influence future purchases. The decision making process also involves use of heuristics which drive a consumer to make irrational decisions; for example, a consumer may use only one attribute in purchasing a product and ignore other attributes. However, some attributes are compensatory while others are non-compensatory. Some buyers are influenced by culture while making purchases; they buy item which are acceptable to their community or group. Decision making is also influenced by emotions hence one buys a product because of its appeal, colour, fragrance or because it makes him/her feel good but not because it is useful. It is therefore the duty of marketers to understand consumer behaviour and market products appropriately. References Blythe, J. 2008. Consumer behaviour. London: Thomson. Jansson-Boyd, C.V., 2010. Consumer psychology. England: Open University Press. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F., McDaniel, C. 2011. Essentials of marketing. 7ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Lantos, G.P., 2011.Consumer behaviour in action: Real-life applications for marketing managers. New York: M.E. Sharpe Read More