Consumer Making Decision Process - Essay Example

It is especially important in determining its characteristics. In addition, there is also insight it provides with regards to consumer behavior and likely actions, which allow for the identification of problems and opportunities in marketing the product afterward.   There are at least five stages/steps by which the consumer makes his or her purchases: 1) need recognition; 2) information search; 3) evaluation of alternatives; 4) purchase; and, 5) postpurchase behavior (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel 2008, 140). Some experts add some stages in the process, such as with the model developed by Engle, Kollat, and Blackwell, which divided the consumption stage into two - consumption and post-consumption - and added a unique element in the form of divestment (Verma 2007, 178).   All in all, the stages are pretty straightforward and speak for themselves. For instance, need recognition pertains to the actual desire, want, or need of a consumer. This is usually the first stage in the process, but the rest of the stages do not strictly follow the order by which they were outlined here in this paper.   The stages as outlined by this paper highlight the fact that consumer purchase decisions are influenced by several factors - both external and internal influences. Personal desires, wants, and needs as well as the available information and influencers are just some of these variables. They have to be understood to make sense of the complexity of the process. Finally, there is also the fact that the consumer decision-making process does not end with the purchase of the product. For product developers, it may as well be an endless cycle which is why understanding the process is crucial to identify some semblance of pattern and coherence and making use of it in product development and marketing.   Theory 2: Family Roles Influence on Decision Making  Certainly, the motivating factors behind each consumer's purchase behavior are unique and different. However, the role of the family as the single most important variable in the decision-making process for all consumers is the same for most consumers in most purchase decisions. This powerful influence, according to Blythe (2006) is due to three reasons: 1. the parental influence in the case of the children is deeply embedded because it started the earliest and therefore impacts the children's perception of everything that follows; 2. the parental desire to do what is best for the children and the family; and, 3. the influence of siblings as role models, particularly when the sibling is older or in some cases the carer or the adviser (138). The above reasons were just the fundamental ones especially when because in some families, membership is not confined to the parents and their offspring. Rather, there is also the extended family such as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Finally, it must be underscored that within the family or the household, a relationship exists, wherein each member has a role and participates in every decision-making process. This relationship, role, and participation are underpinned by other issues such as gender and other variables that characterize the interpersonal relations within. Collectively, they can define who buys, who decides, and who uses Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, and Mookerjee ( emphasized that "families influence consumer socialization through direct instrumental training, modeling and mediation" (250). This is important because consumer socialization involves and results in consumer skills and consumer-related preferences.   Saxena offered an additional perspective on the manner by which families influence consumer behavior. The idea is that at each stage of the consumer decision-making process, several individuals are involved besides the consumer who makes the purchase. These individuals function in the roles of initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, and user (156). For example, the initiator enters into the first stage of the purchase process by sowing the seed in a customer’s mind to buy a product. This initiator is often a member of the family. As with the initiator, the family members could also take the roles of the others because of their proximity to the consumer in all aspects of his life, direct influence, trustworthiness, and capability. Read More