Stages of Consumer Decision-Making Process - Report Example

Buyer Behavior Contents Introduction 3 Application of five stages of consumer decision making process 3 Integration of internal factors 4 Integrationof situational factors 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Swatch SA designs, manufactures, distribute and service high quality wristwatches which are sold under the Filk Flak and Swatch brands. It is a subsidiary of Swatch Group and it was founded by Nicolas Hayek. It is a flagship brand and has embarked upon an aggressive marketing plan and has gradually built its presence across the world. It has a strong presence in international market and is successful in a number of markets like Japan and United Sates of America. The wristwatch company is known for fun fashion accessories and is now focusing on making the watch as a status symbol. Application of five stages of consumer decision making process Problem recognition The bold idea of Swatch was to capture market share and combine the colorful bands, cases and faces into eye-catching colorful watches which were affordable, functional and fashionable. The company began introducing array of new models which helped consumers begin to think about the wristwatches as both collectible and trendy. It also restricted some models in few geographical areas. This made consumers look for such affordable and new watches when they are travelling and snap up the models not sold at stores at home. Information Search Consumers depending on their interest level will start searching or doing research on Swatches by going on their website, watching videos of Swatch watches, researching on the specification of the product and researching on the reviews and opinions of other. A prospective customer can also ask their friends about their views of purchasing the product and whether they have already bought the product and issues faced by them. Evaluation of the alternatives There are many alternatives to buying swatch watches like Seiko watches, Citizen Watches etc. Consumers have the luxury of taking a long view of technological fashions and fads. There are technology groups like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd which are trying to make such watches fitted with technology so that they can hook up with the Internet and mix technology and fashion. People can look for smart watches instead of Swatch watch. People should focus on product which can take care of most of their needs. Watch enthusiasts have the opportunity of looking for improved version of watches where they can use the product for all the occasions. Purchase decision Swatch is a high end brand and buyers to buys the product satisfies the needs of wealthy consumers. They get into the buying moods while on vacation and they choose fancy watches in exclusive boutiques or airport duty-free shops. Consumers particularly women decides to purchase swatch watches as they would quickly get accustomed to buying it which they would on any fashion accessory on impulse or to match particular outfits. Swatch is selling a lifestyle to the consumers it acts as a symbol which the consumers want to aspire for. It has generated high levels of satisfaction among consumers and Swatch users are more likely to have a positive than negative experience (Koltrowitz, 2014, p. 95). Integration of internal factors Marketers should know that consumers make purchase decisions according to their self-concept. Hence it is important for them to identify how customer views itself given the promotions and products options which are not apparent readily. Thus it is important to appeal to the consumer’s self-concept (Blythe, 2013, p. 163). Internal processes are the psychological factors which are inherent in each of customers. Motivation It indicates the inner state of arousal which results in energy being directed towards achieving their goals. Motivation concept is closely linked up with the concept of involvement which indicates the effort consumers expend in making a decision. A highly motivated customer looks to get physically and mentally involved in the purchase prices. All the products don’t have high percentage of highly involved consumers but marketers should try to market products and services to increase the level of consumer involvement to prepare options which will be attractive to this group (Frey and Osterloh, 2002, p. 121). Thus marketers should try to make it easy for consumers to get information about the product and allow them to have experiences about the product through free trial before purchasing the product. The goal here is to purchase Swatch watches. The company used an extensive promotional strategy before the launch of its watches. This increased the motivation level among consumers by making them ready, energized and willing to engage in behavior to purchase Swatches watches. Swatch watches are fashionable, original and fun to put on. These watches come with excellent quality at an affordable price. Many individuals buy and love Swatch watches since they remind them of their childhood memories. Hence they are motivated for buying and wearing them. Basically it is a real love affair (Wright, 2006, p. 265). Attitudes It is not possible to predict the behavior of the consumers based on attitudes alone. A consumer may have a positive attitude towards a particular product but may not necessarily result in buying that product. Again consumer attitude is subject to change over time as they will have access to additional information. Attitude is composed of three factors. One is feelings about the product, second is belief about it and third is behavioral intentions about it. These components are seen together as they are dependent on one another and together represent forces which influence how the consumer will react to the object. Consumer may have a positive attitude towards Swatch watches but it does not mean that they will purchase the product. People who wear Swatch share the same attitudes. They are urban individuals who lead easy going lifestyle (Hoyer and MacInnis, 2008, p. 132). Consumer Involvement It is a state of mind which motivates consumers in identifying with product/service offerings, consumption behavior and consumption patterns. Involvement creates an urge within consumers to look for and think about the service or product category and search for variety of options before making final decisions on purchasing the product. It indicates the amount of mental and physical effort which a consumer puts during purchase process. Swatch watches buying decision process is a high involvement product since a user has to look for information, compare different specifications with other similar products. The customers are very loyal to the brand and they wear it for a very long time and they are unisex i.e. both boys and girls can wear them (Foxall, 2002, p. 164). Self-concept Self-concept is defined as the totality of the individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference to him or herself as an object. It is a perception and feelings of an individual toward himself or herself. Basically it indicates the attitudes one holds toward oneself. The independent self-concept emphasizes characteristics, personal goals, desires and achievements. Buying Swatch watches reflects the self-brand connections of consumers with Swatch and it reflects back on consumers. Consumers who purchases Swatch watches have high self-brand connections and find that their self-esteem suffers in case their brands struggle or fail. These kinds of consumers tend to discount or ignore negative views about Swatch. Swatch watches fans are enthusiasts and become stereotypically aggressive, defensive ad verbal when any negative opinion is told about the product since they tend to view that negative comment as a negative comment towards them as they become something known as fanboys, a term used to describe a person who strongly defends their allegiances or purchases to near-aggressive tendencies. Swatch watches appeal more to their affective and emotional side than the fashion one. Personality It is a person’s distinguishing psychological characteristics which lead to relatively enduring and consistent responses to his or her own environment. The personality of a person can be described in terms of dominance, self-confidence, autonomy, sociability, deference, adaptability and defensiveness. The personality of a person can influence the buying behavior if personality types can be strongly correlated between product, personality types and brand choices. Consumers who purchases Swatch watches are independent, young, and have psychological responses of longing and tenderness. Such consumers have personalities which are high on dominance, self-confidence and autonomy. Swatch watches reflects these personalities which match with those of its users. Integration of situational factors Situational factors play an important role in decision making process of an individual. Consumer behavior is influenced by many things like marketing and environmental factors. Businesses try to influence the consumer’s behavior by controlling store layout, grouping and availability of products, music, advertising and pricing. Swatch matches stresses on making the store efficient by making their store managers and staff efficient to handle all the queries. Swatch comes out with advertising aiming at targeting their consumers to develop a positive frame of mind to motivate them to buy. Swatch is seen by many as a lifestyle brand and individuals who have the same values as that of the brand. For example consumers who have the brand are urban people and are easy-going. Conclusion Swatch is an effective brand which seduces young people as well as wealthy people. This report discussed about the consumer purchase decision. There is high involvement of customers who look for and think about buying such kind of products. Consumers have high self-brand connections with Swatch watches and have their self-esteem suffers in case of struggle or fail and they considers themselves fanboys which is used to describe a person strongly defends their allegiances or purchases to near-aggressive tendencies. Swatch watches References Batra, S.K., Kazmi, S.H.H. and Batra, S.K. 2009. Consumer Behaviour-2nd. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Blythe, J. 2013. Consumer Behaviour: SAGE Publications. New York: Sage. Foxall, G.R. 2002. Consumer Behaviour Analysis: Marketing, a behavioural perspective. New York: Taylor & Francis. Frey, B.S. and Osterloh, M. 2002. Successful Management by Motivation: Balancing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentives. Zurich: Springer. Hoyer, W.D. and MacInnis, D.J. 2008. Consumer Behavior. Stanford: Cengage Learning. Koltrowitz, S. 2014. Swatch sees smartwatches as opportunity, not threat. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/10/us-swatch-smartwatches-idUSBREA090KK20140110. [Accessed on: 1 April. 2014]. Wright, R. 2006. Consumer Behaviour. Stanford: Cengage Learning. Read More