Consumer Decision Making Process-Internal Factors - Essay Example

 Consumer Decision Making Process-Internal Factors Table of Contents Introduction 2 Consumer involvement 3 Consumer behaviour theories and concepts 3 Internal factors that influence the consumer decision making process 4 Perception 4 Motivation 6 Attitude 7 Learning 8 Memory and Emotions 8 Conclusion 9 Introduction Consumer behaviour is a timeless fundamental concept of marketing. It is a cognitive process and very difficult to grasp or predict. Regardless of this fact, marketers must attempt to understand the consumer behaviour in order to influence a consumer’s purchasing pattern to their advantage. The attempt to understand the consumer behaviour is the primary motivation of a consumer decision making model. A consumer decision making process can be viewed as a study of the criteria in which people use to select products or services and the factors that dictate their choice of purchase given a range of alternative products, services and organisations. A consumer decision making process comprises of five phases. They include stimulus, need for recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchase and the post purchase behaviour (Bhasin, 2010 & Baker, 2002). It is still important to note that the decision making process is still determined by other factors mainly the external factors, which include family, friends, culture, demographics and social class influences (Rurtenberg, 2008). Every phase is determined by various factors and marketing strategies that stem from these factors. The main objective of this paper is to illustrate the various internal factors that affect the consumer decision making process. A practical illustration is adopted by narrowing our choice of internal factors on the decision making process to particular products. These products are cosmetics, handsets and cars. These are products whose applicability has evolved over time and their importance has shifted a notch higher in today’s world. Consumer involvement The concept of consumer involvement is also important in analysing the consumer decision making process. Consumer involvement can be defined as the level of interest, importance and the state of awareness by the consumer before making a purchase. Products and services can then be viewed as either high involvement or low involvement. High involvement products are expensive, durable and purchased less frequently. Before making this purchase, a consumer will research about the products and the various brands because of the irrevocable nature of the product once the purchase is made. The perceived risk is reduced through free trials, product warranties and endorsement by influential people. On the other hand, low involvement products are relatively cheap and are purchased frequently. They are associated with minimal risk (Schiffman, 2010). Consumer behaviour theories and concepts Theories that explain consumer’s behaviour provide an important framework for explaining the various internal factors that influence the consumer behaviour. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory postulates that there are five categories of unfulfilled needs, which include, from the top to bottom, self-actualisation, esteem, social, safety and psychological needs. Accordingly, the consumer will first strive to fulfil the psychological needs before moving to safety needs and so on until he or she reaches the self-actualisation needs (Robuntu and Boncea, 2007). Freud’s psychodynamic approach theory is another crucial theory that strives to explain factors affecting consumer purchasing decision. The theory argues that some unconscious psychological forces that are incomprehensible affect the consumer’s decision. These forces are also not affected by environmental stimuli or individual cognition (Bray, n.d). The theory of self-concept states that a consumer’s behaviour and actions are largely influenced by a consumer’s identity and self-image. Finally, the unplanned behaviour theory postulates that attitudes and norms play a major role in influencing the consumer’s purchasing decision (Smith, Terry and Manstead, 2008). Internal factors that influence the consumer decision making process Internal factors can generally be defined as psychological influences that determine a consumer’s decision making process. They include perception, motivation, learning, memory, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. These factors can be categorised further into either directive or dynamic aspects (Ruternberg, 2008). Perception Perception is an internal factor that significantly influences consumer behaviour. Perception can be defined as the process by which a person selects, rearranges, construes and interprets information in an effort to deduce meaning. A consumer is in a perpetual exposure to information consciously and unconsciously and naturally cannot process the entire information, therefore, the concept of selective attention and selective retention. A consumer will only pay attention to certain information depending on individual, situational and stimulus factors. A marketer’s interest is mainly the stimulus factors, which are sensations that capture the consumer’s attention regardless of individual characteristics. They include colour, shape or even design. The consumer will then interpret the information according to his or her beliefs and preconceptions. This could involve distortion of the information so that it conforms to the consumer’s desired meaning and accepted norms. The consumer then commits to memorise the selected information. Wrong information could, therefore, result to misconceptions (Ruternberg, 2008). Mobile handsets are now a global competitive market. A consumer’s perception with regards to a handset is influenced by many factors including brand, product, design, appearance, connectivity, product image, multimedia functions and personal information management functions. Certain brands are attributed to quality and class and they represent a particular lifestyle, which will, therefore, influence a consumer’s purchase. The ease with which a consumer can access and manage his or her phonebook indicates the simplicity of the phone. Mobile handsets are now also viewed as a fashion accessory and, consequently, a handset’s design and colour will be attributed as sleek, cool or modern (Zhang, Rhou and Zhou, n.d). A consumer’s perception towards cars is mainly dictated by the county of manufacture, brand and design. These perceptions are a result of social influences, widely held norms, or endorsements that associate particular models to a certain class of people, such as celebrities. Cars that are manufactured in countries like Japan are associated with superior quality, technical advancement and are, therefore, deemed to be modern. Certain brands of cars are viewed to be symbols of class, masculinity, youth and a particular lifestyle while other models are associated with low maintenance and practical car given their low price and reliability in the day to day activities. These factors will be considered by any consumer before settling on a particular model. Cosmetics products market has evolved rapidly over the years. It now cuts across gender and age groups. It comprises of a wide spectrum of products to cater for various age groups, needs and gender. A consumer’s perception is largely influenced by brand, package design, previous experiences and the information included on the package, such as cosmetics ingredients, recommendations on how to use the products and price. Some consumers perceive products from a particular company to be of high quality regardless of price and this will be the main driving factor when purchasing cosmetic products. High prices are also associated with class. This belief is mostly emphasised when consumers are buying perfumes and colognes. When a consumer is trying new products, the packaging design can lend class to a particular product. A consumer will associate a particular brand with various characteristics based on past experience, such as side effects (Yeop et al, 2012). Motivation Motivation can be defined as the internal forces that stimulate, prompt and compel a behavioural response. Motivation can trigger the recognition of a suppressed need and, therefore, the consumer will make a purchase in an attempt to satisfy the need. It could be the need for security or social acceptance. There are various theories that have been put forward to try and explain what motivates consumers. The main one is the Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs (Baker, 2002; Ruternberg, 2010 & Schiffman, 2010). There are many motivating factors that can influence a consumer’s decision making process. The main motivating factor in purchasing mass produced cars, which are cost effective and efficient could be to primarily to satisfy a consumer need, such as safety. A consumer may also be motivated to buy a luxury car as a material indication of wealth. The consumer is trying to satisfy the need for prestige and self-actualisation. Suppressed needs could also serve as motivating factors. Young people associate a convertible with freedom and liberation and a consumer in this age group may be unconsciously motivated to act on this need by purchasing such a model. A similar argument holds for handsets. People in the older age groups may purchase a mobile phone based on its simplicity and the ease of use. Business people may also buy a cell phone based on important technical features. This is mainly trying to satisfy a consumer need. However younger people will buy a smart phone as a symbol of prestige and style in order to satisfy social needs. The main motivation behind purchase of cosmetic product is the unspoken need to feel beautiful. This need is usually evoked mostly by the extremely beautiful people who advertise these particular products. Consumers unconsciously compare themselves against these models and this evokes the need to feel attractive. Consumers will, therefore, act on this need and purchase the cosmetics products. Attitude Attitude is another contributing factor in influencing a consumer’s decision making process. Attitude is a consumer’s tendency to respond in a consistent pattern to objects and situations. It can either be cognitive, affective or behavioural. Cognitive encompasses the consumer’s beliefs and knowledge about a product while affective attitude refers to a person’s feelings with regards to a particular product (Ruternberg, 2008). Behavioural response is shaped mainly by cognitive and affective attitude. Attitudes are helpful in predicting the consumer’s behaviour. An attitude can be moulded as a result of direct experience, social influences or attitude accessibility arising from knowledge of the particular products and a particular set of alternatives (Ruternberg, 2008). Attitude can be used to predict behaviour, when purchasing a car, past experience may prompt a consumer to buy a particular model. A consumer may also buy a certain brand out of loyalty. A consumer’s attitude has, therefore, influenced his or her behaviour. The consumer’s attitude has in this case been shaped by past experience. However when buying a luxury car, a consumer’s attitude is mainly determined by social influences and the associated feelings of prestige ,which may drive the consumer towards purchasing a luxury car. Cosmetics products fall in the class of fast moving goods. A brand attitude is a key determining factor in choosing a particular project. A brand may be associated with either superior or inferior quality. The price may also affect a consumer’s attitude towards particular products. High priced products are associated with superior quality and this may prompt a consumer to buy a particular product. Learning Learning is a process that alters and changes the consumer’s behaviour as a result of conscious and non-conscious processing information and experiences. It is mainly categorised into declarative and procedural categories. The declarative learning is mainly conceptual learning, and it involves knowing the facts about a particular product while procedural entails experiential learning, which involves understanding how to practically use the product. The consumer’s knowledge is pivotal in marketing. Consumers’ knowledge largely influences their purchase, the price they are willing to pay and their preferred stores. Consumer socialisation is the process by which consumers garner experience for use in the usual motions of the market place (Schiffman, 2010). Consumer knowledge is comprised of product knowledge, purchase knowledge and user knowledge. Product knowledge involves aware analysis and image analysis, which are mainly what the consumer associates with the products. Cars and handsets are high involvement products and consumers often associate the purchase of these products with particular level of risks. The consumer’s choice will, therefore, be determined by the level and availability of information on a particular product. Cosmetics products are low involvement products. Little knowledge is, therefore, required prior to making a purchase. Consumers are willing to try out new products based on brand loyalty. Memory and Emotions Other internal factors that influence the consumer behaviour are memory and emotions. However, these two factors do not affect the purchasing decision of a consumer on the products being discussed. Memory can be defined sum of all consumers’ past experiences (European Commission, 2012). It is either short term or long term while emotions can be viewed as feelings that influence a consumer’s behaviour. These factors are of little importance in influencing a consumer decision making process. Their degree of influence is relatively small when compared to the other factors. This is mainly because these factors are a direct result of a consumer past decisions based on factors such as perception, attitude, learning and motivation. Also, in the modern market place, a consumer can easily access information and, therefore, memory recall does not really affect his purchase as the information is readily available. The availability of numerous brands gives the consumer a wide set of alternatives and will, therefore, not attach emotions to products as he or she can easily switch. Conclusion The market place has changed rapidly over the years. The ease with which consumers can access information has also increased over time to include social network platforms. There has also been new entry into the market place and shifting the base from household names hence consumers can easily switching brands. The concept of consumer involvement has increased with time and regardless of nature of product, the consumer now will normally have sufficient knowledge regarding a product. It is, therefore, important to analyse and understand the consumer decision making process. This information will be of great importance to not only companies but also in enables effective public policy making, social marketing as a tool of getting important ideas across other than just influencing a consumer’s purchasing pattern and most importantly it makes us better consumers. References Baker, D. (2002). Consumer Decision Making. Accessed on 27 March, 2013 from Bhasin. H. (2010). 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