Internal Factors of Consumer Decision-Making Process - Essay Example

Executive Summary This paper discussed the internal factors that influence consumer decision making process. Theoretical principles underlying consumer behaviors surfaced as crucial pointers of what mangers need to understand and incorporate in marketing tools. The e-ticket service was explored in the context of major factors that would deter or encourage a traveler avoid traditional travel agencies for internet platform. Factors of desire, evaluation, post purchase evaluation and e-security were presented as some of the crucial personalized features that bolster a consuming decision. Personal position as regards value for money and knowledge are also important factors that determine consumer behavior. The contemporary air travel industry should invest more in understanding consumer behavior because in absence of physical customer care service, the online platforms can make or break the industry. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 Relevant Theories and Concepts 4 The Tricomponent Attitude Model 4 The Attitude-towards-object Model 5 Important Influential Factors 6 Desire 6 Evaluation 7 Observation 7 Post-purchase Evaluation 8 Perceived Value for Money 8 E-Security 9 Information and knowledge 10 Conclusion 10 References 11 Internal Factors that Influence Consumer Purchasing Decision Introduction This review explores the increasingly valuable field to firms seeking to not only attract new customers but retain existing consumers through consumer-informed marketing policies. The paper will revolve around the internal factors that influence consumers in the tourism industry to purchase air tickets online. It is imperative that the internet has greatly changed the tourism industry globally by unveiling distribution channels that offer customers more room to quench personal decision-making traits. Although airlines are increasingly reporting a surge in the tendency by consumers to buy tickets online, there is urgent need to unravel the potential factors that play ion the consumer decision making in order to instill sustainability in the marketing policy and strategic planning. Generally, when the travelers are thinking about contracting an air travel service or purchasing e-tickets, there are several factors that cultivate their ultimate decision. Conventionally, the factors can be categorized into external and internal. The external factors may include the advertisements, references from friends and family members, or coupons (Hoyer & Maclnnis, 2008). However, the internal factors are very personal and are often difficult to influence through commercials and usually rely on individual feelings and decision making cues regarding their anticipated product or service. In this context, e-ticketing is a favored choice for consumers that try to make the decision making process simple and short. The choice of e-ticket in this context stems from the ubiquitous trend that the online platform eliminates the barriers to the availability of competitive ticketing information, increases transactional transparency, and the e-consumers have more power in the market place. Despite the registered growth in the e-ticketing across the world, many stakeholders in the tourism industry appear not to have conceptualized underlying individual factors that encourage or dissuade consumers to make online reservations or purchases. Relevant Theories and Concepts It is important that as this review delves into the perceived factors that underline consumer behavior that the foundational theories and concepts be given due credence. The theories and concomitant conceptual frameworks aid in understanding conventional attributes such as the nature and characteristics of buyer-seller attitudes, and the role of experience in the establishment of consumption-related attitudes. The theoretical background is pivotal in explaining the inherent link between consumer attitudes and resulting behaviors and habits. The rationality that underlies the critical consideration of attitudes in the principles of consumer behavior is that it can be learned, has a consistency, and attitudinal tendencies are often situational (Chon, Pizam & Mansfeld, 2012). The Tricomponent Attitude Model This conceptual framework encompasses there crucial objects inherent in attitude that play a crucial role in shaping consumer purchasing behavior. The cognitive component harbors the dynamics that bolster the knowledge and perceptions within an individual, which can be precipitated by a combination of direct experience with the attitude object and key information from searched sources. Secondly, the model addresses that affective aspect that revolves around the consumer’s affective attributes: emotions and feelings cultivated by a particular product or service (Rangarajan, Kennedy, & Murti, 2010). The conative component in this context involves the influence drive that determines the probability of a consumer undertaking a particular action or summoning specific behavior in tandem with formed attitude. The attitude based model is very important in the context in that the main principles of purchase decision making are bolstered through personality features that are difficult to influence through external factors. The Attitude-towards-object Model This conceptual presentation is ubiquitously reflective from many observational consumer behavior surveys. The concept is deployed to capture inherent attitudinal expressions displayed by consumers during the consumption decision making process. The principles of this model underpin the aforementioned emerging tendency by travelers to shift towards internet based e-tickets potentially due to the formed relative attitudes. Rangarajan et al. (2010) argue that the attitude consumers express toward a particular product or service is primarily determined by the presence or absence and evaluation of product or service-specific beliefs. It is impetrative that managers require to understand how attitudes are formed in order to design customer and brand management strategies that integrate the interests of both stakeholders. As expressed about the e-ticketing scenario in this context, travelers are often influenced by conceptual experienced formed after personal experiences, influence of family members and friends. According to Rangarajan et al. (2010), of importance to infer from the conceptual and theoretical principles is the synergy behind influential attitudes during decision making, and importantly the personality element in the attitude formation. Important Influential Factors It is imperative that many travelers across the world are still in the experimental stage in online purchasing behaviors. The consumers especially in the tourism industry that require extensive information about prices, destinations, and quality of services continue to explore brands online and querying what the e-platforms really offer. This premise intimates some degree of inquisitiveness by the consumers about what attributes about air ticketing they should consider pursuant to their final purchasing decisions. However, the emergence of many low cost and research and development oriented airliners, who are increasingly acquainted with consumer behavior complexities, reviews like this one are warranted to give more input as regards ways of improving information that aid customers in informed and fast decision making. Desire The primary factor that drives an individual’s purchasing decision is their desire or interest for the product or service, which in this context would be the travelers want to fly. Inferring from the attitude theoretical principles, the traveler may hear or see that friends or family members are planning a holiday tour that they service at the comfort of an office or an online accessory at home. This scenario may invigorate the individual’s desire to want to seize the inherent values as perceived. According to Rangarajan et al. (2010), without the desire component from the consumer side no purchasing decision can be conceptualized or made. It is therefore imperative that an initial interest in the e-air ticket precedes the consumer’s decision to commit into booking a flight and eventual payment for the service. Evaluation Evaluation is a crucial factor in the purchasing decision making from the part of the consumer. The potential customer internalizes the desire and the appertaining cost-benefit elements in order to form an evaluative opinion the ultimate course of action. It is apparent that low cost services or products require relatively little evaluation by the consumer compared with complex services that need a lot of prior information and are costly in time and financial terms. For instance, when a traveler desires to travel to Virgin Islands with predetermined tour expectations from a specific facility, they would not be influenced much by external factors (Chon, Pizam & Mansfeld, 2012). When a consumer has adequate prior information about the destination and the single airline that flies to the destination, they would not require much external inputs from marketers, friends, or family about their final decision. The evaluative factor therefore would revolve around the value-cost dynamics that can be internalized. In this context, the customer is likely to rely on memory or a previous experience to decide on whether to buy an e-ticket at the prevailing prices and travelling season. Observation Although the observation aspect can be tricky in the online business because physical viewing of the product is often of essence, it plays an important role in influencing individualized decision making process. The rationale is that instead of relying on commercials or friends for advice about the purchasing decision, the consumer reserves the onus of observing and deciding whether or not to pay for the service. If for instance, a potential consumer feels comfortable with the traditional ticketing services by conventional air travel agents, they need not to listen to their friends or family in order to purchase air tickets physically as opposed to ordering for the same via the internet. Personal experience in this context and attitudes toward the e-ticket formed by the potential consumer play a pivotal role in the ultimate decision about consumption of the service. Post-purchase Evaluation The consumer’s opinion about a service or a product usually plays a pivotal role regarding whether the customer will make a return consumption or not. This is to imply that the decision to shop e-ticket once gives the consumer another opportunity to internally appraise the service, which determines whether they will buy e-tickets or travel via agency services. This factor is particularly crucial for firms that seek to maintain customers through repeat purchases, which underpins the contemporary consumer-oriented customer management programs. The post-purchase evaluation revolves around whether the customer experienced remorse thus forming a negative attitude about the service or product. If the consumer expresses satisfaction and is happy about the worth of the service and value enjoyed thereof, it is imperative that they form positive remembrance of the consumption decision and they may repeat the purchase again. Perceived Value for Money In addition to influencers like technology and consumer knowledge, consumers draw attention to their internal judgments of whether a purchase for specified good or service is warranted. The personalized element of risk attached to making purchases online is a crucial feature that air travel managers should consider in consumer management in the online platforms. According to Diecidue, Rudi, and Wenjie, 2002), if the consumer feels the information they have at the time of making their e-ticket purchasing decision is scanty and inconclusive, they will tend to postpone their consumption intention or migrate to a competitor. This precedence can also result in departure of first time customers as they avoid buyer remorse experiences: the attitudes formed out of little value for money in services provided can derail customer management in a firm. It is imperative that consumer’s value for money is vital to manage because it not only delimits new purchases but exacerbates the post purchase experience that may undermine the repeat consumption. The consumer’s expected value for money in air travel involves clarity of all cost elements comprising the e-ticket and availability of information about what the customer will be rewarded for making the purchase choice. E-Security Electronic security may not be a conventional internal factor that extant literature presents as pivotal for consumer decision making process, but in this context, consumers are increasingly personalizing the ubiquitous risk of the new crime risk precipitated by e-markets. The increase in cybercrime has cultivated a cautious buyer approach habit especially when e-payments and involved. People are increasingly becoming wary of sharing personal information through online platforms lest they fall victims of cyber criminals. As provided by Smith (2011), fear has become an intricate factor as consumers lose trust with the new purchasing and payment channels that are prone to cyber crimes. This premise underscores the consumer’s want to have prior information that the website they log onto during the e-ticketing process is safe and secure in order to help ease away their suspicion Information and knowledge Although casually aforementioned, information and knowledge are crucial personal factors that greatly influence the purchase decision making process. The information that a consumer has about a particular product or service is extremely important in the ultimate buying decision making because it not only influences trust but also gives confidence. Knowledge accruing from attitudes formed upon interaction with the product or service providing platform determines whether the customer will stick around and consume or they will depart. Conclusion This review revolved around exploration of internal factors that influence consumer decision making process. The emerging trend of shifting air ticketing in the tourism industry was used with e-ticket becoming the core service at the center of the review. The primary factor that drives an individual’s purchasing decision is their desire or interest for the product or service, which in this context would be the travelers want to fly. Evaluation is a crucial factor in the purchasing decision making from the part of the consumer. The potential customer internalizes the desire and the appertaining cost-benefit elements in order to form an evaluative opinion the ultimate course of action. The consumer’s opinion about a service or a product usually plays a pivotal role regarding whether the customer will make a return consumption or not. This is to imply that the decision to shop e-ticket once gives the consumer another opportunity to internally appraise the service, which determines whether they will buy e-tickets or travel via agency services. The increase in cybercrime has cultivated a cautious buyer approach habit especially when e-payments and involved. References Chon, K.S., Pizam, A., & Mansfeld, Y. (2012). Consumer behavior in travel and tourism. London, UK: Routledge. Diecidue, E., Rudi, N., & Wenjie, T. (2012). Dynamic purchase decisions under regret: Price and availability. Decision Analysis, 9 (1), 22-30. Hoyer, W.D., & Maclnnis, D.J. (2008). Consumer behavior. (5th ed.). London, UK: Cengage Learning. Rangarajan, K., Kennedy, S.H., & Murti, M. (2010). Management megatrends. New York, NY: Allied Publishers. Smith, K. T. (2011). Consumer perceptions regarding e-commerce and related risks. ProQuest, 21. Read More