Foundation of Marketing(Consumer and Business Buyer Behaviour) - Essay Example

Consumer Behaviour Part I: The Process that Consumers Go Through in Making a Purchasing Decision Behavioural science helps management understand thedecision process that consumers go through in making a purchasing decision. The process is broken down into five stages. Relative advantage is the first stage and refers to the consumer’s perspective on the relative superiority of a product (Armstrong and Kotler, 2011). The second process is compatibility which arises when the consumer is looking for a product that corresponds with his or her own experiences and values (Armstrong and Kotler, 2011).

The third process is complexity which refers to the level of difficulty attached to the understanding and “use” of the product (Armstrong and Kotler 2011,p. 184). Divisibility which is the fourth process, arises when the product “can be tried on a limited basis” (Armstrong and Kotler 2011, p. 184). The final process is communicability which refers to the extent to which the results of using a product can be observed and shared with others (Armstrong and Kotler, 2011). Part II: Comments on Mike’s Letter Mike’s letter explaining why and how he decided on a business degree course highlights some of the stages that consumers go through prior to making a purchase.

Mike manifested the relative advantage factor, which is the first characteristic influencing consumer purchase decision-making. Mike’s inquiries and searches demonstrate that he was comparing business degrees for relative superiority. The second characteristic, compatibility was very important to Mike. Mike was looking for a product that accommodated his own time table and his commitments to his family and at the same time left him with some free time. The third characteristic, complexity did not arise in Mike’s consideration because Mike was looking for a Business degree course and was therefore looking at content and flexibility and therefore would not know in advance if the course was difficult to understand or use until such time as he began the course.

Likewise, the fourth factor, divisibility did not arise. Mike purchased a degree course which is not available on a trial basis and this explains why Mike conducted an aggressive investigation of several courses and talked with several other consumers about degree courses before settling on one course. Arguably, if the courses were available on a trial basis, Mike would have tried out a few of them before settling on one degree course. Communicability, the fifth characteristic was present. Thus communicability was manifested by the fact that Mike was able to engage others’ opinion and experiences with degree courses prior to conducting his own searches and making his own decision.

Mike’s post purchase satisfaction comments indicate that he was not fully prepared for all the work and commitments that came with the course, but he is ultimately satisfied because he is learning quite a lot. What can be gleaned from the stages that Mike went through in making his decision to purchase a degree course is that culture and cultural values have a significant impact on consumer purchase decision-making. Culture and cultural values inform of what consumers want and expect and how these factors influence consumer behaviour.

Therefore marketers should study and follow culture and cultural values so that they can market products in a way that influence consumer purchase decision making (Kurtz et al 2010, p. 131). Bibliography Armstrong, Gary and Kotler, Philip. Marketing: an introduction, 10th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, USA, 2011. Kurtz, David, L.; MacKenzie, H. F. and Snow, Kim. Contemporary Marketing. Ontario, Canada: Nelson Education, Ltd. 2010.