The
Consumer Buying Process
Consumers today are switching
from the old economy (standardization, replication, hierarchy, scale,
and efficiency) to the new economy (differentiation, personalization,
speed, customization, and networks) and an overall shift away from quantity of transactions
to quality of relationships.
Companies are switching to meet consumer demands and, if the companies
wish to stay successful, are catering to the new consumer of today. Due to the vast amount of information that is
readily available today, consumers are empowered which means that the
buyer/seller information connection is much more symmetrical instead of
asymmetrical like in the past. Consumers
have more information and therefore have more buying power. A consumer
can spend a second thinking about a purchase or can spend days, months, or even
years weighing cost and benefits. The amount of consumer involvement
largely depends on the amount of money that is to be spent on a purchase (i.e.
larger purchases require a consumer to contemplate more). The consumer buying process includes five
distinct stages that a buyer goes through when purchasing services or goods. These stages are (in order of the buying
process, 1 being the first stage): need recognition, the information search, the
evaluation of alternatives, the purchase decision, and the post purchase
evaluation.
Need Recognition
In the first stage, need
recognition, the buyer realizes that they have an unmet internal (thirst,
hunger) need or an unmet external (talking long distance with family)
need. Time utility with need
recognition is of extreme importance because today people want what they want
as soon as they can get it. Marketers can create this need in customers by
offering to consumers, through advertisements, an idea that they absolutely
need a particular product. A good
example of this first stage of need recognition would be to advertise restaurant
commercials around dinner time and point out that customers need to eat and the
product is already hot and ready. Another good example is the constant
late-night commercials regarding AndroGel, commenting on how men may be lacking
in various (especially sexual) areas in their lives without the product. And yet another good example through marketing
is how AT&T makes it abundantly clear in commercial advertising that people
really need to communicate with others, to get information as fast as possible
(need for speed in this nanosecond culture), and that people need to tell other
people what they are doing as it happens such as seen with iPhone applications
for Facebook. A commercial from AT&T
here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9_pi9vQbs shows how the need for speed with information
is a necessity for single women. This
commercial directly caters to a specific segmented market and to the new
economy’s need for speed and information (ShareATT, 2012). Convincing a consumer that they need a product
because they have unmet needs is easier when they are needs regarding thirst or
hunger; however marketing truly shines when marketers are able to convince
consumers that they need something they never knew they needed. Such is the case with luxury cars, for
example. A Geo Metro will get a person
from point A to point B, but people want the luxury of an Audi. This is because the Audi also gets a person
from point A to point B though it does so in style and creates a need from a
want due to the add-ons (such as prestige) that the Audi has to offer. In the buying process a need may be a want in
disguise or an internal/physical need, regardless of the type of need, it is
the marketer’s job to close the gap between current situation and ideal
situation for consumers, and this is done by first understanding consumer
interests.
Some marketing
implications come in with this first stage because consumer interests are
fickle, meaning they change from day to day.
Technology advances, new products hit the shelf every day, and consumers
become more aware as well as more demanding.
Due to globalization, hyper-competition, and the nanosecond
culture, marketers must constantly keep updated with consumer wants and
needs. And it is imperative that
marketers today get consumers involved and to “convince the buyer that
the purchase is significant” (Cherry, 2013).
Information Search
The second stage is
the information search stage wherein a consumer has some interest in a
product and wants more information. The
consumer can passively seek information which means paying more
attention to advertisements they may see or hear in passing, or they may use
information resources to gather said information in an active
search. Place utility is very
important here because the information (as well as the product itself) needs to
be right in front of the seeking consumer for easy access. Not many consumers want to wear themselves
out trying to find out information on a product but they do want as much
information as possible about a product (especially a large purchase) in
today’s fast-paced society. Information can come from many sources including
family, co-workers, word of mouth as internal sources or from websites,
magazines, and television commercials as external sources. According to Ferrell and Hartline (2011),
consumers tend to trust external sources more than internal sources (p. 157).
However, I agree with Dr. John Cherry in his Minilecture 06 when he states that
“advertising is dead last
in credibility, and it's no surprise to anyone” (2013). Consumers want good, credible information;
they do not want information overload of useless statistics or a forum filled
with thousands of consumer opinions. Microsoft
is a good example of a company who cleverly capitalizes on the information
search in the consumer buying process.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine commercials direct consumers to the
engine because it advertises that it provides good, relevant information during
searches and has the slogan, “What has search overload done to us? Find the cure at Bing.com” with a side slogan
of “Bing & Decide” (ViadTv, 2009).
The information search can be quite lengthy for some purchases, or can
take a very short time for smaller purchases. This stage is a pivotal point for
marketers because if consumers cannot find information on a product they want
or cannot find the right information for which they are searching then they
will simply walk away. Therefore the more relevant information companies have
available to a consumer about their product is critical in the consumer buying
process.
The main marketing
issue for this stage would be that a lot of information takes time, and many
consumers today do not take the time to thoroughly search or read for every
single purchase (even for some of the larger purchases). Simply stated, today people are in a hurry so
marketers have to put as much information as possible out there to consumers in
just the right market segment in order to inform consumers enough to purchase a
product.
Evaluation of Alternatives
Once the consumer
recognizes the need, has all the information they wish about wanting a specific
item, then they have to evaluate the alternatives. This stage is actually another type of
information stage because the consumer gathers information regarding
alternatives and weighs the decision mainly based on cost/benefit ratios. For instance, a new car purchase may start
with the old car breaking down, hence the need.
Then an information search regarding cars, what is considered the best
for the price, and other options the consumer may want to know about their
purchase. Then once information is
gathered, the consumer has other choices on where to purchase and which brand
exactly, since there are many car companies today with various offerings from
which a consumer can choose to purchase. Eventually the consumer picks and chooses
elements they prefer over the other available alternatives and the few items
left in the consumer’s decision pool is called an evoked set. Sellers really want to be in this evoked set
and have tried (and are still trying) everything to understand why consumers
have an evoked set, using techniques that span from demographic studies
to psychological analysis of consumer behavior. If sellers wish to get into or stay into
buyer’s evoked sets, they must maintain product quality, defend against
competition, keep items in stock, use reminder advertising, use specials
and couponing, and use customer loyalty programs. If sellers are not in an evoked set they must
use product sampling techniques, introduce new products into the market,
use comparison to competitor advertising, have a lot of publicity
regarding their products, and use promotional advertising aggressively
(Cherry, 2013).
The main marketing
implication in this stage of the consumer buying process is a lack of differentiation
and many options since that is what consumers are wanting in today’s
economy. For instance, if a company has
a unique product, there are not many substitutes (if any) for that product and
therefore the choices of the consumer are limited. With limited choices in substitutions, the
product the customer needs will be purchased from the company that sells it,
but today marketing is a different story.
Years ago, say in the 1930’s, there were not too many brands of
toothpaste as an example. A consumer in
the 1930’s purchased this need commodity because they basically had no other
choice. As the years have passed, more
and more companies offer homogenous product lines, thereby increasing consumer
choices. And today, with information
being readily available for consumers as well as many more merchants in the
marketplace, they have many more options than they did in the past. A good way to work around many options
consumers have and for a company’s products to stay in the consumer’s evoked
set today is to differentiate, personalize and customize the
products as much as possible, also to make certain that information about the product’s
offerings is readily available.
Purchase Decision
The purchase
decision is the next stage in the consumer buying process and a purchase
decision is not the same thing as making an actual purchase (Ferrell &
Hartline, 2011). It is critical that
during this time the consumer feels that the purchase is needed, significant,
and has an easy way to purchase the goods or services (i.e. one-click
purchase option online and sellers accepting a spectrum of payment methods). Product availability and possession
utility is important during this stage of the consumer buying process
because a buyer wants convenience such as not having to travel 100 miles
to get a specific good and a buyer wants an easy way to pay for the item such
as lay-away or financing so they can possess the product. A good example here is that I do not have a
pool table simply because there is no easy way for me to get one in this
area. I can purchase one online but the
shipping is outrageous and I am scared that the slate table may be broken
during shipment. The closest store that
offers the type of pool table I desire is 112 miles away near St Louis Missouri
and I have no vehicle that can transport the item safely to my home. Marketers and sellers a like need to ensure
that the products are available to consumers and that there is also a convenient
way to purchase services or goods.
Postpurchase Evaluation
This stage is where
consumers have purchased an item and they are thinking about whether or not the
purchase was a good one or if they should have thought harder about their
options. Marketers want the buyers to
feel that the purchase was a good one; after all if the consumer begins to feel
bad about the purchase or think they should have chosen another alternative,
this loses customers for sellers and marketers. This Postpurchase stage is a link
between the consumer buying process and creating, building, and
maintaining customer relationships (Ferrell & Hartline, 2011, p.
159). Also according to Ferrell and
Hartline, during this process the consumer will either feel delighted, satisfied,
dissatisfied, or have Postpurchase doubt (cognitive dissonance). Naturally, marketers want customers to feel
delighted where they feel that the product or service exceeds their
expectations or they are at least satisfied with their purchase (the purchase
met their expectations). Dissatisfaction happens when the products fail
to meet buyer expectations and cognitive dissonance happens when the
consumer is unsure about the overall performance of the product in relationship
to his/her needs. In order to avoid dissatisfaction
or cognitive dissonance, the marketer / seller should find information
and give information to the consumer which supports their choice on the
purchase. For instance, the car company
here in town where I purchased my Hummer (H3) calls me every time the
anniversary of the purchase was made (since 2009) and sends my husband and me
birthday cards on our birthdays. Each
card says “thank you” and with each call our car salesman also tells us “thank
you for your past business and if you need anything else, you know who your
friends are!” Essentially, marketers need to reinforce to the customer that
their purchase was really needed, significant, and wise to make. If the marketer / seller fail to do this,
then the customer will more than likely be lost to other competitors.
References
Cherry, J. (2013, January 14). Chapter 01 Minilecture -
Marketing in Today's Economy. BA 651 - Strategic Marketing.
Cherry, J. (2013, January 28). Chapter 02 Minilecture –
Strategic Marketing Planning. BA
651 - Strategic Marketing.
Cherry, J. (2013, February 25). Chapter 06 Minilecture – Customers,
Segmentation, and Target Marketing. BA
651 -Strategic Marketing.
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2011). Buyer
Behavior in Consumer Markets. Marketing strategy (5th ed., pp. 153-189). Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage Learning.
ShareATT. (2012, March 13). AT&T TV Commercial -
"Speed Dating" iPhone 4S 3x Faster - YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved March 16,
2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9_pi9vQbs
ViadTv. (2009, June 5). Microsoft Bing #2 Commerical – (Cure for Search
Overload Syndrome). Youtube. Retrieved March 16, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1AwFY6MuwE
