Nature of the Consumer Decision Making Essay

IntroductionNow much(prenominal) than ever in such a highly competitive business origination were each harvest-feast and expediency offered is competing with correspondent and alternative proceedss, it is crucial from the businesses point of guess that their proceeds or run is of the highest standard possible. Correctly marketed a produce could be interminably successful, whilst on the other hand a poorly marketed product could be the death of it. From a sellers perspective it is them reservation the product what it is, from deciding consumers expects and submits, to interpreting these in an end product that satisfies these claims. In tramp for this to go venders must take into account the vast tote up of cognitive surgeryes the consumer goes by means of before, during and after make a procure. This overcompensate provides a tidy sum into the consumers close making make for, looking much depth into the role ask plays in these conclusions and the vario us theoretical exercise frame bring ins that are used in this process. The report will also outline how a marketer good deal use this go through with(predicate)ledge to supporter consumers in their purchasing choices and decisions end-to-end the report when applicable.The consumer decision making processFour views of consumer decision makingThe consumer decision making process is one that the consumer makes when making a purchase. There are different moldings that sacrifice been produced in duration to support this idea, with tetrad generalist views of consumer decision making, each highlighting different variables. These are the Economic view which focus ones on the idea that the consumer makes decisions found on rational behaviour, i.e. cost verse benefits, will I get a good enough product service for my money?. A nonher view that marketers hold is the passive view in which opposes the economic view by believing consumers to be instrumental to alone marketers inp ut, stating that consumers are impulsive buyers, easily assured with selling efforts. Thirdly is the randy view which whitethorn be seen as irrational behaviour based on feelings rather than any logical reasoning, i.e. decisions based on love, hope, sexual activity etc. Fourth and probably the near prolific one would be the 5 map (cognitive process).The 5 stop process outlines the cognitive cognitive operation consumers go through when making decisions. Marketers will often refer tothis model when considering how to legally influence the consumers choices. It shows that more consideration goes into the decision making process than just a purchase decision and horizontal continues post-purchase. Although the consumer does non al manners necessarily follow each stage, some cartridge clips they may hack stages when making more impulsive decisions or routine purchases.For exercising when considering this model it would be nave to think the consumer will put the same amount of thought into buying a pack of grate gum at a hotsagent to buying a new car. The purchase of chewing gum is generally an impulsive decision that does not require much previous thought, whereas the purchase of a car is less routine and requires a lot of thought into varying factors such as cost verses benefits. (Consumer last Making Process, 2008) Schiffman and Kanuk describe the process as being viewed in 3 distinct but interlocking stages, the input stage, process stage and yield stage. Below is an extended model of this process, which includes external influences and mental factors.Figure 1External InfluencesBefore the consumer even has the thought of making a purchase, they are already influenced by two sources subconsciously, the first being the firms marketing efforts (the four Ps) which creates an a state of wareness for the product via marketers attempts to inform and persuade the consumer through products, promotion, charge and take of dissemination . Secondly, s ociological influences reveal an underlying fundamental involve to fit in to certain affectionate groups, vitalitystyles, cultures etc. that are not forthwith commercially related i.e. A neighbour or booster rocket owning a product that an individual equivalents, wherefore mayhap creating a destiny for it. Consumer decision making modelThe decision making model as shown in general anatomy 1 could conjecture not unless the cognitive view to decision making, but also the horny view as it incorporates various socio-cultural input (as previously mentioned) that could be described as stirred based, and also psychological processes(discussed ulterior)involved when positively making the decision. Looking at figure 1 the first stage of the decision process is the fate science, this is where the consumer realises a need for something. This could come from by incur running out of something and needing more, or receiving information on a product from an external source that leads them to want it. This would logically then lead the consumer to the second part of the process the pre-purchase search, this is the point where the consumer begins to process the thought of what product may satisfy their need, they may base their ideas on previous experience and memories (psychological factors), or may prefer to search for useful information to help in their decision ( fundamental net search).At this point the consumer is drawing up information from external sources and at the same time has psychological factors influencing their decision. i.e.Consumers need, perception, learning, personality and military positions. Solomon (2006) addresses the fact to how much actual searching takes place, stating that younger, better educated people will spend more time searching/fact figureing before making a decision in comparison to an older person, who has less available channels to search. He also says that women are more inclined to research products. A generalis ation that is worth keeping in mind from a marketers perspective as based on this supposition it would be logical to focus marketing efforts at these for a more effective result. For example it would not be cost-efficient for a business to profusion money trying to reachize a product to a social group that tends to have limited internet access, i.e. older people.The third stage of the process the evaluation of alternatives is probably the longest part of the decision making process in name of time as the consumer has nine-fold factors to consider. At this point the consumer, given previous knowledge built up in the previous stage, now has to filter from the potentially hundreds of available possibilities. Perhaps exploitation staple cost v benefits and perceived risk of alternatives, or even more complicated cognitive processes requiring more effort. The considered sets of choices are known as the evoked set The fourth stage enters the output area of the decision making proce ss, this is where the consumer has made a decision and makes the purchase from the set of possibilities hold in the evoked set, this would be classed as a tribulation purchase as the consumer has not previously tested the product.The other figure of purchase would be the repeat purchase in which the consumer skips steps of the process because they already have a want for the product delinquent to alreadyusing it and needing more (brand loyalty). Once purchased the next and final stage of the process would be the post purchase evaluation, consumers now evaluate their purchase decision, deciding whether they are totally happy with the product, or perhaps would have preferred one of the alternatives. At this point it is vital for the marketers to make trusted the consumers feels they made the right decision in choosing their product, as next time they will take their business elsewhere.Psychological factorsThe psychological factors in the gentle psyche that influence the input st age of the model are discover tools that a marketer fag end use to utilise their relationship with the consumer. A good understanding of each sack up help the marketer focus efforts based around the consumers way of thinking. Consumer Personality this is what separates world and reflects individual differences, personality is always consistent and enduring. Sigmund Freud famously split the complex discomfit into three interacting parts, ID, Super swelled head and Ego. The ID being your basic needs (hunger, thirst and sex). Superego being the way the people act out their primitive needs in a socially acceptable manner (restraining impulsive ID feelings). Lastly the Ego is the consumers conscious ability to control the demands and constraints of the previous two. Freud believed that an individuals prosperity in tackling each stage will in turn reflect personality.For example a person chiffonier be fixated in later life through a dis bliss of needs in development stages in earl y life. i.e. if a child does not feel loved when maturation it could leave them striving to feel it in later life, or perhaps opposing this lead them to not seek love delinquent to not experiencing it (a defining characteristic in any personality). From a marketers opinion a person could be easily manipulated in later life due to decisions they have made in earlier stages. Consumer Perception the active psychological process in which stimuli are selected and organised into meaningful patterns, (Buchanan, 1991). Perception is how humans interpret information they make pick up through sensations like sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch, and then respond to accordingly to create a perception. For example from the marketers perspective, it is crucial that the perception of their product or service to the consumer is good i.e. effective stimuli,as if the consumer gains a bad perception of a good they will not wish to purchase. Marketers can seek to make better brand perception thr ough trials i.e. if consumer enjoys the product they will re-purchase based on previous experience.This would be one example of assisting a consumer in a purchase. Consumer Learning refers to a humans capacity to pick up knowledge, through information or experience on a product, directly or indirectly i.e. a consumer does not have to have tried and true a product to have a perceived familiarity with it, they may know somebody who has a familiarity and has told them about it, given them enough of an understanding to both like or dislike it. The general idea that when a product is completely unknown to the consumer that the quality of it is reflected in price. Consumer Attitudes An attitude in marketing terms is defined as a general evaluation of a product or service formed over time (Solomon, 2008). An attitude satisfies a personal motiveand at the same time, affects the shopping and buying habits of consumers.Dr. Lars Perner (2010) (Understanding Consumer Attitudes, 2010). For t he marketers it is up to them to understand why certain attitudes exist and either work with them or seek to change them. Consumer Motivation defined by Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) as being the driving force within individuals that impels them to action. It could be referred to as the processes that cause people to behave as they do, from a psychological need to how they seek to satisfy it. Marketers can use identified motives to develop a better marketing mix giving them a better targeted marketing strategy.The role of pauperizationMaslows Hierarchy of NeedsDr Abraham Maslow formulated this hierarchy of needs as a theory behind how human motivation works, a theory now widely accepted. Similarly to Freudian beliefs (the ID) that basic physiological needs have to be fulfilled in order to reach higher satisfaction. i.e. food, water, air, shelter and sex. Generally these needs are comfortable by the majority (unless homeless, then these would be entire needs). Once snug the next st age would lead to safety needs not only physical safety but also safety in terms of finance, stability, education etc. Once an individual believes the previous needs aremet they then consider social needs. These needs include love, affection and acceptance, all of which are socially desired by everyone as we are move to find good relationships. Once these needs are generally met, the ego needs of human nature come into play. The ego needs can be of two types, inward directed i.e. self-esteem, success, personal satisfaction, or outwardly directed ego needs such as prestige, status and reputation. The ultimate need is for humans to reach self-fulfilment, to become the best of their potential (according to Maslow this need is rarely satisfied because generally ego needs are not fully satisfied)Alderfer (1972) describes there being two types of needs, a basic need (innate), innate needs being the basic level of needs relating to survival i.e. hunger, thirst and sex, and also Acquired needs which are picked up in life as a response to the environment and cultures. A theory echoed by Freud and also Maslow. Although Alderfer revised the latter stages of Maslows hierarchy of needs by realising some of the middle stages overlap, confusion of these needs could lead a marketer to appeal to the wrong type of consumer. So Alderfer changed Maslows five stage process into a more simple three stage one, which is similar in the fact it represents levels of needs (pyramid). Although Alderfers model states that humans may be motivated by more than one need and non-reliant of satisfaction of each need for progression i.e. an artist who may place outgrowth needs above existence.An article by Mark Rodgers called Challenging Maslow refers to the plosive speech sound of time in which Maslow has created this theory on motivation, stating that given the time in which it was created would not depict modern views to human motivation. Rodgers believes that Maslow produced his theory i n a time when his home country had just emerged from a world war and out of the greatest depression of the 20th century, needs at this time would be lower as in physiological and safety. Whereas nowadays with more than 50 years of economic growth, the average person enjoys a more stable lifestyle and allows them to have higher focused needs such as egoistic and self-actualization. (Rodgers, 2004) How marketers can apply understanding of these processes and motivation to assist consumers in purchasing decisions Developing on what has been previously touched upon it would be a fairjudgement to say that marketers have the ability to manipulate consumers entirely.Once they have understood consumers needs and wants they can use them once more when producing a marketing plan to reposition a product or perhaps launch another. Using theories such as Maslows, marketers can advertise to specific motivational needs, using powerful marketing tools such as advertising. Advertisements are cues us ed to arouse needs, marketers therefore creates ads to aid consumer choices. Advertising techniques can pull in attention by appealing to needs (innate) or perhaps having such an image to create a new need or desire (acquired). They can advertise a product to directly stir levels of motivation i.e. Maslows self-fulfilment or Freuds super ego through making a product seem visually emphasised as a certain amount of perfection which would satisfy top level needs.Physiological arousal can be used to stimulate consumers most basic needs, for example a visually sexy advertisement would attract the attention of most adults, or perhaps an advertisement of a new burger at a fast food chain would focus to basic biogenic hunger needs. Cleverly marketed an advert can appeal to multiple needs, making a product seem vital for a consumer to own as it is seen as satisfying many needs, creating a strong chance of consumers purchasing this product.Looking into an emotional arousal view of marketing it can be seen that a lot of charity based organisations use emotional advertising to trigger a sad response from the audience. For example an advert seeking to create an awareness and revenue for starving children of third world countries would seek to discomfort the viewer by highlighting their struggle to find satisfaction of their biological needs and contrast this with our perhaps unnecessary ego and self-fulfilment needs. This in turn triggers an emotional response, and perhaps self-disappointment which would lead the individual to give sympathetically.ConclusionTo conclude, there has been a build-up of various consumer decision based theory and framework in this report that helps give an understanding to how the processes work, leading into motivation and various theory and models behind them. The theory can be apply directly when producing a marketing mix or segmenting the market, as it offers a clear insight into how thehuman mind operates when considering purchase decis ions. Another let on aspect of marketing, by gaining an understanding of the consumers wants and needs before creating a product and marketing campaign that could ultimately fail and cause substantial losings financially.Marketers nowadays have to be at the top of their game due to flooded markets with similar products they have to be able to communicate the benefits of their product to the consumer and how it may differentiate from competitors. Marketers have the ability to create a want for a product that would not previously have been desired and therefore have the ability to manipulate peoples needs throughout their lifetimes through this incredibly strong tool and the added benefit of ease of distribution channels of information through advancements in modern day technology.