Before purchasing a particular product, the buyer goes through five stages of buying decision process. Although these five stages are broadly classified; it is not necessary that all the buyers should go through all the stages of the process.
If the product is cheaply available and bought frequently, then the buyer may skip a few steps. But in case of expensive products, which are bought less frequently, the customer usually goes through all the five stages.
All these steps are discussed below:
Step # 1. Problem/Need Recognition:
Buying process starts when a person recognizes the problem or an unsatisfied need. This need could arise from individual’s experiences; or may be from the difficulties that the individual faces in a given situation.
The need recognition can either be internal for the customer or it can be external i.e. triggered by the marketers with the help of advertisements and promotional campaigns. Marketers should identify these needs and then prepare strategies in order to generate awareness of these needs among the consumers.
Step # 2. Information Search:
After buyer feels the need of a product, he starts looking for the alternatives available in the market. There are two levels of involvement within the information search. First level of involvement, called as heightened attention is a milder search set in which person becomes more receptive to information about the product.
In the second level, called as active information search, he looks for information through reading materials, calling friends, online searches, and visiting shops to learn about the product. He compares the features of the available brands for that particular product. If the customer has already used that particular product and has found it to be good, then this phase of information search becomes shorter.
The various sources from which information is gathered about a product are:
i. Personal:
Family, friends and different reference groups
ii. Commercial:
Print media, audio-visual media, websites, salespeople, packaging and labeling, etc.
iii. Public Sources:
News articles and consumer rating organisations
iv. Experiential:
Test drives, free trial offers
The relative amount and influence of these sources differs with the product category and the buyer’s characteristics.
When the customer is in information search stage, he starts looking for the competing brands and features of the product. This information of all the competing brands and features of a particular product forms a set of alternatives which is called as total set. From this total set, the customer gets to know only about few brands. This set of alternatives is called as awareness set.
Total set → Awareness set → Consideration set → Choice set → Decision?
From the awareness set, only some brands meet the initial criteria of the needs which are called as consideration sets. Choice set is those set of alternatives which are selected from the consideration set. The brands in choice set fulfill almost all the criteria which the consumer expects from the products. The person takes its final decision from this set.
The marketer must prepare strategies to get its brand into the potential consumer’s awareness, consideration and choice set. Also, the marketer must identify the other brands in the consumer’s choice set in order to plan the appropriate competitive appeal.
Step # 3. Evaluation of Alternatives:
After information is collected regarding the features of different brands, the customer evaluates the options based on the kind of need that the product satisfies, the benefits provided, and the attributes that differentiates it from other products. Consumers will pay the most attention to those attributes that deliver the sought-after benefits.
The attributes that the customers look for in different kinds of products are:
i. Detergent:
Cleansing capacity, aroma
ii. Clothes:
Looks, fitting, comfort, colour, fabric quality
iii. Television:
Picture quality, size, and sound quality
The marketer should try to fit its product into existing attitudes rather than to try to change attitudes of its consumers. Also the marketer should put its efforts towards gaining the top of the mind slot of its consumers.
Evaluation phase takes lesser time for those products which are cheap and bought frequently; whereas it takes lots of time for those products which are bought infrequently.
Step # 4. Purchase Decision:
After evaluation of the alternatives, the buyer finally decides to purchase a particular product.
During this stage the consumer decides on number of aspects such as:
i. Brand that he intends to buy
ii. Quantity of the product to be bought
iii. Place from where he is willing to buy
iv. Timing of purchase
v. Price of the product
vi. Payment method (Cash or credit card)
vii. After sales services such as installation and maintenance support
viii. Delivery period and warranty
While making purchase decisions the consumers often use simplified choice heuristics. Heuristics are rules of thumb or mental shortcuts in decision process.
The three mental shortcuts the consumer might go for are:
i. Conjunctive Heuristics:
Wherein consumer sets a minimum acceptable cutoff level for each attribute and chooses the first alternative that meets the minimum standard for all attributes.
ii. Lexicographic Heuristics:
Wherein the consumer chooses the best brand on the basis of the perceived most important attribute.
iii. Elimination-by-Aspects Heuristics:
Wherein the consumer compares brands on an attribute selected on the probability basis. In this, the probability of choosing an attribute is positively related to its importance and the consumer eliminates brands that do not meet minimum acceptable cutoffs.
Whether and how the choice heuristics is used depends upon the consumer’s brand or product knowledge, the number and similarity of brand choices, time pressure involved, and social context. Consumers may use more than one type of choice heuristics depending upon the situation.
Even if consumers form brand evaluation, two general factors can intervene between the purchase intention and the purchase decision which are:
i. Attitude of Others
ii. Unanticipated situational factors
i. Attitude of Others:
The extent to which another person’s attitude reduces consumer’s preference for an alternative depends on two things; viz. the intensity of the other person’s negative attitude towards the consumer’s preferred alternative and the consumer’s motivation to comply with the other person’s wish.
The stronger the other person’s negativism and the closer the other person is to the consumer, the more are the chances that the consumer will refrain from purchasing the product in consideration and vice-versa.
Attitude of other also includes role played by infomediaries who use various media channels to disseminate their evaluation. These evaluations undoubtedly influence the consumer’s purchase intentions.
ii. Unanticipated Situational Factors:
These factors may influence the consumer to change his purchase intention. Preferences and even purchase intentions are not completely reliable predictors of purchase behaviour. A consumer’s decision to modify, postpone, or avoid a purchase decision is heavily influenced by perceived risks.
Consumers may perceive many types of risk in buying and consuming products which are as below:
i. Functional Risk – Product does not perform up to expectations
ii. Physical Risk – Product poses a threat to the physical well-being or health of the user or others
iii. Financial Risk – Product is not worth the price paid
iv. Social Risk – Product leads to embarrassment from others
v. Psychological Risk –Product affects the mental well-being of the user.
vi. Time Risk – Failure of the product results in an opportunity cost of finding another satisfactory product
The amount of perceived risk will depend upon amount of money at stake, amount of attribute uncertainty, and amount of consumer’s self-confidence. Consumers try to find out ways for reducing the uncertainty and negative consequences of risk; such as decision avoidance, information gathering from friends, and preferences for national brand names and warranties. Marketers must understand the factors that provoke a feeling of risk in consumers and provide information and support to reduce perceived risk.
Step # 5. Post Purchase Behaviour:
The customer evaluates the performance of a product by comparing it with the competitor’s brand. A buyer will either be satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance. Marketers need to know whether the performance of the product is satisfactory or dissatisfactory as the feeling of satisfaction might lead to repeat purchase and positive publicity of the brand; however, the dissatisfied customer will rarely go for the repeat purchase and might spread negative word about the brand which will hamper the brands image. If the user is dissatisfied with a product, it is the duty of the marketer to find out as to how to improve the product in order to make it useful for the customer.
Three types of behaviour are observed in post purchase behaviour:
i. Post Purchase Satisfaction:
The buyer’s satisfaction is a function of the closeness between the buyer’s expectations and the products perceived performance. Before buying a product, the customer has some level of expectation from the product. If performance falls short of expectations, the customer is disappointed; if it is equal to the expectation levels, then the customer is satisfied; and if it exceeds the level of expectation then the customer is delighted.
A customer may be dissatisfied, if he does not get the features and attributes he was looking into the product or the features of the products are disturbing. He may also be dissatisfied by hearing or seeing good things about competitor brand which are not present in the brand that he is using. This information might induce the user to rethink about the products which he has purchased.
ii. Post Purchase Actions:
The consumer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product will influence subsequent behaviour. A dissatisfied customer might try to return the product and/or decide that he will not buy the brand anymore. He may take public action by complaining to the company, going to a lawyer, or complaining to other groups (such as business, private, or government agencies).
He may also tarnish the image of the company by talking negatively about it in front of prospective customers. A satisfied and delighted customer is expected to remain loyal to the brand. His probability of repurchasing the product will be high. Also he will speak well about the product which becomes the word of mouth publicity for the company.
iii. Post Purchase Use and Disposal:
The consumer storing the product in the closet might indicate that the product is not very satisfying and therefore word of mouth will not be strong. If the consumer sells or trade the product then sales of new products will be negatively affected. Consumers may also find new usage for the product.
Marketers must try and understand the pattern of usage and disposal of products by the consumers. Many companies provide discounts on repurchase if the used product is returned to them. This also helps the environment since the customers are mostly unaware of proper methods to dispose-off the product. Studying the disposal pattern may also lead to repurchase.
The marketer’s job therefore does not end with the purchase. The marketer must monitor post purchase satisfaction, post purchase actions, and post purchase product usage and disposal. Also through marketing communication, the marketer should generate beliefs and evaluations which will support the consumer’s choice and help him feel good about the brand.