The Consumer Decision Making Process

The first stage is problem recognition. This is where the consumer becomes aware that they need or want something. For example, say that the consumer is watching television and a commercial for new tennis shoes comes on, they now remember that they are in need of new shoes due to the fact their old ones are worn out. The second stage is information search. This stage is when the consumer thinks back to previous shoes that they have purchased, to get an idea of what they want their new shoes to provide for them such as comfort or style. The consumer also asks friends and family members what they prefer so the consumer can compare it to their preferences. Also, if the consumer wants to go into further research they can go to different stores and compare products and prices. The third stage is evaluation of alternatives. In this stage the consumer may decide they want sandals or dress shoes instead of tennis shoes. The fourth stage is purchase decision. This stage lets the consumer decide where they want to purchase their product and how they are going to pay for it, whether it is with cash, check, or credit card. The fifth stage is the official purchase and the sixth stage is the post purchase evaluation. The sixth stage is when the consumer tests the purchased product to decide if they are satisfied with the outcome. Although there are six stages of the consumer buying process that doesn’t necessarily mean

How will a consumer decide whether to purchase a good? When a consumer purchases a good, what does this reveal?

Research suggests that customers go through a five-stage decision-making process when making any purchase. This is summarised in the diagram below:

| * A need to have a certain product * Consumers will search until that product is found * Need products that stand out from others * Customers have problems making decision so the company will have to try to make that decision easier for them

* Decision heuristics- mental shortcuts that help a consumer narrow down choices. Price, brand, product presentation

Customer recognizes that they have an unfulfilled need or want (Grewal, p. 175). The need/want may be either psychological or functional (Grewal, p. 176). The

Understanding consumer behaviour is essential to succeed in business. As Solomon et al. (2013) stresses, businesses exist to satisfy consumer’s needs. By identifying and understanding the factors that influences their customers, firms have the opportunity to develop a more efficient strategy, marketing message and advertising campaigns that is more in line with the needs and ways of thinking of their target consumers (Perreau, 2015).

There are 5 stages in the consumer purchase decision making process, the 5 stages are need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior. The need recognition which also known as problem recognition is most important in the consumer purchase decision making process as if there is no need, there is no purchase.

The author uses an arbitrary coherence to show that it influences consumers’ decision making process.

The consumer decision making process consists of five steps: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post

During this first stage, the consumer recognizes a need that can be satisfied by a purchase.

There are several desirable alternatives. Today‟s car buyer, for example, has an abundance of choices among similar attractive models. In fact, research indicates that those consumers who experience greater difficulty in making purchase decisions, or who consider a wider range of store and brand options, are more likely to experience greater magnitudes of postpurchase dissonance.

Everyday, every minute, and every second consumers are making decisions on whether or not they should purchase a given product. The product could be as small as a candy bar to as big as a car. The processes that flow inside the mind of a consumer when making a decision is both psychologically and economically based. So, understanding the process is central to making rationally based decisions. However, this decision is not only important to the consumer purchasing the product, it’s also of important significance to the marketers and policy makers. Reasons why making decisions can be so difficult is that the consumer is dealt with many alternatives, and with the rapid pace in technology this is making it more difficult.

Since the inception of commercialisation, organisations have predetermined objectives before initiating a business. The prime and the most important objective of the organisations are to make profits and sell their products and services effectively (Singh and Kaur, 2011). Tools such as marketing and advertising are used extensively for persuasion and its effectiveness and success can be judged on the extent to which the message is perceived and interpreted by the target market.

The purpose of this report is to use a variety of research techniques aimed at understanding the role that knowledge and group influences have on a consumer’s decision-making process. Additionally, the report will advise a range of recommendations that an inert brand can adopt to guarantee its inclusion in the consumer’s consideration set of brands.